BasketballFarewell, Yao, plus looking for Canada's Miracle on the Hardwood

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Wednesday's official retirement of Yao Ming didn't exactly come as a Shanghai surprise, nor does it really mark the end of any sort of era. Yet Yao's career will go down in basketball history as a testament to the enormity of the Chinese market and the tragedy of an athlete's body betraying them.

As a basketball prototype, he had the body, soft shooting touch and skill set to become one of the best centres ever. Even if he was Shawn Bradley's height, he wasn't Shawn Bradley (although Charles Barkley predicted in 2002 Yao would fail as a pro, saying he would "kiss Kenny Smith's ass" if he scored more than 19 in a game in his rookie season. Barkley lost, and Smith found a compromise:


But similar to Bill Walton before him, a string of debilitating injuries would set in, causing him to miss 250 of a possible 492 games in his last six seasons in the NBA. Despite this, he was a perennial All-Star voting leader thanks mainly to the populace of his homeland.
The business of the NBA owes him a debt of gratitude for that alone.

Here's to you, Yao Ming:



Waiting for our 'Miracle?'

Canada's men's national basketball team was at Toronto's Ryerson University this week, with coach Leo Rautins facing the usual questions about Matt Bonner's citizenship status (up in the air) and Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph's participation in next month's FIBA Americas Tournament. The tournament starts Aug. 30 in Argentina. Joseph is expected to be on board but Thompson is not, likely owing to his higher draft status and the uncertainty surrounding the NBA lockout.

Given the unusual circumstances, it may be okay to give Thompson a pass for not playing for his country this time. But back in 2000, a lot of people gave Jamaal Magloire the benefit of the doubt for not showing any interest in suiting up in Sydney (he had just been drafted in first round by the Charlotte Hornets), and we know how things turned out in the years that followed.

Canada needs to either a) finish in the top two in Argentina (unlikely) to automatically qualify for the Olympics in London next year, or b) at least finish in the top five so they can play in next year's final Olympic qualifier.

Last year's debacle at the FIBA World Championships is still fresh in mind (including losses to hoops powerhouses like Lebanon and New Zealand), and given Canada's historical penchant for coming up short in non-hockey international sporting events, it's completely acceptable to be cynical about this. If anything is different this year, the team is (slightly) better and more experienced, and (currently) healthy.

And yes, as some have pointed out, there's a good chance we will watch the career of Canada's greatest-ever basketball player end over the next few years without him suiting up again for his country.

Some blame Steve Nash for turning his back on the program, but if you side with him, then you have to consider siding with Magloire's reasons as well (even if they've never been as well-publicized as Nash's).

The truth is, the structure of Canada Basketball is fatally infected by both a lack of funding and political BS from top to bottom, and has been for decades. In terms of coaching, I personally like Leo Rautins. Should he be running this team however? No. And if they fail to reach London, whether Rio in 2016 is their real goal or not, he needs to go.
Of course, the reaction of too many in Canada is "who cares." Let's face it, if it's not hockey here, it doesn't draw a ton of attention. But keep in mind for a minute that hockey is more than a sport in Canada, and you could sell tickets to NHL players mowing grass if given the opportunity.

Yet in terms of a sport alone, having the talent to compete in the planet's second-most popular game is there (and more is coming). It is a national disgrace that a country this wealthy and diverse, and with at least two nets in every single school in the nation has this sort of trouble supporting basketball. Yes, I know, Canadian soccer has the same problems. And that's offensive as well. And while I'm on it, it needs to be said that it might actually behoove us as a sporting nation to try and also be really good at a sport that is played in more than a handful of Nordic countries.

One guy I know once derisively said basketball in Canada will always be like hockey in the States.

Well guess what? That actually ain't bad. Hockey is still a real sport in certain large U.S. markets and on many college campuses, is played in a more significant portion of the country than many Canadians think, and owes one of it's single greatest national sporting moments to hockey.

So when is Canada's Miracle on Ice: Hardwood Edition going to happen?

Thompson and Joseph represent a mere tip of the iceberg in terms of talent coming up the pipeline. We are getting better as a basketball nation, and it will only continue. Let's just hope Canada Basketball and Canadians have the sense to do right by it.

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