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| FFz |
 Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 6:32 pm |
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Joined: 27 May 2004
Posts: 3789
Location: Bet on us!
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pryuen wrote:
If you read Yao Ming's bibliography, you'll know the 2 had never become good friends .....They are just team mates on the national team.
Moreover, as the CBA season is about to start, Wang Zhizhi has also to join the Bayi Rockets training in Beijing.
Besides, what else can Wang Zhizhi teach Big Yao? His defense? His rebounding? LMAO !!!
I was very impressed with wang on his shot fake and his drives. The man has a very polished offensive game even at 7 foot. Yao can prob learn some of that. |
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| pryuen |
| Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 7:36 am |
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Joined: 25 Feb 2003
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Location: Hong Kong
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Yao Ming appeared on Shanghai Oriental TV's talk show Kefan Is Listening 《可凡倾听》last night (September 20 Saturday) and received interview by its host, Cao Kefeng 曹可凡, and talked about his basketball life in the past (CBA/NBA), and some of his own aspirations and planning in life in the future.
He is staying in Shanghai for another week before he will depart for Houston, probably on September 28th (Sunday) just to report back to the Houston Rockets on the 29th. He is staying behind cos his best buddy for the past 14 to 15 years, and team mate in Shanghai Sharks and the Chinese National Team, Liu Wei is getting married on the 27th (Saturday).
Since I did not watch the show, and I suspect that it was a pre-taped program, I will continue to source the full transcript of the interview or video of this program once it becomes available.
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| pryuen |
| Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:27 am |
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Joined: 25 Feb 2003
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Location: Hong Kong
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Well, don't just think Yao Ming is enjoying his rest and recreation now in Shanghai.
He had been working his @r$e off on his rehabilitation to get ready for the new season for the past 3 weeks ever since he came back from Beijing after the closure of the Olympics.
Read 4 articles from Wang Meng on Titan Sports today, and I picked the following 2 and translated them such that you know how hard this guy had been working on his rehab for the past 3 weeks.
ENJOY !! 
Quote: http://rockets.basketball.titan24.com/08-09-21/117023.html
Reporter Wang Meng of Titan Sports reports from Shanghai
So after finishing his breakfast and having a short break, it’s time for Yao Ming to leave home. He had to pass through the early rush-hour bustling traffic of the Shanghai streets to arrive at the gymnasium located on the 7th floor of Shanghai Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel before 09:00 am, because his personal trainer, Anthony Falsone, would be there waiting for him. This professional trainer would wake up every morning at 05:00 am, finish his breakfast before 06:00 am, wait after the food in his stomach almost got digested, and then arrive at the gymnasium; he would start some weight-lifting and then jog to wait for the arrival of Yao Ming. By the time Yao Ming arrived, Anthony Falsone was already perspiring like a fish just got caught out of water.
After a half-hour warm-up, Anthony Falsone would usher Yao Ming to the weight-lifting zone. If Yao Ming delayed for just seconds, Anthony Falsone would roar at him with loud decibel: “Hurry up ! You’re wasting time, yours and mine.” He would then pass those gigantic dumb bells into the hands of Yao Ming. Anthony Falsone is just like any other professional physical trainer, who understands profoundly his own responsibility, and i.e. supervision is their work. Even though Anthony Falsone often praised Yao Ming for his work ethic and hard work, once he entered the gymnasium, he was a different animal; he was often seen running around excitedly, clapping hands and shouting loudly to Yao Ming on the bicycle/running machine: “Faster !! Much faster !!”
Once he was in the gymnasium, it would be 2 and 1/2 hours before Yao Ming left; it took turns to train his upper limbs on one day, then the abdomen/waist on the next day, and the thighs/legs on the third. And this feeling of getting fully exhausted and wanted to die just repeated every day. (So on this day), a hotel’s resident entered to inspect the facilities of the gymnasium, pushing a baby carriage; and there was this sweet cute little doll in her sleep, still nipping a baby nipple in her mouth. Yao Ming took a look at the sleeping baby, sighed and said with envy: “I just want to swap places with her.” And just then, Anthony Falsone was again shouting loud to him: “It’s training time now, and it is not chatting time.” As far as Yao Ming was concerned, at such time, to be able to take a break and chat for a while would already be considered some kind of a rest. Sometime when he could no longer persist (in his training), Yao Ming would deliberately quip a few exchanges with Anthony Falsone, so as to take the opportunity for a short breather.
