Shaquille O Neal

Good morning -- Shaquille O'Neal -- It's time to show if The Diesel has anything left in the tank.

NEW YORK -- Is there a simmering rift between Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, former teammates in Orlando? Judge for yourself.O'Neal was asked after the game whether he had any weekend exchange with Hardaway."

No. 1 Utah Jazz (62-60) vs. No. 3 L.A. Lakers (61-21)Season series: Los Angeles, 3-1 (Los Angeles, 104-87, on Oct. 31; Los Angeles, 97-92, on Nov. 18; Utah, 106-91, on March 28; Los Angeles, 102-98, on April 19.Last appearance in Western Conference finals: In 1991, the Lakers beat Portland, 4-2, then lost to Chicago, 4-1, in the NBA Finals. Last year, Utah beat Houston, 4-2, then lost to Chicago, 4-2, in the NBA Finals.Key players: Utah -- Karl Malone (25.6 ppg, 11.3 rpg in playoffs), John Stockton (11.6 ppg, 7.2 apg)

CHICAGO -- Yesterday should have been cause for celebration for Michael Jordan. Yet after receiving word he had won the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award, the Chicago Bulls guard would not be sidetracked from the task at hand."

No. 2 Seattle (61-21) vs. No. 3 L.A. Lakers (61-21)Season series: Seattle won, 3-1.Key players: Seattle -- Gary Payton (26.0 ppg, 5.6 apg in playoffs); Vin Baker (14.8 ppg, 10.4 rpg); Hersey Hawkins (15.8 ,, ppg). Los Angeles -- Shaquille O'Neal (29.0 ppg, 11.8 rpg); Nick Van Exel (8.8 ppg, 3.3 apg), Kobe Bryant (11.3 ppg).Key matchup: Van Exel vs. Payton. Van Exel comes off the bench, but he likely will get the most minutes against Payton, the league's top defensive point guard.What the Sonics have to do to win: If Seattle is unable to contain O'Neal, it has to do a good job of containing everyone else.

Tonight: Celtics at Bulls. The Celtics, who have already surpassed last season's victory total, beat the Bulls in the season opener.So close: The Wizards' Rod Strickland just missed a triple-double in Sunday's 109-99 victory over the Suns, finishing with 26 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.Sizzling: The SuperSonics made their first 12 three-point attempts in Sunday night's 120-108 victory at Vancouver. The Sonics finished 13-for-16.Surprising: The 76ers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-107, Sunday night, the Lakers' first loss in 10 games that Shaquille O'Neal has played this season.

It's a query that causes Kurt Rambis to pause because, frankly, he thinks comparing the "Showtime Era" of the Los Angeles Lakers, during which he won four championship rings, to the current team, which hasn't earned him any new jewelry as an assistant coach, is unfair.But when asked just how good the current Lakers' team can be, Rambis only pauses to lower his big duffel bag to the ground so he can better demonstrate his point."Some teams have the potential to play at a level here," Rambis says, holding his right hand about chest high.

Opponent: Orlando MagicSite: USAir Arena, LandoverTime: 7:30TV/Radio: HTS/WTEM (570 AM)Outlook: Orlando (51-17) has won four straight, and is 17-3 over its past 20. C Shaquille O'Neal (25.8 ppg, 10.8 rpg) and G Anfernee Hardaway (22.8 ppg, 7.2 apg) lead the Magic. Orlando was under .500 on the road much of the season, but 9-3 on the road since the All-Star break, and in Wednesday's win at Boston moved to over .500 on the road for the first time since Jan. 5. The Bullets, whose two-game winning streak ended Wednesday against San Antonio, are 0-2 against Orlando.

Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan made his comeback somewhat complete on Sunday when he walked away with the Most Valuable Player Award at the All-Star game in San Antonio. Somewhat, because there's still this little business of determining Jordan's worth in the game.Jordan has, for years, been underpaid. He's making $4 million this season, which ranked 14th among the 24 all-stars in San Antonio. Jordan joins a banner crop of unrestricted free agents at the end of this season, and plans to let the Bulls make the first move.

BOWIE -- When Washington Bullets vice president Wes Unseld was asked yesterday what it's like being named one of the best players in basketball history, you may as well have asked him the time of day -- the reaction probably would have been the same."

Michael Kenny hoisted his 4-year-old son Bam-Bam onto his shoulders and waited with anticipation for two of the world's most recognizable athletes - Shaquille O'Neal and Michael Phelps to enter Loyola University's aquatics center. "Put your hands up! Put your hands up!" Kenny urged his young son. "Why?" Bam-Bam asked softly. "You might be on TV," Kenny said with a laugh. A few minutes earlier Kenny and his son were in danger of missing the two athletes go head-to-head in a series of swimming events for O'Neal's new ABC show "Shaq Vs.," which pits the basketball star against athletes in their own sports and airs Sept.

