Over the weekend Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez reportedly implored his Filipino Catholic flock: “The conclave is a sacred rite. It’s improper to trivialize it by betting.” This hasn’t stopped people in the Philippines and indeed from around the world from indulging. While this betting is nothing new, the presence of serious papal contenders from Asia, Africa and Latin America is a development worth noting at the 2013 papal conclave.

Pope betting is the religious equivalent of betting on the races, with bookies and punters worldwide throwing down money on papal contenders of choice. While it’s illegal in many places, including the United States, in others the gambling can be fierce.

If the last papal race in 2005 is anything to judge by, the bettors are usually close to the mark. In April 2005, one day before Benedict emerged from the white smoke as the new pope, Irish novelist Frank Delaney wrote an op-ed in The New York Times pinpointing three contenders selected on the advice of bookies. Benedict was among the three.

Following Pope Benedict’s resignation last month – the first in 600 years – the betting swiftly commenced. Irish online bookie Paddy Power has vetted a list of around 90 papal candidates compiled by Oddschecker.com. In 2005, Paddy Power raked in more than U.S. $1 million in Pope bets and gave Cardinal Ratzinger (who took the name of Benedict) 3-1 odds. A few hundred punters even tipped Ratzinger to take the name of Benedict as Pope.

Their findings: At age 71, Archbishop of Milan Angelo Scola (described by Matthew Bunson as having “the intellectual chops for the job”) has the best shot of becoming the next pope, with a 23 percent chance, while Peter Turkson of Ghana, aged 64, has the next best odds at 22 percent. Others near the top include 78-year-old Tarcisio Bertone (Italy, 16 percent), Canadian Marc Ouellet (12 percent) and yet another Italian Angelo Bagnasco (10 percent). A list of top contenders can be found here.

This time around there is a marked trend towards diversity, with Turkson an obvious example. Many speculate that the next pope could come from the developing world, particularly Africa.

The College of Cardinals “presents a variety of faces, because it expresses the face of the universal Church,” Pope Benedict said during mass at the Vatican on November 24.

While not as likely, some hope that the next leader of the Church could be Asian; in particular, Filipino. With a Catholic population of roughly 76 million, the Philippines are the largest Christian nation in Asia and the third-largest Catholic nation in the world.

One interesting possibility is Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. At only 55 years of age, he donned a red cardinal’s biretta and a gold ring to become the second youngest “Prince of the Church” (cardinal) last November.

Tagle, perceived as humble, charming and well-connected with Benedict, has been called the “Great Asian Hope” by CNN senior Vatican analyst John Allen.

“One could make a pretty strong argument that nobody’s chances of becoming the next Pope benefit more from Benedict XVI’s resignation than those of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila in the Philippines.” Allen wrote in an article posted on the website of the National Catholic Reporter.

On the other hand, Allen continued: “Under ordinary circumstances, Tagle’s youth would be seen as an almost insuperable bar to election. At 55, he’s three years younger than John Paul II was when he was elected in 1978.”

Alas, Tagle’s relative youth may keep him from the papacy this time around. Still, it keeps him in the running longer term. For Filipino Catholics who keep the faith, there’s always next time.

Shinji Kagawa made history on Saturday by becoming the first Asian player to score a hat-trick in the English Premier League.

The Japanese star netted three goals as Manchester United defeated Norwich City 4-0 on Saturday. The win increased the Red Devils’ lead at the top of the Premier League by 15 points and put them closer to a record 20th championship.

It was a delightful haul for Kagawa, whose abilities were clearly showcased by his second and third goals.

Kagawa signed for United, one of the world’s biggest clubs, last summer after two successful seasons in Germany, where he won the Bundesliga title with Borussia Dortmund twice. Kagawa left J. League team Cerezo Osaka to play for Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2010 and has not looked back.

His first season with the Red Devils has been encouraging. It would surely have been more so had he not missed November and December to injury. Prior to the absence, he had already endeared himself to the club’s global army of fans.

