Here's what The Onion says Stan Van Gundy provides his team as road-trip reading material
What does Stan Van Gundy provide his team as reading material on road trips?
The Onion, America’s (self-proclaimed) Finest News Source, gives us their … umm… “inside scoop.”
ORLANDO, FL—Continuing a tradition that stretches back to his early years with the Miami Heat, Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy routinely presents his players with classic barbecue cookbooks to inspire them and provide insights during road trips.
During the team’s long West Coast swing in December, Dwight Howard was given Barbecue America: A Pilgrimage In Search Of America’s Best Barbecue, while Vince Carter was seen reading Cheryl Jamison’s 400-page tome Sublime Smoke: Bold New Flavors Inspired By The Old Art Of Barbecue. And in a clear attempt to get J.J. Redick to tap into the success of his Duke-playing days, Van Gundy gave the Magic guard Paul Kirk’s Championship Barbecue Sauces: 175 Make-Your-Own Sauces, Marinades, Dry Rubs, Wet Rubs, Mops, And Salsas.
But for their upcoming three-game sojourn away from the friendly confines of Amway Arena, the spiritual Van Gundy—known throughout the league as a barbecue pit master—bucked the tradition of handing out personalized volumes and made the unorthodox choice of giving all his players the same book to read: Ray Lampe’s Dr. BBQ’s Big-Time Barbecue Cookbook.
I’m a big fan of The Onion. Personally, though, I think the headline and photo are where the funny stops in this link. What do you think? Funny?
Stan Van Gundy stays animated even during blowout wins / Stephen M. Dowell, Orlando Sentinel
Have the Magic turned a corner?
Don’t tell coach Stan Van Gundy they have.
“The season just keeps going,” Stan Van Gundy said. “Any time you think, ‘we’re there, we’ve turned a corner’ or whatever you find out that you’re not.”
But as the regular season approaches its end, the Magic are playing better than they have the rest of the year. Since the All-Star break, the Magic have gone 10-2 with a loss to the streaking Dallas Mavericks and another to the struggling New Orleans Hornets. Tougher challenges might come in the rest of the season when the Magic face San Antonio twice, the Mavericks again and Cleveland on the road.
“I don’t care about how the beginning started,” Vince Carter said. “It’s all about how you finish. We could’ve gone undefeated coming into the All-Star break and have a terrible second part of the season and everybody’s going to remember that.”
Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy talked about the team’s preparation reaching a new level lately. Jameer Nelson seconded that.
“We’re preparing better; we do everything better right now,” Nelson said. “… Individually we’re getting better. Early in the season we really didn’t have too many guys play together too often. Vince goes out, Rashard’s out, you had guys go out. We start getting playing time together, practice time, we start jelling a little better.”
The Magic’s next four games might prove a bit more of a challenge than, say the Clippers, Bulls or Warriors have. The Magic play the Wizards tomorrow, a team they’ve inexplicable failed to beat yet this season, the Charlotte Bobcats, which have proved to be a difficult matchup for a lot of teams, the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat.
Said Van Gundy: “There’s going to be ups and downs and nights where we’ll find out that we’ve got a lot to work on.”
Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli or e-mail her at tganguli@orlandosentinel.com. Subscribe to our Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/newsletters.
Agent Zero filed to change his number to 6 / Photo by the Associated Press
The Magic continued to roll on Thursday, extending their winning streak to a season-high seven games. They beat the Chicago Bulls, 111-82.
We’ll bring you coverage of the game and of Derrick Rose’s injury. Meanwhile, Gilbert Arenas petitioned to change his number, LeBron James can’t wait to get back on the court and Marion Jones is joining the WNBA.
4. Rose hurts wrist in 111-82 loss, Chicago Tribune, Fred Mitchell
The Buzz: Rose reportedly wore a sling after having his wrist X-rayed.
5. Howard says Rose injuries not his fault, Chicago Sun-Times, John Jackson
The Buzz: A different take on Howard’s reaction to Rose’s injury. Jackson says Howard “sort of blamed Rose.”
6. Bulls’ Rose suffers sprained left wrist, ESPNChicago.com, Nick Friedell
The Buzz: A rundown of the Bulls’ injury woes right through last night’s Rose injury. He’ll have an MRI tomorrow.
7. Arenas plans to go from No. 0 to No. 6, The Washington Post, Michael Lee
The Buzz: Agent Zero is calling it quits. Gilbert Arenas started wearing the number at Arizona because he was told he wouldn’t get any playing time. Now he wants to switch to No. 6. The Magic will play the Wizards on Saturday.
10. Jones, disgraced sprinter, is joining the WNBA, The New York Times, Lynn Zinser
The Buzz: OK, this isn’t the NBA, but it’s strange and worth noting. Marion Jones signed with the Tulsa Shock.
Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli or e-mail her at tganguli@orlandosentinel.com. Subscribe to our Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/newsletters.
Injuries have played a part in why some of these teams have underachieved this season. But they are all teams currently in a worse position than many expected seven months ago.
The Boston Celtics, for example, were once thought to be a sure title contender. Now they’re battling for third place in the Eastern Conference standings with Atlanta.
Some picked the Washington Wizards to win the Southeast Division. That seems laughable now after a nightmare season in D.C.
The Clippers had No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin to work with… until he hurt himself during summer league.
The Magic probably could leave their starters on the bench and still win this next game.
Riding a season-high seven-game winning streak, they return to action Saturday night in Washington against the Wizards, a woeful team also caught in a scheduling nightmare.
