By John DentonDecember 2, 2012
Greetings from Los Angeles, the beginning point of the Orlando Magic’s nine-day, five-game West Coast roadtrip and shockingly home to a dismal rainstorm. Whoever penned that song, ``It Never Rains in Southern California’’ needs a re-write. And trust me, when it rains here it’s a big deal – as in lead-of-the-news big deal and no-one-can-drive big deal.
Day 1 of the longest trip of the season for the Magic is in the books and already it’s somewhat of a mental and physical grind. The team didn’t practice, but 5 ½-hour charter flight and adjustment to West Coast time were enough to zap most just starting this marathon trip. And where the three-hour time change hits you right away is when you are sleepy at 10 p.m. and wide awake writing a blog at 5 a.m.
Along the way on this trip, we’ll hit L.A. (Lakers), San Francisco/Oakland (Warriors), Salt Lake City (Jazz), Sacramento (Kings) and Phoenix (Suns). In all, we’ll travel 7,178 miles and play in three states and two different time zones. We hope to use this blog to make you laugh and give you some insight into what the Magic are going though on this long roadtrip.
As for the back of the plane, it’s a place when you can see Magic Senior Vice President of Communications Joel Glass and radio play-by-play voice Dennis Neumann reading the same book – Glass on a i-pad and Neumann on the old-school hardback version. David Steele killed time by watching ``This is Spinal Tap,’’ while radio voices Joey Colon and Richie Adubato were busy talking to anyone who would listen to them. As for TV sideline reporter Dante Marchitelli, I’m pretty sure he spent the entire flight texting sweet nothings to the other half of that wacky ``Dante/Galante’’ duo, George Galante.
Unlike in years past when the team stayed in Marina Del Rey, we’re sluming it this year in Beverly Hills. There was a Bugatti parked outside the hotel when we arrived, there’s a Porsche dealership near us and tricked-out Land Rovers here are about as prevalent as lizards in Florida.
So please check back to the blog all week, and I’ll provide trip tidbits along the way. And if it sounds like I’m desperate for page hits and repeated visits to OrlandoMagic.com, well, I am. Someone has to make these grueling trips to Beverly Hills, San Francisco and Phoenix and I hope it’s me for many more years to come.
Sincerely,
JD
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