END OF THE MING DYNASTY

Being 6ft 5in (1.95m) tall is a mixed blessing in a land of giants.

Among mere mortals, it enables you to tower above most crowds, and draws the usual “what’s the weather like up there” and “do you play basketball” taunts. But when you hang out among true basketballers, 6-5 is really nothing special.

And it’s never less special than when you’re standing in the shadow of 7ft 6in (2.28m), which was exactly where I found myself on the first day of my first tour of China as Tall Blacks media manager back in 2002.

Of course, the man mountain in front of me at the lunch buffet was Chinese hero Yao Ming, who officially retired from the sport last week. At the time, I was just hoping he would leave something for my plate.

Later that day, as we became acquainted with our surroundings in Lushan – an old mountain retreat for the Communist Party – Tall Blacks point guard Mark Dickel wondered if there might be a Yeti living in the nearby forest. Physio Dave Harris mused we could already have one staying in the hotel with us.

Mark and the Kiwis had faced Yao two years earlier at the Sydney Olympics, where he combined with fellow giants Wang Zhizhi and Menke Bateer as the imposing “Great Wall of China”.

But this was my first encounter with him, so the next morning, I hung back after TB practice to catch an early glimpse of Yao in action. It didn’t take long for the locals to realise they were being watching, and I was promptly ushered into the back of a police car and escorted back to the team hotel.

Yao had not yet entered the NBA, but as this tour tipped off, Chinese authorities and the Houston Rockets were haggling over his talents. The Chinese were understandably keen to retain his services for their national team, while the Rockets wanted to make him their marquee player.

Soon after, Houston selected him as top pick of the NBA draft, but one of my vivid memories of this bizarre tour was seeing a frustrated Yao surrounded by little guys in suits, literally trying to drag him in three or four different directions at once. It seemed to sum up his predicament perfectly.

That tug-of-war probably led to his early retirement after a career beset by injury. When healthy, Yao was an eight-time NBA All-Star and absolutely dominant on the world stage.

When he first entered the NBA, few imagined he would be as good as he turned out, perhaps because the international giants before him – players like German Uwe Blab (7ft 1in/21.3m), Sudanese Manute Bol (7ft 7in/2.31m) and Romanian Georghe Muresan (7ft 7in/2.31m) – were little more than circus acts.

NBA legend Charles Barkley promised to kiss the “ass” of former Rockets team-mate Kenny Smith if Yao scored more than 19 points in game during his rookie season. In his eighth outing, Yao had 20 against the Lakers and Barkley duly puckered up for a donkey bought specially for the occasion.

Before their first meeting, Shaquille O’Neal said “Tell Yao Ming, ‘ching chong yang wah ah soh’”, prompting accusations of racism. Yao said he believed Shaq was just joking, then rejected his shot twice in the opening minutes of a 10 points/10 rebounds/six blocks performance.

But in the last six years, he missed about 250 games to a range of mainly stress-related problems to his feet and legs. There were undoubtedly times when both teams could have made allowances for such a rare talent, but the physical toll of satisfying two masters became too much.

In the end, a broken left foot, suffered during the 2009 NBA playoffs caused him to miss the entire 09/10 schedule and let him down again early last season. There was no way back from that.

But Yao’s contribution to the sport didn’t end with his prowess on the court. He really popularized basketball and the NBA in Asia, opening up the world’s biggest market in terms of population.

Much of that had to do with the dignity and poise with which he conducted himself throughout all the frustrations. He helped raise money for a variety of causes in China and personally contributed $US2 million to Sichuan earthquake relief in 2008.

On hearing of his retirement, NBA commissioner David Stern credited Yao with “a wonderful mixture of talent, dedication, humanitarian aspirations and a sense of humour”.

Surely the Tall Blacks’ most remarkable encounter with Yao came at the 2002 world championships in Indianapolis when New Zealand faced China in a must-win pool game. The Asian champions got out to an early 20-point lead, but the Tall Blacks clawed their way to an historic victory that sent them through to the quarterfinals.

