Sports
In Ohtani's Dodger blue hometown, a shrine to his baseball talent, and humanity
OSHU, Japan — Seems Hair and Spa in Oshu, a city in northern Japan, is crammed full with Dodgers memorabilia, but owner Hironobu Kanno is adamant that he isn’t really a Dodgers fan.
It was just past 9 a.m. and Kanno, who is 63 and sports a flowing blond ponytail, had just hurried to his shop to tune into Game 4 of the World Series.
Like the rest of Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s hometown, he was hoping, of course, that today was the day that the L.A. franchise would complete a sweep of its historical rivals, the Yankees.
Even so, he is clear that his loyalties lie not with the Dodgers but with Ohtani, the Oshu native who has taken Major League Baseball by storm and rallied the city behind him in a way only a hometown can.
If Ohtani were to magically join the Yankees tomorrow? Would Kanno trade out his Dodgers blue for Yankee stripes?
Hironobu Kanno is surrounded by his collection of Ohtani memorabilia at his beauty salon in Oshu, Japan. Kanno started the collection with a signed ball in 2013, when Ohtani was playing in a Japanese league.
(Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press)
“Of course,” Kanno said, without pause.
In reality, Ohtani is on a 10-year contract with the Dodgers, meaning Kanno’s loyalty is, too.
Per a rule he has instituted for the World Series, every single one of the hairdressers in his shop, including his wife, Satsuki, was tending to customers while wearing a blue Dodgers jersey.
His two customers were also watching the game — whether they like it or not — because Kanno years ago had monitors installed at every seat in order to avoid missing any of Ohtani’s games.
This, one so far, seemed to bode well.
On the main television in the waiting area, Freddie Freeman had hit another first inning homer, making Satsuki and Keiko, one of the stylists, cry out “Freeman!”
The inside of the business is only part salon and mostly museum. It is stacked floor to ceiling with Ohtani-related items that Kanno has spent 11 years and close to $100,000 acquiring, including signed baseballs, dozens of bobbleheads and figurines, jerseys, hats, cleats, batting gloves and a life-size cutout of Ohtani in his Dodgers uniform.
His favorite piece is a hat signed by the entire Ohtani-led Japanese national team that defeated the U.S. squad in last year’s World Baseball Classic. That one is priceless.
“I have a secret connection on the team who helped me get this,” he said. “I can’t really talk about it.”
And in the last year alone, around 1,000 fans — Japanese and foreign — have visited the shop to see all of this for themselves, some with religious reverence and others with fizzy excitement.
One particularly dedicated fan — a young Taiwanese woman — visits every year or so, to ooh and ah at the new additions to the collection.
On her most recent trip she asked Kanno to give her the exact haircut sported by Mamiko Tanaka, Ohtani’s wife.
“Yes, I gave it to her,” Kanno said with a chuckle, gesturing at a picture of Ohtani and Tanaka hanging on the wall.
::
Kanno started his collection in 2013, with a ball signed by Ohtani he got at a game he attended when the Dodgers superstar — then just 18 years old — was playing for his first professional team: the Japanese league’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
It had been a dark time for Oshu, where Kanno had been born and raised.
Bobbleheads make up part of Hironobu Kanno’s collection in Oshu, northeastern Japan, the Dodger star’s hometown.
(Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press)
Two years earlier, the Tōhoku region of Japan, where Oshu sits, had been hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake, which killed more than 19,000 people and triggered the tsunami that caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
For the devastated people of the region, news of a local baseball wunderkind making it in Japan’s big leagues was a balm.
“It felt like Ohtani represented the hope of the region’s people,” Kanno said.
The signed ball had come when Kanno, too, was reaching for a fresh start.
As a young man, Kanno had been a successful hairstylist with a grind-all-day work ethic, winning international competitions that took him on business trips all over the world, followed by a corporate career at a major beauty company.
But sometime in his late 40s, Satsuki had told him: “All you do is work, your family is falling apart. We have money, but we are not happy. You are losing what is important to you and us.”
