Wilkinson mulling future prospects

PARIS — Former England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson will decide on his career future in February, saying he will continue playing only if he feels it will benefit his club.

The 33-year-old retired from international rugby after last year's World Cup having won 91 caps for England and the British and Irish Lions. He has helped Toulon to first place in France's Top 14 this season. His contract expires at the end of the season.

"I'm capable of carrying on, but it's a delicate balance," Wilkinson said in an interview on Wednesday with sports daily L'Equipe. "The question isn't what I would like to do, but what is best for my team. After I've asked myself that question, then I'll think about myself."

Wilkinson is confident Toulon can win the Heineken Cup this season.

"Can we do the double? I say, yes," Wilkinson said. "I'm never satisfied, but I'm happy with how we've played. We're heading in the right direction."

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Torres doubts future at new champion Chelsea

MADRID — Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has cast doubt over his future at the newly crowned European champions, labeling this past season as the most difficult of his career.

Prized possession: Chelsea's Fernando Torres kisses the Champions League trophy after beating Bayern Munich on Saturday. AFP-JIJI

The ?50 million ($79 million) Spain international, who hit just six league goals this season, told Spanish sports newspaper AS that he was extremely disappointed not to be in the starting lineup for Saturday's Champions League final against Bayern Munich.

He added that he wants clarity over his role in the team.

"This season I have felt things that I hadn't felt before. I feel that I have been treated in a manner I did not expect, not the way they said when I signed for the club," Torres said.

"We have had many conversations and now the season is finished we will talk to see what happens with my future because what I have gone through this year is not the role for which I came.

"There have been many highs and lows, many times I felt lost. I wasn't sure what to do, I felt like I didn't know where to be."

Torres was an 84th-minute substitute at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, earning the corner from which Didier Drogba equalized, but did not take a penalty in the shootout.

Despite his limited contribution in Saturday's showpiece, Torres admitted Chelsea's improbable run to the Champions League title helped soothe his personal pain after a challenging year with the west London outfit.

"A victory like the one in Munich makes up for it, but I want someone to tell me what will happen in the future," he said.

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Kagawa refuses to discuss future

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Japan midfielder Shinji Kagawa is refusing to talk about his future as transfer rumors continue to swirl around the Borussia Dortmund playmaker.

"I don't think there's any need for me to answer that," Kagawa said on Saturday, when asked if he would be returning to two-time Bundesliga champion Dortmund next season.

"I want to be professional about it and just play hard to the last game of the season," he said.

Kagawa spoke after Dortmund thrashed Kaiserslautern 5-2 away with one match left in the campaign, which his team won last weekend. He came on in the 66th minute and set up the fifth 10 minutes later for Dortmund, which stretched its unbeaten run to 27 games.

Kagawa, whose contract with Dortmund expires in the summer of 2013, has been linked with Europe's biggest clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and AC Milan as the transfer window approaches.

The latest report out of Europe claims United has offered Kagawa a three-year deal worth €6 million in annual salary — double what Dortmund has tabled and a figure that would make the 23-year-old the highest-paid Japanese player ever.

Kagawa said it has been difficult enough remaining motivated without the distractions of all the transfer talk.

"It's been kind of a tricky week," he said. "It's hard to get up for it again after you've won the championship already."

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Nakajima stays hopeful of future chances to play in bigs

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — Seibu Lions captain Hiroyuki Nakajima said Tuesday that he plans to take another shot at playing in the majors next offseason, this time as a free agent.

"I've moved on," Nakajima said, after re-signing with the Lions for ?280 million plus incentives. "It is what is. There's nothing I can do anymore.

"If the opportunity comes around again, I want to take it. It just wasn't meant to be this time."

Nakajima had been posted by the Lions, but the New York Yankees, who entered a winning bid of $2.5 million for the exclusive rights to negotiate with the shortstop, broke off talks ahead of the deadline on Thursday.

He is the second player to have not signed during the 30-day negotiating period.

Former Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, who signed a one-year free-agent deal with the Seattle Mariners this winter, was the first, failing to strike a deal with the Oakland Athletics last year.

Nakajima said the Yankees were essentially not giving him a chance to win a starting job, considering him only as backup to infielders Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez not just for this season, but even beyond.

The 29-year-old Nakajima, who qualifies for free agency later this year, knew talks were always going to be difficult but felt the Yankees were far too unilateral in their approach.

"I'd been told all along the terms and conditions of the deal weren't going to be great, so when it fell apart I was like, 'Oh.' I didn't think too much of it," said Nakajima, a career .302 hitter in 10 seasons with the Lions.

