The Magic are 4-1 for the first time since 2002/2003, and have won their first three road games for the first time in franchise history, yet all anyone wants to talk about is the FSN/Bright House TV disaster.
- Mike Thomas of the Sentinel puts the blame squarely on the Magic for selling the TV rights without having confirmation that a deal would be in place. I think the Magic do indeed share some of the blame, but Thomas is going a bit too far when he writes:
The ink had barely dried on a new arena deal for the Orlando Magic when the team expressed its gratitude to fans by yanking its games off broadcast television.
Gee, do you think the timing here was a coincidence?
- John Denton is back after a brief absence with this report in Florida Today. Neither side is budging, and there is no out-clause in the Magic's contract with FSN, so the Magic and their fans are at Bright House's mercy, and could be so for the rest of the season.
- Mike Bianchi, who vacillates hourly on loving or hating the Magic, says he doesn't need to see the games on TV. Why? Because "radio is where it's at." I agree that Dennis Neumann and Richie Adubato do a great job of calling the games, but I still prefer to see the games myself. It's one thing to hear Dwight Howard throw down an alley-oop at the buzzer to beat the Spurs, as I did on the drive home that night; it's quite another to see it.
- Footnote: had I not been working that night, I would have been at that game. I will never forgive myself for this.