Shaquille O'Neal has donned many monickers during his basketball career, including Shaq Fu, the Big Aristotle, Superman and Shaqtus. This weekend, he will add "Dr. O'Neal" to that list.

The former NBA player will graduate from Florida's Barry University on Saturday with a doctorate degree in education focusing on organizational learning and leadership.

"This is for my mother, who always stressed the importance of education," O'Neal said. "I am proud to have achieved a doctoral degree and wish to thank my professors and Barry University for helping make this dream a reality. I'm smart enough to know that, even at my tender age, my pursuit of education is never finished." Read More...

Let's not do what the TV talking heads at the sports networks are required to do. Let's not blather on about the Red Sox and the Rays and the American League East and whether the Yankees, minus their great closer, Mariano Rivera -- who was injured this week -- can still survive in baseball's toughest division and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. To those who have not heard: Thursday evening was quite possibly a landmark moment in the history of Major League Baseball; an Elvis-has-died, the-Wall-has-fallen, there's-some-new-movie-called-"Casablanca" sliver in time that will permanently dent the long and storied history of America's great game. Read More...

Police in suburban Dallas are recommending that ex-football star Deion Sanders face a charge that could land him in prison for a year, after a dispute last week that led to his estranged wife's arrest, authorities said Thursday. The fact that the Prosper, Texas, police sought charges against Sanders is not entirely unexpected, as he and a third person had been cited for misdemeanor assault in the incident in question, according to a statement from that town's police released April 25. But the "Class A Misdemeanor Criminal Mischief" charge that police are now recommending is more serious than the "Class C Simple Assault" charge that Sanders was cited for shortly after the incident. Read More...

Former NFL linebacker Junior Seau died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday, according to police. He was 43. A handgun was found near his body in a bedroom of his Oceanside, California, home by officers responding to an emergency call from a woman who said she was Seau's girlfriend, Oceanside Police Chief Frank McCoy said. She told police she returned to the home about 9:30 a.m. and found Seau "unconscious, suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest," McCoy said. Read More...

The New Jersey version of the NBA Nets is officially done, as the Brooklyn Nets unveiled their logos today. The ceremony was held as team merchandise went on sale at a Modell's store on Brooklyn's famous Flatbush Avenue, across from the Barclay's Center where the Nets will play. Read More...

Detroit Tigers outfielder Delmon Young has been released on $5,000 bail after he was arrested in Manhattan and charged with aggravated harassment after a dispute with another man. Young was set free Friday evening, his attorney, Daniel J. Ollen said. Young is not required to stay in New York and is due to appear in court in May. The dispute occurred Thursday night. Police said Young appeared intoxicated when they arrived at the scene outside the Hilton New York hotel. He was treated and released from a hospital Friday morning, police Detective Martin Speechley said. Read More...

Tommy John pitched 26 seasons in the major leagues, with his 700 career starts ranking him 8th all-time among major league baseball pitchers. But eclipsing his lasting legacy on the mound is the story of his injury, the pioneering surgery and rehabilitation he endured, and the lasting impact the eponymous operation has had on hundreds of players ever since. Today, sports fans and athletes hear the term "Tommy John surgery" and don't flinch; it's no longer seen as a career-ender. Read More...

White Sox right-hander Phil Humber pitched the third perfect game in franchise history, mowing down the Seattle Mariners 4-0 at Safeco Field on Saturday. It was the 20th regular-season perfect game in major league history and from a most unlikely hero: Humber had never pitched into the ninth inning in his career, let alone pitch a complete game. Read More...