It’s all alien to him
Did it bother Shaquille O’Neal that Phoenix’s Steve Nash was voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player by the media? See if you can figure it out from what he told John Thompson in a taped TNT interview:
“At this point in my career, I’m done with trying to achieve individual accolades. They mean nothing. When I was younger, I tried to get it. I tried to get them all. … But that doesn’t mean anything.
“Nash had a great year. Now, if it was voted on by some legends or some players, you know, it would concern me. But it’s voted on by earthlings. Earthlings make mistakes.”
L.A. Story
Regarding Shaq’s comments that Los Angeles is a fake place where rich old men date 20-year-old girls, comedian Argus Hamilton noted, “The L.A. Chamber of Commerce asked a judge to slap a gag order on him. There are already too many people living out here.”
A minor feat
John Olerud accomplished something Monday he had never done before – homering in a minor league game.
Olerud, 36, had spent his entire professional career in the major leagues, beginning with Toronto in 1989. He signed with Boston earlier this month after the New York Yankees had let him go after last season, and homered in his debut with the Pawtucket (R.I.) Red Sox of the Triple-A International League.
Tough to ignore
Columnist Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times noted that SuperSonics forward Danny Fortson, were his 2005 playoff averages applied over the 48-minute span of an entire game, would have averaged 16.5 points and 11.9 rebounds.
The sticking point: those pesky 19.2 fouls.
He was out of bodies
In his Sports Illustrated column “The Show,” Bill Sheft noted that a recent “CSI: NY” episode was on a Red Sox fan who is discovered dead in his car in the Yankee Stadium parking lot. “Neat twist,” Sheft wrote. “He’d originally been found on Oct. 16, 2003, but Grady Little decided to leave him in.”
Homers for their beer
The Milwaukee City Council was expected to pass legislation Friday that would allow fans to consume alcoholic beverages in parking lots at Miller Park.
Alderman Michael Murphy pushed through the legislation after a dutiful Milwaukee police officer informed him that millions of fans who had been enjoying beer and brats at Brewer games over the years were unknowingly violating a 1980 city ordinance forbidding drinking in public parking lots of structures.
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Murphy joked, “I tried to make it illegal to drink Budweiser,” while keeping locally brewed Miller products free of fines.
Forgettable experience
Left-hander Johan Santana, the 2004 Cy Young Award winner, had his worst outing in nearly a year earlier this week, giving up seven earned runs and two homers in the Minnesota Twins’ 10-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Santana’s baby daughter, Jasmine, was on hand for the first time to see him pitch.
“It’s a good thing she won’t be able to remember it,” he said.