Since returning from his injury, Kagawa seemed to need some time to find his groove, but he is well and truly back now.

"Midway through the second half, I didn’t think it would end up 4-0 as I think we were a bit ragged for that period," Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson told MUTV, the club’s official internet television network. "But, when we brought Shinji into central midfield, it made a difference to us and he ended up with a hat-trick.”

Ferguson continued, "It’s brilliant for him. The lad is a good finisher and his second goal was so composed and an intelligent finish while his third was absolutely brilliantly taken. It’s been a great day for him."

Ferguson already expressed his opinion that Kagawa will be even better next season after properly settling in, which is an exciting prospect based on Saturday's evidence.

"He got that injury around October-November and was out quite a while," Ferguson continued. "It knocked him back a bit but he’s gradually coming back and I think you’ll see a really good player next year."

While it was an important game for the club in terms of the Premier League season, it has nothing on the game against Real Madrid on Tuesday evening at Old Trafford stadium.

While Kagawa’s hat-trick has made English Premier League history, a similar feat against Real Madrid would secure his place in the annals of United’s history.  

The two titans of world football are halfway through a second round UEFA Champions League clash. The first leg in Spain ended 1-1, and all will be decided on Tuesday night in Old Trafford. The Premier League title is almost in the bag for United. The club’s fans, Ferguson and Kagawa are eager to eliminate the Spanish giants.

Ferguson has already announced Kagawa’s involvement. So it’s safe to say that many fans in Japan and elsewhere in Asia will be going to bed late or getting up very early on Wednesday morning.

Kung fu icon Jackie Chan is at the center of China’s efforts to up its soft power game. In Beijing this week, Chan, former NBA player Yao Ming and Nobel Prize winning author Mao Yan are in attendance at the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the 2,000-member advisory body that meets annually.

Beijing has drafted Chan to help craft an image of unity between Hong Kong and mainland China. Professor Sony Ho, co-director at the Centre for Greater China Studies, believes that Taiwan is also on the table in this “united front” game of projecting unity.

Chan is going along with this effort, to the dismay of his native Hong Kong, where the martial arts star has lost love in recent years after siding with Beijing in numerous instances. Last December he called for Beijing to limit the range of issues that Hong Kong residents are allowed to protest.

“There should be regulations on what can and cannot be protested,” Chan told the Southern People Weekly last December. “We (Hong Kong residents) do not like repression. We like freedom. But you cannot do whatever you want.”

He added, “Hong Kong has become a city of protest. The whole world used to say it was South Korea. It is now Hong Kong.”

The following month, this January, Chan made controversial statements on Chinese television, lambasting the U.S. as “the most corrupt (country) in the world” and asserting that China has long been browbeaten by global powers.

Chan’s ranting actually began much earlier. At the Boao Forum, an economic conference held on Hainan Island in 2009, he said, “I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we are not being controlled, we’ll just do what we want.” Prime Minister Wen Jiabao spoke at the event as well.

Given this track record, perhaps it was a natural progression for Chan to be appointed to the political advisory along with Yao Ming, Mo Yan and a host of others: Award-winning director Chen Kaige, comedian Zhao Benshan and television anchor Bai Yansong.

Xi Jinping, currently party chief, will formally take Hu Jintao’s place as president during a meeting of the National People's Congress, which starts on Tuesday.

The members of the CPPCC can be nominated by various groups and serve as representatives of their respective industries for terms of four years.

In photos snapped by Xinhua, Yao Ming is seen amid the delegates, towering above those around him.

“In China, politics has been very closed for a long time, but now slowly it’s becoming more open,” Yao Ming said in an interview with Xinhua during the powwow in Beijing yesterday. “The participation of celebrities has attracted people who were not interested in politics before, increasing public interest. When the public pays more attention to politics, it helps in maturing our political system.”

Yao also explained that he hopes to promote sports in China through his new role of cultural ambassador.

