SHANGHAI - Its back to the books for retired Chinese basketball star Yao Ming. The former Houston Rockets centre and No. 1 draft pick in the 2002 NBA draft started classes this week at Jiaotong University, one of the top schools in the country, China Daily and other newspapers reported Tuesday. "The teacher showed me some mercy and did not leave me any homework," Yao joked to reporters after his first day of courses at the universitys Antai College of Economics and Management. Yao said the first order of business was assessing "how weak my foundation is" and working with instructors on a tailored course of study. Yao, who retired four months ago because of chronic injuries to his left foot, is taking classes in mathematics, English and modern Chinese history —a subject he enjoyed in high school. He hopes to apply the knowledge to his business and public service ventures, which range from ownership of his hometown Shanghai Sharks professional basketball team to overseeing a multimillion-dollar charitable foundation. Yao, 31, remains one of the most popular celebrities in China. Besides being named to eight NBA All-Star teams, he played in three Olympics and carried the Chinese flag during the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The 7-foot-6 (2.29-meter) centre expanded the NBAs influence into the worlds most populous country, creating lucrative merchandise sales for the league and TV ratings that skyrocketed whenever the Rockets played. cheap jerseys from china free shipping . After saving five break points as she adjusted to a strong cross breeze in the first game, the 15-time major winner needed less than an hour to beat No. 21-ranked Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the Brisbane International on Sunday. cheap jerseys from china wholesale . -- The Philadelphia Eagles have ruled out defensive tackle Mike Patterson for their entire training camp and possibly more because the incision where he had brain surgery in January hasnt fully healed. http://www.cheapjerseysfromchi... . -- Trevor Plouffe has struggled since returning from the disabled list and hitting into a triple play only served to highlight his recent problems. [url=http://www.cheapjerseysfromchinashop.us.com/]cheap jerseys from china paypal . -- Strong safety Kam Chancellor is set to play for the Seattle Seahawks against San Francisco despite an ankle injury that limited him in practice this week.Sport: ROWING Mens Eight: Gabe Bergen (100 Mile House, B.C.) Jeremiah Brown (Cobourg, Ont.) Andrew Byrnes (Toronto, Ont.) Will Crothers (Kingston, Ont.) Douglas Csima (Oakville, Ont.) Robert Gibson (Kingston, Ont.) Malcolm Howard (Victoria, B.C.) Conlin McCabe (Brockville, Ont.) Brian Price (Belleville, Ont.) Alternate: Steven Van Knotsenburg (Beamsville, Ont.) What You Should Know: Canadian boat has three returnees from Beijing 2008 gold: Brian Price (coxswain), Malcolm Howard and Andrew Byrnes; Price and Howard only rejoined the boat in 2011 to strengthen the boats chances of winning another Olympic medal Mens Double Sculls Michael Braithwaite (Duncan, B.C.) Kevin Kowalyk (Winnipeg, MB) What You Should Know: A newly formed team, their best result of the year was a ninth place finish at the 2012 Lucerne World Cup. Mens Pair David Calder (Victoria, B.C.) Scott Frandsen (Kelowna, B.C.) What You Should Know: Calder and Frandsen did not compete in 2009 and it was Vancouver 2010 that inspired Calder to convince Frandsen they should go for another shot at Olympic gold; 2011 was Calder and Frandsens first year back competing together. They are in a field that includes the almost unbeatable duo of Eric Murray and Hamish Bond. ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS Nathan Gafuik (Calgary, Alta.) What You Should Know: Canada did not qualify a full team; Gafuik will compete in an attempt to qualify for the all-around final and the individual apparatus finals. One of the deepest events in any sport is led by three-time World all-around champion Kohei Uchimura of Japan. CYCLING-ROAD Ryder Hesjedal (Victoria, B.C.) What You Should Know: The 2012 winner of the Giro dItalia, Hesjedal was running in the top 10 of the Tour de France before crashing out instage six. He withdrew from the race to heal and ready himself for the Olympics. JUDO Sergio Pessoa (Sao Paulo, Brazil) What You Should Know: His father, Sergio Sr. competed in Seoul 1988 for Brazil. Sergio Jr. has won World Cup and Grand Prix medals and currently sits 22nd in world rankings. FENCING Monica Peterson (Victoria, B.C.) What You Should Know: Peterson will be making her Olympic debut in London. Finished 45th at the 2011 World Championships and is ranked 31st in the world. SWIMMING Mens 400m IMAlec Page (Cortes Island, B.C.) What You Should Know: Just 18 years old, Page will be appearing at his first Olympic Games. This event is also the first scheduled showdown between Americans Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. Womens 100m Butterfly Katerine Savard (Cap-Rouge, Que.) What You Should Know: Making her Olympic debut, Savard finished ninth at the 2011 World Championships. Britains Ellen Gandy could win the host nations first swimming medal of the Games.Mens 100m Breaststroke Scott Dickens (Ancaster, Ont.) What You Should Know: Finished 19th at Athens 2004. Japans Kosuke Kitajima will try for a third straight Olympic gold medal. He is the only man to win two Olympic gold medals in this eveent.ddddddddddddMens 400m FreestyleRyan Cochrane (Victoria, B.C.) What You Should Know: Cochrane has been steadily improving in his secondary event and missed the podium at the 2011 Worlds by one second; Chinas Sun Yang is considered the upstart in the event.Womens 400m IMStephanie Horner (Beaconsfield, Que.) What You Should Know: London 2012 will be her second Olympic Games (Beijing 2008). Finished 17th at the 2011 World Championships. Canada has won an all-time total of three Olympic medals in the womens 400m IM: Leslie Cliff won silver at Munich 1972, while Cheryl Gibson (silver) and Rebecca Smith (bronze) shared the podium at Montreal 1976. Womens 4x100m Freestyle Relay Samantha Cheverton (Montreal, Que.) Heather MacLean (Toronto, Ont.) Victoria Poon (Montreal, Que.) Julia Wilkinson (Stratford, Ont.) What You Should Know: The Canadian women have been inching closer to a podium spot in their recent major events, finishing eighth at Beijing 2008, ninth at the 2009 World Championships and sixth at the 2011 World Championships. This is the first of seven events for 17-year-old Missy Franklin, the first American female swimmer to compete in seven events at an Olympic Games. WOMENS BASKETBALL Natalie Achonwa (Guelph, Ont.) Chelsea Aubry (Kitchener, Ont.) Miranda Ayim (London, Ont.) Teresa Gabriele (Mission, B.C.) Lizanne Murphy (Beaconsfield, Que.) Krista Phillips (Saskatoon, Sask.) Courtnay Pilypaitis (Orleans, Ont.) Michelle (Edmonton, Alta.) Kim Smith (Mission, B.C.) Alisha Tatham (Brampton, Ont.) Tamara Tatham (Brampton, Ont.) Shona Thorburn (Hamilton, Ont.) What You Should Know: The Canadian womens basketball team claimed the final qualifying spot for the London 2012 Olympic Games, returning to the competition for the first time since 2000. MENS BEACH VOLLEYBALL Josh Binstock (Toronto, Ont.) Martin Reader (Comox, B.C.) What You Should Know: Canada has collected just one Olympic medal in beach volleyball, a bronze by John Child and Mark Heese in the inaugural Olympic tournament in Atlanta 1996. Ranked No. 41 in the world, Reader and Binstock just partnered together this season and it worked out as they are both headed to their first Olympic Games. WOMENS SOCCER Karina LeBlanc (Maple Ridge, B.C.) Erin McLeod (Edmonton, Alta.) Candace Chapman (Ajax, Ont.) Robyn Gayle (Mississauga, Ont.) Lauren Sesselmann (Stephenville, N.L.) Rhian Wilkinson (Baie DUrfé, Que.) Emily Zurrer (Crofton, B.C.) Kaylyn Kyle (Saskatoon, SasK.) Diana Matheson (Oakville, Ont.) Carmelina Moscato (Mississauga, Ont.) Kelly Parker (Regina, Sask.) Sophie Schmidt (Abbotsford, B.C.) Desiree Scott (Winnipeg, Man.) Chelsea Stewart (The Pas, Man.) Brittany Timko (Coquitlam, B.C.) Jonelle Filigno (Mississauga, Ont.) Christine Sinclair (Burnaby, B.C.) What You Should Know: Canada dropped its opening game of the tournament to Japan, the defending World Cup champion by a score of 2-1. ' ' '