Soccer: Japan beats South Korea 2-1 at Olympic women's qualifier

Soccer: Japan beats South Korea 2-1 at Olympic women's qualifier Japan beat South Korea 2-1 here on Saturday night at the women's soccer Asian qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Midfielder Sakaguchi Mizuho lifted Janpan to the 1-0 lead by a header.South Korean Ji So Yun equalized the score 20 minutes later. Japan took the lead again with Ohno Shinobu's long shot just before the halftime whistler. Neither side managed to score in the second half, though both had plenty of chances. "Our team were too nervous at the beggining so that we lost one goal very early," said South Korea coach Choi In Cheul. "Players ajusted their attitude after that and soon we equalized the score. We lost the game because of the problem in physical fitness." Having won the first two games, Japan coach Sasaki Norio said, "Next game against Australia will be difficult, and we should do our best for three points." Also on Saturday, Asian Cup winners Australia crushed Thailand 5-1, and hosts China tied DPR Korea 0-0. After the second round, Japan led the tournament with six points, followed by DPR Korea with four points, Australia three points, China two points, South Korea one point, and Thailand nil. The top two finishers in Asia will get the Olympic berths.
5 Sep A 16-year-old boy from Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, in Japan who pretended to be an official of an organization supporting victims of the March 11 earthquake disaster, was arrested on suspicion of defrauding a communications equipment company out of walkie-talkies and other items. Police arrested the boy Tuesday for presenting what is believed to be a forged government subsidy application to the company's president, in a bid to gain his trust. According to the president of the company in Fuji of the prefecture, the company received a fax from the boy in mid-March that read: "We'd like to purchase walkie-talkies to use for rescue operations. We'll pay for them later, after receiving subsidies from the central and prefectural governments." (sacbee.com)
5 Sep The discovery that prosecutors failed to reveal evidence that would have thrown serious doubt on the conviction of a Nepalese man for murder is likely to affect a court decision on whether to allow a retrial in the case, observers said. The latest finding also may stir public debate over how evidence should be disclosed during trials. It has been learned that the blood type of saliva detected on the breast of the victim during police investigations was different from that of Govinda Prasad Mainali. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for killing the woman, an employee of Tokyo Electric Power Co., in 1997. (Yomiuri)
5 Sep A 43-year-old man was arrested early Saturday morning for striking two female coworkers with a metal bat at a nursing care facility for elderly people in Kamagaya, Chiba Prefecture, police said. An employee of the facility telephoned police at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday and said a man was acting violently with a metal bat. Officers from Kamagaya Police Station rushed to the scene, where they arrested Makoto Tajima, 43, on the second floor. (Yomiuri)
5 Sep One-time lawmaker Taizo Shibano was found hanged in his Tokyo office this morning, the same day that a key court ruling was to be announced, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Sep. 5). The 60-year-old Shibano, current president of bio-fuel firm Nippon Chuyu, was discovered hanging from a vinyl rope inside his office in the capital's Minato Ward sometime after 9:15 a.m. by a co-worker, said the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. A former Lower House member from the now-defunct Japan Renewal Party, Shibana had been on trial as president of Nippon Chuyu. According to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office, Nippon Chuyu falsely listed the company's capitalization upon establishment, in August 2009, at 20 million yen. The company was also accused of faking an increase in the company's capital to 1.25 billion yen later that same year. (Tokyo Reporter)
4 Sep A museum dedicated to the creator of the popular "Doraemon" cartoon series opened Saturday in Kawasaki, marking the fictional birthday of the catlike robot. The three-story Fujiko F. Fujio Museum has around 50,000 of the cartoonist's original drawings in storage, and about 130 of them on display, along with a desk and other items Fujiko used up until his death in 1996, the museum's operator said. (Japan Times)

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Barcelona beats Real Madrid with late winner from Messi

BARCELONA, Spain — Lionel Messi scored a late winner as Barcelona won its 10th Spanish Supercup with a dramatic 3-2 victory over bitter rival Real Madrid on Wednesday that ended with players from both clubs brawling on the Nou Camp pitch.

Messi volleyed Adriano's cross past Iker Casillas in the 87th minute to finish off a move started by recent arrival Cesc Fabregas, who made his Barcelona debut as a late substitute and helped his new club to a 5-4 win on aggregate in the two-legged series.

But a dramatic, up-tempo match in which Messi scored two goals and Madrid twice rallied to equalize descended into a scrum in injury time as tensions on the hot, humid night reached a climax after Madrid defender Marcelo's hasty challenge on Fabregas.

Players pushed and shoved each other after the ugly tackle in front of the benches, with Madrid coach Jose Mourinho appearing to put his hand into Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova's eye during the melee.

