Go Magic!

I know, I know. The rest of ye socks are focusing on the World Series and your favorite college football team.

In this little corner of heaven, today marks the beginning of the NBA regular season.

And, for the Orlando Magic that includes kicking things off in style at their new arena downtown.

Yours truly will be there in spirit, but still prefers the comfort and convenience of ye olde couch.

Go Magic!

Do YOU believe in Magic?

How could one NOT believe after last night's drumming of the Celtics?

So, they dropped the first three games of the best-of-seven series . . . they're not dead, yet!

Let's hope the guys in blue and white stun the Boston crowd again tomorrow night, so they can bring the Eastern Conference Finals back to Orlando for a big game seven!

Orlando did it again!

Ok, how many of ye socks really thought my prediction of a second sweep would come true?!

Well, it happened last night as the guys in blue in white beat the Atlanta Hawks, 98-84, in the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs.

This will send the Magic back to the Eastern Conference Finals!

Magic Fever has erupted in The City Beautiful (and surrounding areas), and not even a bottle of Nyquil can conquer that!

A second sweep in the making?!

Getting ready to head off to bed.

Can't stay up to watch the rest of the Magic game despite a prolonged battled with my eyelids. They just wont' stay open . . .

Well, at least the guys in blue and white are leading Atlanta by twenty points.

Hopefully, they'll hold on to that lead.

Maybe, we'll do to them what we did to Charlotte in the first round?!?

Magic 90, Bobcats 86

In case any of ye socks missed last night's Magic game, it looks like it may be time to break out your brooms.

Despite a decidedly lackluster performance by the guys in blue and white (including 21 turnovers!), they managed to take a 3-0 lead in the best of 7 series with Charlotte.

If . . . nay, WHEN they win game 4 on Monday, they should be able to enjoy a nice long rest before the second round of the playoffs begin . . .

Smellin' a sweep!

Star-gazing at Game 2 . . .

Well, the Magic dished up an even more lop-sided victory over Charlotte in Game 2 of their play-off series.

The final score was 92-77, and it was an UGLY game. Especially if you were a Wildcats fan. (They only scored 3 points in the first 8 minutes!!!)

Somewhat ashamed to admit this, but as the play on the court was so poor yours truly found himself checking out the notables seating along the sidelines.

I spotted golfer Michelle Wie and Michael Jordan.

Did any of ye socks see any other "stars" in the O-rena? (I mean, besides the ones on the Magic logo, of course!)

Oh, yeah, the play-offs started . . .

Yours truly just realized that he had neglected to mention the beginning of the NBA play-offs in this little corner of heaven.

In case ye socks missed it, the guys in Blue and White beat Charlotte, 98-89

A lot of those points came from Jameer Nelson. 32 points to be precise. If he can consistently throw up numbers like that, he may just be the difference between making it to the finals and actually winning the championship.

But, even with Nelson's shot of adrenaline, the Magic still played to form. It looked for a while like they were going to blow their 22 point lead in front of the home crowd. That surely would have happened if they hadn't been playing a team like Charlotte.

I hate to say it, but Larry Brown's team is one dimensional . . . at least when it comes to dealing with the Magic. They have absolutely no offensive game, and focus almost exclusively on hacking Dwight Howard.

Methinks a series sweep may be in the cards if the next three games play out like the opener . . . stay tuned!

Go Magic!

OK, that didn't work . . .

Guess, that leaves yours truly with nothing left on the weekend agenda beyond the Netflix film du jour.

Anybody else seen "Knocked Up" with Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl?

Kind of a vulgar title, but Heigl should make it worth watching, no?

Certainly more worthwhile than a certain professional athletic team that shall remain nameless . . .

How supersitious is this?

Maybe, it's the Irish in me, but I'm convinced that my actions somehow have an impact on things beyond my front porch.

Not everything, just some things.

Like, say, sporting events.

In fact, I've recently convinced myself that I'm something of a jinx. The more I talk or blog or otherwise stoke the flames of fandom regarding a certain team, the worse they perform.

And, they actually seem to do better during those minutes when I am *NOT* watching them do their thing.

So, pardon me, ye socks, if I become cryptic from here on out, but I fear it may be the only method we have to reverse the current trajectory.

And, for the greater good, I'm going to turn in early tonight. And, pray.

I hope you'll all be thanking me in the morning . . .

Too wound up to sleep tonight . . .

If only plastic-masked rookie Courtney Lee could have made that lay-up at the end of regulation, the Magic would have split the 2 game series in LA and avoided a 101-94 overtime loss . . .

If only.

I'm trying not to let the ifs and onlys keep me awake, but am losing the battle.

Maybe, I should turn my thoughts instead to the great time I had over at David & Jessie's cook-out this afternoon . . .

