I think Jeff points out something important. That is, there isn't much of a journalistic standard in the Chinese media compared to the US media. So Yang Yi can write in a much more freestyle sort of way like sports columnists we see on webpages. But as others have pointed out, he should be held in somewhat higher regards than the likes of Peter Vecsey because at least he does have real inside info on Yao Ming. Granted, it might not be the most accurate stuff around, but I sure as hell believe it more than the thousands of trade rumors I've been hearing the past few days.
I think some of you guys are also missing the fact that Yang Yi's been writing these types of articles about Yao for *years*. I'm not sure when their career started intersecting... but Yang started giving the "inside" look at Yao's mindset long before he ended up in the NBA. Yao's never shied from sharing his true feelings with the public. He had his own online diary before joining the NBA, and obviously he has his own forum now... and he's always been a very confident guy. And I think those who insist Yao is the "same" in the American and Chinese media are either full of crap, or are simply not reading enough articles. I remember a Chinese article last year... when Yao's quoted as saying (paraphrasing): "it only takes me one game to figure out how to beat someone. Divac (I think) tricked me in our first game... it'll be different when I see him again." I have never seen a comparable, confident (bordering on cocky) quote from Yao in the American press. I think the American Yao's the quiet guy who does his job, who doesn't demand the ball, who doesn't dunk the ball, who makes a few jokes when asked the hard questions... I think in the American press, I've only seen the following "opinions" out of Yao: - he was a great opponent, very strong/skilled... - we can learn from what we saw... - everyone on our team is talented and working hard to win... - turkey doesn't taste all that good... Anyone remember anything else in the American press that's been attributed to Yao? The "Chinese" Yao is *far* more opinionated.
Whoops... my point here was, Yao's been reading these "private conversation" articles from Yang for several years. He's never been upset with them.
