SHAQ tired of Hack-a-Shaq

Who says you can’t teach an old Shaq new tricks? Every time the Suns center questions opponents’ Hack-a-Shaq tactics, he sounds like someone making excuses for not hitting his free throws.Forgive me, Mr. Supersized Saguaro, but please don’t turn into a purveyor of fine whines and flambéed excuses. Your history as one of the NBA’s more dominating and entertaining players doesn’t mean it’s OK to shoot from the hip but not from the line.On Tuesday, Shaquille O’Neal called a team’s decision to intentionally foul him when it has a 10-point-or-more lead “cowardly.” His frustration is understandable. The tactic walks the fine line of sportsmanship and mocks the spirit of the game. It’s also well within NBA rules, and every time O’Neal reacts to it he sounds like someone with an accountability issue.Does 16-plus years in the league mean there’s no room for improvement?”No,” said Ed Palubinskas, a well-known shooting coach and former Olympian. “Shaq’s a great guy, but I just don’t think it matters to him anymore.”Doesn’t matter? That sounds a bit harsh. O’Neal cares. He often would stay after practice last season with then-Suns assistant Phil Weber and work on free-throw drills. But it does seem he’s given up going that extra mile because he feels all the coaches – and words of wisdom – over his long NBA career have done him little good.Palubinskas helped O’Neal during the 2000-01 season when his free-throw percentage with Los Angeles had dropped to 38 percent. It appeared to work, and he shot 68 percent over the last 15 games of the season. When O’Neal was left to his own devices, his struggles continued.His free-throw progression is a study in erraticism. Last season’s 50.3 percent mark is worse than his rookie effort of 1992-93, when he hit 59.2 percent.He incrementally shot worse Seasons 2 through 5, stayed around 52 percent Seasons 6 through 10 and hit his career high in 2002-03, when he shot 62.2 percent. He’s remained below 50 percent since, until last season. That number was the worst percentage in the NBA for those who qualified for league rankings based on participation. This preseason, he’s missed 8 of 12 attempts.It’s a curious phenomenon that many athletically gifted athletes – O’Neal certainly isn’t the only one – can stand 15 feet from their target with no one in their faces and miss. Sometimes badly.”The athleticism really has nothing to do with their shooting technique,” said Florida State assistant basketball coach Andy Enfield, the former NCAA record holder in free-throw percentage. “Some of it is hand-eye coordination, judging distance, things like that, but most of it is technique.”Enfield, who has worked with more than 100 NBA players, said one of his better pupils was the Suns’ Grant Hill. Early in his career, Hill, with Enfield’s guidance, changed his form from shooting from the left side of his face with a low release, to the right center of his body with a higher release point. It paid off. Hill steadily improved and last season’s 86.7 percent effort was the best of his career.”I’ve never worked with someone who worked as hard as Grant did,” Enfield said. “He was determined to get it right.”The Suns had two players rank at the top of the league last season in free-throw percentage. Steve Nash finished fifth (.906) and Hill 13th.It doesn’t take a physicist to see what O’Neal is doing wrong. He often delivers on an arc that’s almost flat. Over the years he has offered a variety of explanations for his struggles, including a short tendon in his shooting hand, a product of a childhood injury that did not heal properly.Others have suggested that his hands are too large to be successful at the line.”Nah,” Palubinskas said. “It’s simply a mastery of physical and technical techniques.”He believes if O’Neal could average just. 2.5 more free throws per quarter “he’d score 10 more points per game, be one of the NBA leaders in scoring, sit more and add two more years of playing time to his career”.

Big Cactus Takes His Hacks

A Daily Babble ProductionShaquille O’Neal’s propensity for providing notable sound bitesgenerally comes off as good-natured. He’s a goofy dude, andhe’s also one who has been a rather successful basketball player overthe course of his tenure in the Association. Sure, every now and then,the guy goes a bit too far (see: summer lyricism regarding one Mr.Bryant), but by and large, the Artist Formerly Known As the BigAristotle is a lot of fun, though he is now past his prime as a basketball player.But when it came to the issue of the Hack-a-Shaq this week, O’Neal just settled for being dopey. According to an ESPN report (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3644779), O’Neal told a Phoenix radio station this week, The only thing I call cowardly is when you’re up by 10 and do it…That’s a coward move and [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] knows that and I’ll make them pay for it. The Hack-a-Shaq caused its share of ripples once more among NBA observers this past spring. But no matter which side of the fence one stands on regarding what the league should or shouldn’t do, it seems silly to blame those who utilize the system effectively rather than the system…

Hayden Panettiere Flirts With Lakers Star

Heroes star Hayden Panettiere has some pretty lofty goals when it comes to flirting with men – she was spotted exchanging telephone numbers with Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Lamar Odom on Wednesday night.

Read more!

Shaq in High School, He held his Principle over his head, Video

This video is pure awesomeness. It shows a very young Shaq in high school. The first thing you see is them pan up from his shoes to his cut upper body. ( Yes Shaq was once cut ).

