The Billiken's Bluff

Its no secret that Shaq and Kobe don't like one another. Kobe has called Shaq fat and out of shape. Shaq has said that Kobe is selfish and immature. When Kobe was charged with rape last summer, Shaq was one of the only Lakers not to call Kobe and offer his support. And last month the Lakers traded Shaq to Miami in an effort to convince Kobe to resign.



Yesterday Shaq was on Z100, a Portland Radio Station, and said that the only way Kobe would beat the rape charges against him was if rappers Ludacris, P.Diddy, and Snoop Dogg were members of the jury. Ouch, harsh words from the Big Aristotle.

Shaq isn't one of the 12 angry men on the jury, but he very well may be called upon by the prosecution to testify against Kobe.

A 22-year-old woman, who worked as a waitress at a 2002 party at Shaq's house has told the prosecution that Kobe made unwanted sexual advances towards her. The prosecution wants her to testify as a character witness against Kobe. And for some reason that is beyond me, (maybe I don't watch enough Law and Order) they may call Shaq to testify as well-

"Investigators from Eagle and Los Angeles, sources told Sports Illustrated, then made O'Neal aware, through his agent, Perry Rogers, that he could potentially become a witness in the Bryant case. O'Neal, through criminal defense lawyer David Chesnoff, refused to speak to the investigators, but he could still be called to testify in Colorado."

I don't know what Shaq could bring to the case other than a full-length mink coat and a number of memorable one-liners. But I do know if Shaq testifies against Kobe their beef will escalate to a whole other level. It will be grimy like the Biggie/Tupac beef. It will be full of verbal jabs like a Michael Moore/Bill O'Reilly interview. And it will have a certain soap operatic/Days of Our Lives feel to it.

And just to make things even more interesting, yesterday the NBA announced that the Heat will play the Lakers in a primetime Christmas Day matchup. Hopefully Kobe and Shaq will be able to settle this on the court, the basketball court.