The momentum

I saw the highlight of the Monday Night Football match between my favorite 49ers and the wobbly Cardinals on CNN International, and I saw they were just one yard short of a victory with the interim coach in his second game. Just looking at the conclusion, it's easy to blame any stupid mistake the team had made would have changed the winner. I really doubt that. If it weren't for the crisis mode in the red zone, under the less than a minute situation, it probably didn't become a one yard game, and if they had more time to execute the last play, I'm sure they would've made another mistake like commiting a penalty. It's the same situation for the Tigers who gave up a 13 game lead in the pennant race and handing the throne to the greedy but ambitious Giants, but if they didn't have that crazily overpowering lead, the Tigers probably would have had a different outcome, perhaps even winning the pennant much earlier. The 2cm win by Vodka at the Emperor's Cup is another example. With Daiwa Scarlet returning from a seven month rest, Vodka was ready to run after losing the race three weeks before running the race as the forth runner but losing only by inches to a horse without much pressure.
All of these results were altered by the momentum. Once the spirit is lost, the result will never be positive, but once you find the magical touch you will overcome the great wall literally by inches.
It was the Cardinals that still holds the momentum winning four in a row at home and the 49ers losing six games in a row. Even if the undefeated Titans are winning 9 in a row, if they lose the last game of the regular season, I doubt that they would even make it to the Super Bowl. They'd rather lose one soon and win the rest. Then I'm sure they'll win until the end.
Now I don't have the momentum. Right now nothing seems to be going in the right direction and I can't find the spirit that will get me rolling again; that would give me a natural smile when I interact with anyone.
I want the momentum again so I can feel comfortable and awaken the magic inside me. I really don't need any overwhelming power. I just want the confidence that will give me the last inch I need to succeed!

Tired already from the start...

This week is going to be quite a challenging one as I was already tired from the start!
I had to take care of things I couldn't lay my hands on the past few days. I had to get ready for my live coverage on Tuesday morning, but time flew by so quickly, the day was over before I could write a single line of the script.

At night, I tried to find any channel that would be broadcasting Japan's soccer match against Bahrain in Manama, but I had no luck...


I found the US Open semifinal, but only the match Turkey at Armenia, where it was reported the Turkish president has made a historical visit, was on the air... later on I also found a match between the UAE and DPRK on Dubai Sports, but nothing on Bahrain TV... boo...

I was too tired to go on, and I decided to go to bed as early as possible... to lie down and sleep... good night...

PS
Quite later than the time it was okay to eat, I had my dinner...

just a chicken meat sandwich... enough for me without any luck at work!

many papers were writing about the exclusive interview...

No access...

It's the start of the weekdays again in Iran. It's the start of the second week in August and for myself too. I'm already facing some problems here and I don't know if I'll get any help from Tokyo as I see that the Japanese are now having their "Obon" summer vacations. With the Beijing Olympics starting its competition, things are worse as no one would probably bother to help any of the foreign bureaus!
It's sad for a sports viewer fan like me that I have limited access to Olympics, having no way of watching the excitement live. This may be the first Olympics ever that I have no way of enjoying them but to see the news later on about the results of my fellow countrymen and women...
At night, I found out that Dubai Sports on satellite was playing some of the games and having a news section in the nighttime. But since I had no way of understanding Arabic, I had no idea who they were talking about, except the names of the countries and perhaps Michael Phelps. Oh well, I have to bear with this frustration for two weeks!

My lunch for today!

some kabab koobideh with nan

I started reading some of the magazines sent from Japan... but...

oops... censorship! another thing I can't access here!

Imports from the nation of dragons...

Our nation in the far east was in chaos today because of frozen dumplings imported from the gigantic nation of dragons. It was evident that the poisoning caused by China-made "gyoza"s will be the top story until Super Tuesday.

But for me, it was just another day to gather information to get ready for my trip.

The other big story for the day was...

the handball qualifier match for Beijing! there were so many people lined up at the gymnasium to watch the match!

I watched the match live on TV, but sadly the Japanese men's team fell short of winning against the rival Koreans to qualify, but surely millions have become much familiar with the sport!

A day of apologies...

People with great talent were supposed to be arrogant.
Who would want to see an obsequious champion being sensitive to the fan's mood!?
But they should not forget that sports is something that human beings invented and cannot exist without the support of the fans, if this is not about working out on your own by jogging or body building.
Without the rules, pushing someone out of the ring and knocking someone down in the ring will just be a fight.
Of course, a sumo or boxing champ will be stronger than me if we were to have a fight, but I would just need a small pistol to win the fight if we don't need any rules.
And by the rule, an arrogant champion is nothing but an outlaw.

the two outlaws did not seem to be apologizing from their heart...
have they won back the support of the fans!?
I don't think so...

NOW they're in trouble!