When he got really tired and exhausted that he could no longer persist in his training, he would go up to the windows, and take a look outside; in front of him was the Shanghai Jinan Stadium which was once so familiar with him. The time clock for the 28-year-old Yao Ming just flashed back to 11 years ago; he was a 17-year-old; and (it was in Jinan Stadium that) he became an instant overnight hero of his city.
It was China’s national games (between the various provinces/cities); Shanghai played versus Shandong in their first game; at that time, Shandong had the twin tower of Gong Xiaobin and Ji Minshang; and right from the kick-off, Shandong was battering Shanghai and a 17 ~ 2 run seemed to have set the tone of the end result of the game: defeat. Head Coach Li Qiuping of Shanghai just ran out of sorts; and desperately, and with the intention to try out to see what the young kid could do, he sent out the 17-year-old Yao Ming (who was then a rookie), thin like a big bamboo pole, onto court. At that time, even though Yao Ming was light and weak in terms of his weight and strength, he was tall and fast; he went all out to block shots down under the basket, threw passes/assists to team mates for fast breaks, or sprinting forward to grab offensive rebounds for put-backs. In that battle, Yao Ming scored 9 points, and Shanghai came from behind to nip Shandong 50 ~ 48. Henceforth from that night on, a new hero and star was born in Chinese basketball. And now, with Jinan Stadium just so near at hand, Yao Ming is working his head off and preparing for his 7th NBA season.
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Last edited by pryuen on Mon Sep 22, 2008 1:01 am; edited 1 time in total |
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| pryuen |
| Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:35 am |
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Joined: 25 Feb 2003
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Location: Hong Kong
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Sort of Part 2 of the above article.
Quote: http://rockets.basketball.titan24.com/08-09-21/117027.html
Reporter Wang Meng of Titan Sports reports from Shanghai
So the (2.5 hours) strength and conditioning practice ended, and Yao Ming then started his shooting practice. For the past 3 weeks, Yao Ming had to practice and shot at least 300 attempts per day. Surrounding the basketball rim, they first marked and designated 7 spots for his fixed-point shooting; he had to make at least 20 shots on each spot; moreover, he had to make the last 3 shots consecutively, or else, the count would go back to 17, and he had to redo that 3 shots again (i.e. he could not move on to the next spot unless he made the last 3 shots consecutively). This was only considered the warm-up before the formal training began. He had to receive passes from the 2 sides of the basket, and he needed to do some footwork before he shot. At those times, Yao Ming would make-believe in his mind that there were simulated opponents in front of him, and he had to think of means to brush off his defenders. The last part of his shooting practice was about receiving the ball after pick-and-roll; Yao Ming would come up to the high post, do a pick and roll shield, and then dash to the low post (for a dunk), or to the baseline for a jumper shot. At this time, Jack Sikma would often choose to stay far away from him, as no one would like to be run over and grinded by Yao Ming who dashed in like a high-speed train.
Compared to the time of the Olympics, Yao Ming’s shooting touch and feel seemed to have improved a lot; it was due to the shooting practice was non-contact, and as times elapsed, his condition was getting better and better. As early as February end when the surgery on his fractured foot was completed, Houston Rockets’ physical trainer, Keith Jones had already warned: “He needs time to recover/rehabilitate; usually for such severe injury, it will ultimately take a full year before he can be restored/recovered to his original best condition.”
Yao Ming also thought that his condition/physical strength started to be restored gradually. “Recovery/rehabilitation is just like expanding your potential; through training, you got stimulations unceasingly. Your condition is just like a container/reservoir, and that container/reservoir will keep expanding upon the stimulations (through training); when you’re fully recovered/rehabilitated, it just seems the container will be filled with physical strengths; and you persist in your training to continue expanding your container; and you do your rehabilitation to refill your container. I can feel it; my conditions (and physical strength) are gradually improving.”
