Everyone is eager to know the update news of Yao Ming. So am I. Nothing came out in Chinese media in the past two days. In fact, 99.9 percent of sports journalists in China are staying at Japan and Korea to dig some reports for the soccer fans. Only 0.1% is left in China. Su Qun, who wrote the interview of Ruby, is one of them. He is a manager (or moderator, or senior user) of a sports forum. As a Laker lover, he is busy to fight to some Laker haters. I am wondering how he can get time to do that interview (hope he doesn't come here). So nothing can be found at that forum either. One report yesterday does show something. This is a report about U-22 Youth Basketball League, which opened at last Friday. When it talked about Shanghai Sharks, it said: Player xxx, xxx are overage and not qualified for this league. Yao Ming and Liu Wei are at Chinese National Team. The head coach Li Qiuping and assistant coach are preparing the study tour to America and didn't come with the team......This young team lost two of the first three games...... Do your guys remember that one "condition" of Shanghai Sharks to release Yao Ming is the team which draft him could help training coaches? I just don't know where this head coach Li will go to study at. Wang ZhiZhi's head coach in Bayi (Red Army) Rockets once stayed at Dallas for half a year as a part of project of Bayi and Dallas. Now he has become the head coach of Chinese National Team because he has "NBA and international experience.? Maybe coach Li will attend the draft conference at June 26th. When Ming joined Shanghai Sharks, he was only 17-year-old. He respects Li and his wife and looks them as his parents. Unfortunately, Li's wife died of cancer a few monthes before they won the championship. Ming and Coach Li This guy from Seatle is scouting Ming and talking with Li at March in Shanghai. Maybe he offered the study trip to Li? In one word, Ming is the best.
thanks for the info windandsea if you ever make it to houston maybe i could catch up with you, dinners on me.
WinandSea, Thank you so much for the updates. I as many people here have been eagerly waiting for any news from Beijing and your post made me feel released a bit--seems that ShangHai Sharks is open-minded enough to send its coach to the US, which at least won't hurt the Yao mission. Actually I read the original article, too, but could not find out as much as you did -- finding are reserved for those who are ready and certainly you are the one. BTW, you are in the US, aren't you? Or how can you stay up so late and get up so early (at China time), not once or twice but very often, to post here??? No matter where you are, be sure to come to Houston to what they prepare for you (at least a dozen people here said 'dinner/ticket/beer on me' right?)
rocketlaunch: Thank you very much. I will write down all the names who offered the kindness to me. Promise is promise. If I cannot get the chance to Houston, at least, you can do something for Yao Ming.
I think I can speak for many of us in suggesting that if Coach Li comes to Houston for a six-month study program, the subject should be media training.
Thanks for the info windandsea, always appreciated! __________________________________________ milo GO USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Windandsea - is your user name intended to refer to Feng Shui? Thanks for all your information. By the way, tell all the people in China that Houston has a great Chinese community who are all excited about Yao Ming. Also, Yao won't be homesick because Houston has and the best authentic Chinese food in the US, except maybe New York and San Francisco. If Yao needs someone to show him where to get great Cantonese and Shanghai style food, let me know.
Oops. Damn. This is confusing. Here's an idea. If the Chinese will stop naming people Li, we'll stop naming people Jason Williams.
------------------------------------------------------- Are you confusing coach Li Qiuping with Sharks vice-president Li Yaomin? -------------------------------------------------------- I wonder too. Maybe it is not redundant that I list the names you have seen again and again concerning Yao. Bai Li: the president of Shanghai Sharks, the man who has the last word. Li YaoMin: GM of Shanghai Sharks, usually viewed as a hawk-kind person, with bad/shark month Chen Liangyu: mayer of Shanghai, a high level Chinese government official. Li Qiuping: head coach of Shanghai, has coached Yao for nearly 5 years. Wang Fei: Head coach of Chinese National Team, the former coach of Wang Zhizhi. Xin Langcheng: David Stern of China. Eric Zhang: yao's remote consin and representative (Shanghai does not allow me to use 'agent')
--------------------------------- Here's an idea. If the Chinese will stop naming people Li, we'll stop naming people Jason Williams. -------------------------------- Unfortuanatly Li is a last name, one of the most popular last name in China, not a first name (it is pronunced like 'lee', not 'li'). I read a report that there are about 90 Million 'Li' in China!! Too many? Wait, it is not the most used. The most usual last name is Zhang, China alone has more than 100 million Zhangs, let alone many Zhang's in other countries, including the US.
I always read that "Chang" is the most common name in the world... is that some variant of "Zhang"? Or did I just learn incorrectly?
In general they are the same one, and the reason why one Chinese name has two English translations is a long story, and it is related to the evolution of Chinese pronouciation. Basiclly Zhang is used by most main land Chinese and Chang is used by 'overseas' Chinese, including Taiwanese, to refer to the same Chinese character. This can become a little confusing, esp. When English speakers take them as two different names.
Bruce was an American from San Francisco and his parents were from Hong Kong. Jet is from Beijing. Li (or Lee, which I belive is the Americanized version) is such a common name, it would be like asking if Michael Smith and Steve Smith are related.
