One year ago today, some chump with a laptop and entirely too much time on his hands I started a website dedicated to the past, present, and future of the Orlando Magic. Yes indeed, Third Quarter Collapse is now one year old! To celebrate that occasion, I've compiled links -- in bullet form, naturally -- to my favorite posts from the old site. Enjoy the archives. Happy birthday to us. And to Hedo Turkoglu, while we're at it. Turk turns 29 today. Bold 'N' Blue has the birthday thread.
- Introduction - The first-ever 3QC post!
- In Defense of Brian Hill - Ugh.
- Streaky Like Superman's Cat: Magic 94, Knicks 89 - Not a particularly special post, but I love the title.
- Intelligent Design - Wondering if Dwight Howard can improve between his third and fourth seasons the way Kevin Garnett did.
- There's A Battle Ahead - Making the case that Magic fans need to GET WILD AND CRAZY to increase Orlando's standing as a sports town. I invoke the words of William Shakespeare and Winston Churchill.
- Brave New World - Just a few days before the start of the postseason, I describe the feeling of impending doom I have. The Magic promptly drop four straight games to the Pistons, and I look fairly intelligent. What that post doesn't tell you is I had the Magic playing the Rockets in the Finals.
- My coverage of the Billy Donovan Saga.
- Reverse the Curse: Forgive Shaq and Bring Him Back - Begging the Magic ownership to reach-out to Shaquille O'Neal and offer him a consultant position with the team once he retires. Not quite sure what I was thinking there.
- The Case for Keeping Grant Hill - Arguing the Magic should re-sign Grant Hill. Again, not sure what I was thinking.
- The Orlando Magic Free-Agency Countdown. Boy, am I glad I did this series.
- Part One: Vince Carter
- Part Two: Mo Williams
- Part Three: Chauncey Billups
- Part Four: Gerald Wallace
- Part Five: Rashard Lewis - I had this one right -- does anyone seriously believe we'd be better off with one of the other guys? -- but I was way off-base when I said Lewis "rebounds well." Whoops.
- WKMG: Rashard Lewis Will Sign with Orlando for 5 years, $75 million - If only that dollar amount were accurate.
- ESPN: Grant Hill to Sign with Phoenix Suns - "Grant Hill may be a great basketball player, but if NBA-ers were rated in Consumer Reports, Hill would certainly not be a 'Best Buy'." That's as charitably as I could put it.
- Which Free-Agent Big-Men Should the Magic Pursue? - I begin my love/hate relationship with coding HTML tables.
- End of an Era, Such as it Was: Darko Milicic, Orlando Magic Part Ways - I was really proud of this piece when I wrote it, but it embarrasses me now. But go ahead. The picture at the end is worth the click-through.
- The Future Is Now: Rashard Lewis Formally Introduced at Press Conference - I'm more interested in the fact that I thought Keith Bogans would be behind J.J. Redick on the depth chart. Bogans went on to start the first 35 games at shooting guard for us. Whoops.
- In DeFense of DeVos/In Support of a New Downtown - Hard to believe that just last summer we were worried about the Magic leaving in a few years if they couldn't get that arena built...
- Success! Venues Plan Passes by a 5-2 vote... especially since the arena funding got approved 3 days after I wrote that first post.
- Are the Magic a Playoff Team? Discussion From Around the Web - Also hard to believe that many observers picked Orlando to finish out of the playoff picture, even in the Eastern Conference. To be fair to them, no one could have predicted the Bulls would suck this badly, nor could anyone have predicted that Hedo Turkoglu would have an All-Star season. But still, not even in the top 8 in the East? It was as absurd then as it is now.
- Don't Free Keyon - When the Keyon Dooling-for-Reggie Evans rumors circulated over the summer, I was seemingly the only guy who didn't want the Magic to make the deal. I have no regrets. I LOVE KEYON DOOLING AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN SAY OR DO TO CHANGE MY MIND! THAT'S MY PURSE!
- Carlos Arroyo Shows Masonry Skills as Mexico Upsets Puerto Rico - "If the Magic want to have their new arena built on-schedule, they might consider asking Carlos Arroyo to lend a hand. His brick-laying skills might come in handy." I'm so proud.
- Who's Under Contract: A Tentative 2007/2008 Orlando Magic Roster - Does anyone think I need to work a post like this into the sidebar somewhere? An at-a-glance summary of the Magic's players and their contracts? Let me know.
- The Southeast Division Outlook, Part Three: Miami Heat - "[T]he Heat's grip on the Southeast loosened considerably this summer, making the possibility of Orlando or Washington seizing it much more likely." Yeah, I'll say.
- Tell Harris Rosen Where He Can Stick It - I sincerely hope Harris Rosen read this post. Actually, I hope he's reading this one. Hey, Harris: thanks for failing at your bid to steal an arena from Orlando citizens so you can line your pockets. We really appreciate it, scumbag.
- The Southeast Division Outlook, Part Four: Orlando Magic - "I'm not saying that the Magic are going to win 57 games, but I am saying is that they will improve." 57 games isn't out of the question, actually. The Magic will reach that total if they go 12-1 the rest of the way.
- Summer of 2007: An Orlando Magic Photo Album - I was really scraping for content at this point, as I knew the SB Nation relaunch was just around the corner. Still, I'm happy with this post; pictures are fun!
- Orlando Sentinel: Surgery a Possibility for Tony Battie - The last news-related post at the original 3QC. Sucks that it's such a bummer.
- I've Moved to ThirdQuarterCollapse.com - "Thanks for everything." Thanks, indeed. Here come the waterworks...
When I started 3QC last year, I had no idea it'd ever get this "big." Okay, it's not BlogABull or TrueHoop or anything, but it went from a nondescript Blogspot site averaging 13 hits a week to a fairly reputable SB Nation site averaging 13 hits an hour (give or take). So I'd like to thank the SB Nation crew for letting me come aboard as well as the readers who brought this site to their attention in the first place. I really appreciate the support I've received.
Thanks for everything. I'll be here as long as you guys will have me.
And, uh, for what it's worth: the Magic are 54-29 (.651) since I launched the original 3QC. Just saying.