Dong competing in the Sydney Games

Five golds, two silvers and four bronzes – the performance of Chinese athletes at the Vancouver Games has been nothing but outstanding during the celebration of Chinese New Year. But back home, sports officials in Beijing are fumbling, as a bronze medal the Chinese gymnastic team won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics could be stripped soon.

As gymnastics officials may have helped Chinese athletes falsify birth documentations just like the football and basketball teams have been doing in the country, it looks they forgot to remind the players that they should keep lying.

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) posted their ruling last Saturday on its Web site. Excerpt below:

In the case of Dong Fangxiao, the Executive Committee constituted that there was a violation to the FIG Statutes and Regulations. Consequently, the results obtained by Dong Fangxiao at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games have been cancelled. The FIG Executive Committee decision was forwarded to the IOC Executive Board with the recommendation to withdraw the Bronze medal obtained by the Chinese Team including the results of Dong Fangxiao in Sydney. In addition, the FIG Executive Committee pronounced the cancellation of all results obtained by Dong Fangxiao at the 34th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 1999 in Tianjin (CHN), of all results obtained at the FIG World Cup Series 1999 – 2000 and at the Artistic Gymnastics 2000 World Cup Final in Glasgow (GBR) The costs of the disciplinary procedure are awarded to the Chinese Gymnastics Association.

The Committee decided that in the case of Yang Yun the concrete and objective evidence available is insufficient to prove that the birth date indicated on the official documents was falsified. Ms. Yang Yun is awarded with a warning for the declaration she made during the interview with CCTV5. The only mention of age in this case was on a television interview. The costs of the disciplinary procedure are awarded to the Chinese Gymnastics Association.

Should the punishment be made by the International Olympic Committee, it can kind of prove that the Chinese gymnastic team lied to the world, also putting the results at the Beijing Games highly questionable. And now the Chinese Gymnastics Association claims the evidence held by the FIG is unconvincing.

“We believe that to date, there is no sufficient evidence to prove that there were problems with Dong Fangxiao’s age in 1999 and 2000, therefore we feel great regret toward the FIG’s punishment decision,” a staffer of the association said last Saturday and later put their statement on its Web site.

The whole thing left us with a comical situation that while there’s evidence suggests the players were under age when they competed in the Olympics, without reliable help from sports science, it seems these young ladies can never get caught by lying.

And the problem in China is, if the players do get caught here, like the CBA players we’ve mentioned earlier (also see here and here), they face little punishment according to China’s sports law.

Call me a pessimist, but unless the new licensing system implemented by the FIG is super cool, it looks very unlikely that the age fraud shall be gone from here soon. Let’s hope not to continue the talk after the London Games.

Update 1: In an interview with China Youth Daily, Luo Chaoyi, director of Gymnastics Administrative Center under the General Administration of Sport, the top governing body of Chinese sport, said the age of Dong Fangxiao is her personal matter and the fact that Dong’s age had been shifted 3 yrs younger after her retirement was Dong and her family’s own practice. (According to the FIG’s findings, Dong registered a birth date of January 20, 1983 at Sydney but when accredited to act as “secretary” at vault at the 2008 Beijing Games, had declared her birth date as January 23, 1986.)

Links and Sources:

• The FIG: Sanctions pronounced!
• msnbc: IOC: No proof China cheated in gymnastics
• AP: China expresses regret over gymnastics punishment
• Time: Can Science Tell a Gymnast’s Age?
• China Youth Daily via NetEase: Dong Fangxiao’s age fraud a personal practice (in Chinese)

Photo: NetEase

“The aim of signing Marbury is to pay back our fans and try to win more games in the rest of the season,” Shanxi boss Wang Xingjiang told ESPN.

Reports indicate Marbury is expected to help boost the team’s chances of making the playoffs. Currently, Shanxi sits 15th out of 17th in CBA league standings.

Shanxi made headlines last year when former NBA player Bonzi Wells joined the team, and two months later took a vacation and subsequently did not return to China.

— Zachary Franklin

I dug through the news reports from Ohio to China, trudging through the same list of accolades and accomplishments of Albert Hung, one of the wealthiest businessmen in Hong Kong, who is finalizing a deal to buy a 15 percent stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Then I waited for the negative backlash.

There was none.

The NBA in China blog did a writeup of Hung, stating “Hung is a member of numerous powerful groups and committees including: the Standing Committee of National Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Vice President of China Sports Foundation, Vice Chairman of Major Sports Events Committee, the President of All Stars Sports Association Ltd. of Hong Kong, and Vice President and Director of the South China Athletic Association.”

I was waiting for the harsh comments concerning a Chinese Communist Party member getting his hands on an American basketball team. He’s a member of the CPPCC, which is now a sort of advisory group to the National People’s Congress, and has been chaired by the likes of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping and Li Xiannian.

