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?Former Spur Sean Elliott has shone in his first season as an ESPN hoops analyst, thanks largely to his candor. But that quality has irked some players, including Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal, who during an interview on KLAC radio in L.A. last week ripped Elliott (as well as analyst Bill Walton) for what Shaq perceived to be negative comments Elliott made about his dedication to the game. "They won't say it to my face," said Shaq. "That's because I'm a man, and they're a mouse." In fact Elliott and Shaq did air some differences in a face-to-face, off-camera meeting before a Lakers-Wizards game in November. Elliott says many coaches, general managers and players have confronted him about his frank comments—his dismissal of the Hawks' playoff chances early this season led to angry responses from several Atlanta players—which he finds curious since he feels he often pulls his punches. "I try not to come across as someone who is condescending toward other players," says Elliott, 35. "There are guys I talk about every night on the air that I may have not liked as a player or person, but I don't go after someone out of malice or for personal reasons."

?When NBC airs pro boxing for the first time since 1992, it will also build a bridge between cultures. On three Saturdays this May, Jessi Losada, one of the star sportscasters on Spanish-language TV, will host the first hour of a boxing telecast on NBC-owned Telemundo, then cross over to NBC Sports and host the final hour and a half in English. "We look at it as one 2�-hour show," says Losada, 47. "It just happens that one hour is on one network and another hour and a half is on another network in a different language."