China Sports Insider Podcast
63 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 11 ratingsIf it’s about sports and there’s a China angle, we’ll talk about it in the China Sports Insider Podcast. Mark Dreyer is the China Sports Insider. He’s worked for Sky Sports, Fox Sports, AP Sports and many others, and has covered major sporting events on five continents, including three Olympic Games 2008-12. He has been based in China since 2007. Produced and hosted by Haig Balian, a journalist and filmmaker who hosts and produces The Beijing Sessions podcast.
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Episodes
A deep dive into “Sporting Superpower”
November 23, 2022 15:49 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MB1:04 – As the China Sports Insider Podcast turns 50, are there still reasons to be optimistic about China’s sporting future? 2:46 – China may not be in the World Cup, but some skillfully edited videos circulating online have them winning the final – against Argentina! 4:14 – Qatar’s opening performance as host was a disappointment for rest of Asia. 7:21 – Turning to MMA, Chinese UFC star Zhang Weili is back on top with a title win at Madison Square Garden. 9:26 – The 2022 F1 s...
Shankai’s Feng Tao on China’s World Cup involvement
November 05, 2022 16:40 - 44 minutes - 40.7 MB2:00 – Marathons around the country have been getting postponed or canceled, but Beijing’s big race remains on — for now. 5:54 – China is rumored to be launching a bid for the 2031 Women’s World Cup. What can we read into this? 7:03 – A funny story from the aftermath of the Beijing Olympics, involving a Swiss snowboarder and an unusual tattoo. 9:51 – Our guest this episode is Feng Tao, co-founder of sports marketing firm Shankai Sports, which has brokered some of the biggest dea...
China’s sporting Politburo Standing Committee revealed – Part II
October 24, 2022 19:55 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MB0:50 Some parallels between the handling of the Hu Jintao and Peng Shuai incidents. 7:17 Following on from Part I, which outlined the top seven sporting figures of the past decade, we move to Part II and reveal who are the stars to watch – starting at the top (again, no spoilers!). Out with the old, in with the…old? 10:39 Second up is Mark’s pick for best female athlete of the future. 13:05 The best male athlete serves up a surprise. 17:31 The best Olympian of the future is fe...
China’s Sporting Politburo Standing Committee revealed – Part I
October 16, 2022 23:43 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MB0:40 – It’s Day 8 of quarantine for Mark on his return to Beijing and he’s been preoccupied by the fascinating waste disposal process. 6:00 – Former guest on the show Cameron Dicker, who grew up in Shanghai, stars for the Philadelphia Eagles in his NFL debut as the Eagles stay unbeaten. 10:50 – In honor of the upcoming 20th Party Congress, Mark reveals his top 7 China sports figures of the past in a very special – and somewhat tongue-in-cheek culminating in a new award (no spoiler...
Canada’s Ivy Liao speaks from inside Chengdu’s ping pong bubble
September 30, 2022 21:07 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MB1:20: The FIFA World Cup is approaching. How much buzz will there be in China? 3:23: Mike Pompeo was in Taiwan this week and Mark had a passing glimpse 5:39: The Chinese women’s basketball team is into the semis at the FIBA World Cup and could challenge for a medal for the first time in 28 years. 9:33: Eileen Gu poses for her first day at school as she joins a strong list of student athletes at Stanford 12:36: Chess has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently and a C...
F1 gridlock in China and Putin's Olympic brainwave
September 24, 2022 10:03 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MB0:45: Mark recounts his earthquake experience in Taiwan and highlights how the cluster of former China journalists now based on the island is affecting the overall narrative. 6:03: The livestream is back for a second week — with one crucial difference thanks to feedback from a listener/viewer. 8:10: F1 releases its 2023 calendar. Shanghai is down for April 23, but Mark promises to eat Haig’s hat if the race actually takes place. 14:32: A discussion about short-term thinking, and ...
