'Yankee baby' Yao has fans in a stir

BEIJING - China's star NBA center, Yao Ming, can do no wrong on the court in the eyes of basketball fans but some diehards are crying foul over the possibility his firstborn could have an American passport.

Yao and his wife have headed back to the United States, where he plays for the Houston Rockets, ahead of the birth of their first child, which is due sometime between May and July.

If the child is born in the US, he or she will automatically be considered an American citizen - a prospect that some nervous fans say could potentially deprive China of a basketball superstar.