end of Yao Ming's basketball career

[Raze Lupin]

So lads,

We've all received the news that the "Dynasty" has come to a halt.

Two questions:

1. Where does Yao rank on the list of All Time Greatest NBA Internationals?

2. Where doees Yao rank on the list of All Time Greatest Centres?

For question one, I believe that Yao would be in the top 5 of All Time NBA Internationals. My top 5 list, in no particular order would look like this: Yao, Petrovic, Nowitzki, Kukoc and Nash. If not, then Yao definitely is in the top 10 of All Time NBA Internationals.

In regards to the bigger question, where does Yao rank on the list of All Time Greatest Centres, well I would have to say in the top 10, at the highest or at least top 15. He is definitely in the top 20 but whether or not he belongs in the top 10 is a whole different story.

1. Not sure what you mean by internationals. He is in the top 100 of basketball players period. This includes all countries. Ok i understand your question. Yes he is top 5 - 10 easily. That is if you do not included Ewing (Jamaica), Duncan (Virgin Islands). Tony parker has an American father should he be in the list?

2. He is in a list of top 10 to 20 centers of all time.

[Khalid80]

It's never too late to go back to school . I just don't know whether he's up for the challenge

Yao Ming goes back to school

Chinese basketball hero Yao Ming is returning to school, three months after retiring from the game that made him a global star, the state Xinhua news agency reported Monday, citing his agent

The former Houston Rockets player will attend Shanghai's Jiaotong University, one of China's most prestigious institutions, but has not yet decided what he will study, his agent Zhang Mingji said.

But fellow students will not be sitting next to the towering 7-foot-6 (2.29m) Yao. The university will assign him special teachers for one-on-one sessions because he was worried his appearance in class would affect other students.

"Yao has always been learning after retirement," Zhang said. "He has never stopped learning."

Jiaotong, considered one of China's top universities, is renowned for its science and engineering departments.

Yao, whose success on the court made him a hero to hundreds of millions of basketball-mad Chinese, announced his retirement in July.

He enrolled at Jiaotong for his undergraduate degree shortly before heading to the United States to play in the NBA, but was too busy to do the coursework, state media has previously reported.

Copyright 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/Yao-Ming-to-take-college-classes-092711

[CKR13]

Yao is still advocating the permanent ban of Shark's Fin as an ingredient for dishes.

http://justjared.buzznet.com/2011/09/25/yao-ming-ban-shark-fin-soup/

[sinobball]

Basketball star Yao Ming shines as TV commentator

(AFP) – 5 days ago

WUHAN, China — Retired Chinese basketball star Yao Ming has garnered rave reviews for his new role as a commentator on Team China games at the Asian Championships, with colourful insights and playful remarks.

Sports commentators have praised Yao -- who quit the game in July but remains one of the country's top sporting heroes -- for his game analysis and for injecting some humour by poking fun at his former teammates.

"He's made a big difference. He has definitely attracted viewers," the Basketball Pioneer newspaper quoted China Central Television official Qi Xin as saying.

"Audiences always want to hear him. No matter what he says, it becomes a headline."

In a recent post-game interview with China's veteran centre Wang Zhizhi, Yao joked about a rare dunk the 33-year-old former Dallas Maverick threw down on Syria.

"The last time you dunked the ball, your six-year-old son hadn't been born," Yao quipped.

In advising opponents on how to stop Washington Wizard power forward Yi Jianlian, Yao said: "They could try using pepper spray on their hands and wave them in front of Yi's face when he posts up."

During Yao's first turn as a commentator on national broadcaster CCTV on September 15 when China played against Bahrain, Qi said ratings climbed to a hefty 1.3 percent, up from 1.1 percent for the NBA finals.

"Yao not only explains the what, he explains the why and he does it without all of the ranting and rambling that usually accompanies all of that with other announcers both in China and the United States," said the Niubball site which blogs about Chinese basketball.

The seven-foot-six-inch (2.29 metre) Yao, 31, called it quits after being dogged by injuries following an eight-year career with the NBA Houston Rockets.

The hugely popular athlete has been credited with spurring the game's global growth, and serving as an importat cultural bridge between the United States and China.

Actually Yao has revealed that someone tried that pepper spray on him in one of the Asian competitions. He didn't say which team though

[Khalid80]

Yao Ming wine anyone ?

Yao Ming Courts China's Wine Boom

By JASON CHOW

While Yao Ming was growing up in Shanghai, wine was served with ice cubes. It wasn't until the 7-foot-6-inch Chinese basketball star spent time with National Basketball Association teammate Dikembe Mutombo, a 7-foot-2-inch Congolese player, that he began to appreciate wine.

"I always watched him at our dinners and I'd sometimes ask him 'Why are you doing that?'" said Mr. Yao, swirling an imaginary glass. "I was just trying to copy him."

