Selling packages wrapped in English

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Selling packages wrapped in English

Let’s face it. If you want to hit the jackpot in today’s sports world, talent helps. Then there is the “packaging” ― especially if you happen to play in some forgotten part of the world, far from the main stage.
It’s like the picture of that juicy burger, which always looks better than the real thing. Communicating is key here, and just like in business the English language is the way to get the message across.
If you go to the Korea Baseball Organization’s official Web site, there is no indication at first that the site is also available in English. Only if you happen to hold the mouse pointer over the “Home” menu bar does an English option finally appear.
Get in there and you can unearth some information on the organization’s history and some other tidbits, but nothing really important. No player information. No access to stats or schedules, the kind of stuff that might interest a scout. Even what is available is not very impressive. Misspelled words such as “fairrl” tale and basic grammar mistakes are all over the place.
Click the “Contact Us” menu and unless you’re Korean it’s hard to figure where to write what. Finding a phone number is another safari through the menu bars.
I wonder who’s in charge of this disaster zone. It sure looks like nobody cares, and if someone does, then someone else had better take over the job because it does nothing to promote Korean baseball, or even provide basic information. We need some kind of catalyst to spark some interest or provide answers to very basic questions. The Korea Baseball Organization can only blame itself for what little is known about professional Korean baseball outside the peninsula.

Thought of the week: Being dominant is great. In soccer, that’s what Korea is to China. Since their first matchup in December 1978, Korea’s national team has maintained a stellar record: 15 wins and 10 ties. The latest addition to the win column came on Sunday at the East Asian Soccer Championship in Japan, when Korea survived China’s relentless attacks in the last half hour of the second half and held onto a 1-0 lead.
It is no secret that China and Korea are not exactly bosom buddies when it comes to soccer.
During last year’s World Cup the Chinese media did its best to decry Korea’s performance, along with Italy and Spain and the rest of the world, which thought Korea benefited from biased refereeing.
Well, another loss is not going to ease those old feelings. But it is not the loss that will be remembered but Lee Eul-yong’s slap to a Chinese player’s head after he was tackled a bit roughly and got up. Needless to say, that slap almost turned into a brawl. In the end, Lee Eul-yong received a red card, leaving the game with 32 minutes left in the second half.
The water has been spilled. Lee is a marked man. And Korea happens to be the country he calls home. Trust me, there is much more to this. I sense that all we saw was one ugly chapter.
Starting next February, the 2006 World Cup qualifying rounds will kick off, ending in November. Korea will not meet China in the first round but most likely in the second and final round.
There will be no peace bridge for a while, that’s for sure. What a slap...


by Brian Lee
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