"I didn't really care how much I got paid, but it was the little things. I could live with being a backup for a year because I know I could have learned a lot, but they wanted everything on their terms even beyond one season.

"My agent told me that if this is all I was getting, I'd be better off waiting a year and then talk to more than one team."

Asked if he thought the existing posting system is flawed, Nakajima said, "It's tough to say because I didn't handle the actual negotiations, but I'd probably say the player is at somewhat of a disadvantage."

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Terry's future with England in doubt

LONDON — The season of goodwill? I don't think so. Happy New Year? I doubt it.

In the coming weeks John Terry, the England captain and Harry Redknapp, the England manager-elect, will both appear in court, Terry charged with a racism offense and Redknapp with tax evasion. Both have denied the charges but there could hardly be a more embarrassing end of 2011 for the Football Association.

On Tuesday, Liverpool's Luis Suarez was found guilty by the F.A. of misconduct . . . using insulting words, including a reference to the color of Manchester United's Patrice Evra. The Uruguayan was handed an eight-game suspension and a ?40,000 fine, pending appeal.

The following day the Crown Prosecution Service announced Chelsea and England captain Terry will appear at a magistrates' court on Feb. 1 charged with using racist language toward Anton Ferdinand of Queens Park Rangers on Oct. 23.

While the rest of the world seems to regard racism as a minor irritant, England should be applauded in adopting a zero-tolerance stance. The F.A. may get many things wrong but not this.

There has to be a presumption of innocence until proven guilty but even if acquitted it is impossible to imagine Terry playing alongside Rio Ferdinand, Anton's brother, for England as he has many times. The F.A. has been handed the hottest of potatoes: if, as seems likely, Terry's court appearance is delayed, should a player accused of racism lead his country against the Netherlands on Feb. 29?

The F.A.'s main sponsors will feel uneasy about someone, albeit an innocent person but one charged with alleged racism, effectively promoting their products. Terry's previous indiscretions have reduced his number of sympathizers significantly and most of the country would be unhappy with someone accused of racially abusing an opponent wearing the captain's armband and singing the national anthem. Innocent, yes, but Terry should be taken out of the England spotlight until his trial has reached a conclusion.

It is a decision the F.A. rather than Fabio Capello should make though the only comment the governing body has made is "no comment." Terry's career, certainly at the international level, is on the line because if he is found guilty of racially abusing an opponent he cannot lead an England team containing several black players. Even playing for his country again would send out the wrong message. Should Terry be convicted in law, an F.A. charge would then be inevitable with a similar punishment to that handed to Suarez if found guilty.

Every touch by Suarez, at Wigan and Terry, at Tottenham, this week was booed by opposing fans. It will continue and though there was an ounce of understanding for Suarez it has been buried in the crass reaction of Liverpool. When Suarez was charged they immediately backed him without any internal inquiry; when found guilty Liverpool claimed the F.A. was "determined to bring charges even before interviewing him," and was "pre-judging" the Uruguayan when the club has done precisely that.

The same applies to Chelsea with Terry but for Andre Villas-Boas to offer unswerving support "whatever the outcome . . . I will support him even if he is found guilty," will be seen as condoning racism. You cannot defend the indefensible but of course with so much self-interest that is what clubs do. Clubs also back players who break opponents' legs, abuse referees, dive to obtain penalties and exaggerate pain level to get a member of the opposition sent off. If a player is one of theirs, blind loyalty is the order of the day.

Both Liverpool and Chelsea should have waited until they had studied the evidence that saw an independent F.A. regulatory commission find Suarez guilty and the CPS to charge Terry rather than assume innocence or in Liverpool's case also be in denial. Suarez was found guilty of making a racist comment and banned for eight games — at Wigan his teammates wore T-shirts in support.

In whichever context Suarez believed he was using "negrito" — I have a friend whose white Colombian wife is known as Negra because of her jet-black hair — it still breaches F.A. regulations relating to a person's color. I can accept in his mind he probably didn't use it as an out-and- out racist term but Suarez should be experienced enough to realize that what is accepted in South America is not accepted in England. Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law.

* * *

DAVID MOYES, the Everton manager, left the Blackburn vs. Bolton game at halftime because he was so disgusted with the abuse the home fans were giving Steve Kean.

I cannot remember such vitriol being directed at a manager as Kean is enduring. Emotion is one thing but when this borders on hatred it is utterly unacceptable.

In no other profession does anyone turn up for work and see his name with the word "out" next to it on banners, with thousands chanting for him to be sacked. Kean has conducted himself with professionalism and restraint but the lame-duck manager is not the real villain in the demise of Blackburn.

