Yao to open 24 Hour Fitness in Beijing
May 12th, 2007by John
With the season ending, I’ve taken a few days off after covering Yao (and the Rockets) intensely to tend to other matters. Now it’s time to get back into the swing of things again.
At the time I write this, we’re still waiting to see what will happen with Jeff Van Gundy. With all the great commentary I’ve heard on Houston sports talk radio, I think there are going to be quite a few upset fans if he does return. I won’t belabor the point on what I think should happen.
However, I wouldn’t be too surprised if Van Gundy stays since now that Daryl Morey is the new Rockets GM and has never been a GM before, I’ll bet he’ll want to be conservative and not make any major moves that could blow up in his face in his first season. Not a great way to start your GM career. It’s safer to go with the status quo (case in point: like what Astros’ GM Tim Purpura has done) and only make a major move when there is a high pressure to do so. I think that’s just natural for a new GM to be like that.
But the wild card in all of this is how much Leslie Alexander will force his hand. I’m betting that Alexander will want Van Gundy to go. As a result, Morey will have to really dig deep into his stats and find some undervalued players to make up for some of the natural issues that will arise from the transition. I think it will be worth it. We will wait and see.
Meanwhile, if you hadn’t heard, Yao is going to open up a 24 Hour Fitness in Beijing this summer. Not unusual for some superstars to partner with 24 Hour Fitness, like Lance Armstrong has done. Click here for more details about the project.
I don’t think it hurt that 24 Hour Fitness’ headquarters in San Ramon, California is very close to Yao’s American agent, Bill Duffy, based in neighboring Walnut Creek. This deal would probably have been done if Duffy lived thousands of miles away, but it doesn’t hurt to be a short drive away for face-to-face negotiations.