Cavs Get Shaq
As anticipated, the Cleveland Cavaliers – hoping to rebound next season from an embarrassing, early exit from the NBA playoffs – have signed the aging, ailing Shaquille O’Neal, ESPN reports. The network first reported the Cavs interest in the seven-footer four months ago. Many experts picked Cleveland, behind the engine known as LeBron James, to win the NBA championship this year. But Cleveland offered little resistance to Orlando’s Dwight Howard in the middle. Shaq, 37, showed that he still has something left in the tank, finishing the most recent season averaging 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in 75 games with the Suns. He hadn’t played in that many games since the 1999-2000 season.

Holyfield’s Huge Home About to Go on the Block
Former Heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield’s sprawling Georgia estate is back under foreclosure, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday. Unless Holyfield is able to come up with enough to pay off what he owes on the original $10 million loan by July 7, he will lose the 109-room Fairburn mansion. That’s when an auction is scheduled on the steps of the Fayette County Courthouse. Holyfield, 46, has earned more than $248 million in the ring, “but two divorces, several failed business ventures and child support payments believed to total $500,000 annually have taken a toll on his financial well-being,” writes the Journal-Constitution. A father of 11, Holyfield hasn’t stepped in the ring since December, when he was pummeled by WBA champion Nikolai Valuev in Switzerland. The last time he got a real payday was six years ago, when he got $5 million to fight James Toney. He told reporters a year ago that “I’m not broke. I’m just not liquid.” The estate, which has its own bowling alley and movie theater, is worth an estimated $20 million, and according to Holyfield it costs more than $1 million annually just to maintain. “To attack that house in any way, or suggest he get rid of it … that’s just not going to fly with him,” Holyfield’s former accountant Sam Gainer said last June. “That’s his trophy, his symbol of success.”

Holyfield appeals his championship loss. Heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield says he was robbed. The 46-year-old slugger is appealing last weekend’s 12-round loss to champion Nikolay Valuev to the World Boxing Association, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. Many observers agree that the former champ clearly won the bout. But according to the observers who really matter – two of the three official WBA judges – Holyfield was outscored by the Russian giant. Although Guillermo Perez Pineda saw things even at 114-114, Mikael Hook and Pierluigi Poppi, saw 7-foot Valuev the winner by scores of 115-114 and 116-112, respectively. An angry Holyfield told the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “I don’t know why the judges did that, but it’s an injustice. We’re filing a protest that basically says, ‘We want you to overturn this.’ I just want what’s rightfully mine. I didn’t lose. I won.”

The Kansas City Chiefs star who was recently accused of spitting alcohol in a woman’s face and threatening her boyfriend appears to have confirmed the reports. Running back Larry Johnson has apologized publicly in an appearance at the Chiefs headquarters, saying: “This is the first time in my life that I actually woke up and was kind of disgusted with myself and disgusted as far as the way my life and my career is headed right now.” Johnson, who won’t play in Sunday’s game versus the Jets, is also accused of shoving a woman at a club in another incident. “I’m going to work to that point to get my life back on track and know that I, and I alone, put myself in these critical situations and environments to where things don’t come out favorably to me,” he added. “All I can do is promise to you guys and to people who are watching that as a man, I’m still growing and as a man everyone makes mistakes.”

Evander Holyfield settles with son’s mother. Four-time heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield will establish a $100,000 college fund and pay private school tuition for his 10-year-old son after a child-support agreement this week. Holyfield made headlines after the boy’s mom Toi Irvin sued the boxer for non-payment months ago. The 46-year-old, who’s seeking to become the oldest boxer to win a heavyweight belt, reinstated health coverage for his son after letting it lapse. Irvin’s lawyer had publicly stated that he would petition the court to have Holyfield arrested if he didn’t comply with a support order. Holyfield also agreed to pay Randy Kessler’s $4,500 in attorney fees on the date of a scheduled hearing in Georgia.

Adam “Pacman” Jones not cited in hotel confrontation. The Dallas Cowboys have announced that they won’t discipline cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones over a beef he had Wednesday with his own bodyguard. Jones, who was just recently reinstated from a league-wide suspension after repeated arrests in off-the-field incidents, reportedly had a confrontation with his personal protection at a downtown Dallas hotel. “Someone from the business called police,” police spokesman Cpl. Jerry Monreal tells the Associated Press. “Police arrived and spoke to the parties after they had a verbal argument. Both parties agreed to leave, and they left.” No police report about the incident was filed and the Cowboys say Jones’ behavior didn’t violate his contract.

Aging boxer accepts deal to fight Russian giant. Four-time champion Evander Holyfield has agreed to challenge 7-foot, 320-pound heavyweight title-holder Nikolai Valuev for his belt. Holyfield, who turns 46 this month, could face the boxer in December in Germany or Switzerland. “It’s solid,” Holyfield tells ESPN.com. “They asked if I will take the fight for the offer they made, and if everything is straight up, I will take that fight. My lawyer is looking at it.” By winning the bout against Valuev, Holyfield would become the oldest heavyweight champ in history.

Elgin Baylor’s lawyer says ex-pro was “put out to pasture.” Just a day after stepping down from his post as general manager of the L.A. Clippers, former NBA great Elgin Baylor has hired lawyers to address a dispute about his separation from the team. “Elgin gave 22 years of his life to the Clippers, and it’s regrettable they are trying to put him out to pasture this way,” his lawyer, Carl Douglas, says. Douglas says Baylor and the Clippers are trying to resolve the disagreement quietly, but the results of their talks could lead to other action. Baylor came into the NBA in 1958, long before Blacks dominated pro basketball, and became one of the biggest stars of his day. During one season, he averaged 38 points.