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The 2008-09 Orlando Magic were about as close as you can get to winning their first NBA Championship in franchise history. In the offseason, the team cut ties with F Hedo Turkoglu, a man that was largely considered the heart and soul of a squad that is headlined by C Dwight Howard.

In order to replace the Turkish superstar, GM Otis Smith went out and traded G Courtney Lee and a few other minor pieces for G Vince Carter, who was largely thought to be washed up, and a host of role players, including F Matt Barnes, G Jason Williams, and C Brandon Bass.

So just like most Magic fans, I immediately thought to myself, “Fantastic. We just replaced a superstar for a has-been, two stiffs, and a nut case.”

All that has-been has done this year is average 16.3 points per game and rejuvenate his career.

All the nut case does is annoy the heck out of the opposition, score 8.7 points per game, and does a little bit of everything. Oh yeah, and he got down and dirty and got into the face of G Kobe Bryant when the Lakers came to town last weekend.

Believe it or not, this version of the Orlando Magic may really be better than ever. And there’s never been a better time to strike and capture the city’s first major championship ever than right now.

Just take one look at the Eastern Conference. Even though things aren’t as disgraceful this year as they were a year ago when everyone outside of Orlando, Boston, and Cleveland were all god awful, they’re still pretty bad.

Does anyone really believe that the Magic (or Cavs for that matter) are going to even get remotely challenge by Miami, Charlotte, or anyone else in the bottom of the Eastern Conference in the first round?

Setting up a date with the Celtics in the second round seems like a very realistic possibility, and it also feels like a lot easier task than the Magic faced last season when they had to win Game 7 at Boston Garden to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

So let’s just fast forward to the inevitable Orlando/Cleveland matchup, shall we?

Last season, there really wasn’t a warm body that could hang with F LeBron James defensively. Now, that nut case Barnes is the man that can get the job done. F Rashard Lewis and Cleveland’s F Antawn Jamison are largely the exact same player and will cancel each other out.

Who’s stopping Superman again? Shaq? I think not.

Cleveland may be the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but after six games, Orlando will once again be the team playing in the NBA Finals.

However, that’s not good enough in the home of Mickey Mouse this year. It’s championship or bust, and the entire franchise and the city of Orlando both know it.

Unlike last year’s team that lived and died by the three-pointer and Howard in the post, this team has more slashing ability to the paint. Carter isn’t afraid to get his jersey a little messy, and G JJ Redick has developed a lot more of an inside game that he has had in years past when he was nothing but a three-point shooter. The bench is utilized a lot more as well, as any combination of 11 guys can play 15+ minutes any given night. It’s also a team that can play at the sluggish knockdown , drag out pace that both Cleveland and Boston like to play at.

No team in the NBA is holding teams to a worse shooting percentage than Orlando is at 43.6%. Its 95.3 points per game allowed in the sixth best mark in the league.

The one thing that you can’t measure based on statistics is heart, and it’s that heart, along with tenacity, and toughness that has led the Magic to a six-game winning streak that will probably be stretched out to at least 11 before playing at Atlanta on March 24th.

Mickey Mouse has an angry scowl on his face this season, and if he doesn’t walk away from this season with an NBA Championship, he may never get one.

Nineteen turnovers, 37.5% shooting from the field, and a bitter 22-point loss to a 13th place team in the Big East later, and the 2009-2010 Connecticut Huskies effectively watched their season come to an abrupt end on Tuesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

This UConn team is going to be one that is remembered for all of the wrong reasons. For starters, this was a squad that was in the Final Four a year ago. Who could forget when a young, promising G Kemba Walker dropped 23 points on the Missouri Tigers in the Elite 8 or when F Stanley Robinson ate up Purdue for ten points and 11 boards in the Sweet 16? The only major piece to this puzzle from last year’s team that didn’t come back was C Hasheem Thabeet.

Sure, Thabeet was the #2 pick in the NBA Draft that next season, and if he was still on this UConn team, the story could be completely different. But let’s be real here. This is Connecticut. Finishing 17-15 isn’t acceptable.

While watching television on Tuesday night, ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb mentioned that HC Jim Calhoun may not even want to take this bunch of Huskies to the NIT, assuming that they are invited.

Originally, I thought this was crazy. But upon further thought… why would Calhoun want to play with this bunch of kids anymore?

F Jerome Dyson had a miserable game against St. John’s on Tuesday. He turned the ball over nine times and shot just 2/6 from the floor before getting benched for lack of production. I might not be some college basketball guru, but even I can tell that he pretty much gave up on this team.