Trouble ahead for Fosun’s Wolves? Plus lockdown tournaments and All-Star games
September 16, 2022 15:25 - 33 minutes - 30.9 MB0:45 The (new!) livestream starts with some differences in playing club tennis around the world. 2:37 Both hosts express anxiety about their upcoming returns to Beijing. 5:14 Chengdu is set to go ahead with the World Team Table Tennis Championships later this month, despite an ongoing lockdown. What lessons have organizers learned from the Beijing Olympic closed loop? And has China’s dominance in the sport impacted the decision to proceed? 11:58 One of the biggest storylines from...
Tanking with Chinese characteristics, and a surprising tennis breakthrough
September 08, 2022 16:40 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBThe China Sports Insider Podcast is back after a busy summer and will continue to evolve as Zero COVID continues to dominate the sports industry in China. 6:10 – To illustrate that point, the Chinese women’s volleyball team competed at a recent tournament in the Philippines wearing N95 masks during their game — something that drew unusual criticism from fans online. 8:48 – The big scandal of the Chinese sporting summer was former badminton world champion Ye Zhaoying revealing to D...
Fighting back: Exploring China’s self-defense scene
July 08, 2022 16:15 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBIn an special interview edition of the show, Mark and Haig speak to Yonina Chan, who helps run the Beijing chapter of the famed Israeli self-defense system Krav Maga. (0:55) What is Krav Maga and how did Chan get into it? (2:45) One of the hottest topics in China over the last month was about the incident in Tangshan, where a group of men assaulted a group of women in a restaurant. What stood out to her about that? (5:34) What specifically made this incident a complex situation? (7:...
Lessons from Hong Kong’s sporting revival on the eve of the Handover anniversary
June 22, 2022 20:03 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MB(0:55) Recent podcast guest and F1 driver Zhou Guanyu finally has some good luck, finishing eighth at the Montreal Grand Prix. (1:36) He’s a fun follow on social media, sharing insider clips and not afraid to laugh at himself, (2:15) and the race itself was worth staying up into the small hours for — at least for Mark. (3:16) Haig attempts to steer the conversation back to his beloved Canada and their World Cup pursuits, (4:05) before the hosts discuss a new sports law in China that...
Jeremiah Jenne on the NBA finals and being a Boston sports fan in China
June 16, 2022 17:57 - 59 minutes - 54.3 MBWe round up the news this week with Zhang Weili’s stunning knockout win in the UFC. How long until she fights for another title (2:26)? Meanwhile, F1 driver Zhou Guanyu — a recent guest on the podcast — continues to have a run of bad luck, plagued by technical issues when driving well (3:45). Meanwhile, China’s breakout tennis star Zhang Qinwen backs up her strong run at the French Open by winning her first WTA title in Valencia (9:23), and a trip down memory lane to 2016 when then-...
China’s Eileen Gu takes up Olympic Ambassadorial role — for the U.S.
June 09, 2022 14:35 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MBEileen Gu, the top-rated story from the 2022 Olympics, is back in the headlines once again (1:00). She just announced she will be an ambassador for Salt Lake City’s Olympic bid. Is she trying to have her cake and eat it too (2:15)? Mark says she’s overcompensating for her switch from the U.S. to China, but what will the Chinese reaction be (4:15)? Could she even switch back to compete for the US in 2026 (4:55)? With athletes like skater Nathan Chen — a Salt Lake City native — or ski...
Patrick McEnroe on China’s new star, Peng Shuai, and the Tour’s return to China
June 04, 2022 15:51 - 44 minutes - 40.6 MBChina’s Zheng Qinwen makes a run at the French Open — beating Simona Halep and Alize Cornet, then becoming the first player in more than a month to take a set off Iga Swiatek. (2:20) Zheng has been getting lots of attention in China, with people posting about her online and bringing tennis back into the spotlight (6:00). Elsewhere, there’s a new youth football league in China — but will it make a difference (6:55)? China’s goalkeeping coach says the men’s national team has improved ...
