Last fall, we told you about the China Bowl — the NFL preseason (American) football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks scheduled for early August in Beijing. In February, we told you about all the China Bowl plugs we saw during the international broadcast of the Super Bowl. And just one month ago, we told you about the three Chinese kickers (one named "Rambo") the NFL was training with the hopes that at least one of them could suit up for the China Bowl. We even had one reader email us to see if we could confirm the date (we had heard anywhere between August 7 and 9) — because he had already booked plane tickets for his brother-in-law, a huge Pats fan, to come to Beijing, but was worried he had him schedule to fly back before the game even started. more ›

On our way to the gym yesterday morning, still a little groggy, we got off the subway one stop too early. But at Shaanxi Nan Lu, we saw the attached advertisement. It's probably been up for several weeks now, but we have been out of town — and we don't normally get off at the wrong stop. more ›

Beijing will play host to an NFL preseason game next year, the professional American football league announced today (it had been rumored for a while). The New England Patriots will take on the Seattle Seahawks at 8:30 pm on August 8, 2007 in Workers Stadium. The game will be televised live in both the United States (NBC) and China (CCTV). (The Associated Press story, linked to above, said the game "will be shown live on NBC at 8:30 a.m. ET on Aug. 9. The dateline was "FOXBORO, Mass." -- forgive them if they don't quite understand how the time difference works up in New England.) more ›

So here's the deal: Friday, Sept. 22, 7-11 pm; 2 for 1 on selected Aussie wines (normal prices start at 40 RMB) and 2 for 1 on Coopers beer (that's two bottles of one of the better brews found in Shanghai for RMB 30 ... we haven't seen a better deal in a long, long time). They will also be firing up the barbie (burgers and other meats at good prices) out on the patio, where they will be showing some Aussie movies (no, not Young Einstein). We'll be playing Men at Work's "Land Down Under" over and over and over Aussie music all night long -- and if you are lucky, Shamus might break out the ol' didjeridoo. more ›

media reported on Friday. They welded the cage shut. Add him and his wife to the ranks of the sexually frustrated. more ›