Mirai Nagasu prepares for Vancouver
LA Times published an article about Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu, who placed first and second at the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating championships in Spokane Washington to win the two sole berths to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver next month. Both competitors are young and relatively inexperienced, especially as they go up against figure [...]
Li Na, Zheng Jie out at Australian Open
Li Na put up a valiant fight, only losing to 11-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams 7-6, 7-6 after two hard-fought tiebreakers. Fellow Chinese tennis player Zheng Jie did not fare as well, easily capitulating the semifinal match 6-1, 6-0 to former world No. 1 player Justine Henin.
Despites their losses, however, both Li and Zheng’s [...]
Figure skating: Asada third at Four Continents
Mao Asada of Japan, who is ranked third in the world for women’s figure skating, is currently competing at the Four Continents championships, her last chance to polish her routines before the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
USAToday.com: “Asada to test triple axel before Olympics”
Japan Times: “Four Continents offers Mao last chance to polish moves”
After the [...]
“Ballers of Another Color”
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jeff Yang recently wrote an article with his take on sports promoter Don Lewis’s recently announced All-American Basketball Alliance, designed specifically to be an all-Caucasian league. Yang broadens the topic, particularly as it relates to the growing support of Harvard guard Jeremy Lin by the Asian American community. Undoubtably, he [...]
“Yi feels the eyes of a nation on two continents”
NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper recently penned an article featuring Yi Jianlian, center for the New Jersey Nets. With Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming about to undergo foot surgery–and despite the Nets’ notoriously poor season–Chinese basketball fans are keeping a close eye on Yi’s career since he is now the only Chinese player left in the NBA.
Howard-Cooper calls [...]
Li defeats Williams to join Zheng in the semis
Chinese tennis player Li Na beat American Venus Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to join her compatriot Zheng Jie in the semifinal round in Melbourne. She is the second Chinese woman, after Zheng, to make it this far in the tournament.
Li lost the first set to Williams 2-6, then rallied to win [...]
Zhang: Big Man on Campus
Check out this article about Max Zhang, the 7′3″ center for Cal Berkeley’s men’s basketball team. Zhang, the sophomore from Yantai City, China, is continuing to improve his game, helping the Bears out with his scoring, rebounding, and blocking abilities, especially in their conference-opener against Stanford, which they won 92-66. For more about Zhang’s popularity [...]
Ticket sales booming for Pacquiao fight
LA Times and ESPN reported that over 20,000 tickets for the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight had already been sold on the first day. Officials are expecting about 50,000 or 60,000 total seats to be sold for the fight, which will be held at the Dallas Cowboys stadium on March 13th. Despite all the hype around [...]
Zheng defeats Kirilenko, reaches semifinals of Australian Open
Zheng Jie defeated Russian Maria Kirilenko (6-1, 6-3) to make it to the semifinals of the Australian Open in Melbourne. This will be the second semifinal in a major tournament for the Chinese tennis player. Zheng’s next match will be against Justine Henin, who beat Nadia Petrova earlier on Wednesday.
More Than the Games: “Zheng eases [...]
Kobe Bryant dedicates shoes to Bruce Lee
Check out this article from ESPN, “If the shoe fits,” about LA Lakers’ Kobe Bryant’s promotion of his new Nike Zoom Kobe V. Bryant sat down with comedian George Lopez on the “Lopez Tonight “show to talk about the inspiration behind his shoes, including soccer players Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry, and martial arts legend Bruce [...]
Zheng Jie, Li Na to quarterfinals of 2010 Australian Open
China’s Zheng Jie was the first player to make it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in Melbourne, defeating 31st-seeded Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko. Zheng’s fourth round victory makes her the Chinese tennis player to make it this far in the tournament. She is also the first Chinese player to reach the semifinals of the [...]
Mirai Nagasu wins silver at U.S. Figure Skating Championship, headed to Vancouver
16-year-old Mirai Nagasu recently placed second behind Rachael Flatt in the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Washington. Nagasu, who won the title as a 14-year-old in 2008, was in the lead after an impressive short program performance. Even her near flawless free skate was not enough to surpass Flatt’s overall score of 200.11, [...]
