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Nick Young was curious about Lin’s dating life… Jeremy Lin doesn’t have a girlfriend at the moment because he’s not dating anyone. Kobe is injured for the rest of the season, but has had a long basketball career.  What’s more impressive is he’s still with his first love.

The legend of Kobe Bryant is a controversial one, both on and off the court. In December of 2011, his wife Vanessa filed for divorce, but she and Kobe both announced the divorce was called off in January of 2013 and they’ve been happily married ever since.

Kobe met the then 17 year old background dancer in the studio where he was working on his debut musical album. She got engaged with Kobe as a senior in high school.

According to one of Vanessa’s cousins, there was no prenuptial agreement because Kobe loved her too much for one.

via 25 Pictures of Kobe Bryant With Wife Vanessa Bryant Through the Years | RantSports.

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Hours after a public face-to-face meeting and brief discussion during halftime of Tuesday night’s Miami Heat-Milwaukee Bucks game in Miami, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. met privately for more than an hour to continue discussing terms for their proposed May 2 megafight.

They met inside Pacquiao’s hotel suite and “it was very pleasant and very encouraging, and we give Floyd credit for coming over,” Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz, who was present at the meeting, told ESPN.com on Wednesday. “That’s the first time they ever sat eye to eye. I’ve met Floyd many times, but he and Manny had never had a chance to meet. They talked at halftime, but this was a longer, more serious meeting. You could tell by their body language that this was very positive. It was for a good hour or more.

“It was a business meeting, but it wasn’t a tense business meeting. I think that’s because they both have mutual respect for each other. We’ll determine what will happen over the next couple of days.”

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The halftime meeting, which Pacquiao said was the first time he and fellow welterweight champion Mayweather Jr. met, resulted in an exchange of phone numbers and lit up social media as sports fans continued to hope this latest twist would get them closer to fighting each other.

The sides have been negotiating what will certainly be the richest fight in boxing history, but no deal has been struck yet. One of the issues is that Time Warner/HBO, which has a contract with Pacquiao, and CBS/Showtime, which has Mayweather under contract, need to hammer out terms for a joint pay-per-view telecast, which they did once before for the 2002 fight between then-heavyweight world champion Lennox Lewis and former champ Mike Tyson. They have been negotiating the terms.

Koncz said that Mayweather voiced two specific broadcasting issues to Pacquiao during the hotel meeting.

“I told Floyd I would call [Pacquiao promoter] Bob [Arum of Top Rank] in the morning, and I did that and discussed them with Bob, and he assured us they have been worked out. I took care of it,” Koncz said. “I said to Floyd, and Manny agreed, that if those are the only two broadcasting issues, we would take care of them.”

Koncz declined to go into detail about the specifics of the issues because “I don’t want to step on HBO’s or Showtime’s toes.”

Koncz said Pacquiao and Mayweather also discussed other issues but that the broadcasting items were “the majority of the discussion. Floyd said, ‘I want the fight to happen,’ and Manny said he does, too. If the fighters both want the fight to happen, who can stop it? They both said they want it to happen, and we’re still looking to make it happen on May 2.

“I think people are just tired of all of this. Me and Manny, and maybe Floyd, we’re tired of the fans and everybody, everywhere we go continually asking us when the fight will happen. Boxing needs this fight to happen, and it needs to happen in May.”

Typically, a fight of this magnitude would kick off with a cross-country media tour to hype the event and get the word out. Koncz said Mayweather-Pacquiao is so big they don’t need to do that.

“I don’t want to go on a worldwide tour. We don’t think it’s necessary,” he said. “Look, we could have stopped in seven cities and not gotten the kind of publicity we got from Manny and Floyd talking at halftime of the basketball game.

“I think we could do one city, perhaps two, New York and Los Angeles, and this thing will go viral. It will sell itself. We don’t need to go spending money on private jets to go to a lot of cities. Those tours are expensive. The money could go to the fighters instead. People want this fight and have wanted it for so long. I would have liked to see it happen three or four or five years ago, but hopefully we can get it done now. It will be the biggest fight in history.”

