Magic Wands: December 26, 2008

-Guess the European life wasn't working for one NBA emigrant. Chad Ford of ESPN reported last Friday that Nenad Krstic (a European, no less) is going to be returning to the states.

-Shaquille O'Neal is on the verge of history. And if John Hollinger is right, Dwight Howard might be too.

-Despite a 20-6 record, Orlando is still struggling to gain national respect. The win against San Antonio and a national TV appearance yesterday against New Orleans might do that. But Marc Stein tells Marc Kestecher that the Magic are not quite elite yet (go to box seven). He should circle January 19 on his calendar. But Brian Schmitz reports in The Orlando Sentinel that the lack of notoriety suits the Magic fine.

-Ready for a switcheroo? Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that ESPN will send NBA play-by-play team of Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy to Durham, N.C., for the Duke-Davidson game Jan. 7. Who will be calling the Heat-Nuggets game after it? Why it will be none other than college basketball analysts Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale. It should be awesome, baby.

-ESPN First Take talks to JJ Redick about Tyler Hansbrough possibly breaking his scoring record in the ACC. Hansbrough just set the school record for points in a career.

-Courtney Lee is finally getting noticed by David Thorpe in his Rookie Rankings (No. 14 now!). He is averaging 5.7 points per game on 48 percent shooting. But what he has done recently is play efficiently. He has had some good games and is playing really well off the bench. Finally the Magic make a good pick in the middle of the first round.

-It is the season of giving. And DeShawn Stevenson is giving up his starting streak for the holidays.

-Golden State Warriors blog Golden State of Mind needs to relax after his team got beat down by the Magic on Monday. Blake Griffin will look really good Warrior blue.

-Had a bad year as a sports fan (hard to imagine with the Magic's success and the Rays right down the road)? No you haven't. Hats off to Seattle fans. They are the best.

-Karma sure is fun. Steve Francis has finally landed where it all began. That is right, Houston has traded Stevie Franchise back to the Memphis Grizzlies for a draft pick. Time to pull out the Steve Francis Vancouver Grizzlies draft night card that I have lying in a box somewhere.

-Dwight Howard will defend his slam dunk championship in Phoenix this February. And you get to choose one of his opponents.