ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Few professional sports teams had grander beginnings than Kunlun Red Star.With Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping looking on, Chinas biggest venture in hockey to date joined the Kontinental Hockey League in June at a lavish ceremony in Beijing. For the Russia-based KHL, Kunlun is a chance to beat the NHL to the Chinese market. Chinese officials hope the club can groom enough talent to strengthen its feeble national team in time for the Beijing Olympics in 2022.This project was organized at the highest level, said Vladimir Yurzinov Jr., Kunluns Russian coach. Its good that were first because if it wasnt us (in the Chinese market), it would be the North Americans.China offers a vast potential fan base for foreign sports leagues, but there are challenges in turning interest into revenue.English Premier League soccer is the biggest success story, having built a dedicated Chinese following in part by playing preseason games in Hong Kong. That has helped to push its global TV rights deals to record levels. The Womens Tennis Association now hosts some of its most lucrative events there, thanks to the breakout popularity of Chinese player Li Na, while the British-based sport of snooker has also reversed its fortunes by finding a younger audience in China.Still, Tom Doctoroff, an U.S.-based expert on marketing in China, cautioned that hockey has limited potential in China because it is too overtly aggressive for Chinese consumers, and persuading them to pay to watch sports broadcasts is difficult.Free remains the frame of reference for most consumers, he said in an email.That hasnt stopped Kunlun from rushing through a summer of recruitment and training to create a club in record time. The team is off a sobering start to life in the KHL, widely considered the worlds second-strongest league.Kunlun had lost three in a row when it arrived for a recent game at SKA St. Petersburg, which had ex-NHL stars Slava Voynov and Ilya Kovalchuk on the ice. There were a few giggles when the announcer asked fans to stand for the Chinese anthem, and SKA barely had to sweat for a 3-0 win as Kunluns Canadian and European import players struggled to deal with one of the strongest rosters outside the NHL.The KHL sprawls across eight countries and nine time zones, meaning players face a punishing schedule of long flights across Eastern Europe and Asia. Thats a new world for ex-Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Bellemore, who had never left North America until he joined Kunlun before the season. For Bellemore, the move was more about seeing the world with his new wife, Natasha, than the financial side of playing in China.Id never even had jetlag before, he said. Its been a bit of a ride, but its been exciting.Kunlun boasts players from nine countries, ranging from 36-year-old NHL veteran Alexei Ponikarovsky to young Chinese players just starting their careers. Among them is Rudi Ying, an 18-year-old who grew up in the United States after moving there at age 10 to pursue his dream of being a professional hockey player.Spreading hockey beyond Chinas wealthier classes will be hard, given the cost of equipment and facilities. Right now, soccer is attracting the lions share of government and private funds, with President Xi the countrys No. 1 fan.Ive had one foot in either culture, said Ying, who comes from a privileged background. It helps me to see how far behind Chinese hockey is. Chinas not to blame, its just a sport thats not very popular ... We dont have much time to catch up.Despite the political fanfare around Kunlun in Russia and China, club spokesman Oleg Vinokurov said no government money is involved and funding comes from Russian and Chinese companies. So far, there are mixed signals on the success of the fledgling team: While almost 8,000 people watched Kunlun win its first home game in Beijing, a game at its secondary arena in Shanghai attracted just 550 fans.For the KHL, moving into Asia is something of a plan B after its westward expansion into Europe stalled, with several teams experiencing chronic financial difficulties. The long-term aim is for Kunlun to be the basis for the Chinese national team, just as CSKA Moscow was for the Soviet Union.Yurzinov said part of his mission as Kunlun coach is to improve the Chinese players on his roster with mentoring from older teammates and simply practice after practice. The focus is firmly on developing local talent, not attracting foreigners to represent China in international play, as 2018 Olympic host South Korea has done.If it cant improve the national team by 2022, China will be the first Olympic host not to take part in the mens tournament. The national team was pounded 9-0 by the Netherlands earlier this year and will play next years world championship in Division II B, competing against the likes of Mexico and North Korea.Ying will be 23 when the 2022 Olympics take place and hopes he will be a star on home ice for the Chinese national team. He worries the timetable is just too tight, even with Kunlun spawning a new generation.The reason we created this organization to try to help promote Chinese hockey is because one person cant do it, he said. If 2022 comes around and Im the only one whos at that level, its not going to be enough. Vapormax Off White Fausse . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Vapormax Flyknit 2 Noir Pas Cher . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. http://www.vapormaxpascher.be/air-max-vapormax-2019-pas-cher.html . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. Vapormax Plus Homme Solde . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. Nouveau Vapormax 2020 . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. MOHNTON, Pa. -- Leah Pritchett raced to her first career No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel on Saturday in the Dodge NHRA Nationals.Pritchett had a 3.705-second pass at 327.35 mph at Maple Grove Raceway. She won in Phoenix this year for her first career victory and is ninth in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs.It feels pretty phenomenal, Pritchett said. Its right there behind winning a race, but this is do-or-die time. This is the time of digging deep for the Countdown and to be No. 1 at one of the fastest race tracks says a lot about my team. There were a lot of things going on with that run and to be No. 1 is really awesome but we came here to win the race.Matt Hagan topped the Funny Car field, Vincent Nobile was fastest in Pro Stock, and Andrew Hines qualified No. 1 in Pro Stock Motorcycle in thhe third event in the six-race Countdown.ddddddddddddNHRA officials were forced to cancel the second session of qualifying Saturday because of persistent showers and mist. Because the scheduled Friday sessions also were wiped out, racers had only one session to qualify for the final eliminations Sunday.Hagan pushed his Dodge Charger R/T to a 3.873 at 333.99 to set both ends of the track record. The two-time Funny Car season champion claimed his fifth No. 1 of the season and 26th of his career. Hes sixth in the standings with three wins and two runner-up finishes this year.Nobile had a 6.552 at 211.83 in a Chevrolet Camaro, and points leader Hines ran a 6.784 at 196.22 on a Harley-Davidson. ' ' '