体育新闻报道,Shanghai to Host ATP Masters

Big news in the world of balls and kicks.- The former coach of the Swedish women's football team, Mari-ka Doman-ski Ly-fors, has been appointed coach of the Chinese national team.

Domanski Lyfors signs a reported 533,000 US dollars contract. Domanski Lyfors replaces current coach Ma Lianxing, who has stepped down due to heart trouble.

The Swede is expected to arrive in China at the beginning of April. She will then have five months to prepare her team for the World Cup, which kicks off in Shanghai in the fall.

Domanski Lyfors coached the Swedish team for nine years, taking them to the final of the World Cup in the United States in 2003.

They did it! And by they- I mean them Houstonians often subsequently described as the Rockets. And by it...I mean made the playoffs and picked up their sixth straight home win.

Yao Ming scored 22, but shook his head as he talked about his performance.

"I was just not so good in this game,'' said Yao, who missed 13 of 22 shots and coughed up five turnovers.

Tracy McGrady scored 22 points and had nine assists in Houston's 106-87 rout on the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday - then the All-Star left the arena before speaking to reporters.

The Rockets finished 24-6 against the Eastern Conference this season, matching their best record since 2003-04.

THE Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee unveiled unique medals for the 2008 Games at a ceremony in the capital yesterday.

Winners will walk away with medals made of metal and jade when they make it to the podium.

The winning design for the gold medal centers on three components in a center circle: the Beijing Olympic logo, the five Olympic rings and Beijing 2008 emblem. The inner circle is surrounded by a ring of jade with a gold-plated rim on the outside.

The gold, silver and bronze medals will carry the same design, with a finer white jade in the gold medal, a slightly darker shade in the silver medal, and a green jade in the bronze medal. The flip side of the medal carries a design based on the roots of the Olympics in Greece.

The medals, which are 70mm in diameter and 6mm in thickness, also incorporate subtle detailing, as highlighted by the medal ribbons which feature interlocking dragons and a cloud pattern.

Created by a group formed by the China Central Academy of Fine Arts and the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, the design was one of the 265 art works that BOCOG received in a worldwide competition.

SHANGHAI will host one of the ATP Masters series after the men's governing body decided against renewing the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup, which ends in 2008.

The proposed Shanghai showpiece, starting in 2009, will be the only one to be staged in Asia. It will be one of the eight top-tier tournaments. The current series incorporates nine tournaments across the world but has no presence in Asia.

"It is so heartening to know that Shanghai is the first Asian city to host an ATP Masters Series event," said Yu Chen, Director of Shanghai Administration of Sport.

"After the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, the Masters series will give a further boost to the game's popularity in the city, and in the country as well." he added

The Masters Cup was first staged in Shanghai in 2002 and returned later in 2005 with a unique honor of hosting it for four years - until 2008, after which it heads to Europe.

No schedule or venue details have been released about the new franchise although it's near certain that the new series will be played at the suburban Qi Zhong Tennis Center, home of the Tennis Masters Cup.

The size of prize money is expected to be somewhere between US$4-5 million and will have a field of 64.