Ultimate influencers: Frisbee sees boom thanks to Chinese KOLs
May 25, 2022 15:08 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBOn the show this week, Mark shares his experience on Patrick McEnroe’s podcast (1:02), plus watching live soccer for a change at a Taiwan Mulan Football League game — women’s pro soccer in Taiwan (1:41). Meanwhile, Tencent Sports has laid off 100 people given that there’s no original sporting content to produce these days (3:15), and Tencent’s big boss Pony Ma has been in the headlines for reposting a column critical of Covid Zero (5:17). Chongqing’s soccer team pulls the plug after...
China’s F1 Star Zhou Guanyu on Kobe, Netflix, and answering his critics
May 18, 2022 16:09 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBWith a special guest on the show this week, we rank where F1 rookie Zhou Guanyu sits in China’s sporting landscape today (0:52). The biggest sports story in China is still COVID, with China now stripped of its hosting rights for the 2023 Asian Cup. Given the news, what are chances of China ever hosting a World Cup (2:17)? A discussion on who takes the blame — or the credit — for the early Asian Cup cancellation decision (5:47). Is this a sign we’ll be living with Zero-COVID in China...
What's next for China’s sports industry amid Asian Games cancellation?
May 12, 2022 17:58 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MBMark escapes Beijing, leaving the ghost town that PEK airport has become (0:18), while the city of Beijing slips into a lockdown in all but name (2:03). China’s COVID policy has devastated the growth of sports at a time when it should be booming (3:00). The Asian Games are postponed – they simply don’t have the same political significance of the Olympics (4:45). Could they, or the twice-postponed World University Games, realistically be held next year, given the current restrictions...
From Shanghai to the NFL: Rams rookie eager to make the grade
May 06, 2022 15:27 - 31 minutes - 29.3 MBWith Mark and Haig recording their last face-to-face show before some summer travel (0:36), news is coming through that the World University Games in Chengdu will be postponed for a second time (2:03) [UPDATE: Mark’s sources were right, as both those Games and the Asian Games in Hangzhou have now both been postponed]. The decision was mostly because of COVID — what isn’t these days? — but Russia was stripped of its 2023 hosting rights, so there’s a gap on the calendar (3:43). Meanwh...
Cameron Wilson ups the ante with Shanghai lockdown rant
April 27, 2022 18:37 - 37 minutes - 34.5 MBIt’s a strange time in Beijing right now, with mandatory testing and food flying off the shelves at supermarkets. Sports take a back seat, as Mark and Haig brace for a possible lockdown (0:52). Will the Asian Games in Hangzhou — scheduled for September this year — be postponed (6:02)? What kind of spectacle could we expect – bubble or not (8:21)? Haig talks about Shannon Bufton, a competitive cyclist turned Beijing bike maker and route planner (9:20). We catch up again with Cameron...
Greg Squires on Olympic disappointment and epic road trips
April 21, 2022 18:16 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MBOn this episode, feedback from last week’s interview with Rudi Ying (0:50), ESPN’s detailed look at Nets owner Joe Tsai (1:34), the NBA’s (very) rocky road back to televised games in China (2:53), why — perhaps — the Clippers were shown on China’s national broadcaster first (4:38), why the Sixers and Celtics drew longer bans than the rest (6:00), an absence of new material in the ESPN article (6:52), and Lebron James raging at other players about then-Rockets GM Daryl Morey (8:23). ...
Olympian Rudi Ying blows the lid off China’s hockey program
April 13, 2022 16:41 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBIn a round-up of the week’s news, F1’s Chinese rookie Zhou Guanyu narrowly missed out on the points — again — while there was a naming clarification from his team (3:03). The Chinese women’s ice hockey team has been lighting it up at the World Championships in Poland (4:48), with former Kunlun standout Melanie Jue — who features prominently in Mark’s book “Sporting Superpower” — back in the fold as an assistant coach (6:01). Meanwhile, Eileen Gu is still hanging out in Beijing, and ...
Pandemic Penalties: Cameron Wilson talks COVID and soccer from Shanghai
March 30, 2022 17:08 - 41 minutes - 38.4 MBChinese F1 driver Zhou Guanyu just missed out on another points finish (1:33), this time in Saudi Arabia, with the race going ahead despite a missile attack within range of the track. Mark and Haig share a few harrowing moments of their own (2:54). Mark tells the story of how he first met Chinese football expert Cameron Wilson (7:14), who joins for this week’s show from Shanghai, where he’s under lockdown (9:33). Wilson describes the mood in the city (11:35), and offers some though...