Anthony Falsone said: “We have not stopped working hard; during the Olympics, his condition was no good; it was not because he had insufficient training, but because he just had recovered from such a severe injury. And the Olympics was just like a preseason camp before the real preseason camp; it just stimulated his body and helped him to fasten his rehabilitation. I anticipate he will retrieve his best condition before the new season begins.”
The shooting practice ended generally around 13:30 pm. And by that time, Yao Ming would have 3 of his training jerseys all fully soaked with his perspiration. But the training did not stop there; waiting for him outside under the blazing sun would be the track and field ground. With the hot and humid air of Shanghai blowing against his face, Yao Ming would take off his T-shirt, yelled out loud: “Let’s enjoy the sunshine….” And he would start his sprints with his head held up high.
Yao Ming said: “When I felt I’m fully exhausted and about to collapse during those training, I just kept telling myself, I had to persist and hang on. The reason why I can become the player that I am today is due to my persistence, and I must continue and persist like this.” He had no way to be lazy because once he slowed down on his pace, the muscular Anthony Falsone, who had also taken off his T-shirt, showing his strong biceps and muscles, would again start roaring at his ears: “Don’t try to cheat yourself. Think about the NBA championship. I know you can complete this lap.” (Upon hearing this) Yao Ming would shake his head reluctantly, but fasten up his pace and keep on running, while mumbling: “One of these days, when he will not be my personal trainer, I’m gonna find a chance to beat this guy up.”
So at 14:00 pm, his daily training finally ended. Yao Ming would gasp for his breaths, stroll and tow his fully exhausted body along, and keep pondering: “What about tomorrow? What are we going to train for tomorrow?”
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| pryuen |
| Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:37 am |
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Joined: 25 Feb 2003
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Location: Hong Kong
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#3 sequel to the above 2 articles.........
Quote: http://rockets.basketball.titan24.com/08-09-21/117018.html
Reporter Wang Meng of Titan Sports reports from Shanghai
So on this Saturday (September 20th), Jack Sikma checked out from the Shanghai Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel, and started his return journey back to the States. As far as the 53-year-old Jack Sikma (who is already with hair turned grey and has to sport a pair of presbyopia eyeglasses) is concerned, this journey had not been an easy one. After his arrival into Shanghai from Seattle, he had stayed for merely 4 days; and hardly had he time to adjust to the jet lag and time zone difference, he had to pack up his luggage to leave for USA again. So upon the completion of his last training session with Yao Ming in Shanghai, Jack Sikma shook hand with Yao Ming and said: “Hey son, you’ve been doing well. I’ll see you in a week’s time.”
Yao Ming vigorously waved his hands to Sikma (as he left), and said: “Take care on your way back. Please relay for me to the head coach (Rick Adelman), my condition is good, and will get much better (by the time I return to US).”
This trip of Jack Sikma to Shanghai had been short and hastily put together; he had flown to and fro over the Pacific Ocean in such short time span of a few days just to inspect how Yao Ming is doing in his rehabilitation; he had led Yao Ming in 3 shooting sessions so as to help Yao Ming retrieve his shooting touch and feel. Jack Sikma said: “Well, we just wanted to see to what level of condition Yao had recovered since the Olympics. We all saw how he performed in the Olympics. In my own opinion, he played quite well, and he also played very diligently. But after all, playing with the national team in international tournament is so different to playing in NBA. We hope he can regain his NBA competitive form and shape as soon as possible. After seeing him play in the trainings of the past few days, I’m very satisfied about his rehabilitation progress.”
Jack Sikma will return to Seattle from Shanghai first. He will stay home for one day, before flying for another 4 hours diagonally across the continental North America for Houston. He said: “The coaching staff will gather 1 week ahead of the commencement of the preseason training camp. We need to work out detail plans for the team, as well as for individuals; (as you all know) we had quite significant changes in our roster over this summer; what I really wanted to say is that I really look forward to the start of this new season.”
