Dwight,

A recent article from Fanhouse quotes Stan Van Gundy as saying 75% is a realistic goal for your free throw shooting, and that anything below 70% will be disappointing. We here at The Puns agree, and would like to engage you in a friendly wager.

If you shoot 70 percent (or better) from the free throw line for the season, our humble staff of writers will donate $500 to your favorite charity. If you accept this challenge, we will also seek pledges from other fans to increase this charitable donation.

Furthermore, for every month that you shoot 75% (or better) from the charity stripe, we will add an additional $50 to the pot.

However, if you shoot under 65% for the season from the free throw line, you have to post a picture on your facebook page of you wearing a "Puns" tee shirt that we will have made and sent to you.

So, Dwight, what do you think? Are you up for the challenge?

~The Puns

Alright folks, training camp has begun, baseball is in its last week of the regular season, UCF is waisting another football season, and SVG has already called out one of his best player's defensive intensity. In other words, basketball season is right around the corner!

The preseason kicks off this coming Monday when Orlando travels to Dallas to play the Mavericks in what turns out to be an intriguing game considering Otis' ability to pull Brandon Bass away from Dallas while preventing Marcin Gortat from taking his place.

The offseason gets boring. The media and fans sit around waiting for something to happen. At the same time everyone - media, blogs, message board members, my aunt - wants to get the scoop when our team makes a trade or signs a free agent. This need often leads to rumors that are either somewhat based on fact... And often based on nothing. Perhaps it is even a Mad Lib.

I heard from a source that [player] really wants to sign with the Magic but Otis is hesitant to pull the trigger. If fact, his hair dresser told me that if it weren't for [player] that we would have traded [player] to [team] for [player] and [draft pick]. A friend of mine who is a [low level organizational job] for [team] said that something will happen in the next week.

And that's pretty much how it goes. It makes the rounds and eventually Otis is forced to answer a questions he knows nothing about. To explain it further:

Click to enlarge.

Editor's note: There have been a few changes to the blog, most notably the subtraction of a comment section. We feel that once these changes are all implemented TPASTBM will be even more userfriendly and useful. After all, this is the offseason for us too, so we take this time to try a few new things out. Buy hey, at least we aren't taking a break...

Amway Center, just one of many changes.

This offseason, mainly the free agent signing period, started off with a bang. Out goes Hedo, in comes Vince Carter. Out goes Courtney Lee, in comes Ryan Anderson and Matt Barnes. Out goes Rafer Alston, in comes Jason Williams. Out goes Tony Battie, in comes Brandon Bass. Out goes Marcin Gortat, in comes Marcin Gortat. Out goes a 23-year-old Dwight Howard, in comes 24-year-old Dwight Howard.

That wasn't all that changed. The Florida Today let our favorite John Denton go, but we are happy to see he has caught on writing for UCF Athletics. Jeremy Richardson left to go play in Greece. The new arena is coming together. One thing that will stay the same is the sponsor of the new events center: Amway.

The economy is continued to tread water. College football season has started. School is back in session. Baseball's regular season is coming to a close and do you know what that means? Yes, NBA training camp isn't that far away!

When the Magic get together to work towards earning their first ring not only will the team look different, but many of the players, perhaps most important Dwight Howard, will know what it's like to play important games. They will know what it's like to win a Game 7 on the road and to come back from being down in a series. They will know what it's like to lose on a buzzer beater and the pain of watching another team celebrate on the Magic's floor.

While the offseason hoopla might have slowed down, the doubt of the Magic - the same doubt that questioned SVG, and Otis, and everyone else who is affiliated with the organization last season - has reappeared. Cleveland and Boston have once again been crowned the "favorites" in the East. ABC and ESPN has lined up to broadcast every step Mr. James takes with hopes of catching a glimpse of Shaq.

As for me, nothing is the same, because I can proudly pronounce Orlando: Defending Eastern Conference Champions.

