http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-080315-16 In a brief visit with Shaquille O'Neal earlier this week, I was surprised to hear Shaq make the claim that this is an MPE season for the self-proclaimed MDE. Surely you remember that MDE, in O'Neal's glossary, stands for Most Dominant Ever. But MPE? "Most pressure ever," Shaq said. Then he repeated it: "Most pressure ever." I naturally asked him to expound on that thought, especially given that he was so calm (a) when he said it and (b) really since he got to Phoenix. Can't say I got a definitive explanation, but Shaq wouldn't back off his assertion that the Suns' trading Shawn Marion for him and thus committing to a new style so abruptly has placed a greater expectations burden on The Diesel than he ever has hauled before. "It is a lot of pressure," O'Neal said. "Because it's always on me. But I accept that." We tried to press on. Pressure because the Suns have to win it all in the next 2½ seasons (or sooner, realistically) for this trade not to be judged as a failure? "Yes and no," Shaq said. "For people to say it didn't work, it would have to be because I came in here being an a------, screwing around and not playing hard. That's the only way you could say it didn't work." Then does this pressure stem from the fact that this season, with Steve Nash already at 34 and Grant Hill at 35, might represent the new Suns' best chance to win in the next 2½ years. "I want to win now," Shaq said. "But you know and I know that it takes three to eight years to build a championship team." Reminded that he might not have three to eight years left, Shaq added: "I think we can win it this season, but everything has to be done right." --

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