http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3671553.html Feb. 20, 2006, 2:11AM THE LOCAL STAR Yao makes his best move on big stage Rockets center is comfortable in glare of spotlight By MEGAN MANFULL Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle The Western Conference starters were worried about Yao Ming from the start. During their introductions, they wanted to do a dance, but Yao was shuffling his feet as they tried to teach him how to do the snake. He practiced for a few minutes prior to the introductions, but no one knew if he'd be able to perform when the lights were on him. As Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns started the snake with his arms and it rolled down the line of starters, Yao waited his turn and then followed suit perfectly. The crowd roared their approval, and Yao's teammates giggled. Yao couldn't help but laugh along. Touch of skepticism "We were a little skeptical about doing that, because we didn't know if Yao was going to cop out on us, if he was going to shy away and not participate," Rockets teammate and fellow starter Tracy McGrady said. "He looked pretty smooth doing it." It was a brief moment in Yao's fourth All-Star appearance, but it was a significant one. It demonstrated just how comfortable Yao has become on the game's biggest stage. It also ended up being the highlight of Yao's otherwise quiet night in the Eastern Conference's 122-120 victory at Toyota Center on Sunday night. In a game dominated by the guards, Yao finished with just five points and two rebounds. After the game, he knew his dancing wouldn't be ignored. "I knew someone would ask these questions," he said, laughing. "How did you like it?" Yao demonstrated throughout the night just how comfortable he has become. His statistics were nothing to brag about as he spent most of the night cheering on McGrady and talking to his fellow big men, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks and Pau Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies. A little confusion Yao has adjusted to his many All-Star obligations and the dozens of reporters wanting to speak to him each time he is available. But even after four trips to the game, there was still one place he felt uncomfortable this time around. "On the court, I was a little bit confused and didn't know which place to go," he said. "It's not like a Rockets game where I know every position I need to run to. This game, I'm all over the place." McGrady admitted it didn't really matter where Yao was, anyway. It was a night for the guards to shine. "It's hard for big men to get touches because we (guards) handle the ball 95 percent of the time," McGrady said. "Every now and then we throw the ball inside to the big guy. There's really no excitement in throwing the ball to them down there." That was fine with Yao, who didn't mind his dancing being his most talked-about moment. "I tried to put it into my basketball skills, but. ... " Yao ended the sentence by simply laughing.
i laughed when the east when on but you kind of expect that sort of thing from shaq and co. ...but for the west to get yao to something was great and unexpected. i loved that yao was able to do that... kobe even said at some point after the introductions tha they wanted him to do the robot. can you imagine?
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Dang-'ol! I missed this! That would have been really funny to see Yao doing the moves! I heard TMAC's hilarious comments alluded to above about being to boring to throw the ball down to the big men during the All Star game on the radio. One of those sound bites that definitely had me rolling with laughter.