Shattered by the realization that she was right, Kanno left behind his high-flying life and opened Seems Hair and Spa in 2010.
“I wanted to settle down in my own space in my hometown, where I can chat to people casually and live at a slower pace than before,” he said.
And so the museum was born.
Hironobu Kanno, representative of a private fan club of Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, speaks at his beauty salon in Oshu, northeastern Japan, the hometown of Ohtani.
(Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press)
Oshu, a semi-rural city of around 114,000, is not exactly a hub of action. Sometimes the streets in the town known for cattle ranching, apple orchards and ironworking can be so quiet it feels like a ghost town. But Kanno’s collection has made him surprisingly well-connected to the wider world.
Among his contacts is former player and current Dodgers broadcaster José Mota.
“We chat online all the time,” Kanno said, pulling out his phone as proof.
The day before, Kanno had sent Mota a few selfies of him in a Dodger blue crowd at a World Series viewing party the city of Oshu had hosted at a local auditorium.
“That’s beautiful,” Mota had texted back.
::
It was the third inning of Game 4 and Ohtani, who had partially dislocated his shoulder in Game 2, was standing at the plate.
“His swing is better than yesterday,” Kanno observed.
A pop fly out.
“Ahhhhh,” he groaned. “Maybe his injury is still bothering him.”
Like many in Oshu, Kanno feels protective of Ohtani in a way perhaps only the people of this town can.
Few outsiders may know, for example, that Ohtani comes back to the city every year or so to visit his parents.
Many of the longtime locals are aware when he does, but there is an unwritten code of silence not to reveal this — or his parents’ address — to the media.
“For example, people from Ohsu know what restaurant Ohtani’s family goes to whenever Ohtani is here,” Kanno said.
“But they don’t tell this to the media so that Ohtani will feel safe when he is home.”
It is a rule that is sacrosanct to Kanno.
Sometimes, journalists will ask Kanno if he can tip them off to where Ohtani’s parents live. When that happens, Kanno sends them away.
And although he could find a way to ask Ohtani’s parents to help him get their son’s blessing for his ultimate goal of establishing an official Ohtani museum in the city, he refuses to stoop so low.
“Oshu city wants to support him in a pure way,” he said.
::
By the eighth inning, a customer had canceled her perm appointment with Kanno, allowing him to watch the game slip away from the Dodgers.
Following a grand slam by the Yankees’ Anthony Volpe in the third, which made Kanno hang his head and groan, New York was piling on the runs to make the score 11-4, seemingly hell-bent on avoiding a sweep.
Hironobu Kanno started collecting Ohtani memorabilia soon after he made a major change in his own life.
(Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press)
“I have to give it to the Yankees today,” he said.
Although Kanno was confident that the Dodgers would end up taking the series, he knows that the Pride of Oshu City is destined for more than just this one championship, anyway.
“Ohtani wants to be the greatest player to ever play the game. It is an endless journey for him,” he said.
And more than the accolades, what Kanno respects most about Ohtani is that he seems to have figured out something about life that the stylist himself realized too late.
“Even at his young age, Ohtani knows what is necessary for his life, what his priorities are,” Kanno said.
From the jumble of magazines and Ohtani literature strewn about on the coffee table in the waiting area, Kanno produced a copy of Ohtani’s Mandala Chart, a list of life goals arranged in interconnected squares that the baseball phenom wrote as a sophomore in high school.
Alongside the baseball goals, like increasing the “perfect the forkball” or “strengthen the body core” are the qualities that Kanno has been relearning in Oshu: “sensitivity,” “caring,” becoming someone worthy of trust and love.
Special correspondent Momo Nagayama contributed to this report.
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The New England Patriots defended home turf in the Wild Card Round, dominating the Los Angeles Chargers in a 16-3 victory to move on in the NFL Playoffs.
New England, winning its first playoff game since their 2018 Super Bowl-winning campaign, will await the victor of the No. 4 Houston Texans and No. 5 Pittsburgh Steelers Wild Card game on Monday night to see who they face in the Divisional Round next week.