I thought we were going to get rained-out. It did drizzle a little, but eventually we were able to do a little fishing in Lake Jennie Jewell. And, a good time was had by all.

Maybe, the Magic's storm clouds will clear up, too . . . or, maybe, I'm still fishing for something positive?!?

ARRRRRGHHHH!

FLOP!

Well, ye socks, it was not a good night for Orlando Magic fans.

First of all, Game 1 started so late that I imagine most struggled to make it beyond the half and our usual bedtimes.

In that regard, we fans were much like our home team.

They struggled tonight against LA. Big time.

Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu were dismal, hitting a combined 5 of 21.

This really put the squeeze on Dwight Howard, who made a valiant effort. But, as we all learned in the recent series with Cleveland, one superman does not a team make.

Misery and heartache have been the twin hallmarks of this franchise for a very long time. Unfortunately, we've sorta gotten used to this sort of scenario.

But, this season, we've also seen some amazing comebacks. Let's hope THAT history repeats itself on Sunday, and not the 100-75 beat-down we got tonight at the Staples Center.

Go Magic!

How sweet it is!

The Magic's big victory over King James and the Cavs tonight (103-90) brought back a flood of memories from the last time Orlando seized the Eastern Conference championship and headed to the NBA finals.

That was way back in 1995. You know, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, and Nick Anderson were on the Magic roster.

I remember that night very well, not so much for the game itself but for the raucous celebration that ensued immediately after the final buzzer.

I was driving my first real new car, a 1994 Chevy Cavalier. (How ironic is that, by the way?!)

I had my kid sister riding shot gun, and my cousin in the back seat, and we were doing Chinese fire drills at every red light on Orange Avenue until OPD told us they were going to start issuing tickets to any car they caught going thru the same intersection more than 3 times. (Fascists!)

Anyway, I remember we were honking my horn so much, and so hard, that the center of my steering wheel eventually popped-off in my hand . . . and, I was so deliriously happy that I didn't care until the next day.

Oh, how times have changed.

Tonight's victory will be celebrated more simply and quietly, with a couple o' phone calls and some cherry cider.

But, at least ye 4-wheeled transportation device in my driveway is safe from rowdies.

And, let's hope LA doesn't do to us what Houston did back in the day . . .

GO MAGIC!

Ignoring basketball for the evening

Nothing worth posting here tonight. Things in Cleveland did not go as one would have hoped, but at least the guys in blue and white will be bringing the series back to Orlando this weekend and can close it out in front of the home crowd.

In the mean time, I can give ye socks some advance copy on what will be posted in my ephemeracollection blog tomorrow. My genea-sleuthing has resulted in a BINGO! After much searching, I believe I have identified our mystery diarist. Check it out at:

http://ephemeracollection.blogspot.com/2009/05/union-diary-bingo-diarist-identified.html

Magic beat Cavs in overtime!

Stuff was happening at the Amway Arena in downtown Orlando tonight!

The Magic had to go into overtime to do it, but they took a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference Championship series with LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers!

Once again, "King James" proved that one man doesn't make a team. He scored a whopping 44 points, including 2 free throws with less than a second remaining in regulation. He even came close to pulling a repeat performance of his recent buzzer-beating 3-pointer. But, ultimately, the rest of his team just let him down.

Final score: MAGIC 116, Cavs 114.

If . . . nay, WHEN . . . Orlando wins Game 5 up at the Quicken Loan Arena on Thursday, the guys in blue and white will be making only their 2nd NBA championship appearance in franchise history.

That's right, ye socks, this hasn't been done since way back in 1995, when guys like Shaquille O'Neal and Nick Anderson were on the Magic roster. (It was nice to see both of them attended tonight's game, by the way . . . wonder where Penny Hardaway was . . . .)

Anyway, the atmosphere in O-town tonight is nothing short of electric.

GO MAGIC!

A Magical Memorial Day!

Well, ye socks, you'll have to forgive me if I'm not exactly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning.

It seems yours truly was more than a little jazzed after last night's concert and couldn't go to sleep at a decent hour.

Besides, I had to hang on til after 11:30 to get the final word on the big game at the Amway Arena.

Good news: THE MAGIC WON! (Convincingly, even: 99-89)

But, while we celebrate that victory and wave our Blue and White flags on our ways to the multiple BBQ's that will dot the Central Florida landscape today, let us not forget the purpose of this holiday. Take a few moments to contemplate those who have given us so much. For, while it's always great to be a Magic fan, it's infinitely greater to be an American.

Now, I think someone around here mentioned some ribs . . .

What's with the officiating tonight?!

Ok, this is NOT just sour grapes posting here tonight . . . although, I am bitterly disappointed that our Magic lost by one stupid point with yet another buzzer-beating dagger to the heart.