Zhou Guanyu debut revives 2022 Shanghai F1 hopes
March 23, 2022 15:10 - 39 minutes - 35.7 MBOn the show this week, Mark and Haig discuss Chinese motorsports driver Zhou Guanyu’s stunning F1 debut and the huge number of people in China who have been following him (2:13). Zhou’s likability will endear him to audiences both in China and abroad (2:56), but international commentators have had a hard time understanding that, in China, the family name comes first — something Zhou himself has requested (3:44). Elsewhere, there’s been a shake-up among the KRS Vanke Ray women’s ice ...
The real reason China dominated at the Paralympics
March 16, 2022 17:17 - 24 minutes - 22 MBOn the show this week, “Beardwatch” is back with a heartfelt apology from Mark to Haig (0:26). What can China take away from its dominance at the Paralympic Games (2:52)? Various factors contributed to this, including a fine performance from the Chinese team (3:35) and the absence of Russian and Belarusian competitors (4:15). But there’s more: top American Paralympian Oksana Masters implied a Chinese competitor was not “honest,” and we explain why (5:10), accusations of “classificat...
China censors Paralympic president, and WTA rebounds from China suspension
March 09, 2022 15:56 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBOn the show this week, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons delivered a fiery anti-war message at the Paralympics opening ceremony — but it was censored in China. He also flubbed a line, for which the IPC has apologized, yet China has not even acknowledged its own censorship (1:40). International sporting bodies such as the IOC and FIFA have been awarding events to countries that create headaches. Is this era coming to an end (4:26)? The IPC has historic...
Russia Front and Center as Paralympics Begin
March 02, 2022 21:40 - 19 minutes - 18.2 MBOn the show this week, Mark and Haig discuss whether Russian and Belorussian athletes should be allowed to compete in the Paralympics (0:36)? How will athletes from other nations be affected and will they protest about competing with Russian athletes (3:36)? Online streaming platform Tencent made some desperate edits when a fan waving a Ukrainian flag popped up on their stream of an NBA game (4:11). In ice hockey, two of the KHL’s five international teams have pulled out — what do...
Counting down the top Olympic storylines
February 23, 2022 16:36 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBIn a special Olympics wrap episode, we count down all the top storylines from the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, starting with why an Olympic hangover is less like to happen now compared with 2008 (1:21). Remember the snowfall, which added to the atmosphere (2:26)? In defense of Beijing’s high caliber venues and infrastructure (3:10). The Kamila Valieva doping scandal, and her supervillain coach (4:00). Mikaela Shiffrin and a wider discussion of why disappointment is just as imp...
Goalie Kim Newell, mumbling anthems
February 20, 2022 17:12 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBChina wins gold #9 with a figure skating pairs win — four years after heartbreak (2:18). Eileen Gu has been living a privileged existence inside the bubble (3:10), but faced some criticism for mumbling through the Chinese national anthem (4:32). China almost got to the end of these Olympics without a political own goal — but not quite. (5:19) It got so cold up in Chongli that one athlete suffered from frozen genitals. (7:53) Chinese sprinter like Su Bingtian and his relay teammates ...
Mumbling anthems and frozen genitals
February 20, 2022 17:12 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBChina wins gold #9 with a figure skating pairs win — four years after heartbreak (2:18). Eileen Gu has been living a privileged existence inside the bubble (3:10), but faced some criticism for mumbling through the Chinese national anthem (4:32). China almost got to the end of these Olympics without a political own goal — but not quite. (5:19) It got so cold up in Chongli that one athlete suffered from frozen genitals. (7:53) Chinese sprinter like Su Bingtian and his relay teammates ...
