Shaq retires.....but with his great personality he will assuredly show up as a color analyst next season. I rank him as the 5th all time best center behind Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bill Russell, and Hakeem Alajuwon.

The Cubs Aramis Ramirez gets hit in the mouth with a ball and gets seven stitches. In the NHL, he would be sewn up without Novocaine and return to the game.....but in MLB they talk about putting him on the fifteen day DL. The guy makes 14.5 million this season...sheesh.

I attended David Akers charity dinner this week at the Cescaphe Ballroom on N. 2nd St. in Philly. He is a class act, and I hope the Eagles re-sign him. By the way...the venue is a jewel.

Jack Kevorkian died yesterday, as did James Arness. Agree with Kevorkian or not, you have to admire his resolve in pursuing what he felt was a just cause. And the stoic Arness lost both a daughter and an ex-wife to drug overdoses. The other man's grass indeed looks sometimes greener.

I've been lax with my posts...I'll try to pick up the pace. Thanks for reading.