NBA: Shaquille O'Neal to support Australian Indigenous 'Voice' campaign

American basketballer Shaquille O'Neal will throw his support behind the Australian government's campaign to create an Indigenous "Voice to Parliament", Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Saturday.

The 7-foot-1 NBA Hall of Famer, who is in the country on a speaking tour, met with Albanese and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney on Saturday in Sydney.

O'Neal requested the meeting to learn more about the push to recognise Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for the first time in the nation's constitution, said the prime minister.

Albanese said his government had sought to "mobilise support for the 'Voice to Parliament' by talking with sporting figures" and that O'Neal had agreed to appear in videos for the campaign.

"Whatever you need from me, you just let me know," the four-time NBA champion told Albanese at a joint press conference.

Albanese's centre-left government, which swept to power in May elections, has pledged to hold a national referendum on Indigenous constitutional recognition and the creation of a "Voice to Parliament" in its first term.

The "Voice" would be a permanent body established to provide advice to the country's parliament on issues affecting the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

In Australia, the vast majority of referendums -- including a 1999 vote for the country to become a republic -- fail to pass the 50 percent support mark required at the ballot box.

"There is always a risk," Albanese conceded Saturday, but added that not holding the vote would not advance the cause either.

"There is a new dawn coming in this country," Burney said. 

"I have been involved in Aboriginal affairs for 45 years. And I have never felt optimism, I have never seen the curiosity that non-Aboriginal Australians have about truth (that I do now)."

The most resounding referendum win in Australia occurred in 1967, when more than 90 per cent of voters cast a ballot in favour of Aboriginal people being counted as part of the nation's population.

Agence France-Presse

NBA Finals: LeBron, Davis spark memories of Kobe-Shaq Lakers pairing

LeBron James and Anthony Davis delivered a fearsome one-two punch for Los Angeles on Friday, sparking more memories of Lakers legends Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

James and Davis combined for 65 points in the Lakers' 124-114 victory over the Heat, which put Los Angeles halfway to victory in the best-of-7 championship series.

They're the first Lakers duo to score 60 points in a Finals game since O'Neal and Bryant achieved the feat in 2002 -- when they claimed a third straight title.

After O'Neal departed the Lakers -- his relationship with Bryant famously soured -- Bryant won two more titles with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010.

James, playing in his 10th title series and with championships with Miami and Cleveland on his resume, recalled watching the Kobe-Shaq pairing when he was a high school star.

"Obviously we knew the force that Shaq brought to the table, but the elegance and force that Kobe played with, as well," James said. "They were very dominant in what they did on the floor, on both sides of the floor. So to be in the conversation with those two guys, myself and AD -- is just very humbling, because I know I grew up watching those guys."

Any memory of Bryant has a special resonance for the Lakers this year. The club icon died in a January helicopter crash that also claimed the life of his 13-year-old daughter and seven other people.

The Lakers wore their Bryant-inspired Black Mamba kit on Friday and remained unbeaten in four playoff games when wearing it.

James said that his and Davis's roles in the team can't be precisely compared to those of Shaq and Kobe.

"But I guess all four of us, we have a winning mentality," he said.

Davis agreed that any likeness was more to do with attitude than style of play.

"They both had a competitive spirit with themselves to will their teams to win," said Davis, who is in the championship series for the first time in his career.

"I think me and Bron are the same way. We are two guys who want to win no matter the circumstance. We both want to make sure that we do whatever it takes to help our team win."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Kobe, Shaq crush renewed feud speculation

LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant insisted Wednesday he has "no beef" with Shaquille O'Neal as the former Los Angeles Lakers teammates hit social media to say their sometimes strained relationship was "all good."

Bryant and O'Neal won three NBA titles together, but their tense relationship was a staple of league debate during the Lakers' period of dominance in the early 2000s.

The two buried the hatchet in an online podcast released in 2015 -- but it seemed the feud might erupt again after Bryant told an interviewer in Las Vegas this month that if O'Neal had had a better work ethic "he'd be the greatest of all time."

O'Neal countered by saying: "You don't get statues by not working hard." 

Like Bryant, O'Neal is now retired and in 2017 saw a statue of himself unveiled at the Lakers' Staples Center.

Bryant, who was on hand for those ceremonies two years ago, was quick to say the two remained on good terms.

