Two sport stars?

On Sunday night, 7'7" former NBA basketball player Manute Bol suited up for the Indianapolis Ice of the Central Hockey League. Bol did not appear in the game and his arthritic feet began to swell up in his custom-made size 16 ice skates, just from the seemingly harmless act of putting them on. Even more interesting than Bol's arthritic feet, and the fact that he was nearly 96 inches tall in skates, was the fact that he had never stepped foot on ice or worn ice skates until Sunday. Incidentally, Bol probably never will lace up his skates again as it was all part of a publicity stunt for the Ice and part of Bol's mission to raise money and awareness for Southern Sudanese children.

However, Bol's hockey debut got me thinking about two sport athletes. Many professional athletes have played two sports professionally: Michael Jordan (basketball, baseball), Bo Jackson (football, baseball), Deion Sanders (football, baseball), Roy Jones Jr. (boxing, basketball), Tony Gonzalez (basketball, football), Jim Thorpe (you name it he played it), Danny Ainge (baseball, basketball) and multitude of others. Obviously, some of these aforementioned athletes were more equipped to play a second sport than were others.

So on that note, I've decided to compile a list of professional athletes, the sports they currently play, the sport I'd like to see them play, and the odds that they would succeed at their new sports.



Shaquille O'Neal. The Los Angeles Lakers' 7'1," approximately 350 pound center is one of the three or four best big men in NBA history. However, if Shaq's previous escapades into other lines of work are any indication, he would surely be down to give another sport a try. Previously, O'Neal has made cameos in other occupations including the rap business, acting, and law enforcement. So what sport would I like to see this monster of a man compete in? Gymnastics

Odds:1,000,000:1. Though Shaq is a helluva a baller, a passable rapper, and a somewhat amusing actor, O'Neal will quickly learn that he can't be good at everything. (I cannot comment on his work in law enforcement because I have not had the pleasure of seeing him in action, though I do know that the site of an over 300 pound man chasing me down the street would be enough to get me drop my weapon.)

The Big Fella will quickly discover that gymnastics is a sport set up for little boys and girls (read: 1.5 feet shorter, 225 pounds lighter). Though Shaq will struggle in his new sport it will be hilarious to watch him snap balance beams, parallel bars and whatever other equipment is used in that sport which I have only witnessed about four times in my 22 years of existence. Also, it will be interesting to see how Shaq handles competing in spandex. Though the Diesel did wear Kobe's all-too tight jersey once as a bit of a tribute to his teammate, we all know that Shaq likes his clothes baggy.



Anna Kournikova. This Russian tennis goddess, is one of the top ten best-looking women in the entire world. Unfortunately, Ms. Kournikova is better equipped to pose for the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated than she is to appear on the cover of the magazine as a "tennis player" (albeit in sexy non-athletic clothing), like she did in the Spring of 2000. Despite, her enormous tennis potential and her former top ten WTA ranking, it appears that Kournikova's tennis career is going no where but south. So what sport is this fine specimen best suited for? Cheerleading.

Odds: 1:1. As previously mentioned, Kournikova is a goddess and not very good at sports. Therefore she will undoubtedly be successful in any occupation where she can be gawked at and doesn't have to do much except cheer on real athletes.



David Eckstein. At 5'8," 170 pounds (actually more like 5'6" 140 pounds), this California Angels shortstop is almost too small to play baseball and nobody is too small to play baseball. Eckstein is so small that he has trouble gripping the baseball and throwing with two fingers, a fundamental that most people learn and master by age ten.

Making Eckstein all the more of a freak is the fact that he uses a crow hop to toss the baseball from shortstop to second base (okay, first base). Just like throwing with two fingers is a skill one picks up in Little League, the crow hop is frequently used by youngsters with weak arms. In Eckstein's defense, somehow the little guy managed to bat nearly .300 and play SS on the World Champion Anaheim Angels. So what sport would I like to see this midget of a man play? Quarterback in the NFL.

Odds: 10:1. I wanted to put the odds at infinity to one but Eckstein has been silencing doubters all his life. I wouldn't be surprised if the little guy, pulled a Rudy in the NFL except better.

Picture crazy Ray Lewis breaking through the offensive line in hot pursuit of Eckstein. You might expect this man boy to collapse in a ball and start crying for his Mama, but I think he might evade Lewis, dodge a couple of other defenders, find an opening where he could see (most NFL defenders are over six feet) and then toss an underhand pass (remember he has a week arm and small hands) to a receiver for a 50 yard touchdown...



Unfortunately, I have a 1,000 word limit which I'm fast approaching. But, this game is a lot of fun (if not for you then at least for me). So to satisfy my urge to continue this game of potential two sport stars (or suckers as the case may be), without breaking the rules for writing a column in the Daily, I will be forced to complete my top ten list next week.

Daniel Fowler can be contacted at daniel.fowler@tufts.edu.