Koncz said it was a coincidence that Pacquiao and Mayweather were both at the Heat game, with Mayweather next to the Heat bench and Pacquiao directly across from him on the opposite sideline. During their brief halftime meeting, Koncz said they exchanged cell phone numbers. Mayweather is a regular at Heat games. Pacquiao was in Miami to serve as a judge at the Miss Universe pageant this past Sunday night.

Koncz said they had planned to travel to New York after the pageant, but with a blizzard hitting the Northeast, they decided to stay in Miami for a few extra days. The unexpected meeting at the game, and later in the hotel, came during a critical time in the negotiations for the fight. Pacquiao wants any deal with Mayweather wrapped up by the end of January, the usual timeframe to promote a major May pay-per-view event.

Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs), the 36-year-old Filipino legend, and Arum have repeatedly said they have agreed to all of the terms outlined by Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs), who turns 38 in February, during talks with CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, who has served as the go-between on behalf of Mayweather and his adviser, Al Haymon. Mayweather has said he intends to fight May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, be it against Pacquiao or somebody else.

If the fight is not finalized, Arum told ESPN.com last week that Pacquiao’s backup plan is to fight May 30, and he identified England’s Amir Khan, a former unified junior welterweight titleholder and top welterweight contender, as the leading candidate for the bout.

There has been intense interest in a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown since 2009, but various negotiations have fallen apart over the years. However, this round of talks, according to those involved, is the closest it has been since the initial negotiations in late 2009 and early 2010 broke down because of a disagreement over how to carry out the drug testing for the bout.

According to sources involved in this round of talks, they have agreed to the drug testing protocol, among many others aspects of the fight. Should they meet, the fight, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, is expected to shatter every revenue record in boxing history.

via Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao meet privately to continue discussing terms for fight – ESPN.

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Nam Nguyen, a Vietnamese-Canadian athlete, has won men’s single title at Canadian figure skating championships in Kingston city, Ontario, Canada.

The 17-year-old boy opened with a successful performance and then reeled off eight triple jumps to score 256.88 overall points, ranking the first place at the competition.

He beat Patrick Chan who dominated men’s singles skating for years and won the seven previous national titles.

Jeremy Ten of Vancouver claimed silver with 222.58 points while Liam Firus of North Vancouver pocketed the bronze with 222.4 points.

Previously, Nam took gold medal at world junior figure skating championships in 2014 and performed in the exhibition gala at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

via Vietnamese-Canadian athlete wins skating championships – News VietNamNet.

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Fresh off the Boat premiers Feb 4th, 2015 on ABC. Tuesdays at 8pm.

Not cool. On ABC’s upcoming comedy Fresh Off the Boat, the Huang family is immigrating from Taiwan to America and navigating the murky waters of racial insensitivities. The cast of future sitcom was similarly met with an offensive question on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at the ABC TCAs, eliciting gasps and uncomfortable laughter in the ballroom of the Langham Hotel in Pasadena Calif.

The panel’s very first question of the day came from an unknown reporter who said, “I love the Asian culture. And I was just talking about the chopsticks, and I just love all that. Will I get to see that, or will it be more Americanized?”

The surprised-looking cast didn’t miss a beat as actress Constance Wu, who plays Huang family matriarch Jessica Huang, said, “Yeah, we got some chopsticks.”

Producer Eddie Huang added, “Yeah, we got a lot of chopsticks,” with writer and executive producer Nahnatchka Khan adding, “Wait till Episode 5. It’s all about chopsticks.”

Not backing down, the reporter then continued the line of questioning, asking, “Will there be more about the culture or is it more about the becoming more American?”

Huang joked, “It’s more about the chopsticks.”

Huang, Wu, and Randall Park, who plays patriarch Louis Huang and infamously portrayed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in The Interview, then riffed off one another.

“The original title was ‘Chopsticks,’” Park joked.

“But ‘Chopsticks’ was too controversial, so we changed it,” Wu said.

“There was also rights issues with the piano song,” Huang added.

via Fresh Off the Boat Cast Gets Racist Question at TCAs: See The Response – Us Weekly.

