As you may already know, it was announced yesterday that Yao Ming was voted by the fans as the starting center for the Western Conference All-Star team, his eighth time in nine seasons. Of course, Yao won’t be able to play because of his stress fracture and ankle surgery, but he did make this announcement yesterday:

“It’s always an honor to be voted in as a starter for the All Stars Game by the fans. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me as I continue to rehab from my surgery.”

Injured All-Star players are expected to attend All-Star game activities, but Yao has been granted a waiver. NBA spokesman Tim Frank stated yesterday, “Yao’s doctors have informed the Rockets and us that he should not travel and therefore he will be excused from attending All Star.”

Earlier this week Yao gave his first interview since his ankle surgery a couple of weeks ago. In anticipation of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to the U.S., a CCTV crew got Yao’s thoughts (in Chinese) on a variety of topics, including the Chinese President’s visit to the U.S., a quote that Barack Obama attributed to Yao, and several other topics. I had a feeling that Yao would be interviewed about the Chinese President’s visit. It’s just too big of a deal for Yao not to be asked about it. You can read Raymond’s translation of the interview by clicking here.

Below is an abridged version of the interview (in Chinese). If you encounter a problem with it playing below, try this link.

Raymond has translated in the forum an interview of Team Yao member Erik Zhang Mingji that appeared today in the Chinese online publication called Netease (a.k.a. 163.com). Click here for the full translation.

Here is a summary from the article based off Zhang Mingji’s responses to questions:

Yao’s surgery to repair the stress fracture in his left ankle was a relatively simple operation. It involved simply an implant of a stainless steel pin to facilitate the recovery of the fracture of the bone. Doctors had suspected that this current fracture was caused by bone spurs. So during this surgery, some large bone spurs were removed from the joint cavity. This further confirmed that the bone fracture could have been caused by these bone spurs.

Yao Ming has no plans to retire. He is still not yet ready to do that, and does not see the injury as being that serious to the point that he needs to retire.

Yao Ming wants to stay in Houston, and Houston also has that inclination.

The possibility of Yao being traded this season is less than fifty percent (50%), unless the Houston Rockets can now find a young All-Star player.

The full translation is here.

Yao had surgery on his left ankle to repair the stress fracture there. Here’s an article from the Chronicle that explains it all. Here’s the statement that came from Yao today:

“I’d like to thank everyone for their ongoing support. I know this will be another long rehab, but I’m looking forward to beginning my recovery. I will use this time to consider all of my options and will make a decision regarding my career plans as I get closer to the end of my rehab.”

Get well soon, big fella.

Sohu Sports (in China) is reporting that Yao had a chat with Hakeem Olajuwon in the hallways of Toyota Center after the Rockets-Raptors game Friday night (see photo below).

Click here for more photos of Yao and Dream together in the hallway of Toyota Center.

Hakeem told Yao that he would really like for him to come back, and Yao said he will give his “best try,” which is great news for Yao fans!  Although it’s not a guarantee that Yao will come back, he obviously hasn’t ruled it out and seems intent to make a go of it.  Here’s the transcript of what Sohu Sports published, translated from Chinese to English by our friend Raymond:

Sohu Sports: Talk to us about Yao Ming’s injury; (they said) that may end his career.

Olajuwon: That’s really very very disappointing, because I know he really wanted to continue playing the game. I just talked with him; I aked him to continue his efforts, to give it another try, and see if he can come back to play as well as to maintain a positive attitude. He said he will give his best try.

Sohu Sports: Do you think he can come back to play the game?

Olajuwon: Yes, I firmly believe so. He’s a man of strong character.

Click here for the Sohu Sports story written in Chinese.

Hakeem was at the game to promote the launch of his new clothing line called “Dr34m.” Click on this link (same as the link below the photo) to see Olajuwon signing autographs for fans who bought some of his new designs that went on sale Friday night at Toyota Center.