Chinese star injured as women's soccer ties US 0-0
Wednesday, 30th July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
China's women's soccer (football) team played the United States to a scoreless draw in a warmup match Wednesday in Qinhuangdao. Ma Xiaoxu (马晓旭), a 20-year-old striker and one of the team's key players, was carried off in the 30th minute with an injury to her left knee. Ma was starting for the first time after being sidelined for almost a year due to a knee injury.China's starting lineup for the match, which should be similar to its Olympic lineup was as follows: Zhang Yanru (张艳茹), Zhou Gaoping (周高萍), Weng Xinzhi (翁新芝), Li Jie (李洁), Liu Huana (刘华娜), Zhang Ying (张颖), Bi Yan (毕妍), Zhang Na (张娜) Pu Wei (浦玮), Ma Xiaoxu and Yuan Xu (徐媛).
Tags: Beijing 2008, football, Ma Xiaoxu, Olympics, soccer, 马晓旭
Australia puts Yi on lockdown en route to 67-55 win
Wednesday, 30th July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Nanjing—Australia forced 23 turnovers, held Yao Ming (姚明) to 14 points and kept Yi Jianlian scoreless on its way to a 12-point win over China's men's basketball team Wednesday afternoon at the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament."We lost the game against Australia," Yao told FIBA after the loss. "They are a very good side but we didn't play well. We made many turnovers. We have a lot to improve on in a short time but we will do our best."
The team's second leading score was Li Nan (李楠), who is getting ready to play in his fourth Olympics with the team. The 31-year-old with the outside shooting touch had 11.
China lost point guard Liu Wei to an as yet unidentified injury in the first half.
Tags: FIBA Diamond Ball, Li Nan, Yao Ming, 姚明, 李楠
Yes, we have no blue skies
Wednesday, 30th July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The skies over Beijing looked pretty good for a few days after new traffic rules aimed at curbing pollution went into effect almost two weeks ago. But the blue skies were soon replaced with a soupy brown that's more familiar to Beijingers.This report from the Wall Street Journal's Shai Oster takes a look at what's been done, and the possibility of more drastic measures in the days to come. The story also includes a chart that tracks Beijing's pollution over the past three and a half years. For an up-to-date measure of the capital's pollution, check out the Beijing Air Quality widget on the Journal's China blog.
Time to clear things up has all but run out—the Olympic Village welcomed its first guests Sunday under hazy skies and CCTV showed footage today of athletes from various sports arriving at the airport.
Teams are taking measures to mitigate the effects of bad air. Australian track and field athletes will skip the Opening Ceremony to avoid a night breathing more Beijing air. And many foreign teams are training outside of Beijing until a day or two before competition begins.
Tags: Beijing Olympics, pollution
Rocket Ron: Artest to join Yao in Houston
Wednesday, 30th July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
A nine-year veteran of the league, Artest joins recently acquired guard Brent Barry as a new Rocket, bringing more talent and experience to help Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. The Kings reportedly get guard Bobby Jackson, rookie forward Donte Green, a draft pick next year and $1 million cash.
Tags: basketball, Brent Barry, Houston Rockets, NBA, Ron Artest, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming
China men's basketball beats Angola
Wednesday, 30th July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Point guard Liu Wei
Liu Wei passed out six assists, grabbed five rebounds (the same number as Yao) and had 18 points, including a key three pointer to put China up by six with about three minutes left. Wang Shipeng （王仕鹏）was the team's next leading scorer with 13. China's other NBA player, Yi Jianlian（易建联), had just 11 points and 6 rebounds.
After a slow start that had them down 18-10 in the first quarter, China took the lead for the first time in the second half but didn't have the game in hand until the last minute. China still struggles with Angola's quick ball movement and an active defense that often makes it tough for China to pound the ball in to Yao and Yi. The teams are 1-1 in their two meetings this summer; they play again August 14, in a preliminary round game.
China plays Australia at 4:00 this afternoon.
Link: FIBA game report
Image: QQ.com
Tags: Angola, basketball, Liu Wei, Wang Shipeng, Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian