Actually, Ralph makes Gasol look like Andy Dick. Ralph may not have been thick around the middle, but he was strong and had very little body fat. Ralph was 7'4' and 245 lbs of lean muscle. Check this out: Yao may be athletic for his size, but Ralph is one the most agile and diverse 7'1''+ to every play. Yao has nothing on Ralph's athleticism.
I knew when I typed that someone would say "Ralph Sampson." "every time a black man talk about Joe Louis, white man gotta talk about Rocky Marciano, Rocky Marciano" * *Coming to America - the barber
Ralph was definitely the most athletic big man ever, but Yao outweighed him a good 60 pounds coming into the league, and size counts in the post. I didn't use the word "athleticism" in my original statement, I said "he moves better" than any big man over 7'2. Perhaps I should say his post moves are better than any big man over 7'2. in any event, it's a personal preference as to who one thinks is better, and I choose Yao, having seen both play.
In the 80s, player's weren't as strong as they were now, so comparing Yao and Ralph's strength is hard to do. Ralph didn't have nearly as many problems as Yao had holding his position against competition from his own era though. That is indisputable. Ralph was skinny, but strong. Yao is skinny (for his height), not strong but has a good base (legs). As far as saying that Yao moves better than any big man over 7'2'', I would still strongly disagree with that. In today's NBA, Sampson could play 3 positions. I don't know how anyone can say that Yao, inch for inch, moved better than Sampson. IMO, its not even that close. Ive seen both play too (I was primarily a Sampson fan till he was traded) and I think Yao has a ways to go to reach the level of dominance that Ralph was at while he was healthy. Yao's play over the next few years, of course could change my opinion.
Damn when did I post this? I thought I DID NOT hit the "Submit Reply" button!!! It's really WEIRD!!! Eventhough I did write this stuff, I never submitted it!!! That's why the translation was not completed!!! There's a ghost in my PPPPPPPPCCCCCCCCCC........... HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok since I started it I might as well continue with the translation. And I've also corrected some minor errors in the first part of my work above, including the brea...err...'chest' thing. Episode 2: Wu: You just said that your first year was like stepping on the pedal once, having no prior idea. So now, is it like slowly advancing towards taking the second step? Beginning to have some feel of it? Yao: Now I'm beginning to know how to preserve some fuel. Which way of stepping on the pedal can cause less fuel to be consumed. Wu: How? Yao: I remember an old driver once told me, there's a way of stepping on the pedal that slightly reduces fuel consumption. It's just the same with playing basketball. Flooring the pedal might cause the car to move very fast. But just like an aeroplane, it has a cruising speed that's economical, and it has a top speed. Because the season is very long, 82 games (Yao not anticipating the playoffs???), if you work your butt off from the beginning, you might not make it at the end of season. I'm learning this, how to coordinate and allocate my stamina to each and every one of the 82 games. And at the same time winning as many games as possible. This is a new learning formula. Wu: Now, in the midst of these, what kind of fun do you get? Yao: The thing that I enjoy most is thinking about my opponents' weaknesses. Many times I might be beaten in the first game, but in the second game generally I would not be outplayed. Except against Shaq. For the other opponents, if I don't perform well against him in the first game, I will "settle him" (this is what Yao said) in the coming games. Wu: Barkley once said that if you could scored double digits, he would kiss a donkey's buttocks. I don't know if this is the absolute truth or not. And you did make him eat crow ('smash his eyeglasses' in chinese) later on. Do you remember? Yao: Well he actually said 'if this time Yao Ming can score 19 points', he will kiss a donkey's backside. I think, to Americans, appearing on TV is a very relaxed and amusing matter. To Chinese, appearing on TV tends to be a very serious and solemn matter, a big deal. Actually when you go in front of the camera a lot, after awhile it becomes no big deal. At that time (Barkley incident), my first reaction, a reporter asked me what did I think, I said it looks like this season I may only score 18 points at most, if I reach 18 points I'll have to stop. That's what I said. But inside my mind, I actually developed a strong fighting spirit, I thought: 'I'll show you'. Wu: Now, do you have a special calm feeling when you play? Yao: Yes. To me, playing basketball is just like when other people are playing chess. They are also very calm. Many times when playing basketball my mind is just like that. Because in that way, you can most easily capture signals that your opponents are giving out. And then you can judge what his next move will be. Wu: Now as an NBA star do you feel that only when you are playing ball, that you are most focused, that you are truely yourself? At other times when you are not playing ball, you have to do many other extra things Yao: Because I feel that this is what I can control. Because this basketball, if it is being held in my hands, I can control it. While regarding many other things I'm not an expert. I'm only a professional basketball players. I'm not a professional 'subject to be interviewed'. That's why sometimes, I couldn't control some matters. Just like now my questions are totally under your control. ____________________________________________________ Comments by reporter bla bla bla............. bla bla bla............. Noteworthy: Rockets have reaped enormous commercial value from Yao Ming. Rockets' revenue from the last season (before Yao Ming) was second FROM BEHIND in the league. Now, they are the second most profitable franchise. (Is this true?) bla bla bla............. bla bla bla............. ____________________________________________________ Continue with interview translation, if I have the time later.