Meanwhile, photos of Jackie Chan walking to a black Audi with white military license plates began making the rounds on Weibo last Friday, provoking the anger of netizens across China for the extravagance.

In response, online activist and researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Yu Jianrong quipped via Weibo: “Has our military hired Jackie Chan to teach soldiers martial arts?”

Another Weibo user added, “Will Jackie Chan please use his martial arts to reclaim the Diaoyu Islands?”

Yao appears to have been prescient when he said that celebrities will bring more attention to politics in China. It remains to be seen, however, if their presence will spur positive change.

The bizarre, media-crazed “diplomatic” mission to North Korea by Dennis Rodman and three fellow Harlem Globetrotters has become more interesting by the day. Since arriving in Pyongyang, the emissaries have wandered well beyond the confines of the basketball court and received a highly controlled tour of North Korea’s offerings.

The visitors have rambled from state monuments and towers in central Pyongyang to the palace that is the resting place of Kim and Kim Jong Il, where North Korean state media reported that Rodman paid “high tribute.”

Rodman and Kim Jong Un sat side-by-side to watch Globetrotters and North Korean players compete on mixed teams. In photos taken during the match by VICE Media, Rodman is seen fully pierced, wearing a dark suit and sunglasses, while Kim, decked out in a blue Mao suit, sits beside him slapping his hands on the table and laughing. A can of Coca Cola prominently sits in front of Rodman on the table.

The Globetrotters delighted the audience, which “was really engaged, laughed at all of the Globetrotters’ antics and actually got super loud toward the end as the score got close,” said VICE correspondent Ryan Duffy who donned a blue “United States of America” uniform. “Most fun I’ve had in a while.”

The Americans gifted Kim with a Globetrotters uniform and the game ended in a 110-110 tie. “You have a friend for life,” Rodman reportedly told Kim in a speech to a crowd that numbered in the tens of thousands after the game.

The fun culminated at Kim Jong Un’s palace where Rodman, the Globetrotters and the VICE Media crew filming the spectacle for HBO, wined and dined on a spread that included smoked turkey and sushi. Multiple toasts were made. (Meanwhile, two-thirds of North Koreans survive on meager government handouts, with some resorting to eating grass and field mice.)

“I look at this as basketball diplomacy, the same way we had ping-pong diplomacy with China,” VICE founder Shane Smith told The New York Times. “Once you get the Globetrotters involved, I mean, how can you not smile when you see the Harlem Globetrotters?”

Smith has a point about the potential effectiveness of soft power to lower barriers. But there seems to be a commonly held misconception that Rodman is blazing a new path into North Korea where no other cultural ambassadors have gone before. Media hype aside, cultural exchange in North Korea is not new.

Beijing-based Koryo Tours, for one, has led two American basketball envoys to North Korea. The Americans led basketball camps, played at local schools and mixed with the kids. “No one as famous as Rodman of course, but the first step (toward Rodman’s trip) may have been efforts like our own,” Simon Cockerell of Koryo Tours told The Diplomat.

Further, Smith’s comparison of the Rodman effort to the “ping-pong diplomacy” used to thaw U.S.-China relation is tenuous. While all of this schmoozing may look like diplomacy, in the end the U.S. government has distanced itself from the affair. Neither the State Department nor the Obama administration has communicated directly with Rodman about the effort.

“I don’t know if the DPRK is as ready as China was for such diplomacy,” Cockerell said. “Ping-pong diplomacy had the backing of the US government, albeit secretly at the time, but this project seems to not be related to the U.S. government. Generally diplomacy is required to be between state actors.”

Andray Abrahamian, Executive Director of the Choson Exchange, a Singaporean NGO that focuses on business development for young North Koreans, agreed with Cockerell’s assessment.

“I don't think it’s really comparable to the ping-pong diplomacy of the 1970s, which was organized at the highest levels of government with an explicit political goal in mind. This seems to be a far more ordinary cultural exchange.”

He added, “You have to smile at the idea of Rodman debriefing the State Department, though.”

