Timeout

Early post today (or late, depending how you look at it) ... and I'm going to make it a quick one.

Shaquille O'Neal, I've always said, is one of the better quotes in the NBA and one of the finer guys too. He always got a lot of flack in Los Angeles because that team was so successful and confident, that he was lumped in as an arrogant ego. Certainly there's no lack of confidence there with Shaq, but he's a pretty genuine guy.

While a Laker, one of his annual rites was to give out gifts to kids in Compton and inner-city LA during Christmas time. He didn't just sign the cheque, he took it on his own. He was known to drive through the neighbourhood and hand out PlayStations, mp3 players, DVD players, etc., the price tag often in the range of $150,000.

He hosts "Shaqsgiving" each year in which he helps feed the homeless, has pledged $1 million dollars to Boys and Girls Club of America, is a national spokesman for Reading is Fundamental and through his "Shaq Paq" program invites underprivileged children to NBA games throughout the season.

And now this.

For all the talk about how selfish athletes are, and there are many, there are quite a few that do some great things and Shaq is one of those guys. This is a nice story. One of my favourite NBAers because of things like this.