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The post Jeremy Lin – 02/01/2015 Lakers vs Knicks – 4 pts, 7 ast appeared first on Asian Players.

Backup asian dancers appear in Katy Perry’s Super Bowl Halftime show.  The New England Patriots beat Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in a memorable and thrilling game.

The post Video: Asian dancers in Katy Perry Super Bowl Halftime Show Performance! appeared first on Asian Players.

Johnny Manziel might be in rehab to deal with his off-the-field issues, but are they really issues if he’s able to date such hotties?

Earlier this year, we saw Johnny Manziel with model Lauren Hanley in LA getting sushi and such.  They first met at a Florida State alumni party in Hollywood just a few days before.

“Yeah, Johnny is a really sweet guy,” Hanley said. “I had never met him before, but we had a great time at the club that night! My friend Courtney and I ended up hanging out with him and his friends later on after the club closed.”

Then over the summer, we saw him with a new girl, Colleen Crowley,

Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel’s girlfriend Colleen Crowley will be a bit busier soon to promote an up-and-coming clothing brand.   She posted a picture of herself in trendy gear from streetwear brand No Rulez NY, with the hashtag ‘#TeamNoRulez’.    Things might be looking up for the couple as Johnny Manziel may be a starting quarterback soon with Brian Hoyer struggling as of late.   

Colleen and Johnny Football seems to be hanging out together a lot lately over the summer.  After Cleveland picked selected Manziel in the first round of May’s NFL draft, the 21-year-old lived it up like a rock star and Colleen was a fixture of his jet-setting, nightlife-embracing summer tour.

Chandler Parsons turned 25 this past October. Not only did he get to celebrate with his Houston Rockets teammates, Chandler Parsons girlfriend Robyn Crowley was there to party it up with him too.

Apparently the couple has been dating for over a year and a half; that is, according to Robyn Crowley’s Instagram page. She posted photos of the party back in October that included teammates James Harden, Dwight Howard and Jeremy Lin.

However, it looks like Chandler and Robyn Crowley broke up recently.   Stay tuned.

The post Johnny Manziel in rehab for partying and dating hotties Lauren Hanley and Colleen Crowley? appeared first on Asian Players.

It was a little exciting at Central Catholic High School Monday.

Afterall, not every high school in America can boost a Super Bowl champ.

New England’s Michael Hoomanawanui, a 2006 Central Catholic grad, was on the winning side on Sunday’s Super Bowl.

“Three-hundred to three-hundred and fifty professional football players and he’s one of them from little Central Catholic High School,” said Saints head football coach Mike Moews. “And it proves that hard work pays off and uh we just can’t be happier enough for him.”

Hoomanawanui, a tight end, had a catch in New England’s 28-24 win over Seattle and was part of the fight at the end of the game.

via Central Catholic Family Thrilled for Hoomanawanui – CIProud.

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Wang Zhelin (CBA, Fujian) – production remains the same as his previous 2 season in the CBA. Averaging 21 ppg, 10 rpg again this year. FG% is slightly better. He may have reached his ceiling.

Zhou Qi (CBA, Xiangjing) – is now starting over Tang Zhengdong and Su Wei. He is still shooting nearly 70%. Played half the season off the bench and still leads the league in block shots. His ppg has increased to 14.0. He could be the real deal.

Chris Tang (NCAA, UC Riverside) – does not look to be the next Jeremy Lin. Is the 12th man and missed a whole month. averaging 1.5 ppg and playing in just 10 games.

Yuta Watanabe (NCAA, George Washington) – as a freshman, plays the 6th man role. Gets to finish games in the 4th quarter. averaging 8.8 ppg. most productive asian in NCAA since Jeremy Lin.

The post Updates on Asian ballers Wang Zhelin, Zhou Qi, Chris Tang, Yuta Watanabe appeared first on Asian Players.

Negotiations for a long-awaited superfight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, which had been making progress in late January, have once again hit a snag.

The two fighters met twice on Jan. 27 and worked out many of the sticking points that have kept the fight from taking place for the last several years.