Anything can happen in Asian football and it just did. The head of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) Worawi Makudi has officially entered the race to become the next president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The election will be held May 2 and Makudi, a controversial figure, is likely to run against four other candidates. The position has been vacant since May 2011, when Mohamed Bin Hammam from Qatar was suspended on allegations of vote-buying in a FIFA election against Sepp Blatter.

The Qatari, who held Asia's top job from 2002, fought the ban but in December 2012 he retired from the game on receiving a life ban from FIFA.

Zhang Jilong of China has been the acting president since Bin Hammam’s departure, but Makudi wants the permanent job. Seen as a close ally of Bin Hammam, Makudi must convince a majority of the confederation's 46 members to vote for him.

He has already received unanimous support at a meeting with all 11 members of Southeast Asia’s regional grouping, the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).

AFF President Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah said: "...we examined our unity and solidarity and have decided to be united in choosing a leader for Asia. I am sure Dato' Worawi Makudi will do everything he can to further the needs of the AFC and their member associations."

Makudi has also reached out to try and win support from the eight-member South Asian Football Federation. If he succeeds, he would have 19 votes, which is a considerable base to work with.

"I will do my utmost to serve the ASEAN family members," Makudi said. "My main target as the AFC president would be to bring everybody together and to unite the Asian Football Confederation."

That is no easy task. Asian football politics are notoriously murky. National associations focus on themselves first, their regions second and the continent third.

It remains to be seen if Makudi's past will be a factor in the election.

In 2011, he was accused of spending an $860,000 FIFA grant to develop football in Thailand to develop instead land he personally owns. FIFA investigated before eventually clearing him of any wrongdoing.

In 2012, Makudi and FAT were investigated for using the Thai Premier League to generate profits – something the body is not allowed to do.

Lord Triesman of England, who was involved with England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup, accused Makudi of demanding personal ownership of the television rights for a proposed friendly match between the national teams of Thailand and England.

Makudi's conduct is going to come under increased scrutiny over the next few weeks. After the scandal-ridden events of the past 18 months, it seems unlikely that he has a chance to win the election. But in Asian football, you never quite know.

S. Pellegrino, the premier Italian maker of sparkling water, unveiled its list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in Singapore on Monday.

Narisawa, a Tokyo restaurant where head chef and owner Yoshihiro Narisawa puts a French spin on dishes made with local ingredients, has claimed the top spot. Another Tokyo gem, Seiji Yamamoto’s Nihonryori Ryugin, came in second. Thai restaurant Nahm of Bangkok took third, while two French restaurants – Hong Kong’s Amber and Singapore’s Restaurant Andre – took fourth and fifth.

The list is compiled by tallying the anonymous votes of more than 900 expert foodies, critics, chefs and restaurateurs who submit their top seven choices in order of preference. They are allowed to vote for restaurants far and wide that they have eaten at within the past 18 months, as long as they have no interest or ownership of the restaurants they choose. This lack of rigid criteria – no box-checking or peering into pantries – could encourage judges to make more off-the-beaten path selections – at least in theory.

At a glance, this list reflects the commonly held perception that Japan and cities like Singapore (with ten making the list), Hong Kong, and Bangkok (with two in the top ten) are at the top of the Asian food chain.

But there is another trend worth noting: the rising culinary superpowers of China (with 16, including those chosen from Hong Kong and Macau and five from Shanghai) and India (with seven). Another trend – this one being a slight – shows well-known tourist spots like South Korea and Taiwan failing to make the list at all. The full list can be viewed here.

While there is indeed promise on the Chinese and Indian fronts, Tokyo still retains its place at the top of Asia’s restaurant pyramid. The city is often hyped as the culinary capital of the world with more Michelin star ratings than any other metropolis on the planet – outperforming gastronomic centers like Paris and New York. This stellar performance extends beyond Tokyo, too: The Kyoto-Osaka-Nara region (Kansai) pulled a total of 12 three-star rankings.

