Hooped Up

Recently the suits at Fox decided to give MadTV the axe and as a fan of the comedic arts, I feel kinda bummed.  This show wasn’t afraid to cross the line and nobody and nothing was off topic for 14 seasons. The best thing about this show is that they had lots of love for basketball and regularly had basketball related skits that were hilarious.  

So to say good bye, I give you the Top 5 funniest MadTV basketball related skits.

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What started out as an “easy win” game against the struggling Thunder, turned out the be a possible nightmare.

“Tracy McGrady tweaked his left knee - the one that had off-season surgery - early in the third quarter and dragged his leg over to the bench, where he sat for the rest of the night. Yao hurt his left foot - the one that had the broken bone last season - in the fourth quarter and took a seat with T-Mac. Artest went crashing into the row of cameras beyond the baseline and rolled his right ankle in the final minute. It turned what should have been a walkover win against the lowly Thunder into a harrowing experience.”

Houston Chronicle

Does Yao Ming getting dunked on count as news anymore???  Any who. With help from Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler throws down the alley-oop with authority on the world of Yao Ming.

Yes I’m channeling Bill Walton on this one and yes this dunk was so worth the technical!

Ron-Ron can’t catch a break!  A few days ago in the game between the Rockets and Mavericks. Artest picked up a suspect technical foul when he ran to the aid of teammate Yao Ming as a peacemaker after a hard Josh Howard foul . Immediately after the game, the Rockets appealed the call but according to the Houston Chronicle the NBA has decided to upheld the technical foul ruling.

I call shenanigans on this one! Josh Howard hit Yao Ming like he asked him to sing the Star Spangled Banner and the ref was more concerned about Ron-Ron. 

Shenanigans!

Despite reports of Yao Ming retiring from International play next year, Yao has set the record straight about the reports.

“NBA Houston Rockets center Yao Ming has denied reports that he will quit the Chinese national team. In an interview after a Rockets’ training course early Wednesday, Yao said he did not know the source of the release, the sohu.com reports. He said that he and China’s top basketball administration are the only reliable sources of the news about his future with the national team.”

CRI.cn

The man that put Chinese basketball on the map and was the focus of the Beijing Olympics, may be calling it quits from international play according to the China Daily.  At the young age of 28, Yao Ming has reportedly aimed for next year to be his last as a member of the Chinese national basketball team.  

The report quoted an unidentified source closely associated with the NBA all-star center as saying: “Yao has expressed his idea of retiring from international competitions.”"Yao is 28 and has played for the national team in three Olympic Games. He said this team (which competed in the Beijing Games) is the strongest in history and he feels he is unable to play for it any more”

I’m sure that the Chinese government will have the last say about Yao Ming’s retirement and if you ask me, I’m sure we’ll see him in the 2012 Olympic games in the UK.

That’s just communism baby.

According to the 2008 Hurun China Rich Report, (a.k.a China’s Rick James Report) Yao Ming is now ranked 987th on the list with a personal worth of  $103 million USD (700 million yuan) making him the richest sports figure in China.  If I was rich, Chinese and Magic Johnson trivia knowledge was recognized as a worldwide currency; I’d so make the crap out of this list! 

In short, Yao Ming is ballin’!

The NBA has signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with China’s largest brewery Tsingtao Brewery Co. that will fund sports and dance competitions related to the NBA in the country, according to Bloomberg.

It will sponsor a nationwide search for an NBA China Dance Team which will train in the US. Tsingtao will also help finance a tour of basketball caravans across China. Last month the NBA opened two merchandise stores in downtown Beijing.

It plans as many as a thousand to cash in on spiraling interest fueled by the success of Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.

CCTV

Have you seen all the NBA jerseys in the stands at the Beijing Olympics?  Chances are you have and here are the top 10 jerseys you are likely to see continuously throughout the Olympic games. Please don’t say that you can’t believe Yao Ming is 10th on the list in his own country.  

Players are players and jerseys are jerseys.  

2007-08 Top Selling Jerseys in China:

1. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
2. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
3. Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets
4. Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
5. Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets
6. Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards
7. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
8. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
9. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
10. Yao Ming, Houston Rockets