Amway Center image courtesy of amwaycenter.com

I've been paying close attention to the Ricky Rubio situation with the Minnesota Timberwolves. You can see the latest here: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4439216

It appears that Rubio is another teenage Spanish basketball player who is balking at coming to the NBA after coming here for the draft and being dazzled by the NY lights and the attention of the NBA media and fans.

I feel more sorry for the Timberwolves than I did for us when we drafted Fran Vazquez. At least we were bringing Vazquez in as a complementary piece. The Wolves were counting on Rubio to be their point guard, their star, and perhaps most importantly, their draw. Not to mention, they used a much higher lottery pick on Rubio than wedid on Vazquez.

Despite Rubio's claims that he is still committed to the NBA, there is much that can happen in the next two years and there is no guarantee that Rubio will ever suit up for the Wolves. Likewise, I seriously doubt that Vazquez will ever suit up for the Magic, and perhaps not for any NBA team, period. So, I share both my empathy and my sympathy with Wolves fans. The buyout issue was certainly going to be an obstacle, but it appears that the Wolves were trying everything possible to get him over here for this year. My guess is that they could have made it happen if Rubio had been willing.

It could just be a coincidence that Vazquez and Rubio are both from Spain. After all, Pau Gasol came over and had no problems signing with and suiting up for a bad team in a small market. But you have to figure that every front office guy for every NBA team will start to hesitate, ever so slightly, when considering using a first-rounder on a hot prospect from Spain.

No, this is not a belated review of that comically brilliant movie about a bachelor party night gone wrong. Though, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, you really should. In fact, take your dad, he’ll thank you.

Instead, this is about the hangover I am experiencing as a fan of the Orlando Magic. The 2008-2009 season was the longest season in the Magic’s relatively brief history. I and my fellow fans watched the Magic’s incredible playoff run well into June. This is of note because prior to last season, we had not ventured into June in 14 years. In fact, two seasons ago was the first time we’d made it beyond early May (aside from the strike season) since 1996. Considering this fact, it was incredible, exhilarating, but nonetheless strange to play our final game on June 14^th.

Losing was tough, and the way we lost games 2 and 4 in particular will stay with most Magic fans for quite some time. But what I find fascinating is the residual, almost domino-like effect that the long season has had on me. It is as if the longer-than-usual Magic season has thrown my internal sports calendar out of whack. And here is where it has left me. The other day my buddy asked me “Hey, did you watch the game last night?” I said “what game?” He was referring to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason football game. I had no idea it was even on. That was bad, but this is worse: I missed the live draft for my fantasy football league. Sacrilege? Maybe. Unbelievable? Definitely. Apparently a college football game is being played this weekend. News to me! I mean, I am used to having at least three solid months in between my basketball and my football seasons. I need more downtime...my basketball hangover is too strong!

The long playoff run by the Magic did most of the damage, but it should also be pointed out that the most tempestuous offseason ever for the Magic also played a smaller yet equally effective part in prolonging the hangover. We barely had a two weeks between the end of the Finals and the draft. Normally, Magic fans have well over a month to discuss the draft. Even in years when we haven’t had a pick, or have had a low pick, Magic fans still manage to dissect the options for trading higher up into the first round, acquiring a second round pick, etc. Although Magic fans still participated in this yearly ritual, it seemed rushed, almost forced, because the next thing we knew, the draft had come and gone. But oh, things were just getting started. In no particular order, we lost Courtney Lee but gained Vince Carter. We lost Hedo Turkoglu but gained Vince Carter!! We acquired depth with Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes, and Jason Williams. We were thrilled by the Summer League performance of Ryan Anderson. We stood shocked still as Otis Smith did the previously unthinkable and matched for the Warlock, pushing the Magic into luxury tax territory. We dealt with constant drama and “tweets” from Dwight Howard. There was the “Saga of CJ Watson.” And to top it all off, there was some little story about Rashard Lewis and an obscure acronym. I mean, there could not have been a more topsy-turvy offseason. It makes the Summer of 2007 look like a yawner. It doesn’t appear to be over yet. We still do not have a complete roster. While I cannot imagine any future moves being better than the ones that have already come, I’m not sure I can trust my own judgment, after all, this is one wicked hangover.