[chron]Yao will take a rare summer off

I know there's a separate thread about the chinese national team and yao being able to participate in it. But here is what yao said himself.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6427579.html

Yao takes a break
Other than a charity appearance or two, the next time Yao Ming plays in a game it will be as a Rocket.

Yao was not included on the Chinese national team roster for the Asian Men’s Basketball Championships Aug. 6 to 16 in Tianjin, China, and said Saturday that he will not play this summer, though the rehabilitation from his hairline fracture in his left foot is expected to require just seven to 11 more weeks.

This will be just the second summer in the past 12 that he has not played in international competition. But Yao said the break will be more mental than physical.

“You have some free time for yourself,” Yao said. “You can do whatever you want. It is not like every morning, breakfast, at 9 o’clock, on the court, dressed out, practice. Now, it is my schedule.”

Battier ultimatum
For Rockets forward Shane Battier, Game 7 is not “win or go home.”

Saturday he received a message from his wife that it is win or else.

“My wife (Heidi) said win or you can’t come home,” Battier said.

Starters must stay ready
Rockets coach Rick Adelman plans to adjust his rotation for Game 7.

If players off the bench struggle, Adelman said he will be quick to return to starters.

“You’re very aware of how the game is going,” Adelman said. “I’m not going to have a lot of patience. When guys come in, they’re going to have to perform. I have a feeling I’m probably going to see Kobe (Bryant) and (Pau) Gasol on that court for 44 minutes. That’s how we have to approach it.”

Speech therapy
Rockets forward Shane Battier had not offered one of his talks with the team by the end of practice Saturday, but said it could be coming.

“I may say something later,” Battier said. “I don’t plan my speeches. If I feel something, if I feel the spirit, I let it out.”

Mentor and student
With less than three minutes to go Thursday, Rockets coach Rick Adelman turned to ESPN Radio broadcaster Jack Ramsay, one of the NBA’s best coaches and Adelman’s mentor, and said the Rockets won the first quarter so they won the game.

The team leading after a quarter has won all 12 Rockets playoff games. Adelman was just happy to share the win with Ramsay.

“He’s special in my life,” Adelman said. “He gave me my opportunity in the NBA. He hired me out of junior college. I thought it was amazing I was coaching in Oregon and he followed my teams. He knew me as a player, followed my teams and talked to people. Out of nowhere, he called and said, do you want to be an assistant coach. That’s special. I learned so much from him.

“He’s a lot like these guys. In fact, we were talking about it (Thursday) night. He took a loss hardest of anyone I saw that night. The next morning, back then we went to airports — he got the guys going. He was upbeat.

“I remember walking around Denver to find someplace to eat about midnight. It was freezing. We walked about two miles, wherever he wanted to go. I said, ‘We could have talked about that in the hotel room.’ The next day, I was thinking, ‘We’re down and out. He was so depressed.’ And the next day, he’s so up and the guys are all up. Just watching how he reacted and changed the next day, that’s