The NBA, that citadel of swift and impartial justice, slapped Shaq with a $15,000 fine and a three-game suspension.

They've got to be kidding, right? Where's the message here, and what exactly is the NBA trying to remedy by it?

Cuban probably knows the answer, but he has onion rings to fry. The O'Neal-Miller incident underscored two of the NBA's most gnawing problems - the star treatment handed to players such as Shaquille, and the officiating mind-set that has allowed way too many big bodies to hack, clutch and pile-drive opponents in the name of modern, mostly low-post basketball.