The NBA in China blog went even further: “Perhaps his most valuable political affiliation is with the Hong Kong Selection Committee, which is the group that elects the chief executive of the massive Asian commerce and cultural hub.” Judging by previous news reports, the Hong Kong Selection Committee — chosen by the Chinese government — was somewhat unpopular when it was charged with selecting the first leader of Hong Kong’s provisional government as well as its other legislatures, after the citizens in Hong Kong had already selected a group in a free election. No one batted an eye.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio’s largest newspaper, reported much of the same information as the NBA China blog report. I was waiting for Hung to face the same gauntlet radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh got hit by when he was stonewalled from purchasing the St. Louis Rams. Nothing.

It was reported Tsingtao beer signed a multi-year partnership with the Cavaliers’ Quicken Loans Arena. Ohio is the fourth largest producer of beer in the United States, and the third largest consumer, according to statistics. Pabst Brewing Company, one of the oldest beer companies in the United States, is now produced in Ohio. Annheuser-Busch, which makes Budweiser, and Miller Brewing both have production plants in the state. No resident in Ohio has bothered to question a Chinese beer company setting up shop inside the Cavs’ arena.

My speculation that negative commentary would be the result of both a 15 percent purchase by a Chinese businessman and a Chinese beer company coming to town was from some of the more negative headlines concerning the People’s Republic in 2009. Australia steel giant Rio Tinto backed off a deal for Aluminum Corp. of China to purchase a 18 percent stake in June, according to the Wall Street Journal, and mixed in with the deal’s rejection was concern that the Chinese government was getting too close to a national industry in Australia — a similar sentiment made by United States politicians four years ago when the Chinese made an attempt to purchase a U.S. oil company. The rioting in Xinjiang that took place in July brought a second major protest in China over a span of two years to the front lines of major newspapers and television stations, the result has been 22 people sentenced to death since the rioting stopped.  The Guardian reported that China showed some ire in September after threatening to boycott the Frankfurt Book Fair — where China was the guest of honor at this year’s event — unless two authors, which the Chinese government deemed dissidents, were removed from the list of participants. Most recently, the Guardian blasted China for what it called “hijacking” the Copenhagen climate meetings, stating the PRC wrecked any attempt at making a real deal at the summit.

That’s a long paragraph that has little to do with sports. But from all this, I was expecting the worst when I read that Hung would be purchasing a stake in the Cavs. There was nothing. There wasn’t much praise either. Only a few ripples within the news. But I have yet to read any negative commentary with regard to Hung and his business dealings.

The silence around Hung’s recent move and the deal to be finalized come the start of 2010 should be taken as a good sign for the NBA, which has seen its stock in the Chinese market steadily rise over the years, particularly since the league brought pre-season games over to the Mainland. Then again, Hung, and partner Kenny Huang — who was the original man selected to invest in the Cavs — might just be the future to bringing more of America’s sports to China.

— Zachary Franklin

“Yunnan’s poor business operation last season resulted in unpaid wages for players and coaches and a negative impact on the league,” said Zhang Xiong, director at Chinese Basketball Management Center, the governing body for Chinese basketball. “The club operation remained stagnant at Yunnan after the 2008-2009 season. According to CBA regulations, Yunnan Honghe is not qualified for the new season.”

Zhang further announced that players in contract with the Yunnan side are allowed to move freely for the new season and a decision is yet to be made as to whether the club can attend the 2010-2011 season.

Yunnan Bulls won the 2004 National Basketball League championship, the second-tier league in China, and were promoted to the top-flight CBA  for the 2004–2005 season

The 2009-2010 season of CBA will kick off on December 19 and end on April 30 in 2010. There will be no North- and South-divisions in the new season of CBA. During the regular season, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 32 games as opposed to 50 matches last season.

Previously:

• Yao Not Owner of Shanghai Sharks

Links and Sources:

• Sina Sports: Red card for Yunnan Honghe over unpaid wages (Chinese)

Golden State Warriors vs. Milwaukee Bucks - the NBA 2008 preseason game in Beijing

According to the National Basketball Association, a preseason game between Denver Nuggets and the Indiana Pacers will be staged at Beijing Wukesong Arena on Oct.11, a third preseason game in China’s capital after 2004 and 2008.

“The Wukesong Arena is an outstanding facility that we are proud to call the home of the NBA in Beijing,” Tim Chen, CEO of NBA China was quoted as saying. “We are honored to return to play our third game in Beijing and are looking forward to providing a great game between the Nuggets and Pacers in October to our avid fans.”

Due to an Olympic hangover and a lack of star players, the 2008 game only enjoyed an attendance of less than 50 percent. With all star players like Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, this year’s game will definitely attract more fans than last year’s.

The two teams will also bring the first-ever preseason game to Taipei on Oct.8, and the tickets have already sold out.