Continue... Wu: Your agent/manager hopes to work you towards the value of Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods in the coming 6 years. Yao: These are great ambitions. But whether these can be achieved or not, depends ultimately on my performance on the ball court. That's the fundamental thing. Wu: Some say that you are China's most valuable export. So how do you balance your career of playing basketball and your position as a basketball star? Yao: Now in the world today business and sports are already perfectly integrated. Any famous sports icon has a business empire behind him/her. Of course some are big some are small. These kind of things are already very common abroad. In China it is just beginning to take off, and we think that it is an interesting fresh idea. In China sometimes people have the mentality that you should concentrate on perfecting your own job, stay focused or you will ruin your career. But now commerce and sports are intertwined together, can't be separated. I'm only in the first batch of (Chinese) sportsmen that are integrated with business. A whole batch of people, including many soccer players. In the future we will see more athletes like us. Then at that time we won't find it to be a strange idea anymore. Wu: Many foreigners say that you are the MING DYNASTY? Yao: I think a dynasty is not so easily built. Rome was not built in a single day. It is a long endeavor. I hope it is not just a shortlived phenomenon. ____________________________________________________ Reporter's comments: bla bla bla............ bla bla bla............ bla bla bla............ ____________________________________________________ Wu: Do you think that your progress is incredibly fast, even in NBA? Yao: Yes. Besides that, I would like to add that first of all, the training methods I experienced in our country are truely not as advanced as those in the US. Especially training of the body. Lack of scope. Their physical training methods are very very strict, very very detailed. Almost every half-a-month they will measure my fat level below the skin or my muscles' thickness. Very professional. This is the main reason that my body is slowly becoming stronger and bulkier. And the other reason is that I'm slowly getting used to it (lifestyle? programme?). Wu: Now many Chinese atheletes are going overseas to further their career. Being a successful pioneer, what kind of advice do you have? Yao: First of all I think our athletes lack a strong sense of competitiveness. Outside China, the competition is very very intense. Every minute I can feel some craving eyes behind me, locked on to my position, eyeing my salary. They want to show their worth in front of me (or 'at my expense'?), so that they can get this job if they leave an impression. People are queuing for this job. Forcing me to be hardworking in training. I've played professional basketball for 5 or 6 years in China, I know, and I'm afraid that I don't feel that kind of competitiveness in Chinese ballers now. This is the most important part. And the other thing is that players must learn how to handle the media. Media is a kind of heavy pressure, but you must face it, you can't avoid it. Because 'it' is constantly hunting for you, especially in a country like the USA. Wu: The media is also constantly chasing for you. Yao: Yeap. If you want to be successful, you need the media. But the media can also ruin you. When I say "ruin" I don't mean it in a bad sense. Just that they will follow you non-stop. Some changes will cook up in your mind thus producing the pressure. (From a simple minded boy who only wanted to play ball, to a public figure today, Yao Ming's biggest mental change is: ) Yao: The biggest change is that instead of avoiding the media, why don't you go and face it. Strike an image of yourself for them, and let them make you popular. This is the only way, or else you will only be crushed by them. Yao: I've not thought about my retirement plans. I hope I can play for at least 10 more years. Wu: For the sake of Chinese people or because you want to achieve something? Yao: I hope I can win the championship. ____________________________________________________ When Yao Ming led Shaq in the all stars center vote, he was once asked how surprised he was. He said: "I am so surprised that my eyes are bigger than my mouth, and my mouth is bigger than my bicycle's tyre." ____________________________________________________ And that's all I have to translate about that. Enjoy my hard work!
Good work, zhao! If you read the script thorougly, you can imagine Yao is really assertive, if not aggressive. Yao can be dominant in 2/3 years!!!
haha Actually, I had that issue back in the 80s and if I remember correctly, the cover was actually a fold out, with Sampson laying across the top, and Ewing laying across the bottom. So you see Ralph's upper body and Ewing's legs. For the life of me, I can't remember if the Sampson/Ewing rivalry ever took off back in their college years. I know that Georgetown and Virginia were pretty good rivals back then though.
This interview is so refreshing. In the last couple of months, we've been reduced to analyzing pictures of Yao's body, trying to gauge body fat. We've speculated on his caloric intake and eatings habits. (Who besides me is surprised that we haven't had a poll along the lines of: "Poll: What food should Yao for breakfeast?" or "Poll: How many sets of bench press should Yao do each week? Incline? Decline?") Anyways, my point is----it's like we're all parents, and Yao is our child that went off to college. We miss him, and usually we settle for any scrap of information. Interviews like this remind us of why we fell for him in the first place. This brought a smile to my face. edited to add--- yes, absolutely, thanks, zhaozhilong!
zhaozhilong, thanks for your hard work translating the interview for us - I know how time consuming it is.
thanks for the translation zhao. that was some job! yao seems to be a very insightful person...glad to hear he's confident he'll be better next year. great interview/translation!
we are indebted to our translator thanks Yao sounds a lot like Dream in his analyses. I love this guy.
Yao didn't enjoy playing until he understood the game. By then, he was better than most in his country. I really love how Yao exudes his respect of the game by comparing it to chess. Very intelligent perspective that will make him a step ahead of most in the NBA for years to come.
You're welcome. Glad that you all like it. By the way, rest assured that the source phoenixtv dot com is a serious and responsible news agency. So is the famous female reporter.
