Drogba sidelined in Shenhua's exit from CFA Cup

Didier Drogba's petition for his debut in Shenhua's crucial last-16 game in the CFA Cup was turned down by head coach Sergio Batista, due to worries about the condition of the former Chelsea striker, who was away from the pitch for three weeks.

Shenhua lost the game in a penalty shootout, 5-3, which means their slim hope of winning the CFA Cup and qualify for the next Asian Championships League?is?one?step away from being?shattered. The only choice left for the team is to hustle for the top three spots with 13 games left in the Chinese Super League. They are now 9 points away from the third seed Beijing Guo'an and 2 from the relegation zone.

Linsanity leaves Big Apple for good

Coming off winning the breakthrough athlete of the year at ESPY Awards, Jeremy Lin left the ground where his Linderella story was made. As the New York Knicks declined to match a three-year, $25.1 million contract from the Houston Rockets, Jeremy Lin will put on the red-and-white jersey, playing in the Space City that is known to many Chinese fans because of Yao Ming.

From my point of view, this could be one of the stupidest mistakes made by the Knicks in decades. Yes, they have an overflowing backcourt roster, and Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd and Baron Davis are all legitimate point guards regardless of aging concerns. But you just can't let Linsanity walk away, either for basketball reasons or economic considerations.

Yi?could be?China's flag bearer at London

It has been confirmed by multiple sources that Chinese star basketball player Yi Jianlian will be the country's national flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics.

Picking a basketball athlete to hoist the flag in the Olympic Games has been China's tradition. And it appears this year will remain the same. If so, Yi, the solo nominee from the basketball team, will do the honors.