Shaquille O’Neal is no longer a member of the Miami Heat. He’s been traded to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. I haven’t been following this NBA season too closely, in part because the Heat have been terrible and in part because my schedule hasn’t allowed to me watch a single game this season. But I’m a Heat fan and have been one since I was in elementary school. I know Shaq’s one of the greatest to ever play the game, but I’m certainly not sad to see him go. He’s lost a step or two, he’s out of shape, and he has a monster contact that was going to prevent the team from signing any sort of free agent for the next two seasons. I know he helped make the Heat relevant again, and I know he played a part in the 2006 title, but you can’t make today’s decisions based on yesterday’s winning formula.
Tag Archive for 'Shaquille O’Neal'
I have no excuse for why I haven’t been posting anything recently. I’ve had the available time. I guess I just haven’t really been inspired. But there has been a lot that has happened since my last real update, so I suppose I could fill you in on a thing or two.
Connecticut - I have been in Connecticut for about three and a half weeks now. Socially speaking I have not done all that much. I’ve been out to dinner with some old high school friends once, went to a Memorial Day cookout and went hiking with a buddy from FSU who now works at ESPN. But beyond that I’ve been antisocial. I have done very little to try to make contact with my old friends up here. Of course, the other way of looking at it is that my old friends have done very little to make contact with me. I’ll be honest with you: I really don’t like having old friends. It’s not the people that I don’t like, it’s the concept. Let me explain. I am not good at keeping in contact with my friends while geographically distant from them. So each time we reunite it’s like a reboot of our friendship. We tell each other the headlines from what has happened over the past four to six months, maybe do something once or twice during that break, and then we part. Once again we do a poor job of keeping in touch and the process repeats itself upon our next reunion. That isn’t satisfying at all. It’s not friendship; it’s diplomacy. I maintain relations with such people rather than cultivate a real friendship. And I guess this time, with all that’s on my mind about my future, I’m just not up for it. If Johnny McHighschool calls tomorrow and wants to hang out I’ll hang out, but I just don’t have the necessary emotional resolve to be the initiator this time.
