Trying to gain respectability

The Chinese Professional League has been having some problems lately. They've been rocked by a gambling/game-fixing scandal that has seen many of the top players expelled from the league. On top of that, the annual end-of-season Konami Cup, which had been a tournament between the champions of the major Asian leagues, decided not to invite Taiwan China last year. Instead, the winners of the Japan Series and the Korean league played a one-game series.

Trying to gain back some respectability for their league, the CPL is trying to get an international series going again:

Taiwan now would like to play the champion of the CBPL versus the champion of the KBO in a three game series. The series would begin November 1. Negotiations for this series are expected in March.

They want a little bit more than that, as far as international competition goes:

Taiwan also wishes to hold the Intercontinental Cup in 2010. Teams that have recieved invitations include the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Japan, Korea, Nicaragua and Cuba.

Of course, there is one problem with this:

The Japanese though may not be sending its professional players to compete in the Intercontinetal Cup because of its potential disruption to their season. So they will be sending an amatuer or industrial league team instead.

If the Japanese don't send their best players, then it really dampens the quality of the competition. Which is one of the reasons baseball is out of the Olympics.

Taiwan also wants to host the 2011 World Cup (not the WBC), and is in negotiations to do so.

The CPL has been devastated by the scandal. However, they are not just sititng back and feeling sorry for themselves. They're trying to do something to get back into the game. Good luck to them.


Original link from my world of baseball