I don't want to start any unsubstantiated rumors here, but I think Shaquille O'Neal(notes) stole that panda from Steve Nash(notes).

It's just a guess, but in the dark of night, "The Big Ninja," armed with wire cutters and bamboo, broke into Nash's Exotic Zoo Farm and Emporium and snatched poor, petrified Lin Ding from her cage. I think he might have stolen Steve's blue shower curtain, too. I don't know, I'm not a doctor.

Why the suspicion? Well, according to the Arizona Republic, the Cavalier center's new reality show, "Shaq Vs." apparently was an idea that Shaq stole directly from Nash.

Shortly after O'Neal was traded to the Suns in February 2008, Nash mentioned to his new teammate a reality show he was pursuing. It would feature the Suns point guard taking on professional athletes in their own sport.

The topic didn't come up again until early in the 2008-09 season, when O'Neal boarded the Suns bus and told the team he would be starring in a new reality show in which he would be taking on, you got it, professional athletes in their own sport.

"You mean the idea you stole from me?" one Suns representative said he heard Nash say.

According to the paper, Nash eventually sought out an entertainment lawyer (Bob Loblaw), which is why he now has an executive-producer credit and the fat compensation that comes with it.

The other twist to this ridiculous whodunit is that Shaq is already being sued by author Todd Gallagher who says that the show was swiped from his book, "Andy Roddick Beat Me with a Frying Pan," in which Gallagher competed in sports events against professional athletes who handicapped their games.

Of course, this makes one wonder if Nash, in fact, stole his idea from Gallagher and whether or not that panda is even his. Do we know if Roddick is missing any endangered species? Ace, look into that, will ya?