This game saw its first touchdown in the fourth quarter, but that was because of how suffocating both defenses were in this contest. But it was clear the Patriots had every answer for Justin Herbert and the Chargers’ offense.
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Drake Maye of the New England Patriots celebrates after a touchdown in the third quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on January 04, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
Mike Vrabel’s squad shouldn’t have given up only three points, especially after Drake Maye was picked off on the Patriots’ second drive at his own 10-yard line. However, the Patriots’ defense was relentless all night, and the Chargers couldn’t adjust.
They stopped the Chargers on four plays to turn them over on downs, and ultimately got on the board first thanks to a 93-yard drive that resulted in a field goal.
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Los Angeles was knocking at the door again with a third-and-2 from New England’s three-yard line, but Kimani Vidal was stuffed. Cameron Dicker added a field goal to tie the game, and only another Patriots field goal was added to the score before halftime, a 6-3 lead for New England.
While the Chargers couldn’t get anything going on offense, their defense kept them in this game, at least for the first three quarters. Maye was strip-sacked by Odafe Oweh while in Chargers territory to keep it a three-point game in the third quarter.
But after another failed drive, a third Patriots field goal split the uprights to make it 9-3.
Stefon Diggs of the New England Patriots talks to teammates in a huddle prior to an AFC wild card playoff football game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 11, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
The dagger for the Patriots came after yet another Chargers punt, when Maye placed his pass perfectly for tight end Hunter Henry, the ex-Chargers star, for a 28-yard touchdown. The first six-pointer for either team seemingly ended all hopes for Los Angeles.
On the ensuing drive, Herbert was crushed by K’Lavon Chaisson, resulting in a fumble recovered by Christian Elliss, as the Gillette Stadium crowd went ballistic.
The Chargers tried to get some playoff heroics going, as they dinked and dunked their way down the field into Patriots territory. But on fourth-and-9 from New England’s 34-yard line, Milton Williams ended all hope when he delivered the Patriots’ sixth sack on Herbert to turn them over on downs again.
In the box score, Maye went 17-of-29 through the air for 268 yards, with running back Rhamondre Stevenson being his top receiver with 75 yards on three catches. Kayshon Boutte also added 66 yards on four grabs, while Henry finished with 64 yards.
Drake Maye of the New England Patriots looks to pass prior to an NFL wild card playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 11, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
And Maye was also the Patriots’ leading rusher with 67 yards on the ground on nine carries, as he continuously picked his spots to gash the Chargers’ defense.
For Los Angeles, Herbert’s playoff woes continue, as he’s now 0-3 after this performance. He had just 159 yards passing and 57 yards rushing.
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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The MVP chants for the second-year quarterback of the New England Patriots rang throughout Gillette Stadium on Sunday night.
The Chargers, meanwhile, were haunted by their own echoes.
Another playoff game. Another one-and-done exit.
The gutty season of quarterback Justin Herbert again ended with a whimper, a 16-3 loss on a night when the Chargers defense provided ample opportunities.
“We have to do better than three points,” Herbert said. “As an offense, that’s not good enough. The quarterback play wasn’t good enough, and we let the defense down today.”
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is sacked by New England Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings in the fourth quarter Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Three years ago was the nuclear meltdown at Jacksonville, when the Chargers blew a 27-0 lead to lose, 31-30.
Last year, the first under coach Jim Harbaugh, Herbert was picked off four times at Houston after making it through the regular season with just three interceptions.
Now, the Chargers have all offseason to ponder the fiasco at Foxborough, when they generated one field goal, 207 yards and converted one of 10 third downs.
The cover-your-eyes postseason scorecard under Harbaugh: Two games, 15 points on three field goals, one touchdown and a failed conversion.
Asked after the New England loss if the impending offseason changes could include changing out offensive coordinator Greg Roman, Harbaugh was notably noncommittal.
“Right now I don’t have the answers,” Harbaugh said. “We’re going to look at that.”
The juxtaposition between the Chargers and Patriots is stark. The Chargers are precisely where they were a year ago, groping for answers about how to win a postseason game.
