SHAQ ATTACK

Too bad the Lakers defeated the Suns 130-124…Shaq’s big debut wasn’t nearly as eventful as the foul he inflicted upon Pau Gasol. “I’m in better shape than I thought I was,” Shaq said, “the adrenaline factor and just being out there with the guys.” Shaq-Daddy scored nine of his 15 points in the final quarter and nabbed nine rebounds in 29 minutes. “He did seem to get stronger as the game went on, which is incredible,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I did really think he’d run out of steam sometime in the second half, and he really didn’t. Him not being used to anything that we do—124 points—I didn’t think we could put that many up, just starting out.”

OUR LADY OF GOLF
What the hell are publishers thinking these days? We’re still licking our GolfWeek Noose-Cover wounds and in steps Colorado’s Avid Golfer Magazine to stir things up again. Golfer Lorena Ochoa is profiled in a fantastic article-but it’s the accompanying illustration that has a few panties in a twist. The image in the current edition of Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine features the Our Lady of Guadalupe image with Ochoa’s face in place of the Virgin Mary’s. Funny shit if you ask me-at least they didn’t sere her face into a grilled-cheese sandwich.

Editor Jon Rizzi e-mailed this statement to the local news: “Colorado AvidGolfer deeply regrets offending anyone with the illustration that accompanied our feature on Lorena Ochoa. Because the piece was so overwhelmingly positive, praising Ms. Ochoa’s accomplishments and painting a glowing portrait of her as both a golfer and an inspiring humanitarian, we created a clearly iconic image for our illustration. We respect the opinions of those who objected to the image and apologize if it offended them, but we certainly did not intend to show disrespect to anyone.”
If people would just open the magazine and read the article, they may find that the comparison is not far off the mark. The Lorena Ochoa Foundation is one of Mexico’s most successful philanthropic programs; she’s won Mexico’s National Sports Award four times; was named 2007 Sportswoman of the Year; recorded 21 top-10 finishes in 25 starts; won a major title; tied for second in the U.S. Women’s Open; is involved in a new project, El Rio, on the outskirts of Guadalajara; and is in the process of launching the Ochoa Golf Academy…her accomplishments are astonishing considering she’s only 26…seems to me that someone is indeed walking on water.

SAY WHAT?

“It’s nice to be back on the field playing again,” Beckham said. “It’s our first game preseason. We’re still trying to get our fitness.” Golden Balls played the full ninety minutes but Gamba Osaka defeated the Galaxy 1-0 in the opener of the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship exhibition tournament on Wednesday night. “The first 15 minutes, we were terrible and they capitalized on the first breakthrough,” Becks said. “The second was a lot, lot better. We started playing football. We started playing with confidence. We started defending a lot better. We created chances. But you don’t get any thing unless you put them away.” And I think it’s high-time for Becks to permanently ‘put-away’ all of his shirts.

As always, thanks for reading.
delinda@athlebrities.