Question 1

Asashoryu Akinori. He was a sumo wrestler. The peak of his career was between 2004 and 2007, when he was the sole yokozuna of sumo in Japan. Over his entire career, he won twenty-five top division tournament championships. In 2013, he became a member of the Mongolian Democratic Party.

Question 2

Not particularly. He is very much a part of my Japan story however. His career was starting to take off when I first arrived in Japan in 2003. I saw a lot of him on the TV over the next few years. It is difficult for me to think about sumo without thinking of him.

Question 3

Cricket and Australian Rules Football are our national sports and probably the two most widely watched sports in Australia. Cricket is our summer sport and AFL is our winter sport. The average wage for an Australian international cricketer is now up to $94,000 a year. The top echelon of players earn up around $200,000. Footy is far more lucrative, with the average salary being $365,000 annually. I like that number; it's like saying "I make a thouand dollars a day". Football stars, however, can earn as much as $3 million a year. Now that's serious money.

Question 4

If I had a top athlete's salary, after making sure I had a nice house and car, I'd probably want to invest in a top of the line home gym and a team of personal trainers. Being an athlete, I'd want to make sure I stayed in top shape so I could keep earning the big bucks.

Question 5

I'm not especially sporty so I really can't think of anyone in particular. There are loads of people who after retiring from their sport of choice go on to be sports commentators. That seems like a pretty normal transition though. Actually, I think it's pretty interesting that Asashoryu made the switch from sumo wrestling to politics!

Question 6

I'm going to go with Andre Agassi. He was a pretty decent tennis player, no doubt. He is iconic to me however because of his amazing hairstyle, which I remember thinking at the time made him super cool. It turns out though that he was starting to go bald and he was actually wearing a wig the entire time! I think playing through five sets during the heat of the Australian Open wearing something on your head that's only going to make you sweat more is pretty heroic.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
sole	唯一
not particularly	特にない
starting to take off	離陸し始めて
the top echelon	トップ階層
lucrative	儲かる
top of the line	ラインのトップ
serious money	かなりの金額
earn the big bucks	大金を稼ぐ
commentator	コメンテーター
transition	遷移
no doubt	間違いない

Question 1

As a rugby fan, I will choose Michael Leitch. Although he was born in New Zealand, he has spend a large portion of his life in Japan. I think his peak was around 2015.

Question 2

Yes, I like him. He seems like a nice guy from what I have seen in interviews. He also seems clever, which can be rare for rugby players. I admire that he can speak Japanese so well.

Question 3

Rugby players get the biggest salaries in New Zealand, but their salary is not as big as professional soccer players in England or professional baseball players in The United States.

Question 4

If I had a professional sportman's salary I would buy a house in Japan and another house in New Zealand. Maybe, the NZ house will be smaller and more like a holiday home.

Question 5

I remember a rugby player who was a talk show host after he had finished playing. He was funny, but word got out that he was cheating on wife with many other women, and then his showbiz career fizzled out.

Question 6

I am from a small rural town, so when someone from my town becomes an All Black, it is a very big deal for the community. To come from such a small place and then play for such a famous and world renowned team is a big acheivement in itself.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
word got out	発見された人々
fizzled	縮れた
renowned	著名

Question 1

Nishikori Kei. He is my favorite tennis player. Tennis is my favorite sport. Michael Chang who is a Chinese-American tennis player is his coach. He has made it to the U.S. Open final against Marin Cilic, but he lost.

Question 2

I do admire him. He is shorter than most of the modern-day tennis players, but he has a fight. He always does his best in tournaments, but he is often injured and can't win the final.

Question 3

Football. There is a salary cap. Meaning that each team has a limit as to which they can pay their players. Many stars make a lot more than there peers. They make around 30,000 million dollars a year.

Question 4

I wouldn't buy anything too extravagant. Many retired professionals spend all of their money after they retire and die poor. Most top athletes make most of their money from endorsements like Uniqlo, Nike, Under Armor. They don't need to spend their salary. Most of the top athletes save most of their salaries.

Question 5

"Jesse the Body Ventura" was a professional wrestler during the '80s. He went on to hold public office in Minnesota and many critics said that he did a good job.

Question 6

Roger Federer. He was good when he was a young lad, and he is still winning today when most of the tennis players his age are washed up.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
admire	感心する
injured	けが
peers	仲間
endorsements	裏書