It’s a play on the old “tree falling in a woods” hypothetical scenario: If the NBA holds a preseason and nobody’s around to see it, does it even happen? Last week Brooks posted about the horrid numbers that NBA preseason action in Vegas was getting, but that looks like a ratings bonanza compared to the amount of interest it received in China.

(Three’s a crowd?)

In case you didn’t know, the NBA held two preseason games in China last week between the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks. But since these two teams don’t have much in the way of “star power”, pretty much everyone in China went about their daily lives, never even pausing to acknowledge the fact that the NBA even exists.

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The global financial crisis is threatening to tone down spending for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.  Existing venues may be used for some events in lieu of constructing new ones.  The event, which was already slated to be smaller in cost and physical size than the 2008 Beijing Games, is having trouble securing loans for the Olympic Village and is also scaling back its broadcast center.

(London’s 2012 Ghettolympic Games)

BLOOMBERG PRESS reports:

(London) Mayor Boris Johnson told a parliamentary committee yesterday that the Olympic Park will be “cozier” than that used for this year’s Beijing games. The Chinese government spent four times the amount the 2012 organizers are planning to spend on the games.

Some further ideas for a budget Olympics (after the jump): Read more…

For the past two weeks, Beijing has been the center of the world’s attention playing host to record breaking performances in world class athletics. As the Summer Olympics come to a close, the BOSTON GLOBE examines financial impact the Games have had on the host nation.

Victor Matheson, an associate economics professor at Holy Cross writing for THE GLOBE says, “Despite their success on the playing fields, the event has been an economic disaster for the Chinese.” Ouch. So I guess you’re saying that $40 billion price tag was a bit much.

Chicago, are you reading this?

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President George W. Bush has to be loving these Olympic Games, because for the first time since the 1996 games in Atlanta, he’s not running for President, so he can actually take the time to enjoy them. While Barack Obama and John McCain are busy hitting the campaign trail, Dubya has been spending some time in Beijing taking in the spectacle of the games.

And by spectacle of the games, I obviously mean Misty May-Treanor’s ass.

Yes, it appears that President Bush met up with Misty May and her partner Kerri Walsh before the duo began their quest for Olympic gold to give them a pep talk. Or to feel them up, however you want to look at it.

From BRIGHT BLACK INTERNET:

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While HOME RUN DERBY faithfully covered the cheerleading experience during the Padres/Dodgers visit to Beijing, we are proud to declare this is not an isolated event in China. The MAIL & GUARDIAN dutifully reports the growth in cheerleading in China and the effort to have cheerleaders at Olympic events.

The Chinese Basketball Association introduced China to cheerleading when it mimicked its American counterpart and replaced its amateur gymnastics with the type of cheerleaders NBA fans have come to know well. The practice has spread across numerous sports in China, but the people have not embraced the ladies or their work yet. Read more…

I’m not sure if this is mostly good news or bad news from the Associated Press. The good, of course, is that a terroristic plot was foiled. The bad? Well, um, how are these Beijing Olympics going to work out?

From the AP:

“Chinese police killed alleged terrorists plotting to attack the Beijing Olympics, while a flight crew managed to prevent an apparent attempt to crash a Chinese jetliner in a separate case just last week, officials said Sunday. Wang Lequan, the top Communist Party official in the western region of Xinjiang, said materials seized in a January raid in the regional capital, Urumqi, had described a plot with a purpose ’specifically to sabotage the staging of the Beijing Olympics.’ ‘Their goal was very clear,’ Wang told reporters in Beijing.”

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With the new year now upon us, the excitement is surely building for the summer Olympics in Beijing. And nothing grabs the attention of the male 18-34 demographic like sleek & sexy swimsuits:

OK, so this year’s styles don’t appear very aerodynamic. Actually, they look like they’ll disintegrate once they touch water. And they seem to bunch up in strenuous situations.

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POLLUTION COULD PUT CHOKEHOLD ON OLYMPIC EVENTS: With the Beijing air not getting any better, the International Olympic Committee may decide to reschedule events in the 2008 Games:

The BBC coughs up news that the IOC won’t be afraid to rearrange their sporting schedule if pollution poses a health hazard.The decision comes after an United Nations report in October that said the air quality in the Chinese capital is three times worse than acceptable levels.

A spokesman said any schedule changes would be made right before or during the competition.

KONNICHIWA, BITCHES! RED SOX TO START 2008 IN TOKYO: Dice-K will be heading home next March. And his Boston baseball teammates are coming along:

The ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that the Red Sox will start their season next year in Japan, where the World Series champs will face off against the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo.The Sawx and A’s will face off in two games on March 25 & 26. In the days beforehand, both teams will play Japanese squads in exhibition games.

Hope their exhibitions go better than Michigan State’s and Ohio State’s.And MLB hopes this isn’t their only foray to the Far East in 2008. The league is hoping to have the Dodgers and Padres play in Beijing, at the ballpark being built for the Olympics. Those games would likely take place in mid-March.

With air pollution constantly covering the Chinese capital, the L.A. club should feel right at home.

WE LOVE JEN, BUT THIS REALLY BORDERS ON CHILD ABUSE: Softball honey (and all-around amazing Mom) Jennie Finch is planning to bring her adorable, 15-month-old baby Ace Shane to the Beijing Olympics with her next year.

Finch: “It looks like it right now, he is [coming]. He actually went with me a year ago when we went there, so he’s already been there, done that. So we’ll go back and show him the Great Wall again.

“I know it is [a long plane flight]. He was 2 1/2 months last time we went over, and it’s going to be a different story this next year.“The plane flight is the last thing we’re worried about. If forcing a baby to endure Beijing’s pollution and the U.S. women’s softball prelims against Micronesia isn’t child abuse, we don’t know what is.