Miami – The wacky Miami Heat season just got wackier when coach and president Pat Riley announced he will pass on his team’s remaining games. “I’m driving across country to see the Grand Canyon and maybe visit Shaq,” Riley said.

 

The news came as a surprise to Miami owner Mickey Arison. “I thought he was going on a cruise,” said the perplexed Arison, who is also Chairman of Carnival Cruise Lines. “We had him comped for an extended balcony stateroom on The Conquest, scheduled to sail out of Galveston for Grand Turk and Caicos Islands.”

 

The Conquest, known as “The Fun Ship” is one of Carnival’s mega-liners and features gambling and a 24-hr. pizza station.

 

Reports originally had Riley leaving the Heat to scout college players in conference tournaments and later the NCAAs. “That was never happening,” said Shawn Marion, recently traded to the woeful Heat from the Western conferencing contending Phoenix Suns. “He told me he was bored out of his gourd with basketball.”

 

“Well, they’re the worst team in the league,” said the Lakers’ Phil Jackson, “and they’re tanking it, and as Riles always says, ‘If you can’t give it your total concentration, force and strength, bag it.’ And so he’s bagging it.”

 

Interim Heat coach Stan Van Gundy offered another explanation by directly quoting Riley. “Look for your choices, pick the best one, then go with it.”

 

Shaq O’Neal said he would welcome a visit from his former coach. “I’m not playing much anyway,” O’Neal said, “I need somebody to talk to.”