One year ago today was strange.  And sad.

I first heard news that Yao would be sitting out the Washington game with a back injury...

then I was told it was his foot that was giving him problems.

Later we learned that he might miss 1-2 weeks with a foot sprain.

Shortly thereafter, we got the bad news.  Yao would miss the rest of the regular season with a stress fracture in his foot.  The team would win the next 10 games in a row, but Yao's absence in the playoffs doomed the Rockets.

Yes, it has been a year since that fateful day.  A whole 365 days...

History has an odd way of repeating itself.  Tracy McGrady is now the Rockets star player that is lost for the season.  And once again, the team continues to play well despite the absence of one of the Big Two.  Hopefully the Rockets' playoff history does NOT repeat itself and the good guys can learn what it's like to play in Round 2 and beyond.

May we all take time on this weird anniversary to truly appreciate Yao Ming for being a great basketball player, a hard-worker and a model teammate.  And at the same time, wish Tracy McGrady a speedy recovery and successful rehab following Monday's microfracture procedure.

Go Rockets!  Let's make it six in a row today... we're going streaking again!