shaq

Shaquille O'Neal Conducts The Boston Pops

Filed under: Sports

Boston Celtics Center Shaquille O'Neal took advantage of playing in Boston to trade in Celtic green for a bow tie and tails to conduct the Boston Pops Orchestra at Symphony Hall. The Holiday Pops season, under the direction of conductor Keith Lockhart, is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.

By all accounts Shaq had a great time in the conductor role. In a press conference before the concert he said that he was honored to be chosen to conduct a three-song set and he expressed appreciation for the conductor's art saying that the rehearsal gave his arms a work out.

Keith Lockhart stepped aside and let the the Celtics Center take the baton for the Christmas classic "Sleigh Ride," the Jackson 5 hit "Can You Feel It" and Queen's "We Are the Champions." As you might guess, O'Neal is the tallest guest conductor in Pops history but he is also the first pro-basketball player. Other famous guest conductors have included Julia Child, Rachael Ray, Angie Dickinson, Henry Winkler, Ray Romano, William Shatner and Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Tags: boston pops, keith lockhart, shaq, Shaquille ONeal

Shaq Finally Unloads Miami Mansion for $16 Million - to Naomi Campbell's Boyfriend?

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Sports

Shaquille O'Neal has finally unloaded his Miami mansion for $16 million - $2 million less than he paid for the place - after nearly five years. The basketball superstar bought the Star Island spread in 2004 for $18.2 million, and first listed it for sale in 2005 for $32 million. The home was listed at $29 million when it was our estate of the day last summer, then the price dropped to $22 million before climbing back up to $25 million, then going back down to $22.5 million. Quite the real estate roller coaster. The Miami Herald reports that the new owner who reportedly coughed up $16 million in cash is said to be a European businessman who plans to renovate the estate. According to the South Beach Real Estate Blog, the buyer is none other than Vladislav Doronin, the handsome Russian billionaire who's dating supermodel Naomi Campbell. The Mediterranean-style main house has eight bedrooms, an indoor basketball court, gym, steam room and sauna. The 2.5 acre grounds include a tennis court, six-car garage, dock, two-bedroom guest house and Shaq's pool complete with Superman logo.

Gallery: Shaq on Star Island

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Tags: basketball, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, Florida, Miami, Naomi Campbell, NaomiCampbell, Russian billionaire, RussianBillionaire, Shaq, Shaquille ONeal, ShaquilleOneal, sports star, SportsStar, Star Island, StarIsland, supermodel, Vladislav Doronin, VladislavDoronin

Bryan Rubino Glass

by Anne Metz (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Gadgets

First Sonny and Cher. Then Justin and Britney. Then Kobe and Shaq.

It's clear that breaking up is hard to do.

As readers of the New York Times may know from yesterday's edition, the newest tiff is between famed Seattle glass artist Dale Chihuly and his former employee Bryan Rubino. Chihuly is suing Rubino for stealing his ideas.

Chihuly you've no doubt heard all about. He's the guy who makes -- among other creations -- the weird sea anemone-type glass chandeliers. He lit up Venice with his installations, and he's done the lobby of the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Robin Williams, Bill Gates and Bill Clinton all own Chihuly creations.

Rubino, the underdog in this story, is steadily producing lovely glassworks from his Shelton, Washington studio. This bumblebee-inspired glass vessel can be yours for $4100.

[image via Rubino Glass]

Tags: bill gates, BillGates, celebrity, cher, chihuly, kobe, rubino, shaq, sonny

Shaq's Ferrari For Sale This Weekend

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

The good thing about buying a Ferrari that used to belong to NBA star Shaquille O'Neal is that he always puts his own custom touches in. Case in point, this 1998 Ferrari F-1355 convertible. The sound system, seats and wheels have all been customized for Shaq and the car has a modified gas tank. The car is up for auction at the 15th annual Auburn Spring MotorFair this weekend through Kruse International. A sweet ride but in my opinion silver is not a good look for Ferraris.

[via Fort Wayne Journal Gazette]

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Tags: auction, exotic cars, ferrari, indiana, shaq, shaquille o'neal

MSNBC Looks At Celebrity Cars

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Our siblings over at Autoblog pointed us in the direction of an MSNBC article and slide show on celebrity cars and customization. The slide show includes Wyclef Jean's Pagani Zonda C12-S, which sells for $350,000, Shaq's 2003 Hummer H2 and his 2004 Rolls-Royce Phantom, and Missy Elliot's impressive fleet of cars including an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. One car in the slide show, Jack Osbourne's BMW X5, is no longer in the condition shown in the article. The carhit eBay last spring and the airbrushed design on the hood of the Osbourne family as rotting corpses had already been removed.

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Tags: aston martin, cars, celebrity rides, CelebrityRides, pagani, rolls-royce, shaq, zonda