I saw this piece written by a member of the Brisbane Bullets, a team that took 1-of-3 games from the Chinese National Team last week. It was interesting to get his account of how crazy he saw fans in China go for Yao…

The big man must love it during the NBA season because he has the chance to lead a relatively normal life in America compared with dealing with the billions of eyes that follow his every step in China.

Brisbane Bullets have just seen it first hand and it’s nothing short of an amazing experience.

If John Howard (Australian Prime Minister) or Nicole Kidman walked down the street, they probably wouldn’t get half the attention Yao gets

He also says the Chinese need lots of improvement to do well in the Olympics, based on this statement…

The Bullets took a game off them and China is going to confront much bigger teams than us.

I’d rate Australia a huge chance of beating China, particularly with the likes of Andrew Bogut and Matt Nielsen in our team.

For the entire article, click here.

Despite having the flu and going to the hospital the night before to get an antibiotic, Yao Ming dominated in a game against the Sydney Kings on Friday. In 36 minutes of play, Yao scored 37 points on 12-of-17 shooting, and 13-of-16 free throws, to lead China past Sydney 75-66. He also grabbed 12 boards.

Here he confronts one of his opponents on the court…

Click here and here for more photos from the game. Click here for photos from the Chinese team’s scrimmage the night before, and from Yao’s pre-game warmup on Friday.

Yao’s comments about the Chinese training too much seems to be spot on. Two scrimmage sessions in one day? I bet Yao is looking forward to coming back to the Rockets where it’s more about quality of practice, not quantity.

Thanks to Raymond for the scoop and the pics.

Check out how BusinessWeek ranks Yao as one of the most powerful sports figures, right behind Kobe Bryant.

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…

Read the rest of this entry »

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.