Keep Shooting

Ten days since I updated the blog. Can you tell it's college football season? If we didn't have cable television, my kids would forget what I looked like between September and December.

On Tuesday, another Orlando Sentinel columnist took another shot at the effort to build a new Magic arena. No Mike Thomas or Scott Maxwell this time - instead, it was business writer Susan Strother Clarke, and unlike Thomas and Maxwell, she got most of it right:

"Five years ago, when a new-arena discussion was under way, team owner Rich DeVos stuck his billionaire foot in his mouth, offering a ridiculously low $10.5 million toward the project and threatening to move the team if he didn't get his way. The Magic have been cleaning up after DeVos ever since -- and now they're scared to say much of anything."

True and true. What Clarke was referring to was the Magic's presentation before the Orange County Commission this week, making their case for a piece of the proposed tourist tax increase. Due credit to Ms. Clarke for actually attending the meeting (take notes, Mike) and correctly summarizing the Magic's reluctance to attach themselves to a specific dollar figure.

I brought this up to one of my many friends in the Magic front office, someone who, like me, goes back to the salad days of Shaq, Penny, and sellouts. And he brought up a couple of interesting points.

First, if this idea to build a new "events center" (or whatever we wish to call it) somewhere near International Drive gains legs, the cost of said building might change dramatically. While an I-Drive Arena would be repulsive to most locals, it would arguably cost less to build, thanks to cheaper land (possibly free, if you believe some of the 'land-swap' theories floating around) and reduced impact on existing structures - i.e., no demolitions or relocations. If the Magic commit to a dollar figure now, and the building ends up on I-Drive, that dollar figure might represent a much higher percentage of the total cost than the Magic deem fair. So why bother throwing that number out there? As Bianchi pointed out last week, who agrees to a price on a new house without knowing what neighborhood it's in?

Second point, according to my contact, is even more believable. No matter what dollar figure the Magic pledge toward a new building, they're gonna get hammered by somebody in the media - probably these same Sentinel columnists. Further, half of the Orlando population will call it "not enough" - again, no matter what that number may be. So, again, why bother? The Magic's approach appears to be to stay out of the spotlight - their modus operandi throughout the entire Push For A New Arena Part Deux - and take the occasional stomach punches from the media hounds, without committing themselves to anything in print until the arena is close to reality. It may not be the best approach from a public relations standpoint, but it's one way to avoid a repeat of the Grubby Little Fingers Incident and keep themselves out of the crosshairs.

Now, if the tax increase is passed, and a new arena is a confirmed part of the plan, and the team STILL doesn't take the offensive by taking their financial message to the streets - well, if that happens, they deserve every shot they get. But I would wager that once the details of the new arena/arts center/Citrus Bowl plan come into focus, the franchise will start the hard sell.

At least, I hope so.

On a basketball note - met J.J. Redick for the first time today. We shot an interview on the Magic's practice court for the upcoming Magic season preview show on Sun Sports. Nice guy. The idea behind the interview, which you'll see on that preview show next month, was to get him talking about shooting, and the mentality of a "gunner."

At one point, I asked if he considered himself the "most hated player in the ACC" while at Duke. He replied that he was probably the most hated player in America while at Duke, which was a good point. The look on his face when he said it, however, gave me pause.

Redick went on to say that he's a different person off the floor than on it, and that the venom directed at him over the course of his Duke career snowballed, took on a life of its own. I got the sense that he wouldn't mind being liked, for a change. I almost felt sorry for him, and immediately regretted asking the question.

The point of the question, by the way, was to get him to this one: "Would you mind being hated in the NBA, if it meant being hated the way Reggie Miller was hated - despised by opposing fans, but adored by home fans for his willingness and unprecedented skill at making big shots at key moments?"

That prompted a smile. "If I get the ball in that situation, sure," he said, "but I'm just a rookie. I'm not sure how many chances I'll get as a rookie."

They grow 'em pretty smart up at Duke. Defer to the veterans, play it cool, wait your turn. I'm starting to like him already.

And in case you're wondering - Redick's range extends a good five feet beyond the three-point line. It's all about the lift, people.