According to ESPN’s Dan Rafael, the Mayweather and Pacquiao camps agreed on the purse-money for the fight, pre-fight drug testing protocol, the time and place of the event, and even the order in which the fighters would enter the ring.

A week later, the fight still wasn’t finalized, and the agreed-upon date of May 2 now appears to be in jeopardy.

"We are running out of time for May 2," Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, told Rafael.

Part of the problem is negotiating an agreement for a joint pay-per-view telecast between HBO and Showtime. Pacquiao has an exclusive contract with HBO, and Mayweather is under contract to Showtime.

The fighters also have several unnamed sticking points preventing the deal from being finalized.

If the fight can’t be made, Mayweather plans to fight on May 2 against either Miguel Cotto or Amir Khan. Pacquiao also has Khan as a backup plan, with a possible May 30 date.

via Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao fight talks hit snag – CBSSports.com.

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The post Jeremy Lin – 02/04/2015 Lakers vs Bucks – 30 mins, 11 pts, 6 ast, 2-12 fg appeared first on Asian Players.

After several months of weighing his options, middleweight Cung Le has decided to hang up his MMA gloves.

Le’s longtime manager, Gary Ibarra, told MMAjunkie that the 42-year-old fighter’s retirement extends only to the cage, leaving open the possibility of a return to kickboxing, where he competed prior to his MMA debut in 2006 under the now-defunct Strikeforce banner.

However, Le said in a prepared statement (available below) that he intends to focus on his acting career, which has led him to several major roles as an actor and fight choreographer in action movies.

Several weeks ago, Ibarra said Le sent a letter to the UFC announcing his retirement. Prior to that, he was considered part of the promotion’s active roster.

Typically, the UFC freezes a fighter’s contract upon retirement, so Le would be obligated to the industry-leader should he change his mind about competing in MMA.

Le (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) retires with a 9-3 record, which included a stint as the Strikeforce middleweight champion. He most recently fought this past August at UFC Fight Night 48, where he suffered a fourth-round TKO loss to Michael Bisping. One month later, the UFC announced he tested positive for elevated levels of human growth hormone and suspended him first for nine months. Then, Le’s suspension was extended to 12 months with the promotion citing an error on the term’s length.

In a statement, Le denied any used of performance-enhancing drugs and said he was “completely surprised” by the UFC’s findings. He questioned the testing methods utilized by the promotion.

After questions were subsequently raised about the testing protocols used for UFC Fight Night 48, which the UFC self-regulated in Macau, as well as Le’s ability to contest the findings against him, the promotion announced it would allow the fighter to have his case heard by a third-party arbitrator. Then, after receiving medical advice from an unknown party, it concluded that the test results were inconclusive and rescinded his suspension.

Le subsequently said he no longer wished to fight for the UFC and contemplated retirement. After being cleared of wrongdoing, Le called the UFC to task for its handling of his case.

“While I feel vindicated in this matter, the UFC’s press release does little in the way of an apology of which I believe I am rightly owed after unfairly enduring the public’s scrutiny,” Le wrote.

Le subsequently requested his UFC release but was denied. In an interview, he said if he were to return to active MMA competition, it would be with his his former promoter, current Bellator MMA President Scott Coker, who ran Strikeforce before its acquisition by UFC parent company Zuffa in 2011.

This past month, Le was named as a plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against the industry-leader alleging it engaged in anti-competitive business practices. He was the only active UFC fighter attached to the litigation, which the promotion has promised to vigorously contest.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

* * * *

Le’s statement:

After several months of thought and discussion with my wife and family we realize our future includes many things, but active competition in mixed martial arts is no longer one of them therefore I am officially announcing my retirement from active competition. Fighting will never be far from my heart and martial arts will always continue to be a part of my daily life. I have thoroughly enjoyed the career that I have been blessed with due in large part to all my fans and the many people who have helped me on my journey.

