2009 Aug 27 Talking Balls: Lasers, Banquets and Raquetsports rackets
Controversy abounds with Beijing Guoan. This time there's a nod to the future as Guoan fans caused terror with lasers. Laser pointers, in a fitting green colour, were used to slow the game down (see photo above) as Beijing's supporters tried to stop Chengdu increasing their 2-0 first half lead. Guoan rescued a point thanks to goals from the Griffiths brothers, and thanks in part to the referee who allowed the equaliser to stand despite some fouls in the buildup. Guoan remain second in the CSL standings behind Shangdong Luneng who lost to Changchun.
Bai Xue became the first Chinese gold medal winner in the marathon during the 2009 World Championships. This was also the first gold medal for China during the Berlin event. Bai went back to her home town of Yi'an County in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province where she received RMB 50, 000 cash from the county magistrate. The Bai family set up 70 banquets for relatives and friends to celebrate the success. Bai Xue's father, Bai Wenxi, has been so busy he's only had time to eat one mantou in the last two days. He has had the time to slaughter two pigs for his guests. Bai Xue only has two days at home before training for the National Games, all of which has been taken up with marathon banquetting.
The China Open tennis tournament is set to star Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic. Local representatives come in the form of Li Na, Zheng Jie and Peng Shuai. More interesting than the tennis talent is that this year the event is getting a theme song. Zhang Liangying and Yang Kun will provide the inevitable pop genius.
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Talking Balls: A Smoking Rocket, Marbury Mania & The Olympic Underground
The Olympics are around the corner, or should we say, further along the line. Transport London, which runs the capital's world-famous Tube, have decided to cash in on the Olympics. They've released a map with a twist: All of the stations are now named after famous Olympians. We admit that it's better than the 2012 mascots but as merchandise goes, it's still pretty bad. There are 13 Chinese Olympians on the map:
Talking Balls: Will The Ducks Be Mighty?
Tonight at 7.30pm, the biggest ever game in Beijing basketball tips off. The Ducks are at home to Guangdong Southern Tigers in game five of the CBA Playoff Finals. The Ducks are 3-1 up in the series and one game away from greatness. If you're reading this, then you're not at Wukesong watching history being made but that doesn't mean you need to miss out. There are a number of terrestrial TV and online options to catch the action. BTV and CCTV will be showing the game live but if you don't have access to a TV, why not watch a webcast on Sohu, CCTV 5 and PPTV? We'll be back with a full-size Talking Balls tomorrow. Let's hope that there's good news to fill it.
Photo: China Daily
Talking Balls: Ducks Hunted, Guoan Stunted & Rio To China?
The Beijing Ducks began their final flight to glory this week. They beat the much-fancied Guangdong team to go one-up in the series. Guangdong resorted to some pretty fowl methods to down the Ducks. The on-court brawling led to Beijing's best baller bawling come the buzzer. Marbury, or MVPbury as he should be known, turned in another immense performance. This season he has carried more ducks than the dog in Duck Hunt but on Wednesday his teammates rose to the occasion.
Talking Balls: Shame On Shanxi, Ghastly Guoan & Some Sports Shorts
The Beijing Ducks and Shanxi Brave Dragons have gone to game five in their CBA playoff semi-final. The game was originally set for March 14 but was postponed until March 18 so that everyone could enjoy St. Patrick’s Day. No, actually it was put back because of a near-riot in game four. Shanxi’s fans also took that meeting as an opportunity to shower the court with debris. They've been fined nine times for similar incidents over the last four years. They have just added another RMB 60,000 to the CBA's Christmas party fund. You stay classy, Shanxi.
Talking Balls: Ducks Flying, Guoan Too Green & This J-Lin Stuff Gets Silly
Good evening, sports fans. Let's get right into it. The CBA playoffs are at their semi-final stage and Beijing Ducks are back in the series after winning game two. Stephon Marbury dropped a colossal 52 points to send them on their way to besting Shanxi by 132-123. Thanks to NiuBBall for the alley-oop on the video you'll see below. Don't forget to check out the 2011-12 NiuBBall Awards. Spoiler alert: Starbury gets what he deserves.
