Guo second in USSA Female Athlete of the Year vote
Wednesday, 31st December 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Known as the "Diving Queen" in Chinese media, Guo was second to no one, man or woman, in a favorite athlete poll of Hong Kong school children, conducted by the Boys and Girls Club of Hong Kong. The question on her fans' minds now is, what will Guo do with her fame, talent and good looks? At 27 years old, she's just young enough to consider one last Olympic appearance. There were rumors in the fall that she'd suit up for Hong Kong in the 2012 Olympics, and there's always speculation about her pursuing a career in modeling or acting.
Rounding out the top five in the schoolkids' vote were, in order Liu Xiang (track and field), Lin Dan (badminton), Yao Ming (basketball) and Yang Wei (gymnastics).
Guo Jingjing image: 163.com
Tags: diving, Guo Jingjing, Lin Dan, Liu Xiang, Yang Wei, Yao Ming
Wells drops 52, but what is wrong with the CBA?
Tuesday, 30th December 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Yao Ming's former teammate Bonzi Wells is having a field day in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). After averaging 12.5 points and 4.6 rebounds over the course of his NBA career, Wells is a scoring machine in the CBA. Last night, he scored 52 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 119-115 overtime win for his Shanxi Zhongyu over Fujian.While Wells is blowing up the scoreboard and earning the dubious distinction of "best former NBA player in the CBA," China's professional basketball league seems to either be cleaning itself up or descending into chaos--we're reserving judgment on which one.
The news feed on the league's Web site right now features four stories about recent fines for players and teams. A recent league order required the Jilin and Jiangsu clubs to pay fines of 50,000 yuan ($7,300) each for unruly fan behavior at a game. Earlier this month, Liu Wei (a captain of the Chinese National Team and a once-upon-a-time NBA prospect) and Cai Liang, took on-court aggression off the court when they chased down opponent Gabe Muoneke after a game. Water bottles were thrown at Muoneke, who was reportedly leaving the arena with his family. Liu and Cai were fined 50,000 yuan apiece and suspended for 10 games; their club, the Shanghai Sharks, paid a 100,000 yuan fine. Also recently fined was the Tianjin club, again for fan behavior.
And while the fights and fines are getting headlines, the widespread practice of fudging players ages (making them younger so they can compete in youth tournaments) has also garnered some bad publicity. Li Zhigang, a reporter for Sports Illustrated's Chinese magazine, dug up some evidence that several players, including New Jersey Net Yi Jianlian, are a few years older than the age listed for them on official league documents.
It would be a good year for the CBA to get its act together, and a bad year for it to cement a reputation for lies and fisticuffs. The NBA is making big moves here—opening its NBA China office about a year ago, and announcing extensive arena construction plans this fall. Whether the CBA lets itself get bought out or digs in and tries to compete with a possible NBA-run Chinese league, the less shine it has on its brand image, the stronger the NBA's position gets.
Tags: basketball, Bonzi Wells, Cai Liang, CBA, Liu Wei, Shanghai Sharks, Shanxi Zhongyu, Yi Jianlian
Real estate slump a ray of hope for baseball in China?
Monday, 29th December 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
But the AP story ends with an interesting observation. Real estate has been slumping in Beijing (this story cites a forecast from Jones Lang LaSalle that demand for office rentals in Beijing will dip by 10 to 15 percent next year), making 2009 a less than ideal year for the site's majority owner, ACRE, to find a new tenant for this piece of land.
AP quotes Harvey Schiller, the president of the International Baseball Federation, as saying: "Maybe current economic conditions will work in our favor, hopefully." Schiller and Major League Baseball seem to be hoping that the delay in developing new plans for the stadium site will buy them some time to get some other ducks in a row. Major League Baseball runs a youth development program called "Play Ball," and is reportedly still lobbying to get games aired on CCTV.
The stadium was christened last spring with a pair of exhibition games between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers, which were reported to be played in front of sellout crowds, despite at least a quarter of the seats being empty.
Related: Spring Training in Beijing
Tags: baseball, Beijing, MLB, Wukesong
Chinese team skipping major badminton tourneys
Saturday, 27th December 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Two weeks after pulling out of the Super Series Masters in Malaysia, the China Badminton Association announced that its players will skip the next two Super Series events in favor of recovering from injuries and attending training camp. China will miss the Malaysian Open, Jan. 6 to 11, and the Korean Open, January 13 to 18.China's absence from the tournaments means that Olympic gold medalists Lin Dan (林丹, men's singles), Zhang Ning (张宁, women's singles), Du Jing and Yu Yang (women's doubles) will not compete.
Tags: Badminton, Du Jing, Lin Dan, Yu Yang, Zhang Ning
Wells breaks 40 in first two CBA games
Friday, 26th December 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Bonzi Wells image: Sports.sina.com
Tags: basketball, Beijing Ducks, Bonzi Wells, CBA, Shanxi Zhongyu
U.S. editors vote Beijing Olympics 5th biggest story for 2008
Tuesday, 23rd December 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The Associated Press' annual poll of U.S. editors and news directors voted the Beijing Olympics the fifth biggest news story of of 2008, coming in behind the U.S. election, the economic meltdown, oil prices and the American occupation of Iraq.It's a pretty safe bet that a similar vote in China would put the Olympics at the top of that list, followed by the Sichuan earthquake of last May.
Sports fans in the United States who want to relive more Olympic moments can tune in December 27 to NBC's look back at the games, "Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony: TV Event of the Year," hosted by Bob Costas and Matt Lauer.
Tags: Beijing Olympics
Yao and Rockets dominate Yi and Nets
Tuesday, 23rd December 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
As expected, Yao Ming outshone his countryman Yi Jianlian and the Houston Rockets picked apart the New Jersey Nets, in a 114-91 win Monday night. Yao had a double double--24 points and 16 rebounds--while Yi just barely reached double digits in scoring with 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting.Controversy continues to buzz around Yi. He claims to be 21, born in 1987, but he's long been suspected to be a couple of years older. A reporter with Sports Illustrated's Chinese-language magazine claims to have found middle school records listing the forward as being born in 1984. Yi denies the reports and Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe has said he is not concerned about the issue.
Tags: Houston Rockets, New Jersey Nets, Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian
Yao vs. Yi: Game Three
Monday, 22nd December 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The only two Chinese players currently in the starting lineup for NBA teams will face off in New Jersey Monday night, at 7:30 p.m. EST (8:30 a.m. Tuesday Beijing time). It is the third meeting, and the first this year, for Yao Ming (姚明) and Yi Jianlian (易建联). The game will air live on CCTV's sports channel.The Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen broke down in Sunday's paper why this year's Yao-Yi meeting won't match last year's for fanfare--Yao is focused on leading a surging Rockets team that is a serious playoff contender, and seems to see Yi and the Nets as just another opponent that needs to go down.
Yao has had a strong season so far, averaging 20 points and 9.5 rebounds a game. He has averaged 27 points over the last three games and was clutch in a weekend win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. His team has won five of its last six games.
Yi and the Nets are a different story. The team has dropped five of its last seven games, and Yi is averaging 10 points and 6 rebounds. He did notch a double-double against Dallas last Friday, but he's been held to one or fewer field goals six times this season.
Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian image: Tianjin Daily
Tags: basketball, Houston Rockets, NBA, New Jersey Nets, Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian
Next
1 2 3 4 ... 33