In Any Language, O’Neal Sorry

Having survived a trying few days in which he had to defend his religious and social attitudes, not to mention the guest list at his wedding, Shaquille O’Neal wore a diamond-studded Superman medallion on a chain around his neck Sunday.

While he has the logos on everything from his biceps to his cars to various places in his home, O’Neal said this bit of jewelry was different.

“This guy right here cannot be killed,” O’Neal said, holding the medallion away from his chest. “I have to wear it so people don’t forget. The guy right here cannot die. And I’m him.”

O’Neal had made a joke, one he said he regretted and that Yao Ming, the Houston Rocket center and joke target, had been gracious enough to forget. So life proceeded for O’Neal, the furor limited now to follow-up columns and thoughts of Friday’s game in Houston, where O’Neal and Yao will square off for the first time.

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Turned out, O’Neal was practicing the wrong apology Friday night.

“Toy-inchee,” according to various e-mails, is Cantonese for “I’m sorry.” “Dui-boochee” is Mandarin, which is what Yao speaks.

O’Neal said he’d try to have it mastered by Friday.

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O’Neal has not been talkative for going on six weeks, but arrived for Sunday’s game against Miami in a playful mood. Asked about the play of his teammates, once a sensitive subject, he said, “Real good. Proud of them. Moving the ball. Making shots.”

So, he has regained confidence in them? “Nope,” he said. “They stink.”

He smiled.

“It’s all about what we do as a team,” he said, adding that players such as Samaki Walker, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher and Rick Fox needed to score 10 points each. “Me and Kobe, we’ll get the rest.”

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As for his two memorable quotes of the season’s first half -- “I just want eight guys out there with me who want to play” and “Talk to the [guys] who ain’t doing nothing” -- O’Neal apologized for neither.

“I said one thing, just to try to turn them around,” he said. “Obviously, that didn’t work.”

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Kobe Bryant said that his wife, Vanessa, is due with the couple’s first child Feb. 2, and that he would skip the Feb. 9 All-Star Game if their daughter arrived too near the game.

Through last week, Bryant led all players on the All-Star ballot. Voting ended Sunday.