SOCCER: TAIWAN V AUSTRALIA
After being thumped by the Australian national team 11-0 last Wednesday in Adelaide, Australia, the Taiwanese men's soccer team will try to capitalize on its home-field advantage during a rematch today. The game, the second leg of the qualifier for next year's Beijing Olympics, begins at 6pm at Zhongshan Soccer Stadium in Taipei. Entry is free.
No change for CPBL
Lee Wen-pin (李文彬), secretary-general of the Chinese Profes-sional Baseball League (CPBL), refuted speculation that the league could be the next organization set by the government to change its name to "Taiwan," the Chinese-language China Times said yesterday.
Because the league is asking for tax breaks and financial assistance from the Cabinet's National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, there had been speculation that the CPBL might face pressure to follow the path of the recently renamed Taiwan Post Co (臺灣郵政) and CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油).
Yesterday league and team leaders met with Minister of Finance Ho Chih-chin (
However, as the CPBL is privately run organization, the government has no power to order it to change its name.
Lee said that "only state-run enterprises have to change their names and this isn't related to our financial or legal matters. We've never even thought about changing our name."
LU WINS, GROUP Struggles
Top Taiwanese tennis player Lu Yen-hsung (
Lu recently fell foul of the Chinese Taipei Tennis Association, which is coming under fire from all sides in the aftermath of Taiwan's upset loss to Thailand in the Davis Cup's Asia/Oceana Zone on Sunday. The organization's message board has been covered with posts accusing the organization of a lack of professionalism and hindering the development of tennis in Taiwan.
Lu reportedly dropped out of the tournament after his demand that the association treat its players better was denied.
There is also a controversy between Chan Yung-jan (詹詠然) and Chuang Chia-jung (莊佳容), silver medalists at last year's Asian Games, and their coaches, who they accuse of not distributing prize money as agreed.
MEET THE TIGERS IN KAOHSIUNG
Fans of the Super Basketball League's Dacin Tigers can meet their favorite players at the Life 1 Shopping Center in Kaohsiung today during a public signing being held for Valentines Day.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and