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It's been pretty quiet since the Magic traded for Vince Carter. They managed to pick up a couple good players in Matt Barnes and Brandon Bass. Hedo Turkoglu took off for new riches and play for the Toronto Raptors (snicker). The Magic matched the offer Dallas gave to Gortat, although I'm not sure they needed to spend that much on a backup center. But the biggest news of the summer, Rashard Lewis fails a drug test. You never truly know the character of an pro athlete unless you know them personally. But I'd have to say this sounds as fishy as Grant Hill holding up an Orlando 7-11. That's pretty much the extent of the summer. I'd expect a couple late additions right around training camp - but I wouldn't expect anything too major until closer to the December-February timeframe. I'm sure the Magic will be looking to shore up any problems with minor deals near the trade deadline.

Mike Bianchi has a good article up on the Orlando Sentinel about the after game ass grabbin' and hand holdin' (as my dad would say). This is something I completely agree with Bianchi on, which rarely happens. Seriously, I can understand teaching good sportsmanship on your county recreation teams. But anything above that, I can't think of a time I ever liked my opponent enough to hug or hold hands. I'm all for playing fair, clean and even - but leave the huggin for the wife and the hippies.

The Magic beat up on the Heat to do their part in reaching the 7th seed. However, the Indiana game went down to the final minute and the Wizards pulled out a late win. So, the Magic are stuck in 8th - forced to play the Pistons. No biggie. I actually prefer the Magic play the Pistons for two reasons. One is Lebron James. I just don't the Magic are ready to handle Lebron over a 7 game series. Two, why not play the best? Everyone has discounted the Magic as a legitimate contender in the playoffs. And the Pistons are heavy favorites to go back to the Finals. So either we upset the #1 seed and move on to the second round (which even I don't really think could happen). Or, we get experience against a really good team that will probably end up in the finals. Either way, I hope the players learn from playing in the playoffs. With the experience and a couple tweaks in the offseason, we might have something for next year.

The Magic start the 2006-07 season tonight against the Chicago Bulls. Today is finally here; basketball is back. The Magic are back. Personally, I can hardly wait to get to the game tonight. I hope that everyone is as excited as I am. I expect the fans to be back in full force this year as the Magic contend for a playoff spot. See you at the game!

The Indiana Pacers are a disgrace to professional sports. Last week, Stephen Jackson was involved in an incident at a strip club with two other members of the team. During the incident, Jackson ended up pulling a handgun out and firiing several shots. I cannot believe the media has left this alone. Am I the only one who thinks there is something seriously wrong here?

Tonight, the Magic play their final game of the seasona against the Indiana Pacers. The game is in Indiana and starts at 7pm. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to see a big win to close out the season and make up for Monday night's loss to the Bulls

With the addition of Carlos Arroyo, rumors are swirling about Steve Francis. Where will he end up? New York wants to unload Penny Hardaway's contract for Francis. I don't see this deal happening for the same reason we didn't keep Kelvin Cato on the books. There really aren't any outstanding players available this summer. The summer of 2007 looks to have a better crop of free agents. For this reason alone, I can see the Magic hanging on to Francis until the summer of 2007 when his contract might look attractive to potential sign-and-trade candidates.

Time for everyone to hop on the bandwagon, we've made ESPN. Read the Daily Dime.

The Magic begin their training camp today at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Saturday the 8th, the Magic will have an open practice for the fans.

There is a nice article in today's Orlando Sentinel about the lack of faith in the Magic management. I would have to say that I pretty much agree with everything in the article except the John Weisbrod experiment being a failure. I believe we had our best offseason last year by trading Tracy McGrady (and the other stiffs) and landing Steve Francis, Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson (Dwight Howard was a given at the #1 pick).