Sports: The Bird's Nest Effect

This is a good year for evaluating Chinese sports -- what, if anything, the Beijing Olympics will leave behind and what they will change. Little has been heard of an almost unanimously supported change in the direction of Chinese sports. All that can be heard is the sound of bulldozers, a reminder of official excitement over the "game economy."

China's sports fans will be far from bored in 2010. Major events include the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the mid-year football World Cup in South Africa and the late-year Asian Games in Guangzhou, interspersed with world championships for basketball, volleyball and table tennis. China's participation in each -- except for the World Cup -- will be worth the wait.