Interesting article from the New York Times. Looks like Houston will be residing at the epicenter of basketball excitement for the next few years! (Fingers crossed...) http://nytimes.com/2002/12/29/sports/29LIPS.html Some highlights - "The answer to the question Who's New? in sports is now Yao. The Houston Rockets' 7-foot-6 Chinese center, Yao Ming, is the future looming. In 2002, as in all years, the zero sum balance means there must be a Who's Through? And that's Shaq. Which is not to say that Shaquille O'Neal is toast or that he won't win another ring with the Los Angeles Lakers. We will see him in ads and holiday specials for years; the light from a dead star shines for eons. It just means that Shaq, like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, is no longer about breathless possibility. While Shaq and Tiger move inexorably from ESPN to ESPN Classic (Michael is already there), Yao will mature before our eyes on "SportsCenter."
Too much hype going around and that is not good for Yao. He is not a bust for sure, but he is also no God! Please please those media guys, LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!
I agree! Did you see when they interviewed Yao on Sportscenter and they asked him if he was sick of the media watching his every move, and of course his answer was "Yes". It's gotta be kind of frustrating for him how fickle the media's being with him. When he wasn't scoring, they were talking about how they "knew all along that he couldn't survive in the NBA". But now that he's getting better everyone wants to say how they've supported him from the start. I know it's annoying me at least.
OK here it is: Yao Is Now, O'Neal Is Out, Jury Out on Rose By ROBERT LIPSYTE The answer to the question Who's New? in sports is now Yao. The Houston Rockets' 7-foot-6 Chinese center, Yao Ming, is the future looming. In 2002, as in all years, the zero sum balance means there must be a Who's Through? And that's Shaq. Which is not to say that Shaquille O'Neal is toast or that he won't win another ring with the Los Angeles Lakers. We will see him in ads and holiday specials for years; the light from a dead star shines for eons. It just means that Shaq, like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, is no longer about breathless possibility. While Shaq and Tiger move inexorably from ESPN to ESPN Classic (Michael is already there), Yao will mature before our eyes on "SportsCenter." This is good, and certainly better in sports than in everyday life, where chasing the new to stay in the now — hooking up with strangers or betting on a fresh stock — is often defeating. The fungibility of athletes is the basis of much of sports' charm; we appreciate Joe DiMaggio, Sandy Koufax and Jim Brown, who, for various reasons, quit before they bored or embarrassed us. Yao Ming is far more than a genetic freak show; he is a schooled and talented athlete, tough and smart. He is also the most visible of a remarkable wave of Asian performers sweeping into American concert halls and sports arenas. The impact of Japanese baseball players, South Korean female golfers and now, assuming Yao has inspired a long march to the hoop back home, Chinese basketball players, may be as significant as the impact of African-Americans. The imported competition does not mean that African-Americans are Through; for example, all hail King James. LeBron James, the 18-year-old high school senior also known as Bron Bron, is so compelling that his games have been televised. There has been no fevered discussion about his college plans because he has none; LeBron is N.B.A.-bound. Given the fatally corrupted state of big-time college sports (the non-Division I schools have their issues, too), LeBron's jump may some year be noted as a signal that the National Collegiate Athletic Association is Through. Tiger Woods is careering toward Throughness through no fault of his own; poor Tiger's piece of the controversy over the all-male membership of the Augusta National Golf Club is an albatross. I'm in conflict over what he should say about that dead white bird. On one hand, as a citizen with a platform he should feel some responsibility to stand up for equal rights. On the other hand, I am uncomfortable with children listening to understandably ignorant athletes, used mostly to sell unnecessary apparel and junk food, being used for political and social commentary (Check the networks' jocks in the box for stunning shallowness.) Meanwhile, we will have not only Master's Madness to deal with in the new year. There are a number of pressing women's issues. The recruitment of stars for high school teams and the W.N.B.A. makeover in the N.B.A. mode are harbingers of the masculinization of the conduct of women's sports. There is the struggle to save Title IX, the return of the Women's World Cup (was it a one-shot?) and the subtle shift in women's thinking about sports from fitness to competition. Lance Armstrong was Sports Illustrated's inspired and inspiring choice for Athlete of the Year, but he's probably Through, too. If he wins a fifth Tour de France, ho hum, we'll probably niggle that his times on the hills weren't as fast as last year's. My own choice for athlete of the year is Esera Tuaolo, the former N.F.L. defensive lineman who came out in 2002. His courage in a homophobic SportsWorld befits what we have been conditioned to believe about football players. Too often we've been disappointed, not the least by several of Tuaolo's teammates who were concerned that showering with a known gay man would cause people to question their masculinity. To be Who's New requires support from the market; if you are not bankable (Esera might get a Subaru commercial, but what else?) there's not going to be the critical commercial drumbeat. Can the Ukrainian brothers Klitschko move product? Powerhouse heavyweight boxers Wladimir and Vitali are colorful and buff, but they will have to score some major knockouts to replace Mike Tyson, the sport's only true Newness since last century. And it's hard to imagine Tyson (New and Through and New and Through for years) getting any commercial endorsement deal besides a home security system. Certain sports, like ice hockey and American soccer, may never produce a crossover star. Nascar has a chance in 2003 with its new champion, Tony Stewart. Stewart has the sullen good looks, humor and talent of the young Elvis along with a quick temper that lights up an obviously pretty decent guy. Jeff Gordon is cute and gifted, but his public personality has been bland. Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt had the goods to be crossover megastars, but Nascar wasn't on national TV when they were burning up Southern tracks. We must remember that simply being the best is not enough to be New (two-word explanation: Barry Bonds) although sometimes you don't even have to be particularly talented (Anna Kournikova). A few will be Forever New (Muhammad Ali, who turned 60 in 2002) and even fewer have been Through so long they have a chance to be New again (Pete Rose). The world has changed since 1989, when Commissioner Bart Giamatti, who was more fan than insider, banned Rose permanently for conduct not in the best interests of baseball. Giamatti said he believed Rose had bet on Cincinnati games and others when he managed the Reds, a charge Rose denies. Since then, the Charlie Hustles of Wall Street have bet on their own games with devastating effects on the national economy and on individual lives. Even if Rose is guilty, and I have no opinion or information, the injuries he perpetrated may seem quaint and mostly self-inflicted to a new generation. So who knew that the Who to watch starting this week would be Pete Rose? He just may be New. May you be, too.
I just wish they all just stop bothering the poor kid and let him grow and play basketball. He has way too much pressure already.
Unfortunately, this is the US where hype is king espcially in the case of budding superstars in a major sport. Don't worry, all the attention will be on LeBron James or the next phenom next season so enjoy the Yao hype while you can!
Yep. And I think I've already seen him. There's some 8th grader that they're trying to hype up now. They had him on CNN claiming he was already being scouted. It's really getting out of hand.
