March 2005 Orlando Magic Wiretap

Dooling's Return Pushed Back, Cato Nurses Bruised Shoulder

Dec 31, 2005 7:22 AM

The news on the medical front for the Magic is not encouraging.

C Kelvin Cato is nursing a bruised left shoulder -- his third significant injury this season.

The Magic also have pushed back G Keyon Dooling's return from a right foot injury.

Cato did not dress out Friday night. Coach Brian Hill said Cato was injured during Wednesday night's game against the New York Knicks. Magnetic-resonance imaging results were negative.

Cato has missed nine games because of injury. He sat out most of the preseason while recovering from left shoulder surgery in the offseason, then missed seven games because of a sprained right ankle.

Dooling has missed the past 16 games after sustaining a small tear in the tissue on the bottom of his foot. He missed five to begin the season.

The Magic had expected Dooling to practice full-bore next week and perhaps play. Now it appears he won't be ready until the club's West Coast trip Jan. 10-15.

Orlando Sentinel

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Hill Says Latest Surgery Was The Most Difficult

Dec 29, 2005 7:09 AM

Magic forward Grant Hill, who knows a thing or two about comebacks, said his return from sports hernia surgery recently was the most difficult.

Hill has had five surgeries on his left ankle since arriving in a sign-and-trade with the Detroit Pistons in the summer of 2000.

After a successful comeback from the ankle problems last season, he had hernia surgery Oct. 31 and didn't return until Dec. 19.

"This last comeback was probably the hardest," Hill said. "The ankles were a lot longer in terms of recovery, but just going through all that and thinking all the surgeries and injuries are behind you. . . . Then the whole situation [with the hernia] happens, was harder.

"I think the others, maybe as weird as it sounds. . . . When you know you're out for the year, you can mentally remove yourself from coming back that season and gear up for next season. But this one was sort of having to deal with it and gear up quickly."

Orlando Sentinel

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Dooling Works Out, Could Return To Action Next Week

Dec 27, 2005 7:18 AM

Magic guard Keyon Dooling, who has missed the last 14 games, worked out with the club during its shoot-around Monday.

Dooling sustained a small tear in the tissue on the bottom of his right foot Nov. 25 in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Magic Coach Brian Hill expects Dooling to participate in full-scale practices "by the end of the week" and perhaps play "by midweek" next week.

Orlando Sentinel

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Battie Wants To Return To Orlando

Dec 27, 2005 3:17 AM

Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos was making the rounds in the locker room recently and before center Tony Battie could offer his greetings, DeVos cut him off.

"We have to talk this summer, right?" DeVos said to a shocked Battie.

The question was in reference to Battie's pending free agency. Battie said that he desperately wants to re-sign with the Magic because he is happy with his teammates and he has grown to love Central Florida. But he also pointed out that DeVos' devotion to his players is also a strong selling point in wanting to return to the Magic.

"I've played for four different teams and I've never had an owner like Mr. DeVos, who comes around and talks to you the way he does," Battie said. "He'll sit down and talk to you like a neighbor, and not just about basketball. He invites you to his house. I had never been to any other owner's house, but he let us come to his house and look all around. He talks to you about managing money and that's something different."

Florida Today

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Howard Is Expected To Play Against Bucks

Dec 25, 2005 7:02 AM

Orlando Magic power forward Dwight Howard's consecutive-game streak likely will stay alive.

Howard, who played just a little more than two minutes Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers after spraining his right ankle, is expected to play Monday night. The Magic face the Milwaukee Bucks at TD Waterhouse Centre.

Howard, in his second season, never has missed a Magic game, and his consecutive-game streak is 106. The club record is 206 by Darrell Armstrong (1999-2001).

"See what happens when you get into your 20s?'' joked Howard, who turned 20 on Dec. 8. "In my teenage years, I could go all day and night.''

Orlando Sentinel

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Dwight Howard Leaves Game With Injury

Dec 23, 2005 8:36 PM

Orlando Magic forward Dwight Howard limped off the court early in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers tonight.

Howard came into the game averaging 14.7 points and 13 rebounds, tied for second in the league.

He was taken into the locker room just 2:42 into the game after scoring two points. The extent of the injury was not immediately announced.

Orlando Sentinel

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Dooling Out Another Two Weeks

Dec 22, 2005 1:31 PM

Keyon Dooling, the Orlando Magic's top free-agent acquisition this past summer, likely will be out another two weeks because of a tear in the tendon along the bottom of his right foot.

