Is Yao overrated?

HOUSTON–There seems to be a flaw in the voting system the National Basketball Association (NBA) adopts to choose the starters for the East and West teams in the annual All-Star Game. Fans all over the world are given the chance to vote for the starters. More than rewarding players for their performance on the court, the balloting is nothing more than a popularity contest.

Because of China’s mammoth population of over 1.3 billion, it’s no wonder Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is the perennial choice as the West starter. He’s been voted to start the last four years, thanks to the deluge of votes from the Mainland.

This year’s balloting was held from last Nov. 15 to Jan. 22 with fans voting in the 29 NBA arenas (the Staples Center is home to two Los Angeles teams, the Lakers and the Clippers), in 19 languages on the nba.com network, in 130 US movie theaters and through mobile phones.

Yao was the leading vote-getter for the second straight year, compiling 2,342,738 votes. The 7-6 center set the all-time record of 2,558,276 votes last season. Only five players had at least two million votes — Yao, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson.

Despite the public acclaim, Yao is apparently not respected as much by his peers. NBA players were recently polled by Sports Illustrated and voted Yao as the league’s second most overrated player behind New York guard Stephon Marbury.

Yao just signed a five-year $80.9 Million contract extension with the Rockets and earns an extra $20 Million annually for endorsing a wide assortment of products. In exchange, Yao has led the Rockets to the playoffs the last two seasons after a four-year absence but Houston failed to advance beyond the first round.

This season, the Rockets are in last place in the Southwest Division with a 23-31 record and don’t look like they’re playoff bound.

Rockets teammate Tracy McGrady said it’s not fair to throw brickbats at Chairman Yao. "Regardless of what anybody says, he’s a guy you can win a championship with," said T-Mac. "All that hoopla about what they want him to be-he needs to be himself, do what he does. He’s not the dominant presence Shaq is. For 7-6, he can play. Any coach, general manager, player would take Yao Ming on their team."

By the way, Yao wasn’t a factor in the All-Star Game last Sunday. He scored five points and grabbed two rebounds in 19 inconsequential minutes. His critics felt vindicated.

Meanwhile, Yao’s Americanization continues. He now speaks fluent English and his parents, 6-7 Yao Zhi Yuan and 6-3 Fang Feng Di, who live with him, are managing Yao Restaurant and Bar in downtown Houston. Yao drives a large American SUV and loves cheesesteaks.

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West All-Star Tony Parker’s girlfriend Eva Longoria of TV’s "Desperate Houswives" fame made her coaching debut in the Celebrity Game at the George Brown Convention Center here during the All-Star Weekend.

Longoria’s team H-Town lost a 37-33 decision to Clutch City in the contest held at center court of the Jam Session, an interactive basketball theme park the NBA hosts for five days as a feature of the All-Star extravaganza.

Rap artist Nelly took the MVP trophy with a game-high 14 points and 12 rebounds. Others who saw action were Carlos (Tony Almeda) Bernard of "24," rapper Ice Cube and R&B newcomer Chris Brown.

Nelly, who stands 5-7, also won the Celebrity Slam Dunk competition. The rim was lowered to nine feet to make it easier on Nelly, actor Nick Cannon, rapper Ali, actor Flex Alexander, streetball hero Hot Sauce and Dustin of boy band B-5 who jousted for dunking honors.

Nelly’s winning dunk–that drew a perfect 40 from the four judges–came with a little help from Hot Sauce. He took a between-the-legs pass off the glass from Hot Sauce and dunked it in for the clincher.

Longoria and Bernard sat beside each other during the All-Star Game.

Asked to describe the best aspect of his glamorous life, Parker replied, "Dating Eva."

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At the Jam Session, a 41-year-old seventh grade reading and writing teacher set a new Guinness World Record for dribbling a basketball without stopping. Joseph Odhiambo bounced a Spalding NeverFlat basketball for 26 hours and 40 minutes, easily breaking the old mark of 24 hours.

Odhiambo, a former Grand Canyon power forward in NCAA Division II, dribbled at least 140,000 times to establish the record. He moonlights as a pro basketball entertainer with bouncing six basketballs at the same time his favorite act.

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NBA legend Charles Barkley predicted the West to win the All-Star Game. Former Rockets guard Kenny Smith, now a TV broadcaster like Barkley, picked the East to win by at least five points.

Barkley ate his words and Smith, half of his because the East’s winning margin was only two points.

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LeBron James is the youngest player ever to win the MVP trophy in the All-Star Game. At 21, King James is in position to become the greatest cager in history–if he plays on a championship team. Oscar Robertson was previously the youngest All-Star Game MVP, bagging the award at 22 in 1961.

James is also the youngest player ever to register 40 in a game, a triple double (27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Portland at 20 years and 20 days old) and 3,500 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists.

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NBA commissioner David Stern, who took over the post in 1984, said within six months to a year and a half, fans may be able to watch full games on hand-held devices.

Games are already being shown over the internet to fans in certain areas of Brazil and China where there is no access to live TV broadcasts. Stern said the NBA’s multi-media income could be as large as cable TV, which provides the league with an income stream of about $600 Million.

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The Philippine STAR was the only major Filipino newspaper represented at the All-Star Game. Covering the proceedings were Chino Ramirez and Janelle So of the lifestyle section and this writer.