Chron: Language barrier not a huge concern

Oct. 22, 2002, 10:59PM

Language barrier not a huge concern
By MICKEY HERSKOWITZ
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

First came the Cubans, most of them pitchers, to bring a foreign texture to baseball and open the way for others from Latin America and Mexico.

Their numbers were few and the language barrier was slight because the Washington Senators, a dreadful team, had the early monopoly on their services. Once, with the Senators playing in Boston, a writer called the hotel room of Camilo Pascual, their star pitcher, interrupting his sleep.

When the drowsy Cuban picked up the phone, the newsman made a quick introduction and then asked, "Camilo, do you speak English?"

"Not at seven in the morning," he snapped, checking his bedside clock before hanging up the receiver.

When kickers invaded pro football, they were either born or educated here and spoke with an accent not much thicker than that of Bum Phillips. The Gogolak brothers were a generation removed from their Hungarian roots. Scandinavia gave us Jan Stenerud, who attended Montana State on a skiing scholarship.

After a minor explosion of kickers named Zendejas, one coach spoke for many when he lobbied for a rule change.

"They need to tighten the immigration laws," he complained.

In the NBA, the first significant foreign exchange was out of Africa. The players surprised us with how quickly they polished their use of our language. A fan asked 7-7 Manute Bol the all-time trite question: "How's the weather up there?"

She jumped backward when the Dinka tribesman retorted, "Who do I look like, Willard Scott?"

So now comes Yao Ming, the most intriguing Chinese import since chopsticks. Never mind how coach Rudy Tomjanovich communicates with his newest art object. Houston fans were worrying about how Cuttino Mobley, Kelvin Cato and Moochie Norris communicate with their Chinese dragon.

Rudy T says not to worry. He learned in China that Yao knows a smattering of English and has vowed to work hard to expand his vocabulary.

"We went out on the floor," says Tomjanovich, "and started talking about different stuff. We got into a pick 'n' roll conversation and he said, `No coach, you mean a pick 'n' pop.' "

In Yao's playbook, when a teammate sets a pick, the 7-5 center prefers to pop back for a fadeaway shot, rather than roll to the basket. Certain definitions are open to negotiation.

He is a grandiose figure, this 22-year-old rookie who has been described in China as a national treasure. In his culture, courtesy, dignity and honor are given a high priority. One of his major adjustments will be getting accustomed to the presence of his interpreter, the obliging Colin Pine. While Pine tries his best to be unobtrusive, having someone repeat nearly everything you say -- in a second tongue -- is a lot like having the late Howard Cosell following you around, broadcasting your meals.

Even in this new relationship, there is a certain symmetry. In the basketball idiom, "pine" refers to the bench, where Yao doesn't figure to spend much time once he works his way into the lineup.

But as Rudy points out, the one condition that will allow Yao to go with the flow is the fact that every NBA team has a language of its own. They are like the Navajo wind-talkers from World War II, using a code their enemies can't break.

"You have to understand something about basketball," Tomjanovich says. "We have our own language, anyway. I can stand in front of the other team and talk Rockets basketball, while they are right next to us, and they wouldn't understand what we are saying. We have our own terms, our own signals and hand signals and our own language.

"We use words that have no relation to basketball. Banana means something. We had (plays) called Oscar and Felix, but when we got Oscar Torres, that didn't work anymore."

Torres is the Venezuelan who joined the team in 2001.

Yao told Carroll Dawson, Houston's general manager, that the first NBA game he ever watched on television was Houston's victory over the Knicks in 1994. He has been a Rockets fan ever since, he claims, and no doubt the first two American words he learned were "Hakeem Olajuwon."

One can lament the fact that the Dream did not come along a few years later, or Yao a few years earlier, to see what night music they might have created. In the same vein, if Yao really wanted to hasten his word skills, it is a pity Charles Barkley retired to the television studio.

Barkley can speak on a multitude of subjects, and often does. When they were teammates in Philadelphia, he referred to Manute Bol as "Kunta Kinte, the Dunkin' Dinka."

Of course, you shudder slightly to think about the politically incorrect trash talk that Sir Charles would be laying on the formal and modest Yao Ming.

Perhaps we should not go there. Charles may yet be heard from, and while the indications are that Yao has a receptive sense of humor, you do not wish to see it tested too much, too soon.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/1629090

 

Oct. 22, 2002, 10:47PM

Rockets summary



Much improved

As much as Yao Ming has impressed his teammates, Juaquin Hawkins has been impressed by something no other Rockets player can be -- Yao's improvement.

As a member of Chung Ching in the China Basketball Association, Hawkins said he watched Yao play three years ago. When Yao began practicing with the Rockets this week, Hawkins said he barely recognized him.

"He's a lot different," said Hawkins, who described the play in China as comparable to "low Division I" college basketball.

"He's a lot more skilled," Hawkins said. "He's improved his all-around skills. He's always been able to shoot. But he's improved his passing, rebounding, really, all his skills. I had no idea he'd be able to pass the way he can pass. His overall awareness as a basketball player is much better. He's going to be a big asset to this team."

Honoring Fox

Fang Feng Di and Yao Zhi Yuan, Yao Ming's mother and father, visited the Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M on Tuesday to attend the unveiling of a sculpture of Capt. James R. Fox, Jr., a Texan who lost his life fighting in China in World War II.

Tall tales

Children and stuffed animals overtook the court at Compaq Center after practice Tuesday as the Rockets and Hewlett-Packard kicked off their 2002-03 Read to Achieve program. About 250 elementary school students listened with wide eyes as the Rockets read them children's stories from giant books.

New Rocket Yao Ming even got in on the action. Yao read the story of George Washington and his famed cherry tree in Chinese, while interpreter Colin Pine translated for the students. Yao and guard Steve Francis shared arguably the most popular reading station.

"This is a great opportunity for the kids," said Michael Chang, chairman of the Houston Hua Xia Chinese School, which along with the Chinese Community Center brought about 10 students. Other participating schools included Franklin, MacGregor, Alcott, Holden and Carrillo.

More time needed

Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich had hoped by now to begin zeroing in on the start of the regular season. But he said that team events (including the Read to Achieve program Tuesday), the addition of Yao Ming and injuries have forced him to remain in more of a preseason mode.

"I really wanted to get secluded," Tomjanovich said. "This is a wonderful thing, Read to Achieve. I love it. But I would have liked to have gone longer. But I'm a coach. I wanted to do a lot more. It's not enough. I want more.

"We're so screwed up. We have guys hurt. We have new guys coming in. It's not ideal, but when the hell has it ever been ideal? It's always crazy. I'm doing what I do."

The Rockets will be without Moochie Norris (dislocated finger), Kenny Thomas (broken thumb), Glen Rice (flu) and Pete Mickeal (sore right foot) tonight.

But Rockets guard Steve Francis said that going over plays for Yao Ming has helped his teammates.

"It's helpful to some of the guys who still don't know the plays," Francis said. "It's not like we're going backward. We're still going over the plays. And I think Yao saved a lot of guys (from) not knowing the plays in a game."

-- JONATHAN FEIGEN and JANNY HU

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/1629079