[Washington Post]Shaq respects Yao Ming http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38407-2005Feb19.html?nav=rss_sports O'Neal Tries a Novel Approach: Big Respect By Greg Sandoval Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, February 20, 2005; Page E07 DENVER, Feb. 19 -- Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal said today that he uses trash-talk to gain a psychological edge over the league's other big men. But there is one player O'Neal doesn't badger: the Houston Rockets' Yao Ming, who is from China. "I found out that he was a respectful young man," said O'Neal before he and the other members of the Eastern Conference all-star team began practice. "I realized that Asian people are different than us Americans. . . . The Asian people have always been about honor and respect, so I respect and honor him." O'Neal and Yao go head-to-head in Sunday's NBA All-Star Game. Two years ago, when O'Neal was still with the Lakers, he ignited a firestorm of protest for making what many Asian groups considered racist comments during an interview. "Tell Yao Ming, 'Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh,' " O'Neal told an interviewer in the summer of 2002. O'Neal apologized and called himself an "idiot prankster." Nonetheless, he continued to slam Yao's game in the media. Last season, O'Neal often said that he was the only dominating center in the Western Conference, an apparent slight of the 7-foot-5 Yao. What changed O'Neal's attitude? In an interview last November with The Washington Post, O'Neal said: "One day my father came to Houston before a game we were supposed to play against the Rockets and he said, 'Cut that stuff out.' I said, 'What?' My father said, 'You talkin' all that mess to that man. Do you know that man sent you a Christmas card?' "He handed me the Christmas card. It said, 'Shaq, you're my favorite big man. I want to be like you in a couple of years. I love you.' And after that, I'm like . . . I'm acting like an [expletive] to this dude, trying to break him, trying to punk him before I play him, but it didn't work. You got to respect a man you can't break. "All those other cats, I could break 'em. I could say something in the paper and get them to respond. Once they respond, I got 'em. I used to do that to [Alonzo] Mourning, [Patrick] Ewing. Couldn't do it to Yao. I apologized to him. "So now whenever we play, it's like two warriors going at it." Staff writers Mike Wise and Michael Lee contributed to this report.
That rocks! Seriously, Yao rules, to show appreciation to someone that virtually spits on you. That's Christ like. Go Yao!
Yao should send cards to all the starting centers in the league. He should write things like"I'm so glad to have the privilege to be playing against you" or "You're one of my favaorite big men. I love you." Get them all soft and mushy... ...then pulverize them come playoffs.
Culture barrier, you know. I think few chinese would smash you face to face unless you cornered him in rude manners... Classy response from Yao... considering what shaq had done and commented on him, nice read.
I think Shaq brought up alot of that talk for media purposes too. Two big men fighting at it deep in the paint is something we all haven't seen in a while. It's been a while since we've had the hakeem vs. ewing type of matchups. Granted we don't see Yao really guarding Shaq one on one, it is still fun to watch those two go at it. I wish Shaq would take Yao under his wing though and help him out during the summer. If I'm not mistaken that is what Hakeem did with Shaq and helped him out alot.
O'Neal's legacy still in the works Best ever? Shaq not satisfied By Ethan J. Skolnick Staff Writer Posted February 20 2005 DENVER ?Yes, legacy matters. "It matters the fatherly way," Shaquille O'Neal said. It matters because Philip Harrison told him it did, and what Philip Harrison said always mattered. Harrison would take his stepson to Madison Square Garden and order him to look up, to the rafters, to all those jerseys once worn by those great Knicks. He would tell the boy what those players had done in their days, and this: "I want you to be like that when you grow up." The boy sure grew up. "So now that I have three sons, it would be a nice honor for myself and for them, when I'm done playing, go to any arena and they say, `Shaq was the baddest big man ever,''' O'Neal said. Many might say so tonight, inside the Pepsi Center, while O'Neal is playing in his ninth All-Star Game. This is actually the 12th time the center has been selected, more than all but seven men in NBA history, and the same number as nine others, including Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Bill Russell. The appearance itself adds to an astounding array of statistics supporting his spot among the greats. Still, he wants a spot above them, having always aspired to look down from history's highest rafter. That's why he looked up to the top big men of his youth -- to steal a little of each's style, then create his own that would be beyond compare. "I have mastered my own niche," said O'Neal, 32. "In this present time of 2005, there is no other center like me. Probably will never be another center like me. Now you got guys like Dirk [Nowitzki] that can step out and shoot, guys who don't really like to bang. So, hopefully, when I'm said and done, I'll have my jersey retired in three arenas. Orlando. L.A. And here [in Miami]." O'Neal is a rarity among modern NBA players, not merely in his size and strength, but also in his reverence for hoop history. He speaks as often of the future and past as the present, considering himself a keeper of the game, proudly stating that "if it ever goes down, no one can ever say