Anthony Cathirell’s Sporting News; Shaq Cracks on Spurs for “Hack-A-Shaq”

Even for the biggest ?oops junkie? pre-season NBA is pretty tedious. The stars get a few minutes, and a sweat and then spend the rest of the game ?ummified?in towels and warm-ups ?eeking?on no-namers trying to make a play and make the team. It? all pretty tame. And, meaningless!

Unless, of course, ?mateur night open mic rapper?and the self-glossed ?an of steel?opens his trap and starts dishing threats. Which, he did!

Shaq O?eal apparently spent his off-season grudging on San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich for ?ack-a-shacking?him to an easy first round win in the playoffs: ?when you?e down, I can see using that as a strategy. But when you?e up 10, 15 points, there? really no need for that. That? a coward move. And he knows that. I?l make ?m pay for that.? If by coward move, you mean, a sound basketball move, I? agree?Pop?is a coward. Wrong again, ?ig Dog?

Telling them not to hack you up is like telling them not to accept a free defensive stop. It would be like declining a travelling call. Not fouling, means putting the ball in the hands of Amare Stoudemire or Steve Nash. Or, someone who can actually do something with it!

There was a time when you promising to make someone pay really did scare whoever you were targeting. And that time was the late ?0?. When you could, you know?ove! Run! Jump! Do anything other than just get in the way on defense. But, you?e going to make the Spurs pay for their cowardice? How?! They knocked you out in the first round!

You?e not better, just older. Or, to put it in words you can understand?Can You Dig It!?

Video: Shaq held his principal over his head in high school

This video is pure awesomeness. It shows a very young Shaq in high school. The first thing you see is them pan up from his shoes to his cut upper body. (Yes Shaq was once cut ).

91 is a multiple of 7?

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=862709

Yeah, you read that right. 91-0 in a high school football game.

I asked Shaq for a comment but this is all I got.

speechless

How does one team dominate another this bad? Maybe the coach had a personal vendetta against the other team and left his starters in the whole time.

Wrong

According to the article above, Coach Bill Kramer of Naples didn’t play many of his star players. In fact they just sat on the bench while the 3rd stringers embarrassed their opponents from Estero.  What is this team doing playing another so obviously inferior? Shouldn’t the Estero team be moved to a lesser competitive conference? This team from Naples has players going on to play Division I football. They had no business taking the field with the Estero team.

A tip of my hat to the Estero team for not completely quitting. It would have been easy for head coach Rich Dombroski to just throw in the towel and quit when it was 70-0 at half. It had to be hard for those kids but they stuck it out and didn’t quit. The Naples coach should be commended for trying to do the right thing and benching his starters. He didn’t intentionally run up the score, it just kind of happened. He didn’t have his stars out there running circles around the other team.

If you didn’t read the whole article there’s a part talking about the reaction from the parents. Some parents were not happy that their kids didn’t play that much and wondered why he didn’t put them in the in an effort to pad their stats. Really? What kind of parent are you? Teaching your kids to beat up on another team they are definitely better than just to pad your stats?

I know John…I know…

Lets review

1. Florida High school football is out of control

2. Estero Wildcats don’t quit

3. John McCain doesn’t like football parents

4. I had no idea 91 was a multiple of 7

The Basketball Breakthrough

Move over Michael Jordan. Step aside Shaq. There’s a new boy on the court… We call him Air ‘C’ .

With a pocketful of deflated balloons as reinforcers, hubby and I and the two kids headed out last night to a special needs basketball clinic at the middle school, sponsored by our SEPTA. We’ve learned from past experiences with social outings, not to expect too much, so that we don’t get too disappointed.

But that hope…the hope that you may have finally hit upon something social that your child will love and thrive in…is always there. A flicker that’s waiting to be fanned into a flame.

Well, last night on the basketball court, there was a freakin five alarm fire, baby!

Really, it was one of those jaw-droppers. ‘C’ went into the gym in a strange school with only a minute’s hesitation. Once the strange coach took out a bag of balls, ‘C’ ran over to them, picked one up, and proceeded to take our breath away for the next 90 minutes. He even threw stray balls back to other kids!

During this magical clinic… when time stood still for my husband and me… we watched as ‘C’ did drills, including bounce passing to a partner, and dribbling the ball all along the perimeter of the court. There were times when they had to stop and come over to the coach and sit and listen, and then get up and do what they were just told. Lots of transitions…not normally C’s strong point.

And the boy can shoot!!! This skinny, 6 year old pip-squeak can actually get the ball into the net–the regulation size height! One shot after another. Repeatedly. Nothin’ but net! Holy crap! Who knew??!! There he was with his newly issued basketball shirt hanging off him, handling the ball like he was born to. Every successful shot brought a leaping high-five and a smile so wide that it barely fit on his cute little face! He was “the man” and he knew it! 

He was happy and relaxed in the middle of a strange place full of strangers. He didn’t need the balloons. It was his moment to shine. The pride we felt for him as his family at that moment can’t even be expressed.

And as we left the gym and walked into the crisp night air, my little man of few words summed up what we all were feeling…

“I love middle school, Mom”.