I want to personally thank my wife, Suzanne, my three Little Ninjas, my Mother, Sister and the rest of my incredible family for their support, prayers and inspiration. I’d like to take this opportunity to personally thank Scott Coker for his long-time friendship and support of my career, Gary Ibarra for your tenacity, to Khoa Do for everything, Scott Sheeley, you know, and to Jane Estioko, thank you for your loyalty. I’d also like to thank all of my past and present USH Team Family members, I am grateful for every round.

I’d like to recognize the UFC for the opportunity they have provided me, the sport of mixed martial arts, and more importantly the fans who love it, you will never be far from my heart. It has truly been my honor and my privilege to entertain you.

via UFC vet, former Strikeforce champ Cung Le retires from MMA | MMAjunkie.

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On Saturday, in the main event of Pancrase 264, Nam Phan (21-14, 2-6 UFC) and Takumi Nakayama (19-15-6) vied for the promotion’s vacant featherweight title. Phan, would successfully rebound from a November TKO from Mike Richman, taking the title by split-decision. Phan is 3-1 since his release from the UFC last March.

via Beyond the Octagon: Wins for UFC vet Nam Phan and Julian “Let Me Bang, Bro” Lane, plus former One FC champ Soo Chul Kim’s flying knee – Bloody Elbow.

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The post Jeremy Lin – 02/06/2015 Lakers vs Magic – 14 pts, 3 ast, 6-8 FGs, 22 mins appeared first on Asian Players.

Fresh Off the Boat premiered Wednesday with 7-plus million viewers and a positive response from audiences and critics alike. However, for a juggernaut like ABC, that’s still a lot of eyeballs missing from a show that just may be the best new comedy of 2015. 

Based off restauranteur Eddie Huang’s memoir of the same name, the show is your classic fresh-out-of-water comedy. The series opens with the Huangs moving from Washington, D.C., to Orlando, Florida, so that patriarch Louis (Randall Park) can fulfill his dream of opening a steak restaurant. As he goes all-in in his embrace of the American Dream, his wife, Jessica (Constance Wu), struggles, as does his eldest son, Eddie (Hudson Yang). 

(Youngest sons Emery and Evan, however, have fit in so well that they have girls buying them soda – Eddie doesn’t get the same treatment because he “wants it too much.”) 

Having moved to a predominantly white, yuppie suburb, the culture clash is presented with sensitivity and, most importantly, hilarity. The jokes are not made at the expense of either culture, and the show presents a fresh, interesting perspective for audiences who may be bored of seeing the same thing play out on their TV screens over and over again. 

Here are a few reasons why you need to be watching Fresh Off the Boatimmediately, if not sooner. While the series premiered on a Wednesday, it returns to its regular night and time on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET. 

It Received a Positive Response from the Asian Community

Hudson Yang (as Eddie) on Fresh Off the Boat

JORDIN ALTHAUS / ABC

Not to generalize, but ABC’s newest offering seems to be receiving the same kind of response from the community it represents as Black-ish did for the black community. 

At a New York City screening of the first two episodes attended by Huang himself, the excitement of the at-capacity crowd was “tempered with caution,” reports Vulture, but as the pilot went on, the crowd “breathed a collective sigh of relief.” Said one Chinese-American attendee: “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. It toes the line between mainstream humor and how we actually grew up.” 

While Huang admitted at the screening that ABC’s final product required some “artistic sacrifice,” says Vulture, he was excited about having broken new and exciting ground, but said somebody out there has “gotta bring us home.” 

It’s Hilarious

From left to right: Ian Chen (as Evan), Forrest Wheeler (as Emery) and Hudson Yang (as Eddie) onFresh Off the Boat

ERIC MCCANDLESS / ABC

But really. After all, why tune in to a comedy? Seriously, though, every member of the cast pulls their weight, even the designated straight man, patriarch Louis (Randall Park). Delivered with perfect, sincere enthusiasm, many of his lines are said in a way where they almost fly under the radar – but are all the more hilarious for it. 

For example, Louis is insistent that his steak restaurant is failing because it’s run by an Asian face. Undeterred, he simply insists that he just needs a “nice, happy, white face – like Bill Pullman” at front-of-house. 