Even after two restaurants were dropped by Michelin in its 2013 guide to Tokyo, 15 of the city’s eateries earned three-star ratings from the French food authority; double the number of similarly rated restaurants in New York (7). When it comes to starred restaurants (not only of the three-star category), Tokyo (with 286) wallops Paris (which has 77).

Dominating Michelin’s prestigious global rankings and topping S. Pellegrino’s Asian list: There is an obvious trend here. Just what is the secret ingredient in Japan’s recipe?

Michael Kleindl, a Tokyo-based food writer who regularly contributes to The Japan Times and blogs at Tokyo Food Life listed some core points about Tokyo food culture that give it this advantage. They are fourfold: fresh ingredients, the prevalence of chefs who have learned and worked in kitchens abroad, phenomenal service standards and Japan’s highly refined attention to detail and aesthetics.

“Tokyo food culture has a culinary edge because of the access to the best, freshest ingredients available from a growing number of farmers near Tokyo producing superb vegetables, more and more organically grown,” Kleindl told The Diplomat. “And of course the fresh fish…. Many chefs have exclusive deals with fishermen to bring in the best of each day's catch. The meat (including horse) is also sourced from small farms. Tokyo has a famous pork called Tokyo X which is delicious.”

Japan’s legendary service also bears mentioning. Anyone who’s dined in Japan knows this. Kleindl said: “The excellent service in Tokyo is unmatched in any other city. Across the spectrum of small, family run joints and ramen shops to the most expensive 3-star restaurant, service is very good. The long tradition of Japanese hospitality for guests comes from the tea ceremony, and the guest is treated very well.”

This isn’t limited to Japanese fare. Shinji Nohara (a.k.a. the Tokyo Fixer) added, “Not many people think Tokyo is a city to get coffee, baguettes, croissants or pastries. But (after trying Tokyo’s) some French people have admitted to me that they are better than the ones found in Paris. If you see people's attention to details in Tokyo, you can understand why.”

These traits give Japan the extra oomph it needs to keep its global clout (Michelin) and maintain its spot on S. Pellegrino’s list atop Asia's food chain – at least for now.

On Saturday, pool play in the third World Baseball Classic will begin with a matchup between Australia and Taiwan.  Japan, which won the tournament in 2005 and in 2009, again this year faces Dominican and U.S. teams studded with major leaguers. The tournament involves five teams from the Asia-Pacific (Australia, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, China, and Japan), plus three more with Pacific coastlines (United States, Mexico, and Canada). Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Spain, Cuba, Italy, and the Netherlands fill out the slate.

From the point of view of a Major League Baseball fan, the WBC offers real, contested games a month before they’d otherwise be available.  However, the baseball press in the United States has concentrated mainly on Major League spring training, rather than on the WBC.  The Baseball Prospectus, for example, has devoted very little attention to the WBC, beyond some observations about how participation in the tournament doesn’t actual reduce pitcher performance in the MLB regular season.

However, the WBC appears to be more popular in Japan and Korea than in the United States, perhaps not surprisingly given the outstanding performances of Japan and Korea in the last two tournaments. Indeed, the Japanese players union threatened to pull out unless it received a greater share of the substantial portion of WBC revenues earned in Japan.

The Dominican Republic, led by Robinson Cano, Jose Reyes, and Hanley Ramirez, is the odds on favorite to win the Classic, followed by the United States and Japan. In 2009, however, a strong Dominican team failed to escape pool play, losing twice to the Netherlands. The popularity of the WBC in Korea and Japan may give those teams an edge in morale; U.S. play in the first two tournaments occasionally seemed lackadaisical, as players looked ahead to the Major League season.

Indeed, the major league connection has proven a handicap for many of the American teams.  Major league teams have discouraged many of their players (especially pitchers) from participating in the WBC due to injury and exhaustion risks.  Consequently, some of the most devastating players in baseball, including Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, and Johnny Cueto, are sitting the WBC out.  On the other hand, the participation of Joey Votto lends no small degree of punch to the Canadian team.