After the players and coaching staff were separated and three red cards were brandished, Barcelona lifted its record-equaling third straight Supercup and first in five tries against Madrid. That gave Pep Guardiola his 11th major piece of silverware, surpassing Johan Cruyff to become the Catalan club's most successful coach.

Guardiola praised his "mythical" players, labeling the victory an "honor" and a "privilege."

"For a preseason game to be played at this level? That was enormous," Guardiola said after the match. "Even when we won 5-0 against them last year I never thought we were so superior. It's always been a very difficult matchup for the history between the clubs."

Barcelona displayed all the verve of the beautiful game that guided it to Spanish league and Champions League triumphs last season while Madrid showed no capitulation after being held to a frustrating 2-2 draw in the first leg it dominated.

"I won't say we're not happy about not winning the Supercup because that would make me a hypocrite. (But) I'm very happy with the evolution of the team," said Mourinho.

Despite Cristiano Ronaldo nearly putting the visitors ahead in the opening seconds, Barcelona scored first as Messi slipped a perfect through ball for Andres Iniesta to chip over goalkeeper Iker Casillas for the 15th-minute opener as Barcelona's pinpoint passing — led by playmaker Xavi Hernandez — exploited the space between Madrid's defensive lines.

Madrid stormed back five minutes later as Ronaldo steered Benzema's low cross beyond goalkeeper Victor Valdes for the Portugal forward's first goal in his fifth visit to the Camp Nou.

Messi then capped a superb Barcelona move in the 45th as Gerard Pique sent a short backheel pass inside the box and into the path of the Argentina forward who continued his run toward the right corner before sending a shot back over Casillas and inside the far post.

Madrid recovered and, soon after Sergio Ramos headed wide, Benzema was in a perfect poaching position to equalize again in the 81st.

But Messi capped the spectacular and spiteful match with his record eighth Supercup goal to move two ahead of former Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez as all-time leading scorer in the preseason series.

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Djokovic beats Fish to lay hands on Rogers Cup in Montreal

MONTREAL — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic beat Mardy Fish 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Rogers Cup on Sunday for his ninth tournament title of the year and record fifth in a season in an ATP Masters event.

Djokovic, the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, is now 29-0 this year on hard courts and 53-1 overall. He also won the Rogers Cup in 2007.

"I am human — I can definitely assure you of that," the 24-year-old Serb said. "I guess it's just all about having a positive attitude on the court every day, waking up every day wanting to improve, wanting to win, being determined, being professional. It's that desire and motivation that keeps me going. Every match I play, I try to win, regardless which match it is or whoever is across the net."

The sixth-seeded Fish was the only player to win a set against Djokovic this week.

Fish has lost all seven career meetings with Djokovic, but gave the top seed a battle with his mix of baseline and attacking play.

"I put myself in a lot of positions to have chances," Fish said. "I just didn't execute on the big points. There's a reason why (Djokovic) has won so many matches this year. He's got to be leading the tour in break points saved, I'm sure, among other things. Those are huge."

Djokovic, who played night matches this week, looked uncomfortable from the outset in the afternoon match and needed to save six break points to get through the opening set.

He saved his eighth of the match before Fish finally broke him with a perfect forehand down the line to take a 3-2 lead in the second set. Djokovic looked lost as he was broken again to close out the set.

But Djokovic was near-perfect on his service in the final set, although he needed four break points, one of which he challenged a call and lost, before finally putting away Fish.

"It was a close match, for sure," Djokovic said. "A couple of points, one good return game in the third set, decided the winner. But it's a final. I knew that he is not going to give me the match and the win. I knew that I have to fight for it. Up to the last moment, you didn't really know who is going to win. But I believed I could do it. I had composure when I needed to. I think that was decisive."

Djokovic was playing his first event since winning Wimbledon, while Fish has been the hottest player of the hard-court season leading to the U.S. Open later this month. He has reached finals in three straight tournaments in the last month, winning in Atlanta.

Toronto AP

Eight weeks into her comeback, Serena Williams captured the Rogers Cup in commanding fashion Sunday, dispatching 10th-seed Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-4, 6-2 for her first Canadian crown since 2001.

The victory was just the latest step in a remarkable comeback from injury and illness that has seen her win two of the four tournaments she's played since being sidelined for 49 weeks.

"Being down the way I've been down and coming back, it was cool. Eight months ago if there was only one tournament I wanted to win, it was Toronto," Williams said. "For whatever reason, I really wanted to win this event. So seeing it come true is really cool. Just going through so much and being able to win is even more amazing."

Williams, who has 38 titles to her name including 13 Grand Slams, was sidelined just days after her Wimbledon victory last summer, first with a foot injury sustained when she stepped on a piece of glass in a restaurant in Germany, and then with blood clots in her lungs.

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