Orlando

In the market for an old, tarnished, less than durable and useless Penny?If you're an NBA owner and that's what you're looking for you might want to call Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos. That's because his once-valued Penny -- Penny Hardaway -- might have just worn out his welcome with a whiny, selfish tirade after Orlando was eliminated by Philadelphia in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.It seems Hardaway got a bit upset after getting criticized for shooting 35.1 percent for the series, including a 3-for 17 outing in the elimination game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

When the Seattle SuperSonics signed center Jim McIlvaine last summer to a seven-year, $35 million contract, star forward Shawn Kemp pouted.One would think that by now Kemp would have shaken off his displeasure and begun to play with the pride he displayed during last season's NBA Finals when he had a breakout performance against the Chicago Bulls.Apparently, Kemp hasn't shaken off his displeasure.Last weekend he missed a team flight, and then missed a practice. This week he was late for a team meeting.

Bam Morris was back on the practice field yesterday for the first time since returning from his four-game suspension. Morris looked fit and moved well with the ball. He brought his usual brand of talk to the field as well.Although some things have changed -- he said the Ravens added some new wrinkles to their playbook in his absence -- Morris said he believed in many ways as if he had never been gone."I might not be able to do carpenter work. I might not be the best art man," Morris said.

IF FIDEL CASTRO wants to retain credibility as a baseball fan and sometime player, he will let Orlando Hernandez pitch again. Let his country's finest pitcher play the game in the window of youth still open.Orlando, the 28-year-old former star of the Cuban national team, is brother and mentor of Livan Hernandez, 22, who defected and helped the Florida Marlins reach the World Series, winning their first game. Treason, says Cuba's dictator. When Orlando was seen with the cousin of the agent who brokered Livan's get-away, that gentleman was clapped in prison and Orlando was banned from the game for life.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- There was just one thought in the mind of Washington Bullets guard Rod Strickland when Orlando Magic guard Gerald Wilkins let fly with a potential game-tying three-point attempt in the final seconds of last night's season opener for both teams."

CHICAGO -- Orlando Magic center Shaquille O'Neal, when he is on his game, is the most physically imposing center in the league. And teammate Anfernee Hardaway, when he is on his game, is the NBA's most talented and versatile point guard.The challenge for the Magic going into Saturday's Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals is to devise a game plan where two of the top players in the game don't disappear, which is what happened here on Tuesday in Orlando's 93-88 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

LANDOVER - It was a night where an already bad injury situation for the Washington Bullets got worse. Facing a streaking Orlando Magic team, the Bullets learned at halftime that they would be without forward Rasheed Wallace, who suffered a fractured left thumb in the second quarter.Somehow, the Bullets took the game into overtime. But the duo (( of Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway was just too much in Orlando's 111-108 overtime win before a sellout crowd of 18,756 at the USAir Arena.

BOWIE -- Gathering his team during yesterday's light practice, Washington Bullets coach Jim Lynam wanted to emphasize the recent troubles the Orlando Magic is experiencing at home -- losing four of six after winning its first 33 games this season at the Orlando Arena.But the Bullets are riding such a high right now that the pep talk wasn't really necessary."The way we're playing, we don't think there's a team we can't beat," guard Brent Price said. "We're not going [to Orlando] to just show up. We're not going there to just give a good effort.

HOUSTON -- It was a giant newspaper banner, lowered from the rafters of The Summit with a headline proclaiming the Houston Rockets "A team of destiny." And last night the defending NBA champions took one more step on their way to a second straight title.Holding a 101-100 lead in the final minute, Robert Horry stepped forward as the latest hero as he buried a three-point shot with 14 seconds left and the Rockets held on for a 106-103 victory over the Orlando Magic before a sellout crowd at The Summit.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- It still hangs from the rafters of the United Center, casting a long shadow on the Chicago Bulls franchise and illuminating the legend that is Michael Jordan.But for one night at least, he needed to borrow it. Perhaps just to remember what it was like. Presumably to draw inspiration from the image he was reminded of every time he took the court as No. 45.Jordan wasn't saying last night exactly what he was thinking or feeling when he took the suggestion from Bulls equipment man John Ligmanowski and donned his old No. 23. But he was certainly feeling something when he walked off the court following his 38-point performance and the Bulls' 104-94 victory over the Orlando Magic in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Thornton Sites Edwards Jr. (Ed) A memorial service was held on June 9th in Orlando. In lieu of memorial contributions can be made to The Orlando Humane Society, 2727 Conroy Rd, Orlando, Fl 32839 in honor of his beloved dog Gator.

