New Shaq vs. Tonight at 9 EST on ABC

Tonight he takes on Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, arguably the best beach volleyball tandem in the world.

Dwight Howard Talks Shaq and Cavs – (and does Shaq impression)

via ESPN

Cavs Sign North Carolina 2nd Round Pick Danny Green

via cavs.com

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard/forward Danny Green to a contract, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today. Per team and league policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Cavaliers selected Green with the 46th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Green played four seasons at North Carolina and averaged 9.4 points on .455 shooting and 4.1 rebounds. He was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team, the All-ACC Third Team and the NCAA South Regional Tournament Team. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound guard/forward finished his college career as the only player in ACC history to tally at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 150 three-pointers, 150 blocks and 150 steals and is the only player in the Tarheel’s history to record 100 or more blocks shots and three-point field goals. As a senior he averaged career-best 13.1 points on .471 shooting, including shooting .418 from three-point range and 4.7 rebounds in 38 games (all starts) as North Carolina won the 2009 NCAA Championship.

Green played for the Cavaliers’ team during the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. In five games (three starts) he averaged 8.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per game.

ESPN Sunday Conversation

LeBron is the master of the tease. Is he teasing us? Is he teasing the rest of the NBA? Is he teasing Rachel Nichols?

Watch it here.

Here are my comments:  Its the Summer.  Nothing is happening.  2010 is a year away.  WHY is this a story on TV right now?

 

Relax, it’s just him making the rounds for his movie.  LBJ is smart.  He knows he can get TV time with anyone if he dangles the promise of talking about free agency with them.  In other words, he’s trading talking about the SAME OLD STORY for face time to promote “More Than a Game“

 

Savvy

TMZ Has Video of “Huge” Shaq Fighting “Tiny” De La Hoya

So  we already know that one of Shaq’s challenges is fighting Oscar De La Hoya (who is a hell of a boxer and a legend in his own right), but the size difference

in this video is insane.  Shaq is easily more than twice De La Hoya.  Oscar is listed as 5′ 10″ and had to move up to make middleweight (160 lbs), The Big Baryshnikov is a legit 7’1″ and is LISTED at 325 (but is probably more like a 350).  Why Oscar would sign up for this, I don’t know. But its like me saying: “Sure I’ll fight a bear”

Obama, LeBron to appear in back-to-school TV special

(via AP) President Barack Obama will appear in a back-to-school television special with singer Kelly Clarkson and basketball star LeBron James next month.

Obama is appearing in a 30-minute documentary that will air at 8 p.m. Sept. 8 on BET, MTV, VH1, CMT, Comedy Central, Spike TV and Nickelodeon, all of them Viacom networks.

In the program, the president says education is the key to people living out their dreams.

“So as this new school year begins, I urge you to set goals for your own education: to study hard and get involved in your school, to try new things and find something you’re passionate about,” Obama says, according to a release issued Wednesday.

“And that’s how our nation will get ahead — by ensuring that every American gets a world-class education, from preschool to college to a career,” Obama said.

The program marks the kickoff of an education initiative by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Viacom Inc. Called “Get Schooled,” the five-year campaign is aimed at improving this country’s dismal high school and college completion rates.

In the special, Obama, Clarkson and James all are shown alongside behind-the-scenes colleagues; Obama’s is speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz, who talks about her time in school and current job at the White House. Also featured are Clarkson’s music director, Jason Halbert, and James’ marketer, Latesha Williams.

Gates official Allan Golston, president of the foundation’s U.S. Program, noted Obama has made education a top priority and that schools got unprecedented money from the economic stimulus law earlier this year.

“Education is the key to opportunity and economic progress, for our young people and our nation,” Golston said.

Shaq vs. Series Premiere Tuesday, August 18th at 9:00 pm ET

Shaq vs. (link at abc.com) starts tonight.  Set your DVR!

“Each week, you can watch as Shaq takes his top-level skills and athletic prowess from the basketball court and transfers it to a brand new sporting event. Does his skill with double pivots or crossover dribbles transfer to the infield or the grid iron? You’ll see Shaq take on Olympic and World Champion Michael Phelps in the swimming pool (will Shaq wear the form-fitting one-piece swimsuit?); throw footballs with Ben Roethlisberger, Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers; hit the courts with reigning U.S. Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon Champion Serena Williams in tennis; throw punches with championship fighter Oscar de la Hoya in boxing; hit the baseball diamond with two-time NL MVP and St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols and get sand in his feet, going against Olympic gold medalists Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor in beach volleyball.

