Around the NBA trade deadline, there was talk about Shaquille O’Neal being traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now it appears, depending on who you believe, that these talks may be heating back up.

For both sides, this deal would make a lot of sense. For the Cavs, they desperately need to give LeBron James a running mate. Considering that Shaq is coming off of a very good season, he could still get the job done in the middle. At the worst, he’ll give the opponent another player to think about outside of LeBron.

For the Suns, Shaq doesn’t have much use to them. They need to rebuild and trading away Shaq can save money and open up playing time. The Suns owners don’t have endless pockets so if they can save millions of dollars, don’t look for them to pass up the opportunity.

In terms of fantasy basketball, Shaq probably would see his stats go down. He’ll be a year older and he will likely be getting fewer touches. Plus, like usual, his low free throw percentage and high turnover rate limit his fantasy value.

It’s funny how the roots of our sports fandom start at such a young age. I am a huge NBA fan, in addition to loving the NFL. Though I live in San Antonio now, I grew up in Phoenix and that’s where my love of sports began.

When I was very young, there was a local kids show on early in the morning before school - “The Wallace and Ladmo Show”. The show ran from 1954 to 1989 in Phoenix on KPHO-TV. Every kid in Phoenix knew about Wallace and Ladmo, as well as the “bad guy” Gerald and other characters. It was very goofy and had a lot of bad sketches, games and other children’s activities.

Everybody wanted to get on “The Wallace and Ladmo Show.” Kids could write in and try to get onto the show by drawing a funny cartoon, making up a joke or whatever. Well my sister (who is two years older than I am), drew a cartoon and sent it in. She was selected and invited down to the studio to be on the TV show, where she could talk to Wallace and Ladmo plus receive a “Ladmo Bag” full of goodies.

Of course, I went to the studio with her to sit in the audience and watch. Well, it was just my luck that one of the other kids that was selected that day didn’t show up. So Ladmo asked me if I wanted to join my sister on TV! Wow, I was excited.

So my sister and I joined the other kids on stage, where we talked to the hosts and received our Ladmo bags.

When I got my bag home, inside was candy, chips and other treats, as well as a pair of Phoenix Suns tickets and a pair of knee-high Phoenix Suns socks - you know the white ones with the bright purple and orange stripes.

Our family went to the Suns game and a basketball fan was born! Though I am no longer a Suns fan, I do remember the teams of the late 70’s and 80’s very well with players like Alvin Adams, Kyle Macy, Larry Nance, Truck Robinson, Walter Davis, the Van Arsdale Brothers, Paul Westphal and many more. Kyle Macy was my first sports crush. But hey, that’s another story.