We talked about it last week, so it’s not much new, but Yao made a statement on Tuesday that he regrets he will miss the first few days of Rockets training camp because of his involvement in the Opening Ceremonies of the Special Olympics in China.

Yao said, “I expect to be back with the team around October 3. I am very sorry that I will not be able to attend the start of training because of work related to the event in Shanghai.”

Yao’s first practice with the team in Austin will probably occur on Wednesday, October 4th, and the estimated amount of fines he will have to pay will be around $30,000.

For the complete story, click here.

After losing a heartbreaker against Brisbane in Game #1 of their 3-game series, the Chinese got payback in an 82-65 laugher against Brisbane in Game #2.

Yao Ming, double and triple-teamed the entire game, deferred to Yi Jianlian on offense.

In 25 minutes of action, Yao scored 11 points, grabbed 10 boards, had 2 assists and a block. Yi scored 20 points in 20 minutes, grabbed 10 rebounds himself, had 1 assist and a block.

Both players didn’t play in the fourth quarter due to a 25-point lead at the end of 3 quarters.

Click here for more photos from the pre-game warm-up and the game.

Thanks again to Raymond for the story and the pics.

I’ve been traveling most of the day so I haven’t had enough time to post on Yao’s Friday activities. So in case you missed it, Yao and the Chinese National Team were back in action on Friday against the Brisbane Bullets.

It didn’t go well for the CNT, losing 93-92 on a buzzer-beater. YaoMania! correspondent Raymond says Yao Ming looked a little rusty, but despite getting double and triple-teamed, he still turned in an “all-around dominating performance” with 28 points, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and no personal fouls in 34 minutes of play.

In such a close game, it didn’t help that Yao missed five free throws (12-of-17 from the line), Yi Jianlian got into early foul trouble, and Wang ZhiZhi didn’t play because of an injury.

The Chinese will have another crack against Brisbane tomorrow night in the second game of a 3-game series.

Click here for photos from the pre-game warmup and the actual game itself.

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle posted an article late last night giving more information about how Yao Ming will miss the first 2 or 3 days of Rockets training camp in Austin because of a commitment he has with the Opening Ceremonies of the Special Olympics in Shanghai.

It appears the Rockets have no choice but to fine Yao for missing those days (click here to read the entire article). Their argument is that it’s a rule that has to be enforced as it would with any other player. At the same time, they seem to understand that Yao has obligations to uphold being the person he is, and won’t hold against it him.

Yao is such a great team player, he will pay the fine without bitching about it. But many fans think the Rockets are being unreasonable to enforce the fine. What do you think? Enter a comment below.

I came across an interesting blog post today by a guy associated with the Phoenix Suns who was able to fly with many of the NBA players who helped Yao out by playing in the Yao & Nash charity game last week.

If you ever wondered if NBA fans in China are still rabid about the league, this blog post will make it clear…

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Yao Ming rejoined the Chinese National Team on Wednesday after a busy week involving the Yao & Nash Charity Gala and Basketball game, as well as a few commercial activities.

In an interview with Wang Meng, Yao said he realizes he can still improve his conditioning. He’s fine on offense with the ball in the low post, but he is still 1 or 2 steps slow on defense as seen by getting beaten by Yi Jianlian and Zhang Songtao during scrimmages.

He plans to make use of the next two weeks where the Chinese will play seven exhibition games against teams from Italy, Russia, and Australia.

Because of a commitment he has to be part of the Opening Ceremonies of the Special Olympics in China on October 2nd, he will miss the first 2-3 days of the Rockets training camp in Austin.

I don’t have a problem with that. He will have played seven of those games already, much more than his Rocket teammates. And being a global ambassador of the Special Olympics, it would be a big deal if he missed those Opening Ceremonies.

Thanks to Raymond in China for the scoop, and for these photos he posted in the YaoMania! forum of Yao with his Chinese teammates in practice.

I was surfing around the Net tonight and found some interesting content coming out of the Yao-Nash charity game in China. Here’s a video of Jackie Chan coming on to the court for the ceremonial opening tip:

Game highlights from NBA.com can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4sjX5U-nbk

I also found an interesting article on a site called SportsBusinessRadio.com written by Brian Berger who was able to get behind-the-scenes access to the locker rooms, as well as watch the game. Here’s some of what he wrote:

Yao Ming came in the locker room after tonight’s charity game and thanked the NBA players who played in tonight’s game. He spoke of how much the effort means to him and to the Chinese people and how impressed he was that these players flew halfway around the world just a few weeks prior to the start of training camp. He told the players in the locker room that if he could ever assist them with their charitable efforts, he’d be happy to do so. It was a really nice moment for these players who play in the most exclusive basketball fraternity on the planet – the NBA. Once Yao finished his speech, the Team Nash players sang a song that the game operations people played whenever Yao scored in tonight’s game. Its a cheesy but catchy song that chants, “Yao Ming, Yao Ming, Yao Ming, Yao Ming……..Yao Ming, Yao Ming”. The Chinese fans love it though.

Click here for Berger’s entire blog post, as well as another YouTube video of the pre-game introductions at the bottom of his post.

Yao Ming has been one busy fella the past few days. Not only has he been doing his training for the Chinese team, participating in the festivities and auction for the charity gala — and play in that game — he quickly moved from those activities into some commercial ones.

Below is a photo of Yao opening up his California Fitness concept in Beijing (click here for the article when it was announced in May), with participation in the launch of the fitness center by Jackie Chan and many of the players who came over from the U.S. for the charity game.

Before this event, Yao attended a ceremony held by Visa International and China Construction Bank to launch the CBC Visa Ming card, with Yao Ming also being named Visa’s global image spokesperson.

He also attended the press conference held between the NBA and KongZhong Corporation to announce a new mobile WAP-based service that will provide NBA fans in China with a broad range of content options including news, scores, editorial content, player interviews, TV schedules, wallpapers, ring tones, video clips and live NBA games.

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Steve Nash and Yao meet at half court Friday night after the charity game they held in Beijing to benefit poor children in Western China. Yao scored 21, while Nash scored 13. Click here for photos from the pre-game warmup and introductions. Click here for photos from the game.

Yao Ming scored 21 points in his charity game played in Beijing Friday night in which the Chinese team won 101-92. Steve Nash scored 13 points, and interestingly, it sounds like Carmelo Anthony played for the Chinese team in the second half, not Yao Ming as was expected.

Yi Jianlian scored 20 points for the Chinese, and Phoenix Sun Leandro Barbosa led all scorers with 22 points.

Click here for photos from the pre-game warmup and festivities, which includes Jackie Chan making a cameo.

Click here for more photos from the game (and animated images of some cool Chinese team dunks!).

Our Raymond in China has posted in the YaoMania! forum photos related to the Steve Nash and Yao Ming charity basketball gala in Beijing leading up to their exhibition game tomorrow.

Click here for tons of interesting pics from the gala…

…and here for photos of performers at the event, as well as very cool items that were auctioned off in which Yao contributed US$ 33,000 of his own money to raise 7 million CNY (approximately US$ 931,000) for charity. Man, it looks like it was alot of fun to be there!