You’ll watch Shaq as both he and his weekly competitors go through rigorous training and pre-game hype with press conferences and interviews all leading up to the big competition. To be fair, of course, Shaq will be able to negotiate a handicap each week and will have a coach giving him tips for each of these challenges.”

A T-Shirt Made Just For Me (and this site)

I’m not trying to shill for Cavs products, but they have to be aiming for my exact demographic on this one.

Link here.

“Shaq vs.” Has a Host

from a site I’ve never been to (http://www.mmawaves.com) come the report that Shaq’s super athlete challenge show has wrangled a host (its the shouty guy from the UFC)

“UFC play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg will host the new reality series Shaq Vs. on ABC, which features NBA star Shaquille O’Neal.

In each episode of the show, O’Neal will go head-to-head with athletes in their own sports.

 

“Shaquille O’Neal just turns people into a mush,” Goldberg told UFC.com. “He has such a way about him, he’s such a big kid. He’s playful and people look at him like a big teddy bear. They just want to see and touch him. Plus, he’s so approachable, which is why I think this show will work.”

O’Neal, who is a big mixed martial arts
fan, has been training in MMA with Jonathan Burke for 10 years and has stated that he would like to fight.

“I think if Shaq has his way, it’s only a matter of time before he fights somebody,” Goldberg added. “When I saw Shaq in Pittsburgh, we were talking about UFC 100 and (UFC heavyweight champion) Brock (Lesnar) and could anybody beat him, and then he said ‘I keep telling (UFC President) Dana (White) I want to fight. I want to fight Hong Man Choi. Seriously, I’m coming.’ And one of the episodes planned is for him to work against (former boxing champion) Oscar De La Hoya, so we’re only a step away from it, and if Shaq has his way, because of his love for the sport, that will certainly happen in the future, unless we see him fight for real in the future.”

Shaq Vs. premieres Tuesday, August 18, at 9/8c on ABC.”

 

Cavs take chance on Powe (Associated Press)

Associated Press

CLEVELAND — Leon Powe once thought he was the nation’s top 10th-grade basketball player. Then he saw one of his AAU teammates play: LeBron James.

Powe asked his coach if James was in his graduating class. He was.

“Aww man,” Powe said. “There goes my No. 1 spot.”

He’ll gladly take a backup role to James again, as soon as his repaired left knee allows it. Powe signed a two-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers on

Wednesday, even though he isn’t expected back on the court until sometime around the All-Star break. The Cavaliers are paying Powe the league minimum for a three-year veteran.

“The money is not the issue with me,” Powe said. “The issue is I want to get my knee back healthy and go out there and play basketball. The money will come.”

The Celtics let the 6-foot-8 forward leave following a third surgery on his left knee, this time to repair a torn ACL suffered in the playoffs. Powe is strengthening the knee in Los Angeles and should begin running in about a month. He is expected in Cleveland in two weeks to continue his rehab.

“It’s always tough leaving the place you started,” Powe said in a conference call on Thursday. “I gave them every opportunity to have me over there, which didn’t work out. It wasn’t my fault. I had to move on.”

Powe averaged 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in 70 games last season.

He is reuniting with James after the two stormed the country on AAU teams and at summer camps during their high school years. Powe, 25, watched James take over games long before he became an NBA superstar.

After Powe broke into the NBA alongside stars such as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, Powe now joins James and Shaquille O’Neal.

“Shaq is one of the greatest players of all time and ‘Bron is going to be right there in that category,” Powe said. “Those are two great personalities. That’s the fun thing about playing with guys like them. They’re easy to get along with and it’s easy to play with them.”

By remaining in the Eastern Conference, Powe might not have to wait long for a reunion against his old team. The Cavaliers and Celtics are likely to again be two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and Powe admits he’s already dreaming of a postseason meeting.

“If that happens, that’s going to be fun for me,” he said. “I know Boston is a challenge, but our team, the Cavaliers got better and we’ll take on all challengers.”

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press