Shaquille O Neal

In an effort perhaps to sharpen his recently poor putting, Tiger Woods appears to have contacted an unlikely source. Shaq Fu. A new commercial promoting Tiger Woods' PGA Tour 13 features Shaquille O'Neal and Woods mimicking classic kung fu films, including awkward voice dubbing and endless kung fu moves. Based on O'Neal's free-throw shooting history, it's likely the former Lakers center adopts Happy Gilmore's game: tremendous driving power and unreliable putting. So it's unclear if such an approach would actually help.

Shaquille O'Neal, a four-time member of NBA championship teams, may be adding another job to his basketball resume. O'Neal will meet with Orlando Magic officials next week to talk about becoming the team's new general manager, according to ESPN. It's a long shot considering that O'Neal has no front-office experience. But hey, the man is an honorary U.S. marshal who received a doctorate earlier this month from Barry University. He's definitely driven. O'Neal spent four seasons in Orlando after the Magic selected him with the top overall pick in 1992.

As a 39-year-old this spring, Shaquille O'Neal was a broken-down shell of his former self, leading to the hardly surprising announcement Wednesday that he is retiring. … As a 39-year-old in the spring of 1986, the more fitness-conscious Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was first-team All-NBA. … He played three more seasons. … The Dallas Mavericks, five years later, still haven't found a way to corral Dwyane Wade in the NBA Finals. … Even if heat is an anagram of hate and "The Decision" was narcissistic and ill-advised, it's hard to dislike LeBron James & Co. when they play with such ferocity.

Shaquille O'Neal's presence in the NBA playoffs remains large. The center who led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA titles (2000-02), feuded with Kobe Bryant, then paired to win a ring with Miami's Dwyane Wade in 2006 before retiring last year is now an analyst on TNT's Emmy-winning "Inside the NBA. " With TNT providing blanket playoff coverage, including the Clippers-Memphis game Monday, O'Neal, who works along with Charles Barkley, Kenny...

It was a day when he was lambasted on talk radio and the Internet, linked socially to Louis Farrakhan by a New York Post gossip columnist and threatened with fines by the NBA for not speaking publicly, and near the end of that day Shaquille O'Neal apologized. He said he was not a racist for his taunt of Houston center Yao Ming, said his relationship with the Nation of Islam leader was his business, and, simply by saying all of that, eased any pressure he might have felt from the NBA.

Shaquille O'Neal would have wound up fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list — ahead of Wilt Chamberlain — if he'd shot free throws like Dirk Nowitzki . … Of course, he didn't come close. … "If I was able to have the game I have and shoot 80% from the line," O'Neal once noted, "I'd probably be an arrogant person rather than a humble one. Everything happens for a reason. " … He shot 53%, missing 5,317 free throws. … Wilt shot 51%, missing 5,805.

Shaquille O'Neal seems desperate for another title. … The Big Shamrock won't be the first to play for the Lakers and Boston Celtics, nor would he be the first to win championships with both teams, according to Elias Sports Bureau. … Clyde Lovellette helped the Lakers to their last title in Minneapolis before winning two in Boston. … Bill Sharman , of course, coached the L.A. Lakers to their first championship after winning four as a player in Boston.

A gang kidnapping case three years in the making, in which investigators looked into possible charges against NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, came to an abrupt end Tuesday as a prosecutor conceded that the alleged victim and star witness had credibility problems. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar de Longoria ordered the case against seven Main Street Crip members dismissed after the prosecutor announced that his office would not proceed with the case. The unraveling of the kidnapping, robbery and assault case over a Feb. 10, 2008, incident revolved around the purported victim in the case, Robert Ross, a convicted felon and former gang member who was a one-time friend of O'Neal's.

The Boston Celtics signed Shaquille O'Neal on Wednesday, adding the 15-time All-Star center to a team needing his size with center Kendrick Perkins recovering from knee surgery that could sideline him until February. The deal with the free-agent center is for two years and about $3 million, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said on condition of anonymity because no details were released. O'Neal joins the other three big names — Paul Pierce , Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen — on a team that went to the seventh game of the NBA Finals before losing to the Lakers.

There goes the best farewell. There goes the funniest there ever was. Let me get this straight, the NBA is going to have a season (not even David Stern has said they'll shut down forever) and Shaquille O'Neal won't be an Orlando prodigy who blocks out the sun ... or in Los Angeles as the life of the party ... or Miami to get a last ring ... or Phoenix for a last appearance alongside Kobe Bryant as All-Star co-MVPs ... or Cleveland, where he didn't quite get "a ring for the King" ... or Boston, where he became as Bostonian as Samuel Adams, the statesman or the beer, conducting the Boston Pops, posing as a statue outside Harvard Yard?

