Magic Wands: July 3, 2009

-Happy Birthday Me!

-And Orlando's D-league affiliate is... the Reno Bighorns! Hurray. Orlando will now ignore you completely. The Bighorns feature such fantastic talent as Lamar Butler, Richie Frahm and Cezary Trabanski.

-Dwight Howard offers his thoughts on an odd Thursday last week.

-With the Draft over, it is time to once again discuss the NBA's rules regarding entry. It is very clear the one-and-done rule is not working as intended. It has gutted college basketball and made the whole system somewhat farcical -- meanwhile the experienced teams keep winning the title. Minnesota Timberwolves blog Canis Hoopus links to an interesting article that asks why people are not complaining about the lack of education in baseball.

-The Rockets are not hiding their love of Marcin "Bow Down Before the Polish Hammer or You Will Get Nailed" Gortat.

-Am I the only one who remembers Curtis Borchardt, a pick out of Stanford by the Magic in 2003 before he was traded to Utah for Ryan Humphrey on Draft night? Apparently he is a "force" in Europe and signed with a new team.

-Some self-promotion. But yesterday was the 10-year anniversary of the senseless and racially charged murder of Northwestern basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong. A few friends of mine at Northwestern helped produce a story chronicling the story and its impact on the communities of Evanston, Illinois, and Atlanta.

-Woody Womack of Orlando Magic Daily with a complete breakdown of Orlando's Summer League roster.

-Updated odds for who will win the NBA Finals puts the Magic at 6-to-1. Pretty good. Cavaliers, Lakers and Celtics still ranked ahead of them.

-I am beginning to trust President Obama's basketball analysis (special guest color commentator for the NBA Finals in 2010? Think about it, Mr. President). Obama said Bryant is still not at Michael Jordan's level. I would agree.

-Here they are the 50 highest earning American athletes according to Sports Illustrated. Top 3: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, LeBron James. James gets the foul and is bumped ahead of Mickelson despite the two playing completely different sports and Mickelson being such a nice guy. Shaq is No. 5. Dwight Howard? No. 13, up from No. 22 on last year's list. Tracy McGrady is 15. Worked hard for that money. Steve Francis is No. 22(?). Vince Carter is behind him at No. 23. Go figure. Rashard Lewis and his mammoth contract get him to No. 30 on the list (he only has $750,000 in endorsements).