Shaquille O'Neal's childish mocking of Kobe Bryant in an amateurish freestyle rap video was strongly rebuked by a racially sensitive sheriff in Arizona and harshly reviewed, no doubt, by a stupefied former teammate in Newport Beach. . . .
Younger hip-hop fans probably thought, Shaq is a rapper? . . .
According to Nielsen SoundScan, which monitors U.S. record sales, Shaq-Fu's six albums have sold a total of 20 copies this year. . . .
As in, an average of fewer than four copies per CD. . . .
Rest easy, Lil Wayne. . . .
By the way, Newsweek magazine's "conventional wisdom" critique of Bryant's NBA Finals performance cut deeper than O'Neal's: "Fumed in Game 1, choked in 4, vanished in 6. Guess this settles that Kobe-Jordan debate." . . .
Ouch. . . .
Seven former Pacific 10 Conference players made the NBA Finals this month and seven more -- USC's O.J. Mayo, UCLA's Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook, Stanford's Brook and Robin Lopez, Arizona's Jerryd Bayless and Cal's Ryan Anderson -- are projected to be first-round picks tonight. . . .
Also projected to be a first-round pick is JaVale McGee, a 7-footer from Nevada and son of Pam McGee, who teamed with twin sister, Paula, and Cheryl Miller to lead USC to NCAA women's basketball titles in 1983 and 1984. . . .
Paula at the time was Darryl Strawberry's girlfriend. . . .
JaVale McGee's father is George Montgomery, who was a second-round pick of the Portland Trail Blazers in 1985 but never played in the NBA. . . .
Former USC forward Brian Scalabrine of the Boston Celtics wasn't the only bench-riding athlete with Southland ties who donned a uniform for a championship-clinching celebration after a game in which he did not dress. . . .
Ageless defenseman Chris Chelios, who summers in Malibu, did the same with the Detroit Red Wings after sitting out the Stanley Cup finals. . . .
Barry Melrose, hired this week to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning, has always been better known for his mullet hairstyle than his coaching acumen. . . .
The Angels' best-in-the-majors road record is wonderful, but the question remains for Vladimir Guerrero & Co.: Can they win at Boston in October? . . .
This year, it looks like they might have a chance. . . .
The Dodgers, who play host to the Angels in a three-game series starting Friday at Dodger Stadium, have won the season series from their Southland rivals only once since 1999 and lost two of three games last month at Anaheim. . . .
