Japanese Sports Briefs

Oct 7, 2008 - 2:44 PM (Courtesy of Kyodo News Service)

TOKYO, Oct. 7 Kyodo ----------

Baseball: Oh denied winning finale as Hawks finish last in PL

SENDAI - The Softbank Hawks failed to bid farewell to manager Sadaharu Oh with a victory Tuesday, losing to the Rakuten Eagles 1-0 in 12 innings to finish the season in last place for the first time since 1996.

The 68-year-old Oh leaves his post due to health reasons after guiding the Hawks to Pacific League titles in 1999, 2000 and 2003 and Japan Series titles in 1999 and 2003 during his 14 years at the helm. In the Central League, the Yakult Swallows crushed the Chunichi Dragons 17-1 and a game between the Hanshin Tigers and the Yokohama BayStars was postponed due to rain in Yokohama. ----------

Baseball: Rakuten ace Iwakuma wins 3 PL pitching titles

TOKYO - Rakuten Eagles right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma finished first in the Pacific League with 21 wins, a 1.87 ERA and a .840 winning percentage as the league concluded its 2008 regular season schedule Tuesday.

Back from shoulder and elbow injuries that limited him to a total of 22 starts and six wins the past two seasons, Iwakuma won five more than Nippon Ham Fighters right-hander Yu Darvish to be the PL winningest pitcher for the second time in his career and first since 2004 for the Kintetsu Buffaloes. ----------

Baseball: Head coach Akiyama to succeed Softbank manager Oh

FUKUOKA - Softbank Hawks head coach Koji Akiyama will take over as the team's new manager for outgoing skipper Sadaharu Oh, baseball sources said Tuesday.

Akiyama, 46, is scheduled to give a press conference upon the team's return to Fukuoka on Wednesday. ----------

Baseball: Top amateur pitcher Tazawa remains firm in MLB bid

TOKYO - Highly touted fastballer Junichi Tazawa reiterated his intention Tuesday to pursue a major league career by dodging the Japanese draft amid fierce opposition from Japanese baseball officials.

''I want to play in the United States first. I'm not thinking about coming back to Japan at this point,'' the 22-year-old right-hander said in Kawasaki, where his Nippon Oil corporate team held practice the same day. ----------

Judo: Olympic champ Ishii unclear on pro martial artist switch

TOKYO - Japanese judoka Satoshi Ishii, who won the men's over 100-kilogram gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, was vague on Tuesday about his intentions to quit the sport and become a professional mixed martial artist.

The 21-year-old Ishii held a press conference at his school's dormitory at Kokushikan University the same day but only went as far as to say that he might consider a move to mixed martial arts. ----------

Baseball: Iwamura gets 2 hits as Rays reach ALCS vs Red Sox

CHICAGO - Akinori Iwamura had two hits and scored a run as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 6-2 Monday to advance to the American League championship series.

The Rays won their AL division series three games to one and will play the Boston Red Sox, who wrapped up the other division series with a 3-2 walk-off victory over the Los Angeles Angels in Game 4 Monday, for a spot in the World Series. ----------

Wrestlers admit to hazing, causing teen wrestler's death

NAGOYA - Three sumo wrestlers indicted for the hazing of a 17-year-old stablemate who later died from multiple-trauma shock pleaded guilty during their first hearing at the Nagoya District Court Tuesday.

The defense counsel for the wrestlers -- Yuichiro Izuka, 25, Masakazu Kimura, 25, and Masanori Fujii, 23 -- asserted that they did so only on the instructions of their then stablemaster Tokitsukaze, whose real name is Junichi Yamamoto, 58.