A Confession of Jim Parque

Jim Parque,　former Chicago Whit Sox pitcher, wrote a confession of his use of HGH at Chicago Sun-Times. I respect him for admitting what he has done wrong in the past when he just can deny the allegations. One more thing what I really respect about him is his apology to White Sox GM Ken Williams. It's huge.

元ホワイト・ソックス投手のジム・パーケが自分のHGH使用を認めました。その中で、ホワイト・ソックスGMのケン・ウィリアムスに対し自分の過去の態度を謝罪していました。このご時世で、HGH使用を認めたのも偉いですが、必要もないのにウィリアムスに対しても謝罪を表明するなんて偉いなぁと思いました。

The Wall is High

Tokyo Verdy lost the much against Ventforet Kofe 2-1. Although Masashi Oguro scored a goal, Kofe's defense was really tough. Verdy offense couldn't kick shoots as much as they used to do for past few months. Top 4 teams of division 2 are really tough to beat not because their offense but their defense. It was like they are higher walls than rest of the division 2 teams.

Yukio Tsuchiya, the soul of Verdy defense, got hurt his knee in the first half. After he was pulled the game at the end of the 1st half, Verdy defense got weak. I don't know how bad his knee is at this point; but, I hope he will be back for the next game. Or, we would face a huge problem.

The game itself was pretty good; but, only 5,909 people showed up the Ajinomoto Stadium last night.

壁が高いなぁ。甲府が強いのもあるでしょうが、土屋を怪我で試合途中に失ったヴェルデイはおもしろいように失点を重ねてしまいました。

Verdy will have a match against Ventforet Kofe Tomorrow Night

19:00 tomorrow night at Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo Verdy will have a crucial game for them against Ventforet Kofe. Top three teams from the J-League Division 2 of this season will be promoted to Division 1. At this point, Verdy is in the 5th place of the division with 49 points and Kofe is in the 4th place with 53 points. Vegalta Sendai, the 3rd in the division, has just 54 points.

So, we really need to win this much against Kofe tommorow night in order to keep trailing the top three teams of the division.

明日の夜７時、味スタでヴェルデイ対甲府の試合があります。

Tokyo Verdy won against Tokushima Vortis

Last Saturday night at Kokuritsu Kyougijyou(the National Olympic Stadium), Tokyo Verdy defeated Tokushima Vortis 4-0. Masashi Oguro had two goals. Hiroki Kawano and Kazuki Hiramoto had one goal each. Vortis' 19 years old MF Yoichiro Kakitani was the man to watch in this game according to the media; however, another 19 years old Kawano stole the show with a goal.

I was impreseed by the both teams because they had three games in a week with two days rest between those games. It was third game for both teams that night; but, they moved pretty good. It was really fun game. Oguro played really hard and fast, and Tokushima's difence was great even after their defender Kentoku Noborio got ejected at 49 minutes. I was amazed by their motivations to play.

6,923 people showed up for this much, almost 2,000 more than last Verdy's Home game at Ajinomoto. This number tells me something. I believe it is the time for J-League to allow Verdy to call Kokuritsu its permanent home. Ajinomoto is not for Verdy; Kokuritsu is.

国立霞ヶ丘競技場で行われた対徳島戦。知り合いのツテでチケットを頂き見てきました。知り合いによると徳島の１９歳MF柿谷は非常に見る価値のある選手のようで、なるほどその通りだなぁと感じました。しかし、ヴェルデイの１９歳河野がゴールを奪いチームの勝利に貢献しました。

Tokyo Verdy defeated Ehime F.C.

Tokyo Verdy won the game against Ehime F.C. 2-0 at Ajinomoto Stadium. 17 years old defender Shohei Takahashi scored a goal just two minutes affter the game started. Even though J-2, Verdy has played really good ball game. Masashi Oguro & Leandro, both forwards of Verdy, are worth to watch. They are better than some J-1 clubs' forwards.