Magic@Lakers 10:30 p.m. [ESPN] Fresh off a tight loss to the Spurs, the Lakers next challenge one of the Eastern Conference's top teams, the Magic. Orlando's record is only a half game worse than Los Angeles'.

The National Indoor Soccer League has not conducted a game yet, and already it has suffered a setback. With the decision by the Orlando Sharks to suspend operations at least for this season, the league has been reduced to four teams and is scrambling to revise its schedule. "This is another step we'll have to overcome," Blast general manager Kevin Healey said. "No doubt this was a surprise because they [the Sharks] were part of putting this league together, then at the last minute they pull out because of arena problems."

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A season-high sixth consecutive victory did not come easily for the Blast last night. Machel Millwood and Mike Lookingland each had a goal and assist in the Blast's 12-4 win over the Orlando Sharks, but the worst defensive team in the Major Indoor Soccer League had a few surprises for the hottest team in the league. "We didn't expect this club to give us an easy game. ... They were taking it to us," Blast coach Danny Kelly said. A week ago, the Blast (12-7) scored 25 consecutive points in a 25-13 win over Orlando.

Matchup -- Blast (11-7) at Orlando (3-17) Site -- Amway Arena, Orlando, Fla. Time -- 7:35 Radio -- 680 AM Outlook -- This is the second of back-to-back games against the Sharks, who offered little competition in Baltimore last weekend. The Blast scored 20 consecutive points before letting up in the fourth quarter of a 25-13 victory. This is the final game of four between the two teams; the Blast has won the previous three, including a 17-6 win in Florida. The Blast will be looking to improve on a 2-5 road record and stretch its winning streak to six. Denison Cabral has 46 points, sixth in the MISL, and Machel Millwood has 44, tied for seventh, after both produced hat tricks (with Millwood going on to a fourth goal)

Orlando, Fla. -- Going into last night's game against the expansion Orlando Sharks, Blast coach Danny Kelly made sure his team would not have a letdown after starting the season 2-0. "Detroit showed us last year that an expansion team is capable of making it to the finals. We were not going to take Orlando lightly," he said. His team clearly got the message, routing the Sharks, 17-6, in a Major Indoor Soccer League game. The Blast set the pace early with Jamaican native Machel Millwood giving Baltimore a 2-0 lead.

When a campaign-finance system encourages presidential candidates to vacuum up as many dollars as they can, as fast as they can, they're bound to end up with some dirty money. This month, the campaign of Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton returned $850,000 bundled by a fundraiser after reports revealed he had skipped out on his 1992 sentencing for grand theft. Last week, USA Today reported that the 2008 candidates already had collected perhaps hundreds of donations from minors - a tactic often used by parents to exceed limits for individual contributions.

A shootout early yesterday at Washington Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson's house west of Orlando, Fla., has left one man with gunshot wounds. Stevenson and his guests told Orange County sheriff's deputies that Curtis Ruff, 31, opened fire after following them and some women home from an Orlando nightclub. Ruff, of Orlando, later turned up at a hospital with gunshot wounds, but deputies said neither he, Stevenson, nor the guests would elaborate on what happened during the 4 a.m. incident.

Exhausted, waterlogged and stung by jellyfish, musician Orlando Phillips had thoughts of gratitude, but not happiness, when he was pulled from the choppy waters of the Chesapeake Bay after his boat went down near Deale. "I had the feeling that I didn't want to live without my brother, and that my friends were gone," he said yesterday, recalling his desperation. When Phillips' boat became entangled in fishing net and sank about 10:20 p.m. Sunday, he became separated from his brother, Gregory, and two friends.

BETHESDA-- --Tiger Woods wasn't entertaining hypothetical scenarios, but that doesn't mean that you can't. What do you suppose would happen if your pregnant wife were hospitalized and, rather than joining her, you chose to instead play golf? Chances are, she'd call your mother to complain, scream at least six of George Carlin's seven dirty words, throw every hand-held appliance toward the vicinity of your head, and then, if you're still breathing, move most of your belongings to the curb.