The Patriots won just four games last season but bumped that to 14 this year — one of three teams in NFL history to improve by at least 10 games in 12 months — and now advance to play host to Monday night’s winner between Houston and Pittsburgh.
As good as Herbert was all season — particularly playing behind a patchwork offensive line and with a broken left hand — he seemed lost in space Sunday, unable to connect with his receivers or establish anything close to an offensive rhythm.
Former Chargers tight end Hunter Henry catches a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter for the Patriots. It was the game’s only touchdown.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
He threw for 120 yards and oversaw an offense whose possessions ended thusly: punt, turnover on downs, field goal, punt, end of half, punt, punt, punt, fumble, turnover on downs.
It’s not as if the Patriots were much better. The Chargers largely shut them down on offense, but New England was able to cobble together three field goals and a touchdown by tight end Hunter Henry, who, in a tormenting twist, began his career with the Chargers.
But Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was more calm and in command than Herbert despite two fumbles (one lost) and an interception on a pass that was batted at the line of scrimmage.
“Credit to Drake Maye,” Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. said. “Every time we got to him, he got back up. Every time his team needed a play today, he used his legs.”
In fact, the quarterbacks were the leading rushers, with Maye running for 66 yards and Herbert 57. The Patriots got 53 more from Rhamondre Stevenson, whereas the Chargers couldn’t mount anything of a true running game.
When teams win, they spend the offseason trying to keep their rosters together. When they lose, it’s back to the drawing board. The Chargers are in the latter category.
In a locker room so quiet you could hear a dream drop, linebacker Daiyan Henley said Harbaugh thanked his players after the game.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is slow to get up after being sacked in the fourth quarter against the Patriots on Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“There was a lot of confidence going into this game,” Henley said. “I think the feeling and vibe you’re getting in this locker room right now is that it’s over and that this team is going to change. Everybody is aware that our defense is going to surely change.
“When you have a core group of guys like this, everybody holds a lot of pride in what we do. So to know that we lost and the season is over and this locker room is going to change — and upstairs may change — it hurts more.”
Henley said Harbaugh thanked his players after the game, especially for the way they fought all season despite the various hurdles in their path.
“It sucks because this is how the season ends, so when you talk about processing a loss like this, the process lasts longer,” Henley said.
“You go out on a loss, I’ll be thinking about it until I can go out and get my next win.”
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The Green Bay Packers’ playoff exit on Saturday immediately put added focus on what the organization will do with head coach Matt LaFleur.
The NFL coaching cycle has been the wildest in recent memory, with veteran coaches like John Harbaugh and Pete Carroll being shown the door. Packers fans seemingly put LaFleur on the hot seat following their crushing defeat to the Chicago Bears.
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur reacts during the wild-card playoff game against the Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Sunday that the Packers will have a major decision to make.
“The Green Bay Packers and their new president, Ed Policy, have a significant decision to make here in the coming days – and that is whether to extend Matt LaFleur’s contract. He’s currently got one year remaining, or to move on from him,” Schefter said. “If they moved on from him, he would automatically go near the top of coaches available and shakeup this current head-coaching cycle yet again.”
Schefter added that Harbaugh could be one of the names that would interest the Packers’ organization.
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Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur talks after the playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
“Notice how we said this belongs to the Packers’ president, Ed Policy. Well, the Packers’ former president from the back in the day was a man by the name of Bob Harlan,” Schefter explained. “Bob Harlan’s son, Brian Harlan, represents John Harbaugh. John Harbaugh is a Midwestern guy, who has a home in the Upper Peninsula, and a lot of people around the league have been wondering if the Packers decide to go in a different direction, if all of a sudden the Green Bay Packers might fall to the top of John Harbaugh’s list as the top available choice for him.
“This has been a wild, crazy coaching cycle, and we may be just scratching the surface.”
Green Bay Packers’ Matthew Golden celebrates his touchdown against the Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
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Green Bay finished 9-7-1 this season. LaFleur is 76-40-1 as the Packers’ head coach with a 3-6 record in the playoffs.
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