The broader question is the extent to which the WBC helps produce a Pacific rim baseball community. Although major Japanese and Korean stars have played in the United States (and American players are common in Japan), the trans-Pacific relationship remains substantially outside the integrated system that characterizes baseball in the Americas. Of course, whether such integration is desirable is an altogether different question; baseball has a distinct character in each of Korea, Japan, and North America, adding a regional and cultural richness to the sport. A fully globalized baseball might result in homogeneity, detracting in some sense from the experience that American baseball fans have enjoyed in the career of Ichiro.

Robert Farley is a regular contributor to the Diplomat's Flashpoints blog.

Basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman (a.k.a. The Worm) and three other Harlem Globetrotters have landed in Pyongyang for what must be one of the most bizarrely concocted diplomatic efforts in history: “basketball diplomacy” in North Korea.

Picture this: Rodman, a 6-feet-7-inch monument to individualism – pierced, tattooed, often sporting multihued hair and flamboyant outfits – shaking hands with Kim Jong-un, the son of the late “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il, who rules a country where fashion is largely limited to military khakis and facial hair is outlawed.

At first glance, the encounter beggars belief. Then again, considering VICE television is behind the effort, not much should come as a surprise. Affiliated with New York City-based VICE magazine, VICE television will air the show on HBO in early April.

Rodman was mobbed by reporters as soon as he arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday. Using this trip as a way to open doors to the world outside may seem like a long shot. But if anything is near and dear to Kim Jong-un’s heart, it is basketball.

“I am all for it,” Dr. Marcus Noland, senior fellow and director of studies at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told The Diplomat. “No one has anything to lose on this one, so why not? If Kim Jong-un is half the 1990s NBA fan he is cracked up to be, Dennis Rodman could have more impact on US-DPRK relations than say John Kerry. And look better in a dress.”

Rodman, who arrived in Pyongyang just two weeks after North Korea defied the UN by conducting an underground nuclear test, comes on the heels of another high profile visit. In January, Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt made a surprise trip to tour Pyongyang computer labs and meet with officials. Schmidt’s trip came just weeks after the DPRK sent a satellite into orbit on the back of long-range rocket.

While Pyongyang announced that the nuclear test was meant to send a message to Washington, the North Korean government claimed the satellite launch was for space exploration. Some fear the real intention is to build a small nuclear bomb that can be sent to the U.S. on a missile. In short, tensions remain high, even while Rodman plays in pick-up games.

For Rodman, however, it’s all about hoops. When the Hall of Famer, five-time NBA champion and former Chicago Bull touched down in Pyongyang, he told reporters, “It’s my first time, I think it’s most of these guys’ first time here, so hopefully everything’s going to be OK, and hoping the kids have a good time for the game.”

Fellow Globetrotter Bucket Blakes added, “We use the basketball as a tool to build cultural ties, build bridges among countries. We’re all about happiness and joy and making people smile.”

Speaking to the Washington Post, VICE founder Shane Smith adds, “Is sending the Harlem Globetrotters and Dennis Rodman to the DPRK strange? In a word, yes. But finding common ground on the basketball court is a beautiful thing.”

Most reports focus on Rodman, now 51, slam dunking in Pyongyang pick-up games. Yet, there is another very interesting point to address here: A few years ago VICE produced a highly critical documentary on North Korea titled The Vice Guide to North Korea.

The one-hour film is anything but tame. It features scenes of North Korean labor camps in Russia, visits to the state-run Korean Feature Film Studio near Pyongyang and more. VICE has also run an expose on North Korea’s perilous amusement parks.

“Given the highly critical coverage of the DPRK that (Vice Founder) Shane Smith and Vice reporter Alex Hoban have doled out over the last several years, the fact that they let Smith back in may be an even bigger story than Dennis Rodman,” said Noland who writes for the Peterson Institute’s blog North Korea: Witness to Transformation.

Indeed, this engagement does speak to a gradual opening of the country. While it is not revolutionary at the level of government relations, cultural exchange may gradually soften perceptions about Westerners among ordinary North Koreans who may come in contact with them in some form.

“North Korea has become more and more comfortable with foreigners visiting over the last decade and this kind of interaction fits in with that.  It’s not something they really see as a threat anymore,” Andray Abrahamian, Executive Director of the Choson Exchange, a Singaporean NGO that focuses on business development for young North Koreans, told The Diplomat.

Abrahamian added, “Dennis Rodman is very charming in person apparently and even though he fits most anyone's description of a 'weirdo,' I think he will make a positive impression by being kind and engaging, despite his appearance, so to speak.”

While it is undeniable that the DPRK is slowly warming up to the presence of foreign faces, on a more fundamental level, tourism to the country raises important ethical considerations. As the Washington Post notes, the crux of the dilemma rests on economics.

For one, a visit to the North is expensive and all of the money spent to enter the country goes straight to the cash-starved regime. Beyond this, the Washington Post notes another issue, as observed by B.R. Myers, a scholar who has done research in North Korea and written about it in The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why it Matters.

According to Myers, when visitors to the country duly place plastic flowers as a tribute or bow before state monuments in sight of ordinary citizens, this simple act unintentionally legitimizes North Korea’s rulers in the eyes of the state’s impoverished populace.

While Myers’ concerns are certainly legitimate, in the end the situation is not clear-cut. Curtis Melvin, editor of the website North Korean Economy Watch, offered The Diplomat another perspective:

“These events are good at opening doors to future activities, building new relationships, and exposing the North Koreans to outside information,” Melvin said. “I hope they have a good time and enjoy themselves. Basketball is popular in the DPRK, and the NBA is rumored to be quite popular among Pyongyang's elite, so maybe they will surprise us."

Dr. Stephan Haggard, director of the Korea-Pacific Program at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego, agreed with this perspective.

“We should not try to fine-tune people-to-people engagement and particularly not more serious forms of exchange, such as academic and cultural ones,” he told The Diplomat.

Haggard added, “I was dismayed recently to see that the number of visas extended to North Koreans to come into the U.S. has fallen, as it does following crises. My mantra is ‘get people in, get people out.’ If it’s Dennis Rodman, so be it.”

Golf season in Asia is underway, but expectations for the men in the region are not nearly as high as they are for the women.

Nonetheless, Chawalit Plaphol of Thailand won the Myanmar Open over the weekend to get 2013 off to a good start for Asia’s male golfers.

The main story, however, was the emergence of rookie Mithun Perera, a young Sri Lankan who pushed Plaphol until the end and suggested that he has a bright future in the game.

"All you need is one good week to turn your life around. I feel my time is coming soon. I try my best in every tournament and I think the win is not far away," Mithun said, according to an Asian Tour press release. "I'm sure my father and my country are proud of me. This week, I flew the Sri Lankan flag high. There's no disappointment for me."

Still, Asian men lag way behind Asian women in the game. On the LPGA circuit, Yani Tseng of Taiwan is ranked number one in the world with a host of South Koreans just behind her.

One such South Korean star is Park Inbee, who won in Thailand just last week.

By contrast, a look at the top 50 golfers in the world for the men reveals a less impressive showing for Asia.. Only Japan’s Hiroyuki Fujita makes the cut, at number 43. Further, only one Asian man has won a major: Y.E. Yang of South Korea took the 2009 PGA Championship. Yang’s win, however, has not yet signaled a major shift in men’s professional golf.

“Golf is in its infancy in the Asia-Pacific region. It takes time, and it takes time to develop personalities in particular,” Asian Tour CEO Mike Kerr told AFP. “All sport is personality-driven but I think the foundations are there, the fundamentals are there, the growth is going to be there.”