Yao produced a perfect shooting night for 27 points, but also featured in two incidents that will long stay with anyone who was there that night. He had to sit early in the fourth quarter after Pero Cameron cleverly faked him into the air for his fourth personal foul – PC was shooting from the arc and made all three free throws in a pivotal play.

But, to be fair, the Chinese colossus had been getting a raw deal from the referees, who were allowing a fired-up Rob Hickey to get away with absolute murder at the defensive end. Poor Yao seemed on the verge of tears.

At one point, he tumbled to the floor right in front of the Kiwi bench, and Rob stood over him, yelling “All night long, mate ... all night long”.

Classic.

Thanks for the memories, Yao.

WHEN LOSING IS HARD TO SWALLOW

Been thinking a lot about the word “choker”.

I hate that term. I think it’s used by people who are trying to blame someone for their own sense of betrayal.

Anyone using the word probably needs to take a closer look at themselves.

According to an ESPN poll, 70% of Americans (or at least the 75,000 who have nothing better to do that respond to online polls) are feeling betrayed by the same women’s soccer team that had captured their imaginations over the past three weeks. In case you missed it, they were beaten by Japan in a penalty shootout at the FIFA World Cup.

Many Kiwis are feeling the same way about the Silver Ferns’ OT loss to Australia at the world netball championships.

People, get over it!

The reason I hate the word “choker” is that it’s based on an assumption that someone “should” win. And the thing I love most about sport (and the reason I never bet on it) is that anything can happen and often does.

Just ask the Wallabies after they unraveled against Manu Samoa over the weekend.

Anyone remember the 2002 America’s Cup when Black Magic was supposed to sail rings around the challenger, but sank?

Americans probably invented the expression “choker” because they pretty much expect their teams to win any time they take the sporting field.

The benchmark for “choking” was set low by a Buffalo Bills NFL team that lost four consecutive Super Bowls from 1990-93. Of course, they’re also the only club to ever play in four consecutive Super Bowls, but that’s conveniently overlooked.

Using the “c” word automatically disrespects the winners. It doesn’t give them any credit for a performance that was superior on the day for any number of reasons, whether it be preparation, inspiration or simply dumb luck.

This week, the American public underestimated the Japanese courage and resilience (as if history hadn’t thrown up enough previous examples of that) and got caught up in the hype around their own team, despite a loss to Sweden in pool play.

To be fair, sports are often guilty of cranking up expectations to an unreasonable extent for commercial reasons. If you make big promises, you run the risk of wearing that “choker” label when you fall short.

That’s why athletes are often at pains to claim underdog status - something about under-promising and over-delivering. Are you making notes, LeBron James and the Miami Heat?

You can almost understand the “choker” tag if it’s applied to a team or individual with a record of not winning on the biggest stage. For a long time, leftie Phil Mickelson had that reputation in golf, until he captured the first of his now four Majors.

But the US soccer women are reigning Olympic champions, so they’ve delivered in the past and very recently. Closer to home, the Ferns took Commonwealth Games gold last year in almost identical circumstances to the way they lost this month’s world championship final.

Which raises another point – just because someone won last time doesn’t mean they should win next time. Sport doesn’t work like that and anyone who thinks it does has either never played it at any competitive level or they’ve conveniently forgotten.

Here’s something else for the armchair critics to consider – maybe the Silver Ferns simply aren’t as good as their Australian counterparts. Maybe their previous successes – and there have been a few – are more a case of overachievement.

There aren’t many sports where New Zealand can justifiably expect to beat their rivals from across the Tasman, given the Aussies’ bigger population base and more advanced talent development structures. Rugby may be the only one and even that advantage isn’t as clearcut as it used to be.

Several teams, though, have shown they can compete and steal the odd victory, often significant ones. The rugby league Kiwis are a good example and so are basketball’s Tall Blacks.

