At Least One Guy Thinks Buss Was Right

The Boston Globe’s Peter May, on the uproar caused by the Lakers’ trading Shaquille O’Neal for three non-All-Stars and a draft pick:

“This is not -- repeat not -- a reprise of the 1975 deal that sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar was 28 when he was traded from Milwaukee to L.A. for a package of good-but-not-great Lakers. He was coming into his prime. He won three more MVPs with L.A., two before a guy named Magic Johnson arrived to revive his career.

“O’Neal is 32, but it is an old 32. In the last five years, he has played an additional season-plus (92 games) in the postseason alone. He has fought off nagging injuries almost daily. Next season will be his 13th; when Abdul-Jabbar arrived in L.A., it was for his seventh NBA season.”

More May: “History tells us that most of the great centers’ numbers start to decline in their 30s. ... O’Neal is coming off the lowest-scoring season (21.5 points) of his career. His previous boss, Jerry Buss, clearly thought O’Neal was on the downside and, statistically, Buss is probably correct. In four years, Shaq could be a 400-pound deputy sheriff in Harris County.”

Trivia time: Which player made up a 10-shot deficit in the final round to win the British Open for the largest comeback in major championship history?

Looking back: On this date in 1910, Cy Young recorded his 500th victory, leading the Cleveland Indians past the Washington Senators, 5-4, in 11 innings.

No comparison: Maria Sharapova has been swept up in a whirlwind of international celebrity ever since the 17-year-old Russian shocked Serena Williams to win the Wimbledon women’s tennis title and become the game’s hottest new celebrity, reported Russell Scott Smith of the New York Post.

Sharapova’s good looks have prompted comparisons with another blond Russian, Anna Kournikova, even though Kournikova never won a WTA tour event, let alone Wimbledon.

“People have always made that comparison and called me the new Anna,” Sharapova recently told reporters. “After winning Wimbledon, I don’t want to have to answer to those comparisons anymore.”

No sure thing: From Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post: “According to a study conducted by Baseball America, only 64.9% of the 774 first-rounders from 1965-95 reached the majors, and only 8% selected in the first 10 rounds became regulars.

“No wonder some GMs joke that there’s no such thing as a pitching prospect, while lamenting the unpredictable nature of growing seeds on the farm.”

No Mariner love: Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times asks: “Are the baseball gods really Ken Griffey Jr. fans, or are they just pulling his leg?”

Trivia answer: Paul Lawrie, in 1999.

And finally: Appleton Barrows, 70, had a fish story to tell after his 23-minute battle to land the biggest channel catfish on record in Connecticut -- 29.39 pounds -- while competing in a bass tournament. “It was like a nightmare. I was fishing by myself at 2 in the morning. I was still shaking by 6 in the morning.”