The aforementioned Kemba Walker shot 4/17 from the floor and was taking some ill-advised shots. I’ll give him this: Walker was fighting the whole way through, which is why Calhoun let him keep playing. But this was a case of a youngster without much experience ultimately trying to put the whole team on his back instead of playing team basketball to try to erase a huge deficit.

Calhoun’s health issues are well-documented. It felt like his leave of absence really took any potential momentum away from this team. Even when he came back from his hiatus, a miserable 60-48 loss to Cincinnati at home was called “an embarrassment” by the head coach.

Three straight wins were nice after that, but a 78-76 home loss to Louisville might’ve marked the end of the season. Losses got progressively worse. Dropping to Notre Dame without F Luke Harangody was disgraceful. Losing at South Florida was appalling. Wrapping it up with a 22-point defeat to St. John’s just has no description.

Calhoun has reportedly been offered a new contract by the university, but he is going to strongly consider whether or not he wants to take the Huskies up on it or not. After winning 822 career games and two National Championships, the sixth most winningest coach in NCAA Division I history has nothing left to prove.

It’s pretty clear that the Connecticut Huskies are still a long ways away from being able to compete in the rough and tumble Big East again. If Jim Calhoun is smart, he’ll realize that it’s time to step away and let the Huskies fend for themselves.

Arizona Cardinals: Lost out on S Antrel Rolle, LB Karlos Dansby, S Kerry Rhodes, and WR Anquan Boldin, which will seriously hamper any chances of defending their NFC West crown.
Atlanta Falcons: Signed CB Dunta Robinson to shore up a secondary that ranked 28th against the pass last season (241.9 yards per game).
Baltimore Ravens: Traded for WR Anquan Boldin, which gives QB Joe Flacco a consistent target to throw to, but also lost top WR from a year ago, Derrick Mason.
Buffalo Bills: Still no word on what’s going on with WR Terrell Owens, but aside from that, things have been relatively quiet in Buffalo.
Carolina Panthers: Finally cut ties with QB Jake Delhomme, possibly setting up Michael Vick’s grand return as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
Chicago Bears: Signed RB Chester Taylor, TE Brandon Manumaleuna, and DE Julius Peppers on the first day of the signing period, but still need to replace T Orlando Pace on the offensive line.
Cincinnati Bengals: Released WR Laveranues Coles and let S Roy Williams, DT Tank Johnson, and RB Larry Johnson become free agents.
Cleveland Browns: Signed LB Scott Fujita and resigned KR Joshua Cribbs to ensure that they have one of the most explosive special teams units in the NFL in 2010.
Dallas Cowboys: All has been quiet in “Big D,” save the fact that K Shaun Suisham was allowed to become a free agent.
Denver Broncos: Teams are trying to tender offers for WR Brandon Marshall, which could largely hurt QB Kyle Orton’s growth on a team that struggled down the stretch.
Detroit Lions: Signed DE Kyle Vanden Bosch and WR Nate Burleson, and though many recognize the Vanden Bosch signing as a great one for a poor defensive line, it’s questionable that Burleson earned $5M/year.
Green Bay Packers: Need to find a replacement for DE/LB Aaron Kampman.
Houston Texans: Working towards resigning WR Kevin Walter, but secondary help is still needed to replace the departed DB Dunta Robinson.
Indianapolis Colts: Resigned LB Gary Brackett, but have stayed relatively quiet in free agency otherwise.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Signed DE/LB Aaron Kampman to try to bulk up a defense which ranked 24th in the NFL at 23.8 points allowed per game.
Kansas City Chiefs: Resigned both LB Mike Vrabel and WR Terrance Copper.
Miami Dolphins: Cut ties with LB Akin Ayodele, QB Chad Pennington, DT Jason Ferguson, and LB Joey Porter, but did start rebuilding by signing LB Karlos Dansby.
Minnesota Vikings: Needs to find a replacement as RB Adrian Peterson’s backup, as RB Chester Taylor left via free agency.
New England Patriots: Resigned LB Tully Banta-Cain, G Stephen Neal, and DT Vince Wilfork to sure up the defending AFC East champs for another run in ’10.
New Orleans Saints: Still haven’t come to terms with S Darren Sharper, and have already lost LB Scott Fujita and backup QB Mark Brunell via free agency.
New York Giants: Signed S Antrel Rolle as perhaps the best DB on the open market, which will only help a defense which ranked 30th in the NFL in points allowed last season (26.7 per game).
New York Jets: Cut DB Lito Sheppard, but did trade for DB Antonio Cromartie, giving them the best tandem of corners in football (Cromartie and DB Darrelle Revis).
Oakland Raiders: Designed DE Richard Seymour as the team’s franchise player and released RB Justin Fargas, opening the door for more playing time for RB Darren McFadden.
Philadelphia Eagles: Still in dispute whether Donovan McNabb or Kevin Kolb will be the quarterback next season. Resigned RB Leonard Weaver, but cut both LB Will Witherspoon and RB Brian Westbrook.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Had to deal with a major off-the-field hassle, as QB Ben Roethlisberger was accused of his second assault. S Ryan Clark, RB Willie Parker, and backup QB Charlie Batch are all free agents.
San Diego Chargers: Traded the disgruntled DB Antonio Cromartie, and cut ties with RB LaDainian Tomlinson, but surprised many by bringing back RB Darren Sproles.
San Francisco 49ers: Signed QB David Carr to compete with Alex Smith and Shaun Hill for the starting quarterback job.
Seattle Seahawks: Lost DB Ken Lucas and WR Nate Burleson to free agency.
St. Louis Rams: Signed QB AJ Feeley to compete as a temporary starting quarterback for the signal-caller that will inevitably be drafted either this year or next year.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Allowed S Will Allen, S Jermaine Phillips, and WR Antonio Bryant to declare free agency.
Tennessee Titans: Will miss DE Kyle Vanden Bosch up front, but also lost TE Alge Crumpler, LB Keith Bulluck, DE Jevon Kearse, DB Nick Harper, and C Kevin Mawae.
Washington Redskins: Have stayed surprisingly quiet, but did sign G Artis Hicks to shore up a questionable and aging offensive line.