Sport data analyst Simon Gleave, Russian doping scandal — plus Xu, Su, and Gu
February 16, 2022 16:39 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBHow much of a shadow has the Russian doping scandal cast over these Games? (1:16) Could Beijing organizers actually welcome the Kamila Valieva issue because it takes attention off other controversial issues? (2:45) China had three stars this week: Xu, Su, and Gu. We start with how Xu Mengtao’s story arguably resonates the most — plus the touching moment she shared with an American rival (6:11). Meanwhile, Eileen Gu is still dominating headlines, but the narrative within China appear...
Russian doping scandal — plus Xu, Su, and Gu
February 16, 2022 16:39 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBHow much of a shadow has the Russian doping scandal cast over these Games? (1:16) Could Beijing organizers actually welcome the Kamila Valieva issue because it takes attention off other controversial issues? (2:45) China had three stars this week: Xu, Su, and Gu. We start with how Xu Mengtao’s story arguably resonates the most — plus the touching moment she shared with an American rival (6:11). Meanwhile, Eileen Gu is still dominating headlines, but the narrative within China appear...
Liam Mather on bubble hockey, dropped torch bearer, English ban, skeleton gains
February 13, 2022 18:18 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBAn update on the Uyghur athlete chosen as one of the two final torchbearers (2:39). The Chinese men’s hockey team had their first test — and it was a blowout 8-0 loss to the U.S. team (4:30), but they bounced back well with a creditable 3-2 defeat to reigning silver medalists Germany (8:39). Things got strange at a press conference after the Chinese women’s hockey team played Japan, when goalie Kim Newell was prevented from speaking English (10:03), and a shoutout to former China Sp...
Dropped torch bearer, English ban, skeleton gains, and bubble hockey
February 13, 2022 18:18 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBAn update on the Uyghur athlete chosen as one of the two final torchbearers (2:39). The Chinese men’s hockey team had their first test — and it was a blowout 8-0 loss to the U.S. team (4:30), but they bounced back well with a creditable 3-2 defeat to reigning silver medalists Germany (8:39). Things got strange at a press conference after the Chinese women’s hockey team played Japan, when goalie Kim Newell was prevented from speaking English (10:03), and a shoutout to former China Sp...
A tricky situation for Eileen Gu
February 09, 2022 22:05 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBAt the Olympics, it’s all Eileen Gu, all the time (1:06), but she’s not just talking the talk, now she’s walking the walk with her first Olympic gold medal (2:11). The citizenship question leaves Gu in a tricky situation — one she’s refusing to clarify (4:14), and she’s now positioned at the center of the U.S.-China rivalry(6:13). Gu went on the offensive in her post-event press conference (6:30), but can she still be a bridge between the two superpowers — or is that unrealistic in ...
Flag bearer Tina Garabedian, Opening Ceremony analysis
February 06, 2022 16:10 - 31 minutes - 29 MBBefore the opening ceremony, Mark predicted that a young Uyghur athlete would be among the final torchbearers. We discuss what happened and why it's so significant to China (1:30). Remembering Li Ning's ambush marketing and comparing the surprises of 2008 vs 2022 (6:09). Elsewhere, Canadian moguls team is sponsored by Anta (7:34), China's mixed relay short track speed skating team wins gold, after the US squad was disqualified from the semis — which gifted China a birth in the final...
Opening Ceremony analysis and a view from inside the Bubble
February 06, 2022 16:10 - 31 minutes - 29 MBBefore the opening ceremony, Mark predicted that a young Uyghur athlete would be among the final torchbearers. We discuss what happened and why it's so significant to China (1:30). Remembering Li Ning's ambush marketing and comparing the surprises of 2008 vs 2022 (6:09). Elsewhere, Canadian moguls team is sponsored by Anta (7:34), China's mixed relay short track speed skating team wins gold, after the US squad was disqualified from the semis — which gifted China a birth in the final...
On the eve of the Beijing Olympics, conspiracy theories, anthems, and more Eileen Gu
February 02, 2022 14:55 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBNot long now until the Olympic cauldron is lit, and already there is no end of stories to talk about. It’s Chinese New Year so most people would be forgiven for not turning their attention to the Olympics, but the excitement is building (0:27). Meanwhile, in the closed loop, athletes and officials continue to test positive on arrival and from daily testing. At this point, no outbreaks inside the closed loop. So far so good? (4:00) China’s naturalized ice hockey players get Chinese n...
