Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes:This time it will be sweeter. It always is when you work and sweat and plan and prepare for it.

John Gabriel knows about hard work. He's the general manager of the Orlando Magic, but it wasn't so long ago that he was landscaping -- trimming hedges, mowing yards, laying sod -- for a living.

But now he's put down a different type of groundwork, removing dead wood (John Amaechi), planting indigenous tropical vegetation (Tracy McGrady) and even adding a couple of majestic, old oaks (Patrick Ewing and Horace Grant) to the Central Florida landscape. The result is a breathtaking expanse of scenery that has everyone chattering about the Magic making a return to their NBA glory days.

"It's still a work in progress," Gabriel says, "but now that the talent level has risen, the bar of expectations has followed right behind it."

It's been six tumultuous years since Shaq and Penny took the Magic to the NBA Finals in 1995, and now there is the enormous expectation that T-Mac and Grant Hill will be able to pull off the sequel. At least one national publication has picked the Magic to reach the championship series this year -- a feat that would be immensely more amazing and rewarding than 1995.

In this column, Bianchi takes a look at how Gabirel has rebuilt the Magic from the Shaq setback to where the Magic stand today.