He basically stood in front of national TV and said that Yao should get the props he deserves. He said that he received a lot of emails from fans that said he didn't give Yao enough props, so he felt like he needed to clear up everything and give Yao his props. This was right before his show about Sebastian Telfair.
He's on now on ESPN2. That's the one thing about SAS, love him or hate him, he's more than willing to stand up and say he was wrong. He admitted a few days ago that he was wrong about something (can't remember what) and said that he makes mistakes in his analysis of things and is more than willing to face up to the fact that he was wrong about something. I respect that.
Someone call an ambulance... I have just fallen and cracked my head on the keyboard. Seems I fainted for some strange reason. Wonder what... Freaking Stephen ARS-HOLE Smith jumping on... Barkley will be next.
Wow and I just started a will steven a smith give Yao his props thread last week. You ask you shall recive.
I saw it, but I still didn't really care for what he said / how he said it. He talked about how "at 7 foot 5, you're supposed to dominate", and blah blah blah. But he, and all these other idiots, were the people saying that Yao Ming would never amount to anything. Then when Yao proved them wrong, they changed their tune to "well, he's not good enough". Now S.A.S. says "he has been dominating, BUT that's what he's supposed to do". It just reeks of someone not wanting to REALLY admit he was wrong, but rather just trying to cover all his bases.
And now, when the Rockets start losing games because they're playing without McGrady, all the backlash will come back again. Just watch. "Everyone was making a big deal about Yao last week, but clearly he's not so great when the Rockets really need him to be!" Yeah, that pisses me off to no end. How many 7'5 players in the league have dominated? The reason Yao is unique is that he's a very good player despite being so big. When Garnett started averaging 13+ rebounds a game a few years back, no one said, "Well he's supposed to be getting all those boards. He's a seven footer and freakishly athletic!" Basically, people look down on Yao no matter what he does. He's constantly improved, and now that he's putting up some nice numbers people are complaing that he should have been doing it from the very beginning. None of these analysts are responding, "Good for him. He's been constantly improving throughout his career, and now you can see that he's developing into a great player." Instead it's, "Finally. What took him so long to realize that he's 7'5?" Idiots.
Do you smell the faint odor of racism here? I think this has always been a issue with Yao Ming. The Chinese and basketball, doesn't fit the racial stereotype, can't happen. If a White M. J. every surfaces in the league, watch what happens. It would take years for them to gain credibility. Remember what Isaiah said about Larry Bird?
Can you make a "McGrady makes miracle recovery, as Rockets make their way to first title since the 'Dream' years"? Thanks in advance.
Now THAT sounds like SAS, backhanded compliment of Yao that is really more insulting than complimentary. I hate the guy, never have or ever will watch his "Quite Frankly" show, he is a loudmouth, from the hood broadcaster that exploits the American penchant for loud, over the top TV and radio personalities like Howard Stern, Jerry Springer and SAS.
Even people from NYC can tell you they agree with me: THAT QUEENS ACCENT AND ATTITUDE THAT GOES WITH IT GRATES AT YOUR VERY BEING!!!
Smith is an idiot. What is it about our culture that gives a goofus like him a national stage, and people actually listen to what he says and discuss it at length?? Who cares? There are several members and admins right here who would make Smith look sillier than he does already, given the chance, and have some intelligent and entertaining stuff to share with the nation. He finally gives Yao some "props??" The dude needs to prop himself up in a corner, out of the way, and give his air time to people with some brains, common sense, and the fearlessness to tell it like it is.
Beat ya! http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=2231981&postcount=11 But I didn't think it deserved it's own thread.
That kind of garbage pisses me off too. If that were the case, Two Sandwiches Hamilton should be as much of a force in the NBA as Shaq. They were the same size.
I don't smell racism. Maybe it is because of my sinus issues but what I see is just the regular bashing and hazing that goes with being a #1 pick and a highly celebrated player especially a foreigner (white or black). Heck people were waiting to bashe Lebron (who is black) so hard when he came into the league but he shut everyone up within the first two weeks of entering the NBA. Now had he struggled like Yao in the begining, he would have heard it. Trust me, if you earn respect - no one can tae it away from you like Yao is doing now. I do not see anything out of the ordinary save for a few knuckleheads like DickyV and a few others who never gave Yao a chance from the begining.
It's possible, and surely is a factor to some people. Another aspect though, is the fact that he comes from Communist China. My first thoughts of Yao when I read about him, were along the lines of him being a genetic engineered govt project, although I didn't really believe that. After following him for a short time, I grew to love Yao, and what he stands for-not China, but a good person, not arrogant, a genuine nice guy, who the league needs-a real role model. My Dad was critical of him at first, citing that he's from Communist China, and that a large portion of his earnings were going straight to China. This thought process isn't racial, but it could be perceived this way. My .02
I've always felt that the fact that he's from China has had something to do with the critics. But more than that, I've always felt that a lot of the criticism has been people trying to substantiate their predictions. Before Yao Ming came to the NBA, every analyst, writer, and sportscaster gave a prediction on how Yao Ming would do. A LOT of folks predicted he'd fail. And so they have been loud with criticism, trying to back-up their claims that he would be a bust. They wanted him to fail, so that they were correct. And after his first few weeks in the NBA (and pretty consistently since then), the same analysts were saying "see, I told you so, Yao Ming is a bust, he'll never amount to anything, look at me, I'm right". Since then, Yao Ming has challenged their predictions of failure, but the critics would not be quieted. They responded by saying that he is a disappointment, and that Yao Ming would never become a top-tier player. That still let them hold on to their predictions of "bust" by re-defining the expectations. And now that Yao Ming has gone through a truly remarkable string of play, the same critics are holding their tongues. Those who do speak-up (like S.A.S.) are doing so with these sort of "back-handed" compliments like "Yao Ming is dominating like he's supposed to", so that there is no credit given even now. Never mind that none of these folks thought Yao Ming would be as good as he has been to this point, even without the recent surge. But let's not kid ourselves into thinking that the media has finally accepted Yao Ming. The next time he has a less than stellar game, or goes through a minor slump, the critics will resume their old standbys. They'll say that "Yao Ming just doesn't have the ability to be consistent", or that "Yao Ming will never be more than a streaky player". Heck, if he falters against the Spurs, I'm sure we all know exactly what we'll hear: "He can dominate against scrubs, but not against the elite -- he's just not good enough". The simple fact is that these idiots have been proven wrong over and over again, and they just don't want to admit it. And they won't -- in the national media, Yao Ming can't win. But our team has him, and we support him. And it will feel even that much better when Yao and TMac bring a championship to Houston.
