Four Free Throws

If you're a crazed magic fan like me who bleeds Mark Acres's blood, your life has been empty without an uncensored weekly look into all things magic that you can carry with you on your iPod. Well prepare to fill that void with something other than a recording of Otis Smith eating waffles: Four Free Throws proudly announces our new podcast!

Download/subscribe/enjoy at:
http://magicpod.libsyn.com/

Not safe for children's ears.

We've moved!

http://4ft.blogspot.com/

The dream continues on...

The Carribean Darko

Just the type of flail we’re looking for

Many of you remember the remarkable turn of fate four years ago when the Magic’s first priority for their mid-level exception was Adonal Foyle, who was needed as a backup big man. Then Chris Mullin stepped in and signed him to a ridiculous 6-year, $42 million dollar contract, and Adonal promptly became what everyone expected him to be: an average fat center. The Magic, forced to actually hunt for a good player and not one they convinced themselves they needed to fill a void, signed Hedo Turkoglu, who for his $6 mil per year has produced remarkable numbers as a starter, along with many clutch plays, including the lob to Dwight at the end of the Spurs game, which guaranteed Turk his spot in the Magic Hall of Awesomeness.

Now, Foyle has been bought out by Mullin, since Don Nelson has no use for fat dudes (other than himself). The ESPN report, however, randomly mentions Adonal’s interest in the Magic, which is close to his Carribean homeland. The Slantinel backs this up with some tepid reporting today as well. And I say, why not? We need a backup center that;s at least experienced, and since Foyle is flush with cash he’ll probably sign for a paltry amount (as long as Otis doesn’t bid against himself too much) (Actually it’s depressingly possible that Adonal could say, “I’ll sign for the minimum,” and Otis would reward him with a $30 mil contract… )

This rumor is confirmed by the fact that Foyle played suspiciously well against the Magic in their two games last year, forcing Don to actually use him. He was, of course, auditioning for us.

Adonal, we look forward to your arrival… please forgive me when I’m screaming “Nice shot, black Darko!” whenever you miss a short jump hook next season.

NBA TO MAGIC: FUCK OFF AND DIE

Remember in college when the Registrar gave you none of the courses you wanted? Well the Magic have just had that happen to them 82 times in a row. Yes, the NBA scheduling geniuses have given us a brutal first two months that are sure to kill any hope of our new nucleus gelling early. If those 11 away games in November aren't enough, then the fact that we play 14 of our 30 games against Western Conference opponents in the first two months should sway your opinion against the NBA's scheduling geniuses. Oh, and 9 of those games are AWAY games. Yes, that's right, almost TWO THIRDS of our away games against the western conference are in the first two months. That's brutal.

Overall, we play 20 games away and 12 at home over the first two months, including two west coast swings and little hop over to New Orleans and San Antonio. Yikes.

March will be a great month - 10 games at home, 4 away. Of course if we're 20 games below .500 at that point, it won't do us much good, and average attendance for those games will most likely hover around 5,000, give or take 4,950. Great way to get excited for a new arena!

In April, we play ONE game against a division opponent. One? When we're expecting to be battling for the conference title? Crazy. The final game against Detroit is a bit of humor on the NBA's part. FU guys, too.

My guess? The NBA does not have high hopes for us at all, and expects us to do poorly no matter what. We play all the good teams at the beginning of the year so they can slaughter us and build up their record, and we're supposed to then play a bunch of boring, tanktastic games in the last couple months - with more games at home to try and keep us from losing too many games on purpose.

Well, here's the plan: screw you guys. If we come out of December anywhere north of .500, the eastern conference is in trouble, because the rest of the season is served up to us on a silver platter. Winning the SE division won't be a problem as they're slugging it out in April and we're playing a bunch of mediocre teams. It's going to be fun to prove everyone wrong, and I'm looking forward to homecourt advantage in the first round.

Yeah. That's right. Screw you guys.

Full schedule below the cut.

=> Read more!

One good thing about Boston's 3 headed monster...

I couldn't be happier that The Big Ticket is in our conference. Dwight loves to play against KG; he loves to show off his moves. 5 of 6 of his games have been very, very good against the manchild... let's check out Dwight's stats vs Minny.

Jan 12, 2005: 9 pts, 5 rebs
Mar 11, 2005: 19 pts, 19 rebs, 2 blks
Dec 12, 2005: 17 pts, 12 rebs
Mar 29, 2006: 15 pts, 12 rebs, 1 blk
Nov 11, 2007: 21 pts, 22 rebs, 1 blk
Apr 01, 2007: 8 pts, 19 rebs, 1 blk

So after his rookie encounter, he's only had one hiccup - and that was during the Magic's worst time in the 06-07 season. KG has always been very supportive of Dwight, and Dwight in turn has said how much KG inspires him as a successful big man to come out high school. He should have fun playing more games against his idol, and I think we can count on a couple more 20/20's vs. Boston this season (especially as Rajon Rondo and Eddie House brick open 3 after open 3).

It's gonna be cold in 'Sota - better wear a hat.

And as an added bonus, we only have to hear the ridiculous claims that Al Jefferson is better than Dwight twice a year now... and most Minny fans will be too depressed/uninterested to care. Hey Timberwolves fans, welcome to our world of pain! Just remember, after one franchise player spurns you, they all feel entitled to!