The Magic will be resting and traveling Friday. The Wizards will be playing their third game in three nights Saturday. They lost at home Thursday to Atlanta in a make-up game that originally was postponed because of an early-season snowstorm. They play Friday night in Detroit, then return home to play Saturday against the Magic.
The Magic, defending Eastern Conference champs, are hitting their stride at just the right time. (Orlando Magic)
The Orlando Magic pulled away early to set up a 111-82 thrashing of the injury-hit Chicago Bulls on Thursday, extending their NBA winning streak to a season-best seven games. Vince Carter had 23 points and Matt Barnes added 14 in another blowout victory against a struggling team for the Magic. All-Star point guard Derrick Rose sprained his left wrist in a midair collision with Dwight Howard in the... (Orlando Magic)
Vince Carter hasn’t been to the playoffs since the 2006-07 season, when he was a New Jersey Net and was knocked out by some kid named LeBron James in the second round.
Carter has that lean and hungry look, a guy who realizes he’s been away from the postseason spotlight way too long.
He’s been granted the chance that doesn’t come around often: Traded from a pretender to a contender.
Carter was the most focused guy in the place, scoring 23 points in the Magic ’s dismantling of the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
A man named Earl Christy, a former defensive back with the New York Jets, showed Carter his ring from Super Bowl III in the Magic’s locker room after the game.
“You gotta get one of these rocks, Vince!” Christy said.
Carter smiled and shook his head to the affirmative.
He has stepped up his play the way old warhorse do as they sniff the finish line to the regular season.
Carter averaged 18.6 points in February after an awful January inwhich he averaged 8.7 ppg.
Of course, only what Carter does in the playoffs will matter.
Other observations, musings and hunches while wondering why Tiger Woods wouldn’t “debut” at Bay Hill, making it a home game:
— So Tim Tebow reportedly scored only a 22 out of 50 on the Wonderlic test. He’s got Dan Marino by seven.
— When the Magic are at their best, they are as good as any team in the NBA. And lately the Magic have been at their best now for longer stretches than any time in the season. The question: How good can they be in a series against the same opponent, most notably Cleveland?
— I wonder if Shaq will soon replace Jarrod as the Subway spokesman.
— I’ll wager this: If Tiger comes back for the Masters and he’s in contention on Sunday, the ratings will be Super Bowl-esque.
— Is it me, Magic fans, or do the Miami Heat scare you as a first-round opponent?
— Rest in peace, Merlin Olsen. A menace on the field, a gentle giant off it.
Derrick Rose lies on the ground after being fouled by Dwight Howard / Photo by the Associated Press
Vince Carter shook his head when remembering the time he barreled into Shaquille O’Neal, much like Derrick Rose crashed into Dwight Howard in the first quarter of Thursday night’s game.
Carter learned his lesson on how to do that. Did he get hurt?
“Yeah. Yeah,” Carter said. “And he didn’t move.”
That’s what happens when a little(ish) guard hits a big man at full speed. Thursday’s collision was the second of its kind between Howard and Rose this season. Howard knocked Rose down in February, committing a hard foul on the point guard and injuring his hip. Thursday night, Howard did less, but Rose landed hard off a foul and sprained his wrist. Without their most potent player for the second, third and fourth quarters, the Bulls lost 111-82.
“You just have to know how to attack when you go in there,” Carter said. “You have to expect some contact. He initiated contact and Dwight’s not a little fella.”
Howard offered advice to Rose after their first collision just before the All-Star break. The two of them are friends and Howard said he wants Rose to preserve his body for a long time.
“As a big man you never try to hurt anybody when they come down the lane,” Howard said. “But you know me and Derrick — I think he’s a great player, great person. Never want to see him get hurt. I tell him, ‘If you come down the lane, always come on two feet. That way you’ll be balanced. You come off one all it takes is somebody’s body to hit you wrong and you’ll fall.’
“I hope he gets better. I hope there’s nothing seriously wrong with him. I never intended on hurting him.”
Over time guards learn how best to approach that. They learn how best to fall in order to minimize damage to their bodies. Jameer Nelson has a lot of practice with that.
“Yeah, but, I guess I hit the ground so much I kind of know how to fall now,” Nelson said. “It’s one thing you gotta learn. You go in there as a guard to big men, they’re not necessarily trying to knock you down but they’re so big if you go in there off balance, you’re on the ground next.”
Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli or e-mail her at tganguli@orlandosentinel.com. Subscribe to our Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/newsletters.
Orlando guard Vince Carter is fouled by Chicago forward Joe Alexander (behind) during the Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic NBA game at Amway Arena on Thursday, March 11, 2010. The Magic won 111-82. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
The Orlando Magic pound the undermanned Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night, stretching their season-high winning streak to seven games.
There are 16 regular-season games remaining for the Orlando Magic. Although they haven't officially clinched a postseason spot, you can see the pending playoffs written all over Vince Carter's game face.
J.J. Redick gave a nice effort in the Magic's 111-82 blowout win over the Bulls on Thursday, scoring 11 points on 2-of-7 shooting (including a three) with six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block in 35 minutes off the bench. (Rotoworld.Magic)
Matt Barnes posted a balanced line against the Bulls on Thursday, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting (2-of-3 from downtown) with four rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 28 minutes. (Rotoworld.Magic)
Jameer Nelson and Co. rolled over the Bulls by the score of 111-82 on Thursday, with Nelson's nine-point, zero-rebound, and three-assist line just one of the fantasy disasters that came as a result. (Rotoworld.Magic)
Vince Carter scored 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting (including two 3-pointers) with four rebounds, no assists, and a block in 26 minutes of action on Thursday. (Rotoworld.Magic)
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