Venky's, the club's India-based owners, have ripped the heart from the club that is the cornerstone of the local community, the lifeblood of many in the Lancashire town. Just over a year ago, they sacked Sam Allardyce, a respected manager with a record of success, and replaced him with the untried Kean, who they have left to be hung out to dry. If Venky's had tried to ruin a club, it is unlikely they could have done better — or worse.

Christopher Davies was a longtime Premier League correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph.

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Future could be brighter for NPB hitters in 2012

The 2011 Japanese pro baseball season will be forever remembered as the year of the pitcher. This is due to the new NPB baseball and the slightly darker stadiums because of energy-saving measures implemented following the triple disasters of March 11; earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant problems.

What about 2012, however? Will the confident hurlers continue to dominate frustrated hitters? Will ERAs batting percentages, home runs and game scores remain lower? Or can we see a resurgence of the long ball, higher scoring games and the occasional slugfest?

The lighting problem is expected to be long gone when the next season opens at the end of March, but NPB is not going to change the ball put into play this year. So, can we expect to see a more balanced game in the Central and Pacific Leagues?

Anything like what we saw during the era of the "old ball" used through 2010? Maybe just a little more time is needed before things even out.

Players, coaches and managers commented during the past year about the ball and ballpark visibility, and below are some samples of what they said.

Regarding the lights, you may recall there were no night games in the outdoor ball parks nearest to the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in April, after opening day was postponed from March 25 to April 12. Only day games were played in Sendai, Chiba, Yokohama and Tokyo's Jingu Stadium through Golden Week (April 29-May 6), and no games at all were played in Tokyo Dome or Seibu Dome until May.

At one point it had been feared Tokyo Dome could not be used at all for baseball in 2011, but that turned out to be a false rumor, and the Yomiuri Giants played home games at the Big Egg from May 3. Through the end of August, however, it was said the lighting was reduced to about 80 percent all summer until full power was finally restored Sept. 1.

Yomiuri Giants slugger Alex Ramirez, now with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, saw his offensive production drop from 49 home runs in 2010 to 23 this year, 129 RBIs to 73, and his batting average fell from .304 to .279.

Ramirez said in July he realized there was a "blind spot" between the pitcher's mound and home plate at Tokyo Dome where the ball seemed to disappear, then reappear, sort of like at an outdoor day game on a sunny day when the pitcher and batter are in the sun, but there is a shadow in between.

Apparently, one of the lights illuminating the path of the pitched ball had been turned off, and that, said Ramirez, caused the hitters to lose it for a split-second, not on every pitch, but on certain deliveries. The problem was gone in September when all the lights were turned on again.

Yakult Swallows veteran outfielder Aaron Guiel, coming back from an injury and making his first 2011 appearance at Tokyo Dome on Aug. 21, emerged from the clubhouse for pre-game practice, took a look at the field and said, "My God, it's dark in here." And that was at 11 a.m. for a day game.

Hanshin Tigers player Matt Murton, the Central League batting title runnerup with a .311 average, said about hitting in Tokyo Dome earlier in the season, "Can I see the ball? Yes. Can I see the ball well? No."

Murton wore yellow-tinted goggle-type glasses into the batter's box throughout the season when the Tigers visited the Giants but, when Hanshin played its final Tokyo Dome series of the year in October, the eyewear was no longer needed.

So, there should be no lighting problems next season, but what about the ball? The hitters complained all year about it. American infielder Rusty Ryal, released by the Giants after an unproductive season, said, "The ball even feels strange. The seams are too high and it is nothing like the major league ball."

Lefty-hitting first basemen Brett Harper of the Yokohama BayStars and Craig Brazell of the Tigers both said they changed their hitting styles, aiming up the middle and knocking out more line drives between left-center and right-center field, rather than going for the home run.

Harper hit 19 homers in half a season in 2010 but only managed nine in an almost-full 2011 campaign. Brazell's long ball total plummeted from 47 in 2010 to only 16 this year.

Ramirez said some Japanese left-handed sluggers such as Michihiro Ogasawara of the Giants and Masahiko Morino of the Chunichi Dragons ruined their swings, because they discovered they could no longer hit the ball over the fence in left field and began to try to pull everything. The ball simply did not carry, but the future may be brighter.

Here is why there is hope for more excitement on offense in 2012. One of the Japanese managers said he heard the ball was being produced better as the year went along. Indeed, it seemed there were more homers hit during the last month of the season, and the improved lighting was not the only factor. There was a semi-joke going around that maybe someone had snuck some of the old baseballs into the umpires' waist pouches, but that was not the case.