Constance Wu Is a National Treasure

Constance Wu (as Jessica) on Fresh Off the Boat

ERIC MCCANDLESS / ABC

A relative unknown, this is Wu’s breakout year. The strongest member of an already spectacular cast, every one of her lines as matriarch Jessica are delivered with the kind of subtle derision that is fairly enviable. How do wesubtly throw that much shade in our daily lives? While it would be easy for the writers to put Wu in the stereotypical “Tiger Mom” box, the incredibly skilled writing and acting keep Jessica from that offensive and, frankly, boring place. 

Jessica can scold her son for being “too good” at school and summarizeMelrose Place as a show “about prostitutes who are mad at each other” at the same time as she can confusedly ask her rap-loving eldest son why he’s “so American” with a tangibly felt sense of empathy. 

It’s Time for America to Try Having an East Asian-Led Sitcom on Network Television Again

For years, networks were gun-shy because Margaret Cho’s All-American Girl, which ran on ABC in 1994, was a spectacular failure. However, not because it was led by an East Asian family – rather, the humor was broad, often stereotypical and network intervention had Cho being told she was “too Asian” and “not Asian enough” in equal measure … whatever that means. 

Representation is important – kids need to be able to see themselves on TV. While Gina Rodriguez was talking about the Latino community following her Golden Globe nomination, her point to BuzzFeed remains valid: “We need role models. Choosing to expose certain communities to those stories is going to create more tolerance, it’s going to create more acceptance, and it’s going to inspire our youth.” 

Fresh Off the Boat airs Tuesdays (8:30 p.m. ET) on ABC.

via ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ Review: Reasons to Watch ABC’s New Comedy : People.com.

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2015 02 08 NBA Lakers 湖人 @ Cavaliers 騎士 Jeremy Lin 林書豪11分3助攻 – YouTube.

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In last night’s win over the Vancouver Canucks, Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba took a slap shot from the point that broke Derek Dorsett‘s skate.

You can see in the GIF below, Dumba’s slapshot knocks the blade right out of Dorsett’s skate, knocking him over. He can’t push off on the broken skate and winds up hopping his way over to the bench for repairs.

via Matt Dumba Slapshot Breaks Derek Dorsett’s Skate.

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Jeremy Lin林書豪-02/10/2015 Lakers vs Nuggets 湖人vs金塊 – YouTube.

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You must give kudos to the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) for trying to mimic the success of the NBA All-Star game festivities by hosting their own CBA All-Star game and skills competition and for introducing cheerleaders to the Chinese sports fans.

The CBA has the three-point contest and the slam dunk contest. The contestants of the slam dunk contest is only for Chinese players.

However, there has been some epic failures in the Chinese version of the NBA slam dunk contest. At this year’s dunk contest, a chinese player attempted to jump over 5 guys, but fall over them and lands on his face.

The winner was Zhai Yi, a third-string guard for Shanghai, and even the champion’s dunks weren’t pretty. The contest was sponsored by shoe company Li-Ning, and for his first dunk, Zhai hoped to slam the ball while sticking a sneaker to the backboard. The shoe stuck, but the ball didn’t go in. He eventually put it in on his third attempt, the shoe hovering as a mute witness to his failure.

Zhai’s second dunk was more successful, and just as unimpressive. Taking a cue from Blake Griffin skying over a Kia, Zhai dunked over a tiny little go-kart shaped like a sneaker. Except he sort of jumped around the front of it, even though it was only about 18 inches high at that end. He also needed three attempts. This was one:

Second place, went to Sen Tiangui for trying (and failing) to dunk over an oversized novelty inflatable rice ball, performed after serving the judges some rice balls. (Happy Chinese New Year!) He would get it on the second attempt, and receive 48 out of a possible 50 points.

Gao Shang, who tried and failed seven times to complete a boring prop-less dunk, received 30 points anyway and took third.

It might be asking too much for a Chinese Spud Webb. But there is hope. Like this 5’7″ Chinese guy named Cheng Teng,

or this 6’0″ Chinese guy,

The post Videos: Chinese could use some good dunkers in the CBA All-Star dunk contest appeared first on Asian Players.