Yao is back in Houston after returning recently from China.
On Thursday, he and his expecting wife Ye Li attended the Houston Rockets’ annual Tux & Tennies charity benefit at Toyota Center.
Click here for more photos of Yao, Ye Li, and Yao’s Rocket teammates at the charity gala.
On Wednesday, Yao was at Toyota Center again for a game against Sacramento and former Rocket Carl Landry.
Unfortunately, the Rockets lost to the 20-40 Kings. Houston has obviously hit a low point of the season with a mediocre record of 30-30 after losing 7 of their last 10 games. It’s good to see Yao again, providing hope for next season that he’s the missing piece the Rockets will need to become championship contenders again.
Click here for more photos from Wednesday night’s game.
Raymond in China reports that before Yao’s return to Houston, Yao participated in a nationwide marketing program launch of Oreos last Thursday.
Click here for photos of Yao around a bunch of Oreos and kids. Here’s a video from China of Yao talking about the program, and here’s one of the commercial itself.
Last Wednesday, Feb. 24th, Yao watched his Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks beat the Jiangsu Nangang Dragons in a roller-coaster OT win, 125-121, which put the Sharks in 4th place in the CBA above the Dragons. The win also clinched a playoff spot for the Sharks.
On Monday, Feb. 22nd, Yao went to the Lingyin Temple (Temple of Soul’s Retreat) 灵隐寺 in Hangzhou at 6:00 am in the morning with his wife Ye Li to burn incense, a custom during the Chinese New Year that brings good luck. He then sat with the monks for a breakfast that consisted only of vegetables.
One of the monks rushed to Yao with a basketball for him to sign, and told him that the monks in Lingyin Temple will form a basketball team soon. Here a monk is delighted with his prize.
Then at 07:30 am, Yao left the Lingyin Temple for the Lingshun Temple 灵顺寺 at the Bei Gao Feng Mountain.
This 1,600-year-old temple is known as the God of Wealth Temple to the locals. Thousands of pilgrims make their way up here each year to light some incense and say some prayers to bring them good fortune.
Yao had tea with the head monk there, who gifted Yao and his friends who came with him full sets of Hua Yan Jing 華嚴經 (i.e. Avatamsaka Sutra which weighed more than 15 KG for each set). The head monk also gave Yao a bracelet that he had worn for more than 10 years before taking it off and giving it to him.
When asked what Yao did at the Lingshun Temple, the head monk said Yao didn’t ask for his own fortune, but for the fortune and safety of his expected child.
Click here for more photos of Yao’s visit at the Lingshun Temple.
Raymond has been keeping track of Yao’s activities the past week in China for the New Year.
On Wednesday the 17th, Yao hosted a Chinese New Year party for the Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks. Here’s a video taken at the event. You might notice former Houston Rocket John Lucas III, one of the Sharks’ leading scorers, in the video.
On Friday, Yao visited with his his long-time mentor Li Qiuping, the head coach who had nurtured him ever since he was a kid. It was the first time he had seen Li Quiping since replacing him as head coach of the Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks with Bob Donewald Jr. after buying the team.
Later Yao went to Pudong Shenyuan Stadium to watch his team play against the Liaoning Panpan Hunters. The Sharks won 83-76 (click here for more photos).
The next night, the Sharks beat the Jilin Longrun Tea Northeast Tigers 134-111 to push their record to 18-6 and remain in 5th place in the CBA standings.
Finally, the Sharks organized a week-long training camp from Feburary 20-26 for kids born after 1995 from all across the country (the Sharks took care of their meals and lodging). Yao showed up at the opening of the camp held at the Shanghai Municipal Sports Bureau, and spoke a few words of encouragement to the kids.
This past Wednesday, Yao pre-recorded a Shanghai television special for a Chinese New Year program with Bo Wanqing, a Shanghai congresswoman and one of the leaders of the Shanghai 2010 Expo. They talked about all the things that people love about Shanghai. Near the end of the taping, “Auntie Bo” presented a gift to Yao for his newborn baby. It’s obvious through this photo what the gender of the baby will be.
Later that evening, Yao attended a charity gala to promote a green and low-carbon lifestyle, and to raise funds through auctions and donations for taking poor children from backward provinces and cities to tour the Shanghai 2010 EXPO.
Click here for more photos from the charity gala, including pics of Liu Xiang, Jin Jing, Shanghai Sharks members, and Yang Mi.
Yao gave an exclusive interview to Fox 26 Houston where he talks about becoming a father for the first time. It aired Friday night (ignore the cheesy bail bondsman ad that plays the first few seconds). This interview about his baby is more in-depth than what we have seen in the Chinese media.
Yao is always sensitive to Chinese tradition, but keeping this news under wraps wasn’t easy.
“It’s very hard,” Yao said. “It’s been very, very hard. You kind of feel that it is the best thing you ever get in your life.
“That’s something that inspires you.”
Once the news was out that Yao will become a father soon, he began getting advice from everywhere, especially from within the Rockets team.
