After holding a press conference at his home in Orlando on Friday, Shaq celebrated the beginning of life-after-basketball by attending a Taylor Swift concert with his common-law wife, Nicole “Hoopz” Alexander.  The two appeared to be having a great time and Shaq even took a moment to record himself and Hoopz enjoying the show.

I feel bad for whoever had to sit behind that seven-foot giant.

Hat Tip – [TheScore]

So what will we call him now, you ask?  How about “The Big A.A.R.P.,” which stands for the Association for the Advancement of Retired People.

Shaq took the opportunity to thank everyone he could think of, including his family, friends, fans and former coaches.  He even threw in a special thanks to the members of the media that he has had plenty of fun with over the years.  Shaq was always a joy to be around (unless your name is Kobe Bryant), and his presence on the court will be missed, but I doubt it will be long before we are enjoying his presence in front of the camera as a broadcaster.  In fact, he is already entertaining job offers.

Here is a look at his classy, yet humorous, retirement speech.

Upon their arrival at the camp, players were told to be on the lookout for a gorilla that had escaped from Animal Kingdom, setting up this hilarious scene.

It is kind of humbling to see these giant freaks of nature run for their lives like a bunch of sissies.

Hat Tip – [Orlando Sentinel]

Something tells me Winter Springs quarterback Garrett Etheridge didn’t catch that play.  And if he did, he clearly learned nothing from it.

With the game tied, and only seconds remaining in regulation, Etheridge was looking to run out the clock and take the game into overtime.  But rather than simply taking a knee, he decided to run around for several seconds before seemingly handing the ball off to Oviedo’s Jake Redding, who returned it 20 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

Ever hear someone use the saying, “We handed them the game.”  Etheridge literally did just that on this play.

But don’t let that keep you down Garrett. Hold your head up high. It’s only one play in a high school football game. Things could be worse. Just ask Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys.

Hat Tip – [Orlando Sentinel]

He also said that the fans love him, but the organization pretends to appreciate and like him, which is also ridiculous. Patrick Ewing is one of the faces of the Knicks organization history, and will always be known for what he did in Madison Square Garden. Many teams have tried to obtain him as a part of the coaching staff, and although I do not know if the Knicks made an attempt, but it doesn’t seem like they have. If the Knicks were intelligent enough, a move would have been made already, and Ewing would be an assistant coach.

Walsh, D’Antoni, whoever – get Ewing back to MSG, it’s where he belongs. The Knick fans would love to see him back home, he could help out the power forwards and future centers of the team and make them great, and he could be an overall force on the bench. Ewing would do wonders for the organization, so my recommendation is to get him back, and do whatever needs to be done to do it. Stan Van Gundy is right; it is shocking to see him somewhere else besides New York, so bring him back.