This time, the death blow was delivered by LeBron James, to put the Cavs over Orlando, 96-95 in Game 2 of their big Eastern Conference Championship series in Cleveland.

I'll get over it, though. The Magic did manage to split the two games up at the mistake by the lake, and will enjoy home court advantage here in The City Beautiful later this weekend.

But, what I'm having a difficult time getting over is the poor officiating we saw up in Cleveland tonight.

Sadly, we've become used to Mo Williams running his mouth with nothing to back it up. But, what's with him launching balls at Dwight Howard in the first quarter?

And, how many times did "King James" get away with traveling or charging?!?!

All that being said, it should give fans of the old blue and white a lot of hope. Even with all the cluelessness of the refs and the undeniable abilities of the league MVP, the Cavaliers only BARELY eked out a win on their home court.

Methinks there will be a very different story floating around this dryer come Sunday night . . .

GO MAGIC

Yes, that did just happen!

For ye socks who were unable to stay up past your usual bedtimes last night, there was a heckuva ball game up at the Quickens Loans Arena in Cleveland.

And, the Orlando Magic did something no other team has been able to do in the post season.

They beat LeBron James and his Cavaliers. The final score was 107-106.

James put up a blistering 49 points on the Magic, but the game came down to the last 15 seconds.

First, Rashard Lewis hit a 3 to put Orlando on top. (They had trailed by as much as 16 points.)

Then, Cleveland's Delonte West tried to respond with a 3 of his own. He failed. And, a brawl ensued.

The result of the brawl was a jump ball between James and the Magic's Hedo Turkoglu.

The league MVP was able to swat the ball to teammate Mo Williams. But, Williams could do nothing with it as time ran out on the Cavs.

As the Magic relished their victory, James was seen limping from the court, his right knee bleeding. It looked to me like he was cramping up, too. Or, maybe, that was just the look of shock. Not used to seeing that kinda look on his face, so I'm not sure about that . . .

GO MAGIC!

Giddy in the City

I'll admit it. I'm still giddy over the Magic's big win last night up in Boston.

Made it back in town just in time for tip-off. I'm ashamed to admit that the Survivor finale was a designated back-up form of entertainment, because I had tuned-out the play-offs during my roadtrip--probably because I thought all was lost.

Oh, me of little faith.

Last night, the Magic got back to the style of play that got them into the play-offs to begin with. Hedo Turkoglu was the go-to guy, throwing up a whopping 25 points.

And, yet, as late as the 4th Quarter, it was still either team's game, with Orlando leading Boston by only 66 to 61.

Then, Coach Van Gundy must've flipped a switch, because the guys in blue and white erupted all over the Celtics--racking up a 23-point lead at one point.

Demoralized, Van Gundy's predecessor Doc Rivers pulled his new team's starters out of the game with 2:30 left on the clock, signalling Boston's surrender.

Final score on the board: 101-82, MAGIC WIN!

This is huge, ye socks. Orlando hasn't been to the Eastern Conference finals since 1996. One more hurdle to go before making it to the NBA championship series. Of course, we Magic fans can't get ahead of ourselves. Cleveland and their MVP LeBron James will be no minor hurdle.

But, for now, I suppose we can indulge ourselves in a little bit of giddiness . . .

GO MAGIC!

Magic fade fast in Boston

If you're like the rest of us in Orlando this evening, you're asking the same simple one-word question I am:

WHY?

Why do the Magic always seem to fade in the fourth quarter?!?

We were leading by 10 points with about 5 minutes left in tonight's play-off game, then allowed the Celtics to rip off 11 unanswered points.

Once again, we seized defeat from the jaws of victory.

Keep this up, and we'll be watching Boston tangle with the Cavs in the semi-finals . . . wait, that might not be an altogether awful scenario . . .

Go Magic?

Big Baby throws a fit

Actually, he threw a 21-foot jumper at the horn to deny Orlando's home team a NBA play-off win last night.

If he was pitching any fits, the Magic back court surely would have fallen in them, anyway. They were just miserable.

Actually, all the guys in blue in white were pretty miserable last night, only shooting 40%. But, Rafer Alston, J.J. Redick, and Hedo Turkoglu were astonishingly miserable--the trio shooting just 18.5% . . .

Van Gundy's crew trailed almost the entire 2nd half, and I think everyone in the O-rena had that sick feeling the Celtics were going to do what the 76ers did to us twice in the last series: win with a squeaking buzzer beater.

This time, the knife to the jugular was delivered by 289-pounder Glen "Big Baby" Davis. Seriously. They couldn't see this guy coming from a mile away?!

Apparently, not.

Now, we have to drag our whooped butts back up to Boston for a game tomorrow night. Dreading that. But, congrats to you Celtics fans out there . . .