Minnesota Governor Jesse "The Body" Venture havin' a good time in Beijing! http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/2002/06/11/news/local/3442140.htm Hoops star commands Ventura's attention BY PATRICK SWEENEY Pioneer Press BEIJING, China — Gov. Jesse Ventura is in China to promote Minnesota exports, but he had a potential import on his mind Monday: Yao Ming, the 7-foot-5 Chinese basketball star. Ventura, an ardent Minnesota Timberwolves fan, joked with a Chinese government official that he would love the Wolves to have a chance at signing Yao, a member of the Shanghai Sharks who has received rave reviews from the NBA scouts. Yao was subject of lighthearted banter Monday between Ventura and Li Zhaoxing, China's vice minister of foreign relations, during an hour-long meeting that was closed to reporters. Kit Borgman, a spokesman for the Minnesota Trade and Economic Development Department, said that while Ventura and Li talked about promoting trade between Minnesota and China — the purpose of Ventura's trip to Beijing — they also talked sports. Borgman said Ventura and Li touched on soccer, China's women's volleyball team and particularly Yao. " 'There is one thing you can do for me: Give me the basketball player,' " Borgman quoted Ventura as saying. "The governor said, 'We've got Kevin Garnett, but if we had your guy we'd win,' " Borgman said. The Timberwolves have not been in contention for drafting Yao. Recent reports indicated that Chinese officials, who had insisted that part of Yao's potential NBA salary be paid to the government, may be reluctant to allow him to leave China. Houston Rockets officials plan to visit Shanghai to talk about acquiring rights to Yao from the Sharks. On the bigger subject of sales to China by Minnesota companies, Borgman reported that Ventura said his trade mission to Beijing and Shanghai is focused more on developing relationships than on securing immediate contracts. "The governor reiterated that he was there intending to make good connections, and his view was that the United States should have an open door to China, and he said the same thing about Cuba," Borgman said. The meeting between Ventura and Li was their second. Li, a former Chinese ambassador to the United Nations and later to the United Nations, visited Ventura in the Twin Cities in January 2000. "It was a very friendly discussion. You could tell they liked each other, or knew each other," Borgman said.
Let's trade Cato for the governor. We need an enforcer down low, don't we? Anyone touches Yao, we sic Ventura on his @$$.
