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A consumer’s guide to the best and worst of sports media and merchandise. Ground rules: If it can be read, played, heard, observed, worn, viewed, dialed or downloaded, it’s in play here.

What: “The Life”

When: Tonight, ESPN2, 8, and ESPN, 9:30

One thing you’ll see in this edition of ESPN the Magazine’s “The Life” is Shaquille O’Neal, a noted mumbler, screaming at the top of his lungs. O’Neal, having some fun while driving, yells at a young girl, a passenger in another car.

The 30-minute show, first televised Saturday, focuses on Shaq’s relationship with Johnny Cortez, a deaf towel boy for the Lakers. But there is much more, such as the segment that has O’Neal yelling at the young girl. “HEY! I said HEY! Hello, it’s me!” he screams. The young girl, after glancing over, rolls up her window.

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“See, I can be myself,” he says into a camera. “She didn’t even know it was me. That’s why I like living in L.A. Here, I’m just another big fish in a big ocean. In Orlando, I was the only big fish besides Mickey Mouse. But at the end of the day Mickey Mouse could take off his costume and go to a gentlemen’s club if he wants to.”

“The Life” made its debut in January, but this is the first one produced under the supervision of Mark Shapiro, vice president and general manager of ESPN Original Entertainment. Shapiro’s crew was given behind-the-scenes access to O’Neal for five days in March, and the result is an amazing show.

Viewers get to see his office, meet his lawyers, see him sign his tax returns, see him try to autograph a window with whipped cream, see him buy Lotto tickets, and see him backstage during a Jay Leno appearance. Even see him get a flat tire.

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