<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Yao Will Be Late<div><span style="font-style: italic">Sep 21</span> - Though the Rockets have declared of this season that 'it's time,' when they gather Oct. 1 and head to Austin for training camp, center Yao Ming will need a bit more time. Yao will miss the team's mandatory media day and first two days of practice to appear at the opening ceremonies of the 2007 Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said Thursday. </p> </p> Yao will be fined for missing media day and the practices, but Morey would not say the amount of the media day fine. Media day attendance is a high priority for the NBA and fines can exceed $20,000. The fines for missing practices are $2,500 for the first practice and $5,000 for subsequent practices. -- Houston Chronicle </p></div></div>
Shouldn't be too bad a deal though. Yao's away for a good cause and missing 2 days of practice shouldn't really affect anything.
