Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

THURSDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NHL: Bruins at Panthers, 7:30 p.m. (NESN)
NHL: Penguins at Rangers, 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
NBA: Timberwolves at Jazz, 9 p.m. (NBA TV)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, Harvard vs. Vanderbilt, 4:40 p.m. (TNT)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, Colorado State vs. Murray State, 12:15 p.m. (CBS)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, Southern Miss vs. Kansas State, 12:40 p.m. (truTV)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, Davidson vs. Louisville, 1:40 p.m. (TBS)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, Montana vs. Wisconsin, 2:10 p.m. (TNT)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, BYU vs. Marquette, 2:45 p.m. (CBS)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, UNC-Asheville vs. Syracuse, 3:10 p.m. (truTV)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, Long Beach State vs. New Mexico, 4:10 p.m. (TBS)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, Western Kentucky vs. Kentucky, 6:50 p.m. (TBS)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, VCU vs. Wichita State, 7:15 p.m. (CBS)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, West Virginia vs. Gonzaga, 7:20 p.m. (TNT)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, South Dakota State vs. Baylor, 7:27 p.m. (truTV)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, UConn vs. Iowa State, 9:20 p.m. (TBS)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, New Mexico State vs. Indiana, 9:45 p.m. (CBS)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, Loyola (Md.) vs. Ohio State, 9:50 p.m. (TNT)
College basketball: NCAA tournament, Colorado vs. UNLV, 9:57 p.m. (truTV)
MLB preseason: Yankees at Nationals, 1 p.m. (MLB Network)
MLB preseason: Reds at Angels, 4 p.m. (MLB Network)
MLB preseason: Giants at Mariners, 10 p.m. (MLB Network)

AROUND THE WEB:

Shaquille O'Neal is ready to take on Jose Canseco in an MMA bout. (AP)

♦ Shaquille O’Neal responded to Jose Canseco‘s challenge to fight in a mixed martial arts bout by saying he’s ready to rumble.

“I challenged him a long time ago,” said O’Neal, who retired from the Celtics last year. “If he wants it done he knows where to find me.”

Canseco, 47, had attempted to start a comeback to baseball, but he was banned from his Mexican League team after declining to take a doping test.

Said the 40-year-old O’Neal: “He can be high off whatever, and I’ll be high off Frosted Flakes.”

♦ Dwyane Wade‘s return to his hometown Wednesday did not go well. Not only did the Heat lose to the Bulls, 106-102, despite Chicago playing without injured guard Derrick Rose, Wade’s father reportedly was ejected from the arena for repeated use of vulgarity.

According to an ESPN report, Dwyane Wade Sr. was seated in the 100 level and using profanity when arena personnel asked him to stop. When he refused, he was ejected.

The younger Wade scored 36 points in the losing effort.

♦ With coach Mike D’Antoni resigning from the Knicks Wednesday, Amar’e Stoudemire said the responsibility falls on the players.

“Everyone wasn’t buying into his system,” Stoudemire said, a comment that many feel is directed at Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony, the much-maligned forward, insisted he had no issues with D’Antoni or his decision to quit.

“It didn’t have anything to do with that,” Anthony said. “That was coach’s decision. I really don’t know where his mindset was at, what he thought, what he’s thinking as far his decision to step down. Anything about me and Mike he’ll tell you we never had any issues. Any disagreements he had with us as a team we talked about and we went from there.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On March 15, 1928, which player became the first Bruins goalie to win 20 games in a season, with a 3-1 victory over the Blackhawks in Chicago?

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Dwight Howard's future in Orlando remains a big question mark. (AP)

The principals are similar: once-in-a-generation dominant center, career opportunities beyond basketball, free agency and the Magic.

Yet Shaquille O’Neal believes the predicament facing soon-to-be free agent superstar Dwight Howard is not the same as the one he faced in 1996. Despite leaving the Magic 16 years ago to join the Lakers, O’Neal said on Tuesday if Howard were to leave Orlando it would be a “travesty.”