That the NBA games have been broadcast in China for 15 years is considered as a main reason by some as to why Chinese are not interested in the country’s own basketball league, the CBA. Today a well-resourced NYT article looks into how the CBA is digging their own grave.

Links and Sources:

• NBA: Nuggets, Pacers to play preseason game in Bejing (h/t @ChinaBasketball)
• Legal Evening News: NBA preseason game cold-shouldered in Beijing (Chinese)
• New York Times: In China, a Rocky Ascent for Basketball

Previously:

• What can Yao Ming get from the Sharks?
• The battle between Fenglu and CBA

Photo: Dayoo

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As you might have been bombarded by the news, Chinese NBA star Yao Ming is buying his former CBA team, the Shanghai Sharks. The team finished the second last in the 08-09 season, the worst ever result in club’s history.

“As a Shanghainese, I’m emotionally attached to the team,” Yao was quoted as saying by a state-owned television station. “The club is now in a difficult situation and I hope I can do something to help.”

It’s such a good thing to do when you can help your former teammates. But what can Yao get from the Sharks?

1. Attention

Attention, one of the things that Yao never lacked since entering the NBA in 2002. But last month, Yao’s left foot injury was described as “career-threatening” by Tom Clanton, the Houston Rokets physician, a tragic news for the 28-year-old. The big man is not likely to get back on court soon, which means he will be away from Chinese media coverage for some time. By acquiring the Sharks, Yao’s presence can definitely reignite the Luwan Stadium and the new position to keep him in the limelight of Chinese media for seasons, if not decades. Once Yao retires, he’s name will still be held by new basketball fans in the Middle Kingdom.

2. Connections

Yao is deemed as a savior by Shanghai Sports Bureau, the powerhouse behind the Sharks, who seemed desperate to offload the team. The Sharks has been running without a sponsor since this April. Though there’re three shareholders, Shanghai Sports Technical Institute, Shanghai Media Group and Hongqiao Airport, none of them were interested in taking care of players’ paychecks after Xiyang Group pulled back from its sponsorship plan.

“As a renowned international basketball player, Yao Ming has become a symbol of Chinese basketball and even Chinese sport. His affection to his mother team (a Chinese way of describing the first club a player played for), his achievement and his experiences and visions brought by seven years of playing in the NBA, made us think that Yao Ming is the most suitable person to take over the team…”

Above is a statement made by Yu Chen, the Shanghai Sports Bureau chief, and it’s published noticeably on the Bureau’s website this morning. Being rich is not enough to steer a CBA team, you need to be welcomed by your bureau friends. As a national hero, Yao no doubt qualifies in the department and, the new Sharks boss will enjoy the reinforced warmth and intimacy with Chinese bureaucrats.

3. Satisfaction

Seven seasons in the NBA still without a championship ring. Yao is not as lucky as Mengke Bateer and Sun Yue, who received their shiny rings respectively with the Spurs and Lakers, without even playing in the finals. Yet Yao’s fortune allows him to do something his national teammates have never dreamed of, buying his former CBA team, a team that he began to play for since 15, a jersey his father also used to wear. The pioneering buyout in China’s sports world means much more than just business to Yao and his family.

The RMB 20m acquisition of Shanghai Sharks will pave the way for whatever business Yao is planning in China. I wouldn’t be surprised if he launch his own sportswear brand in the  future. The only question left is when.

Links and Sources:

• Shanghaiist: Yao Ming buys Shanghai Sharks
• Shanghai Daily: Yao signs agreement to buy Sharks
• Time: China Fears Yao Ming Injury Could End His Career

Previously:

• Shanghai Sharks Is Struggling without Sponsor

Picture:  hoopCHINA

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Guangdong Southern Tigers (广东宏远) beat Xinjiang Flying Tigers (新疆广汇) 106-95, notching their fifth CBA title in six years by 4-1 in the finals.

Xinjiang were ahead 32-23 after the first quarter but Guangdong bounced back to lead 50-48 at the half. The defending champion extended their lead to 10 points in the their quarter by 78-68. Xinjiang scored only 8 points in the fourth quarter, the lowest in the history of CBA finals.

The Southern Tigers set a new CBA record this season by winning 29 games in a row until Xinjiang managed to grab a victory in the 3rd game of the finals.

Previously:

• Struck by State-ownership, Shanghai Sharks Is Struggling without Sponsor
• The Battle Between Fenglu Club And CBA

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• Gao Hongbo was named as new coach of China Men’s Soccer Team, the youngest man to take the helm in 30 years.

• Bernie Ecclestone backs the future of Shanghai GP.

• Xinjiang joined Guangdong in the CBA finals, defeating Jiangsu 97-90 to win its series 3-1.

• New Jersey Nets international Yi Jianlian will return to China to compete at the Asian Championships in August.