“It’s easy to say right now I am going to take more responsibility and I have to take care of my family,” Yao said. “It’s easy to say, but harder is how to do it.
“I have to say I have no experience now and I’ve been told by some of my teammates, (guard) Aaron Brooks, you know he’s younger than me. He tells me his experience of how to be a father. That’s very strange.”
It will be real strange if the 7′6 Yao Ming hits the floor when his child his born like he jokingly fears.
“Hope I’m not passed out,” Yao said. “I will put my baby on the bed before I pass out.”
He is also keenly aware that dad has to take care of the baby when mother is not available and that can mean some long nights for a professional athlete who needs his sleep.
“I think next season I come back to play with some sleepy eyes, people don’t be surprised,” Yao said.
Yao said he and his wife have already come to grips with the fact the birth of their first child is world-wide news
“I have to deal with that,” Yao said. “I really appreciate a lot of guys pray for my baby.
“I got a lot of e-mails and messages so happy about (me) having a baby. It’s all good things. I appreciate those people who really care.”
After Yao and his wife have their first child, they will look forward to having another.
“I plan to have more than one kid because you know the law we have in China, one child for each family,” Yao said. “I feel a little bit lonely when growing up.
“I still had a lot of neighborhood kids, played together. I would liked to have had either a big brother or sister to protect me or a younger brother or sister I can command.
“In our situation we are allowed. Me and my wife are both only child from our families. Follow law we can have two.”
In a few months Yao, his wife and all of their relatives will celebrate a new addition to their family.
At some point after the baby is born Yao will share his joy with the world, but not right away.
“I try to enjoy (my) privacy,” Yao said. “That’s a big time for our family.
“The next generation come out. While it’s not the first kid in our family, a big family, but still big for me. I have no words now. I have no words.”
On a completely different note, on Wednesday Yao attended the opening of a new restaurant that bears his name. It’s the second “Yao Restaurant & Bar” in Houston, this one being downtown very close to Toyota Center. Interestingly, it’s a Japanese sushi bar. It’s funded and run by friends of the family, not by Yao or his parents.
Click here for photos from the opening, as well as an article about the restaurant.
YaoMania spoke to Yao several hours before Sunday’s Phoenix-Houston game at Toyota Center before Yao started his workout. Yao told us that the doctors would be checking out his foot, and based on their determination, decide if he could shoot baskets Sunday without his protective boot on, something he hasn’t done since the surgery. It turns out they must have cleared him to shoot free throws, just like we thought they might, since free throws don’t put any pressure on his feet in comparison to jump shots.
You may remember how we shot video of Yao in the fall shooting baskets from a chair to keep weight off his foot. Yao told us on Sunday afternoon he really hadn’t been shooting any baskets at all the past several weeks and months - especially since he had been in China the past few weeks — and also because he had plenty of time to regain his shooting touch before next season. That’s why we find it amazing that Yao reportedly hit 92 of 100 free throws Sunday without really having any practice lately!
In the video you’ll hear Rockets’ broadcaster Bill Worrell saying that the TV crew spoke to Rockets management that Yao was videotaped shooting free throws without his protective boot on, and that Rockets’ management was surprised by that news. But it’s obviously a mis-communication since Yao told us as he was headed to Toyota Center, that there was no way he was going to shoot baskets unless he was cleared by the doctors after they examined his foot.
After arriving back in the U.S. from China on Friday the 22nd, Yao attended the Rockets-Hawks game on Monday night. He worked out at Toyota Center earlier in the day. Notice how Yao no longer needs crutches, but he’s still wearing his protective boot.
It’s clear the Rockets, who lost their second straight game at home and haven’t been playing very well lately, are really missing Yao these days. Some fans who thought the Rockets might not need Yao when they were hot earlier in the season are definitely thinking he would be a valuable asset to have now.
Yao returned to Houston from China a couple of days ago for a check-up on his foot. It’s unknown how long he’ll stay in Houston since his charity gala scheduled for this coming Saturday has been moved to March 28th. The reasons for the postponement are unknown, but I’m guessing the upcoming Rockets’ “Tux & Tennies” charity event scheduled during the All-Star break two weeks after Yao’s event made it necessary to spread things out a bit.
in the meantime, Raymond has translated one of the best interviews of Yao spoken in Chinese. The interview was recorded about 12 days ago but was recently released. If you understand Mandarin, you should definitely check out the video.
If you don’t understand the language, you can read Raymond’s translation here, who worked very hard on it because of the length of the interview.
In the interview, Yao talks about the following:
* What the 2010 Shanghai EXPO means to him.
* His injuries and the earliest possible timeframe for his return to the court
* The prospects of Chinese basketball in the post-Yao era
* His plan for the Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks
* The changes he went through the past 10 years
* What money means to him
Overall, if you’re a Yao fan and you understand Mandarin, you couldn’t find better interviews of Yao to watch. I don’t think I’ve ever seen video interviews of Yao that are this long and detailed. If you don’t understand Mandarin, Raymond’s translations are excellent.
