05.02.08
Posted in 2008 Olympics at 12:40 pm by Nicole
I’ve been blogging over at Sports Illustrated’s FanNation site for the last few months and I’ve checked in over here a bit as well, something I’ll be doing more of in the weeks and months to come. So much of the China-related sports news has been political in the past month that it’s been tough to balance everything out - how much time to spend digesting and commenting on the political issues, while trying to remember that we’re getting ready for a sporting event, one that will be the highlight of most of the athletes’ competitive careers.
This week at FanNation I’ve posted entries on the contrasting news of the week (the torch in Hong Kong, to a mostly supportive reception; contrasted with the Tibet-China talks coming up this weekend and the criticism Beijing continues to dole out to the Tibetan side); Yao Ming’s recovery and his prognosis for the Olympics (quick note: it’s all good); and an update on the Olympic men’s basketball tournament. Check it all out here.
Permalink
02.26.08
Posted in Basketball at 1:10 pm by Nicole
Wow - what a tough time for the Rockets, sitting on a 12-game winning streak going into tonight’s game against the Washington Wizards.
News clips:
Houston Chronicle
International Herald Tribune
Los Angeles Times
Reuters
United Press International
Permalink
01.29.08
Posted in American football at 7:44 am by Nicole
One of the regular blog readers asked this week about where he could find his beloved American football on Chinese television, and I’m hearing from friends in China that CCTV-5 is your source. Drop me a line (nicole AT wokpopcorn DOT com) if you hear differently…but hopefully it will be on and China-based American football fans can watch the latest round of the Boston-New York all-sports rivalry live and in color.
Permalink
01.04.08
Posted in 2008 Olympics at 5:13 am by Nicole
No doubt you’ve noticed the silence on the blog this past month…partly it’s because accessing the blog during my December trip to Beijing was more than challenging (slow Internet connections, etc.), and partly because I’ve been invited to blog on the Beijing Olympics for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation site. The Beijing Olympics Blog was launched in early December and I’ll be blogging regularly there from now until the Olympics. I’ll also post frequently here, especially with links to articles that may not be specifically Olympics-related, so that Chinese sports fans can keep up with the latest news. In the meantime I invite you to check out the Beijing Olympics Blog. Just 216 days to go until the Opening Ceremony…
Beijing Olympics Blog at SI.com’s FanNation
Permalink
11.30.07
Posted in Basketball at 3:31 pm by Nicole
A nice feature in yesterday’s Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel demonstrates how Yi Jianlian is adjusting to life in the NBA.
Permalink
11.29.07
Posted in 2008 Olympics, Badminton, Basketball, Track and Field/Athletics, Winter Sports at 4:23 pm by Nicole
A smattering of news from around the China sports world today:
Basketball
Yi’s exit leaves Chinese hoops floundering (Reuters, via Guardian Unlimited)
2008 Olympics
Track and Field: What are the Chinese medal prospects for Beijing? (IAAF.org)
China-born Li named top US athletics coach for guiding Lagat (AFP) [Editor's note: Bernard Lagat's double gold medal in the 1500 and 5000 meter races at this year's world championships were astonishing. Lagat called James Li, his coach, a "technical genius" for planning the strategy that allowed Lagat, a naturalized Kenyan-born American, to win two hot, humid, tactical races in the pressure of a world championship event. My personal sports highlight of the year.]
Adidas taps punch-bag art, Muhammad Ali to spread Olympic fever (Bloomberg.com)
China to host convention on sport science, August 1-5, 2008 (Xinhuanet)
Badminton: China on track for Olympics despite poor results - coach (Guardian UK)
Curling (yes, curling)
Chinese curling attracts younger crowd (China Daily)
Permalink
11.28.07
Posted in Hockey at 3:18 pm by Nicole
Count hockey among the many, many “Western” sports trying to gain a toehold in the Chinese market:
NHL has visions of glory in lucrative China (Globe and Mail, Canada)
Permalink
11.26.07
Posted in 2008 Olympics, Track and Field/Athletics at 4:33 pm by Nicole
A new article from China Daily - and a really, really close re-reading of the article linked to here on Friday from Reuters - demonstrates that the Liu Xiang/achievements-meaningless-without-Beijing-gold news report may not have been based on any new information, just (perhaps - conjecture on my part) a desire to keep Liu’s name in the sports pages as he goes into seclusion for winter training.
Coach: Hurdler Liu has yet to reach full potential (China Daily)
The aforementioned article includes the full quote from Sun Haiping, Liu Xiang’s coach: “”Officials from the State General Administration of Sports once told us if Liu could not win a gold in Beijing, all of his previous achievements would become meaningless.”
Okay, that’s still a huge amount of pressure in my book. But it doesn’t sound like Liu was given a text message about the matter last week from Chinese officials - only that “once” Liu and/or Sun were told what the gold medal would mean to China.
It’s still overstating the case to suggest his past results have no meaning, no matter how or when the comment was relayed to Liu, and it’s still too much pressure for a young man who appears to have no discernable life outside of sport because he’s been put so high on a pedestal in Chinese society that he can’t do anything without attracting attention to himself. But it’s a little less sinister-feeling than when the first reports of this comment came out last week, in my opinion.
Permalink
« Previous entries