Cleveland throws party to welcome Shaq
September 28th, 2009 Posted in NBA basketball newsShaq got in one last party before training camp.
All-Star center Shaquille ONeal, the big man Cleveland is counting on to deliver this championship-starved city a title, was welcomed to town on Sunday with a star-studded celebration that included sports celebrities and Average Joes looking to rub elbows with them.
The 37-year-old ONeal was acquired by the Cavaliers in June, shortly after the team was eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Cavs, who open camp on Monday, feel he is the missing piece to help league MVP LeBron James win his first title – and Clevelands first since 1964.
Fans lined up more than an hour outside The Barley House in the downtown Warehouse District for a chance to see Clevelands newest wonder: Shaq.
Before the guest of honor arrived, former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar, boxing champion Kelly Pavlik, Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu and former Cavs star Austin Carr walked the red carpet.
Kosar joked that the Browns, who dropped to 0-3 on Sunday with a 34-3 loss in Baltimore, could use the 7-foot-1, 325-pound ONeal.
I know hed been great in the scoring zone, Kosar said. Id love to lob it up to him.
Along with its fair share of sports heartache in the past few decades, Cleveland has been hard hit by the economy. Kosar said ONeals arrival is a boon to basketball and the region.
The NBA has become the haves and the have-nots, Kosar said. Weve been lucky that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has made Cleveland one of the leagues top franchises and Shaq makes us even better.
As they waited on a long line outside to get in, Lenny Kehoe of Cleveland and his friend, Derek Withrow, were excited about the chance to see ONeal – and what he can do on the court.
We wanted to see Shaq, said Kehoe, who is convinced the pairing of ONeal and James will end Clevelands title drought. This is the year. We came so close last year. Shaq is going to put us over the top.
