The Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Benson Henderson retained his title on Saturday after a hard-fought split decision victory over challenger Gilbert Melendez at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. It was just the first of two big moments for the champ as he made MMA history with a post-fight proposal.

Melendez, who held the lightweight title in the Strikeforce promotion before it was bought out by UFC, made it a rare clash between two champions. But Henderson triumphed in a closely contested five-round fight, capitalizing on a flurry of low kicks and well-timed punches and elbows. In the end, the judges scored the bout 47-48, 48-47 and 48-47, allowing Henderson the slim victory and a 19-2 career MMA record.

The match was held before approximately 13,500 fans and broadcast nationally on Fox. Continue Reading »

Park urges end to rewarding N. Korea’s bad behavior
Yonhap News

South Korean President Park Geun-hye called Wednesday for an end to rewarding North Korea’s bad behavior, saying the “vicious cycle” of Pyongyang creating a crisis before returning to negotiations and receiving assistance must be broken.

Park made the remark during a meeting with a group of foreign ambassadors, saying the international community should speak with one voice to make North Korea decide whether to remain isolated from the outside world or to become a responsible member of the international community.

“We must break the vicious cycle of holding negotiations and providing assistance if (North Korea) makes threats and provocations, and again holding negotiations and providing assistance if there are threats and provocations,” Park said during the meeting.

Electric cable a lifeline for idled symbol of Korean cooperation
Reuters

An electricity cable running from South Korea over the border into North Korea is one of last lifelines for more than 200 South Korean workers at a joint industrial park that North Korea has shut down amid fears of war.

About 53,000 North Koreans worked at the Kaesong complex, just inside North Korea, where 123 South Korean companies have set up factories.

North Korea suspended work there last week as it stepped up its threats of war over new sanctions imposed after its third nuclear test in February, snuffing out the last remnant of cooperation between the neighbors.

Six Years After Shooting, Virginia Tech Remembers
NPR

With so much attention given to the violent bombings in Boston, Virginia Tech is remembering a terrible tragedy of its own today. It’s been six years since shooter Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and injured 17 on the Virginia Tech campus, and then shot himself to death. Today, his victims are being remembered in a series of events.

The college’s Day of Remembrance began early this morning with a candle lighting at midnight. It will burn all day, until it’s extinguished tonight at midnight. At 11:30 this morning, a community picnic is planned. There are sites for “quiet reflection” set up around campus.

First Coast Boston Marathon participant will keep running
First Coast News (Jacksonville, Fla.)

Sung Ho Choi of Jacksonville ran in his 10th Boston Marathon on Monday.

He came in at 3 hours, around 1:20 p.m., then returned to his hotel. He heard the bombs going off while he was in the shower.

“When I went into the shower, and had the water running,” he said. “that’s when the bombs went off. I was in total shock. I was just like … I didn’t know what to think.”

Choi, who goes by Henry, said he was in shock.

Korean Tourist Attacked by Killer Shark
Chosun Ilbo

A Korean man in his 40s was killed by a shark in Guam, AP reported on Tuesday.

The man, who was identified as Kim Nae-dok, went missing on Saturday and staff of the Pacific Island Club, the resort hotel where he had been staying, searched the area.

His remains were eventually discovered by two fishermen about 6 m from Tumon Bay the following day. The body was missing both legs and the right arm.

Why ‘Gentleman’ Could Be Psy’s Next Video to Break a Billion Views
Wall Street Journal

But what’s truly remarkable is that if “Gentleman” simply tracks the growth rate of “Gangnam,” it will take over the all-time record in a little over a month, and hurdle 4 billion in 45 days. And in just 75 days, “Gentleman” would project out as hitting 12.6 billion views.

Now, of course, that’s a level of popularity that “Gentleman” can’t possibly attain — it’s more views than YouTube collectively generates each month from all of its videos on a global basis, and “Gentleman’s” momentum already looks like it may be slowing.

Suburgatory’s Rex Lee on Artificial Romance and Self-Love
The Advocate

Rex Lee sashayed into our hearts as the Lloyd Lee, the long-suffering guy Friday to power publicist Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) on HBO’s Entourage. But these days, Lee has traded his designer shades and skinny lattes for the provincial charm of the fictional town of Chatswin, N.Y., in ABC’s sleeper hit Suburgatory, which airs a special hour-long season finale tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern.

The out Korean-American actor once again portrays a gay man, as Mr. Wolfe, the guidance counselor who often seeks counsel from the show’s teenage protagonist, Tessa (Jane Levy). While Mr. Wolfe was originally intended to be a minor character, fans responded so well that show creator Emily Kapnek wove Wolfe’s storyline into the show’s broader narrative.

Review: Ahn Trio at Winspear Opera House
Dallas Morning News

The three South Korean-born sisters who perform as the Ahn Trio have appeared in magazine fashion spreads as well as on concert stages. (Good looks haven’t hurt their careers.) On Tuesday night, they performed a decidedly non-traditional piano-trio program for an enthusiastic audience at the Winspear Opera House.

Jointly presented by TITAS and the AT&T Performing Arts Center, they stuck to music composed or arranged for them. They chatted with the audience in the manner of giggly movie starlets.

