Week Around the Ists
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Cinematheque: Mulan is finally Chinese again! (and other film news)
Protest in Guangzhou: Why would you burn garbage?
Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey probably has one thing to say to Yao Ming right now: Shut up.
The Houston Chronicle reported earlier this week that the Rockets were going to acquire forward Ron Artest from the Sacramento Kings, bringing a much-needed scoring threat and a strong defensive presence to help Yao and Tracy McGrady.
Yao should have a simple response to a trade for a proven veteran who would give the Rockets one of the NBA's best trios and a shot at an NBA title: "Good move. I can't wait to play with him." Leave the speculating about Artest's past to the media.
But when Yao got word of the trade in Nanjing, where he is getting warmed up for the Olympics with the Chinese national team, he didn't sound too excited. Artest has been involved in some controversial situations, most famously a brawl four years ago at the Palace of Auburn Hills in a game against the Detroit Pistons, which resulted in Artest getting the longest ever NBA suspension for an in-game fight.
Apparently the fighting has Yao concerned. Here are his widely reported comments from Wednesday:
There's worry. Obviously, yes. We will think about it, of course. Hopefully, he's not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands. I haven't talked to Ron yet, so it's hard to say. I have to find a way to talk to him and see what we can do as a basketball team. He has a history. But we know he is a physical player. He is a good player. He really can help us. And Ron is on a contract year, too. I think Ron Artest is a good player if coach (Rick) Adelman can control the team well.The Rockets are Yao's team, but on this one he probably should have followed the lead of teammate Luis Scola, who is also in Nanjing playing with Argentina's national team and had a more positive reaction. "I don't know anybody that knows him personally. So I'm not gonna judge him for anything that I don't know," Scola said. "It's always a help. Great players are always welcome."
It should be noted that the guys Yao is playing with right now — the Chinese national team — have also been known to throw some blows when things get heated on the court. The team was involved in a fray in a game against Lebanon at the 2001 Asian Championships in which Li Nan, who is still playing with the national team, reportedly brandished a pair of scissors. Yao was on the bench at the time and not involved in the fight. More recently, and documented with video evidence, China had a good dust-up with Puerto Rico in the 2005 Stankovic Cup (56.com video).
Artest and Yao finally spoke yesterday, Artest said on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption. "It was great," Artest said of the conversation, adding, "I can't wait to be a part of that team. I don't care if I have to come off the bench. I could be a sixth man, a seventh man. All I want to do is contribute and win a lot of games." Listen to the interview here.
For more China sports news, check out China Sports Today.
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Yao is such a fucking pussy. Man up you little bitch. Basketball is a physical game which sometimes requires you to go 10 rows deep in order to beat down obnoxious punters.
I don't see anything controversial about Yao's statement. He just stated the facts as they are and was actually complimentary to Artest. I think this is media trying to make something out of nothing, as usual.
I agree. He maybe talked a little negatively about the past for a bit too long, but he wasn't out of line. Really, how many people can come up with a perfectly polished response about a controversial person/subject on the spot?
All this shows is that Scola thought a bit more about what he would say when asked then Yao did. So if I were going to critique Yao, I would simply say that he should have a few more prepared responses under his belt in the future.
Give me a break Mags... I mean really, are you kidding me? Artest is a nutcase who's blown his top in public multiple times. And Yao just pretty cooly says 'hey if he's here to play and be cool and not fight then I look forward to it'. He explicitly respects the guys talent several times.
Do you like it better when Yao gives totally BS regurgitated scripted answers like he does for every Olympic related question? If we obsessively recorded every utterance from your mouth, would there never be one sentence free from possible offense to somebody?
This is HARDLY a John Rocker type comment to get wound up about.. Nothing stupider than media jumping down peoples throats so hard that they imply they should never say anything to anybody. And of course the media then will complain when the athletes clam up and refuse to say anything, having been burned for being human and honest...