By Rick Gano
The Associated Press

ATLANTA - Yao Ming's commercials are popular, his story is well-chronicled in national magazines, and on Friday the NBA's most popular rookie got his first taste of All-Star attention.

Cameras lined up two deep in a ballroom to await his arrival at an interview session, creating such a logjam as flashbulbs popped that a path had to be cleared just to get him to a table where he could begin answering questions.

"This is just one element of the pressure I'm in. This is really special," Yao said, sporting a dark basketball shirt with Chinese lettering on the front.

"Everything is happening too rapidly, too fast."

That's the understatement of the first half of the NBA season for the 7-foot-6 Houston Rockets center, who beat out Shaquille O'Neal to be the starting center for the West.

"I still believe I am a blue collar among the All-Stars," Yao said through an interpreter while resting his chin on his hands.

"I still think the greatest excitement is to be selected to the All-Star team. Nothing can be more exciting than that."

Well, maybe starting. Yao, who's shown his humor throughout his first three months of his NBA adventure, also displayed humility. His numbers - 13 points and eight rebounds per game, don't match up to Shaq's 26 and 11.

"As far as performance, people can see the difference between me and Shaq," said Yao.

Earlier, O'Neal apologized for some insensitive comments he made toward Yao. O'Neal said Friday that Yao's surging popularity is a big boost for the league.

"Am I amazed? " O'Neal asked. "No, not at all. Like I said he's good for the game, good for the international aspect of the game. And it's fun. I'm a connoisseur of what's good for the game."

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OFFER STILL STANDS

Tracy McGrady made another offer to give up his starting spot in Sunday's All-Star game to Michael Jordan, who's making his 14th and what is expected to be his final appearance.

Jordan skipped Friday's media availability, so McGrady said he and his East teammates will try and talk Jordan into it at Saturday's practice.

Jordan has already said thanks, but no thanks, to McGrady and Allen Iverson. But McGrady will give it another shot.

"I hope he does, I think it will be great, not only for myself but for the fans as well, and for the game," McGrady said.

"He opened a lot of doors for guys like myself and other guys. It's all about respect and 'Thank you.'

"We are going to do something and try to convince him as a team. That's all we can do and if he doesn't take it, we tried."

McGrady's distant cousin and former teammate Vince Carter was picked to start by the fans, even though knee problems have limited him to 15 games this season.

Carter, like Jordan a former star at North Carolina, has taken a different approach, disagreeing with those who say he is the one who should forfeit the starting role.

"There are a lot of guys who could step aside," Carter said. "I feel I owe these fans. They had enough belief in me and felt I should be out there as a starter. So why should I slap these fans in the face, even though you had the courage and guts to vote for?"

"I understand the other side. But it's one person - who is the greatest, don't get me wrong - or a million-plus that is going to be disappointed," Carter added. "I think the fans are what make it."

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HERE THEY COME

They've looked of late as the Lakers of old, the ones who won three straight titles. After early-season struggles, Los Angeles finished the first half with a flurry and ended up one game over .500.

"I think early we got our hopes up too high talking about No. 4 too early," Shaquille O'Neal said. "And we took everybody too lightly. And a lot of the games we lost, we beat ourselves. We're picking it back up and in the second half we want to get started off on the right note."

The Lakers expect to make a charge toward the playoffs in the highly balanced West. O'Neal says once they get in, they will be difficult to beat, no matter what their seeding.

"A lot of teams are playing better team basketball than we are," O'Neal said, mentioning the Mavericks, Spurs and Rockets.

"But when all is said and done, we will be there. And in order to beat us, you are going to have to play four perfect games."

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FATHERLY QUESTIONS

Brent Barry, who won the 1996 slam dunk contest, will try to add the 3-point shooting contest to his trophy case Saturday night.

On Friday he had to answer questions from a familiar figure - his father, Hall of Famer Rick Barry, who was working for a San Francisco radio station and interviewing his son.

"Unlike you, I don't get too many shots," Brent Barry, who plays for Seattle, told his dad.