In a bid to boost Taiwan's sport activities, lawmakers from across party lines teamed up with two former Olympic medalists yesterday to call on the government to upgrade the Cabinet-level National Council for Physical Fitness and Sports (體委會) into a ministry.
The former Olympians are Yang Chuan-kuang (楊傳廣), the silver medalist in the decathlon of the 1960 Rome Olympics, and Chi Cheng (紀政), the winner of the bronze medal in the 80m hurdles at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. They both attended a public hearing organized by legislators from across the political divide yesterday, to voice their support for the request.
In an attempt to downsize the government and restructure the Cabinet, the Executive Yuan approved a draft of the Executive Yuan Organization Act (
The draft has caused unhappiness in the nation's sports circles as well as in the ruling DPP. This means that the draft is still far from getting passed by the Legislature. The current legislative session is scheduled to end on June 20.
DPP lawmaker Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said during yesterday's hearing that a draft bill to push for a Ministry of Physical Education (體育部) would be introduced during the next legislative session.
Wang said the government's annual budget for sports-related activities in Taiwan has so far amounted to less than NT$4 billion a year, which is far less than that of western countries.
Wang criticized the budget as allocating too little to the cultivation of the nation's sporting ability.
Yang, the former Olympic medalist, yesterday thanked the lawmakers for their support for the cause that he has been devoted to for years.
"Though many Taiwanese kids love sports," said Yang, "due to their parents' fears that there is no future for athletes in Taiwan, sports has never been a serious matter in this country."
Shaquille O’Neal is staying with TNT Sports on a new contract worth more than US$15 million per year, Front Office Sports reported on Friday. The news means the cast of Inside the NBA is staying together even as TNT is set to license out the show to ESPN starting next season. TNT was the odd network out in the NBA’s recent TV rights negotiations, as NBC and Amazon joined previous rightsholder ESPN in inking deals for basketball games. That left TNT without a need for pregame and postgame NBA shows. In a trade with ESPN, TNT is licensing Inside the NBA to the
Juventus on Sunday stopped Inter from replacing SSC Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into the UEFA Champions League positions. Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would stay two points ahead of reigning champions Inter by classily tucking home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertaining contest in Turin. Portugal attacker Conceicao netted his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after brilliant work from Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third straight league win. Juve are in fourth place on 46 points, ahead on goal-difference from SS
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to
Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum on Sunday combined for 27 points as Shaquille O’Neal’s “Team Shaq” cruised to victory in the new-look NBA All-Star game in San Francisco. Curry, playing on his home court at Golden State’s Chase Center, reeled off a string of trademark three-pointers to help his star-studded lineup coast to a 41-25 victory over Charles Barkley’s “Team Chuck.” Boston Celtics star Tatum finished with 15 points after delivering a dominant performance in a starting lineup that also included Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and James Harden. Team Shaq’s preparations for the game had been dealt a blow shortly before tip-off when