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Japan’s Hisanori Takahashi told local media that he wants to follow the footsteps of his former teammates Hideki Matsui and Koji Uehara who are now playing in the Major League Baseball in the United States. The 34-year old Takahashi recently filed for free agency.

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Kim Joo-sung of the Dongbu Promy became the first player in the Korean Basketball League to record 700 blocks. He had two blocks while playing against SK Knights in Seoul, South Korea.

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Malaysia’s national football team coach K. Rajagobal is optimistic about the future of the national team despite the setback against Uzbekistan in the Asian Cup. The defeat virtually knocked Malaysia out of contention but Rajagobal is confident that the Malaysians can perform better in the next two or three years.

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Venezuelan Alex Ramirez of the Yomiuri Giants and Yu Darvish of Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters were voted MVPs in their respective leagues this season in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Ramirez won his second successive plum in the Central League while Darvish had his second in htree seasons in the Pacific League.

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Thailand’s Natthaphong Samana and Sinthaweechai Hathairattanakool are both suspended after they picked up yellow cards in their game last Saturday. Both of them will miss the match against Singapore in the qualifying tournament of the Asian Cup on Wednesday.

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Argentine football icon Diego Maradona was banned from all football by FIFA for two months. The sanction came in response to Maradona’s sexually-explicit rant after Argentina’s game against Uruguay in the World Cup qualifiers last October.

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Christiano Ronaldo has rejoined Real Madrid’s training and may play against FC Zurich in the Champions League on November 25.  The Portuguese star had been suffering from an ankle injury for almost two months.

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Mexico’s Antonio De Nigris who played for Larissa in Greece died last Monday, November 16.  The cause of death was still unconfirmed but was suspected to be of a heart attack. The 31-year old striker is survived by his wife Sonia and his five-year old daughter Miranda.