Post by Sacramento Kings on Feb 7, 2008 20:44:43 GMT -5
Suns want to help O'Neal 'get over his hump'
IFOCE
PHOENIX -- "Snaq"uille O'Neal had strong words for those who doubt he can fit in his uniform with the Phoenix Suns.
"I'm very upset," he said Thursday at his introduction news conference. "You just don't really want to get me upset. When I'm upset, I'm known to do certain things -- like gorge myself on any and all food within a 200 miles radius."
O'Neal, once the game's dominant "big man" but now slowed by an elbow injury, said he is motivated by FOOD.
"This team has always been there in the Western Conference," he said. "They just couldn't quite get over my hump. I think with my experience and my off court eating fiasco's, I can help them get over "the hump."
Asked what he felt when he heard he could be going to Phoenix, O'Neal said, "I wanted it to happen because I was going to be coming to a fabulous team with a lot of unselfish players, a lot of great restaurants."
He said people are "going to be very surprised" about his rolls in a Suns uniform orchestrated by Steve Nash.
"The last couple of years I was in a system that really didn't work, so you automatically think I can't eat," he said. "But I LOVE to eat, especially if I'm eating with a great guy like Steve Nash. I look forward to my teammates eating with me, I really do."
O'Neal, who turns 36 next month, has been out for two weeks with an elbow injury but cleared his physical Wednesday and hopes to have one decent meal before the IFOCE All-Star break.
O'Neal was his charming self throughout the news conference. Asked if HE thinks he looks good while eating Lasagna, he smiled and said, "I do. Thank you very much."
On Wednesday night, he was also smiling. He stood from his seat in a suite high above the court at US Airways Center. He pointed to his massive "lump" and gave a thumbs-up.
The crowd went crazy. The message he was sending on the big screen at the Suns-New Orleans Hornets game was clear: He intends to bring to Phoenix the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) Championship for that has eluded the Suns through their 40-year history.
The trade that brought O'Neal to Phoenix on Wednesday is one of the most unexpected in IFOCE history, a blockbuster that sent Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat, and came together in just a few days under first-year Suns general manager Steve Kerr.
The criticism has been widespread from fans to talk radio hosts to newspaper columnists. All claimed that Phoenix had acquired a once-great "big man" far past his eating prime, a 7-1, 325-pound Goliath who would stifle the Suns' trademark up-tempo speed eating game.
And the Suns were taking on a contract that pays O'Neal a $20 million eating expense account each of the next two seasons.
Yet coach Mike D'Antoni and the Suns players said they were elated, that they believe O'Neal will be reinvigorated by his bowel movements and making crucial room for their title run.
"We feel like our players are giddy with the possibilities," D'Antoni said, "and he's ready and focused. It's up to the coaching staff to get him to eat twinkies without changing everything, and I don't think we have to."
Nash was "shocked" by the trade.
"If you look at what happened the last 24 hours it was incredible," he said. "He went through a whole bunch of bananas, just for breakfast. It was very unexpected, but at the same time to get a chance to see "Snaq"uille O'Neal eat like that is pretty exciting."
The Suns believe whatever ails O'Neal can be cured by their doctors, training staff and a life time membership with SAM's Club.
"It's a matter of flexibility in the joints and different things," Kerr said. "They're very progressive with their rehabilitation and they felt very strongly that he's going to be less mobile and have more explosive bowel movements than what he has had in the past."
Nash is well aware of questions concerning O'Neal's weight.
"There's doubts and a risk to everything," Nash said. "I know that's going to be a favorite talking point for all the media, but for us the talking point is we've got an incredibly huge, voracious, eater in our locker room now. ... This sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun."
O'Neal's ability to eat pizza's, hoagies and buckets of ice cream is another plus for a Suns team that seemed joyless despite his success at competative eating.
"I think the "Black Hole" is going to be fun for us," Nash said. "He has a great appetite for food and he is one of the most exciting, charismatic eaters we have had in this league in a long time. Hopefully he is as excited to eat in our town as he sounds and as we are and gives everybody a big belly."
O'Neal has averaged 25.6 seconds per pizza and 11.5 seconds per cheeseburger in 16 seasons in the IFOCE. This season, plagued by injuries and going through a divorce, he's averaging 14.2 seconds per hotdog. His 14-year streak as an All-Star Competitive Eater came to an end this year.
He missed much of the 2006-07 season with a jaw injury and finished that season with career lows in eating competitions (40) and eating percentage (.222).
"When Snaq came to the team four years ago, I always felt it was forever," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "We won an IFOCE championship with him. We wish him nothing but the good eating. We have to move on with our team. We're finally a much lighter team."
