The Front Row: Shaq’s new timetable

735 DAYS AND COUNTING: Well, we can never criticize Shaquille O’Neal for being vague.

First, in his freestyle directed at former teammate and on-again-off-again nemesis Kobe Bryant, O’Neal went above and beyond in the exact ways he’d like to humiliate the NBA’s reigning MVP.

Now, he has gone to even greater lengths to nail down the precise end of his basketball career.

The 36-year-old future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer says he will stop playing professional basketball in 735 days.

It’s an odd number. It’d put O’Neal’s final game sometime after the 2009-10 season. Technically, this would fall on Sept. 16, 2010 — an awfully strange day to retire.

O’Neal’s 13.9 points per game was by far the lowest season average of his 15-year career. The Suns acquired him in hopes of bolstering their interior defense while adding a dominant post presence alongside Amare Stoudemire.

For the next 735 days, we’ll get to see if Suns’ general manager Steve Kerr’s enormous gamble will ever start to pay off.

---

MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY: One of the greatest accolades a Mexican athlete can earn is the high-profile slot on the annual Independence Day boxing card.

Fighters such as Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and the great Julio Cesar Chavez have enjoyed that honor.

This year, it’s Juan Manuel Marquez’s turn.

Marquez, who dismantled Rocky Juarez last November in front of a packed house at Desert Diamond Casino, has finally risen from the shadows of relative obscurity into one of the most popular Mexican fighters in the game.

Marquez will be attempting to win a world title in his third weight class when he takes on lightweight titlist Joel Casamayor tomorrow night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas (HBO PPV).

Marquez gained notoriety for his two epic battles with pound-for-pound kingpin Manny Pacquiao. Despite suffering four knockdowns in their two bouts, Marquez has actually won more rounds on the judges’ scorecards.

This fight is a priviledge Marquez isn’t taking lightly.

“All Mexicans, Mexican-Americans and boxing fans in general are eagerly awaiting this fight,” Marquez told ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael. “I look forward to fighting with pride for all of them.”

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747