Countdown to the Olympics, and why did China’s ski cross team part ways with their strength coach?
January 27, 2022 15:18 - 45 minutes - 41.3 MBOn the show this week: with just eight days to go until the Olympic flame is lit, Mark and Haig talk hockey and Covid complications for athletes (2:18), a change in the testing systems that lowers the Covid-19 testing threshold (8:25), and an update on event invitations — Haig just may go to an event or two (11:57). Then: until recently Joop Wiersema was the strength and conditioning coach for China’s ski cross team. He was abruptly let go after he was diagnosed with Covid. Mark t...
Joop Wiersema, countdown to the Olympics
January 27, 2022 15:18 - 45 minutes - 41.3 MBOn the show this week: with just eight days to go until the Olympic flame is lit, Mark and Haig talk hockey and Covid complications for athletes (2:18), a change in the testing systems that lowers the Covid-19 testing threshold (8:25), and an update on event invitations — Haig just may go to an event or two (11:57). Then: until recently Joop Wiersema was the strength and conditioning coach for China’s ski cross team. He was abruptly let go after he was diagnosed with Covid. Mark t...
Beijing gold medal favorite Aleksander Aamodt Kilde
January 20, 2022 20:58 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MB00:37 – Mark has a new book! 3:50 – Beijing organizers confirm there won’t be e public sale of tickets. So who’ll be invited? Is … Mark on one of these lists? 5:49 – What about outdoor skiing events? Is it a wasted opportunity to have no spectators at outdoor venues where spectators can space out? 7:45 – A batch of new cases in Beijing over the last week means that the level of concern has raised, but at this point, is there a reason to panic? Let’s check back next week. 9:57 ...
Beijing gold medal favorite Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on recovery, prepping for the Olympics, and life as Mikaela Shiffrin’s boyfriend
January 20, 2022 20:58 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MB00:37 – Mark has a new book! 3:50 – Beijing organizers confirm there won’t be e public sale of tickets. So who’ll be invited? Is … Mark on one of these lists? 5:49 – What about outdoor skiing events? Is it a wasted opportunity to have no spectators at outdoor venues where spectators can space out? 7:45 – A batch of new cases in Beijing over the last week means that the level of concern has raised, but at this point, is there a reason to panic? Let’s check back next week. 9:57 ...
The curious case of Eileen Gu, and stay away from Olympic car crashes!
January 12, 2022 19:49 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBFreestyle skier Eileen Gu is poised to take the Beijing Olympics by storm, but a new story from The Wall Street Journal raises questions about her citizenship status. She now competes for China, but has she given up her U.S. passport as required under Chinese law? There’s lots for Mark and Haig to get into here: who decides someone’s nationality or citizenship? Does it matter, and to whom? And what could this mean for other athletes in China’s orbit? (1:32) Meanwhile, Gu has been ou...
Rachel Llanes spills all on life inside Team China’s camp
January 06, 2022 15:09 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBWith the Omicron variant rampant worldwide, calls to postpone the Olympics have been growing louder. We discuss why that’s simply not an option for China (1:04). The Olympic “closed-loop management system” went into operation this week. Here’s how it works (6:17). More bad news for tennis in China as streaming platform iQiyi drops all WTA and ATP tournaments (9:40), and CGTN releases its new Olympic anthem. It’s worth a watch/listen! (12:00) Our guest this week is Rachel Llanes, wh...
2022 predictions, and sailing star Xu Lijia meets Peng Shuai
December 30, 2021 14:57 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBFirst up, we look at the back-and-forth between China and the U.S. on visas for State Department personnel ahead of the Winter Olympics and discuss what’s really going on (1:47). Then we look ahead to 2022 with some bold predictions (emphasis on bold!). From the Olympics to F1 to basketball, 2022 will be sure to have many surprises in store, and we give our predictions, plus a couple of hopes, for the coming year in sport in China. (3:13) Our guest this week is Xu Lijia (Lily), who...