I think everybody... well, at least almost everybody, thought of the result as a consequence of their own deeds, or it just served them right.

But WE must not forget that WE were the ones who helped them get carried away.
WE, I mean, WE as one viewer of entertainment programs, and WE as the media, and WE perhaps by the boxing and combative sports community.
Just like WE did when Horiemon was at his top gear, and "Satchee" Nomura was at her height, we just pull the ladder (a Japanese way of saying that we desert someone after helping him "climb the ladder" to success). WE all know they were finished off after being exposed by the prosecutors.
I bet the Kamedas could well be going to that course too. But we're not sad, are WE? WE can find any other new "star" that can entertain us, so whoever is thinking now that they've ruled the show biz world... BEWARE!

yeah these guys ruled the show biz world once... but what now!?

A loser...

I didn't wanna be the loser. But I felt like I was today...

There were so winners around the globe.

Little Matsui's Rockies sweep the series over the Philies and the French beat the unbeatable All Blacks at the quarterfinals...

As many as there are winners, there are losers.
Tonight, I might have been one of the latter.
But that could always change as long as I'm alive!

Losing its reputation...

What a disaster for the national sport. After grand champion Asashoryu's scandal, dark shadows have haunted the sumo world for months.
Conceited from a false sense of security that they are under protection!? They'll lose it someday if they remain being a bighead!

top news for days... boo to the sport!

Keyword of the day: younger girls!

The last day of September was another cold day in Tokyo.

This day was dedicated to young girls!

Shinobu Moromisato at 21 wins her first Japanese major title prevailing over champions and veterans (on the left)
Aston Machan, a 3 year old filly wins her first GI title beating well experienced colts and mares (on the right)

Gold rush in the end...

Working in my office from the morning... the alarms of urgent news from Kyodo flashed thrice...

The Japanese Judo team in Rio has finally nailed a gold... three golds...

including one for this mother of a child... her 7th World Judo gold!

No one was even close when I was watching television till today! And hey, that won't happen in Beijing, right!?

a historic five-peat!!

by Roger Federer ties the record held by the legend, Björn Borg!
I don't know what happened to Rafael Nadal's right knee, but it was a very close and exciting match by the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds!

uh-oh... can't get too excited... I gotta get some sleep!

Sad to see...

the Japanese tennis player drop a close one against the former queen...
she almost had it... but experience has overwhelmed in the end...
too bad... but nice try!!

Life ain't easy...

タイトル：人生楽じゃないよ…

I have another important day coming on Thursday, but I'm not ready at all...
Right after vacation time, as early as it could be, I'm already in a middle of quagmire.
Darn, when the going gets tough... I really wanna run away!

I bet the ballplayers of my favorite team feel the same...

losing eight games in a row... eight!
but they have no where to run as they're in the cellar for the first time in three years!!

木曜日にまた大切な日がやってくるけど、全く用意が出来てない…。
連休明けで、これほど早くと望む訳でもなく、すでに泥沼にはまっている。
くそ、厳しくなってくると…マジで逃げたくなるね！

きっと贔屓のチームの選手たちも同じように思ってるよ…
写真：８連敗…８！
でもどこにも逃げられない。３年ぶりのビリになってもうて！！

Nakamuuuuura!

ナカムーーーーラ！

At least the first win at home did cheer me up!

JFK at full throttle!

少なくとも本拠地での初勝利が励ましてくれたよ！
写真：ＪＦＫがフルスロットルで！

Cutting my sleeping time again...

to watch the NBA All-Stars!
it was a lopsided game... but MVP Kobe versus LeBron wasn't that lopsided!

また睡眠時間を削って…
写真：ＮＢＡオールスター戦を見るために！
ワンサイドの試合だった…でもＭＶＰコービーとレブロンの対決はそんなにワンサイドじゃなかったね！

(today's term)
lopsided　一方的な、いびつな
試合でどちらかが圧倒しているときに、
子供の頃、良く使っていた表現。
今でも使われている表現だろうか。
格闘技とか喧嘩とかで、一方が圧倒しているときより、
球技で一方が圧倒的な差を付けているときに、
lopsided gameでつまんない！ってよく言ってた。

Sloppy but Super!

タイトル：ボロボロだけどスーパー！

champs are champs, how sloppy they've played, because both teams battled in the same condition!

Super Bowl XLI surely was a very sloppy game, mostly because of the heavy rain and winds!
After an opening kickoff return TD by the Bears' rookie returner Devin Hester, tons of turnovers followed along with an unbelievable missed FG by the Colts' kicker Vinatieri in the first half.
And in the second half, as Bears' QB Rex Grossman struggled with a couple of INT, I think everyone witnessed that the MVP QB Payton Manning and the Colts' offense maintained its posture over Brian Urlacher and the Bears' defense.

