check out the linescores from last night's game between the lakers and rockets...

Player	Min FG-A FT-A 3P-A Off Reb Ast St TO Blk PF Pts
Shaquille O'Neal	41  5-12 14-19 0-0  3   9   4   1  3  4   6  24
Yao Ming	37 10-21  9-11 0-0  3  11   1   0  2  1   5  29

Post Game Comments:

"I was very surprised how I was able to do. We kept moving the ball and moving our people on defense and Shaq couldn't catch up to it. We have to face a lot of Western Conference teams and this will be a big boost to our confidence." - Yao Ming

"He's a big guy and has a soft touch. I don't think he'll ever be able to play me one-on-one, ever, ever, ever." - Shaquille O'Neal

it makes me laugh when i see yao match up--and even outplay--shaq. if you get a chance to watch any of the highlights, yao doesn't back down and takes it to the 'big diesel'. he even took an elbow to the head as he dunked over shaq. sick!

although i admit that shaq is still the most dominant player--night in, night out--in the game, it amazes me the lack of respect he gives yao. when will he realize that once yao fully matures, bulks up and develops some attitude/aggression, NOBODY will be able to stop him.

shaq also comes out looking like a 'monkey' again when he makes silly comments about why he didn't get voted as a starter for the upcoming nba all-star game. he claims yao only won 'cause "where he's from, there are 2 trillion people." the fact is, o'neal received more electronic votes from fans around the world, while yao had the advantage in paper ballots available in the US and Canada. (shaq's home turf!) perhaps people voted for yao based on merit, or 'cause he's a 'freak', or maybe to support their asian countryman. however, i would counter that his increasing popularity with the fans is 'cause he's simply a 'breath of fresh air'. what do i mean? yao has always shown humility and respect for the league, the game, his opponents and the fans. he expresses gratitude for the opportunity to earn millions of dollars. i believe fans are just getting sick of players who complain about lack of playing time, get arrested for pot, charged with rape, etc.

and so i digress...