Yeah, I was wondering about that. If he had said, "I know everyone's just going to say Moochie dribbles too much, but Yao really is a class act," that'd been ok. A non-sequitor, granted; but at least you can count on someone thinking Moochie dribbles too much.
There's no question that Yao is among the league's classiest players. I just wish the bar were higher. Yes, he's classier than the alleged rapist in L.A. or the gang-banger in Philadelphia or the gypsies, tramps and thieves in Portland. He's classier than all the dope smokers and trash talkers and tattoo canvases and the frequent fathers who have 7 children with 7 different mothers. The Rockets have been lucky to have a long history of classy stars. Hakeem, especially in the second half of his career, was considered the classiest player in the NBA. Clyde Drexler was a great guy. Ralph Sampson, Moses Malone, even back to Rudy T and Calvin Murphy -- they all performed on the court and behaved well off the court. Yao is adding to that tradition. It's too bad his class act is such a glaring exception in the league, rather than the rule.
You can't say from what we see of the players who is the classiest. You have no idea how classy any of these guys are. Therefore my pick of the classiest player goes to someone I went to school with for 8 years,--- T.J. FORD>
I think you're being a bit hard on the league. Yes, they do have rapists (alleged and convicted), gang-bangers, trash talkers, dope smokers and the rest, but it is not as if everyone in the league is like that. I'd say it is more the exception than the rule.