• Chinese tennis star Li Na has called for an overhaul of the nation’s famously rigid sports programme.

• Volleyball player Ding Hui, born in Hangzhou to a South African father and a Chinese mother, becomes the first mixed-race athlete selected for one of China’s national sports teams.

• Guangzhou to start recruiting more than 560,000 volunteers for 2010 Asian Games.

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Shanghai Sharks (上海大鲨鱼), the CBA team that developed the country’s most famous player Yao Ming, is now struggling after Xiyang Group (西洋集团), their only sponsor, pulled back from its five-year sponsorship plan. The Liaoning-based fertilizer manufacturer has been supporting Shanghai basketball since 2007 with 15 million RMB ($ 2.2 mln USD) injection a year into both of its women’s and men’s teams. While the company pays all the bills, the club is co-owned by Shanghai Sports Bureau and Shanghai Media Group, a state-owned media company.

Last November, Cong Xuedi, head coach of Shanghai Women’s Basketball Team, secretively allowed five of their first-team players to play for East China Normal University(华东师范大学) in the 7th National University Games after the club turned down the university request to borrow their players, a common practice for almost all universities that participated in the Games. Xiyang Group decided to fire Cong for disobeying their authority. But the coach was saved by Shanghai Technical Sports Institute (STSI, 上海体育职业学院,) a school under Shanghai Sports Bureau, as they hoped the women’s team can perform better in this year’s National Games under the coaching of her.

“It’s agreed that we’re responsible for managing the club,” Wang Bo, Xiyang’s representitive in Shanghai, told press last November, “things have been running on the contrary so far. We’ve talked with STSI and may stop sponsoring the team should the coach is kept at her post.” They did. And so with the men’s team after the regular season ended this March. A lowest paid player that used to make 10,000 RMB ($ 1,500 USD) a month at the Sharks can now receive only about 1,500 RMB ($ 220 USD) from the local sports bureau. It’s reportedly that some of the players can’t even pay their mortgage. “The reason we quited is that we don’t have the club ownership and managing right,” Qiu Guangchun, vice president of Xiwang Group told a Shanghai paper, “they should know why we quited.”

“CBA is not a professional league,” said Yang Yi, deputy editor-in-chief of Titan Sports to China Sports Review, “You wound’t expect to have a team like Bayi Rockets (八一火箭) in a professional league[CSR: the Bayi Rockets are an army team and is the only team with no foreign players in CBA.] Teams in a pro league should first be privately-held. CBA belongs to the government and it’s at most a half-professional league. And at least four CBA teams belong to local sports bureaus.”

“Xiyang’s withdrawal has nothing to do with the economic crisis. Shanghai Sharks is governed by the local sports bureau. The team had been neglected [by the sports bueau guys] since Yao Ming left for NBA. The leaders at the bureau turned their focus to volleyball as they thought the basketball team had no chance of winning the title without Yao,” Yang noted, “It’s not because of Shanghai’s team was bad or had no promising young players. The sport just lost their attention there. And to the sports bureau leaders, a businessman has only the right to sponsor the team but not to make any decision.”

Xiyang left Shanghai. But they’re planning on a comeback in Anshan, Liaoning Province. The Anshan Xiyang Basketball Club (鞍山西洋男篮) was established in 2006 and has been playing in NBL, the secondary league to CBA, for two seasons. The team recruited some good players from Shanghai Sharks’ youth team in 2007 and Xiyang hoped it can be promoted into CBA one day. “Eighteen teams are already too many for CBA,” said Yang, “I don’t think there will be any addition to the league. Rather, the basketball association might consider to cut some teams off.”

Previously:

• The Battle Between Fenglu Club And The Chinese Basketball Association
• Former NBA Player Bonzi Wells Released by Shanxi Zhongyu Club
• CBA Players and the Myth about the Ages Of Chinese Women Gymnasts

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Shanxi Zhongyu(山西中宇), the Taiyuan-based CBA club, told press on Jan.31 about their decision to release Bonzi Wells, the most notable foreign aid in the league, for not returning to the club. Mr.Wells left Shangxi for the US on Jan. 22 and was supposed to come back on 27, according to the Shanxi club, who is to play Jilin Northeast Tigers tonight on Feb.1.

The ex-NBA player joined the club on Dec.12, 2008. In his 50 days of staying, Bonzi played 14 games and was the 2nd leading scorer in the league with an average of 34.3 points, second only to Gabe Muoneke, a Yunnan Honghe forward with a PPG of 34.6 in 19 matches.

According to Asian Basket, Bonzi Wells has been replaced by Tim Pickett, who was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2004 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets.

Related Reads:

• Xinhua: Bonzi Wells joins CBA with Shanxi Zhongyu
• Asia Basket: Bonzi Wells Not Coming Back to China!

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