Shaq believes his decision to flee the Magic kingdom made sense because Los Angeles offered a better situation, but Howard’s choice is different due to the new collective bargaining agreement that allows the Magic to offer the 26 year-old the largest contract.

Howard’s larger-than-life personality — which is similar to Shaq’s — has led many to believe he wants to work on things beyond basketball such as acting. O’Neal had the same aspirations. He appeared in several movies, most notably “Blue Chips,” and even produced rap albums. A bigger market, such as Los Angeles, could provide a bigger platform for Howard to display his personality.

“I don’t know if he doesn’t like the organization,” O’Neal said. “I don’t know if he wants to go to a bigger city where he can get more endorsement deals, he can do movies. No one really knows the problem.”

O’Neal said Magic general manager Otis Smith will probably try to deal Howard before free agency in order to get some value in return. However, fellow TNT analyst Steve Kerr felt otherwise.

“I would be inclined towards playing it out and trying to keep Dwight, because it’s so hard to get equal value, and given that Dwight seems to say something new every week, I think there’s still a chance that they could re-sign him,” Kerr said. “I think you have to exhaust every opportunity or every possibility before you make a trade that you might later regret.”

Welcome to Monday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

TUESDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NHL: Bruins at Capitals, 7 p.m. (NESN)
NHL: Wild at Avalanche, 9 p.m. (NBCSN)
College basketball: Michigan at Purdue, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Kentucky at Georgia, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Miami at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)

AROUND THE WEB:

Jim Harbaugh has a beef with the officials after the Niners lost to the Giants in the NFC championship game. (AP)

♦ With 2:29 remaining in Sunday’s NFC championship game, Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled the ball on the New York 21-yard line and it was recovered by the 49ers. However, the officials ruled that Bradshaw’s forward progress had been stopped, so the Giants retained possession. That doesn’t sit well with 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, who compared the play to the infamous tuck rule call that helped Tom Brady and the Patriots defeat the Raiders in the Snow Bowl 10 years ago.

“In my opinion, that was a fumble,” Harbaugh said Monday. “I’m sure the league will defend it and the officials will defend it. But to me, that play was still going on. There was still struggling by Bradshaw. … I felt like it was analogous with the tuck rule.”

♦ Former Lakers forward Robert Horry offered his take on the Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant feud, blaming Phil Jackson for inciting the two players.

“I think Phil Jackson started that feud,” Horry told a Russian sports website. “It happened many times that after team practice he would say, “Kobe said this about Shaq, and Shaq said that about Kobe. … We couldn’t believe how could that happen, because just the day before we saw them together, jumping on one another. Phil liked it when there was conflict of some sort.

“I always tell people; if you look at those championships, you’ll see who were the closest players on the team. Normally those are the guys who are the first to hug each other. And when we were winning, it was always Shaq and Kobe who hugged. I think this will answer your question. Later it was blown out of proportion by the media, and both players started doing something that didn’t make sense.”

♦ Real Clear Sports has a list of the 10 most hyped foreign players. Daisuke Matsuzaka is No. 5, and Hideo Nomo, another Japanese pitcher who spent some time with the Red Sox, is No. 9. Yao Ming takes the top spot, ahead of Pele and Hideki Matsui.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Jan. 24, 1971, which Bruin was honored in a pregame ceremony before the B’s beat the Canadiens, 4-2, to extend their home winning streak to 15?

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Welcome to Tuesday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

TUESDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NHL: Penguins at Rangers, 7:30 p.m. (Versus)
College basketball: Duke at Ohio State, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ Shaquille O’Neal is making the rounds promoting his book “Shaq Uncut,” in which he takes some shots at former teammate Kobe Bryant. However, during an appearance on Los Angeles’ KTLA television Monday, Shaq acknowledged Kobe’s status at top Laker. “Based on what he’s done, he’s probably the greatest Laker of all-time,” O’Neal said. “If he gets another championship, he’ll tie with Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar, with six]. That will put him up there.”

