Dein erstes Forum » eager is hitting .354 (35 for 99) with six hom

Call it the Big Bang of NBA fandom in China.Chinese basketball fans began watching NBA games in 1987, the year in which China Central Television (CCTV) began broadcasting NBA games. Megastars such as ?Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson instantly became household names. Then along came more transformational American talents like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James?and Stephen CurryYao Ming, however, always has a special place in Chinese fans hearts.The 7-foot-6 center from Shanghai isnt flashy. Unlike Allen Iverson, Yaos image is so clean that it borders on boring. The color of Yaos Reebok sneakers is so dull that for many years in China it lagged far behind Nikes glamour shoes.Hes too tall -- basically no Chinese person can relate to or emulate his playing style. Generation after generation, Chinese teenagers have worn baggy pants like Iverson or Under Armour sneakers like Curry, mimicking the look and moves of their idols. And they simply dont practice Yaos post moves.But Yao is one of us. His experience is our experience; his time is our time.A generational symbolIn China, those who were born in the 1980s are called post-80ers. They are part of the first generation that started to enjoy the benefits of Chinas economic reforms of the late 70s that allowed a more open market. Yao was born in 1980. His parents generation emerged hungry from the suffering and political turmoil they grew up in. They were able to provide for their children. When Yao was growing up, millions of Chinese people started to see the world beyond their own windows.Former NBA commissioner David Sterns tireless efforts to globalize the NBA took root in China in 1987, that same year, the American fast food restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken opened its first store in Beijing. Two years later, the first Shanghai KFC outlet opened, and some time later, a 10-year-old Yao waited two hours in line to get his first taste of American food.Fifteen years after that the Houston Rockets drafted Yao as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. The NBAs popularity in China boomed. His first game against Shaquille ONeal and the Lakers attracted more than 200 million viewers in China. The Rockets instantly became Chinas team. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton described Yao Ming as Chinas single largest export to the United States.Yaos emergence on an elite world sports stage was followed by two fellow post-80ers: Liu Xiang, Yaos fellow Shanghai native, a gold-medal-winning 110-meter hurdler from the 2004 Olympics and world-record holder. And then came Li Na, at one time the worlds No. 2-ranked womens tennis player and two-time Grand Slam winner.By no small coincidence the trios success paralleled Chinas. The countrys gross domestic product per capita in 1987 was $302. It rose to $1,149 by 2002. That same year, KFC opened Chinas 700th restaurant.Post-YaoYao retired in 2011 because of persistent injury issues. Liu was next in 2012, and Li finished her career in 2014. In China, this big three enjoyed once-in-a-lifetime status, not only because each had world-class achievements, but also because they crafted a brand-new kind of Chinese athlete. They spoke English; they had a unique sense of humor; and their charisma was incomparable and, most importantly, authentic. After he finished his NBA career, Yao decided to go back to China. In a 2014 interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, he said: There is more opportunity [in China]. We have a lot that can be developed.He was correct. Now back in China, he has made himself a professional basketball club owner (in 2009, he bought the Shanghai Sharks, his former CBA team), a successful businessman (he owns his own wine label), a congressman and an ambassador for wildlife protection.In 2015, Chinas per capita GDP was $8,027. KFC has more than 5,000 outlets all over the country.Yao is the product of his era. Fortunately for him and for most Chinese people, it has been a very good era.On Friday in Springfield, Massachusetts, an entire country will celebrate Yao Mings Hall of Fame entry. Undoubtedly his speech will thank everybody important to him. But it is the Chinese fans who will also thank him, for being the countrys best export -- and import -- between United States and China.Stan Olejniczak Jersey Retro . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. 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Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night.SEATTLE -- James Paxton couldnt give the slumping Seattle Mariners the effective outing they needed.Elvis Andrus offset a pair of errors with a homer and three doubles, Jonathan Lucroy hit a two-run homer and the Texas Rangers held off the Mariners 10-7 on Tuesday night.Paxton (4-6) struck out eight in 4 1/3 innings, including four in the first, but was tagged for six runs -- four earned -- and nine hits before being lifted after 103 pitches.Not a good night when you throw like 100 and something pitches in 4 1/3 or whatever it was, Mariners manager Scott Servais said.Seattle, which was 10 games above .500 on Aug. 22, fell to 70-68 and 12 1/2 games behind the Rangers. The Mariners have lost 10 of 13.Martin Perez (10-10) allowed four runs -- two earned -- and seven hits in six innings to win for the third time in his last 13 starts. Sam Dyson pitched the ninth for his 32nd save.The Rangers snapped a 4-4 tie with three runs in the fifth. Lucroy chased Paxton with his ninth homer since joining the Rangers -- he had 13 with Milwaukee prior to the Aug. 1 trade. Drew Storen relieved and gave up doubles to Andrus and pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland.I threw some good pitches and got the strikeouts, obviously, and that was good, said Paxton, adding that he was not bothered by a fingernail torn in his previous start. I just fell behind some guys and came to the middle part of the zone, and they got some hits.Andrus opened the seventh with his fifth home run off Arquimedes Caminero to make it 8-4. Seattle cut it to 8-6 in the bottom on a bases-loaded walk to Kyle Seager and Leonys Martins sacrifice fly.Andrus added an RBI double in the eighth. Seth Smith answered with a pinch-hit homer in the bottom half, his 12th, to make it 9-7. Lucroy drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth for the final run.Theyve got a damaging offense, also. They can grind some at-bats out and thats kind of what theyyve done all year long, Rangers manager Jeff Banister said.dddddddddddd. It felt like that was going to be the last-man-standing type of game, where whoever was going to be able to get the most outs without giving up damage was going to come away the winning ballclub.Seager pulled the Mariners even in the third with a two-run homer, his 26th, matching his career high set last season.One of Paxtons four first-inning strikeouts cost him a run. Ian Desmond struck out, but reached on a wild pitch. Carlos Beltran singled him to third and Adrian Beltre punched an opposite-field dribbler into right for an RBI single.Texas, which leads the AL West by 8 1/2 games, had a season-high seven doubles among its 15 hits and won for the eighth time in 10 games.SEAGER HOT VS. TEXASSeagers homer was the 18th of his career against Texas, the most against any single opponent. Since Aug. 6, Seager is hitting .354 (35 for 99) with six homers, 21 RBI, four doubles and 20 runs.TRAINING ROOM:Mariners: RHP Tom Wilhelmsen, eligible to come off the 15-day DL (low back spasms), is on track to throw a simulated game on Thursday after an incident-free bullpen on Tuesday. ... Veteran OF Norichika Aoki was recalled Tuesday after a short stint at Triple-A Tacoma.UP NEXT:Rangers: RHP A.J. Griffin (7-3, 4.41 ERA) has allowed three runs or fewer in six of his last eight starts. Griffin has won his last two starts, beginning with six scoreless innings in a victory over Cleveland.Mariners: LHP Ariel Miranda (2-1, 5.76 ERA) makes his sixth start since being acquired from Baltimore on July 31 in the trade for Wade Miley. Miranda was tagged for four runs in the first in his last start against the Angels, but followed with five scoreless innings for the victory when the Mariners rallied. ' ' '