Warmed by a roaring fire in a hall lined with Victorian paintings, Xia Yang reclines in his clubhouse near Beijing and dreams of returning polo to its glory days as a noble sport favoured by China's privileged.
If the Spanish Federation had deliberately wanted to kill off the King's Cup they could hardly have designed a more effective manner of dealing the mortal blow than the way they have treated the competition in the last few seasons.
Paul Scholes well remembers his first meeting with Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.
Golf has lost a royal presence on the course with Arnold Palmer's decision to quit competition, but the legacy of the man known as the King is alive across the sport's landscape and in the bank accounts of its top players.
At nearly 7 feet 9 inches (236 cm) tall, with size 19 feet, Chinese basketball player Sun Ming Ming dreams of joining the National Basketball Association.
The changes sweeping through women's tennis are music to the ears of world number four Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Two years ago, China had not even dreamed of entering the race for the America's Cup.
Allowing coaches on court during a match is a step too far in moves to make tennis more interesting for spectators, says women's world number one Amelie Mauresmo.
There is probably nothing in the sporting world which can compare to the crowd at an Argentine football match.
Ten years after being greeted by the headline "Arsene who?", Arsenal's hugely successful manager Arsene Wenger will certainly be able to savour the milestone which awaits him on Thursday.
Russia have discovered a new Davis Cup hero in Dmitry Tursunov.
Would you like your crickets deep fried and crispy? Peppered and presented in a neat circle on a bed of green leaves?