Let the complaining and politicking begin! With just one week of game’s left to be played in the college basketball season, teams across the country are going to be groveling to the Selection Committee to try to make their case for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. We’re ranting all across the sports world here at Bankroll Sports, though, and here’s who we’re upset with this week.

Rap Sheet Picture of the Week

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, who was accused of yet another assault charge this week.

We’re coming right out with the gloves off. Hey Connecticut Huskies, do you really want to go dancing or not? Instead of whining about how hard your schedule was this year, why don’t you turn around and beat somebody? Or better yet, how about trying to figure out how to win a conference road game? After losing at Notre Dame and South Florida this past week, UConn doesn’t even remotely deserve consideration for an at-large bid to the dance, but you and I both know full well that wins against St. John’s on Tuesday and Marquette on Wednesday will probably somehow sneak the Huskies in the field.

Can someone explain to me what the heck the Arizona Cardinals and San Diego Chargers are doing? I understand that the Bolts wanted to cut ties with RB LaDainian Tomlinson before his career totally fell off the map, but what gives with trading DB Antonio Cromartie to the Jets for a song and a dance? Don’t you remember that it was New York’s defense which gave you all of those hassles in the playoffs last year? Do you think that unit is getting worse by giving them your second best defensive player?

And Arizona, what are you doing, too? You had the NFC West already neatly packaged for you even if QB Matt Leinart proved to be a total stiff. But you let WR Anquan Boldin, S Antrel Rolle, LB Karlos Dansby, and a host of others get away from you. Now, you’re no better than a .500 team in a lousy division… which may still be good enough to win the NFC West… which is worth ranting about in itself when you consider how good the NFC East and AFC South are…

To the Cleveland Cavaliers: If you’re going to get trounced by the Bucks by a touchdown without F LeBron James in the lineup, what does that tell you about your future if you let “The King” skip town? If your name wasn’t F Antawn Jamison (30 points) or G Delonte West (27 points), you didn’t score more than seven points in Milwaukee. What’s up with that? Oh that’s right. It’s just another example of how lousy the Cavs really are without their pride and joy in the lineup, and is a harsh reminder that this team had to be the worst in the NBA just to earn the right to land LeBron in the draft in the first place.

Finally, we’ll take a swipe at HC Phil Jackson, who called his F Pau Gasol “weak and sickly.” Now Phil, we know you’re the Zen master and all of that, but if I’m not mistaken, Gasol has put together double-doubles in four of his L/5 games, and has scored a total of 41 points in his L/3. Maybe it’s not your big man that is “weak and sickly” after all. Maybe it’s just your whole team. You’ve dropped three straight overall and now have both the Mavs and Nuggets in your rear view mirror trying to stalk you for the top spot in the Western Conference.

The Monsters of the Midway just got a heck of a lot scarier.

