R.I.P. Shaq Shoe

The NBA All-Star reserves were announced today, which inevitably lead to numerous rants about who got snubbed and how "the NBA never gets it right." Some good points were made, like the exclusions of Baron Davis, Manu Ginobili, and Marcus Camby, but I'm certainly disapointed to not see one VERY important name on anyone's list: Shaquille O'Neal.

Shaq's sub-par performance this season certainly doesn't earn him a spot on this year's Eastern squad, which sadly likely spells the end of the...(sob)... Shaq Shoe.


What good is an All-Star Weekend without Shaq? He's brought spontaneous break dancing competitions, crazy suits, center-lead fast breaks, free-throw dunk attempts, synchronized player introductions and other such shenanigans that brings us back year after year and keeps us glued to the set in anticipation. Who do we turn to now for excitement? David West?

Considering that this year's All-Star Game is in New Orleans, I have been trying to guess what kind of shoe Shaq would debut. Would it mix Pat O'Briens hurricanes, strip off its top, toss beads, or projectile vomit? Damn you, Eastern Conference coaches! We'll never find out now!