Around The League: June 30th, 2009

    Yao Ming Goes Down News out of Houston is that Yao Ming could not only be done for this upcoming season, but more seriously, the rest of his career. This is obviously a huge blow to the Rockets, but the league itself seems to be taking the hit just as badly. However, when you sit down and think about it, it makes sense. Yao, is not only one of the top players in the world, but he's from China, and we all know that China is becoming a huge part of the fan base. I mean, just look at how many votes Yi Jianlian received last year when he almost made the all-star team. Let's not get started on that. League spokesman Tim Frank has been quoted as saying "I think its awfully premature for us to comment on that, let's see how this works out first". So obviously, you can see the league frustration with the situation. They're losing one of their top international stars, that will be a ratings drop, unless of course Kobe can pick up the slack. On to the impact that is may have on ... (link)