Yao Ming

Oh, You Mean There Is Actually A Game During NBA All-Star Weekend? (Plus, Can You Name The Rappers In Our Courtside Photo?)

After a weekend of human gridlock at the Galleria, traffic snarls, bottles poppin', and all the parties you could handle, NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston came to a close on Sunday with the Western Conference defeating their Eastern foes 143-138, the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul getting the game' ... More >>

Patron Saint

Saint Dane's Bar & Grille is easy to miss, but hard to forget.

Yao Ming: Basketball Player, Shark Saver, Wine Maker

The last time we wrote about Yao Ming, it was to cover the former Houston Rockets center's fight against shark fin soup consumption in his home country, China, where the soup is considered a luxury and a necessity at large banquets and parties. Now, the retired basketball player is making news for ... More >>

Yao Ming and the Fight Against Shark Fin Soup

Will Yao Ming's star power be enough to save an endangered species?​As beloved as Yao Ming is to Houstonians, it's no match for the affection held for him in China. And the former Rockets basketball player is hoping that his high profile in his native country will encourage his fellow countrym ... More >>

Yao Ming: The Taiwanese Animation Of His Mom Giving Birth To A Basketball

You're nobody anymore until you've been made the subject of Taiwanese animation. We can't say we entirely get the phenomenon, but the Rockets' Yao Ming joins Al Gore, Cgarlie Sheen and other celebrities as the star of one of these things on the occasion of his retirement. It seems to include his m ... More >>

Yao Ming Hangs It Up

Sad day for Sad Yao.​We knew this day was coming, and it has arrived: Yao Ming is retiring. The usually reliable Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports has tweeted, "Rockets' Yao Ming has decided to retire from the NBA, league sources tell Y! Sports. He informed the league office within past 48 ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Why Yao Ming Didn't Meet Expectations

​We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involv ... More >>

Top 5 Contest Options for Houston Sports Teams

If you can keep from getting injured, you might walk away with some new kicks.​During halftime of a recent New Orleans Hornets game, a fan participated in a common giveaway contest. He had to make a layup, a free throw, a three-pointer and a shot from halfcourt under a time limit to win a priz ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 3: John Schenk of Strip House

Bacon salad.​This week, we caught up with Executive Chef John Schenk of Strip House. Check out our conversation here and here. Today, we try some of his menu items. I started out with the roasted bacon salad. Calling this dish an appetizer is like referring to Yao Ming as smallish. I have ... More >>

Rick Adelman And The Rockets Agree To Disagree

Rick Adelman: Subbing is an art; his boss thinks it's a science​The press release was entitled "Rockets Agree to Part Ways with Rick Adelman," and read like this: Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team and Head Coach Rick Adelman have mutually agreed to part ... More >>

2010-2011 Houston Rockets Report Card

Photo by GroovehouseSad Rocket fan​Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog post for today, also known as "Day Four of the Jim Rome Smack-Off Recap Hostage Crisis." That's right, based on feedback on my Twitter feed and the monster hits that our rogue "Smack-Off On A Mobile" have been getting, I k ... More >>

Top Ten Houston Sports Stories in 2010 (Alternate Title: "Here Comes The Prozac")

Brian Cushing will bring a keg and Fear of Tumors to your party​Putting together a "Top 10 Sports Moments" list is not supposed to invoke these feelings of anger and depression. But then again, I live in Houston, so try as I might to make this a list that is uplifting and inspiring, I can't. ... More >>

No-Good Goods

Readers on American Grocers

Yao Ming May Never Play Another Game

The Houston Rockets have announced that oft-injured center Yao Ming has a stress fracture in his left ankle. Time to say goodbye?​He's missed most of this season with the sort of foot-ankle injuries that have plagued him throughout his career. There's no timetable set for a return. Yao had b ... More >>

Yao Ming -- God Dammit

Limp away, old friend​"An MRI performed today on Rockets center Yao Ming revealed a stress fracture of the Medial Malleolus in his left ankle. The fracture, which is related to his previous injury of the Tarsal Navicular bone, presented itself during the course of his current rehabilitation pr ... More >>

A Houston Rockets Christmas: Rating The Unlistenable

The Houston Rockets like to put out Christmas videos in which the players mangle carols, to the general merriment of all. It's a good idea in theory. In practice? Cover your ears. 4. "Let It Snow" No one gets close to being in tune, but this is worth it if only for the bizarre way Yao Ming looks l ... More >>

