With the tragedy in China taking place, Yao made the following statement on Wednesday:

“It is very hard putting into words how difficult it is to see this kind of destruction in Sichuan. I am very saddened to hear of the large loss of life that has occurred. My thoughts are with everyone back in my home country of China during this very dark and emotional time. Right now, the most important thing we can do is to respond quickly to help those who cannot help themselves.

“I plan to do whatever I can and would like to thank Leslie Alexander and the Houston Rockets for the support they have already pledged. I hope that many others around the world will join us.

Rockets owner Alexander also made this statement:

“On behalf of the Houston Rockets, I want to offer my deepest sympathies to all who have been affected by the earthquake in Sichuan, China on Monday. Over the past several years, we have formed a strong bond with our friends in China, and it is very difficult to see them struggling through this tragic event. We have already begun the process of reaching out to relief aid agencies and have pledged our financial support to assisting those who have been devastated by this catastrophic event. I know Yao Ming is fully committed to helping the people of China recover from this horrific experience, and I will help him in any way I can.”

Raymond found some photos on a Chinese Web site that were taken on the set for an Olympic Coke commercial featuring Yao. Click here for more photos from the set.

Below is a video of the commercial (click the little ‘play’ button in the lower left-hand corner). Yao appears at the very end of it. Note: the video is hosted in China, so for those of you watching it in the U.S., it may take awhile for the whole thing to load.

Today Yao Ming held a pretty cool virtual press conference with members from the media located in Houston, New York, Beijing and San Jose that allowed him to see all the reporters on one screen.

In the interview, Yao talked about how his goal for the Chinese team is to advance to the next round of their Group, which means they would have to finish in the top 8 among 12 teams. Click here for more photos from the press conference, as well as more details about his hopes and plans for the summer.

With the season over, I wanted to bring attention again to the promotion below…

The season may be over, but he doesn’t have to be out of sight. Get the following life-size image of Yao in your home through a company and product called Fathead! And every time you order a Fathead of Yao by clicking on this link here, you help support this site.

If you haven’t seen a Fathead before, here’s a description from their Web site:

Fathead looks great. Life-size images of outstanding quality. Fathead captures the passion and action you’re looking for.

Fathead makes it easy. Just peel and place. No tape, no tacks, no clutter.

If you’re an adult and don’t have a kid who loves Yao, having a Fathead of Yao in your office or game room would be really cool.

If you do order a Yao Fathead by clicking on this link, email me at john [at] YaoMingFanClub.com so I can track the sales with Fathead.

Thanks!
John

Raymond has done another translation (4 hours of work) of a Titan Sports article that was written after the loss in Game 6 to the Jazz. In the article, we learn about the things done different this season compared to the previous 4 years under the Jeff Van Gundy regime, what his goal is for the upcoming season, and much more.

Raymond has translated a Chinese article of an interview with Yao after the loss in Utah in Game 6 Friday night. You can just feel the pain inside Yao when reading the interview. Thanks for the translation, Raymond.

I watched Game 1 of the New Orleans - San Antonio game earlier tonight, and former Rocket Bonzi Wells played very well (no pun intended), scoring 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 18 minutes and getting significant time in the always important fourth quarter.

That made me start wondering if the Rockets could have used Bonzi more than Bobby Jackson. As much as I like Bobby Jack, my answer is…”absolutely.” After all, what was the main problem we heard about the Rockets during the Utah series? It was that Tracy McGrady had to take on so much of the scoring load and he didn’t have much helped. That’s because their backup shooting guard — Luther Head — played so poorly (not that big of a surprise), he probably won’t be with the team next year, and they really didn’t get much from anyone else other than Luis Scola. Jackson did have a nice Game 2 with 18 points, and Game 5 with 9 points. But that was about it.

When the trade happened on February 20th, I wasn’t that big of a fan of it, and I wrote this:

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A picture is worth a thousand words. By the looks of it, Yao wants a playoff rematch against Utah in 2009 when the Rockets will be playing with a full deck. Wouldn’t we all.

