For the first time, Yao sat on the bench with his players (John Lucas III at far left) and staff as he watched his Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks win their 4th game in a row, and 10th overall, with a Wednesday night victory over the Quingdao Double Stars Hawks.

Click here for more photos of Yao on the bench, and here for details of the game.

The next day, Yao attended the 100 Day Countdown Celebration for the Shanghai 2010 EXPO since he is the Global Ambassador/Image Spokesperson for the Shanghai EXPO.

Click here for lots of colorful photos from the festivities. They know how to throw a shindig in China!

On Saturday, Yao (along with Mr Zhou Qifeng, the new president of Peking University) was a presenter at the 2009 CCTV/Anta Sports Personality Award Show in Beijing where he presented the Best Female Athlete of the Year award.

Yao Ming was also there as a nominee for the Special Contribution Award. He knew beforehand that he had little chance to win the award. He told CCTV reporters before entering the show that he did not know why he was nominated for the award in the first place. He said he was injured and sidelined for most of 2009 and did not think he had made any contribution to his sports and his team at all in 2009.

Click here for more photos of Yao at the awards ceremony.

The Shanghai Morning News also ran an interview of Yao the past couple of days. In this article that Raymond translated, Yao talks about the following:

– The progress of his rehabilitation. Since coming to China in mid-December, his workouts never stopped. He practiced and trained every morning for 3 hours, including biking, strength and conditioning exercises, jogging in the pool, etc. His personal trainer Anthony Falsone returned back to the U.S. last Wednesday. Yao returns in a few days to get a check-up on his foot.

– How he’ll have to change his style of play to fit in with the Rockets’ current style of play

– His aspirations for his Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks

– His rationale for choosing Bob Donewald Jr. as the head coach for the Shanghai team

– His current feeling about becoming a father, including what it was like to see a sonogram of his baby due to be born in July.

Click here to read the entire interview.

Raymond reports the following from China…

Yao cheers on his Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks to beat Wang ZhiZhi’s Bayi Fubong Rockets 119-113 in OT Wednesday night.

It was the first time a team of Yao’s had beaten a team with Wang ZhiZhi on it in almost 10 years. For more photos of Yao and details of the game, click here.

On Friday, Yao’s Sharks beat Fujian SBS Xunxin 116-102…

Click here for more details and photos from the game.

Between both games on Thursday night, Yao attended with his wife the show of Shanghainese comedian Zhou Libo…

Click here for more details and photos of their night at the show, and meeting with Zhou Libo afterwards.

Since promoting the Shanghai Expo in Los Angeles at the start of the New Year, Yao returned to China. Raymond reports that on Thursday, January 7th, Yao for the first time in months got rid of his crutches and appeared in the recording of a Phoenix TV talk show: “The Zhou Libo Show” ??·???, a talk show similar to some of the late night talk shows in the U.S. where the host Zhou Libo, a famous Shanghainese comedian that Yao Ming likes to watch, chats and crack jokes with his guests on news and happenings around the world and China.

Click here for more photos of Yao on the talk show.

Then on Saturday, January 9th, Yao shot a commercial and gave an interview (click here for the video, which is very slow to stream in the U.S.)

For the first time in public, Yao admitted there will be a new addition to his family. He thanked his fans for their support and good wishes, and asked that everyone give him and his wife some room while they rest and prepare for the arrival of their newborn child in a few months.

He also clarified the rumor that he can now walk normally without his crutches. He said he could now walk on his own for about 50 meters, but if it’s any longer than that, then his doctors advise that he still use the crutches.

Word has it that Yao and wife Ye Li are expecting their first child later this summer.

Click here for Raymond’s reports about all the buzz about it in China.

Here’s a story about it on NBA.com with a statement from his Chinese representative.

YaoMania should be getting a statement from Yao about it soon, so stay tuned.

Yao took a quick trip from China to Los Angeles a few days ago and made an appearance at the Rose Parade in Pasadena to help promote the Shanghai Expo, which had a float in the parade.

Reportedly Yao was going to ride on the float during the parade, but the spot where he was going to be was too high and too small for him, so he just kept it to giving interviews to the media.

Click here for more photos of Yao at the float before the parade began.

Yao’s Shanghai Sharks got another victory Sunday night, this time beating the Tianjin Ronggang Golden Lions in overtime, 113-105.

Former Rocket John Lucas III hit a 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining in regulation to force the game into OT where Shanghai won it. Lucas finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.

Click here for more photos of Yao at the game.

There are photos posted of Yao in the forum Christmas night cheering on his Shanghai MAXXIS Sharks to a victory over the Beijing Capital Steel Ducks, 132-89, their biggest margin of victory in their history.

Click here for more photos of Yao at the game.

For those of you who haven’t been following Yao lately, here’s a good recap article on NBA.com that was published yesterday.

In the article, you’ll learn more about Yao’s thoughts right before he went under the knife for his foot surgery, what his parents thought about him undergoing the surgery, his recovery since then, his ownership of the Shanghai Sharks (his former team) and the amount of time it takes being an owner, his imminent return to the NBA, and more!

On a scale of 1-10, I’d rate this article a 9, even for you diehard fans who have been following Yao closely since his surgery last Spring.

It’s been a busy past few days for Yao ever since he arrived in Shanghai. Raymond has posted photos in the forum of Yao from his latest event. See the story below…

SHANGHAI, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) — China’s NBA star Yao Ming participated in the opening ceremony of a public welfare activity named of “celebrities show you around Shanghai Expo 2010” on Monday.

He called on more celebrities and people to join the public and promotional events of the Shanghai Expo.

Yao presented a proposal called “contribute to Green Expo, share a bright future” at the ceremony.

“I hope more people especially the teenagers will join us to popularize Shanghai Expo and disseminate its ideas of green, health and affection,” he said.

Apart from Yao, international movie star Jackie Chan and well-known pianist Lang Lang are also the ambassadors of Shanghai Expo who launched the event.

The public welfare activity, held by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, China Ministry of Culture and Coordination Bureau of Shanghai Expo Affairs, features various activities such as charitable parties and public speeches. Some children from the disaster and depressed areas will get sponsors’ financial aid to take part in the Shanghai Expo.

Shanghai Expo 2010 will start on May 1 and end on Oct 31. It is estimated that more than 70 million visitors will arrive in Shanghai.