This is a studio discussion I did alongside the always excellent Rowan Simons, who – literally – wrote the book on this, on CCTV last week after the new soccer reforms in China were announced.
For previous episodes of China Sports Insider, please click below:
NFL legend Jerry Rice, ranked by NFL Films as the greatest player in history, visited China last month as part of the NFL’s continued efforts to promote the game overseas, and China Sports Insider was there to see him. Rice talks about the success the NFL has had in London, how the approach in China is different – plus why a Super Bowl in China would “fantastic”.
For previous episodes of the China Sports Insider video series, see Ep 1 (motor racing), Ep 2 (NFL), Ep 3 (golf) and Ep 4 (Beijing’s Olympic bid).
Here, belatedly, is one of my appearances on BBC World during the Sochi Olympics, talking to presenter Sarah Stone live via Skype. The first part is a little outdated as it talks about China’s medals and prospects (at that time), but the section from 1:38 on Beijing’s bid for the 2022 Olympic Games is still relevant.
Continue reading China Sports Insider Ep. 4 – Beijing’s Olympic bid
Day 4 review
Tuesday February 11 was a solid – but ultimately disappointing – day for China. Speed skater Zhang Hong (pictured left) pulled out the performance of the day in the first run of the women’s 2 x 500 m. Her time of 37.58 was a new track record at the time, though two competitors later went faster, placing Zhang in bronze medal position at the half way point. Her second race was considerably slower at 37.99 for a 4th place finish – 0.1 seconds out of bronze – but she’ll have another chance in the 1,000 m.
Continue reading China’s Olympics: Day 4 review, Day 5 preview
A couple more Li Na items before we get into Olympic season… A video doing the rounds shows Li being slapped by a local sports official back at the National Games in 2001.
According to the above report from Xinhua – is there a better source? – “political advisors in Shanghai have suggested the city should bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics”.
It is, quite simply, another classic clip from Chinese state-run TV, which checks all the boxes: Continue reading Shanghai to explore 2028 Olympic bid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tT_ABy0m_s
While China waits for Li Na’s Australian Open semifinal against Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard, here’s an interview I recorded with CNBC just before Christmas, which discusses: Continue reading China Sports Insider Ep. 3 – Golf’s growth in China (CNBC)
San Francisco 49ers legendary quarterback Joe Montana – he of the FOUR Super Bowl wins – was in China recently to promote the NFL. I got the chance to interview him on top of the Great Wall and asked him about the development of the game in China, when Chinese fans can expect to see a preseason game and how soon it will be until a Chinese born-and-bred player makes it in the NFL.
For China Sports Insider Ep.1, click here.
Welcome to the first of what will be a series of videocasts with the people who matter in the Chinese sports industry, everyone from athletes and officials to executives and agents.
We kick things off with a discussion with top Chinese motor racing drivers Franky Cheng Congfu and Adderly Fong about the state of motorsports in China today, how soon China can expect to see a team or driver in F1, and which drivers are better – those from Hong Kong or the mainland!
Rutgers fired basketball coach Mike Rice recently after video surfaced of him abusing his students at practice. This is every bit as bad, worse if you consider that these students are 13/14-year old girls. They get repeatedly hit, kicked, whipped, smacked and verbally abused by their teacher. Check out the look at 1:04 when one girl turns to check on another who has just been beaten. Source is unknown, but video is clearly taken on at least two separate occasions, so this cannot be dismissed as a one-off event. [UPDATE: According to Chinese media (via Beijing Cream) the video was originally uploaded to an international video-sharing website last November, and then was recently posted on Chinese video site Youku by user 比利时巧克力2. The Youku version now has 1.9 2.2 2.7 million views and has drawn more than 37,000 39,000 41,000 comments. UPDATE 2: As the Huffington Post notes, the copy of this I uploaded to Youtube has been deleted – even though the very similar Mike Rice abuse video (here, and many other places) continues to rack up the hits – so I’m now linking to another copy of the video].