The Magic have listed Dooling's injury as "inflamed plantar fascia," but the reserve point guard admitted recently that he actually suffered a partial tear in the tendon when he last played on Nov. 25.

"There was a tear in it, but I'm starting to run on it again, so that's good," Dooling said. "(Returning after Jan. 1) is about right."

Dooling picked the Magic ahead of the New Jersey Nets and Miami Heat this past summer, signing a three-year, $9 million free-agent deal. But his time in Orlando has been marred by the foot injury.

He originally injured his foot Oct. 18, causing him to miss half of the preseason and the start of the regular season. He came back from the injury and averaged 8.5 points and 2.3 assists in six games before re-injuring his foot.

Florida Today

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Penny Denies He Got Hill Dismissed As Coach In '97

Dec 15, 2005 7:14 AM

Former Magic guard Penny Hardaway, who is on the New York Knicks' inactive list, says that the Orlando media blamed him for Brian Hill's ouster in a player coup in 1997.

"The media in Orlando tried to make it out as something like I got him fired," Hardaway said. "But it was never that way. It was a young team trying to get better and we felt that as a team, we needed to make a change. Seeing him over there, I'm glad he got a second chance with the team."

Hardaway, who played for the Magic from 1993-99 and became an all-star, acknowledges he has an awkward relationship with Hill.

"Every time we see each other it's so strange. I only passed by him once when he was an assistant in Charlotte. We didn't say anything to each other," he said. "I would love to talk to him. I don't have any hard feelings and hopefully he doesn't either. But the media has made this split between us. And we did too many great things as a team with him as our coach to just be thinking about negativity."

Orlando Sentinel

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Hill Set To Make Season Debut Wednesday

Dec 13, 2005 7:20 AM

Grant Hill isn't the only one itching for a return to the Orlando Magic lineup.

Keyon Dooling and Kelvin Cato won't be too far behind him.

Hill will make his much-anticipated return Wednesday when the Magic face the Knicks in New York. Dooling and Cato should come a week to 10 days later, hoping to brighten the holiday season.

Dooling was on the Magic's practice floor Monday without the walking boot on his right foot, which has been bruised and inflamed, leaving him on the inactive list.

Hill hasn't played this season after hernia surgery Oct. 31. Dooling has missed the past eight games with the same injury that plagued him during preseason. He reinjured that foot Nov. 25 in his only start of the season. Cato has missed the past two because of a right ankle sprain.

"It's going to be fun when everyone is back,'' said Dooling after a light workout Monday at the RDV Sportsplex. "Everyone brings a different dimension. There may be a short grace period when everything has to be fit back together, but then we'll see the team that we were supposed to see. It'll be good for all of Orlando.''

Hill will become the Magic's starting small forward, moving Hedo Turkoglu back to his role in reserve. Dooling, who was the Magic's most significant free-agent signee this summer, likely will serve as a backup to DeShawn Stevenson and Steve Francis in the backcourt. Cato, who was struggling to carve his role early this season after shoulder surgery this summer, will become the backup center again.

"We'll go through another transitional phase, but it'll be worth it to get guys back,'' said Magic Coach Brian Hill. "Roles will change, adjustments will be made for the better.''

Orlando Sentinel

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Francis Fights Injury, Lawsuit

Dec 10, 2005 7:10 AM

Orlando Magic guard Steve Francis is back on the court tonight, but on Friday, he was in a Washington, D.C., court giving a deposition.

Three men filed a civil suit against him after claiming they were injured in an alleged June nightclub incident, and Francis' agent, Jeff Fried, told the Sentinel that Francis is being sued for $10 million.

 Fried said Francis was not involved in the incident and alleged that the civil suit is being lodged only because he's a professional athlete. No criminal charges were filed.

Francis missed practice Friday in Orlando but was expected to fly back home late Friday and play tonight against the Denver Nuggets.

Fried said the case will not be tried until after the season.

"Steve came here today because we have an absolute policy that we're not succumbing to any shake-downs -- and that's what this is," Fried said by cell phone. "If you have $120, you can file a lawsuit against an Allen Iverson or a Steve Francis. . . . This is the other side of fame if you're A.I. or Steve."

Iverson is being sued for $20 million by four men in a civil case stemming from a July 20 bar brawl.

Orlando Sentinel

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Hill To Return On Wednesday

Orlando Sentinel

Hill Set To Scrimmage With The Magic Today

Orlando Sentinel

Hill Looks To December 19th For Return

Orlando Sentinel

Franchise Sits In Memphis

ESPN

Francis Out For Magic With Chest, Shoulder Injuries

ESPN