China :: Sports Extra

Watch Video Play Video Chandler left Dallas to join the New York Knicks. The 29-old center will join Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire to form a powerful star trio in New York City as they meet the Celtics. The original "Big Three" in Boston has been beset by injuries. Paul Pierce is expected to miss the Christmas Day showdown with a troublesome heel. New York Knicks Toney Douglas (2nd L) and Amar'e Stoudemire (L) celebrate as Boston Celtics Kevin Garnett (2nd R) and Rajon Rondo leave the floor after the Knicks defeated the Celtics in their NBA basketball game in New York December 25, 2011. New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives against Boston Celtics' Marquis Daniels in the fourth quarter of the Knicks 106-104 victory over the Celtics in their season-opening NBA bas! ketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) Related stories Veteran guard Baron Davis joins Knicks 2011-12-20 ...

Watch Video Play Video One of Australias all-time cricketing greats, Shane Warne unveiled a bronze statue of himself at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday. Warne claimed 708 test wickets, grabbing his 700th at the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground. Its the same venue where Warne has now earned his place alongside 10 other Australian sporting greats. Australian legspin legend Shane Warne (R rear) and fiancee Liz Hurley (L rear) with Warne's children Summer (L), Jackson (2nd L), Brooke (R) and Hurley's son Damien (2nd R) at the unveiling of a statue of Warne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 22 Despite having retired from test cricket for nearly four years, Warne remains one of his countrys most popular cricketers and his return provided a huge boost to the recent "Big Bash" Twenty20 series. Shane Warne said, Very proud. Its a great honour I suppose. Its sort of weird seeing yourself up there but its a very good likeness and Im very proud of it."...

Watch Video Play Video NBA arenas are bustling with action on the hardwood once again with preseason games underway and the regular season due to start soon. The end of the NBA lockout signifies not only the return of all the excitement that the games bring, but a kick start to the economic status of those who depend on the games being played. Imagine if this time had never come. Imagine if there were no NBA games being played for the 2011-2012 season because of the lockout. Imagine if the players and owners hadnt resolved their differences and the entire season was wiped out. Not only would it have affected the players and fans. It would have greatly affected the people who are on-call to work at NBA games. Negotiations aimed at ending the NBA lockout that reached it's 146th day on Wednesday have resumed with the goal of ending the money squabble in time to play games on December 25, according to reports. (AFP Photo/Doug Pensinger) The calls for them to come to players and o...

Watch Video Play Video As the nation of Libya continues to move on, post Mohammar Gadhaffi, the head of the nations Olympic Committee is looking at next summers London Olympics as a potential source of unification for his people. Nabil Elalem sat down with our correspondent, Guy Henderson, and says he believes London 2012 could be the outlet the young people of his nation need to come together as one. Nabil Elalem, head of the Libya's Olympic Committee Related stories London reveals 2012 Olympic Torch Relay route 2011-11-08 Crossover 2011-10-12 2012 London Olympic Games 2011-10-13 Editor: Zhang Dan | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video Monterrey took on Esperance to battle it out for fifth place. Both teams lost in the quarterfinals. And neither team looked good in the first 30 minutes until Yannick Ndjeng chased down a long pass and held off a couple of Monterrey defenders on his way to the goal.- Esperance led 1-0 It stayed that way until the 39th minute, the Esparance keeper saved one shot, then watched a follow up bounce off the bar. Hiram Mier finally finished off the play with a right-footed volley. - Monterrey ties the match, 1-all Monterrey defender Hiram Mier (L) fouls Esperance forward Youssef Msakni (R) during their FIFA Club World Cup fifth place play-off match at Toyota Stadium in Toyota on December 14, 2011. Monterrey beat Esperance 3-2. The Mexican side struck again when Aldo de Nigris got loose and glanced a header home. - Monterrey led 2-1 at the interval. Two minutes after the restart, Esperance let de Nigris get the ball again, and he headed back across goal for Jesus N...

Watch Video Play Video The Detroit Red Wings took on the injury-depleted Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday with the again concussed Sidney Crosby missing his third straight. He only recently returned after an eight month absence from concussion. Pittsburgh defensemen Kris Letang, Zbynek Michalek and Robert Bortuzzo are also out dealing with similar issues. Evgeni Malkin opens the scoring for the Penguins in the first period. Pittsburgh up 1-0. The Red Wings come back in the second period. Todd Bertuzzi steals the puck and Pavel Datsyuk, levels 1-all. Detroit Red Wings' Franzen scores winning goal against Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Fleury in the third period of their NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh. In the third period, the Red Wings move ahead. Datsyuk finds Johan Franzen who scores from a power play. Detroit led 2-1. Still in the 3rd, Chris Conner steals the puck, skating down the ice before passing to Danny Cleary for the goal. The Red Wings led 3-1. With time running down, Peng...

Watch Video Play Video Its the end of a dramatic week of surfing action in Oahu, Hawaii. The ASP World Surfing circuit wrapped up at Pipeline on the North Shore, with the final day of competition at the Vans Triple Crown. The finalists have both been here before - last years runner up, Kieran Perrow, in blue and his opponent, two times Vans Triple Crown Champion, Joel Parkinson, in red. Both of them, world tour veterans, both of them from Australia, both of them yet to win the prestigious Billabong Pipe Masters. Lets look at todays path to the final. Up against Hawaiis Jamie OBrien in the first quarter final Parkinson was showing why hes a Triple Crown Champion. Quarter final number two, Vans World Cup champion and Triple Crown contender John JohnFlorence dominates until the final three minutes when 11 x world champion Kelly Slater pulls his usual last wave thriller out of the bag to knock out the new kid on the block John John Florence wins triple crown Florences opponent for th...

