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From warm-up to lay-up, on this Beijing court, it’s more than just shooting hoops.
My mother wanted me to do this camp so I could grow taller, says this 12-year- old.
It’s no secret the Chinese are crazy for basketball and the NBA, so crazy they now want to buy a piece of it. Kenny Huang, a Chinese-born businessman is brokering a deal that would give Chinese investors a 15% stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers, worth than estimated 70 million dollars. It would be the biggest international sporting investment ever made by Chinese nationals, according to Huang’s business partner.
“Simply having Chinese ownership will increase significantly the visibility of that team within China. There will be much more coverage of it on the electronic news as well as the printed news over in china. So more people will be following which means the team gets much boarder brand and greater penetration in China.”
The Cavs will not provide details but said when the deal is final, hopefully in the near future, we look forward to discussing this exciting new partnership. It’s good timing for the Cavs with the Cleveland economic suffering, for the NBA, hoping to raise its profile in China, and for Chinese fans.
It makes me proud, this boy says, for a Chinese person to work with my favorite team, it’s an honor.
Cavaliers’ gear is becoming a best seller in Beijing. Fans even have special nicknames for players. LeBron James is "little emperor", and the Cavs’ just recruited another star with a huge local following.
The guardian of the courts here in Beijing is a bigger-than-life-size statue of Shaquille O'Neal. His Chinese nickname is quite fittingly, "big shark". But here at an NBA store across town, it’s clear which player comes out on top. Injured or not, Yao Ming is still Chinese’s favorite.
There is even a gossip on Chinese blogs Yao Ming may join the Cavs, too, depending on how he recovers from a broken foot, but again, it’s just speculation and excitement about an American team that’s inspiring fans half a world away.
Emily Chang, cnn, Beijing.
vocabulary:
1. warm-up: 热身
2. lay-up: 上篮
3. broker a deal: 代理促成一笔交易
4. raise sb's profile: if a person or an organization raises its profile, it gets more attention from the public
5. gear: a set of clothes that you wear for a particular occasion or activity