Sports

You don't get many chances to acquire the best player in the league and this was a trade I felt we had to make," said Pat Riley president of the Miami Heat.

Three-time NBA champion and two-time regular season scoring champion, to go along with being named one of the league's 50 greatest players, Shaquille O'Neal's numbers speak for themselves. The seven-foot, 340 pound man they call the Diesel let his feelings be known about being traded from the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Some guys are so smart they are dumb. Like Mitch Kupchak will never be remembered for anything but what? Trading me. That was the dumbest move in sports history," O'Neal commented to Slam magazine.

On July 14, 2004 the Miami Heat acquired O'Neal, the 11-time all-star center from the Lakers. In exchange, the Lakers got Caron Butler, Brian Grant, Lamar Odom and a future first-round pick. Pat Riley at the press conference said, "Today the Miami Heat took a giant step forward in our continued pursuit of an NBA Championship for the city of Miami and this franchise."

FedEx Forum
Opening in July, the FedEx Forum is located at the intersection of Highway 61 and historic Beale Street. With a themed tribute to the musical heritage of Memphis, and as the new home of the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, the complex is designed to bring downtown’s energy inside one arena, and will seat more than 18,000. “The Forum enjoys arguably the most significant location of any large venue in the world,” says Rey Flemings, president and CEO of the Memphis and Shelby County Music Commission. “I believe it will become one of the nation’s most-loved venues.... If popular music has a mecca, surely it’s at the intersection of Highway 61 and Beale. Performing a great show at the birthplace of American music will become an important milestone in an artist’s career.”