layup

by Jason Cruz
Northwest Asia Weekly

Welcome to another version of layup drills. In this month’s edition, the Huskies say goodbye, Shohei Ohtani continues to excel at baseball, and Kyler Murray gets a new contract.

Tennis greats bid farewell to University of Washington

University of Washington (UW) senior Vanessa Wong said goodbye to the Huskies, where the female tennis player had the best year of her college career. She ended her Husky career with 112 wins, becoming the all-time leader in singles wins at the University of Washington. The Toronto native has earned all Pac-12 first-team honors with an 18-5 overall record and a 17-4 double-game record. She finished the season 23rd nationally and 2nd in the Northwest. She was named ITA Northwest Regional Player of the Year.

In an open letter to UW women’s tennis fans, Wong recalled waking up on a dark morning to go to class with a sore leg the night before and staying awake during class. Huang maintained his student-athlete tenure when he graduated this spring with a 3.71 GPA and a bachelor’s in marketing. She will be pursuing an MBA in Information Systems next year.

“Hit ‘W’ on my chest rekindled my passion for tennis and made me fall in love with the game again,” she wrote. “For the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to play hard and scream hard next to my best friend.”

She is one of two UW women nominated for the NCAA Women of the Year, along with softball player Gabbie Plain.
To help the University of Washington return to the NCAA team championship, Wong returned to the Huskies in his fifth year.

Daegu leaving the angel?

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels during a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins on August 14 in Anaheim, California. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

The Anaheim Angels are not doing well. After a winning streak earlier this spring, the team plummeted despite having Mike Trout and Shoei Ohtani in the lineup. Now, Trout is on the injured list and left Daegu indefinitely as the only star to play for the team.

Otani was once again selected for the MLB All-Star Game and was once again selected as a pitcher and hitter. This year, however, he chose not to compete. Instead, he focused this time on being the designated hitter for the game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Ohtani faced Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw as the first hitter in the game. In a brief interview before hitting the ball, Otani said he will be swinging on the first ball. In fact, Ohtani did swing and soloed into the midfield.

While Otani remains a key player for the Angels, the team is rumored to be listening to trade offers for the Japanese-born superstar. Daegu has one year left on his contract with the Angels and will become a free agent after next year. The thinking behind trading Ohtani is that the Angels are still not a competitive team compared to him, and sending him out for good baseball prospects would be a cost-cutting move for the team. Otani, 29, is making $5.5 million this season, but will be looking for more when he becomes a free agent.

Daegu remains with the Angels as the trade deadline passes in early August, but speculation remains that he could be moved sometime this winter. Rumor has it that the Mariners were one of the last teams to acquire Otani from Japan before signing with Anaheim, and they may still be interested.

Kyler Murray signs new contract with controversial terms

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray walks the court ahead of Cincinnati’s Aug. 12 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. (AP Photo/Zach Bollinger)

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray signed a five-year, $230.5 million extension to stay in Arizona.

The $160 million contract is guaranteed. Murray’s mentality was called into question last February after he deleted team-related photos from his personal Instagram account. He restored the picture a few weeks later, but it is speculated to be related to his pending contract situation. Last July, Murray signed a contract with a clause that required Murray to complete at least four hours of independent study per week during each season of the contract. The contract also includes a definition of independent learning, which states that he cannot engage in activities such as watching TV or playing video games while he is studying.

The clause was criticized after it was revealed to the media, suggesting the Cardinals were concerned about Murray’s study habits. Murray does have a Twitch channel where he plays video games and interacts with fans. However, this clause is unique due to the specificity of the study requirements and the need for independent study in the contract.

The Cardinals dropped the clause after Murray called criticism of his morality “disrespectful.”

Murray’s mother is Korean, making him the second-highest paid quarterback in the NFL, behind Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers.

Jason is available at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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