Centers Dwight Howard and Yao Ming and star playmakers Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade lead the updated vote totals for the NBA All-Star Game released on Thursday.
Orlando’s Howard set the overall pace with 2,102,368 votes with Cleveland forward James next at 1,940,162 and Wade on 1,818,717. Howard is a runaway leader at his position by more than 1.75 million ballots.
Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers guard who claimed league MVP honors last season, led Western Conference candidates at 1,903,798 with China’s Yao, a Houston Rockets star, next best in the West on 1,758,499.
Shaquille O’Neal of the Phoenix Suns ranks a distant second to Yao with 1,006,383 votes.
Chinese forward Yi Jianlian of New Jersey continues to threaten Boston’s Kevin Garnett for the other Eastern Conference forward starting spot alongside James. Garnett, who sparked the Boston Celtics to last year’s NBA crown and a 19-game win streak this season, has 1,375,814 votes to 1,216,348 for Yi, who joined the Nets this season from Milwaukee.
Wade tops East guards with Detroit’s Allen Iverson in the other starting spot with 1,278,600 votes and his nearest rival, New Jersey’s Vince Carter, next on 856,498.
Houston’s Tracy McGrady kept his lead over New Orleans’ Chris Paul for the other West guard spot behind Bryant with 1,216,224 votes to 1,059,161.
San Antonio’s Tim Duncan leads West forwards with 1,454,918 votes while Denver’s Carmelo Anthony is next on 905,121 with Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire needing help to move up on 894,690.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one
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