Archive for August, 2011

Here is the official word from the Magic: Orlando Magic Release New Specialty License Plate *A portion of the proceeds to benefit the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation*   Orlando, Fla.— The Orlando Magic announce the release of a new specialty license plate, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation.  The plate can be purchased at any authorized motor vehicle office.  The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles also offers the opportunity to purchase gift certificates for speciality plates.   The Orlando Magic Youth Foundation (OMYF) is committed to helping children in Central Florida [...]

Here is the official word from the Orlando Magic: **The 21st Annual OMYF Open to benefit the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation** WHO: Orlando Magic staff, talent and celebrities WHAT: OMYF Open, benefiting the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation The Magic will host the 21st Annual OMYF Open Golf Tournament. The event is expected to have more than 200 golf participants, along with one-of-a-kind Magic auction items and an awards luncheon. Over the last 21 years, the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation has raised community dollars resulting in more than $16 million distributed to local non-profit community agencies serving at-risk youth through programs [...]

Gilbert Arenas has deleted his (in)famous twitter account: Try to take a look at the @agentzeroshow Twitter feed, and you’ll find nothing. Not only has he deleted every one of the tweets he posted over the last several months, but he’s also deleted the account altogether. He’s said he’ll be done on Twitter by Sept. 1, and it looks like he’s already finished. Over the last few days, he’s said his goodbyes, then deleted them. “so i would like to do my thx u’s now…too all the fan’s that has humor in their lives thx u for understanding my approach [...]

Here is the official word from the Magic: *Orlando Magic encourages women and minority owned business to get involved with team/NBA All Star weekend 2012*   The Orlando Magic was honored with the Corporation of the Year award from the Florida Minority Supplier Diversity Council (FMSDC) at their annual conference. The award is given to companies who have demonstrated efforts of partnership and collaboration with minority owned business enterprises; recognizing the Magic’s commitment to diversity and inclusion of minority owned businesses across Central Florida.   As part of its effort to create an inclusive environment for all partners, the Magic [...]

David Baumann of Brighthouse Sports has an exclusive interview with Dwight Howard and has an interesting quote from the league’s best big man: In an exclusive interview with BHSN, Dwight Howard said the current NBA lockout is, “A blessing in disguise.” Blessing in disguise because he gets to spend extra time on a part of his game that critics have bashed; free throw accuracy, or in Howard’s case, inaccuracy. Howard hasn’t topped 60% in a single season since his rookie year in 2004-05 when he hit 67% of his attempts. So he went out an hired a Guinness Book of [...]

Back on March 10, 2004, Tracy McGrady dropped 62 points on the Washington Wizards. You can also Gilbert Arenas, who scored over 25 or more points in five consecutive games entering the contest. 62 points in a single game remains the most in Magic Franchise history. (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN 1080′s Magic Insider (http://espn1080.com) and is the co-host of the ESPN1080.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here).

We all Know Dwight Howard’s biggest weakness – he’s a career 59.8% free throw shooter. Howard, who’s work ethic is extremely underrated, is once again trying to improve his game by working with yet another renown coach. This time the coach is Ed Palubinskas. Palubinskas is considered the “Free Throw Master.” Palubinskas has tried to work with Howard for at least a year. In May 2010, he sent an e-mail message to the Orlando Sentinel in which he said that he had written and called Howard but had gotten no response. “I will completely change his numbers in less than [...]

Per Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, Dwight Howard, who is the reigning three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and finished second in MVP voting (and maybe should have won, but that’s a different story), is up for another award: The Orlando Magic all-star is a finalist for Professional Athlete of the Year award in the PNC Bank SPORTYS, an awards show put together by the Central Florida Sports Commission. Swimmer Ryan Lochte and golfer Yani Tseng are the other finalists. The SPORTYS will be held Sept. 24 at Full Sail University. (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead [...]

George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel isn’t happy with the old Amway Center’s green demolition: City officials say it is headed for a “Green Demolition” and will be dismantled in a process that could take as long as six months. Whatever. At the risk of alienating all environmentalists and tree-huggers on the planet, I say “The AM” needs to go out in grand fashion. Blow her up and then let’s have a party. There will be no mourning. We need to celebrate the grand old lady. It was once a rockin’ place _ the place that put Orlando on the [...]

Philip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily takes a look at Jameer Nelson: Consider that in Nelson’s stellar 2009 season, his $7.7 million salary with his 20.6 PER would have given him a cost-efficiency value of $373,786/PER. That would have moved him up to 14th compared to 2011′s point guards. These numbers prove more than anything that it is difficult to get value for this kind of a player. It seems beating the league average is more the goal than being at the top of the list. Chalmers, after all, is still on his rookie contract, as are everyone else in [...]