American Football, Video

China Sports Insider Ep. 5 – Jerry Rice

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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).

American Football

The Skins get Huawei’d, and Jerry shows the AFL how it’s done

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Two recent stories of interest to NFL fans here. First, Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, which has blitzed Europe and elsewhere with its sporting sponsorships, has finally broken into the US market, despite lawmakers doing their best to blacklist the firm due to spying concerns. Unsurprisingly it’s come in Washington where its highly-paid lobbyists have been based, and it’s a partnership with the Redskins – also unsurprising since the Redskins have drawn an equal amount of negative press converage in recent months. As they say, birds of a feather flock together…

Washington Redskins Huawei

Continue reading The Skins get Huawei’d, and Jerry shows the AFL how it’s done →

Golf

Rory’s China snub does double damage

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The HSBC Champions teed off in Shanghai on Thursday and, despite attracting 40 of the world’s top 50 golfers, the Chinese won’t be paying much attention. That’s because there’s no Tiger Woods and no Rory McIlroy.

Rory-McIlroy-mainTiger has an excuse – he’s been injured and hasn’t played since August – but Rory? Officially, he’s preparing for a court case 4-6 months from now. Unofficially, he’s tired after a long season, China is a long way away, he’s still likely to win the big end of season climax without playing here, he won’t make as much money as last year, or perhaps a little of everything. Whatever the truth, it doesn’t reflect too well on McIlroy – and it hurts Chinese golf too. This week’s Sports Talk column is below:  Continue reading Rory’s China snub does double damage →

Chinese language, Golf

麦克罗伊缺席中国赛有损高尔夫推广

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高尔夫中国大师赛正在如火如荼地进行当中。作为主要比赛地，北京、上海、海南吸引了全世界最优秀的男女高尔夫球选手。但有一个人的缺席却引起了人们的极大关注，那就是罗里•麦克罗伊。

Rory McIlroy Continue reading 麦克罗伊缺席中国赛有损高尔夫推广 →

Cycling, Football

Smog, customs thwarting sports stars in Beijing

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Almost exactly a year ago, Beijing played host to a dream day of international sports: both Neymar and Kobe were in town with their respective teams, and the Tour of Beijing was wrapping up in glorious sunshine. This year…not so much.

Argentina players brave the smog for quick kickabout
Argentina players brave the smog for quick kickabout

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Tennis

Djokovic: Beijing’s pollution “slows ball down”

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Remember a year ago when the smog in Beijing was so bad that Rafael Nadal nearly pulled out of the China Open tennis final, while golfers in the inaugural LPGA Reignwood Classic wore masks while they played?

Photo credit: ATP/Getty Images
Photo credit: ATP/Getty Images

This year during the National Week holiday the weather was generally kinder, though the weather did not go unnoticed. Check out these comments made by world number one Novak Djokovic:

Continue reading Djokovic: Beijing’s pollution “slows ball down” →

Sports business news and analysis in China and Asia