Shaquille O'Neal was the reason it has gone down." He worries that if young players don't act right, "what I've helped build is going to be all messed up." What others built before he arrived as well. "I respect the older guys." He has particular regard for previous pivotmen. O'Neal has frequently placed himself fourth among centers, behind "the holy trinity" -- Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Russell. (Though in his 2001 book, Shaq Talks Back, O'Neal does question whether Abdul-Jabbar would be too slow for him, and whether Russell would have won so many more titles if he had encountered as many teams and 7-footers.) After a recent victory in Toronto, O'Neal criticized himself after recording 33 points and 18 rebounds, because he missed 13 free throws. "That's unacceptable," O'Neal said. "If I want to be accepted by Wilt and Kareem and Russell, I've got to start playing better than that. Right now, I'm still in the class of Hakeem and David Robinson. That's not good enough for me. I want to be up there with the immortals." His numbers and honors are a start. He has won a Rookie of the Year, an Olympic gold medal, a league MVP and three Finals MVPs. His scoring average (26.8) ranks third all-time behind Michael Jordan and Chamberlain. He ranks 19th in total points, just 10 behind Elgin Baylor, as he has been well aware. At his current rate, he would pass Charles Barkley for 15th place by season's end. "I know records are always going to be broken," O'Neal said. "When I came into this league, I always wanted to do something and be somebody. I was named to the top 50 [of all-time, in 1996], I've won three rings, scored 22,000 points, gotten 10,000 rebounds. So when I'm done, hopefully I'm up there where people can't reach me." Yet he acknowledges Abdul-Jabbar's 38,387 will be "a hard number to reach." O'Neal would need to keep scoring at his career average for seven seasons to catch him. "Hopefully, I'm in the top 10 in every category," O'Neal said. O'Neal insists his uniqueness, charm and character should come into play. "The biggest thing that will define my legacy is how I've done it, and what I've done, and who I am," O'Neal said. "I'm a weird big guy. Doing rapping, doing movies. Do a lot of stuff. But always do things the right way. Went to the police academy to become a police officer. Get his master's in criminal justice, stayed out of trouble. Played for three different teams. Changed three different franchises around. This is a guy who they would have secret meetings about to change the rules. So, that's going to be my legacy: the most dominant player ever." Dominance in one era has a downside, however. Many NBA observers say it makes it difficult to place O'Neal's accomplishments in a historical context. O'Neal, unlike Russell or Chamberlain, has never had a true "5" spot foil, and certainly not since Robinson, Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing retired. "Many of us are really sad because we don't have great centers in the game today," said Pete Newell, the renowned big-man coach. That is evident again at this All-Star game. One East backup center, 6-foot-10 Ben Wallace, has a limited offensive post-up game. The other, 7-3 Zydrunas Ilgauskas, is a soft defender. The West starter, 7-6 Yao Ming, is still developing inside toughness. Yao's backup, 6-10 Amare Stoudemire, is playing out of position for the running Suns. Other All-Stars who stand 6-11 or taller play almost exclusively power forward -- Dirk Nowitzki, at 7 feet, plays a lot of small forward. In fact, Newell pointed to Tim Duncan's unfamiliarity with the center position as the reason for all his Olympic foul trouble. "Everyone is developing their skills a lot more, and trying to get away from the stigma of just being a 5 man," Duncan said. "They want to extend their games." Jermaine O'Neal said skilled, tall players prefer to develop power forward skills -- stepping out to shoot jumpers, driving to the basket -- because back-to-the-basket centers are easier to double-team. "After Shaq and Yao, I don't think there are going to be any more legitimate 5s," the Pacers' 6-11 power forward said. "I think there's going to be a lot of 4s playing the 5. And nobody is ever going to be like Shaq. The closest guy is Yao, just in size. But Shaq is so strong and so dominant, it would be ridiculous to think somebody could even have that type of matchup Wilt and Russell had." So perhaps it is also ridiculous to compare centers of different eras. But Shaquille O'Neal still has that digit on his mind. "If I don't get five [titles], I won't be happy with myself as a basketball player," he said. "I don't know how you guys will feel about me." Certainly, he will be eager to know history's thoughts. His father's, too. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-shaq20feb20,0,7106521.story?coll=sfla-sports-front
Have to admit Shaq is a unique character, did anybody check out the hat and shoe phone that Shaq has at the all star game. Yao is also a unique character, he is a classy, magnanimous and mature young man. Hate to tell Shaq this but a lot of humble, respectable Asians would have sent him package bombs and not xmas cards after that 'Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh' act.
Yao played him pretty much straight up a few weeks ago. Shaq was in foul trouble, so that probably bought Yao some time. It should be interesting to see if Yao plays him straight up again when we meet them in the finals.
<img src="http://www.people.com.cn/mediafile/200312/25/F2003122520315800000.jpg" border="0" alt=""><br /> Thank you, Mr.O'Neal, for respecting Chinese People, please take care your teammate Wang Zhi-Zhi, and treat him like a cat, please!!!!!!!!