No shortcuts on Bendo’s road to greatness
ESPN.com

Benson Henderson didn’t begin preparing for his showdown Saturday night with Gilbert Melendez a few months ago, when the UFC officially announced the fight.

That process started six years ago, when Henderson trained for the first time in mixed martial arts. It was at that moment that he took the initial step toward achieving his ultimate goal: of one day being recognized as the greatest mixed martial artist ever.

In every training session, Henderson visualized himself competing and winning fights. Sometimes he’d put a face on his imaginary foe. On a few occasions, the foe would be Melendez.

And in every one of those imaginary battles, Henderson would walk away victorious.

John Huh revels following first appearance at Masters Tournament
Glendale News-Press (Calif.)

John Huh arrived at his Texas home Monday quite satisfied following his most recent accomplishment and with his young career on the upswing.

Huh, a 2008 Crescenta Valley High graduate, participated in The Masters Tournament last week. He finished tied for 11th in the prestigious event, earning him an invitation to the 2014 rendition at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.

“My ultimate goal was to go out there and play some good golf,” said Huh, last year’s PGA Rookie of the Year who finished the four-round event with a two-under-par 286. “It’s neat for me that I get to come back and I feel like I deserve it.

Michelle Wie looks to turn around LPGA Tour struggles with home-state stop in Hawaii
AP via Washington Post

Michelle Wie is hoping a Hawaii stop on the LPGA Tour will inject a little aloha into her game.

She’s 91st in the world ranking after breaking 70 only once in 18 rounds so far this season. She’s coming off a season-best tie for 41st two weeks ago in the Kraft Nabisco Championship — after starting the tournament with an apology from Annika Sorenstam for being quoted as saying the former child prodigy hasn’t shown the talent that initially made her a star.

Ryu Hyun-jin to Establish Charity Foundation
Chosun Ilbo

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers will establish a charity foundation in conjunction with sponsor Hanmi Bank, his agency said on Monday.

“Ryu plans to set up a foundation because he wants to do something good. It will take about six months to come up with a concrete plan,” a spokesman said at a press conference announcing the sponsorship deal with the largest Korean bank in the United States.

Eighth-grader makes state geographic bee
Dayton Daily News (Ohio)

Sung In Jeon, an eighth-grader at Tower Heights Middle School in Centerville, wants to be a medical doctor in the distant future. “I want to go to different countries and help people,” said the 14-year-old.

His favorite subjects are science, math and social studies — but it was his interest and knowledge of social studies that got him to the Ohio Geographic Bee in Columbus on April 5. He was among the top 100 scorers in Ohio invited to compete as a semifinalist.

“We’ve only had two students qualify for state competition during the six years I’ve taught here,” said Elizabeth Dickson, his social studies teacher for the past three years.

Japanese mixed martial artist Ryo Chonan fueled the recent Rising Sun flag controversy within the Ultimate Fighting Championship, saying it was “stupid” to complain about fighters donning the infamous symbol.

The controversy first arose after UFC welterweight titleholder George St-Pierre wore the Rising Sun flag for his fight against Nick Diaz last week.

The Rising Sun flag is widely viewed in the same light as the German Hakenkreuz across Asia, as it served as the symbol of Imperial Japan during World War II, a period in which it colonized most of East and Southeast Asia, often via brutal methods.

A few days after the fight, Korea’s UFC featherweight Chan Sung Jung posted an open letter on his Facebook page, asking St-Pierre to take the sensitive historical context of the Rising Sun flag into consideration. The issue appeared to have been settled in peace when St-Pierre issued an apology on Monday, but it reared its head again after Chonan incensed Korean fans by calling Jung “stupid” via Twitter. Continue Reading »

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight titleholder George St-Pierre issued an apology for wearing the Imperial Japanese flag when he entered the octagon for his fight against Nick Diaz last week.

The Imperial Japanese flag, also known as the Rising Sun flag, was the symbol of the Japanese military during World War II. Many Asians, especially Koreans, see the flag in the same light as the swastika, a symbol adopted by Nazi Germany in 1920.

Korean UFC featherweight Chan Sung Jung, a.k.a. the Korean Zombie, wrote an open letter on his Facebook page, asking St-Pierre to reconsider his stance on donning the controversial flag in the future. Continue Reading »

Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Chan Sung Jung asked welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre to think twice about donning the big Imperial Japanese flag he wore to his fight against Nick Diaz last week.

Jung, 26, wrote an open letter to the Canadian fighter via Facebook, recounting Asia’s history and the issues surrounding the controversial flag, commonly known as the Rising Sun flag, and what transpired during World War II.

As one of many Koreans who like you as an incredible athlete, I feel like I should tell you that many Korean fans, including myself, were shocked to see you in your gi designed after the Japanese ‘Rising Sun Flag’. For Asians, this flag is a symbol of war crimes, much like the German Hakenkreuzflagge. Did you know that? I hope not.

Just like Nazis, the Japanese also committed atrocities under the name of ‘Militarism’. You can easily learn what they’ve done by googling (please do), although it’s only the tiny tip of an enormous iceberg. Continue Reading »

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