Last season, the Chicago Bears opened up their wallets and made the trade that was supposed to put their franchise over the top. After years of watching Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman, et al struggle to complete passes, they dealt Orton and a slew of draft picks to the Denver Broncos to acquire Jay Cutler.

After the oddsmakers jumped all over the place and named the Bears amongst the favorites to go the Super Bowl in the wide open NFC, all they managed to do was go 7-9 and suffer crushing defeat after crushing defeat.

Oh look, Cutler just threw another interception while I was writing that paragraph.

The fact that the Vanderbilt product, who made a cool $22M last season, threw 27 touchdown passes last season was completely irrelevant to Chicago fans. It was the 26 interceptions that really stood out.

Heck, Sexy Rexy could’ve done that.

In all seriousness though, Cutler’s turnover problems were just one of the many freakish things that happened to the Bears in 2009. LB Brian Urlacher suffered a season-ending injury in the first week of the season. RB Matt Forte had a miserable sophomore slump, rushing for just 929 yards and four scores. WR/DB/KR/PR/Popcorn Salesman Devin Hester didn’t score a single special teams touchdown.

If nothing else changed for Chicago from 2009, don’t you think that the 2010 edition of this team would be significantly better?
Last year, the Bears spent a shade over $120M in salaries, which was just $7M shy of the roughly $127M cap. The only significant number that is coming off of the cap from last year to this year was that of Orlando Pace, who made a shade over $5M in 2009.

But thanks to the fact that this will be an uncapped season, it was essentially open season for the Bears to become free agent head hunters.

That’s when the wallet was opened.

Today was the first day of the free agency period, and Chicago wasted no time spending a cool $84.5M in the blink of an eye.
The newest members of the team including former Carolina Panthers DE Julius Peppers and former Minnesota Vikings RB Chester Taylor. In an otherwise largely mediocre free agent class, these two signings were incredible.

In Peppers, the Bears are getting one of the most feared pass rushers in the NFL. He racked up 81 sacks with the Panthers before not getting resigned in the offseason, and now he’ll get to team up with one of the best DTs in the league in Tommy Harris as well as one of the best linebacking corps that the league has to offer as well.

There’s a certain #4 right now sitting in on a farm somewhere in Mississippi that has to be looking at that and wondering if he really wants to face that front seven twice this year…

The signing of Taylor will go underappreciated, yet it is quite possibly the more relevant signing. Even though Chicago ranked 17th in total defense and 21st in points allowed in 2009, we knew that the Bears would already be a more dangerous team defensively in ’10 thanks to the return of Urlacher.

What we weren’t so sure of is how good this running game could be. Many think that Forte’s miserable rushing average (3.6 yards per carry) was a large reason for the downfall of Cutler last year.

Chicago knew that it didn’t need a home run hitter as a running back. It just needed someone to lighten the load off of Cutler’s shoulders just a bit.

Taylor’s numbers haven’t been all that impressive for the Vikings since Purple Jesus came to town, but he has still been the epitome of consistency. If Minnesota needed a guy to step in and start, Taylor was available. A good blocker? Check. A third down back? Does 42 catches last season suffice?

For a team that ranked 29th in the NFL in rushing (93.2 yards per game), Taylor should be a perfect fit from a divisional rival.
It’s pretty clear that losing is no longer any option for the Chicago Bears.

For the second straight season, they have gone out and made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason. For the second straight season, they’ll be a favorite in the NFC. For the second straight season, expectations will be incredibly high.

But if for the second straight season, the Bears don’t reach the playoffs and march towards the Super Bowl, HC Lovie Smith is going to have lots of explaining to do.

After all, at least right now, he’s got the best team that money can buy.

It’s not every day that we have the opportunity to cross the Beatles with the NBA, but as I was scrolling through the box scores and game recaps from Tuesday night’s games, I noticed that the Boston Celtics found a way to scrap out a ‘W’ to get back into the win column against the Detroit Pistons. F Paul Pierce was back in the lineup, and in spite of the fact that he only scored nine points in a rather dismal personal effort, I had to think to myself, “Hmm… I wonder if Pierce wasn’t there if the C’s would’ve won this game?”

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Let’s face it. Things haven’t been going so well in Beantown of late for the champs of two years ago. Boston is still in third place in the Eastern Conference, but it seems to be lagging well behind the Orlandos and Clevelands of this world. The Celtics are only 16-11 on their home court, and a woeful 6-20-1 ATS in those 27 games to boot.

Heading into the game against New Jersey just three nights ago, HC Doc Rivers hung a new sign in the locker room: “INDIVIDUALS WIN GAMES BUT TEAMS WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS.”

