12/03/24
November 18, 2002
Shaq is a punk.:
There's a pain on the outside of my knee in 2004. So if Phil was not picked, I probably will not play through the pain.
Discuss.
posted by Sean Meade to basketball at 01:06 PM - 6 comments
Why do they keep saying "tabbed," as in "Los Angeles Lakers superstar center Shaquille O'Neal said Sunday he likely would not play for the United States in the 2004 Olympics if Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown is *tabbed* to guide Team USA?" "Tabbed" is for file folders, phonebooks, and schedulers (and ecommerce sites). "Tapped" is when someone has been designated for a role, usually a leadership position. "Tapped" as in "on the shoulder". Also, it's "reins," not "reigns," dammit, as in "handing over the reins" or "taking over the reins." Someone may reign or end his reign but not take over or hand it over. The reins you hand over or take over are the reins that are used on horses. Reins, I tells you. Sorry for the hijacking. William Safire would do a much better job. [And now, we return you to our regular programming.] ... Yeah, Shaq does suck. But we already knew that.
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:17 PM on November 18, 2002
Best case scenario: Shaq really does want to step aside and let some younger players in for the experience and the likely gold medal. (somewhat unlikely). Worst Case Scenario: He's trying to use his influence to blackball Larry Brown and give Phil Jackson the coaching job as a 'thank you' for all that he's done for Shaq's career. I'm guessing shaq's actual motives are somewhere inbetween. But for him to say "either Phil and I or neither" is weak. I think it'd be great for Larry Brown to get the job, and then not even offer Shaq a spot on the team. They have the ability to win without him. Put the big man in his place. (and the by far worst possible scenario would be for Jerry Sloan to get the nod. That man is a punk!)
posted by Ufez Jones at 04:04 PM on November 18, 2002
There's a pain on the outside of my knee in 2004. I'm still stuck here, can someone please help me?
posted by chmurray at 11:06 PM on November 18, 2002
he's got a bad knee now and figures on having it in 2004 and wouldn't play on a less-than-perfect knee for Larry Brown (or, incidentally, his country). that's my take.
posted by Sean Meade at 11:40 AM on November 22, 2002
Here's the thing. Shaq has had some injury issues. He's not as young as he used to be. He needs to preserve himself for the few seasons that he has left in his career. With that said, there's a better chance that Jackson would be more sensitive to protecting Shaq from injuries and weardown if he coached the USA team. Jackson would probably use Shaq only as needed. But Brown, or some other coach, might over play Shaq and rely on his overwhelming presence (wouldn't you?). Of course, Shaq could tell Brown that he doesn't want to play many minutes but wouldn't that look even worse? And if you were some other coach, wouldn't you secretly want Shaq (and Kobe) to be worn down a bit during the off season in hopes of shattering the Lakers' dominance? No one would admit that, but I guarantee that Jackson would be more sensitive to the well-being of the big fella. It's something to think about.
posted by jacknose at 12:55 PM on November 22, 2002
i'm not 'Mr Patriotism', but our national team just got handed it's butt and Shaq doesn't think he can show up to play for a little national pride? where does he think his egregious salary and endorsements come from? answer: the American Way.