SHAQ MORE ON THE PATERNITY ATTACK

Shaquille O'Neal's wife, Shaunie Nelson, is due to deliver the couple's fourth child - a girl - today at South Miami Hospital. That will be six kids for Shaq (he has a daughter and Shaunie has a son from previous relationships).

No signs of a letdown from the "Shaq Daddy" department, but he sure can't get his feet off the ground like he once did as a Blue Chip. To make matters worse, in the years to come, Shaq (pictured) may be celebrating his upcoming daughter's birthday during the same time the Miami Heat embarrassingly lost to the younger Chicago Bulls. Yesterday, the "Baby Bulls" tied the series at two games apiece. In Game 3, Shaq had just eight points to go along with seven turnovers against a weak frontline of Malik Allen and Michael Sweetney.

Speaking of the "Baby Bulls," Shaq should name his infant Beth - the closest female version to Ben - after Bulls guard Ben Gordon who has completely ripped through the Heat perimeter defense like a scissor. Respect is due and it should be wrapped in Shaq-a-Claus' pink blanket.

"40 MINUTES OF HELL" AT MISSOURI SPELLS MISERY

When Mike Anderson (pictured) was introduced as the University of Missouri's new men's basketball head coach several weeks ago, he said that "the fastest 40 minutes in basketball" were coming to campus. What he failed to mention was how long until those 40 minutes were going to be on display for antsy Mizzou fans who haven't seen their team reach the NCAA Tournament since 2003. Well, it's going to be more than a year until, at the very least, Missouri is back on the Big 12 basketball map. That's because the Tigers are coming off a year where they finished second to last in their conference. It doesn't help that they face a year of recruiting probation for off-the-court issues. That begs the questions: Did the university rush too quickly to find a replacement for Quin Snyder and was Anderson the right choice?

After Snyder resigned midway through last season (many thought he was pushed out), Athletic Director Mike Alden organized a search committee to find his successor. Alden's advisors included Assistant AD Gary Link, Senior Associate AD Mario Moccia, Deputy Chancellor Mike Middleton and former All-American Tiger guard Jon Sundvold. One of the candidates they interviewed was Mike Anderson because they were attracted to his "40 minutes of hell" style of basketball. And they figured high school prospects would feel the same way.

Well, that hell is definitely on its way. The team has to deal with a loss of one scholarship and being hit with one year of recruiting probation due to Snyder's off-the-court issues. Several years ago, he recruited point guard Ricky Clemons from junior college who turned out to be a huge problem. Clemons choked his girlfriend and ended up in jail. Later, while on house arrest, he crashed his car. Snyder was obviously not the one breaking the law, but his recruiting antics had brought in a hot head. You could make the argument that Snyder did his job by leading the Tigers to the tournament in 2003, but in the last two years, the team has nose-dived to near bottom of the Big 12 conference. He had problems maintaining consistency in the team's work ethic and style of play. That's why Snyder had felt the wrath from Alden who is now on the hot seat himself. Tigers basketball is long overdue from returning to the glory days when legendary coach Norm Stewart was at the helm. These days, there's more buzz around the football team - this past season, they won their first bowl game in 20 years.

So, how does Mike Anderson fill the void left by Snyder? From a statistical standpoint, very well. In four seasons at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, he was 89-41, guiding the Blazers to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and even going as far as the Sweet 16 in 2004 after upsetting No. 1 Kentucky. Credit goes to his hard-nosed defensive philosophy, which is where the "40 minutes of hell" expression derives. From the first year he took over at UAB, he brought the team instant success, and Missouri hopes he can do the same for its underachieving men's basketball program.

Anderson also has a reputation in the recruiting world. It's no coincidence that he's getting paid $850,000 per year – one of the highest salaries in college basketball. Anderson has contacts in some of the hottest basketball areas for rising stars, including Chicago, Memphis and cities in the Southeast – a mostly chartered region for football talent, not basketball. Having Anderson is a breath of fresh air, not only in the sense that he's been successful in such a short period of time. You see, Anderson is the first black coach at Missouri, which is a very attractive situation for young, black athletes who are looking for a demanding father figure who demands discipline and relentless hustle until the final buzzer sounds. It's not that white players won't want to come to Missouri; having a black coach with a wider network of contacts will open new recruiting doors.

But it sounds like the Tigers team is turning into a family tree, which is a cause for a concern. Anderson decided to keep Melvin Watkins, the interim head coach last year after Snyder stepped down. Melvin's son, Marcus, will be a senior guard in the fall. In addition, Anderson hired his nephew T.J. Cleveland from UAB to be one of his assistants. Perhaps Anderson is doing all this just in case the team does poorly, so he'll have the support from his coaching staff – I mean, family. Thinking nepotism? Well, it all sounds too chummy in my opinion. At the same time, the family system could work. Think of the Bowden brothers at Florida State, the Shula father-son combination with the Miami Dolphins and the Thompson generation at Georgetown.

A major threat, though, to Anderson's success lies within the upcoming Big 12 conference forecast, which calls for an increase in competition. Watch for it to reach new heights in 2007 when Kansas State should land the top two prospects in the country, O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker from Ohio's North College Hill High School. They're very interested in playing for Bob Huggins, who recently became head coach of the Wildcats. Huggins spent the previous 16 seasons at Cincinnati where he went 399-127, including 14 straight NCAA Tournament selections and a Final Four trip in 1992. Furthermore, he coached a handful of NBA prospects, including Kenyon Martin, Nick Van Exel, Ruben Patterson and Danny Fortson.

Anderson may not have been the best choice for Missouri basketball, at least not now. The team is in its rebuilding stage and will struggle next season without any blue-chip prospects. The school could've waited until next season to hire a new coach and let Melvin Watkins handle the reins for one more season, but that wasn't going to happen for two main reasons. First, Alden needed to make a quick and smart decision because he was on the verge of getting fired. Second, there were a bunch of solid coaches on the market and they all were going to be snatched up. If the Anderson project doesn't work right away, look for Alden to be axed.

Anderson will be able to keep his office longer, but in what kind of condition will it be? Huggins should've been the choice even though, like Snyder, he was cited for off-the-court incidents (Huggins was charged with DUI). Missouri probably wanted to shy away from previous run-ins. But Huggins' track record speaks for itself. In addition, he's about to land the nation's best recruiting class in 2007, which is when Missouri basketball will regain its scholarships and won't be on recruiting probation. Unfortunately, by that time Missouri will be in misery. In college sports, coaches are really known as figureheads as their name alone boosts recruiting possibilities. Huggins is one of those guys. And unlike Anderson, Huggins has had long-term, consistent success.