Chairmen of the boards: Japanese team powerful in halfpipe

By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — The Japanese snowboard team has long been filled with potential in the halfpipe but has no Olympic gold medals to show for it. The team appears poised to take over the pipe at the Beijing Games, led by the boundary-pushing tricks of Ayumu Hirano. Japan will have four gold-medal contenders at the Olympics thanks to the tight-knit nature of the squad. They may be fierce rivals on competition days, but good friends in between. They travel together, eat together and perfect innovative tricks together.