The Korea Herald

Madonna tells fans to vote for ‘black Muslim’ Obama

Sept 26, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Pop diva Madonna urged fans to vote for President Barack Obama in America’s November election, but raised eyebrows by calling him a “black Muslim,” according to a video posted online Tuesday.In the clip reportedly shot during a concert Monday night, she listed American icons Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King before turning to Obama, of whom she is a well-known supporter.“And now it is so amazing and incredible to think we have an African American in the White House,” she
Braves back in playoffs with win over Marlins

Sept 26, 2012

ATLANTA (AP) ― This time, the Atlanta Braves held onto their big lead and locked up a playoff trip with plenty of time to spare.It couldn’t have felt any sweeter for retiring star Chipper Jones.Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to put Atlanta back in the postseason with a 4-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.Freeman’s dramatic drive off Mike Dunn clinched at least a National League wild-card berth for the Braves, who squandered a big lead in the
Pro baseball league sets single-season attendance record

Sept 25, 2012

The nation's top professional baseball league on Tuesday established a new single-season attendance record.The Korea Baseball Organization said through Tuesday's games, 6,810,926 fans have gone to see the eight teams in the top baseball competition, surpassing the previous record of 6,810,028 last year. The league office said the three games on Tuesday drew 25,900 fans at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul,
KBO playoff schedule set

Sept 25, 2012

The nation’s top baseball league on Tuesday announced the playoff schedule for this fall.The Korea Baseball Organization said the postseason will get underway on Oct. 8 and the championship Korean Series, if it goes the distance, will end on Nov. 1.In the eight-team KBO, the top four teams advance to the playoffs. The regular season champion gets a bye to the Korean Series, while the No. 2 team goes straight to the second round. The No. 3 and the No. 4 teams square off in the best-of-five first
Baseball veteran Jang Sung-ho reaches 2,000 career hits

Sept 18, 2012

Veteran first baseman Jang Sung-ho of the Hanwha Eagles on Tuesday became the third player to reach 2,000 career hits in the nation's top baseball league.In the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) action in Pohang, some 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Jang lined a single to right field off the Samsung Lions starter Brian Gordon for the milestone in the top of the fifth.Retired Yang Jun-hyuk is th
Manager of Nexen fired

Sept 18, 2012

The Nexen Heroes fired Kim Si-jin as their manager.The Heroes terminated their contract with Kim, who had signed a three-year extension last season, said officials of the Korea Baseball Organization team. He is the second managerial casualty in the KBO this year, after the last-place Hanwha Eagles let go of their manager Han Dae-hwa in late August.Bench coach Kim Sung-kap will be the interim manager for the rest of the season, officials added.Kim Si-jin, 54, took over as the Heroes’ manager in 2
White Sox pad lead in AL Central

Sept 18, 2012

CHICAGO (AP) ― Alex Rios went barreling into second base with a hard slide that teammate Gordon Beckham said might be the biggest play of the season for the White Sox as they try to win the AL Central.Rios was trying to break up a double play and when he went into Detroit second baseman Omar Infante, it caused an errant throw that allowed the tying and go-ahead runs to score Monday as the White Sox beat the Tigers 5-4 and went up three games in division.“That’s a situation where every second bas
Martin’s 3-run HR helps Yanks sink fading Rays

Sept 17, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) ― Nick Swisher drew a nice cheer for his rare bunt, Eduardo Nunez energized the crowd with three steals, and Russell Martin earned the biggest ovation for his home run.The New York Yankees mixed and matched against Tampa Bay ― at the plate and on the mound ― and emerged with a 6-4 win Sunday that kept them ahead in the AL East and ended a most damaging road trip for the Rays.Now, the Yankees can relax. For a bit, anyway.“We have a day off. Guys are going to rest tomorrow,” manager
Nova sharp in return as Yanks down Rays

Sept 16, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) ― Some critical reinforcements are still on the way for the Yankees. With the AL East race up for grabs, New York would be thrilled if those players are as sharp as Ivan Nova when they get back.Nova was downright nasty in his return from a shoulder injury and New York got back-to-back home runs from Curtis Granderson and Eduardo Nunez in a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.“Even though he hadn’t pitched a lot, you could see where his endurance level was, where his vel
White Sox tame Tigers

Sept 11, 2012

CHICAGO (AP) ― Jose Quintana pitched effectively into the eighth inning, Alex Rios and A.J. Pierzynski hit back-to-back homers in the sixth and the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 6-1 Monday night to increase their AL Central lead to three games.The Sox had lost seven straight to Detroit, managed just two hits against Rick Porcello and were 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position when an error on Detroit second baseman Omar Infante gave them an opening.Infante muffed Dewayne Wise’s e
Elbow pain forces Park off roster

Sept 11, 2012

Park Chan-ho, the first South Korean in U.S. major league history, has been taken off the top-tier lineup of the Hanwha Eagles. He was delisted from the first division for the first time since his debut in Korea this season after playing in the U.S. and Japan. So far this year, the 39-year-old veteran pitcher had sat out two games due to fatigue and back pain but stayed on the list.“I removed Park from the entry list due to his continued elbow pain,” acting manager Han Yong-duk told reporters on
Granderson steps up in bench role

Sept 10, 2012

BALTIMORE (AP) ― The New York Yankees escaped from Camden Yards with their lead in the AL East intact, and as a bonus, slugger Curtis Granderson worked his way out of an annoying slump.Granderson came off the bench to hit his 35th homer and drive in five runs, and New York beat the Baltimore Orioles 13-3 on Sunday to regain sole possession of first place in the division and earn an important split of the season series.Derek Jeter also homered for the Yankees, who lead the Orioles by one game wit
O’s hit 3 HRs to hold off Yankees

Sept 9, 2012

BALTIMORE (AP) ― In a duel for first place in the AL East, neither team was happy after a tense game that went down to the final questionable out.The Orioles beat the Yankees 5-4 on Saturday night to regain a share of the top spot in the division with New York, but Baltimore lost right fielder Nick Markakis for six weeks in the process.Markakis broke his left thumb, the result of being struck by a fifth-inning pitch from left-hander CC Sabathia. The injury will keep him sidelined for the rest of
Korea finishes fifth in youth baseball tourney

Sept 9, 2012

Host South Korea finished fifth at the world youth baseball championship in Seoul Saturday, defeating Japan 3-0 to avenge an earlier loss.In U18 World Championship action at Mokdong Stadium, right-hander Lee Geon-wook threw eight scoreless innings, and Yoon Dae-young hit South Korea’s first and only home run of the tournament in the ninth for the shutout victory.Two days earlier, Japan had beaten South Korea 4-2 in second-round action, a defeat that eventually relegated South Korea to the fifth-
O’s forge tie with Yanks atop AL East

Sept 7, 2012

BALTIMORE (AP) ― Adam Jones had heard tales about how Camden Yards used to be when the place was packed and the Orioles were in a pennant race.With one dramatic swing of the bat, Jones found out for himself just how crazy the place can get.Jones hit the first of Baltimore’s three home runs in a wild eighth inning, and the Orioles climbed back into a first-place tie with the Yankees in the AL East by defeating New York 10-6 Thursday night before a euphoric sellout crowd.Mark Reynolds had two of B