Added O’Neal: “It’s a different kind of great. He had the skills to be an all-around player. I’m just a big man so I just do big-man stuff. I’m just in the big-man category.”

♦ Bills receiver Stevie Johnson acknowledged his mistake in taunting the Jets during his touchdown celebration Sunday, when he pretended to shoot himself in the leg to mock Jets receiver Plaxico Burress, then did the Jets’ “flight” celebration before crashing to the ground. Burress, who said Johnson called to apologize, continued to take the high road Monday.

“I don’t think he took consideration for everything that happened to me when he did it,” Burress said. “And I think a day later he’s realized what he did and how he made himself look — he embarrassed his team, his organization, his players, his coaches and everything like that. But those are things you learn; it’s being young and being immature at times.”

But if it happened when Burress was younger? “Oh, man, I probably would have met him outside before he got on his bus,” he said.

Some of Burress’ teammates were not as forgiving of Johnson. Nose tackle Sione Pouha found the “flight” part especially insensitive.

“Us being from New York, we like to hold ourselves to some integrity, and that airplane thing, in my opinion, was kind of a dagger considering the circumstances of remembrance of what we just had on Sept. 11,” Pouha said. “It was just unprofessional. We all stand for pride around here, and that’s a sacred moment for a lot of people and it’s a very sobering moment.”

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Welcome to Monday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY MONDAY:
No games scheduled

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ A week after troubled former baseball player Lenny Dykstra pulled out of a boxing match against Jose Canseco (and then fired off a bunch of anti-semitic tweets), former Celtic Shaquille O’Neal indicated he wants to take’s Dykstra’s spot. Tweeted Shaq at UFC boss Dana White: What up Dana white I wanna fight Jose conseco hook it up. There was no immediate response from White or Canseco.

♦ The judge who allowed alleged Penn State child molester Jerry Sandusky to go free on bail without an electronic angle bracelet as prosecutors requested is a volunteer with Sandusky’s charity, according to Deadspin. Pennsylvania district Judge Leslie Dutchcot volunteers for the Second Mile children’s charity.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett, appearing on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” on NBC, said assistant coach Mike McQueary met his legal obligations when he reported an alleged assault to Joe Paterno but failed to meet a “moral obligation” by not going to police. Corbett also said he expects more victims of Sandusky will emerge.

♦ The United States is concerned that English officials are not fully prepared for terrorist attacks at next year’s Olympics and plans to send 1,000 agents — including 500 FBI officials — to provide protection for America’s participants and diplomats, according to a report in the Guardian.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 14, 1967, which Red Sox representative was named Major League Executive of the Year for helping put together the Impossible Dream team that reached the World Series?

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Welcome to Tuesday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY TUESDAY:
NHL: Senators at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ Shaquille O’Neal has written an autobiography (with help from Jackie MacMullan), and he pulls no punches when it comes to his feud with former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant. Among the revelations: Kobe was upset that Shaq did not show more support when Kobe faced rape charges in Colorado, and the team stepped in and told both players to stop taking their beefs to the media. However, Kobe ignored the team’s instructions and blasted Shaq in an interview with Jim Gray.

Writes Shaq: I told Kobe, “If you ever say anything like what you said to Jim Gray ever again, I will kill you.” Kobe shrugged and said, “Whatever.”

O’Neal also recounts a run-in he had with then-Heat coach Pat Riley in practice, when the center pushed teammates aside and had a face-to-face screaming match with Riley.

As for his future, Shaq writes: They’ve already got some things cooking in Hollywood for me. Adam Sandler called me in June 2011 and said, “I want you to be in some of my movies.

♦ According to The Los Angeles Times, Frank McCourt is close to striking a deal with Major League Baseball in which he would sell the team along with Dodger Stadium. The price is expected to be around $1 billion. McCourt had pledged to keep the team, but his financial problems might make that impossible, even if he gets a favorable ruling from bankruptcy court.