Shaquille O'Neal vs. Phelps in Baltimore A new ABC sports reality series starring NBA center Shaquille O'Neal will be filming a segment Sunday at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Called "Shaq Vs.," the show pits O'Neal against other top athletes. Sunday's taping will find the wide-bodied O'Neal competing against Baltimore's Olympic champ Michael Phelps in the pool. Members of Meadowbrook, where the pool is housed, were told in an e-mail this week that they would be able to watch the competition - with only the area where the ABC crew is filming closed off. No date has yet been set for the swimming segment with Phelps.

1 Want fries: with that dunk?: Maybe he'll be a Terp, so watch Lance Stephenson in the McDonald's All-American Game (8 p.m., ESPN). 2 World view: The U.S., leading its group, faces Trinidad and Tobago in the final round of World Cup qualifying, in Nashville, Tenn. (7:30 p.m., ESPN2). 3 Quotatious: Maybe Shaquille O'Neal (left) will get a technical for dissing a ref via Twitter during the Suns-Rockets game (10 p.m., ESPN). 4 Ace place: It's like tennis' fifth Grand Slam, and the Sony Ericsson Open from Key Biscayne, Fla., is in the quarterfinals (1 p.m., Comcast SportsNet)

1 Super Access: Daily news, interviews and analysis from the Steelers and Cardinals at the Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on NFL Total Access (7 p.m., NFL Network). 2 Cold streak: Suddenly struggling Notre Dame, which has lost three straight, hosts Marquette in Big East action (7 p.m., ESPN). 3 Big stage : Angel McCoughtry of St. Frances needs to have a big game as Louisville takes on Connecticut (7:30 p.m., ESPN2). 4 Court date: The Australian Open is just flying by, and it continues with quarterfinal action (9:30 p.m., ESPN2)

1 In the basement: North Carolina tries to get out of last place in the Atlantic Coast Conference while facing Virginia (9 p.m., ESPN). 2 Mounting challenge: Long Island travels to Emmitsburg to face Mount St. Mary's (7 p.m., MASN). LIU is the Blackbirds, but only one black bird matters around here. 3 And no crab dribble: You see that wild, over-the-head shot LeBron James made Tuesday night? Let's see him do it again (Cavaliers at Bulls, 8 p.m., TNT). 4 Smooth shooter: See the new, improved free-throw stylings of Shaquille O'Neal (Suns at Nuggets, 10:30 p.m., TNT)

Michael Phelps is strolling the red carpet with rock stars. He's sitting knee-to-knee with Oprah, signing book deals, making cameos, commanding attention from Access Hollywood, canoodling - as the tabloids say - with young ladies, endorsing products and ringing the New York Stock Exchange opening bell. Earlier this week, he's hunched into Jay Leno's seat of honor, squirming a bit as the host prods him about what a big deal it will be to host Saturday Night Live (which he's doing tonight on NBC)

The original plan was to begin with a freestyle rap -- a la Shaquille O'Neal -- but that didn't last half a stanza. (I knew of only one word that rhymed with Schmuck.) So Plan B called for some farce, a little sarcasm that might poke, prod and maybe even offend. A high-brow cocktail for the low-minded. But it's not that easy. I couldn't pull it off. In fact, who can anymore? What a great week to discuss the state of discourse in our sports world. The cuff links and tiepins that govern social graces are breathing a bit easier with the passing of the most tenacious social critic my DVR has ever known.

NBA Suns@Celtics 7 P.M. [ESPN] Want to see how Shaq is doing in Phoenix? Shaquille O'Neal has had his moments with the Suns, but the team has struggled. Monday night against the Detroit Pistons, O'Neal had 12 points and 10 rebounds in 42 minutes but Phoenix lost in overtime, 110-105. The Celtics have the best record in the league but have lost two straight.

Shaquille O'Neal had 14 points and 16 rebounds, and Steve Nash had 19 points and 14 assists, helping the Phoenix Suns to a 94-87 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs yesterday. Grant Hill scored 18 points, including a crucial baseline 20-footer with 1:15 to go, as the Suns showed why they thought they needed O'Neal to compete with the rugged Spurs in the West. Phoenix outscored the Spurs 14-2 in the final 3:40 to improve to 4-6 since O'Neal joined the team. Manu Ginobili scored 22 points but missed down the stretch for the Spurs.

NHL Capitals@Sabres 7:30 p.m. [CSN+] The Sabres and Capitals are scrambling for a playoff spot, so two points tonight would be huge. Buffalo is tied for ninth and Washington is 11th in the Eastern Conference. Eight teams make the postseason cut. The Caps are coming off a 10-2 win over the Boston Bruins but have lost all three games against the Sabres this season. NBA Suns@Nuggets 9 P.M. [ESPN] Shaquille O'Neal tries to get on track with his new team when the Suns face Carmelo Anthony (Towson Catholic)