lucylily's blog: "ght"

The calls came as soon as Shaquille ONeal decided to retire, all wanting to hire one of the NBAs greatest entertainers. TNTs "Inside the NBA" studio show had been ONeals favourite as a player, so the choice was easy. Get ready for the Big Analyzer, Big Commentator, or whatever other nickname he takes in the next phase of his career. ONeal agreed Thursday to a multi-year deal with Turner Sports to become an analyst on its NBA coverage, where he will fold his seven-foot-one frame into the fourth chair on the TNT set alongside Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson. "Im just going to try to make it more fun than it already is," ONeal said during a conference call. ONeal also will contribute to NBA TV and NBA.com, and his agreement includes a development deal with Turners entertainment and animation networks. ONeal said he had offers from ABC/ESPN and others upon retiring last month, but quickly chose the one from Turner, saying he wasnt interested in creating a bidding war for his services. A four-time NBA champion during his 19-year career, ONeal also had one of the NBAs biggest personalities, with Turner Sports president David Levy calling him one of the most "dominant, popular and charismatic players in the NBA." So ONeal, who says he still one day expects to run for sheriff, was expected to quickly find work in the entertainment industry upon his retirement if he wanted it. "The addition of The Big Analytical will be terrific," Smith said in a statement. "I cant wait to make verbal passes to the most dominant centre of our time." ONeal will be part of TNTs coverage of all-star weekend -- scheduled next season for Orlando, his first NBA home -- and the playoffs. He doesnt think it will be difficult having to criticize Kobe Bryant, whom he feuded with as Los Angeles Lakers teammates, or any other players. "I have the ability and the backing to give fair criticism. The only time I have trouble with people giving criticism is when they havent walked that walk," ONeal said. "Ive walked many walks in my 19-year career, so I think any criticism that I give should be fair." He showed a strong opinion in his first day on the job when referring to the state of the centre position with himself and Yao Ming deciding to retire within a month of each other. "The beasts are now gone, the Goliaths are now gone, so that leaves Dwight Howard out there by himself," ONeal said of Orlandos all-star centre. "So if he doesnt win two or three championships, Ill be very disappointed, because he has no competition out there now. None. Zero." A 15-time all-star, ONeal decided to retire in fifth place on the leagues career scoring list after he was slowed by injuries in recent seasons. Even as his game suffered, he remained one of the NBAs most popular players and should fit right in on the fourth seat of the TNT studio show, occupied mostly last season by Chris Webber. Neither ONeal nor Levy had any concern about ONeal finding room to give his insight with Barkley and Smith already in place. "Shaq knows the game and, on and off the floor, he has always been entertaining; a guy who gets it," Johnson said. ONeal said he also expects to work on cartoons and TV shows, adding hes interested in being the executive producer for a program. www.nflbrownsteameshop.com/Elite-Jason-Pinkston-Kids-Jersey/ . Following one missed shot, the ball rolled between forward Carlos Boozers legs as he fell on his backside, yet he still managed to scoop it up and feed a teammate for two more second-chance points for Chicago. www.nflbrownsteameshop.com/Elite-Gary-Barnidge-Kids-Jersey/ .S. President Barack Obama on Monday proclaimed the Connecticut Huskies as the best college basketball team in the land. http://www.nflbrownsteameshop.com/Elite-Joe-Thomas-Kids-Jersey/. It wasnt enough. Angel Pagan hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the sixth inning, Cain settled down after a shaky start and the Giants rallied from a six-run deficit to beat the Rockies for the 10th straight time, 8-6 on Thursday night. www.nflbrownsteameshop.com/Elite-Greg-Little-Kids-Jersey/ . James Harden scored 20 points, Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik added 13 points apiece and the Rockets cruised past the cold-shooting Cleveland Cavaliers 116-78 on Friday night. www.nflbrownsteameshop.com/Elite-TJ-Ward-Kids-Jersey/ . -- Graeme McDowell knew it was a mistake as soon as he glanced up at the scoreboard.This wasnt supposed to happen. Ahead of the light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson, the UFC tried selling fans on the idea about this potentially being a competitive matchup. Pundits and even the odds-makers would tell a different story, some betting sites capped Jones at one point at -850 (Bet $850 to win $100). But clearly thats not what ensued on Saturday night. From the moment the bell rang, the 26-year old Swede turned the fight into Jones most competitive matchup to date. Using his reach, effective striking and take downs, the Alliance MMA fighter displayed fearless confidence and won over the audience in the Air Canada Centre after five rounds of action. While his performance didnt earn him the victory on the judges scorecards (losing 47-48, 47-48, 46-49), it did immediately spark up debate as to whom Jones next opponent should be. "Who doesnt want to see this rematch?" said UFC President Dana White at the post-fight press conference. "Id like to do the rematch it makes sense, but we have to wait to see what happens -- maybe it is Glover (Teixeira), maybe it is a rematch, I dont know." In my opinion the answer is simple. Book the rematch between Jones and Gustafsson sometime next year and have that event held in Europe. The aftermath of Saturdays main event was a potential fight of year candidate and a winning lottery ticket at the promotions dispoosal.dddddddddddd In order to cash that ticket, they need to carry this momentum over into Jones next fight. Pundits will argue that Glover Teixeira is a more real candidate as hes currently undefeated inside the octagon and most recently dispatched fellow top contender Ryan Bader via first round stoppage earlier this month. The problem with that is who does Gustafsson square off with next? Phil Davis has won three straight, but theyre now fellow teammates and already fought back at UFC 112. Lyoto Machida has dropped to middleweight, Dan Henderson is fighting Vitor Belfort, Thiago Silva and Matt Hamill have both fought Gustafsson recently. Its possible the winner of Rashad Evans vs. Chael Sonnen could be next in line, but are they deserving being 1-2 in their last three fights? I dont think so. While no doubt the 33-year old Teixeira has earned his spot, a matchup with Jones right now would kill any potential of Gustafsson emerging as a European superstar for the promotion. Not since the days when Andrei Arlovski held the UFC heavyweight title back in 2005 has the promotion had a European champion. One of the challenges for the UFC in recent years has been marketing European fighters and after Saturday night, they certainly have an ideal candidate. Hosting a main event fight in Europe against Jon Jones would do big things for the UFC on a global scale and lets hope they make the right decision. ' ' '