Shaq Has No Problem Filling These Shoes

If you’re in the market for tobacco-colored ostrich penny loafers to olive lizard lace-ups with tassels, Friedman’s in Atlanta is the store for you.

However, the store caters to men with really big feet, so it’s popular with NBA players. The shoes can run as much as $850.

One of Friedman’s best customers is Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq has been known to drop $16,000 at a time for 25 pairs of alligator dress shoes, size 22.

The store acknowledges Shaq with a life-size cardboard cutout of the Laker center.

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Trivia time: Who was the first L.A. Dodger other than Sandy Koufax to pitch a no-hitter?

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Scary time: Skip Bayless in the Chicago Tribune: “Close your eyes. Bar your doors. Egomaniac on the loose.

“Giving Bulls’ General Manager Jerry Krause the No. 1 pick in a draft without a clear-cut, franchise-changing, thank-you-Lord pick is like giving Dr. Frankenstein the run of the draft-bust cemetery.”

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More Krause: And this from Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune: “It was like handing a new hammer to the guy who knocked the nose off Michelangelo’s Pieta.

“The man [Krause] who couldn’t wait to undo the masterpiece that was the Bulls gets first crack at starting over.”

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Mystery violation: Last Tuesday night, Portland’s Brian Grant was called for a foul on a play in which he received an elbow from Utah’s Karl Malone.

Said ESPN’s Rich Eisen: “Perhaps his face was moving.”

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Therapy: With the Red Wings making an early exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs, Ellen Creager of the Detroit Free Press has a suggestion on how depressed fans can cope in Hockeytown:

“Find out whether any of your children are graduating from high school or college. Plan to attend the ceremony.”

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No Hockeytown: Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post, commenting before the first playoff game between the Dallas Stars and Colorado, which the Avalanche won:

“Thermometers across Texas figure to pop 90 degrees today. There ought to be a law against playing hockey in a sweat shop. And Dallas never should be allowed to win an NHL championship.

“What in the name of Lord Stanley would Texas cowboys and cowgirls do with the Stanley Cup? Fill it with salsa and go buy a bag of chips?”

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Football score: Cincinnati Red first baseman Sean Casey on his team’s 24-12 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field:

“That was like a summer league softball game and we won the keg of beer.”

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Trivia time: Bill Singer, on July 20, 1970, against Philadelphia. L.A. won, 5-0.

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And finally: Atlanta Brave pitcher John Smoltz, after being placed on the disabled list for the third time in two seasons:

“I’ve really come to hate those initials [DL]. It’s safe to say none of my children will have the initials D.L.”