To be fair, there is something that Asia’s women golfers do not have to deal with. For men, Asian golf is split into two competing tours, namely, the Asian Tour and OneAsia, a rival tournament that started in 2009. There is little love lost between the competing tours, which make it difficult for players, some of whom have been fined after appearing in rival tours.

This came to a head in 2012 when the Asian Tour fined a group of players for appearing in an event held by OneAsia in 2010 and barred them from future Asian Tour events. The players took the issue to court and were successful.

"It has been a long wait, but it feels very good. I really feel that justice has been done in this case," Australian golfer Matthew Griffin said after the verdict. "Golf in the region could be very strong, but I felt the restrictions were stopping the sport from developing and also stopping me from developing as a player."

Indeed, this state of affairs certainly does not create a healthy environment in Asia for men golfers to flourish.

This week HSBC, a major sponsor of golf events, expressed concerns about the situation.

HSBC head of sponsorship Giles Morgan told Reuters, "We absolutely support that we would want to see a clear hierarchy for golf in Asia, there is so much potential and growth here, but I don't want to be involved in it, no."

Fauja Singh, the “Turbaned Tornado,” achieved an impressive feat of will and strength in Hong Kong on Sunday. At 101 years of age, the former Punjabi farmer who is now based in London completed his final competitive road race.

Waving a Hong Kong flag and wearing a saffron turban, the headpiece characteristic of Sikh men, Singh crossed the finish line, flowing white beard and all; finishing the 10km race along Hong Kong’s scenic harbor in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds. That’s half a minute faster than last year. Not bad for a centenarian great-great grandfather.

“Five or six kilometers into the race, I really decided to go for it,” he told CNN. “I had lots of power today because I was very happy.” Minutes after crossing the finished line, he added, “I will remember this day. I will miss it.” Singh, who is only fluent in Punjabi, speaks through his coach and interpreter Harmander Singh.

There are late bloomers and then there is Singh, who didn’t even start running competitively until he was 89 years old. It was a family tragedy that first prompted him to lace up his shoes. Singh lost his wife and fifth son, who died in front of his eyes in a tragic farming accident in India in 1994. Struggling with grief and depression, Singh found himself alone in Punjab, his other five children having already emigrated.

"I suffered a tragic incident in my life, a traumatic experience; I took up running as a new focus in life. And then marathon running developed from there," he told CNN before Sunday's race.

Singh ran his first road race in his adopted London in 2000, followed by more in New York, Toronto and beyond, including nine marathons. His career best marathon time was in Toronto in 2003, where he finished in 5 hours, 40 minutes. In completing the Toronto’s Waterfront Marathon in 2011, Singh became the first centenarian to ever finish a full marathon.

As his fame rose, Singh was selected to serve as a torch bearer at the 2012 Olympics. Adidas even featured him in the company’s “Impossible is Nothing” advertising blitz, which also featured star athlete David Beckham and the legendary Muhammad Ali. A vegetarian, Singh also appeared in a PETA advertisement that shows him running by in a black track suit and black turban.

During his sporting career, Singh has raised thousands of dollars for charity and has inspired an impressive global following, with more than 55,000 fans on his Facebook page at the time of writing. After the race on Sunday, messages of tribute poured in from around the world.

Despite the support of his fans and his undeniable dedication, Guinness Book of World Records has been reluctant to grant Singh the official title of world’s oldest marathon runner. The problem: no birth certificate.

"This is a case of institutional racism," coach Harmander told ESPN. Like many other countries, India did not issue birth certificates when Singh was born, although his passport duly lists his birthday as April 1, 1911. For perspective, from the time Singh was born India would still be under British rule for another 37 years.

Downplaying the treatment by Guinness, Harmander told ESPN, “They're in the business of trivia. What does it matter if Fauja's name is in the same book as the lady with the longest fingernails in the world?”

Fame was never Singh’s goal anyway. He starting running as a way to ease his grief. The rewards have already been plentiful.

Thinking back to his first days hitting the pavement, he recalled, “I felt connected to God.”