SPORTS / U.S.A.
April 4, 2016
Korean hitters try to succeed
in major league baseball
Hmong-American poet Mai Der
Vang wins prize for best debut
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
Continued from page 7
in that category, including 2010,
when he hit a home run in nine
consecutive games en route to a
career-best 44.
After moving to the NPB, Lee
averaged more than 24 home runs
with the Orix Blue Wave and the
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Last
season, he led Fukuoka to the Japan
Series by hitting 31 home runs, his
best output since 2010. After the
Hawks won the series, Lee became
the first Korean player to be named
as series MVP.
Though he sounds as promising as
Park, Lee is five years older and 100
pounds heavier than Park. This adds
enough uncertainty for Seattle to sign
Lee, a free agent, to just a minor-
league deal. He has hit .250 so far in
spring training, with one home run,
but he has looked impressive enough
that he is expected to make the
Opening Day roster.
On top of the two KBO and six NPB
pitchers currently in MLB, Asian-
Man pleads guilty to laundering
$2M of fraudulent proceeds
LOOKING FOR HITTERS. Jung-ho Kang of the Pittsburgh Pirates rounds third base on his
way to scoring against the Milwaukee Brewers in the sixth inning of a baseball game last season.
Kang scored on a single by Chris Stewart. (AP Photo/Fred Vuich, File)
American sports fans will have these
new Korean hitters to watch and
cheer for. If these hitters can succeed
in MLB the way Ichiro and other
Japanese position players have,
expect many more to follow.
China through to final stage of 2018 World Cup qualifiers
By John Duerden
The Associated Press
X
IAN,
China
—
China
advanced to the final Asian
qualifying round for the
World Cup for the first time since
2002 after a 2-0 victory over Qatar.
Second-half goals in Xian from
Huang Bowen and Wu Lei were
enough to defeat the group leaders
and send China through to the last 12
as one of the best four runners-up
from the eight groups, as the second
round
of
Asian
qualification
concluded.
China joins group winners Japan,
South Korea, Australia, Iran, Uzbek-
istan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and
Qatar and the other three best sec-
ond-place teams United Arab Emi-
rates, Syria, and Iraq in the final
stage for the 2018 tournament in
Russia.
Backed by almost 50,000 fans,
China knew that nothing less than a
win would keep their hopes alive and
Huang’s low shot from the edge of the
area after 57 minutes broke the dead-
lock against Group E winner Qatar.
With two minutes remaining, Wu
Lei scored to seal the win.
“It was a tough game,” said China
coach Gao Hongbo. “But the players
did what they had to do. We will enjoy
this result for a little while before
thinking about what comes next.”
A first-half double from Tim Cahill
helped Australia to a 5-1 win over
Jordan. Aaron Mooy also scored as
Australia went 3-0 up at halftime
before Tomas Rogic and Massimo
Luongo completed the scoring for the
host. Abdallah Deeb notched a late
consolation goal in Harry Redknapp’s
last match in charge of Jordan.
Former
Tottenham
manager
Redknapp agreed to a two-game deal
for Jordan’s final qualifiers. It beat
Bangladesh 8-0 before the loss.
The result meant Australia
finished top of Group B and ended
Jordan’s hopes of the final stage.
“They were a much stronger team
than we were,” Redknapp told Aus-
tralian media. “They were sharper. I
suppose it’s difficult with the fitness
levels with the lads mostly playing in
Jordan in the football there, which is
not such a high standard and I
thought that showed tonight. There
was a big gulf in class tonight.”
Shinji Kagawa scored twice as
Japan thrashed Syria 5-0 to head
Group E. An own-goal by Syria’s
Man accused of fraud scheme
that promised Hmong homeland
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The U.S.
Attorney’s office in Minnesota has
charged a man with operating a fraud
scheme that targeted Hmong elders
by promising them a homeland in
Southeast Asia.
Forty-eight-year-old Seng Xiong
faces one count of wire fraud. Federal
prosecutors accuse Xiong of stealing
more than $1.3 million from elderly
Hmong victims.
Xiong was arrested at Los Angeles
International Airport before he could
NEW YORK (AP) — A Hmong-American poet is this
year’s winner of the Walt Whitman Award, given for an
outstanding debut book.