Now retired and living in his native Shanghai, Mr. Yao is an unlikely connoisseur and a trailblazer on the Chinese wine scene. The 31-year-old is launching his own Californian winery geared exclusively for the Chinese market this week called Yao Family Wines.

Distributed by French beverage giant Pernod Ricard SA, bottles in the first 5,000-case run will be labeled simply Yao Ming and aimed at the top end of the market.

The wine, made from cabernet sauvignon grapes harvested in 2009 from California's Napa Valley, is priced at 1,775 yuan (US$289) a bottle. (The price includes a 27% import duty and a 17% sales tax.) A second wine, called Yao Family Reserve, will be released later this year, and its small 500-case production will be even pricier.

"I really like Napa Valley," said the former center. "California represents vacation, casual [living], sunshine—everything related to a good quality of life."

Yao Family Wines currently doesn't own any vineyards in California, but is aiming to acquire land in the next few years.

California couldn't have a better pitchman in China than Mr. Yao. He is one of the country's biggest stars and is credited with boosting China's interest in the NBA. During his nine seasons with the Houston Rockets, his games were broadcast on national television in China, and he was selected to carry China's flag during the opening ceremonies at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He has endorsed everything from Apple Inc. products to his father's Chinese restaurant in Houston.

Mr. Yao's appreciation for wine grew in parallel with its acceptance in his home country—wine consumption in China doubled from 2005 to 2009. But wine imported into China came predominantly from France, and he spotted a market opportunity for Californian wines.

Mr. Yao asked BDA Sports International, the agency that represents him, to explore the idea of starting his own Napa Valley winery. In 2009, with BDA's assistance, he found a team of wine experts to help him realize his vision, including winemaker Tom Hinde, who had made wines for Flowers Vineyard and Winery and Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates. "We tasted a lot of wine together and got to know him in a way so I could express his personality in the wine," said Mr. Hinde. "He's physically imposing, but he's also very personable and gentle. We wanted to capture that in the wine."

Mr. Hinde insists Yao Family Wines isn't a short-lived bid to capitalize on China's wine boom and the star's celebrity before either of them wane. He said the business plan is based on a 10-year timeline.

Mr. Hinde and four others involved with the winery are minority shareholders in the venture, while Mr. Yao is the principal owner. Neither Mr. Yao nor his winemaking team disclosed how much has been invested, though wine-industry experts estimate that it requires $2 million to $5 million to get a winery to reach full production.

While most of the wine sold in China is from domestic sources, the imported market has grown dramatically. Bottled-wine imports—as opposed to cheap bulk wine that is imported in large tanks for bottling in China—grew 240% from 2008 to 2010, according to data from China Customs.

China has a heavy bias toward French wines. Last year, France led bottled-wine imports with a 47% market share. Australia ranked a distant second with 16% of the market. The U.S. came in sixth, trailing Italy, Spain and Chile, with a 6.4% share.

Chinese collectors have bid top dollar for the world's most sought-after bottles of Bordeaux and Burgundy at auctions in Hong Kong, putting the city ahead of London and New York in sales.

In September, an anonymous Chinese bidder spent $539,280 on a single lot of 300 bottles of Château Lafite-Rothschild wine at a Sotheby's wine auction in Hong Kong.

Mr. Yao's new winery isn't his only business venture. He is the owner of his first professional basketball team, the Shanghai Sharks, and an investor in a digital-music site called Top100.cn.

Mr. Yao is also attending classes at Shanghai Jiaotong University. He is going to miss a day of school this week for one of the many launch events scheduled for the new winery.

"I'll need an extra bottle for my history professor so he can give me a good grade and let me skip his class," Mr. Yao said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203764804577059394247295010.html

[Khalid80]

By the way this is the website Yao Ming has setup for his wine business

http://www.yaofamilywines.com/

I believe Jay needs to try this wine in China and tell us all about it (It's a bit expensive though )

[BBallfanJ]

Sounds like Yao won't be bored in retirement. Whether it's being a wine mogul or a basketball commentator, I'm sure he'll find something to keep him busy.

[CKR13]

After politics, Yao eyes the entertainment industry.

Yao Ming eying film business

[CKR13]

Girl paints Yao Ming art using basketball

[CKR13]

Yao Ming is now an active advocate of animal welfare. He is against shark's fin and is helping to put a stop to Bear Bile farms in China. Maybe next Yao will turn vegan.

[CKR13]

Yao Ming Enjoying Time In Houston, Now Excited About Future

[CKR13]

Almost a decade ago, Yao Ming was selected first overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2002 NBA Draft.

[CKR13]

[CKR13]

I find this picture iconic.

[CKR13]

Yao Ming introduces the book called "Yao Ming Opus", a book of photographic chronology spanning on Yao's early years to the present.