The NHL pulls out of the Olympics, and Coach Grignard on tennis in China
December 23, 2021 15:02 - 33 minutes - 30.6 MBOn the show this week, as the NHL forbids players from going to the Beijing Olympics (1:06), Mark and Haig discuss the impact on the Games (2:08), why Olympic hockey is important (3:38), who will replace the NHL players (4:41), and dig into the NHL’s decision — and its timing (5:45). Elsewhere, a look at how the NHL decision benefits the Chinese team (6:33), which has had some roster upheaval – and friction — in recent days (7:54). Mark also talks about his media tour – talking ab...
Up close with NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury, plus NHL’s Olympic scare stories
December 16, 2021 16:31 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBOn the show this week, we expose the myth circulating in the NHL about China’s quarantine rules at the Olympics (1:18), explain what’s actually in the Olympic playbook and compare with the NHL’s current protocols (2:08), what happens if you keep testing positive (3:55), explore where the rumors are coming from (4:56), discuss the NHL’s reluctance to send players to Olympics (6:49) and explain why organizers have failed to adequately address these concerns (8:27). With COVID rampant ...
U.S. Olympic "boycott," hockey showdown looming, and Chinese soccer with Tariq Panja and Nikki Wang
December 09, 2021 15:53 - 52 minutes - 47.9 MBOn the show this week, a decision — finally — from the International Ice Hockey Federation: the Chinese men’s team will be playing in the Olympic tournament (00:56). But they’re facing the U.S. and Canada. Will the NHL All-Stars run up the score (2:13), and how are the Chinese players feeling about the prospect? Plus what’s going on with the Team China squad, which is currently playing in Russia for the Kunlun Red Star team? (4:58) Meanwhile, one NHL player has already pulled out fr...
NFL China's Stephanie Hsiao, WTA ups the ante, and crunch time for hockey
December 02, 2021 13:37 - 51 minutes - 46.7 MBIn this week’s episode, the WTA pulls out of China. What does this mean for the ATP, the IOC, and the Olympics? (00:48) Formula One’s chief says it’s “100% realistic” for a second China race to be added to the calendar. But when? And where? (5:38) and Mark shares some inside information about the Chinese men’s team ahead of the IIHF’s decision on Olympic participation. (9:12) Our guest this week is Stephanie Hsiao. She’s NFL China’s marketing director. We touch on whether the NFL w...
WTA ups the ante, crunch time for hockey, and a chat with NFL China's Stephanie Hsiao
December 02, 2021 13:37 - 51 minutes - 46.7 MBIn this week’s episode, the WTA pulls out of China. What does this mean for the ATP, the IOC, and the Olympics? (00:48) Formula One’s chief says it’s “100% realistic” for a second China race to be added to the calendar. But when? And where? (5:38) and Mark shares some inside information about the Chinese men’s team ahead of the IIHF’s decision on Olympic participation. (9:12) Our guest this week is Stephanie Hsiao. She’s NFL China’s marketing director. We touch on whether the NFL w...
Perfect World's Josh Lee on Esports, Peng Shuai latest, and Olympic boycott threats
November 26, 2021 00:54 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBOn the show this week, the Peng Shuai story goes international in a big way (3:10), the financial consequences of sports leagues leaving China (5:11), different types of Olympic boycotts and what’s most likely for Beijing 2022 (8:18). Then we interview Joshua Lee from Perfect World, a massive Chinese gaming company, to talk about the recent win from Chinese gaming team EDG and more (13:26). Josh runs esports tournaments in China and talks about the advantages China has over the res...
Peng Shuai latest, Olympic boycott threats and esports reach a new level in China
November 26, 2021 00:54 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBOn the show this week, the Peng Shuai story goes international in a big way (3:10), the financial consequences of sports leagues leaving China (5:11), different types of Olympic boycotts and what’s most likely for Beijing 2022 (8:18). Then we interview Joshua Lee from Perfect World, a massive Chinese gaming company, to talk about the recent win from Chinese gaming team EDG and more (13:26). Josh runs esports tournaments in China and talks about the advantages China has over the res...