Yao Ming Talked About the New Season

YaozaMac · Oct 31, 2006

Old Man Rock said:

Yao only spent 1 year with Rudy and he considers him the most influential person in his NBA career. Rudy's the man. Never underestimate the Heart of a Champion!
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Thats the coach that along with CD and LA selected him #1 and believed in him when he was so badly criticized for being a "flop" and a waste of a # 1 pick and all that shiit.

dragonwill · Oct 31, 2006

Luffy1 said:

Time to cut someone and bring back Boki!
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Boki is playing really good this preseason with the Nets.

boby · Oct 31, 2006

Yao's feeling towards Steve really moves me.

pryuen · Oct 31, 2006

Well, even though Yao Ming mentioned that he hoped the Rockets will become NBA Champion in another 3 to 4 years time, he actually aims high and told everybody else that he wants to lead the Rockets deep into the playoff and this season won't end until June.

This is from what he told the leaders of the Chinese community on the night of October 29 in the Yao Restaurant & Bar where he and Ted Borwn, the newly appointed CEO of the Rockets held a banquet for leaders of the Chinese community in Houston to urge for their support.

Following is a recap and photos from that occasion:

http://sports.tom.com/2006-11-01/0424/02840235.html

On the night of 29th, the night before Ted Brown was appointed CEO of the Houston Rockets, Yao Ming and Ted Brown hosted a banquet (around 10 tables) for the leaders of the Chinese community at his Yao Restaurant & Bar.

Due to his injury last season, Yao Ming had very seldom such opportunity to meet his fellow Chinese. Even though the ticket sales for the new season went well, he wanted to use this occasion to urge for their support of his team for the new season.

The audience were amazed at the fluency of Yao Ming's English, as well as his great sense of humour, and very often roared their approval in laughters.

His charisma and control of the audience is just amazing. He said: "We are grouped in the tough Southwest Division of an extremely competitive Western Conference, with teams like San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies. If we want to beat these teams and have higher ranking, how can we have home court advantage ?" Like students, the audience replied: "Tickets." Yao Ming smiled and continued: "As players, we just want the whole Toyota Centre to be filled with spectators and everything on the stands are red. This will surely give us great motivation."

He then gave a Q&A to the audience, his longest Q&A since coming back to Houston. He quipped: "Normally my Q&A stops around 15:00pm in the afternoon, but tonight is an exception."

Someone asked about his toe. Yao Ming smiled: "My experience is that you should not mess up your own toe by tearing off the nail by yourself. The nail on my right toe was taken off by a doctor in Dallas during my 2nd NBA year, and there have been no problem of it so far. As to the nail on my left toe, I took it off myself, and it had troubled me all these years. Now Doctor Talbert (?) had taken care of my left toe nail, and I think it is going to be alright from now on. Dr. Talbert (?) had a clinic in Sugarland. If you have problem on your toes, go for his consultation. Mention my name, and I hope he will give me some commission. He did a fine job on my left toe. And my foot looks much better after the surgery. I don't know whether I can find some part-time jobs as a foot model ??" Everyone cracked into laughters heartily.

Someone asked how far the Rockets can go this season? Yao Ming pondered a while, and said: "We will play to our best capability, and play all the way into June." As everyone knows NBA Final is in June, everyone clapped their approval.

In front of the Chinese community, Yao Ming remembered when he first arrived into Houston. He said: "I really like it here. I still remembered my first impression when I landed from the plane; there were so many (Chinese) waiting there to greet me: old and young. Immediately I don't feel I am a stranger; I feel so at home, so warm. You know, that really helps me alot as I started as a NBA rookie."

As the audience were not from the media, so Yao Ming got all kinds of strange questions. "Do you like watching US TV programs?" Yao Ming somehow remembered his first impression of US TV programs 10 some years ago. "I was here in US for the first time for one of these high school summer training camps. I barely understood English. I turned on the TV in my hotel. And guess what I saw? The famous Jerry Springer Show." Yao Ming could not hold laughing together with the audience.

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professorjay · Nov 1, 2006

Haha. Thanks again pruyen. I bet when Yao turned on the tv and saw the Jerry Springer show he must have thought "What in the world did I just get myself into coming here!?!?"

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