Sports Headlines: Wilson Chandler, Texas A&m And More

Chandler signs with Zhejiang Guangsha
There’s been quite a few players talking about playing in foreign leagues during the NBA lockout, but as rumors continue to grow around the fact that the 2011-2012 season might be canceled, players are now looking at offers from overseas teams as strong options, and that is the case of Wilson Chandler, who is leaving the Nuggets for the Zhejiang Guangsha of China.

What is significant here is that Chandler is the first NBA player to sign a contract with a Chinese team after the professional league from that country established some rules preventing NBA stars from signing contracts with opt-out clauses that could allow them to go back to their NBA teams when they want to, and it also prevents Chinese teams from signing players whom are still under contract with a National Basketball Association franchise, which means that those who want to make a move to this Asian league will have to truly commit to their new teams, which is nothing like Deron Williams’ contract with the Besiktas, which is worth $5 million and will allow the player to go back to his NBA team when the lockout is over.

Texas A&M to leave Big 12
Another team is ready to part ways with the Big 12, and that is Texas A&M, a school that is seeking to move to a conference where its athletes can have more visibility, and also to secure the necessary resources to be financially stable. This college is following on the footsteps of Colorado and Nebraska, the teams which departed to the Pac 12 and Big 10 respectively, leaving the Big 12 with 10 teams, and now that Texas A&M is also leaving, the conference will sit on 9 teams, which will most likely make them lose the 13-year television contract they signed with Fox Sports that is valued in more than $1 billion.

US Open: Serena beats Jovanovski
Serena Williams proved that she is ready for the US Open after her first round victory over Bojana Jovanovski in two sets, 6-1 6-1, demolishing the dreams of the Serbian in just one hour. The last time Williams played for the same grand slam title was two years ago, when she received a one-point penalty for foul-mouthing a line judge during a match against Kim Clijsters, who went on to win and eventually also become the champion. Now Serena is ready for some redemption, and this victory is proof that she is doing things right this time.