Posted Friday, December 19, 2008 12:27 AM
Good gravy Shaquille O'Neal is over weight.
I don't know what the Suns are listing their center's playing weigh as, but's probably closer to his moon weight and not his actual one.
The league claims the four-time champ carries around 325 lbs on his Andre-the-Giant-like frame, but I'm not buying it. The Big Aristotle's new beard has to weigh 25 lbs on its own.
"I play my best ball at 345," Shaq told reporters after being traded to the Heat in the summer of 2004. "I need my meat, because I'm going to take a beating. If you put a guy in front of me who eats salad and cucumber and baked chicken all day, I'll kill him."
I don't know what Greg Oden's diet includes but it looks like red meat isn't on the menu. O'Neal got Oden in foul trouble early and took advantage with 17 first-half points.
The Suns remade their team for the ninth time in the last four years with the acquisition of Jason Richardson. J-Rich can fly and it'll be interesting to see how Phoenix can find a balance between pushing the ball and letting Shaq get in on the fun in a half court set.
There's enough offense and role players behind the core of Steve Nash, Richardson, O'Neal and Amare Stoudemire. It might be a good time to place a small future bet on the Suns to win the title.
Sure, Shaq is as heavy as a two-ton truck but he'll loose some of that girth running up and down the court at Nash's break-neck pace for a full season.
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Posted Monday, December 08, 2008 08:03 PM
It's a question being thrown around these days for one of the most dominant college hoops program over the last 40 years.
I'm a huge Heels fan and I've seen a number of ridiculously-good teams in Chapel Hill. The 2008-09 squad isn't the most talented squad the Baby Blue's have seen, but it could be the most dominating.
UNC is one of the few NCB programs that boasts skill, depth and experience. The last adjective is the biggie because in this age of one-and-done having several upperclassmen who've been through some memorable wars can be the difference a nice team that bows out early and one that climbs the mountain.
Ty Lawson, Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Wayne Ellington and Marcus Ginyard (once he returns from injury) all know how it feels to come just short of accomplishes the common goal (and there is only one goal ever at UNC) of winning the national championship.
The Tar Heels have a huge advantage each time they take the court against another top-ranked school because their opponents won't have the same perspective.
And let's not short change the youngsters riding the pine. Dickie V recently said the Heels could field a team of their top five reserves and still be a top 25 rteam. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim went even further saying the unit would be one of the nation's top 10.
Roy Williams' unit is undefeated (8-0) with blow-out wins over Michigan State, Notre Dame and Kentucky. The futures odds are already ta... [More]