Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming formally announced his retirement ... he was paired with a translator, Colin Pine. A "not-very-tall, not-very-athletic man" in the words of a 2003 profile ...

Colin Pine was selected from about 400 applicants to be Yao Ming's official translator. He told VOA Sports that he thinks being a big basketball fan was a key reason he got the job. "I have a ...

Latest, greatest stop? Live-in translator for Yao Ming. All before his 30th birthday. No one has a better view of Yao Ming's rookie season than Colin Pine, top. "I adapt to new circumstances ...

MEMPHIS – Yao Ming is almost making me forget about Priest ... “The only reason he probably still uses a translator is to keep the media at a respectable distance,” Collins interjected.

When Yao Ming emerges from the hotel ... "Other than being my agent, he is also my friend," he says through a translator. "He risked much to help me have a career in the NBA, and I'm very grateful." ...

Tonight, Yao Ming will be inducted into the Basketball ... “We need you,” I said to him. I asked his translator to explain what I meant: All the extra hype was just that — extra.

(VIDEO: Yao Ming Retires: Will China Still Love the NBA ... Colin Pine, the obliging translator they invited to live in the guest room across the hall from Yao, ferried the family around in ...

“Tell Yao Ming, ‘Ching chong-yang-wah-ah-soh ... Everyone started asking questions, waiting patiently for his translator, Colin Pine, to select one and relay the message.

Yao Ming, the 7-foot-6 behemoth that sprouted from ... Yao didn't speak English, and so was accompanied at all times by a translator. But communication wasn't the only problem - what would he ...

"It was like he understood. We hugged it out. ... Every time we go to China I always tell (my translator) to find Yao Ming. We go to dinner and we have a great time." If the story is true ...

One of the stars who was supposed to play in that game was 7'6" Yao Ming, who had taken the NBA by storm. If the game had pushed through, Yao would have been the starting center of Fat Joe's ...