Shaq statue set for September 8th unveiling

A busy three days of activities on and off the LSU campus in conjunction with the first home football game of the 2011 season begins on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 8, when the bronze statue of LSU All-American and college and pro Player of the Year, Shaquille O'Neal, will be unveiled in front of the LSU men's basketball practice facility.

The outdoor portion of the ceremony which the general public is invited to, will begin at 6 p.m. in the L-Lot in front of the main practice facility doors. The facility is attached to the back of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
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There will be VIP receptions and events before and after the bronze sculpture unveiling in the practice facility which are invitation only.

The 900-pound bronze statue is a life-size representation of a young "Shaq" dunking in his LSU basketball uniform.

The "iconic" O'Neal retired from the NBA after the 2011 season, spent with the Boston Celtics. He also played for the Orlando Magic (which drafted him No. 1 in 2002), the Los Angeles Lakers (where he won three championships), the Miami Heat (where he was also an NBA champ), the Phoenix Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He retired ranking fifth all-time in points scored in the NBA and fourth in postseason points scored. He is also the only LSU student athlete in any major sport to win a national player of the year award in college and an MVP award in the pros.

While here that weekend, O'Neal will host his annual fund-raising golf tournament at Carter Plantation on Friday to benefit the Shaquille O'Neal Life Skills Program at LSU. Entries for that tournament are still available through the LSU Life Skills Program office at 225-578-0385.

Also, on Friday, the latest class of the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame will be inducted that night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Entering the Hall that night will be Seimone Augustus, Skip Bertman, Wendell Davis, Suzette Lee, Carl Maddox and Lloyd Peever.

Michael Jones' famous try unveiled in bronze

A larger than life bronze sculpture of All Black legend Michael Jones was unveiled Friday evening in front of the redeveloped Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.

The bronze sculpture commemorates Jones scoring against Italy in the opening match of the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 at the same ground.

It took Auckland artist Natalie Stamilla months of work to create the large bronze sculpture of Jones reaching for the try line, and cost around $300,000.

Stamilla wanted to commemorate the try by Jones, and the custom bronze sculpture's design is based on a photograph of the iconic moment that was captured by Stamilla's father, Geoff Dale, who was a press photographer during the tournament.

Jones was on hand with his family to witness the unveiling that night.

The legendary flanker told ONE News the try was a particularly special memory of his.

"I'm pretty sure it was about fifty metres I flew wasn't it?"

Technically the first try of the match, and the Rugby World Cup, was a penalty try. Jones, however, scored the first try by a player.

Stamilla said her bronze sculpture is around 50% larger than lifesize.

"Everything is sort of an extra half of what it would be in person," she said.

"But it is sort of a little more stunning than that when you come and see it in person, it's so huge."

There were concerns initially the project would not go ahead because of a lack of funding, but private bronze statues funding was secured for the bronze cast sculpture from Contractors Bonding Ltd (CBL).