Keeping An Eye On Shaq
July 14, 2009 By: Rick Category: Cleveland Cavaliers
It’s still a bit strange thinking that Shaq is a Cavalier. The Big Witness is certainly not one to shy away from the spotlight, which of course makes following him easy to do. We haven’t really had this kind of star here before. LeBron tends to fade away in the off season, preferring to keep a little more private (aside from the occasional ESPY’s dance). Which may be for the best, we don’t want a repeat of this.
Since signing his deal and posing for a new picture with Danny Ferry, Shaq has been on the move. Most notably, he is currently touring China for Li Ning sportswear. Shaq, a martial arts fan, couldn’t help but take a tour of the Shaolin temple while he was in Henan. Apparently, the experience was a moving one as Shaq tweeted- “Ive been alotta place but being at the shaolin temple n china has brouhht a tear to my eye buddha blessed”
After exchanging gifts with the Monks, Shaq was treated to a demonstration of the martial arts styles that the Shaolin temple is known for. Shaq practices several styles of martial arts, and is a big fan of mixed martial arts matches. Shaq watched UFC 100 from his hotel in China, and may have a future in the sport-
UFC president Dana White sent a Twitter tweet to the 7-foot-1, 325-pound NBA giant on Friday that read: “After u win another championship this year let’s talk.”
O’Neal continues to lobby for a shot in the cage, White said Saturday during a break in the UFC 100 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Asked if he would rule out the possibility, White said, “I would sit down and talk to him.” Size wouldn’t matter, he said. “We’ve got a lot of little guys that wouldn’t be worried about a guy of that size.”
If it happened, White has no doubt about one outcome. “It would do a lot of pay-per-views,” he said.
Yes, let’s please wait until after the season is over shall we?
The good news is that Shaq at least is saying the right things about the upcoming basketball season-
“I’m now traveling around, but I keep working on my game and getting prepared for the Cleveland Cavaliers,” said the all-star center, who was invited to China by his sportswear sponsor, Li Ning. “The Cavaliers have one of the greatest players, LeBron James, and they did a pretty good job last season, almost making it to the finals (losing to Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference final). I think this year we have the opportunity to win the whole thing.I keep in pretty good shape and I think I can give a lot of help. Now we have two of the greatest players on the team and we gonna make the game harder for other teams,” said the still ambitious O’Neal, a 15-time NBA all-star and four-time NBA Champion.
Here’s hoping LeBron and Shaq will both be busy doing the talk show circuit next summer after hoisting the gold.