Yao Ming and his new bride Ye Li continued their busy week by hosting a dinner reception for their national team teammates in Beijing on August 9th.

One newspaper had to sensationalize the fact that Yao Ming got “tipsy” by using that word in their article headline. C’mon, does that have to be the thing they highlight? Give the guy a break! He rarely drinks, he just got married, this was a celebration, and his teammates were egging him on. That happens, so let the guy be human for once.

Click here for more photos that Raymond has posted in the YaoMania! forum, and here for the aforementioned article.

Yao Ming was the Olympic flag bearer at the celebration in Tiananmen Square the other night, a festivity that started the countdown to the Olympics in Beijing beginning August 8th, 2008. No doubt, Yao will be one of the most visible faces of the Olympics next year.

Click here for more photos from the event.

Just one day after his wedding, Yao Ming along with Liu Xiang (the 110 meter world record holder) got together in Beijing at a Coca-Cola sponsored event to kickoff the one-year countdown leading up to the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

On Tuesday night, Yao and his new bride Ye Li will appear at Tiananmen Square for a countdown celebration, and on Wednesday night they will host a dinner for their national team teammates.

Click here for more photos and articles from Tuesday’s events. Thanks to Raymond, as always, for the pics and articles.

Raymond, our correspondent in China, has been monitoring all the online Chinese newspapers today as Yao Ming and Ye Li got married.

You can check out all the wedding coverage here in the YaoMania! forum.

Here’s a report from the Xinhua news service.

NBA star center Yao Ming has got married to his long-term girlfriend Ye Li in their hometown Shanghai on Monday.

Yao will fly to Beijing Tuesday to attend celebrations for the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics on August 8, Zhang said.

It’s not Yao news, but several of his teammates got together in Houston on Saturday for Tracy McGrady‘s 4th annual Softball Classic to raise money for a local elementary school.

Rocket players that joined McGrady included Mike James, Aaron Brooks, Steve Francis, John Lucas III, Chuck Hayes, Kirk Snyder, Luther Head, and GM Daryl Morey. Other NBA players and friends like Jermaine O’Neal, Sam Cassell, Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis, and James Posey also played in the game.

I don’t know about you, but I have always been amazed what McGrady can do with such skinny ankles. It looks like they can break so easily! Be careful out there, Mac!

For more photos from the event, click here.

Here’s an interesting article in Business Week about the top 5 Chinese athletes with endorsement deals. Of course, Yao Ming is still at the top.