The Academy of American Poets informed The
Associated Press that 34-year-old Mai Der Vang will
receive a $5,000 cash prize and a six-week residency in
Umbria, Italy. Her collection, Afterland, inspired by the
flight of the Hmong people caused by the so-called Secret
War in Laos during the Vietnam War era, will be
published next year by Graywolf Press. The academy will
purchase thousands of copies for its members and feature
Mai Der Vang in its American Poets magazine and on its
website, <www.poets.org>.
Previous winners of the Whitman prize, established in
1975, include Nicole Cooley, Eric Pankey, and Alberto
Rios.
board a flight for Thailand.
According to court documents, the
police department in Appleton,
Wisconsin received a tip in
September that Hmong elders were
being directed to deposit $3,000 to
$5,000 into a bank account held in
Xiong’s name. In exchange, elders
were promised 10 acres of land and a
house in the future country.
A U.S. magistrate judge in Los
Angeles denied bail for Xiong. His
next court date is not set yet.
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or visit <www.ARFoundation.net>.
Hamdi Al Masri gave Japan a 1-0
lead at halftime and Kagawa doubled
the advantage. Keisuke Honda
extended the lead to 3-0 with a superb
header in the 89th minute and
stoppage-time goals by Kagawa and
Genki Haraguchi completed the rout.
A last-minute goal by Iain Ramsay
saw the Philippines beat North Korea
3-2 in Group H.
Elsewhere, Iran sealed first place
in Group D, Iraq made it through to
the next stage with a 1-0 win over
Vietnam, as did both the United Arab
Emirates and Saudi Arabia after
their 1-1 draw in Abu Dhabi.
Two groups of six teams contest the
final round of qualifiers beginning in
September with the top two from each
group automatically qualifying for
Russia.
The draw is scheduled to take place
on April 12.
Paul Trudeau never
had it so good
Continued from page 6
Tyler finished the song with a
flourish, and the crowd ate it up,
jumping and shouting, slapping him
on the back when he walked down
from the stage and giving him high
fives. I’d never seen anything like it.
They obviously didn’t know Tyler
was just trying to give his mom a hard
time. Funny thing is, at the end of the
song, with a big smile on his face and
a big hug from mom, giving her a hard
time was probably the last thing on
his mind.
A genius or a fraud? Who knows.
But for a few minutes at a karaoke
bar in a cruise lounge, it was a pretty
sweet moment, and I owe it all to Paul
Trudeau … er … Neil Diamond, that
is.
To view the video online, visit
<http://youtu.be/sN-Czjqpk8Y>.
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BALTIMORE (AP) — A Glen Burnie man has pleaded
guilty to laundering more than $2 million obtained
through various scams, including conspirators posing as
IRS agents and demanding that victims pay taxes they
didn’t owe.
Prosecutors say in a news release that 43-year-old
Kaushik Modi, a native of India living in the U.S. illegally,
entered the plea in federal court in Baltimore.
According to his plea agreement, Modi bought prepaid
debit cards, which conspirators loaded with money
obtained in several scams.
Authorities say one scam involved people posing as IRS
agents and calling victims to demand immediate payment
for taxes they did not owe. The victims loaded the money
onto the prepaid debit cards held in Modi’s name.
Modi faces a maximum of 20 years in prison at
sentencing on May 12.
Los Angeles man gets prison
for $13M Verizon phone scam
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Los Angeles man is going to
federal prison for a fraud scheme that involved buying
30,000 iPhones from Verizon.
Karen Galstian was sentenced to more than eight years
in prison for that scam and an unrelated bank fraud.
Galstian ran a ride-sharing business in Glendale called
Toro Ride. Prosecutors say he convinced Verizon to sell
him thousands of $500 iPhones for 99 cents each under
contract, claiming they’d be used by drivers in his
nationally expanding business.
Instead, most of the phones were sold to companies that
in turn shipped them overseas to China, Iraq, and other
countries.
Authorities say Galstian made more than $13 million in
profits. He was ordered to pay $17 million in restitution.
He earlier entered guilty pleas to wire and bank fraud.
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EASY
Difficulty
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level: Easy
# 16
#14529
Instructions: Fill in the grid so that the digits 1
through 9 appear one time each in every row, col-
umn, and 3x3 box.
Solution to
last issue’s
puzzle
Puzzle #19237 (Hard)
All solutions available at
<www.sudoku.com>.
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