Olympics finally to start, 1 year later and far from Tokyo

Skippy the yellow kangaroo with green paws was affixed to the first base dugout railing watching the Australia Spirit become the first team to work out at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium.

Coach Laing Harrow hit grounders and flies to his women starting at 9 a.m.

That is exactly 24 hours before the eighth-ranked Aussies step to the plate when host Japan throws the very first pitch of the very first event of the pandemic-delayed Olympics.

This ballpark has only several handfuls of the 11,000 athletes who are converging on the Tokyo Games.

The stadium will host the first two days of the softball tournament and the opening day of the baseball event on July 28.