2010 Australian Open: China’s Li Na and Jie Zheng survive to third round
At the 2010 Australian Open in Melbourne, both Li Na and Zheng Jie–China’s top tennis players–made it past their opponents to make it to the third round. Along with Li and Zheng, Taiwanese American Vania King pulled off a minor upset by beating 23rd-ranked Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova, only to be defeated in the second round by [...]
Marbury to play in China
Several websites have reported that former Boston Celtic and NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury has just signed a deal to play with Shanxi Zhongyu in the Chinese Basketball Association. The 32-year-old point guardis looking forward to promoting his personal shoe brand and improving his public image during his time in China. The Shanxi club is hoping [...]
“Chinese Sneaker Giant Li Ning Steps Onto Nike’s Home Court”
Sarah Gilbert of DailyFinance.com recently penned an article about Chinese shoe company Li Ning and the opening of of their first store in Portland, Oregon. With their increasingly popularity in China, Li Ning has also recently sealed a deal with NBA LA Clippers star Baron Davis to develop his own line of basketball shoes, and [...]
Pacquiao vs. Clottey scheduled
Several sites, including Yahoo!News and ESPN, have reported that a fight has been scheduled for March 13th between Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao and Ghanian Joshua Clottey. The fight will be hosted by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at the Cowboys Stadium, which boasts 100,000 seats (40,000 of which will initially be made available) and the [...]
Confessions of a Jeremy Lin fanatic
by SMC
Beyond Badminton reporter SMC caught up with the Jeremy Lin fanatic who was featured in Diamond Leung’s ESPN College blog.
Hong Kong Tennis Classic 2010
In Hong Kong, Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova faced off in an exhibition match against China’z Zheng Jie. Zheng, who is currently ranked 35th in the world, put up a formidable fight, coming back from a 3-1 deficit to take the first set in a tie breaker. Sharapova (now ranked 14th in the world) came [...]
“Basketball star Yao Ming to become a father”
This headline has been circulating wildly over the last week already, but it has been reported that Rockets star Yao Ming’s wife Ye Li is expecting their first child. The announcement has apparently caused much speculation on the net, especially as both Yao and his wife were part of China’s national basketball teams, and both [...]
“Ishikawa, Asia take lead on Monty’s European team in Royal Trophy”
In Thailand, Japanese golfers Ryo Ishikawa, 18, and Koukei Oda made a comeback win to beat Europe’s Colin Montgomerie and Pablo Martin, giving Asia a 2 ½ to 1 ½ lead at the Royal Trophy. To read more about the other Asia vs. Europe matches, click here.
“Chinese embrace once foreign sports”
Associated Press writer William Foreman reports that an increasing number of Chinese are beginning to participate in marathons, skiing, mountain biking and other so-called “adventure sports”—activities once considered too foreign or American for the Chinese. But China’s growing middle class is pursuing more leisure activities, and businesses are capitalizing and marketing to these new consumers. [...]
“Lin’s Asian-American fans have arrived”
Keeping up our recent coverage of Harvard guard Jeremy Lin, here is an article from ESPN about Lin’s Asian American fans and the attention that his basketball career is garnering, especially in the Bay Area. Read here and here.
Jeremy Lin: The New Steve Nash, making Asian-American history tonight in Santa Clara, of all places
by SMC
When I was in high school way back when, there was this point guard that everyone talked about. He was arguably the best point guard in the province of British Columbia and won a Provincial Championship, along with the MVP trophy that year.
The changing face of sports
Check out this review of the past year by The Rafu Shimpo, an LA-based Japanese news source. The article highlights accomplishments by Asian and Asian American athletes in 2009, including Ichiro Matsui, Kurt Suzuki, Yu-Na Kim, Ryo Ishikawa, Lyoto Machida, Manny Pacquiao, and Hines Ward. Proof that Asians and Asian Americans really are changing the [...]
