Time to say ‘Ming xie’; Yao ends career with Rockets

A large scroll behind the player who brought China to the NBA and the NBA to China summed up the occasion at Shanghai. “Ming xie,” it said in Chinese characters that, loosely translated, mean “ Yao Ming, thanks, the end.” Yao, with teary eyes at times and dressed in a black suit, closed the book Wednesday on his eight-year career with the Houston Rockets, conceding that injuries got the best of him. “My past six months were an agonizing wait. I had been thinking (about my future) over and over,” Yao (pictured right) said in comments translated into English. “Today I am announcing a personal decision: ending my career as a basketball player and officially retire. But one door is closing and another one is opening.” Yao said he would return to work with his former Chinese team, the Shanghai Sharks, with the possibility of becoming general manager. – AP