Shaquille O'Neal Is No Chris Hansen

For all we know, Dateline NBC reporter Chris Hansen may be short, scrawny and a mess on the basketball court. However, there is at least one area where the brains behind the show's "Online Predators" segment has it all over perennial NBA All-Star and future hall-of-famer Shaquille O'Neal (besides free-throws that is).

O'Neal, who aspires to be a police officer after he retires, spends his off-seasons helping out in the Bedford (Virginia) County Police Department. Earlier this fall it seems, Shaq was part of a botched raid that intended to take out a child pornography ring. Although O'Neal has playfully denied the report, A.J. Nuckols, whose home was mistakenly ransacked by police, confirmed in a telephone interview that he heard the former MVP was in his home. In a published letter to the Chatham Star Tribune, Nuckols, a Gretna, VA native also wrote:

"[The raid] scared me and my family beyond description. I was held at gunpoint and the home was ransacked by a paramilitary search-and-seizure team. Men ran at me, dropped into shooting position, double-handed semiautomatic pistols pointed at me, and made me put my hands against my truck."

The sheriff's department denies Nuckols characterization of the incident, although they have not confirmed or discredit Shaq's presence. The department also blames the incident on an internet service provider, who gave them the wrong IP address of the suspected kiddy porn user.

When Phil Jackson left the Lakers in 2004, O'Neal said he was the only coach he wanted to play for. If Shaq is smart, there is only one coach he should want to help him get better at snuffing out child pornography rings.