Spring Break
Shaq promises Heat championship
Harvey Fialkov | south florida sun-sentinel
Issue date: 7/22/04 Section: Sports
MIAMI (KRT) -Miami Heat President Pat Riley said he could finally cross off the top item on his lifetime to-do list: Find Shaquille.
Six days after acquiring 11-time All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal from the Lakers in a blockbuster trade for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant and a future first-round draft pick, the Heat and Miami literally rolled out the red carpet to welcome this larger-than-life sports icon.
After bouncing out of a tractor-trailer with `Diesel Power' and O'Neal's visage emblazoned on the side, the late-arriving Diesel quickly promised to take care of Riley's next to-do item, one that he promised nearly a decade ago upon his arrival.
"Remember this - I'm going to bring a championship to Miami," O'Neal said. "I promise."
After charming more than 3,000 fans, mostly screaming summer campers, on the outside steps of American Airlines Arena, O'Neal pulled out his A material to entertain the media circus at center court inside the arena on a dais that included Riley, Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, his agent Perry Rogers and manager Michael Parris.
"I told my wife when I was rolling up, I felt like the president," he said before humming "Hail to the Chief." O'Neal said the over-the-top welcoming committee had nothing to do with basketball: "That's just because I'm sexy."
However, underneath his one-liners and Muhammad Ali-like recycled quips, one could sense the seething anger of this 7-foot-1 gentle giant.
Without mentioning Kobe Bryant's name, O'Neal tossed up several veiled shots at his former teammate, whom he felt had drifted away from the team concept over the past two seasons after winning three consecutive championships.
"I lost a lot of fire because I was being too nice," O'Neal said. "A lot of time I wanted to blow up and knock people out, but I had to be professional and take a chill pill.
"I was always the scapegoat when things went wrong and I accepted that understanding I'm the millennium goliath and no one's going to root for me," he added. "My only wish is if it's going to fall on me, let it be done my way . . . . As soon as the power started to shift a little bit, things started getting frazzled."
In another reference to the ongoing power struggle between Bryant and O'Neal in Los Angeles, O'Neal let the assembled know that the Heat is, "Dwyane Wade's team. He's that type of guard who can lead us and do good things. I'm just his big brother here to back him up."
Six days after acquiring 11-time All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal from the Lakers in a blockbuster trade for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant and a future first-round draft pick, the Heat and Miami literally rolled out the red carpet to welcome this larger-than-life sports icon.
After bouncing out of a tractor-trailer with `Diesel Power' and O'Neal's visage emblazoned on the side, the late-arriving Diesel quickly promised to take care of Riley's next to-do item, one that he promised nearly a decade ago upon his arrival.
"Remember this - I'm going to bring a championship to Miami," O'Neal said. "I promise."
After charming more than 3,000 fans, mostly screaming summer campers, on the outside steps of American Airlines Arena, O'Neal pulled out his A material to entertain the media circus at center court inside the arena on a dais that included Riley, Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, his agent Perry Rogers and manager Michael Parris.
"I told my wife when I was rolling up, I felt like the president," he said before humming "Hail to the Chief." O'Neal said the over-the-top welcoming committee had nothing to do with basketball: "That's just because I'm sexy."
However, underneath his one-liners and Muhammad Ali-like recycled quips, one could sense the seething anger of this 7-foot-1 gentle giant.
Without mentioning Kobe Bryant's name, O'Neal tossed up several veiled shots at his former teammate, whom he felt had drifted away from the team concept over the past two seasons after winning three consecutive championships.
"I lost a lot of fire because I was being too nice," O'Neal said. "A lot of time I wanted to blow up and knock people out, but I had to be professional and take a chill pill.
"I was always the scapegoat when things went wrong and I accepted that understanding I'm the millennium goliath and no one's going to root for me," he added. "My only wish is if it's going to fall on me, let it be done my way . . . . As soon as the power started to shift a little bit, things started getting frazzled."
In another reference to the ongoing power struggle between Bryant and O'Neal in Los Angeles, O'Neal let the assembled know that the Heat is, "Dwyane Wade's team. He's that type of guard who can lead us and do good things. I'm just his big brother here to back him up."
