It started down the right-field line, where most of the Chinese Taipei fans seem to be congregated. It was in Mandarin  … and thus unintelligible to me. But it quite certainly was sung to the tune of “Old McDonald Had a Farm.” More fans seemed into that than the seventh-inning stretch tune fest.

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The World Baseball Classic is  baseball’s answer to the soccer World Cup. The WBC works out much more handily. It is held in March, when none of the baseball-friendly countries are in their regular season. So it has all the stars. Unlike the Olympics, which appears to be conducted at about a Double-A level. The […]

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The U.S. is managed by Davey Johnson. Yes, he of the two shaky seasons running the Dodgers. His coaches are Reggie Smith, former Dodgers outfielder and coach; Rick Eckstein, brother of David; and Marcel Lachemann, former Angels manager in the mid-90s. Among the players on the U.S. team are occasional major-leaguers Terry Tiffee, Matt Brown […]

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I noticed this during Opening Ceremonies. Chinese Taipei, generally known in the U.S. as Taiwan … is popular here on the mainland. Or its athletes are, anyway. Which strikes me as odd. But maybe it shouldn’t. It’s all about history, of course.

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I’m over at the Wukesong Baseball Main Field, watching a sport 1.29999 billion of the 1.3 billion Chinese people don’t understand. One that will disappear from the Olympic movement as soon as the last out is made in the gold-medal game Saturday. And I have a feeling almost no one will miss it. First, let […]

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Cliff and Randi Hammer, the parents of cyclist Sarah Hammer, are staying with a local Chinese family, the Jiangs. It was Sarah’s idea for them to stay with the Beijing residents. “She said we ought to immerse ourselves in the culture, really experience China,” said Randi, a third-grade teacher in Hemet. So, they are hanging […]

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Did a lot of running around Monday. Three events in the span of about eight hours. First to the velodrome, where poor Sarah Hammer from Temecula suffered a broken collarbone in a crash … and I did a story on her parents’ reaction from the stands. I was sitting with them. Did I mention it […]

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The Beijing Olympics have been running like a well-oiled machine. Efficient, smooth — but not particularly interesting or exciting to watch. Until tonight. At least for me. I walked into the Capital Indoor Stadium, the volleyball venue, and I happened upon the loudest, most-fired-up crowd I’ve seen in Beijing. China was playing, of course, against […]

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Mao Zedong was omnipresent in Chinese society, while he was alive. Everyone apparently carried the Communist leader’s Little Red Book, filled with the wit and wisdom of the great leader, who clearly was meant to replace Confucius as the greatest thinker in the history of the country. The Great Helmsman, as he apparently liked to […]

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I was out walking around this morning. It wasn’t hot yet, and the air didn’t seem too awful. (Actually, the weather has been quite livable, the past 2-3 days. Last night it was almost cool. Which was cool.) I have come down with a cold — the Olympic Cold, but a week early; what’s up […]

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