Results tagged “cba”

An ex-employee of NBA China's Shanghai office has been detained for alleged involvement in the bribery scandal that engulfed several workers at Coca Cola's bottler, Shanghai Shenmei Beverage & Food Co. earlier this month. The former NBA staff member had been identified during a police probe of irregularities and was handed over to the Shanghai Municipal Prosecuratorate, police have confirmed.

We guess even if Yao Ming's foot takes him away from playing the game, it doesn't mean he's out of basketball. The superstar athlete is becoming the new boss of his former team, the Shanghai Sharks. In what China Daily calls the highest profile deal in Chinese Basketball Association history, Yao Ming signed an agreement with all three of Shanghai Shark's current shareholders to buy their stakes. The 2.26m center said he is willing to “pay back his home team and Shanghai where he started his basketball career” and will “help Shanghai return to glory.” The last CBA championship the Sharks won was in the 2001-02 season with the help of Yao. Since he's left, the team's fallen into dire straits, placing second last most recently.

It looks like the Sports Illustrated cover curse applies to the Chinese version as well. Former NBA player Bonzi Wells was released by the CBA's Shanxi Zhongyu a couple of days ago, shortly after his mug graced the cover of SI China.

With the opening Olympic tournament game against Team USA just around the corner, a less than fully recuperated Yao Ming finds himself sandwiched between angry fans on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Chinese fans blame the Rockets for the stress fracture Yao Ming sustained during this last NBA season, thus jeopardizing his upcoming performance and China's chances to shine in the Olympic tournament. American fans hurl back that it is the year round obligations to the Chinese National team that have worn him out, and remind the Chinese exactly who is footing Yao Ming's $15 million salary. Given the headache of dealing with pressure from both sides, it should come as no surprise when Yao stated that he would like this to be his final Olympic appearance.

"It will be my third," he said. "I was a very young player and got my first taste of the Olympics in 2000 at Sydney. I played in Athens in 2004 and now this is my home country and the highest special honor in 2008. Enough, I think. Why would I need to play in London in 2012?"

Titan24 translates the original story from Houston Chronicle into Chinese for its readers, while shifting the focus away from the obligation Yao Ming feels towards his fans on both sides of the ocean, and concentrating more on the possibility of Yao bowing out in the future. They go as far as to caption the above photo of Yao on the bench, "Does Yao Ming really want to say goodbye to the China team?" The original Houston Chronicle article shows Yao in an infinitely more positive light, as a single person standing in the difficult position of trying to bridge the divide between Chinese and Americans, and who above all remains dedicated to the cause of supporting his homeland.