Even though it was only 3 short shooting sessions together with Yao Ming, it already provided sufficient information for Jack Sikma to grasp the whole situation about Yao Ming’s rehabilitation. He will update Rick Adelman about Yao Ming’s condition, and based on his report, plans will be outlined for the training camp, the preseason games and the beginning stage of the new season.
So a totally relieved Jack Sigma had left for the United States, leaving Yao Ming behind for Anthony Falsone to take care of. This short, bald but very muscular physical trainer had been in Shanghai for over 2 weeks now; in fact soon after Yao Ming returned to Shanghai from Beijing (after the Olympics), Anthony Falsone flew in from the States, and told Yao Ming: “It’s about time we start our preparation for the new season.”
So (after Jack Sikma left), Anthony Falsone, on top of helping Yao Ming in his strength and conditioning practice, took up Jack Sikma’s role to supervise Yao Ming in his shooting practice. Anthony Falsone asked Jack Sikma: “Hey, tell me. What do I need to train him? How?” Jack Sikma smiled and chuckled: “It’s alright. You don’t need to worry. Yao Ming had memorized every of the training steps. All you need to do is to pass him the basketballs.”
Anthony Falsone will also be leaving Shanghai on the 25th; this implies Yao Ming can finally have 2 full days to rest thoroughly. Even though it is only 3 days away from the date (i.e. September 28th) that Yao Ming set for his return to Houston, nevertheless, Anthony Falsone still left Yao Ming a piece of note paper densely scribbled with details of the training plans; Anthony Falsone shouted to Yao Ming: “For the sake of the new season, you have to focus more vigorously on your practice.” |
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| pryuen |
| Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:52 am |
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Joined: 25 Feb 2003
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Location: Hong Kong
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LOL......Yao Ming must be a lonely guy in town, now that his wife Ye Li was back in Houston ahead of him.
According to the following report appeared on today's Shanghai Xinmin Evening Post, Yao Ming went to see a ballet show by the famous Shanghai Ballet Troupe in Shanghai Grand Theatre last night (September 22).
http://sports.sina.com.cn/cba/2008-09-23/14563968624.shtml
When he was on his Sichuan tour, a friend of his introduced Hamut Mahmud, director of Shanghai Ballet Troupe, to him in Chengdu, as the Shanghai Ballet Troupe was then performing there.
Hamut Mahmud was surprised to find out from his conversation with Yao Ming that he is fond of arts, and so he sort of placed a verbal invitation for Yao Ming to come to see the performance of Shanghai Ballet Troupe.
Yao Ming said he knew ballet is very graceful and beautiful and promised Hamut Mahmud when he went back to Shanghai and if he had time, he would go for the show.
So last night, he lived up to his promise and went to the Shanghai Grand Theatre to watch the performance of the Shanghai Ballet Troupe.
When he arrived, he went straight to the back stage, and alot of the ballet dancers there were his fans, and they asked to take photos of him together.
Right afterwards, he went into the VIP suite of the Shanghai Grand Theatre, accompanied by Hamut Mahmud. Alot of the audience noticed him, and asked for his signature, which he gleefully complied with.
During the first part of the show, which featured George Balanchine's Serenade, an adaptation of Tschaikovsky's 1880 Serenade for Strings in C, as it was the first time he went to a ballet performance, he asked Hamut Mahmud alot of questions.
Originally he told Hamut Mahmud he had to leave by intermission; but properly he was sort of attracted by the performance that he did not leave, and continued to watch the second half of the show, featuring Maurice Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales ("Noble and Sentimental Waltzes") and Beethoven Symphony No.9 Choral.
When the show ended, he bid farewell with Hamut Mahmud, and told him that when he comes back next year in the summer, he will go to watch their show again. |
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| Feilong |
| Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:54 am |
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Joined: 03 Feb 2004
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| I dont think he is lonely there, seem like heaven to me.... |
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