"It's a Mizuno-manufactured ball, but it is made in China," said the manager. "At first, the workers were not used to making it but, as they got more experience putting it together, they became more skillful, and the ball was being made as it is supposed to be, and that's why we were seeing more homers later in the year."

If the trend continues, we should see a reduction in those low-scoring pitchers' battles and better run production when the bell rings again in the spring, but only time will tell.

Contact Wayne Graczyk at Wayne@JapanBall.com

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NSK gets a glimpse of a (potentially) bright future

In May the English soccer team Manchester United won their 19th English league championship to date — and the world watched on TV, the Internet and via a wealth of other media sources.

A little over a week later, half way around the globe Yokozuna Hakuho went 13-2 between May 8 and the 22nd to secure his own 19th title in Japan's national sport — and no one noticed. Or so the folks at NHK would have us believe.

As part of the after-effects of the match-rigging scandal so well documented in recent months, the Sumo Association (NSK) was informed that the national broadcaster (NHK) would not be broadcasting the most recent basho live even if they did let highlight bouts appear on their evening news shows.

But in making such a decision, a typical self-appreciating gesture to seem at one with perceived public opinion condemning yaocho and all those admitting having thrown bouts, NHK have now relegated themselves in the eyes of most fans to "also-rans" in the quest to broadcast the sport.

Hakuho's #19 will count in official records. The win/loss records of all those who participated will be recorded on each man's individual score cards.* Special prizes, although not actually awarded on the final day of action, will be counted come the end of the careers of all those weathering the current sumo storm, and regardless of the name of the event being changed from Natsu Basho to the May Technical Examination Tournament, the only real losers in the long-term will be shown to be NHK.

Fans around the world were this time treated to a full day of sumo. From the earliest bouts in the morning right up until the final bout of the day featuring the top-ranked rikishi. Everything happening on the dohyo was out there on the Internet for fans and casual viewers to enjoy. Such expansive coverage is something NHK has never managed to achieve, despite the power they wield over sumo. Add to this the fact that the NHK BS shows have now even cut the old viewing options from around 1 p.m. each day in Japan, and the chance to see anything but the upper divisions is anything but rosy.

Publicity of far greater numbers than has ever been realized before has opened the door to new demographics. Leading the charge was the online broadcaster Nico Nico, which required pre-registration but who then received incredible online praise on sumo fan forums for their sterling efforts at improved quality and sound in addition to extended coverage online. Even the NSK itself upped its own game with its own "captioned" in-house coverage which, until now, was regularly the recipient of criticism for the poor quality of its (stream) feed and limited opportunities to see any bouts below the second division.

As such every man in the sport will now realize that the Nihon Sumo Kyokai should at the very least consider the ball and chain-like agreement it has with NHK. They should contemplate bringing in a few decent promoters and then see the world open up as their proverbial oyster.

Scandals happen in many sports around the world. The difference is that the rest of the world moves on while the Japanese never seem to forgive or forget. The bout-fixing scandal happened, the participants are human, bad apples and all that, but life moves on. Or at least it should.

In the sumo world the apologies have been made, and those admitting to throwing matches booted out. The courts can handle those claiming unfair dismissal, but the sport needs to look to the future and bring in outside promoters who can take sumo to as many screens as possible — via dedicated websites, online streams, social media, etc. The year is 2011, and as old and archaic as some of the traditions in sumo are, the need to look the modern world square in the face is there.

NSK should consider the Manchester United of just 20 years ago. Popular, yes, but they were wallowing in mid-table for many years in the English (old) First Division. A few moments of glory came their way thanks to domestic cup wins but nothing major — and then they got rid of an unpopular owner at the end of the 1980s. Coupled to a switch in the day-to-day team management a couple of years earlier, going public and a massive PR campaign, this led to more trophies over the next decade and a half than most can even remember. Today they are arguably the biggest soccer team on the planet (even if they did lose in the May 29th Champions League Final). The team now claims millions of fans worldwide, and there is never an empty seat in their home ground of 76,000 or so. This is the kind of fame that could be realized once again in sumo, if the men in charge of the NSK and the 11,000 seater Ryogoku Kokugikan start thinking tomorrow, five years down the line, 10 years . . . if, but only if!

Here's praying they do so without NHK by their side!

* Each rikishi, from the lowest ranked to the yokozuna has a paper, hand maintained record showing wins and losses, as well as opponents on any given day from the first bouts in their career to their final appearance on the dohyo.

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