• CHINA: Yao Ming and his with wife Ye Li, are expecting their first child. Not only will the child be in the limelight as Yao Ming’s offspring, but the nation will track the child as the next basketball prodigy. The 7-6 Yao and 6-2 Ye Li, who also plays for the Chinese National Team, will likely give birth to a very, very, very tall child. I would hate to be that child; his/her path is already paved, and nothing short of international success the benchmark. Follow the Chinese fever of “YY”.

• GERMANY: Even with the names of luminaries such as Gasol, Kukoč, Sabonis and Petrovic, is Dirk Nowitzki already the greatest European NBA player ever?  (Discuss and argue this question in our forum).

• GREAT BRITAIN: Pops Mensah-Bonsu was released, again, by the Toronto Raptors. The 6-9 forward, who was already released by Toronto over the summer and by Houston earlier this season, averaged 2.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 6.7 minutes in 16 games with Toronto. In the money-saving move, the Raptors are looking to sign him to a 10-day contract.

• KOREA: The first Korean player to reach the NCAA will leave the University of Maryland. Forward Choi Jin-Soo was being unable to reconcile his studies and play basketball; he willl return to Korea and play in the KBL (From Basket-Spot).

• LEBANON: Lebanese superstar Fadi El Khatib will move from Champville Maristes Sports of Lebanon and will play for Al-Jalaa, a Syrian club, next season. The 6-6 rugged forward signed a four-year deal.

• TURKEY: The Turkish All-Star Game will be played this Sunday, the two teams featured will be the Turkish Stars and the Foreign Stars (Talk Turkish basketball in our forum).

• USA/NBA: Laker coach Phil Jackson is blaming Chinese for NBA All-Star voting, even though he’s wrong: “I think Houston might have all their players in the top five at every position,” Jackson said. “That Chinese fan group, they vote for the Houston team because of Yao Ming and their relationship to Houston. It’s all skewed.”

• USA/NBA: With Ronny Turiaf (France) and Andris Biedriņš (Latvia) returning from injury and back to the Golden State lineup this last week, the team has released NBA journeyman Mikki Moore.

Check out all of our global roundups with short takes and notes on international basketball news from leagues and players from around the world. Got an update or breaking news? Send us an email.