写真：王者は王者だ。どれだけボロボロであっても。同じコンディションで両チームとも戦ったんだから！
第４１回スーパーボウルはマジでかなりボロボロな試合になった。ほとんど激しい雨と風のせいだけど！
前半は、ベアーズの新人リターナーのデビン・ヘスターが試合開始のキックオフリターンＴＤを決めた後、たくさんのターンオーバーが繰り返され、さらに信じられないコルツのキッカー、ビナディエリがＦＧを外すという出来事が続いた。
そして後半は、ベアーズＱＢのレックス・グロスマンがいくつかのインターセプトで苦しんだのに対して、誰もがＭＶＰのＱＢペイトン・マニングとコルツのオフェンスがブライアン・アーラッカーとベアーズのディフェンスより強い状態を保っていたことを確認できたと思う。

Deeeeeeply disappointed...

タイトル：すごーーーーく残念…

I started out early in the morning, leaving home before 7AM to take part in the reporting team covering the prosecutors' investigations.

I stayed outside the press club mostly throughout the day, and after I returned to our booth at the club, I made a critical mistake... mostly because of all the weariness, I was just inattentive.
I unintentionally took the evening paper of Yomiuri and glanced at the front page... instantly I knew I was doomed...
At the left top corner, picture of Payton Manning and the words "Colts Win" jumped into my eyes. Oh, so much for a complete chance to enjoy what I've been waiting for a year!
Spoiled with one look!!

I made it home minutes before midnight to start watching the Game...
OK! I shall enjoy seeing how the No. 1 QB and his team won it!

朝早くスタートした。特捜取材班を手伝うために午前７時前に出た。
一日中ほとんど記者クラブの外で過ごした。そしてクラブのブースに戻ってきた後、大失態を演じた…疲れからきたのか、油断してしまったようだ。
何気なく読売の夕刊を手にとって、１面に目をやってしまった…その瞬間、やっちまったと思った…。
左上の角っこに、ペイトン・マニングの写真と「コルツ勝利」という文字が目に飛び込んできた。あー、１年もの間待ちわびたものを楽しむ夢は崩れ去ったよ！
一瞥ですべてを失うとは！！
写真：午後０時になる数分前に家に帰って試合を見始めた…。
いいよ！どうやってナンバー１のＱＢとチームが勝ったのか楽しむことにするよ！

Linesmen scoring by recovering fumbles, an ace quarterback tripping on his own, receivers dropping easy ones, but more than anything... it was a very close and splendidly exciting championship game I ever saw!
Though I gave up watching the NFC championship which I happened to see the result of the game unintendedly, I went on to watch the AFC match-up though it was way over midnight... but it was worth it!!

a historic comeback from 3-21! wow!

And Mr. Manning is finally playing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy! Against the undoubtedly strongest team of the year, the Bears!

ラインマンたちがファンブルをリカバーしたり、エースＱＢが自分でずっこけたり、レシーバーたちが簡単なのを落としたり、でもそれ以上に…とっても接戦で、今まで見た中でも最高にエキサイティングな王者決定戦だった！
偶然に試合の結果を見てしまったＮＦＣの王者決定戦を見るのは諦めたけど、ＡＦＣのマッチアップは見た。夜中の零時はとっくに過ぎてたけどね…でもその価値はあったね！！

３対２１からの歴史的なカムバック！すげー！
そしてマニング氏はようやくヴィンス・ロンバルディ杯のために戦うんですね！誰もが認める今年の最強チームのベアーズとの対戦だ！

Ready to go!

タイトル：準備万端！

Last night, it was my first day I'd gone out to have drinks this week, and the Korean food and drinks at Okubo hit me pretty hard. I still had a headache when I woke up before noon...

To get started, I finished watching the fourth playoff game!

this no-good FG attempt lifted the team of the decade again to the AFC championship game! and so it's the match-up between the great two QBs again! a great game to look forward to next week! I saw NFC Seattle almost pulling off a big one against the number one seed, but perhaps experience makes an upset!

After taking a nap for a couple of hours in the afternoon, I think I'm ready to head for overnight duty... or am I!?

昨夜、今週初めての飲みだったけど、大久保の韓国の料理と酒が結構きつくて、正午に起きたときには、頭が痛かった…。
手始めに、４つ目のプレイオフゲームを見終えた！
写真：このフィールドゴールの失敗がここ１０年で最高のチームを再びＡＦＣ王者決定戦に進出させた！また偉大な２人のＱＢ同志にマッチアップだね！来週楽しみな試合だね！ＮＦＣのシアトルがもうちょっとで第１シードに大番狂わせを演じるところだったけど、結局は経験が番狂わせを生むんだね！

午後に数時間昼寝をしたし、泊まり勤務に行く準備はできたと思うよ…たぶんね！？