Raymond has translated another article on Yao’s rehabilitation in Houston, which goes into detail about his training regimen, including sprinting! It’s so exhausting, when Yao gets home, he goes straight to sleep.

Click here for the translation.

It’s good to see Yao get out and get a break from the depressing news from the earthquake in China — Raymond reports that Yao Ming and two-time U.S. Olympic taekwondo gold medalist Steven Lopez were introduced to the world of NASCAR as honorary pit crew members for Kyle Petty‘s No. 45 Coca-Cola team in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Some of the activities included:

* Leading a moment of silence for the Chinese earthquake victims.

* In crew uniforms, Yao and Lopez changing tires and performing other pit crew duties with Petty and the No. 45 Coca-Cola car.

* Yao and the Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers shooting hoops and playing “Around the World” in Victory Lane.

*Lopez providing taekwondo tips to Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers.

* The media shooting baskets with Yao.

Click here for more photos of Yao at these events. Thanks Raymond!

About a week ago, Yao conducted an audio interview with National Public Radio where he talks about the earthquake, his familiarity with that area, how he’s sometimes misunderstood by some Americans, and the politicization of the Olympic games.

Click here to launch the player that will stream the interview.

Note: the interviewer asks Yao about his donation of $70,000 U.S. The one thing not mentioned in this interview is the 2 million RMB he donated in China.

On Wednesday, Yao visited the Chinese consulate in Houston where they set up a hall for the national mourning that had been aside in China from May 19-21 for the tens of tousands of people who died in the earthquake in Sichuan.

Here Yao is pictured with his wife and mother:

Click here for more photos from Yao’s visit to the consulate in Houston.

In case you missed it, Raymond has done another translation, this time of an interview Yao did in Houston with Chinese publication Titan Sports.

In this piece, we learn more about:

* How badly Yao wants to get back to China with all that’s going on there
* Yao’s continued rehab, which includes jogging and increased weight training
* His drinking of green tea to help control his weight
* How much he perspires during his workouts
* The high-percentage of left-handed hook shots he now makes compared to a few years ago
* How many free throws he is required to make after his workouts (you won’t believe how many he made in a row one time)
* and much more!

Speaking of hard work, I want to thank Raymond again for his 3 hours of work in translating this piece.

After the devastating earthquakes in China, I’ve heard that Yao has been catching some flack about the insane proposition that he hasn’t donated enough money to relief efforts.

Yao is too classy of a guy to speak out and defend himself, but I will (as have others). This is a blog where I can express my opinion every once in awhile, and I’m going to do that right now.

First, I can’t believe some people – in the aftermath of this tragedy – have nothing else better to do than criticize how much someone else donates. There are thousands of people who have died, and are dying, under rubble…and that’s the main thing they want to bring up? Ridiculous.

If these people really cared about having lots of money donated to relief efforts, they should go to their local Red Cross office and volunteer to raise money, not throw stones at donators like Yao Ming. I’m so disturbed about what has happened over there, I can’t even think about blogging about the Rockets’ off-season moves, the NBA playoffs, or the upcoming Olympics games. Those topics all seem so insignificant right now. So how can anyone with a heart even criticize someone who has offered to help, no matter how much time or money that person has committed.

Today, I personally learned through Yao’s people that he is so deeply saddened from what has happened in China, it’s the only thing he is thinking about (other than his health). But if people really want to talk about his donation, then let’s talk about that for a minute. I know for a fact he has contributed 2 million RMB, which is close to $300,000 U.S., and with more likely to come. And that’s not to mention that HE approached the NBA, not the other way around, about doing the public service announcement that’s now airing during NBA telecasts. He also reached out to other NBA players to donate. In both cases, he made these requests within hours of the tragedy. There was no indecision. I am also told it’s not the end to what he’ll contribute and do with his time to support the cause.

I just don’t get how people can question that Yao isn’t committed to the problems within his own country. How quickly they forget about his efforts to combat SARS, his dedication to being a global ambassador for the Special Olympics in China (even paying a team fine to the Rockets so that he could participate in last October’s Opening Ceremonies), his work in trying to preserve endangered species in China, trying to help children in China afflicted with the HIV virus, teaming up with Steve Nash last year to raise money for poor school children in rural China. The list is virtually endless.

Read the rest of this entry »

On Thursday, Yao recorded a public service announcement to encourage people to donate to the Red Cross to help fund relief efforts in China. Click here for a video from the shoot for the PSA.

I’m almost speechless about this disaster and the Myanmarr cyclone destruction, which makes almost everything else seem so trivial in the world. Click here for Thursday’s update on the earthquake. You can donate to the earthquake cause by clicking here.

In less than 3 months, China will really be able to use the good vibe the Olympics will bring. It’s going to be an emotional Games, and I’ve got to the think the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be modified to pay tribute to the quake victims.

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.