It's Macdonalds' chicken nuggets... but he prefers KFC with spicy wings -according to the link of the article fwang provided
My attempted translation... the interview is conducted in the car on a Houston freeway. Interviewer: We've been dreaming about chatting this way for, what, a couple of years? Yao Ming: Sounds about right. Starting last year, we speculated about every city, thinking that I'd go to New York or Chicago... but we never thought about Houston. No matter what, I'm finally here; that's the important thing. Interviewer: Do you like Houston? Yao Ming: Right now it's a good feeling; I don't know how I will feel in a couple of months. I feel like this city doesn't treat you just as a NBA plaeyr, but rather as a new Houstonian (aka Houstonese), and it's this feeling that gives me a feeling of returning home. Look, it rains every day.... just like (roughly) the rainy season in Shanghai. Interviewer: This car's still a little narrow; when's your 430 getting here? Yao Ming: After another two months. Although I already ordered the car, right now I can't bring out enough cash. I have to wait to play a couple of games and collect that money before going to pay the bill. Right now I'm still a poor person, and besides, us Shanghainese are (roughly) stingy/careful with money. (Laughing) In a little bit, you better treat us to eat. Interviewer: Your new house (neighborhood?) is called "'Wense' Lake Garden'; have any reporters been there since you came to town? Yao Ming: Nope, even my teammates haven't been there yet. Right now, the rooms are empty inside. Other than 3 beds, we've bought basically no other furniture. And you know, my parents are both staying with me, and they prefer the house become a very peaceful place, with no interference from the outside world. My mother told me, "everything about you has already been placed under the microscope, and I don't want our family to end up in the same place." I understand them. After a while I'll take you when there's an opportunity, but in the meantime don't worry. Interviewer: You've played two warm-up matches now; what's the biggest realization you've had about the NBA? Yao Ming: The strength of the opponents has surpassed what I imagined. Here, you absolutely can't give them a chance to shoot, and others won't give you a chance to shoot. And going after rebounds on the court is something like participating in a gold rush, there's not a single rebound like those in the CBA, when balls would easily land on your head. The competition at the World Basketball Championships were already pretty strong, but it can't compare with the NBA. Thinking back, Dream Team 5 (team USA) didn't give it their all when playing against me. Interviewer: For two days in a row now, you've been practicing with the backup group, and Cato has been practicing with the starters, but you're the first round draft pick! Yao Ming: Did I disappoint you? To tell you the truth, right now there are a lot of things I can't do with the starters. The biggest problem is that the cooperation/chemistry still isn't there, and some strategies/gameplans I haven't fully digested. You'll see during the games, I always come out to screen for Francis and Mobley and let them go isolation, and this is mostly because I still don't have a lot of control over the paint. (Interesting for the CC'ers debating the iso/motion, eh?) Interviewer: Truth is, at the center spot you're missing the help of an experienced veteran. It's one thing for Rudy to be directing you, but having an old general (veteran) by your side is something else. Olajuwon or Robert Horry being here would help, right? (Uh, I think the interviewer said Horry, although that's a truly random/ignorant comment.) Yao Ming: That's right. Cato and them just tells me how to run the position. If I could practice every day with Olajuwon, that'd be awesome. But I think I've always lacked this kind of training/patronage from an older veteran; as soon as I joined the Shanghai team, the team just had one veteran center, and he was the type that really didn't like to talk. Interviewer: 11/9 you'll be in Toronto personally seeing Olajuwon's retirement, maybe he'll become an assistant coach type. How do you think he would see you? Yao Ming: I feel he'd want me to pick up his gun (and carry on). I can imagine that day on the court; raising my head, the view of his jersey raised high. He'll surely come into the game for a minute, or even just a few seconds is ok... let me touch his hand. It's the end of an era, but maybe it's the start of a new era. Who knows, maybe he planned it this way, intentionally retiring in front of me. My game's getting close to his game a little bit; how was that baseline turn-around jumper against the 76ers? Right now my game is still lacking a little, I still have to rely on a turnaround jump-shot to beat others. Interviewer: Do Francis and Mobley help you enough normally? Yao Ming: They tell me how they're used to doing things, and then let me match my game to theirs. These two guys's abilities are truly strong, and that's why the team right now revolves around their play, and nobody argues. After all this is a young/inexperienced team, and amongst young people there are a lot of things you can understand/experience without having to say/verbalize anything. Interviewer: "Understand/experience without having to say anything"... for example? Yao Ming: (Sudden loud laugh) For example, in San Antonio, these two senior guys showered and took off, leaving their two big bags on the floor. I saw nobody said anything, so (roughly) with humility/simply picked them up, and then walked out giving one to Colin Pine. That one didn't even volunteer, even seeing me tired (Pine's driving the car by the way... so this is said in teasing fun). If I, as the top draft pick can carry bags, then why can't he? Interviewer: Last season, the Rockets only won 28 matches. And now the American media ranks the Rockets as 7th out of 29 teams. What's your expectation for the team? Yao Ming: How high?! Might as well win all 