Otto's blog

J Soccer Magazine Article

9月

30日

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Teragoya teacher Stuart has another article (= story) in the latest (= new) JSoccer magazine. This time, it`s not about J1 or even J2. It`s about the new J3, which will start next year. Stuart is pretty excited about it. After reading his article, I am too. Well, just a little.

Well done, Stuart - nice research & nice article!

Lucas Neill

8月

29日

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I was surprised to hear that Australian footballer Lucas Neill has joined J-League team Omiya Ardija. He`s pretty famous. In fact, he`s the current (= now) Australian national soccer team captain. He`s also pretty muscly, which makes his uniform look small on him...

Nagoya will play Omiya at Toyota Stadium on October 27. I`m thinking of going.

Nagoya v Arsenal

7月

24日

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On Monday night I went to Toyota stadium to see Nagoya FC versus Arsenal. English Premier league teams don`t often visit Nagoya, so I didn`t want to miss this chance. It seems a lot of other people felt the same - the stadium was almost full.

And what a stadium! I`d never been there before. I was really impressed. It not only looks great, but the stands are very steep (きゅう), so our view of the field was excellent, even though we chose the cheap seats.

The quality of the football was also great - a big step up from FC Gifu & my hometown team Brisbane Roar...

By the way, Arsenal won 1-3.

Kasamatsu Horse Racing

7月

24日

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One of our Teragoya students is a horse trainer. He told me that his horse would race on the weekend at Kasamatsu Racecourse, so I decided to take my son to go & watch.

Kasamatsu Racecourse is right beside the Meitetsu train line, so I can see it clearly when I catch the train to work every Saturday. I always thought "I`ve never seen a live horse race. One day I should go there & watch one..." Finally I did it!

I`m not really into gambling, but I bet 200yen on my friend`s horse to win. And it did! It won! I was really happy.

...until I put my ticket in the machine & only got 240yen back. What!? Only 40yen extra?!?! For a win?!?! I was disappointed (がっかりした).

But my son & I had a good time. It was an interesting experience (けいけん).

Australia Into 2014 World Cup

6月

18日

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Tonight Australia qualified for the 2014 World Cup by beating Iraq 1-0. The goal was scored by Josh Kennedy, who plays for Nagoya Grampus.

Japan have already qualified, so it`s possible that Australia & Japan will meet again in Brazil! Now I`m REALLY looking forward to next year`s World Cup. How about you?

JSoccer Magazine & Website

6月

9日

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Speaking of football/soccer, one of our Teragoya teachers, Stuart, writes for a magazine & website called JSoccer. Most of the articles are in both English & Japanese so it`s a good way to not only get interesting football news, but also study some English (if you`re Japanese), or Japanese (if you`re not).

Now that Japan has confirmed its place in next year`s World Cup, it`s a good time to start learning about your players, right? Then, next year when everyone is talking about football, you can impress both friends & good-looking strangers with your knowledge.

http://www.jsoccer.com

Good job, Stuart.

Australia v Japan Football

6月

7日

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Did you watch the game on Tuesday night? I recorded the game & watched it after I finished work at 10pm. I was worried somebody would tell me the score [とくてん?] before then, but fortunately nobody told me.

I thought it was an exciting game. I was supporting [おうえんする] Australia, so I was disappointed that Japan got a late PK, but I think a draw is an okay result for Australia. Actually, overall [すべて]　I think Japan played better.

Australia has two more qualifying games left [のこり]. They will play in Australia, which is good. Playing away from home is tough, especially in front of 60,000 Japanese fans! They`re very enthusiastic　[ちからがはいる?]! I think that helped Japan on Tuesday night, especially at the end.

Olympics Report #3

8月

20日

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Did you enjoy the Olympics? It`s hard not to get interested when it`s on TV all day [ichinichiju] every day [mainichi] twenty-four seven [shirokujichu].

Anyway, who did better - Australia or Japan? Well, Japan got more medals (38) than Australia (35) - winner: JAPAN!

But Australia got 7 gold & 16 silver, while Japan got 7 gold & only 14 silver, so that`s why Australia was listed 10th, & Japan 11th on the official medal list. Winner: AUSTRALIA!

But Australia sent 410 athletes, Japan only 305, so Australia: 410 / 35 = 1 medal per 11.7 athletes. Japan: 305 / 38 = 1 medal per 8 athletes. Winner: JAPAN!

But Australia`s population [jinkou] is 23 million, Japan`s is 127 million, so Australia: 23M / 35 = 1 medal per 0.66M people. Japan: 127M / 38 = 1 medal per 3.3M people. Winner: AUSTRALIA!

Wow. I haven`t used a calculator for a long time.

Olympics Report #2

8月

12日

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Argh! The USA beat Japan in the women`s football final. It was an entertaining game, & the teams were evenly-matched. However, I was disappointed that the German referee missed a lot of fouls by the Americans, including a clear handball in the penalty box, as you can see above.

Never mind. An Olympic silver medal is a great result. Well done, Nadeshiko!

The men`s team didn`t get a medal. I don`t feel so bad about that, because I really dislike Yuki Otsu. He plays dirty & he cries too much.

Olympics Report #1

8月

10日

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Have you been watching the Olympics? I`ve watched some events, but I`m only really interested in the football. Japan`s men`s & women`s teams have both done well. I`m really excited about the women`s final between Japan & The U.S. later tonight. The U.S. are desperate for revenge for their World Cup loss to Japan last year, so it`s going to be an emotional, physical game. Come on, Japan!

I also watched a bit of archery. I was really impressed by the venue - Lord`s Cricket Ground. The archers standing on the neat, green grass in front of the beautiful 120 year old Pavilion was a wonderful sight.

Australia isn`t doing so well these Olympics. Even though we sent 410 athletes, we have only won 27 medals so far. Japan sent 305 athletes, but has won 31 medals.

Come on, Australia - get off facebook & twitter! Focus!