SHAQ TWEETS, "I'M RETIRING"

[BNWriter]

http://www.pjstar.com/free/x1293702056/Shaquille-ONeal-tweets-Im-retiring

Wondered if he would after this season. Discuss.

 

[Trey Beamon]

Shaq was awesome.

I'm probably forgetting someone, but this is the first basketball megastar -- maybe any major pro sport, unless you count that douchebag Favre -- drafted in the 90s to retire due to age/ineffectiveness.

Don't know about the folks here between, say, 29 and 34, but his makes me feel kind of old. I mean, I remember loading up on Shaq and Alonzo Mourning rookie cards back in the day and it really doesn't seem like that long ago.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

Tell Shaq I said, "Ching chang ching choing chow..."

 

[Captain_Kirk]

Would like to see him added to the TBS set with Barkley. Great entertainment possibilities there.

 

[MileHigh]

I remember when he joined the Lakers -- the day before the start of the Atlanta Olympics.

Three titles, a big-time circus and reams and reams of fantastic quotes. His number will go up on the Staples wall.

 

[NickMordo]

Would like to see him added to the TBS set with Barkley. Great entertainment possibilities there.

Yeah. Chuck, The Jet and Shaq. Dump C-Webb, he is lame.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

One of the all-time great quotes... I remember talking to a guy who covered him for several seasons and I asked him, "How can you tell when he's joking and when he's serious?" and he said, "I'm still trying to figure that out."

I always found him very pleasant to deal with.

 

[CarltonBanks]

I can still remember having a fantasy draft with my buddies in college right before Shaq's rookie year. Mind you, we are talking about Jordan in his prime, David Robinson, Barkley, etc. Shaq was taken with the first pick of the draft.

What kind of a loser am I that we were playing fantasy basketball that far back? That league finally broke up two years ago but, for a long time, it was going strong.

 

[rmanfredi]

Shaq was awesome.

I'm probably forgetting someone, but this is the first basketball megastar -- maybe any major pro sport, unless you count that douchebag Favre -- drafted in the 90s to retire due to age/ineffectiveness.

Don't know about the folks here between, say, 29 and 34, but his makes me feel kind of old. I mean, I remember loading up on Shaq and Alonzo Mourning rookie cards back in the day and it really doesn't seem like that long ago.

Griffey Jr. debuted in 1989, so he's on the edge of that as well. Feeling older by the day.

Has there ever been a first-ballot HOFer who played for six different teams?

Adrian Dantley played on seven.

 

[MileHigh]

Shaq was awesome.

I'm probably forgetting someone, but this is the first basketball megastar -- maybe any major pro sport, unless you count that douchebag Favre -- drafted in the 90s to retire due to age/ineffectiveness.

Don't know about the folks here between, say, 29 and 34, but his makes me feel kind of old. I mean, I remember loading up on Shaq and Alonzo Mourning rookie cards back in the day and it really doesn't seem like that long ago.

Griffey Jr. debuted in 1989, so he's on the edge of that as well. Feeling older by the day.

I saw Griffey many times ... when he was at Single A San Bernardino.

 

[flexmaster33]

Didn't he retire three years ago or does it just seem that way

 

[rmanfredi]

Yes. I meant that since he debuted in 1989, he was close to the mega-star from the 1990s who has retired because he's too old.

 

[LongTimeListener]

If he could have found a way to shoot even 65-70 percent from the line and prevent the Hack-a-Shaq, he would have been dominant to a level approaching Wilt in stats and Russell in championships.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

I always found him very pleasant to deal with.

Which is why the narrative regarding his L.A. years remained friendly for so long. He was "FUNNY!!!!" and the media ate it up.

Had he spent less time making jokes and more time busting ass in the wright room and the gym, there would be absolutely no debate as to his greatness. Free throws notwithstanding, he would be regarded by some as the greatest center to ever play the game.

He had all the tools: size, footwork, quickness, power. Yet he finished with a single MVP, made quite clear in L.A. that he didn't care to do anything in the offseason other than eat, and also spent time after leaving L.A. acting like one of the most hateful superstars in the league.

Many will write today about how "FUNNY!!!!" Shaq was. The serious NBA analysts will likely wonder how great he COULD have been.

 

[DanOregon]

ABC will throw big money after Shaq - if they already don't have their hooks into him with the Shaq Vs. show. He'll need a sparring partner though - to tell him how his ass tastes.

 

[NickMordo]

If he could have found a way to shoot even 65-70 percent from the line and prevent the Hack-a-Shaq, he would have been dominant to a level approaching Wilt in stats and Russell in championships.

Shaq actually has the most 20 and 10 seasons in NBA history (13) ... Wilt, Hakeem, Kareem all had 12

 

[HanSenSE]

ABC will throw big money after Shaq - if they already don't have their hooks into him with the Shaq Vs. show. He'll need a sparring partner though - to tell him how his ass tastes.

Bill Walton needs work ...

 

[Dyno]

While I respected his ability to dominate on the court, I never much liked Shaq. I never thought he was funny, just cartoonish and clowny. I wouldn't mind if he just went away for awhile.

 

[Batman]

Forget TV. Shaq's immediate plan is to get his PhD.
From the ESPN story (http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/news/story?id=6615886)

With his basketball career behind him, O'Neal said he has a lot of things to fall back on, including pursuing his doctorate in human resource development at Barry University in Miami.
"If all goes well, I will be Dr. Shaquille O'Neal in December or January," O'Neal said on "SportsCenter." "That's my main focus right now, but, you know, I've got a lot of stuff going on. I'm a business man. I own a couple of businesses. But right now I guess I could sit and take care of my body, get my body back."
[/quote[

 

[DanOregon]

ABC/ESPN should unload the truck on him. Put him in Dancing with the Stars, hell, put him on The Bachelor now in addition to having him try and be the Barkley of their basketball broadcasts.