With knockout berth secured, Korea to go all out vs. Australia

INCHEON (Yonhap) ― South Korean pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong, who was honored as the top homegrown hurler in the nation’s top league last year, said Friday he is hoping for an even better season in 2015, both for himself and for his pitching brethren.Yang and his Korea Baseball Organization club, the Kia Tigers, left for their spring training site in Okinawa, Japan, on Friday. Speaking to reporters at Incheon International Airport, Yang said he wants to improve on his 2014 season.The 26-year-old led

HONOLULU (AP) ― Webb Simpson made his debut with a conventional putter Thursday at the Sony Open and might have wished he had used one sooner.One year away from the new rule that outlaws anchored strokes, Simpson ditched his belly putter for a regular one for his 2015 debut and ran off eight birdies over his last 10 holes for an 8-under 62 that gave him a share of the early lead with Paul Casey.On a day that made the 144 players feel they were in paradise, Simpson and Casey led a morning of low

Group A’s top seed at stake

INCHEON (Yonhap) ― With his dream of playing in Major League Baseball on hold, South Korean pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun said Thursday he has chosen only to look forward.Kim, a left-hander for the SK Wyverns in the Korea Baseball Organization, departed for the team’s spring training site in Florida with his teammates. Speaking to reporters at Incheon International Airport ahead of the flight, Kim said he will try to put his past disappointments behind him.“I’ve had some difficult times and I was at fi

Rory McIlroy isn’t divulging what is on his list of seven goals for 2015 that he jotted down on the back of his boarding pass on a flight to Dubai last week.Completing a career Grand Slam at the Masters in April? Surely that was No. 1. A court case against his former management company, scheduled for February, is also a defining early year date for the world’s top-ranked player.Winning this week’s Abu Dhabi Championship may not have been on the list, but it would end years of frustration for McI

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (AP) ― Seattle’s Richard Sherman may have more to do this time against the Green Bay Packers.The Packers didn’t throw in the Pro Bowl cornerback’s direction when the teams met in the season opener in September, a 36-16 win for the Seahawks.The game plan for the rematch on Sunday in the NFC title game is still in flux. Still, the offense seems better equipped this time around to face Sherman and Seattle’s swarming defense. The Green Bay Packers’ Jordy Nelson (left) and Aaron

INCHEON (Yonhap) ― On the verge of joining the Pittsburgh Pirates with his first Major League Baseball contract, South Korean shortstop Kang Jung-ho said Wednesday he is confident he can outplay the Bucs’ incumbent shortstop if given an opportunity.Kang left for Pittsburgh on Wednesday, a day after a U.S. report claimed that he and the Pirates had agreed to a four-year deal worth about $16 million. Speaking to reporters at Incheon International Airport, Kang insisted no deal was in place yet, bu

CANBERRA (Yonhap) ― South Korea may have defeated Kuwait 1-0 at the ongoing AFC Asian Cup in Canberra on Tuesday, but South Korea’s head coach Uli Stielike said the loser was actually the better team.Nam Tae-hee headed in the winner in the 36th minute for South Korea, which had to hold on for dear life for most of the second half, as Kuwait kept pressure on the sloppy South Korean defense.“I hate to admit it but Kuwait was the better team in many aspects,” Stielike said. “They battled hard for t

Kang Jung-ho signs four-year deal with Pittsburgh

CANBERRA (Yonhap) ― South Korean midfielder Lee Chung-yong has been ruled out of the ongoing AFC Asian Cup with a hairline fracture to his right tibia, national team officials announced Tuesday, dealing a huge blow to the country’s hopes to end a half-century title drought at the continental tournament.The Korea Football Association said Lee, the team’s assistant captain, was diagnosed with the fracture Monday. Though he can engage in daily activities, doctors recommended that he sit out footbal