I always liked Yao Ming. He consistently came across as an athlete who understood his larger cultural role, and didn’t shy away from it. Like a 100-times-less-important Jackie Robinson.

And, I always felt it was such a bummer that Yao, who was obviously skilled and dedicated to his profession, had his career cut short by injury.

Now, we no longer have to feel sorry for Yao. He’s moved into far more rarefied terrain. He’s making wine in Napa, which is what God would do if He could take a vacation. That’s living the good life, Yao. Bravo.

Just so we’re all on the same page as to what we’re talking about with Ndamukong Suh’s stomp and suspension, here it is:

Also, did you know that “Ndamukong” means “house of spears” in Ngemba, a language spoken in Camaroon?

Here’s some news potpourri for your Wednesday:

- Flying Squirrel Raises All Hell in New Jersey Emergency Room. Here’s an actual excerpt from the Associated Press: “The squirrel kept launching itself from an 8-foot-high wall-mounted lamp into a glass wall after becoming trapped in a trauma room at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Rahway Tuesday night.”

- Texas Man Rescued From Chimney. Ahem. “Fire officials say they had to hoist the 22-year-old man by rope from the chimney of his house in southwest Lubbock early Monday.”

- Ohio State Routs Duke. Coach K reminds us it doesn’t take 900 wins to understand an ass-whuppin’. “I wasn’t focused on each of their guys,” Krzyzewski said. “I was trying not to lose by 30.”

Hour 3 guests:

- Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News

Click through for a commercial-free podcast of Hour 3.

Hour 2 guests:

- Randy Cross, Westwood One Sports NFL analyst and CBSSports.com college football analyst

- Comedian Richard Lewis

Click through for a commercial-free podcast of Hour 2. 

Hour 1 guests:

- Brett McMurphy, national college football writer for CBSSports.com

- Carlo Devito, author of Parcells: A Biography

Click through for a commercial-free podcast of Hour 1.

No, they did not both surrender once the brawl began. Get your cheap shots out of here.

More importantly, is there anything more amusing than a morally disappointed French sportscaster?

Le outrage! Le scandal! All uproarious things should be in French. Let’s get to work on it. We’d solve the energy crisis, global warming, and terrorism if we could only switch to French when discussing and/or arguing these subjects.

Here’s a touchdown highlight with the call from ESPN Deportes. For all you gringos, ‘deportes’ is the Spanish word for ‘sports’.

Even though the Giants looked exceedingly JV last night, I still think they can beat the 49ers in the playoffs. And certainly New Orleans will boat race San Francisco in a playoff matchup. Alex Smith cannot and will not put 40 or more points up in a playoff game, which is what it will take to beat New Orleans.

Just so we’re clear.

The former police chief whose department did not investigate child sex abuse claims against a former Syracuse coach played basketball himself at Syracuse.

Former police chief Dennis Duval played basketball at Syracuse in the early 1970s, when current head coach Jim Boeheim was an assistant. Duval did not play for Bernie Fine, who was fired earlier this week after a third man claimed Fine molested him.

Syracuse police were notified in 2002 of allegations against Fine but did not move forward with an investigation.

Attention, everyone: If you live in a small town, leave. Creepy creepy creepy stuff gets swept under the rug in small towns. LA has traffic and New York is crowded but at least they prosecute the child rapists.