♦ Top-ranked LSU and second-ranked Alabama meet Saturday in an SEC showdown. Real Clear Sports takes a look at the top 10 college football “Games of the Century.” No. 10 is the famous Harvard-Yale tie in 1968. No. 1 is Nebraska’s 35-31 victory over Oklahoma in 1971.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov 1, 2005, Jason Varitek became the first Red Sox player in 14 seasons to win a Gold Glove. Who was the team’s previous recipient, in 1991?

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Recently retired from the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal is the subject of lawsuit brought by his former IT guy, Shawn Darling, that claims that Shaq tried with the help of friends in law enforcement to frame him. (More on the suit here, which O’Neal’s lawyer has called, “baseless and groundless.”)

The Miami New Times says has obtained personal e-mails from O’Neal that were sealed by a judge, but were part of a court filing. The paper has been running excerpts from the emails. Included is an exchange with agent Robert Parrish regarding Shaq’s rumored relationship with a woman named “Christina” when he resided in Arizona. Shaq is upset because TMZ reportedly wanted to pay “Christina” to reveal exactly what happened between her and O’Neal.

In the e-mails, referring to Darling, O’Neal says [sics included], “… o boy needs to b put in jail, we have way to many law enforcement connections to let a criminal try to get over on mine o mine, … I promised u I would stay outta trouble, I kept my word, but cannot control somebody dtealing and selling emails. Come on now protect me from this. I lost my family because of this guy, come on now.”

In an interview with Inside MMA on Friday, Shaquille O’Neal listed Danny Ainge among the five former players he would like to face in a hypothetical mixed martial fight.

“Danny Aigne one time bit [Wayne] “Tree” Rollins‘ finger almost off in a match,” O’Neal said. “That’s not a move you can do in MMA but … the grit, the ferocity, the tenacity.”

The other four players named were Xavier McDaniel, Charles Oakley, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley. All five played in the 1980s and 90s.

Of the current NBA players, O’Neal said,”Ron Artest, you know you could probably put in there. But other than that, I’m not sure.”

Welcome to Wednesday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY WEDNESDAY:
MLB: Red Sox at Twins, 8:10 p.m. (NESN; WEEI)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ A bizarre court case involving Shaquille O’Neal was dismissed by a Los Angeles judge Tuesday. Music producer Robert Ross, who had worked with O’Neal but said the two had a business dispute, said he was kidnapped and beaten by gang members after claiming to have a sex tape of the former Celtic (he later testified that he never had such a tape). On Tuesday, the prosecution acknowledged “cause for concern” about the testimony of Ross — who has a lengthy criminal record — and decided not to continue.

♦ Despite the boost from the U.S. women’s soccer team’s run to the World Cup final last month, Women’s Professional Soccer has an uncertain future. In The New York Times, Jere Longman looks at the prospects for WPS and recaps the controversy with the Florida-based magicJack team, now led by player/coach Abby Wambach.

♦ The Northwest Missouri State football team, a perennial Division 2 powerhouse, is reeling from the June death of coach Scott Bostwick, a longtime assistant who was promoted after last season. The 49-year-old Bostwick died while mowing his lawn. USA Today‘s Steve Wieberg writes about the challenge facing new coach Adam Dorrel.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Aug. 10, 1999, which Red Sox pitcher tied a major league record by striking out four batters in one inning vs. the Royals?

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Following Shaquille O’Neal‘s retirement, Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is now the NBA’s most marketable player, according to Nielsen/E-Poll. Nowitzski has an N-Score of 132, which is 59 percent higher than Kobe Bryant‘s 83.

The N-Score measures name and image awareness, appeal and personality attributes such as sincerity, approachability, experience and influence, both at U.S. national and local levels.

Nowitzski does not have an agent or a business manager and only has one endorsement deal, which is with Nike. He has said he is not interested in cashing in on his marketability.

“I always wanted to be a basketball player. Nothing more. Nothing less,” Nowitzki said to Bloomberg. “I have never really considered myself to be a ‘brand.’ Sure there are a few things that I wouldn’t mid endorsing and maybe some day it will work out. For now, I am happy with where I am.”