Original report in my Aug. 26 weekly notebook.

Vlasios Vlaikidis, the first coach in Iwate Big Bulls history, spoke about the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami and the resiliency of the region's residents:

"It was a very big tragedy," Vlaikidis said. "A lot of people lost (their family members). (The survivors), they saved their lives, but they lost everything. They had to start again from zero. This is a very big tragedy, but it made me feel much more responsible for this team."

Is there a current Japanese assistant on any of the teams who appears to be a hot coach or a rising star in the coaching business in this league?

"Tough to answer, because there aren't that many," the well-connected source said. "Fujitaka Hiraoka at Niigata has been mentioned the most often, but it's really hard to become the head coach of a team where you were the assistant for a long time. Much better to go to a new team. He certainly deserves a shot somewhere after all the time he's put in.

"This league has been brutal towards most of the assistants who do move up. (Ex-Shiga coach Takatoshi Ishibashi) Big Bashi was let go in the middle of this season — he knew he wasn't quite ready. ... But he should have been successful, only teams don't create an environment for young coaches to grow and learn on the job. Same with Aono at Kyoto. He may not have been ready, but he improved as the season went on, making good adjustments between Saturday and Sunday on many occasions. A shame he doesn't get one more year.