Fox vs. Dish Network: Rockets Fans Need Alternative Plans

Dish Network: No Yao, but not for the usual reasons​The Rockets' season opens tonight, and if history is any guide, you'll want to catch the early-season games -- you know, the ones before Yao Ming goes down with an injury.That's easy enough tonight -- they're on TBS TNT -- but after that, things ... More >>

Game Time: Yao Ming -- My Career Advice

Yao: No sane person would retire from your gig​As NBA stars go, when healthy Yao Ming is a game changer. We all know this to be true. He's as skilled an offensive big man as there is in the league, he draws double teams, and what he lacks in footspeed defensively, he makes up for in effort and s ... More >>

Why Wait On Prospects? Morey Opts For Star As Rockets Acquire K-Mart

​Daryl Morey, as always, had us all fooled.We assumed the Rockets' general manager had little on the table for the dead carcass of Tracy McGrady, save the Bulls' and Knicks' offers centered around future draft picks that could later be used as assets to trade for a star. The offers weren't bad ... More >>

The Top Ten Rockets Moments Of The Decade, For Better Or Worse

Photo by Daniel Kramer​For the Rockets, the decade of the 2000s began with Hall of Fame legend Hakeem Olajuwon starting at center. It finished with 6-foot-6 Chuck Hayes, the shortest listed starting center in NBA history.It started with promising rookie sensation and No. 2 pick Steve Francis at po ... More >>

Game Time: The Decade's Five Most Lucrative Miracles

​First, I want to wish everybody out there a very happy holiday, and thank all of you who have read my stuff here on HoustonPress.com since I started up a couple months ago, especially those of you who leave comments (even if you think what you've just read is utter drivel, and you're telling me ... More >>

Yao Restaurant and Bar

The Onion, Under New Chinese Management, Analyzes Yao Ming

 Ever since the shocking news came that The Onion had sold itself to a Chinese company that also sells fish by-products, we've been waiting for it. The Yao Ming story.Today it came. The entire world population confirmed Friday that Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is the greatest athlete in the ... More >>

Hot Lunch Tip: Spicy Fish at Shanghai Cuisine

Photo by Robb Walsh"Spicy Fish" is an awesome lunch if you like hellishy hot seafood. Tilapia medallions are stir-fried with dried red peppers and slices of fresh jalapeño chile and served with steamed rice. The bottom of the plate is covered with bright orange oil, just in case the other peppers a ... More >>

The Rockets, Joining The Pantheon Of Those Who Gave Up Surprising Momentum

Hey, how'd those Rockets do last night?!Oh.In case you missed it, Our Rockets (and by "Our," we mean "team we started cheering for a week ago"), got shellacked by the Lakers 118-78. Everyone had expected the injury-riddled Houston team to lose like that -- in Sunday's game, which they had won.That ... More >>

Who Would You Rather?

So the other night my dear friend Tamarie and I spent too long on the phone engaged in a game called Who Would You Rather? You know, that classic girl game of who you would rather sleep with. The problem was that Tamarie was high on prescription cough syrup, and I'd had a couple of G&Ts, so the c ... More >>

Houston Rockets vs. the Washington Wizards

Just what the home team needs — an easy win

Turning the Screw: Lower Life Form, Slim Thug, R.I.P. Bernie Mac, Chris Brown & T.I. Team Up, Master P and More

Teen Houston Rapper Headed for Beijing

Houston Rockets, 2007-2008: Requiem for a Season

Rockets-Sonics: Face to Face with Inevitability

Rockets-Celtics: Requiem for a Streak

Q&A with Daryl Morey: The Day After

Steroids and Roger Clemens: Justice Department to Investigate Rocket

This Just In: Yao Ming Out for Rest of Season Due to Stress Fracture in Foot

A Grief Observed: Yao Ming's Injury and the Rest of the Season

Want an NBA Title? Head East, Young Man

Q&A with Daryl Morey: Riding the Rocket Roller Coaster

Posterizing EA

NBA 2K7 towers over the competition.

Yo, That's Cold, Yao

Yo, That's Cold, Yao

Bring On '07!

Yao Won't Bow

And Now, Some Hoops

All-Star Weekend culminates with an actual game

Little Misses

Introducing the best movies of 2005 you probably didn't see

Answering the Musical Question

Wesley Willis's ghost in the machine pays rock 'n' roll tribute to notorious Houstonians

Commie of the Year

There's not much info on Yao Ming's latest award

Best Sports Music CD

Pulltab's Greatest Hits

Indulge Your Inner Yao

The ultimate Web site for those obsessed with the Rockets' big guy

Couples Therapy

No pillow talk, no scoop