I would submit the Ferns are another. At no stage in their history have they dominated the rivalry enough to justify outright favouritism against the Diamonds.

Sure, the NZ women held a six-goal halftime lead, but even that doesn’t mean they should have won. Top-level contests are usually a case of ebbs and flows, and often decided by who gets the last laugh.

If you’re a sports fan, it’s OK to feel disappointed, but remember that's nothing compared to what the players and coaches are felling, having invested physically, emotionally and financially over years for this shot at glory.

Take a step back, look at the bigger picture and try to appreciate the positives rather than get caught up in the vicious negative spin.

They say sport doesn’t develop character; it reveals it. That applies as much to those on the sidelines as it does to those within them.

THOUGHTS FROM THE RECLINER (PART UNO)

So, while the search for meaningful employment continues, I've reacquainted myself with all that SKY Sport has to offer. Sad, but true :-/

 

Here's some random thoughts about some of the world's sporting events over the past few days ...

 

Super 15 Final

Well done to the Reds! This is a team with virtually no culture of success until this season, so winning the title in their first visit to the final cannot be underestimated.

Spearheaded by electrifying backs Will Genia, Quade Cooper and Digby Ioane, they've been the most exciting outfit to watch throughout the competition. But don't overlook the contribution of their forwards either - you don't win big games unless you can win a reasonable share of the ball. 

Much has been said about how far the Crusaders have had to travel during a season with no home ground. Under the circumstances, making the final was probably achievement enough.

Year in and year out, the Crusaders have been the most consistent performers in the various forms of this competition and that's nothing to sneeze at. They may have bowed to a team with more spark this time, but you know they'll be there or thereabouts again next year.

You probably can't say that about the Reds yet.

And, by the way, just because the Aussies took out the Super 15 doesn't mean they'll win the World Cup. Different ball game, different style of play.

Now, SKY, quit with the endless replays already!

Women's soccer

Seriously!

If you can't get excited by the US team's performance at the FIFA World Cup in Germany, well, you obviously haven't been watching the ESPN coverage.

You kinda expect Americans to get excited about any American, but not so much women's sport. And the gals have done their part, confronting the legacy left by the 1999 championship team, losing to Sweden in pool play, having to beat archrivals Brazil in the quarters and prevailing on penalties after drawing level in the final seconds of OT ...

Commentators have wrung their hands as star striker Abby Wambach struggled with form and injury, but overcame both to carry her team to the title game on Sunday.

It's better than a whole season of Desperate Housewives - is that show still running? - and you just know this is will continue to be a compelling story right up until the Americans beat Japan in the final. Then the displays of nationalistic pride will become just a little too much to stomach any longer. 

Still, it's been a fun (armchair) ride.

And spare a thought for the Football Ferns, who gave the Japanese all they could handle before losing their tournament opener 2-1. Like their male counterparts last year, the Kiwi women provided a glimpse of what's possible with consistent exposure to the world's best teams.

Now the goal must be consistency in opportunities and consistency in performance.

MLB Home Run Derby

Back, back, back zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

There are only so many ways Chris Berman can describe a home run.

The one thing that salvaged this snorefest was the fact winner Robinson Cano had his dad pitching to him. This was a great father-son moment and you simply couldn't watch it without thinking about all the things your own dad had done for you during your life.

Baseball now has 12 months to think up a new plot twist to make the next edition vaguely watchable.

Steve Stricker

OK, so usually USPGA Tour events aren't that interesting, especially when they're won with scores like 30 under par. Golf just isn't meant to be that easy.

But Stricker joined a pretty elite band of threepeaters, including Woods, Nicklaus, Palmer, and Hogan, with his third straight victory at the John Deere Classic. And he did it by squandering a five-shot lead on the final nine holes, falling two behind and then holing from the fringe of the last green.

If only all golf was that thrilling. If only I could produce that kind of comeback against my mother!