Finally，Yao Ming had enough.And a career unlike any other came to an end.
Nearly a decade spent carrying the weight of expectations and demands could not hold him down，but with little confidence he could play without more of the injuries that had ruined the second half of his career，Yao has told the Rockets he plans to retire.
An eighttime AllStar，his influence as a global icon and national treasure went far beyond his role on the court.
“Michael Jackson was before my time.Elvis (Presley) was before my time，” said Chuck Hayes，Yao's longest teammate.“But if I had to guess，it was like being around Yao Ming.He was big.Everyone wanted to see him.He graced us with his presence in the NBA.It was unbelievable.It was great.”
Yao，30，played in just five games in the past two seasons，missing 250 games over the past six seasons with bone injuries.
“People forget how great he was，” said ABC/ESPN announcer Jeff Van Gundy，who coached Yao for four seasons with the Rockets.“Then you add his humor，wit and his combination of skill and will.People will want to point the finger of blame for his injuries.I choose not to do.It was the unfortunate events that let him down.I remember how great he was.I remember some of those dominating performances.”
After lots of surgery on his left foot，he tried one more comeback last season，but was limited to no more than 24 minutes per game and banned from playing in backtoback games.He was hurt in his fifth game.
“When you look at the course of Yao's career，stress fractures have been a part of his foot，”Rockets team physician Walter Lowe said.“To say he's not at a risk to continue to have stress fractures would be crazy.He is at a continued risk.”
Yao said in March and again in May 2011 that he planned to return.A free agent，he said he wanted to sign with the Rockets.General manager Daryl Morey and owner Leslie Alexander wanted him back.
When Yao decided instead to give up the game，a unique career ended far earlier than he had planned.His influence，however，lasts.
[阅读障碍词]
1．icon n． 偶像
2．grace v. 使增光
3．fracture n. 应力性骨折
[诱思导读]
根据短文内容，判断正(T)误(F)
1．Jeff Van Gundy pointed the finger of blame for Yao Ming's injuries. (F)
2．Yao Ming had tried his best to continue his basketball career.(T)