ヴェルデイ・ユース出身の１７歳の高橋が試合開始２分後にゴールを決めるなど愛媛に勝ちました。

S-Pulse @ F.C.Tokyo

Yuichiro Nagai of the Shimizu S-Pulse was born and raised in Toyama Hights, Shinjuku, where I was born and raised in. He was graduated from the same elementary school I graduated from, Higashi Toyama Elementary School(東戸山小）. To me, he is the hero from my hometown.
Last saturday, his S-pulse came to Kokuritsu Kyougijyou(the National Olympic Stadium) at Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku. However, Mr. Nagai has been injured. He was not on the active roster for that game. I was kind of disappointed because I was so excited to see his return to his home .

F.C.Tokyo won the game against the S-pulse 2-1.

プライド・オブ・戸山ハイツ、キング・オブ・東戸山の永井雄一郎君を見ようと思って地元凱旋試合の行われた国立霞ヶ丘競技場での清水エスパルス対東京ガスに行ってきましたが、試合はおろかベンチにも入っていませんでした。あーあ。

Hanshin Tigers Lost the Game against Swallows, Again

At Jingu Stadium, Shohei Tateyama gave up four hits in eight innings and marked his winning streak at 10 since last August. When Swallows' Chang Yong Lim closed the game for his 13th save of the season, the score was Swallows 4 and Tigers 1. Tateyama(4-0) struck out just five Tigers that night, few numbers per game for him; but, he allowed just one run over those innings to get a win. He was not good at his control, surrendered four walks; however, Tigers' horrible offense could not give enough support for their starter Shinobu Fukuhara. Fukuhara(2-3) pitched five and plus strong innings, but he gave up two homeruns and got a loss.

Stadium Food:

Tako Kara(Fried Octopus)

Soki-Don(Okinawa Style Pork over Rice)

館山は制球に苦しみ、むしろ福原の方が良いくらいでした。しかし、阪神のまずい攻めが多々ありスワローズが勝ちました。スワローズの林は完璧な抑えで１３セーブ目。

StarFlyer

When I made a trip to Kitakyusyu, I used StarFlyer. It is an airline based in Kitakyusyu, Fukuoka. Their Airbus A320 is painted in black, which is really cool & elegant. Airbus A320 can have around 180 people in the cabin; however, StarFlyer's have only 144 seats per airplane. That means its leather seat has wider legroom than usual economy seat from the most of airlines. Their economy seats are better than others.
A cup of coffee & chocholate.
I had a cup of coffee during the flight. That was the best coffee I have ever had. According to them, you can drink that cup of Tully's coffee only on the StarFlyer flights.

This picture is the view from the cabin. I believe that I took the scenery of Moji & Shimonoseki.

I didn't have any plan for where to go for this trip, other than Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome. I picked up a on-board magazine, which led me to Idemitsu Museum and others. That StarFlyer/GQ magazine helped my trip in Kitakyusyu. They also give me a free magazine from the City of Kitakyusyu.

By the way, I took 9:00 p.m. flight for returning to Tokyo. During the airplane's departure from the Kitakyusyu airport, I was thinking when it would take off. I knew it was running on the runway. I felt it was too long to run on it. I didn't see anything from the window because it's middle of the night. I was wrong. The fleet was already in the sky when I was thinking it would be running on the runway. I just didn't realize it already took off.

北九州をベースにしているスターフライヤーは、黒に塗られたすごくかっこいいエアバス・３２０を使っています。この機体はだいたい１８０人乗りの構成ですが、スターフライヤーでは１４４人乗りにしています。ということは、革張りの座席とその座席間隔が非常にゆったりしていてくつろげるフライトです。機内で提供されたチョコレートとこの飛行機限定のタリーズコーヒーがとてもおいしく、お洒落な旅を演出してくれます。

Georges Rouault @ Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Moji

I went to Kitakyusyu; because, I wanted to board on a cool Star Flyer airplane. Star Flyer has operated the service from Haneda to Kitakyusyu; so, I had booked a round trip flight between Haneda and Kitakyusyu.

