JONATHAN FEIGEN Compares Three Rookie of the Year Candidates

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/sports/bk/bkn/1854453

April 6, 2003, 3:09AM


NOTEBOOK
'Time is Yao' campaign in hyperdrive
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

The Rockets last week sent little Yao Mings to the 125 voters for the Rookie of the Year award.

Mini Ming is dunking and will fit nicely in any home, office or boat -- or anywhere else someone chooses to cast his ballot.

Apparently, these little standup acrylic photo cutouts of athletes are the next big thing in the collectible world, soon to nudge out bobbleheads and (thankfully) Celebriducks.

The idea, of course, is to help Yao be named Rookie of the Year. The back of the cutout includes his campaign platform, assorted statistics and accomplishments. Other "Time is Yao" data have been sent electronically for weeks.

Eventually, the little guy will be thrown in a drawer with the Elton Brand Tide box and Kevin Garnett license plate. But the Rockets' concern about just how to handle a campaign might offer a good glimpse into the sorts of things that might work for and against Yao.

The Rockets' concern was that if they did too much -- they considered mailing out videos -- there could be a backlash about the amount of attention (hype?) Yao has received. The media instinct is to suspect that sort of influence on something as subjective as a vote. There is nothing new about discovering Yao Ming. News people do tend to prefer new.

With this in mind, Heat coach and president Pat Riley made his appeal for his guy, Caron Butler.

"There is no doubt (Butler) is a legitimate candidate and I think he should garner great attention and respect," Riley said. "But the reality is that we aren't on national television, a lot of people don't see him and we're not a team that politics like crazy."

They are sending daily e-mails, counting down the top 10 reasons to vote for Butler.

Suns general manager Bryan Colangelo stumped via e-mail for Amare Stoudemire, extolling his bountiful virtues as a player and human being. The Suns also sent a package that included a video and DVD, with a two-page information sheet. They also set up a Web site, Thatsamare.net.

Each team, of course, is absolutely convinced its guy is by far the obvious choice. They are very wrong. A good argument can be made for each.

Butler has carried his team, Stoudemire revived his, Yao saved his. They are different enough and outstanding enough that personal taste might justifiably be the determining factor.

But it probably won't be.

The incredible attention paid to Yao could help his cause or kill it, but it cannot be ignored. He is the only rookie on the magazine covers, in the commercials, hanging out with the commissioner and his vice presidents.

He is also the only rookie given the Michael Jordan treatment in every city his team visits.

Without question, Yao has also become the focus of opposing teams' efforts far beyond Stoudemire and Butler. Players, from Kobe Bryant to Dikembe Mutombo, live to show him up or beat him up.

That probably should be weighed when considering Yao's accomplishments, but that same attention also can bring questions about how much of his reputation is based on hype.

The media vote and the media must arm themselves with a fair dose of skepticism. If Butler's late-season run attracts votes, it might earn the notice of those who did not want to vote for the coverboy. Others might consider the race close enough to use the playoffs as a tiebreaker, logic the Heat have argued as unfair because Butler cannot be expected to make their roster less dreadful.

Still, there are plenty of reasons to vote for each. So the teams send out their little reminders, as if all of this really matters.

But as a service to teams weighing how much to campaign, just to be clear, those goodies are the key. Keep them coming. The more valuable, the better.