The Magic will take on the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. You can read a preview of the game here.
This game will mark Hedo Turkoglu’s return to Orlando.
"Said Stan Van Gundy of Turkoglu’s return, “He’ll get a great reaction and deservedly so. This guy did a great job for this franchise. I certainly would give him a great reaction if I were sitting up there.”GM Otis Smith originally signed Turkoglu in Orlando, but believed Vince Carter was a better value with a shorter deal. “I’m a Turk fan, but our mission and goal is to win a championship,” he said."
See the full story from Brian Schmitz here.
Mike Bianchi thinks that letting go of Turkoglu was the right move.
"Turkoglu, sent to Toronto by Orlando in a sign-and-trade this summer, is averaging 14.0 points, 4.0 assists and a team-leading 2.1 turnovers per game as of Tuesday.Carter, meanwhile, is averaging 19.9 points, 3.0 assists and 1.5 turnovers.I’d say Smith has once again been proven right in not signing the over-30 Turkoglu to the lucrative, long-term, 5-year, $50-million deal the Raptors inked him to during the offseason."
Read his blog here.
Click the link below to see several more Magic stories and other stories from around the sports world.
Austin Burton of Dime Magazine thinks that the Magic need an enforcer.
"For every big man put in this situation, the easiest answer has always been to have an enforcer. It looks weird, considering the enforcer is usually smaller than the guy who needs protection — it’s like seeing Terry Crews with a bodyguard — but it works. Shaq had his greatest success when he had somebody looking out for him: Horace Grant in Orlando and L.A., Samaki Walker and A.C. Green in L.A., Udonis Haslem in Miami. It didn’t stop Shaq from getting fouled all the time, but at least he didn’t feel like he was out there fighting a solo battle."
You can read that story here.
Dwight Howard talked about staying calm on the court.
"I’ve been getting hit up high a lot lately, but you can get hurt when you get hut anywhere. It’s really physical down there in the paint, but I’m just going to keep playing through it and try not to get frustrated.I just have to realize what’s important and that’s my team needing me on the floor so that we can win games. All I can really control right now is my anger and I’m going to do everything in my power to stay calm and not get frustrated. It’s like if I give them a reaction then they win and I don’t want that to happen."
Read Dwight’s official blog here.
Howard also discusses Orlando’s new partnership with Airtran Airways on his blog here.
The Orlando Magic will continue to support the players’ participation in international competitions.
"“It doesn’t change my opinion at all: To me, guys should be playing basketball all summer anyway and working,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I’ve said before even if I thought it was a detriment to our players, I would never discourage them from playing. In my opinion, as an athlete you can’t have a bigger honor than representing your country.”"
Joshua Robbins has the story here.
Speaking of former Magic players, former Magic Guard Tracy McGrady returned to the Houston Rockets’ line up for the first time this season. T-Mac played just under 8 minutes and was 1-of-2 from the field, hitting a 3-pointer. He finished with 3 points and 3 rebounds as the Rockets beat the Detroit Pistons.
"“He looked fine,” Adelman said. “I thought he did fine. We’re just trying to get him into the flow. That’s what you’re going to see for now. Trying to get his feet wet.”“That felt real good,” McGrady said. “That shows me that they appreciated what I’ve done in my five years here.”"
Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle has more on T-Mac’s return here.
Around the League:
Ray Allen sealed the deal as the Celtics beat the Grizzlies. Hardwood Houdini has the story here.
Fully Clips continues their ongoing fantasy basketball series here.
Steve Blake is the Blazer who is most likely to be dealt. Rip City Project tells you why here.
King James Gospel has an interesting take on the 12 Days of Christmas. Read that here.
Around the Network:
Don’t forget to catch Everything Power Rankings here each and every week day.
Chris Shellcroft takes a look at times when coaches and players let expletives slip here.
Fansided.com has redesigned NFL Mocks, so check that out here.
The 49ers forced 7 turnovers to upset the Cardinals Monday night. Niner Noise has the story here.
Bear Goggles On says that Jay Cutler’s interceptions put him in good company. Find out why here.
There’s another bust in Oakland. This time, it’s J.P. Losman. Just Blog Baby has the story here.
Want to see Kyle Orton dancing dressed as an elf? Click here.
The College Hockey Blog has released their newest set of power rankings here.
The Buffalo Sabres won again. Sabre Noise has the recap here.
The Rat Trick previews the Panthers-Thrashers game here.
Babes Love Baseball discusses Lackey-to-Boston here.
Kings of Kauffman talks about the non-tendered pitchers here.
Sodo Mojo shares their thoughts on the Mariners’ potential acquisition of Cliff Lee here.
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL Mocks Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)