Over at the O, by the Way blog Monday, we wrote the name Yao Ming for the first time since ... I can't remember when.
But we noted how the Houston Rockets had won 12 in a row and 16 of their past 17 and gotten back into the thick of the NBA Western Conference playoff hunt because, for the first time in three years, their 7-foot-6 center had stayed healthy. In fact, the only game Houston lost in the past 17 was one that Yao missed.
We ran a photo of Yao, mentioned that he had played in 55 games and lauded his impressive steady statistics, an average of 22 points and nearly 11 rebounds a game.
And then yesterday, the Rockets called a news conference to announce that for the third straight year, Ming will miss considerable time, considerable meaning the rest of the regular season and the playoffs, with a stress fracture in his left foot.
One instance does not a Sports Illustrated or Madden video game jinx make - but we're going to keep a close watch on the blog for a while and refrain from praising any key Orioles.