EXACTLY....they showed a "highlight" of Gilbert's shoe!!!!!!!! What the F*#K is that?!?! Yao goes off for 38 points and these guys talk about the losing team's player's shoe? And then they talk about Gilbert's slow start, show like 10 Gilbert highlights and show 2 of Yao's. You'd think we lost the fookin game!
I don't watch ESPN, but do they really do that to the foreigners. Do they treat Duncan, Tony Parker and Dirk that way too? If so, then I know it's not just a Yao Ming thing.
I rarely watch Sports Center, I get game analysis from this board. The prejudice against Yao is so predictable. Rarely if ever do they fairly represent his performances. They stereotyped Yao during his early years in the league as without passion or aggression, and largely refuse to report his development as a player.
Basketball is such an emotional game....if you don't play with emotion, you won't be a great player. That's probably true of any sport, but definitely a sport like basketball where the difference between winning and losing is so small. I agree - Yao needs to play with emotion - expressing it just shows us all it's there....but you can tell when he plays with emotion or not....he's just such a better player when he does.
This is classic. I'm taking my Logic course. Thanks for giving such a great analysis, Will. I'll have a good score. oh...I can see now America is still a great country!
Duncan is considered American... No, they kiss Flopu's butt, Dork's butt, the French boy's butt, , it just seems protocol to show Yao in a posterized moment, like he's not suppose to get dunked on, hell Hakeem got dunked on, big deal...
And when Hakeem got dunked on, it turned into one of the "greatest in game dunks EVAR!!11!" (ie KJ) Come on, who cares what ESPiN thinks? Just watch it for the humor content and not necessarily the sports content/analysis and you'll be fine...
Actually, leaving aside ESPN. In the local papers of each team that plays the Rockets, you'll see a noticeable theme about how Yao has finally arrived... the words 'dominant' and 'MVP' get used very liberally, and everyone's been writing about how Yao has basically run roughshod over every other center - yes, Shaq as well - this season so far. Together with a much better supporting cast this season, Yao, step-by-step, is making converts out of a lot of skeptics. And opposing fans who don't follow the Rocket's games like we do here are left gushing at the big guy. It's getting to the point where ex-baller commentators who refuse to give Yao his proper props are risking credibility so the unfair criticisms are a lot less than before.
You know how that'll play on ESPN: "Finally, Yao gets a championship. It makes you wonder why he didn't get one sooner."
They did give props to Yao but hardly enough. Also, Blount's dunk beside Yao was the poster of week and Yao lost self-respect because of that, what load of crap. Yao want even trying to contest that dunk. Mark Blount is a like a camel when chewing gum. That dude has false sense of confidence.
I think the main reason they guys at ESPN and TNT dont give Yao his props is they never faced him. Barkley, Legler, Smith, Anderson, and Dee Brown remember what playing shaq was like and havent played against the slower, fatter, lazier shaq of today. They also never experienced the impact Yao has on a game cuz they never played him. Then they see highlights where shaq may still slam a monster dunk as part of 13 pts and 8 rebounds, and watch Yao throw some sweet jumpers in as part of 25 and 12, so they say Shaq still dominates. I would like them to suit up one time and see how much effort teams go to stop Yao, and mostly are not able to do so. That being said, they are also just reluctant to give Yao much credit. Rox are 14-6 with an on/off Tmac, and 3-0 in games where Tmac has had to leave early due to injury with Yao being the main reason, yet he gets no props. Heat are under .500 yet Wade gets mad props for keeping his team competitive without Shaq even in the pathetic Eastern conference. The nice thing is at least if you read the paper of the road city Yao played in the night before, they have an article about how good he has become. They see it first hand and then realize it. Maybe espn should get their guys out to some Rox games live.
Thank You! I come here for my news bc I know it won't be filled with Houston Hate. Houston Hate (LoL) that's kind of catchy.
They haven't faced Bosh and Howard either. They don't put Howard and Bosh being dunked on by a scrub after a 30pt game. Then again, maybe they don't contest shots like Yao does. Of course, we aren't going to see Allas Irk Nowitzki up there, because his has no D.
There have been guys like Howard and Bosh before.... the old-timers can relate. There hasn't been anybody like Yao Ming... the other 7'6 guys were stiffs, and Yao is the first Asian player to have any success in the NBA.
Yao gets no respect from ESPN because Yao is Chinese. Asians get no respect when it comes to sports. Mainstream media has portrayed Asian males as weak and nerdy, and they are tryin to extrapolate that image onto Yao by repeatedly showing him getting dunked on. It's ridiculous that ESPN gets a good laugh out of Yao standing in the vicinity of a Mark Blount dunk, or Nate Robinson hacking the sh%t out of him.
I would say the predominant portrayal of Asian males in American consumed media is as martial artists. The weak and nerdy image is secondary.
