land Trail Blazers in the first round and we were in a battle with the?Los Angeles Lakers?in the second round when Yao broke his foot. That was our?year.W

When I got traded to the Houston Rockets in 2004 I really didnt know Yao Ming. Hed been in the league a few years, wed both been to the All-Star Game and we played against each other a few times, but I had never talked to him.I didnt think he could speak any English and I was worried about that. I thought: How is this going to work?I had just won the last two scoring titles with the Orlando Magic, but I was so excited to be playing with a great big man that I knew I was going to have to work with him and feed him the ball. But to do that, we needed communication.How would I talk to him on the court? Would I have to look over at an interpreter on the bench every time we needed to say something to each other? I was thinking maybe wed have earpieces or something.When I finally met him, I realized two things: he does speak English and not only does he speak it, he has an amazing sense of humor.I loved seeing his personality come out more and more over the years as he got more comfortable in Houston. Thats how I really learned what an amazing person he is. He will sometimes just pretend he doesnt speak English -- he does that even to this day!I remember when he came to my wedding reception in 2006. My family and friends were so excited and they all wanted to take pictures and get autographs, and he pretended he couldnt understand them. I just had to sit back and laugh.Man, you never really get over his size, a guy who is 7-foot-6 and that big. Even now when we stand next to each other, I cant get over it.Thats why Yao getting into the Hall of Fame is so deserved. His skills for a man his size were just unbelievable. He could do everything. He could post up, score with either hand, shoot a jumper, he had an array of moves. He could block shots. He passed so well and thats so rare for a guy his size.?Id never played with a big man of his caliber. I didnt know he was that skilled before I came to the Rockets, but then I saw it every day in practice, every day before games, after games. He really put in the work to perfect his craft -- he even took our technical foul shots because he was that great of a free throw shooter.He had a mean streak, too. Youd see it come out whenever hed get dunked on.Then there was Yaos impact on the global game. You have to understand, before him, basketball wasnt popular in China. I had made trips there before he came into the league, and there was basketball, but it wasnt a part of the Chinese culture.Now, theres over 300 million people in China playing because of Yao Ming.I saw it. I felt it. That is his legacy. He brought NBA basketball to China and I will forever be thankful that I was able to be a part of it. He introduced the country to Tracy McGrady.?We were their heroes. They didnt see Michael Jordan play, they saw us. They saw Yao.In 2007, there was a game we played in Houston against the Milwaukee Bucks when they had former No. 6 overall pick and fellow Chinese star, Yi Jianlian. It was just a regular-season game, but 200 million people watched in China.Thats Yaos impact. I was in awe.When I think of the six seasons we played together, it hurts. Its tough for me to speak about even now. We never got a fair chance because of injuries.We couldve had a championship team, Yao and me. We had several great opportunities. There were times when we were thriving. But we could never be healthy; its so unfortunate. The one year we had the team -- wed gotten Luis Scola, Shane Battier, Kyle Lowry, Carl Landry, Ron Artest -- I was thinking that was the year.Then I blew out my knee. I was devastated. That team was so good. The guys beat the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round and we were in a battle with the?Los Angeles Lakers?in the second round when Yao broke his foot. That was our?year.What if. So many what ifs.We still had some great memories. We hosted the All-Star Game in Houston together and we both addressed the crowd before the game and he spoke in English, Ill always remember that. It was awesome.We had a 22-game winning streak in 2007-08, the fourth-longest run in NBA history. Even then, Yao got hurt after the 12th win. If we had something to hold onto, thats it. When we were both healthy, we really were great together.Yao is truly a great and humble person. You just cant recognize his accomplishments on the court without seeing his kindness and humbleness off it. I am proud to call Yao my friend.He opened so many doors. He personally put me in position to have a life after basketball. Im so lucky to have had a chance to know him, play with him and to work with him. He has a legacy very few have, and he has been and will continue to be a great influence.Its what he does, its who he is. Cheap Vapormax Online . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Cheap Vapormax Sale . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. http://www.vapormaxcheapaustralia.com/ . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. Cheap Vapormax Australia . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Vapormax Australia Cheap . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013.Despite losing six of their last eight games, the St. Louis Cardinals are clinging to top spot in the TSN.ca MLB Power Rankings, just ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox. The Cardinals were ripe to be overtaken, but two of their closest challengers from the last weeks rankings, the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds, ran into their own troubles. Detroit lost six of their last seven games, falling from second to seventh, while Cincinnati lost seven of nine and starting pitcher Johnny Cueto was put back on the DL, so they dropped from third to eighth. Moving up this week, the Tampa Bay Rays are 8-4 in their last dozen games, thanks in part to a strong bullpen, and they climb from 16th to 12th. The Cleveland Indians had the biggest move up, seven spots from 20th to 13th, as they moved into the AL Central lead and got shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera back from injury. Having baseballs hottest hitter, secoond baseman Jason Kipnis, doesnt hurt their case either.dddddddddddd Its been a good time for baseball in Los Angeles, over the last week. The Dodgers, who have been a mess for most of the season, have won eight of nine and moved from 22nd to 16th in the rankings, while the Angels have been even worse, yet six straight wins moved them up to 22nd from 27th. The Dodgers gain stands in contrast to much of their NL west compatriots, as the Rockies (11th to 15th), Giants (12th to 19th) and Padres (14th to 21st) all tumbled. Finally looking like a competitive team, the Toronto Blue Jays are 3-5 since their 11-game winning streak, but moved up from 15th to 14th, due largely to getting shortstop Jose Reyes back from the disabled list. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '