Yao is gonna have one sweet ride

I'm sure Yao got some pretty nice gifts from the two wedding ceremonies he and his wife have had so far in Shanghai and Beijing. Like a toaster and a knife set. But all will pale in comparison to the gift Shaq is planning on getting Yao for his rumored third wedding ceremony in Houston.

"I would give Yao four 24-inch customized rims at his wedding ceremony," Shaq said. Now that is a wedding gift my friends.

Yao is not so enamored with the four-wheeled sports cars, preferring to drive a BMW 7-series rather than more extravagant rides like Ferrari roadsters or SUVs. And the only customized feature of Yao's car is a "Y&Y" logo - for Yao and his wife Ye Li - on the rear.

Come on Yao, it's time to upgarde man.

O'Neal believes that he will be among the guests at the rumored wedding ceremony in Houston. "I am sure he has sent the invitation to me," Shaq said. "I haven't checked my mailbox recently because I travel a lot, but I am sure he did."

Whatever it takes Yao, get that man an invitation pronto. Plus, we all know he'd be fun to have at the reception. Shaq's a much better dancer than Brady Quinn.


-WCK

Yao may be having second thoughts about marriage

This is a very recent photo of Yao and his future bride taken in Lin'an City in the Zhejiang province. According to what I've read, the Chinese frequently take wedding photos before the actual wedding. They aren't officially married yet, but it's coming soon.

Yao looks a bit tense in the photo and it looks like there's an imaginary ball and chain hanging from his neck. Maybe he's having second thoughts about walking the plank or maybe he's just mad. Either way, he ain't real psyched.

As you may remember, Yao is set to marry his longterm sweetheart Ye Li. Some people believe Yao could have done a bit better. The look on Yao's face says he may be thinking the same thing. I hope he invited Brady Quinn to make a fool of himself at the reception.

-WCK

The Chinese hate Sir Charles

Some of you may remember that when Yao Ming entered the NBA in 2002, Charles Barkley was pretty hard on him. Sir Charles once said that he would kiss Kenny Smith's ass if Yao scored 19 points in his entire first season.

Well, this video is years late, but it's an absolute winner. China got pissed - real pissed - at Barkley. So what did they do? They made a Manga cartoon mocking the hell out of him. Which I guess is better than winding up in a Chinese prison.

The site, chinayao.com, no longer exists, so this video, complete with unnecessary Kenny Smith commentary is all we got. It's still worth it though to see a Manga-ized version of Sir Charles on his knees throwing rose pedals at Yao.

-WCK

Playoff Musings: Rockets v. Jazz

Even though AK-47 went crazy in this game (a total of 8 pts!), his incredible outburst wasn't enough to lead the Jazz to victory. T-Mac did his best Steve Nash impersonation by dishing out 16 assists. He also scored 26 pts. Yao had an off night, but was money down the stretch at the free throw line. The man is one hell of a free throw shooter. If Shaq had ever had Yao's touch, he would have gone for 50 a game in his prime. Mehmet Okur, who is best known for playing against himself in a pickup game for a Turkish fruit drink, didn't do his job for the Jazz, scoring only 9 pts. Although the back and forth nature of this matchup would make you think it's a good series, it really hasn't been all that great. Both teams have had totally shabby performances by key players on the road and that 67 point stink bomb the Rockets threw up in Game 3 was a crime against humanity. Plus, a series where it goes exactly according to plan, where the home team wins every game, just isn't exciting.

-WCK