82 games! Hahaha, just kidding. Really, this year I've won it all and lost it all. At the start of the year, my Shanghai Sharks won the CBA championship... that should count as winning it all? And then playing on the national team, we finished a weak 12th in the WBC, and then lost the Asian Games championship... that should count as losing it all? So, if the Rockets can come in the middle, can win more than half of its games, then I won't be disappointed. Interviewer: The Rockets motto this year is "be part of something big"; have you seen your pictures on the high billboards throughout your city? Yao Ming: I saw it, you mean the one that shows the top half of my face? I feel like the shape of my head isn't so pretty. Last night I invited the barber to my house to give me a hair-cut (wow, luxury).. how is it? I cut it before the WBC, and hadn't touched it since until now. Interviewer: How about being put on the cover of Sports Illustrated? This is the first time a Chinese person has become an idol for Americans. Yao Ming: I know that type of feeling. Yesterday afternoon I went to the bank to start an account, and an 11-year old kid stared at me with these big eyes, so moved he couldn't say anything. I asked him what position he plays, and he said point guard; I then asked him if he liked Kidd (I think?) or Kobe, and he said right now his favorite is me. Someone told me, the last time the Rockets had someone on the cover of SI, it was Olajuwon in 1995. All I can say is, from my point of view, is that this isn't the conclusion... (someone with better Chinese translate this!) Interviewer: The regular season is about to start; the fans are all very interested if you'll start? Yao Ming: In the beginning I FEEL (clearly his opinion, nothing official) I won't; I'll sit on the bench and watch the game for a period before going on the court. Actually, I don't care at all whether I start; starting or not isn't the issue/problem. Only being on the court at the most critical periods proves your position within the eyes of your coaches. For example, while playing the 76ers, I didn't start... but I was on the court for the entire 4th quarter. Compared to starting the game, and then resting more and more later on in the game, I'd rather things stay the way they are. Interviewer: Maybe if you practice even a little bit harder, you will receive more trust? Yao Ming: I don't practice enough? For example, this morning practice started at 11, but I was there by 9:30. For an hour and a half I worked on strength training. Who knew once we practiced it'd last until 2:30 in the afternoon; I was starved. Interviewer: Very soon real challenges will come one after the other; your opponents include Jermaine O'neal, Shaq, Duncan and that type of stars.. not to mention Bateer and Zhizhi. Which game are you anticipating the most? Yao Ming: You've forgotten? Sabonis. Two years ago his coach/trainer said that if he had me, in 3 years he'd have a new Sabonis. Last year he retired, but now he's back, and I want to see him.
another one about Rudy and Ming. (Yang Yi again) http://sports.sina.com.cn/k/2002-10-28/0947341006.shtml
Nice translation. One error though: He threw the bag to Boki not Pine. Pine is carrying Yao Ming's own bag. It makes sense for Cato to start. Since everyone (including Yao Ming) himself thinks that Yao is lacking strength/conditioning. By allowing Cato to start and wear out the opponent centers' for a quarter, chances for Yao Ming to do well at the second quarter are much higher. I predict that Yao Ming will play both 2 nd and 4 th quarters for the next 10 games or so.
I'd like to know what they're looking at. Maybe a huge bug? I don't know. Seems to have their attention, though.
Another must-read article. Some one helps to translate. Rudy T is gambling?? How about two more article: Yao Ming is dummy in maths. The Story of Yao Ming's red braces. You may search sports.sina.com.cn/basketball or sports.sohu.com or sports.tom.com to get these articles.
No wonder he didn't play well at the scrimmage. Have ya'll ever played ball after working out with weights for 1 1/2 hours.
yeah, i noticed at the open practice that yao got a haircut. it's about time he got that shaggy dome under control. he looked much better, sleeker, more GQ. too bad he had to have a bad har day captured and posted on huge billboards citywide.
I am just little bit concerned about Ming's diets. Several days ago they said Ming ate pizza for lunch. This time he just ate a hamburger after hours practice. Is there any dietician can give Ming some advice? I wander how can he gets stronger just eating like this way.
When you're that big, young and active, it really doesn't matter what you eat. He is probably around 5 percent body fat anyway. The most important thing is that he eats alot to maintain that 300 lbs with plenty of protein so he can gain muscle.
Yao's eating junk food! Junk food is junk thats why they call it junk food. You can't build muscle with Mcdonalds or Taco bell! He needs a dietician or somebody to help him bulk up. All that fatty foods is gonna slow him down, cause it increases the lipid levels in the blood and that isn't too conducive to the circulatory system (specially when doing anything thats aerobic). Besides, you can't build muscle outta fat, you need to build muscle by eating alot of protein, which from the picture...Yao doesn't seem to be doing. Maybe Yao can hit up GNC or something.
I thought Rockets would take care of his food. In China Yao once said that there is a nutrition team with a few professional staff waitting for him at Houston. He joked that he will be fed like a "fastly mature chicken." But it seems that nutrition team hasn't begun their work yet. At Saturday Yao Ming had breakfast at around 8:00am, then he arrived at the club at 9:30am and bagan to lift weight. The practice of whole team began at 11:00am and ended at 2:30pm. Yao Ming didn't eat anything from 8am to 2:30pm. He was very hungry and asked his mom to buy "anything" to eat. Watch that picture he ate really fast.
