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The story
It has been confirmed that TV Asahi’s annual New Year special featuring Noritake Kinashi of the comedy duo Tunnels, ‘Noritake Kinashi’s Sports KING!’, will air on January 2 next year. His longtime partner Takaaki Ishibashi, who revealed in April 2025 that he had been diagnosed with esophageal and pharyngeal cancer, remains on hiatus, and the show’s title was changed in 2026 to reflect Kinashi flying solo. With this year’s soccer segment announced as being ‘stacked with more national-team players than ever,’ users on 5ch debated whether ratings have held up without Ishibashi, whether the once-signature ‘Real Baseball Board’ segment is still worth keeping, and who should be cast in the golf segment.
Tunnels’ Noritake Kinashi: New Year special returns again on January 2 — soccer segment announced: “Stacked with more national-team players than ever! Emergency assembly!”
It was learned on the 11th that TV Asahi’s “New Year Dream Battle 2027: Noritake Kinashi’s Sports KING!”, featuring Noritake Kinashi of the comedy duo Tunnels, will air on January 2 next year.
The show originally aired alongside his partner Takaaki Ishibashi as “Tunnels’ I Am the King of Sports!!”, but Ishibashi announced in April 2025 that he had esophageal and pharyngeal cancer. He remains on hiatus, and the program was renamed “Noritake Kinashi’s Sports KING!” starting in 2026.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Ishibashi actually knew more about it than you
For real
He used to call Inter Milan "Intā" instead of the proper "Interu" (the standard Japanese name for the club)
It's fun but it's gotten so formulaic that it's a drag to watch now
The Baseball Board segment is run by Sugitani, a comedy sports commentator who's Kinashi's underclassman from the Teikyo High School baseball team
Either the show's got that loyal a fanbase, or it's just a bunch of old guys ("JJI" = net slang for jiji, old men) waiting for his buddy to come back
He's 177cm (about 5'10"), so he's not small, but he's not huge either
Every single year, ratings would specifically tank during the soccer bit lol
There's always some rabid baseball fanboy ("yakibuta" — a dig at diehard baseball otaku) making stuff like this up
Guess it's just soccer and golf then?
Soccer-tennis and the dribbling relay are better since you actually get to see some skill
Guess that proves it's not actually necessary
Sugitani's about to become a pro baseball player in America
Guess his strong network of friends is what's keeping the show alive
Now he's up at 3am, and his wife Narumi Yasuda has been complaining about it
Gaki no Tsukai's "You Must Not Laugh."
Ishibashi's Baseball Board.
Nakai's Sports Five-Match Showdown.
Every single show I used to watch over New Year's is gone now
The Savannah Bananas (the US entertainment-baseball team) are basically a loaded all-star squad, lol
Well, there's no way the production side is giving that up
Sugitani's making an active comeback next year as a player in America's Banana Ball
He said he's keeping up all his Japan work in parallel without cutting back at all
Guess he doesn't want to be forgotten, so he's probably trying to work that into his contract somehow
Now that you mention it, people don't really say "[Name] Japan" anymore, huh
Just call Sanma instead — they're already close
It'd just turn into Sanma's show at that point
Nobody who likes soccer is also a Sanma fan lol
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
The show is a signature year-end/New Year special carrying on from “I Am the King of Sports!!”, previously hosted by Tunnels’ Takaaki Ishibashi. After Ishibashi announced in April 2025 that he was going on hiatus following his esophageal and pharyngeal cancer diagnosis, the program was renamed “Noritake Kinashi’s Sports KING!” under Kinashi’s name alone starting in 2026. In the thread, opinions split between those who pointed to ratings holding steady since Ishibashi’s departure as proof of a loyal fanbase, and those concerned about whether the once-signature “Real Baseball Board” segment is still around. A claim that the soccer segment used to drag down ratings in past years drew pushback calling it false; since the article itself cites no actual figures, it’s worth noting both sides of that argument are unsupported impressions.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Noritake Kinashi’s New Year Special ‘Noritake Kinashi’s Sports KING’ Confirmed to Air Again Next Year — Soccer Segment Also Announced: “Stacked With More National-Team Players Than Ever!”“.
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