I don't see how this debate is more important than some other debates like "AB vs. Lowry", "RA vs. JVG" etc. It's just personal opinions, not really insightful information like the salary cap thread or impact of last year's deal thread or Rocekts game torrent. IMHO, it doesn't dserve to be sicky just like Yao deson't deserve to be All Star. But it becomes sticky anyway, and Yao would be voted in anyway. That's life.
Vote for Yao Someone who claims to be a Rocket fan wants you not to vote for Yao. They even made it a sticky. That has to be one of the most asinine posts by someone who claims to be a Rocket fan. The All Star game is a popularity contest. If all the Rockets are on the All Star team I will definitely watch. I repeat the all star game is a popularity contest. I vote for Rockets first always. To do otherwise is just ridiculous. Your Rockets get to shine in the limelight. You can bet all the other teams are sttuffing the ballots with their own team players. And we have someone on this board telling you to do otherwise. BLASPHEMY! The fact is YAO is still one of the best centers in the West. He still has shown signs of being himself again. Not voting for him when he may truly be deserving of on all star visit would be regretful. I say when it comes to choosing between a borderline All Star in Yao and Chris Kaman. Choose Yao. Duncan hasn't impressed. Ok Gasol is having a good year but I choose Yao. Ignore the negative sticky and just say yes to Yao. It is good for Houston. It is good for Yao and it is good for Rockets fans.
How could this lame topic be sticked? You dont want to vote Yao. Fair enough. But pull a article out of it? I like Yao, and I voted him to be a all star. Period.
I've always considered All-Star games to be for the fans and while most consider it part of a resume for the HOF, Yao will probably get there regardless because of his global impact. It's not the NBA HOF but rather the Basketball HOF so vote for Yao or not, it should be up to the fans to decide for themselves.
Why would you not vote for Yao? There's no other centers anyways. I'd rather vote for an injured C than a PF for the Center spot.
Yao doesn't deserve to be voted in to the All-star team when guys like Gasol are clearly a better player right now. I won't vote for him. But is it unfair if his fans do vote him in? Not at all. The whole point of the all-star game is to let fans decided who they want to see, not necessarily who is the best player or puts up the best numbers. "Deserve" isn't what the all-star game is about. It's about respecting the fans and their choices. It's for us to get owws and ahhs. If the fans want Yao, let them have it, whether they are Chinese or not. People have a right to pick whomever they want, misguided or not.
Seriously, what's the agenda here? I've never seen something like this from other fan base. Gosh, I did not see something like this against T-Mac last year either. It is disgusting.
So you are allowing this to be a sticky and a front page article to protect Yao? How noble but I think Yao is a big boy. He can take care of himself. The fact is knowing what I know of Yao if he is not worthy of the spot he will acknowledge it and ask to be removed. That will bring him more honor than telling the board not to vote for him. Again this is a popularity contest. In a year that we will be hard pressed to make the playoffs. I would be happy to see Yao in the game. If he is not up to snuff I am sure he will decline to play. If he is not allowed to decline he can request less minutes. Either way let it be his decision. I respect you Clutch. You always are reasonable in your decisions. I can even understand Jeff's point and he is entitled to have it but their is an opposite opinion that is just as valid if not much more so. Where is the sticky for that. This should not be a sticky. It ignores a totally opposite point of view. It is enough there is an article on the front page. I know this is your board and if I want to control a Rockets board I can go away and make my own board and create my own stickies. But part of why you have such a big following here is because we have true Rockets information. And there is a respect for all opinions but not a bias on anyones. This is a bias and what makes it blatantly wrong is it is being made a sticky. I know it's not a big thing and I will just not read it anymore but I love the Rockets and Yao is my favorite Rocket and I want him to at least get the honor and he can choose for himself. That's my opinion.
This reminds me of the nerds in high school plotting against the popular kids' big to become school captain, arguing that they lack leadership or whatever, the popular kids still wins. I am not voting for Yao because i don't think he would want to be in the AS game but it is a popularity contest, nothing else. Yao is actually more deserving than AB when you look at who they are up against. Emeka Okafor the AS?
I voted Landry,Martin,Scola,Brooks,Yao ... It's a popularity contest. Ofcourse you vote for your players. The next deserving center in the West is frigging Marc Gasol, I dont wanna see Marc Gasol play next to Pau in the Allstar game.
Forgot to add, the notion of protecting Yao is ridiculous, Yao is not going to care about short-term criticism, he will probably sit back, look at all the $$$ he is making and go "meh".
There is no way Yao starts if he is selected, he knows as well as anybody he doesn't deserve to be there.
If Yao gets voted All-star this year I will cease to use the term All-Star as an accomplishment referring to players. It will be as meaningless as the title "American Idol". LOL. funny joke.
Voting for Yao is stupid. A. He doesn't deserve to be voted in. B. If he has any respect at all he would turn it down like Mcgrady has done in previous years. Because he himself knows he doesn't deserve it.
i very doubt the internet access numbers. Internet cafes are damn popular over there. Maybe if the numbers you read are home access, but for internet access via work/cafe, i would highly doubt it. anyway....china is a major factor. this all-star game is almost like a beauty contest. its about popularity from the fans. the coaches choose the 'deserving' ones for the bench. the starters are the most popular players. its just that normally the most popular are the best players. not the other way around. not all great players are going to be popular among fans. I am not gonna vote for yao anyway...just cause i don't want him playing basketball outside of any rox activity to reduce the chances of injury to a minimum. p.s. why does people keep saying its 2 billion people. the 2010 estimates are 1.33 billion while the actual figure is probably closer to 1.4 billion.
yes there is: <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pPzQJ06SN-I?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pPzQJ06SN-I?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> Bravo Jeff, I felt your article. Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan were NBA All starters because they couldn't be stopped, not because of marketing and politics. I think the only person who deserves to be an All Star this year is SCOLA. Are we going to vote Ish Smith too? Jeff, you are like that dude Sting sings about in "Englishman in New York" I got the message in the bottle, everybody else can do do do what they want.