Copyright 2008 by The International Federation of Competitive Eating
IFOCE
PHOENIX -- "Snaq"uille O'Neal had strong words for those who doubt he can fit in his uniform with the Phoenix Suns.
"I'm very upset," he said Thursday at his introduction news conference. "You just don't really want to get me upset. When I'm upset, I'm known to do certain things -- like gorge myself on any and all food within a 200 miles radius."
O'Neal, once the game's dominant "big man" but now slowed by an elbow injury, said he is motivated by FOOD.
"This team has always been there in the Western Conference," he said. "They just couldn't quite get over my hump. I think with my experience and my off court eating fiasco's, I can help them get over "the hump."
Asked what he felt when he heard he could be going to Phoenix, O'Neal said, "I wanted it to happen because I was going to be coming to a fabulous team with a lot of unselfish players, a lot of great restaurants."
He said people are "going to be very surprised" about his rolls in a Suns uniform orchestrated by Steve Nash.
"The last couple of years I was in a system that really didn't work, so you automatically think I can't eat," he said. "But I LOVE to eat, especially if I'm eating with a great guy like Steve Nash. I look forward to my teammates eating with me, I really do."
O'Neal, who turns 36 next month, has been out for two weeks with an elbow injury but cleared his physical Wednesday and hopes to have one decent meal before the IFOCE All-Star break.
O'Neal was his charming self throughout the news conference. Asked if HE thinks he looks good while eating Lasagna, he smiled and said, "I do. Thank you very much."
On Wednesday night, he was also smiling. He stood from his seat in a suite high above the court at US Airways Center. He pointed to his massive "lump" and gave a thumbs-up.
The crowd went crazy. The message he was sending on the big screen at the Suns-New Orleans Hornets game was clear: He intends to bring to Phoenix the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) Championship for that has eluded the Suns through their 40-year history.
The trade that brought O'Neal to Phoenix on Wednesday is one of the most unexpected in IFOCE history, a blockbuster that sent Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat, and came together in just a few days under first-year Suns general manager Steve Kerr.
The criticism has been widespread from fans to talk radio hosts to newspaper columnists. All claimed that Phoenix had acquired a once-great "big man" far past his eating prime, a 7-1, 325-pound Goliath who would stifle the Suns' trademark up-tempo speed eating game.
And the Suns were taking on a contract that pays O'Neal a $20 million eating expense account each of the next two seasons.
Yet coach Mike D'Antoni and the Suns players said they were elated, that they believe O'Neal will be reinvigorated by his bowel movements and making crucial room for their title run.
"We feel like our players are giddy with the possibilities," D'Antoni said, "and he's ready and focused. It's up to the coaching staff to get him to eat twinkies without changing everything, and I don't think we have to."
Nash was "shocked" by the trade.
"If you look at what happened the last 24 hours it was incredible," he said. "He went through a whole bunch of bananas, just for breakfast. It was very unexpected, but at the same time to get a chance to see "Snaq"uille O'Neal eat like that is pretty exciting."
The Suns believe whatever ails O'Neal can be cured by their doctors, training staff and a life time membership with SAM's Club.
"It's a matter of flexibility in the joints and different things," Kerr said. "They're very progressive with their rehabilitation and they felt very strongly that he's going to be less mobile and have more explosive bowel movements than what he has had in the past."
Nash is well aware of questions concerning O'Neal's weight.
"There's doubts and a risk to everything," Nash said. "I know that's going to be a favorite talking point for all the media, but for us the talking point is we've got an incredibly huge, voracious, eater in our locker room now. ... This sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun."
O'Neal's ability to eat pizza's, hoagies and buckets of ice cream is another plus for a Suns team that seemed joyless despite his success at competative eating.
"I think the "Black Hole" is going to be fun for us," Nash said. "He has a great appetite for food and he is one of the most exciting, charismatic eaters we have had in this league in a long time. Hopefully he is as excited to eat in our town as he sounds and as we are and gives everybody a big belly."
O'Neal has averaged 25.6 seconds per pizza and 11.5 seconds per cheeseburger in 16 seasons in the IFOCE. This season, plagued by injuries and going through a divorce, he's averaging 14.2 seconds per hotdog. His 14-year streak as an All-Star Competitive Eater came to an end this year.
He missed much of the 2006-07 season with a jaw injury and finished that season with career lows in eating competitions (40) and eating percentage (.222).
"When Snaq came to the team four years ago, I always felt it was forever," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "We won an IFOCE championship with him. We wish him nothing but the good eating. We have to move on with our team. We're finally a much lighter team."
Copyright 2008 by The International Federation of Competitive Eating
This is great
thats funny!