Moji ward of Kitakyusyu city has Mojiko(Moji Port), which has Moji Retro. It is actually a tourist area. You can experience 1920's atmosphere from that area.

Idemitsu Kosan was originaly established at Moji in 1911. The company has had strong relationship with the city until when the headquarters moved to Tokyo in 1940. Sazo Idemitsu, founder of the Idemitsu Kosan, was an art collector also. You can see his collection at two Idemitsu Museums in Japan. I went to one of them at Moji. It has held the exhibition of George Rouault now. I had no information about Rouault prior to get there. When I saw one of his paintings, I thought the man on the painting was Chad Kroegar from the band Nickelback. The man, Rouault was drawing, was actually Jesus Christ. That was one of his collection called "Passion." His "Passion" series were amazing paintings. The show was huge surprise for me, since I didn't expect to see such a great art show.

You can also learn the history of Idemitsu Kosan(Sazo Idemitsu) at that museum. It is interesting history, and it has the exhibition of Rouault until June 14, 2009. Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Moji
スターフライヤーの飛行機ってかっこいいなと思っていたら乗りたくなったので, 北九州まで乗ってきました。北九州市には, 門司港レトロと呼ばれる観光地域があります。そこに元々は門司で創業を開始した出光興産のやっている出光美術館門司があります。この日は、ジョルジュ・ルオーの大回顧展をやっていましたが、知識がなかったのでニッケルバックのボーカルの顔の絵をたくさん描いてるなと最初は思いました。解説を読むと、“受難”というルオーの連作の宗教画で、描かれている顔はキリストでした。なるほど、感動的で心に響く深い作品群でした。こういう絵を収集して、安い料金で実際に鑑賞させてもらえるというのはありがたいなぁとつくづく思いました。ルオー大回顧展は２００９年６月１４日まで。この美術館では出光興産の歴史も学べます。

Hurting My Left Knee

I will run for the marathon in Shimanto Town of the Kochi Prefecture on April 5th this year. My left knee has been bothered me a lot lately. I have had major set back for my running practice. I have talked to a lot of people about this, and a trainer at a gym told me that I put too much weight on my left knee. He said my balance is not good. When I stand straight, my upper body obviously leanes toward to the left side. I need to fix my balance ASAP. Runner's World magazine and its website have helped me through this problem. I have learned I need to do a lot of hard work besides running if I want to run better. In order to do that, I need to manage my time more efficiently.

今度の４月に高知県の窪川（現：四万十町）である桜マラソンに出場するために調整中ですが、膝が痛いです。

Lions against WBC JAPAN

John Wasdin of Saitama Seibu pitched three scoreless strong innings, and the hot hitting Lions defeated the Japan 7-2 at Tokyo Dome last night.
Ichiro Suzuki against John Wasdin in his second at bat.
ライオンズが日本代表を７対２で倒しました。試合内容はライオンズの方が遥かに上でしたが、日本代表も心配する必要もない程度です。ただ、バファローズの小松などは投球回数があまりにも少ないので、４月からの公式戦に入るまでに彼にとって順調な調整になるのかどうかが見ていて気掛かりです。

"Love Love Love" by Tristan Prettyman

The sponsor for my favorite Japanese TV Show "MitoKomon" is Panasonic. This company has aired an ad with the song called "Love Love Love" by Tristan Prettyman. Even though the song was released in 2005( her debut album "twentythree"), they have used it for their TV commercial now. You can see it during this season. It's a beautiful song. Although I'm not 100% sure what the song wants to say, it's still good to me. It's a lovely song.

今シーズンの水戸黄門を見ていると、トリスタン・プリティマンのLove Love Loveという曲が使用されているパナソニックのCMに出逢います。２００５年の彼女のデビュー・アルバム“twentythree”に収録されている曲です。歌詞が何を言いたいのか僕には少し分からない所がありますが、大好きな歌です。とても素敵な歌です。