Watch Video Play Video "El Clasico" in the Spanish Primera Liga. Pep Guardiola's Barcelona and Real Madrid met at the Bernabeu for their 12th edition of El Clasico since Guardiola took over the reins at Barca. His squads have compiled a 7-4 record in the previous meetings, but Real coach Jose Mourinho's team was on a roll. Real went after its 10th league win in a row and 15th in all competitions. Real fans had every right to think this was their teams night. Angel Di Marias cross found its way to French international Karim Benzema. Barcas Victor Valdes was victimized - 1-0 Real Madrid. Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas celebrates his goal with his teammate Lionel Messi against Real Madrid during their match Spanish first division soccer match, the "Clasico", at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, December 10, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) But the European champion showed signs of life behind World Player of the Year Lionel Messi. He almost scored after...

Watch Video Play Video Surfing season is drawing crowds and big-time competition to Oahu, Hawaii. The final event of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is underway, with 15 foot surf providing plenty of thrills and spills on the famed North Shore. Our Tracey Holmes has an oceanside report. The waves were as furious as they were fast. The wreckage was painful. But when surfer and wave aligned, it was perfect. The standout from today's 24 heats featured two surfers from Hawaii. Former Junior World Champion, Kai Barger, made one of the world's most dangerous breaks look tame. He was up against the winner of last week's Vans World Cup, John John Florence, whose back yard is this break. As the surfers traded wave for wave it was John John's perfect 10 here that gave him the nod over his opponent to move into round three tomorrow featuring the world's top 10 surfers including current world champion Kelly Slater. As a young surfer from the small waves of Florida when K...

Watch Video Play Video Judd Trump blasted three centuries in a 6-3 defeat of Stephen Maguire. The result sets up a semi-final with Robertson. Maguire won the UK title in 2004, and he landed the first frame before Bristols 22-year-old Trump surged ahead with breaks of 72, 62 and 43. The left-hander tweeted at the interval that he felt like he was, in his words, "using someone elses arm out there", but he certainly looked in full control in the next two frames. Trumps two runs of 106 helped him score a 6-3 win. Trump card: Judd Trump eased past Stephen Maguire at the UK Championships Related stories UK Snooker Championships: Ding Junhui sees off Matthew Stevens 2011-12-07 Editor: Zhang Dan | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video The draw for the new season of the AFC Champions league was held in Kuala Lumpor on Tuesday. Three Chinese teams have qualified so far, including the reigning Chinese Super League champs Guangzhou Evergrande. In group G, winners of the Chinese FA Cup, Tianjin Teda will take on South Korea's Seongnam Ilhwa, Nagoya Grampus from Japan, and Central Coast Mariners of Australia. And finally to Group H, where Guangzhou Evergrande are in for a tough rode. It will be pitted against Japanese and South Korean champions, Kashiwa Reysol and Jeonbuk Motors. The last team will be the yet-to-be-decided Thai champion. The heavy spending Guangzhou team has its work cut out for it if it hopes to advance. Related stories Japan wins 2011 AFC U-19 Women's Championship 2011-10-17 Editor: Liu Fang | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video The finalists for the 2011 FIFA Ballon dOr have been announced...and it is a familiar trio who will be hoping to take home the top individual prize in world football. Last year the FIFA Player of the Year and the Ballon dOr awards merged into the FIFA Ballon dOr, with international coaches and captains as well as journalists voting for the winner. A cameraman films the FIFA Ballon d'Or trophy in Paris, on the sideline of a press conference aiming at presenting this year's final contenders. Holder Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi were on Monday named on the final three-man shortlist for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or award, which will be presented at a ceremony in Zurich on January 9. (AFP Photo/Franck Fife) Barcelonas Lionel Messi, who won the Ballon dOr in 2009 and 2010, will be the favourite to complete a hat-trick of titles after his man-of-the-match performance helped the Spanish side beat Manchester United in the Champions League final i...

Watch Video Play Video The world of Brazilian football is saying goodbye to a legend as former captain Socrates passed away in hospital on Sunday. According to his doctor, complications from an intestinal infection were to blame. Socrates was admitted into a Sao Paulo hospital on Thursday with food poisoning. The illness though, later developed into septic shock leaving the 57-year-old on life support. Born in 1954, Socrates was renowned as one of the greatest playmakers of his generation. An astute passer and reader of the game, he earned his nickname of "The Golden Heel", for his use of the backheel. Starting his career at Corinthians in the early 1980s, Socrates rose to world fame at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, when he served as Brazilian captain and was part of a golden generation that included Zico, Junior, and Falcao. After retiring from soccer, he practiced medicine in a small town and worked as a TV commentator and columnist. Related stories Corinthians win 20...

Watch Video Play Video A tough run at the Mens Volleyball World Cup is almost over for China. The Chinese squad hit the court for the 10th of 11 scheduled matches in Japan. China took a 1 and 8 record into its meeting with Serbia, which was also looking for a positive ending to its tournament, with a 3-6 mark heading into this one. China narrowly lost to Cuba in its last match. The side was quick and aggressive in the opening points. China opened up a narrow lead in the first set, but Serbia would catch up and it would be a tight opening set. A tough run at the Mens Volleyball World Cup is almost over for China. The Chinese reached set point first and finally put away the all-important first set 26-24. But China would slip in the second and let Serbia right back into it. The Serbians turned up their level of play to run away with the second set, 25-18 to level things up at 1 each. It should have been a call for the younger Chinese team to take it to the next level, but the squad ...