In a playoff series where the Rockets had gone so far pushing the series to 6 games by overcoming many obstacles, like:

- Yao’s injury
- Andrei Kirilenko’s late-game flop the refs bought involving Luis Scola, as well as others
- Terrible officiating in general
- Tracy McGrady’s disappearing act in the fourth quarter in Games 1 & 2
- Rafer Alston missing Games 1 & 2 because of a hamstring injury
- a bad shot by Utah off the side of the backboard in the closing minute that got a lucky bounce and resulted in a game-winning shot for them

…the Rockets couldn’t overcome the final blow Friday night – Alston severely spraining his ankle in the second quarter and missing the rest of the game. That injury would be the final straw that broke the camel’s back, leading to a 113-91 loss. At least this loss was only about half as bad as the 40-point loss the Rockets suffered in 2005 in Game 7 against Dallas.

Although the Rockets showed heart by cutting a 19-point deficit in the first half down to 1 point late in the second quarter, the loss of their floor general was so devastating, it really showed in the 3rd quarter when they only made 4-of-22 shots.

To make matters worse, without Alston in the game on defense, his absence helped his counterpart Deron Williams go off in the 3rd with 13 points, including 4-of-5 three-pointers, opening the Jazz lead up again to 20 points entering the 4th quarter.

The 4th quarter was merely a formality as the Rockets were visibly deflated and played out their final game of the season.

If you’re bummed about this loss and the fact the Rockets still haven’t won in the first round yet again, you’ve got to look at more than what happened Friday night or even over the past couple of weeks in this series for why they didn’t advance.

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As confident as the Rockets are heading into Friday night’s Game 6 in Utah, it’s almost impossible to predict what’s going to happen. So many times the Rockets have entered this same kind of situation with confidence, only to have their dreams shattered very quickly.

The most notable example was 3 years ago in early May 2005. That’s when they played a Game 7 in Dallas after having blown out the Mavs in Game 6 at home, just like the Rockets did Tuesday night in Game 5 against the Jazz in Houston. We all know what happened in that Game 7 when the Rockets got blown out by 40 points. I was at that game, and it was one of the most disappointing performances you could ever sit through. I guess after that experience I’m scarred for life and will always expect the worst in a similar situation.

If I were to envision what’s going to happen in Utah Friday night, I think the Rockets will play much better because they learned much about playing under pressure during the 22-game winning streak this season. Also, Tracy McGrady’s experience in these situations multiple times in his career has got to start paying off.

I also think that Luis Scola has figured out how to play more effectively in this series. In Game 1, he seemed to be getting blocked all over the place, but in Game 5 he showed an improved ability to get his shot off around the rim without getting rejected. It figures that the smart and crafty Argentinian would make adjustments within the series. Carl Landry is also back to his old self.

These two guys being the lineup gives the Rockets a much better chance that last season when all they had was Chuck Hayes. So the Rockets are solid at the power forward position. Here are the factors where you’re not sure, and to me are the key factors in this game in no particular order:

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Yao Ming & Steve Francis cheer on the Rockets Tuesday night as the Rockets blew out the Utah Jazz to force a Game 6 in Salt Lake City on Friday night. Click here for more photos of Yao and Steve at the game.

Now THIS is the way it should be. Down 3-1 in their series to Utah and facing elimination with one more loss, the Rockets manhandled the Jazz in Game 5 Tuesday night 95-69, extending their playoff series to at least one more game that will be played in Utah Friday night.

Finally everything came together like we knew this team was capable of doing. We just wonder why it took four games for it to happen. Sure, they won Game 3 in Utah thanks to a Carl Landry block at the end of the game. But this game was different. Unlike that Game 3 win, the Rockets built a double-digit lead in the first half, and every time the Jazz made a run to make it look like they would rip the heart out of their Rockets and fans with a comeback win to win the series, the Rockets would respond and hold them off.

When they could have just laid down and died against the big, bad Jazz, and head into the off-season with a sour taste in their mouths, the Rockets were like an animal backed into a corner and they came out fighting. And they never let up.

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