In an effort perhaps to sharpen his recently poor putting, Tiger Woods appears to have contacted an unlikely source. Shaq Fu. A new commercial promoting Tiger Woods' PGA Tour 13 features Shaquille O'Neal and Woods mimicking classic kung fu films, including awkward voice dubbing and endless kung fu moves. Based on O'Neal's free-throw shooting history, it's likely the former Lakers center adopts Happy Gilmore's game: tremendous driving power and unreliable putting. So it's unclear if such an approach would actually help.

Jeremy Lin scored more points in his first five starts than any other player since the NBA merger with the ABA. ) A look at some notable players through their first five starts. Player; FG-FGA; FG% Pts; PPG Jeremy Lin; 49-98; 50%; 136; 27.2 Shaquille O'Neal; 48-84; 57.1%; 129; 25.8 Allen Iverson; 37-79; 46.8%; 107; 21.4 LeBron James; 34-78; 43.6%; 84; 16.8 Kobe Bryant; 27-60; 45.0%; 80; 16.0 Steve Nash; 15-33; 45.5%; 40; 8.0 Note: In his first five starts, Michael Jordan scored 116 points.

Reporting from Philadelphia — Kobe Bryant chewed on his jersey, his hands on his hips as the Philadelphia 76ers shot meaningless free throws in the final seconds. The Lakers failed in another attempt to take a bite out of a woeful road record. They surrendered a late seven-point lead amid a stunning flurry of missed shots, most of them by Bryant, in a 95-90 loss Monday at Wells Fargo Center. Philadelphia fans booed Bryant in his hometown, as always, when he was introduced before the game.

Maybe Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal will eventually look back on what could have been accomplished. For now, the weird, cautious chasm continues between two of the best in Lakers history. Bryant passed O'Neal for fifth on the NBA's all-time scoring list Monday, and O'Neal was one of the first to send an opinion on Twitter. "Congrats to Kobe for being the greatest laker ever," he wrote in a conciliatory tone. "Thanks for making us the greatest laker one two punch ever and congrats on passin me up 2. " Bryant took over the fifth spot on a long jump shot in the second quarter of the Lakers' 95-90 loss to Philadelphia.

Each time Chauncey Billups steps to the free-throw line he is "very confident," uncluttered by the fear of missing, secure in believing the routine he developed while a kid on the playground has prepared him for success. Watch Billups closely to see how he is centered with the basket and a "dot" on the floor. He'll take his first dribble to ensure he starts his process correctly. He'll take two more dribbles and look up to make sure he still is centered with the rim. He'll take one last dribble, look at the floor, look up and spin the basketball in his hands.

There is no shortage of nicknames that the playful Shaquille O'Neal could bestow upon Andrew Bynum, from the Big Successor to Shaq Lite to the Most Dominant Since I Retired. O'Neal wouldn't go there. The TNT analyst adopted a more serious, highbrow tone Monday inside Staples Center when asked to assess Bynum's play this season. "He's the best big man in the game right now," O'Neal said of the Lakers center. "He's the only big man in the league that's playing like a true big man. " Indeed, seven months after he leveled Jose Barea with a forearm in the playoffs, Bynum returned as if he intended to flatten the rest of the NBA. In his first three games this season, the 7-footer averaged 22.7 points and 17 rebounds, an unsustainable pace but one that reflected Bynum's ability to be a force on all 94 feet of the court.

Shaquille O'Neal sat all of his 7-foot, 300-plus-pound frame down in a black chair in the green room for TNT's "Inside the NBA" show at Staples Center when a thought suddenly popped in his head. He called over his cohorts from TNT, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller, and asked, "Who would you take, [Clippers forward] Blake Griffin or [Minnesota forward] Kevin Love?" That started a debate among the TNT NBA analysts that continued on the set during halftime of the Oklahoma City Thunder-Boston Celtics game, which the network aired Monday night.

at Cleveland 105, Memphis 89: LeBron James tied a career high with 15 assists and Shaquille O'Neal had 13 points and 13 rebounds as the Cavaliers beat the Grizzlies, who were playing their fourth game in five nights. Cleveland has won nine in a row. at Oklahoma City 106, Atlanta 99: Kevin Durant had 33 points and 11 rebounds, and became the first player since Allen Iverson nine seasons ago to score at least 25 points in 22 consecutive games. Detroit 97, at New Jersey 93: Tayshaun Prince's tiebreaking dunk on an inbounds play with 45.6 seconds left helped the Pistons end a five-game skid.

Shaquille O'Neal sat all of his 7-foot, 300-plus-pound frame down in a black chair in the green room for TNT's "Inside the NBA" show at Staples Center when a thought suddenly popped in his head. He called over his cohorts from TNT, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller, and asked, "Who would you take, [Clippers forward] Blake Griffin or [Minnesota forward] Kevin Love?" That started a debate among the TNT NBA analysts that continued on the set during halftime of the Oklahoma City Thunder-Boston Celtics game, which the network aired Monday night.

Shaq Uncut My Story Shaquille O'Neal with Jackie MacMullan Grand Central: 291 pp., $27.99