Posted Feb 6 2010 1:03AM
BEIJING (AP) -- Houston Rockets star Yao Ming says he and his wife are having a baby girl, and excited Chinese fans have already posted photo mashups of the couple's faces online to predict what she'll look like.
A column in the China Daily newspaper first mentioned the news in passing Thursday, but it made the front page Saturday as fans sent Yao's comments whizzing through online forums.
"Yao told me about his excitement of becoming a father; especially when he first heard his daughter's heartbeat on the monitor," columnist Yang Lan wrote Thursday.
The first child for Yao and his wife, Ye Li, is due in July.
Scientists have predicted the girl will grow up to be about 1.86 meters (6-foot-2), China Daily reported Saturday.
The 2.25-meter (7-foot-6) Yao has been sidelined since surgery in May to repair a hairline fracture in his left foot.
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