WITH A STRING OF FLOPS, HAS THE SHAQ ATTACK FALLEN FLAT?

          The marketing of Shaquille O'Neal is examined by
     Richard Wilner of the N.Y. POST, who writes that, off the
     court, O'Neal "is fast becoming the great shrinking man." 
     Reebok has sent him to the TV ad "bench for the first half
     of" '98, while his signature shoes have received a "lukewarm
     reception."  O'Neal's latest rap album, "You Can't Stop The
     Reign," sold "just one-fifth the units his first smash album
     did," while his third movie, last summer's "Steel," earned
     "only" $1.7M at the box office.  Also, a plan for a TV
     sitcom called "'Hoops' seems stalled in development."  One
     sports agent, on O'Neal: "It's very hard to market a big man
     like Shaq because it is difficult for the public to identify
     with a 7-footer."  But Wilner adds that "several agents
     disagreed, saying there was nothing wrong with Shaq's
     commercial appeal."  The Muller Group's Roberto Muller, who
     was Reebok's President when they signed Shaq in '92, said
     there was "a bit of a Shaq glut" in '97 (N.Y. POST, 1/13).