A friend just pointed out a little question-and-answer interview that the New York TImes published over the weekend with Shaquille O'Neal.

The Big Thingamajig, back in the day

​Here's the link for a quick look.

Note the following back and forth between the Big Guy and one Joe Brescia, who works for the Times and specializes in slowpitch softball (questions, that is):

"How is your law enforcement career going?"

I'm going to be running for undersheriff in Lake County, Fla."

"Is that the career you would have chosen if you did not play basketball?"

 

"I'd probably be an F.B.I. agent."

 

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Joe Yahner, Paul Babeu, Tom Horne, Greg Stanton, Geral Richard, Phil Gordon, Russell Pearce, Joe Arpaio (left to right, top to bottom)

​There they were.

All in one room.

And there was remarkably no blood spilled.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Attorney General Tom Horne. Gerald Richard, a law enforcement policy advisor for the AG's Office. Phoenix Police Chief Joe Yahner. Among others.


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John Szakin?

​Since our previous post about 53-year-old John Szakin, a registered sex offender/admitted serial flasher, the Scottsdale Police Department confirms to New Times that he's suspected of being the same guy who was photographed walking through Scottsdale wearing nothing but a hat and shoes in June of last year.

As we noted in our earlier post, stripping down and chasing women through Scottsdale was a hobby for Szakin. He told police he drives to Scottsdale from his home in Peoria at least once a week to flash people. He admitted to several incidents and says he targeted women as they left bars early in the morning.

As if there's really much doubt that the two are one in the same, Szakin is still only suspected of being the man seen taking a nude stroll around Old Town last June.

For any doubters, take a look at the photo comparison below. Note, as a reader points out in our previous post, Szakin's striking resemblance to a police-beaten Mighty Ducks star Emilio Estevez

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Ed Harris is the spitting image of Senator John McCain.

​HBO has released promotional images from the upcoming film Game Change, and one thing is clear: A Beautiful Mind star Ed Harris is a dead ringer for "The Maverick."

Harris is signed on to play the role of Senator John McCain in the upcoming film, which is based on John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's bestselling book, Game Change, in which the authors air some of the McCain campaign's dirty laundry -- namely, Sarah Palin and her continual battles with campaign staffers.

While she's no Tina Fey, Julianne Moore makes for a pretty convincing Palin, too.

See Moore as Palin below.

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Jared Loughner, as described by a member of the equally batty Westboro Baptist Church, is "bat-shit crazy."

​By now you've probably seen the chilling photo of Jared Loughner taken by the Pima County Sheriff's Office after Saturday's shooting rampage in Tucson. If not, look to the right (unless you ever want to sleep again).

Loughner's not the first maniac to look like, well, a maniac. Below is a list of 11 people with eyes almost as crazy as Loughner's. So sit back, relax, and follow us on a journey through the history of lunacy:

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​The Web site for the Arizona Daily Star is selling photos of the man believed to be responsible for shooting several people, including Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords and a federal judge, for $125 each.

The newspaper isn't trying to cash in on this morning's tragedy -- many newspapers sell photos taken in the community as a way to bring in some extra revenue. A photo taken by the paper at a Tucson book fair coincidentally shows the suspect, 22-year-old Jared Loughner -- and an 8x10 framed copy of the photo could be yours.

Here's a link, but you can see the photo below.
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James King

This dump is no more.

​The city of Phoenix is down one crack house today, after the Phoenix Police Department, in collaboration with the City of Phoenix, Habitat for Humanity, and the County Attorney's Office, leveled a crack house near 27th Avenue and Van Buren Street this morning.

City and police officials (from the Phoenix P.D.'s highly criticized South Mountain Precinct) used the demolition as an opportunity to tout their efforts in cleaning up the city and destroying known havens for criminals (not a bad idea, ya know, after yesterday).

City Councilman Claude Mattox says the house was a known hangout for drug dealers and users. At one point, he says, a 13-year-old girl was raped there.

The place looked like a dump, and watching it crumble put a smile on the faces of just about all the 30-or-so people who gathered in front of it for the destruction party.

Check out some photos after the jump.
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​In case you hadn't noticed, tensions over immigration enforcement are a little high in Arizona these days. Judge Susan Bolton's decision this morning to grant an injunction for certain aspects of the controversial, new law has dominated the news cycle and all the arguing has gotten us kinda bummed out.

A photo in The Onion gave us a brief LOL, though.

In the paper's "News in Photos" section, there is a picture with the headline "Arizona High Schools to Now Teach Spanish Entirely in English."

It's hilarious.

So, take a break from the heated debate and cool your toes in the satirical bliss of The Onion (after the jump, of course -- clicks, clicks, clicks, Valley Feverers).
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www.homevideos.com

​A fire gutted a downtown Tempe home over the weekend, injuring three firefighters and blowing the front door of the house about 25 feet onto Mill Avenue.

The blaze started around 10:40 p.m. Saturday at 1204 South Mill Avenue -- across from ASU and just south of the bars.

We happened to be in the area at the time and  snapped some cell-phone-quality photos for our devoted Valley Fever readers.

Check out the pics after the jump.


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​
The giant balloon dam pooling the Salt River into Tempe Town Lake burst last night, sending 750 million gallons of water downstream. Last night we brought you photos of the immediate aftermath.

Today, we received three photos taken from the seventh floor of the Hayden Ferry building that help put things in scale. Click them, and they get giant.

See more after the jump.
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