Beijing '08 Olympics Update: It's the Olympics, Stupid.

(One in an occasional series provided during the run-up to the ’08 Summer Games in Beijing, China. Archived posts in this series can be accessed by entering “Olympics” in the blog search box above).

Yao Ming, Chinese national and Houston Rocket will miss the rest of the season and the playoffs with a stress fracture in his left foot. He’s taking a bit of grief in the media for saying he is disappointed most with the fact that he won’t be able to play for his country in this summer’s Olympics. The implied inference is that he is somewhat less disappointed that he won’t be able to win an NBA championship for his primary employer, the Houston Rockets.

We’re with Yao on this one. He is easily the most visible Chinese athlete on the planet and with all that is riding on these Olympics for his native country, Yao was going to be the Chi-com’s point-man in their P.R. campaign to make the world somewhat more sympathetic to the fact they are devouring the planet’s resources, polluting the land and sea in epic fashion and are intolerant of political and religious dissidents.

Yao has done an admirable job shouldering all the expectations burdened upon him since he came to the NBA 5 years ago so we can understand his emotion that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase his talents for his country, on his home turf, in front of the entire world has suddenly gone by the boards.

He will be in a Houston Rocket uniform next season, never again though in a Chinese uniform in Beijing in the Olympics.