Yao quitely signed a max-contract extension with the Rockets yesterday, and Ric Bucher writes an article praising him for not holding the franchise hostage, not doing the free agent tour thing, basically, not acting like “your typical spoiled NBA max-contract player.”

Like Ric Bucher, I’m also interested in Yao not acting like your typical max-contract player, but in a different way. My interest is more about what happens on the court. I look at Yao and how he does, or perhaps more accurately, doesn’t, impact games, and I’m not sure he deserves that kind of dough. It’s not quite as bad as Michael Redd getting max dollars… one in every ten games or so, Yao will take over a game, whereas Michael Redd just isn’t capable of it. But Yao’s never proven that he can do it consistently.

Now, I’m not criticizing the Rockets, becauase they pretty much have to give it to him… if Michael Redd is getting paid like that, it’s hard to tell Yao he can’t. There was really no other course of action for the Rockets. You can’t let him walk and get nothing, and you can’t expect him to sign the same kind of contract that Samuel Dalembert just got. But Yao has never become the impact player he should be. He’s not in the class of the game’s best big men, but NBA economics dictate that he has to be paid like them.

Some dude from Luxembourg named Gilles Muller took down Andy Roddick last night, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6. I didn’t see it, and no one seems to have any explanation for me as to why it happened.

Hey, sometimes people have good days, sometimes people have bad days. Muller had a good one, Roddick had a bad one. That’s really the only possibile explanation, because you know it’s not that the Luxembourgian dude is better.

Roddick seems completely blindsided. “I’ve put more work in mentally and physically in every which way,” he said. “I’ve never cared so much as I care now, which makes it tough. Last year I didn’t work hard. I didn’t even step up. I wasn’t training hardly and somehow sneaking out big points. This year I just killed it as far as working hard and doing all the right things. I took my lumps… We’re talking about this as a big disappointment and I’m still sitting up at three in the rankings. I guess that’s a good sign. It’s tough for me to have a lot of perspective right now.”

Ouch. It’s hard not to feel for the guy. It’s like if Daniel lost in the first round of the tournament, before getting to face Dutch or Johnny. The difference is that Daniel had a chance to take down Johnny… but Roddick seems to have no crane kick that will work against Roger Federer.

Sometimes, it just sneaks up on you. There are actually 11 games on Thursday night, headlined by… well, they all kinda suck. There’s Central Florida traveling to South Carolina to face Steve Spurrier’s new “cock ‘n fire” offense, named for a disease you can get for having sex with someone after he/she has had sex with Michael Vick. Also, #20 Arizona state hosts Temple, Vanderbilt takes on Wake Forest in the “Irrelevant Teams, Big Conferences” Bowl.

On Friday, there’s also a couple of games. The Indiana/Central Michigan showdown, and then Arizona/Utah.

On Saturday, #6 Ohio State gets a W against Miami University, #3 Tennessee gets a W against UAB, #10 Florida gets a W against Wyoming, and someone will probably get a W in the Duke/East Carolina game, though I can’t really guarantee that. And at 5:30 is the very interesting #18 Boise State vs. #13 Georgia game. Later that night, Notre Dame visits #23 Pitt, and that’s where ESPN’s Gameday crew will start their season.

And there’s more on Sunday. West Virginia travels to take on Syracuse and their dumb new uniforms, #12 Louisville hammers Kentucky in the “At Least You Have a Chance in Basketball” Bowl, and there’s another interesting game that night with #8 Virginia Tech traveling to take on what should be a tough NC State team.

And it doesn’t end there. Monday night brings up #9 Miami (Fla.) against #14 Florida State, which always provides good entertainment. I kinda hate both these teams, but in this instance, I gotta go with the least-offensive mascot, as well as the most sane, lucid, functioning, non-religious-whackjob head coach. Whoop some ass, Canes.

There’s a pretty big soccer game this Saturday, that I’m sure none of you care about. The U.S. is taking on Mexico here on our home turf, and there’s a World Cup spot on the line. The winner is in. No World Cup clinching game for the United States has ever been televised live. And this one also nearly wasn’t.

They had to be begged, but ESPN finally decided to air the match live on Classic. I know there’s a lot of college football being played Saturday, and I know that whatever old roller derby marathon they were showing on Classic was really special, but I don’t know why ESPN had to drag their feet for so long on this. It was five days before they even before they let fans know they could be bothered to interrupt the 1988 Westminster Dog Show on Classic.

So, um, thanks, ESPN. If Georgia/Boise State turns into a blowout, or is in some way not compelling, check it out. And if the mood strikes you, start up the San Antonio Defenders chant from Baseketball, “One, two, three, FUCK THE MEXICANS.”