2010 Sep 07 Talking Balls: Money, Madness and Millionaire Marriage
The boys at Li Ning have been at it again. At it, as you know, meaning that they have been signing up Americans for their global onslaught. Global onslaught, as if it needed clarifying, being their attempt to become the first Chinese sports brand to become internationally popular. So who have they added to a roster that already includes Shaq and Baron Davis? Evan Turner.
You might not know Evan Turner yet ... but you will. This year's NCAA National Player of the Year has just joined the Sixers as the NBA's second overall draft pick. This could be a sign of things to come from Li Ning but it certainly looks like they are in it for the long haul if they are signing up young talent with such a bright future.
It's a week since there was last news on this site about the bad side of Chinese football. As much as we hoped that it was the last of it ... you know what's coming next. This time it's back to good old-fashioned corruption and gambling. Former CFA President, Xie Yalong, and the association's former Technical Director, Wei Shaohui, have been taken in as part of the ongoing police investigation into football gambling. Will this be the last time we hear such a story? Don't bet on it. What makes this a little more interesting is the response of QQ users. On the site, readers can register how they feel about each article - happy, sad, bored, and so on - and for this over 3,500 (of around 6,000) marked "happy" as their reaction.
In the CSL it has been the usual nonsense and buffoonery. Chongqing lost to Qingdao last weekend in a match that featured a stamp by Qingdao's Zheng Long on an opponent that went unpunished by the referee. Chongqing - in a measured response that is so typical of Chinese soccer - have threatened to pull out of the league unless the CFA punish either Zheng Long or the referee.
In local news, the amateur version of this pantomime starts this weekend as the International Friendship Football Club restarts. See www.iffc1994.com for more on how to play or where to watch.
Elsewhere, former Olympic dive champ Tian Liang has started playing Lei Feng in a TV role. Filming has started on that. If you click here you can read a Modern Lei Feng's take on China's footballers coming unstuck to Iraq. If you thought that segue was money then you'll like the hongbao-tastic news that Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo made over RMB 10 MILLION at their wedding on Saturday. Well, if you will have a ticket only, skate show at Capital Gymnasium there is that chance.
You might also be interested in :
Talking Balls: News, New Seasons Starting & The New Yao Ming?
Spring has sprung and with it the hibernation of Beijing’s sports scene begins to end. We’ll tell you all about what you have to look forward to over the coming months. But first, the sports news of the week.
Talking Balls: Gridiron Grilled Breakfast, Flying Ducks, Soccer Shorts & Real Live Sport
Balls, balls, balls. It's been quite a week of sport and it promises to be a sport-tacular weekend. Read on for more on what's on to watch, what's been going on and how you can get involved. Let's start with the 500-pound linebacker in the room. The Super Bowl takes place at 7.30am on Monday. Here's a list of where you can pack yourselves in and decide whether the best New is England or York.
Football Fever! CSL Fixture List Announced
The preliminary fixture list for the upcoming season of the Chinese Super League has been announced. Beijing Guoan are scheduled to start with a home game against Guangzhou Fuli on the weekend of March 10/11 and then follow it up with an early season grudge match against Shanghai Shenhua on March 16. It doesn't really get any better than Friday nights watching Beijing take on Shanghai under the floodlights - and with their new signings including the likes of Nicolas Anelka and Guoan's Joel Griffiths there's added spice. Come on you greens.
Below are some big games to look out for and Wild East Football have started to list the the full season here. Bear in mind that this is preliminary and subject to change. One factor that will certainly affect it is Beijing's AFC Champions' League progress (or not, based on previous campaigns).
Talking Balls: Tennis Trash Talk, Flirting With Footballers & An NBA New Year
Li Na and Zheng Jie are still in the Australian Open. You can spend your week off watching their progress in Melbourne. There are no Chinese men in the tournament. This will change, according to the ATP chief, Brad Drewett. He claims it’s a case of when and not if that China will produce a great male tennis star. That’s what exactly British tennis fans have thought for the last 50-plus years. Silly Brad.
It’s often that heads of sports’ governing bodies make these ill-informed pronouncements about China being on the verge of greatness in a sport that they’ve not yet shown any real aptitude for.
Talking Balls: A Tennis Champ, A Racist Chump & Lots of Sports News
Happy New Year! That’s for the last one, not the upcoming one. Our gift to you includes links to the first two “Who’s Hot and Who’s Not In Chinese Sport” columns of the year from China Daily. It’s the same as ever, apart from the fact they no longer separate out the "Who's Hot" from the “Who’s Not.” How will we know which sports stars are worthy of our ire if we have to read all the way through?
Anyway, here are the first and second. The latest features Top Gear racist Jeremy Clarkson offending another nation.