"There is no beef with @Shaq I know most media want to see it but it ain't gonna happen. Ain't nothin but love there and we too old to beef anyway."

O'Neal responded with a tweet that said "It's all good bro," then added an apparent dig at recent Lakers signing Dwight Howard when he concluded "when I saw the interview, I thought you were talking about Dwite, is that how u spell his name lol"

source: news.abs-cbn.com

US pizza firm hopes to score with NBA star Shaquille O'Neal

NEW YORK - American pizza chain Papa John's, struggling since its chairman resigned over a comment maligning black people, on Friday named former basketball star Shaquille O'Neal to its board in hopes of boosting the firm's fortunes.

"Shaq" will be an ambassador for the brand, Papa John's CEO Steve Ritchie said on the CNBC business channel. 

The NBA Hall of Famer will also take a stake of about 30 percent in 9 Atlanta outlets of the company, which says it is the world's third-largest pizza deliverer.

Ritchie expressed hope that the arrival of Shaq -- who won 3 NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and 1 with the Miami Heat -- would help revitalize the chain whose sales have fallen since last summer.

In July, Papa John's founder John Schnatter resigned as chairman after a Forbes report that he used the N-word during a conference call. The word is a highly offensive slur referring to blacks.

"They want me to become the first African American on the board and I thought it was great," O'Neal confirmed on CNBC.

"We want to create a culture there now where people are loved, welcome and accepted."

Schnatter's resignation came months after an earlier controversy led him to step down as chief executive.

Echoing a stance of US President Donald Trump, he had criticized National Football League players for national anthem protests over racial injustice by police.

Schnatter blamed the NFL protests for declining viewership, which he said hurt pizza sales.

He remains the biggest shareholder of the pizza company, which has about 5,000 restaurants in 45 countries.

The investment fund Starboard Value took control of Papa John's in early February. Starboard's chairman Jeffrey Smith took on the same position at the pizza company, and several new people joined the board of directors.

Since retiring from professional basketball in 2011, Shaq has made a name as a TV commentator and businessman who has invested in other restaurants, including burger and hot dog chain Five Guys, as well as "Shaquille's," which opened this year in Los Angeles.

Asked if the pizza firm could be renamed "Papa Shaq" in his name, he laughed and said there would be a new item on the menu: "Shaqaroni."

Papa John's gained 4 percent to $48.85 on the New York Stock Exchange following the news.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Mayweather plans to strike early against Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather says he is going to come out swinging and be the aggressor early against Manny Pacquiao when they meet in Saturday's super fight in Las Vegas.

The 38-year-old Mayweather, who is putting his undefeated record on the line to fight Filipino icon Pacquiao at the MGM Grand, usually needs a few rounds to feel out and adjust to his opponent's game plan.

"I am going to approach it in a very, very aggressive way and go out there and press the attack early," Mayweather said Thursday night on the NBA on TNT.

"Of course I would love to win by knockout. I am pretty sure he is going to come at me extremely strong.

"I am facing one of the best fighters I have ever faced."

Mayweather was on the NBA television show with hosts Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson.

Mayweather's disclosure Thursday night that he will be the aggressor is welcome news to boxing fans who are being charged a hefty $100 for the pay-per-view to watch the fight in their homes. The 12-round welterweight unification fight is expected to generate a record $400 million in revenue.

Mayweather's longevity in the sport has been attributed to his brilliant defence and counterpunching skills but it also makes for some boring fights. Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach said Thursday he goes to sleep watching some of Mayweather's title fights.

Mayweather, who is the world's highest grossing athlete, said he would spend the next day and half before the fight doing light workouts, watching playoff basketball on TV and trying to stay focussed.

"I want to be real relaxed and real calm. I just try to have tunnel vision when I am on my way to the gym," he said.

Mayweather, who is 47-0 with 26 KOs, told the shows hosts the secret to keeping his unblemished record intact is that he never takes any opponent lightly.

"Even if I am fighting a guy they say is just a regular guy then I am still going to train extremely hard."

Mayweather told Barkley he doesn't watch tapes of his opponents because he learns all he needs to about them once they are trading blows in the ring.

"I never watch my opponent. I feel like you can have a certain game plan, but once you get inside that square circle the game plan changes," Mayweather said.

"Boxers may fight certain guys the same way, but they fight me different."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com