random notes: Michelle Kwan; Kate Middleton; Shaquille O'Neal

[bronze_ribbons]

Michelle Kwan married Clay Pell a few days ago at a Unitarian church. I don't know if either Kwan or Pell are themselves Unitarian, and it doesn't matter -- except, you know, it's nonetheless kind of cool to glimpse a connection.

While surfing around a little for more on the Kwan-Pell story, I landed at a British Unitarian page on Kate Middleton's Unitarian relatives.

Finally, I was sifting through some old clippings during lunch and came across a 2010 New York Times interview of Shaquille O'Neal. The part that made me sit up:

Why do so many sportswriters seemed miffed that, at 38, you won’t get out of the game?
Now that I'm in a diminished role, everybody says, "He doesn't have it." But I will never take criticism from people who can't do it themselves.

You mean sportswriters?
Exactly. Now if Kareem comes out and says something, then I have to listen. He's a guy that's done more than me. A guy sitting behind a desk writing about what I should do -- I will never listen to it.

Do you find it difficult to be an aging athlete?
A little bit. We live in an impatient world. Everybody is always looking for the next big Kobe, the next big LeBron, the next big Twitter.

Do coaches really do anything?
Yes, they do. They’re the generals. Generals don't panic; then the troops never panic.

When was the last time you panicked?
1981.

When you were 9?
We were living with relatives, and I just happened to steal a lighter from the kitchen counter. I had a teddy bear. My thing was to just light the tail and then blow it out and laugh. Ha, ha. But as soon as I lit the tail, the whole thing caught on fire. It almost caught the house on fire. I got the whooping of my life.