Nice motivation, Coach. All your team did that day was lose to arguably the worst team in the history of the NBA on your own home court 104-96.

Pierce was out of the lineup that day nursing his injured thumb.

Enter: The Beatles.

Help! I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody. Help! You know I need someone… Help!

Help arrived at the Palace of Auburn Hills when Pierce came back into the lineup a game after his team suffered the ultimately embarrassment. No one else would do. It had to be Pierce, the only player on this team that has grown up in green, to provide the help.

Now, here’s the next question: Was this just an average win against a lousy club, or was that 105-100 win at Detroit the start of something really great for the Celtics?

Methinks it’s the latter.

Finally, Boston is on the verge of being completely healthy, something that it hasn’t really been in months. C Kendrick Perkins is the only snag right now, but his flu will go away eventually, and he’ll be just fine. But it’s been awhile since this entire team has come out on the same court unified as one. It may or may not happen at home on Wednesday night against the Bobcats, but assuming that nothing else goes wrong in that game, the C’s should be at full strength just in time for one of the easiest stretches of games left in the season.

The Celtics are about to embark on a five-game stretch in which they play the 76ers, Wizards, Bucks, Grizzlies, and Pacers.

When together, it’s pretty clear that Boston should have one of the best teams in the NBA. Just throwing three future Hall of Famers in G Ray Allen, F Kevin Garnett, and the aforementioned Pierce on the court at the same time is awfully impressive. Throw in one of the NBA’s best point guards in Rajon Rondo and a bench that prides itself on defense, and the recipe is right for a championship.

Rivers is right about one thing: Teams win championships.

However, what he failed to mention is that every single individual has to be giving his all to the team for the team to function.

Everyone may be leaving them for dead, but now that the Boston Celtics are back at full strength, the championship could once again be within their reach.

March Madness has officially kicked off, as conference tournaments are underway and the first official tickets to the dance will be handed out in the days to come. When it’s all said and done, there are 35 teams that won’t win their conference tournaments that are invited to the grandest dance in the world anyway.

Truth be told, a whole bunch of those spots have already been handed out for certain. Figure that these teams, without any shred of a doubt whatsoever, are already making plans for being in the brackets come Selection Sunday…

Atlantic 10 (3): Temple, Xavier, Rhode Island
ACC (1): Duke
Big XII (4): Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas
Big East (4): Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, Pittsburgh
Big Ten (4): Ohio State, Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin
Mountain West (2): New Mexico, BYU
SEC (3): Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee

Now, we’ll argue that one of these teams from each conference is going to get their respective league’s automatic bid to the tourney. That makes 14 at-large bids that are certainly gone. If you’re team’s not on this list above and you think you’re going to the NCAA Tournament, you’d better pay really good attention to the rest of this article.

Everyone get out your Gonzaga shirt, your Murray State hat, your Northern Iowa socks, your Siena sweater, your Old Dominion shoes, and your Butler underwear.

In a perfect world, all six of these teams are just going to win their conference tournaments and take their automatic slots in the field. That would leave the other, oh, 40 or so of you out there the maximum possible 21 tickets to fight for.

However, this isn’t a perfect world, and this is what makes the madness of March so fantastic. In the event that the Zags, Racers, Panthers, Saints, Monarchs, and/or Bulldogs happens to lose a game in the next week or so in their conference tournaments, they’ll be thrust into the at-large pool with the rest of you suckers that are groveling to the Selection Committee to put you in the field of 65 in spite of the fact that you have obvious flaws on your resumes. In the cases of Gonzaga, Northern Iowa, and Butler, they’re not going to join the 40 of you that are praying to get in. They’re going to join the 14 that already know that they’re in the driver’s seat.

For Murray State, Siena, and Old Dominion, not winning their conference tournaments may leave them in the NIT. Or maybe it won’t. One thing is for certain, though. If you happened to lose to one of these three teams in the regular season (I’m looking at you Georgetown and Charlotte!), you’d better hope that that team gets into the field via the automatic bid, because if they don’t, you’re going to be subjected to having the Dikembe Mutombo finger waved at you for having lost the head-to-head series against a fellow bubble dweller.

The beauty about college basketball though, is that virtually everyone gets a chance. If you want to play in the NCAA Tournament, play your way into the field. Keep winning in your conference tournaments, and you’ll find your way onto the dance floor one way or the other.

If not and your bubble pops, don’t go blaming anyone but yourself.

Let the madness of March begin…