The NBA free agency period began at 12:01 am Tuesday.

What will the Orlando Magic do?

Let's all keep in mind that this is not last summer. In 2007, the Magic and General Manager Otis Smith had oodles under the salary cap to throw Rashard Lewis a $118 million bone.

This year, the well is all dried up. All we have this summer is our good looks, the lure of playing with Dwight Howard, sunshine, no state taxes, a shot at a championship and the mid-level exception (circa $5.6 million a year) to try to woo free agents to town.

That list of unrestricted free agents is less than overwhelming. Baron Davis has shockingly opted out of a Golden State deal that would have payed him $17.8 million next season. Baron, what in the name of DeShawn Stevenson are you and your agent thinking? Perhaps Davis and Arenas will switch uniforms? I don't know, but I am pretty sure that Baron Davis will go down as the only person in the history of the world to walk away from nearly $18 mil in guaranteed money.

Other names on that list include Elton Brand (expected to re-sign with LAC), Gilbert Arenas (expected to re-up with Washington), Corey Maggette and Michael Pietrus. Let's put the Bulls' Chris Duhon on this list as well for Magic purposes. Duhon may make a nice defensive-minded back up in Orlando.

The top five restricted free agents are as follows: Andre Igoudala, Josh Smith, Jose Calderon, Luol Deng and Monta Ellis. With the possible exception of Smith, I suspect the rest on that list will re-sign with their respective clubs.

Now, our options are extremely limited but I guarantee Otis is gonna do something (how's that for a prediction?).

Maggette is an interesting option.

Corey's 'people' are shouting out to most every Orlando media member who'll listen that he would love to be courted by the Magic. Frankly, I'd love to see it.

Tuesday, Corey opted out of a Clipper deal that would have payed him $7 million next year. Corey played his rookie season with the Magic back in 1999-2000. Corey would certainly fill a need at our starting shooting guard spot. Last season, he averaged over 22 points per game, a career high, and is still the freakish athlete we saw in his rookie season. Corey's parents still live here in town and he would certainly fit the bill for a Magic team built upon a foundation of character guys. Corey's a good guy and a hard worker who's entering the prime years of his career (he turns 29 in November).

Will he take less $ to come home? Good question, considering he'll likely have three of four other teams throwing big dough at him.

Maggette's my man....But I don't count.

Never a dull moment at Two Magic Place.

Thursday night, the Magic selected Lee with the 22nd pick in the NBA Draft.

The 6-5 shooting guard from Indianapolis played four seasons at Western Kentucky where he averaged over 20 points per game in his senior season. Lee is known as one of the purest scorers in the nation. He led the Hilltoppers to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament. One of his most memorable games was the Tournament win over San Diego in Tampa where he tossed in 29 points to send the vertically challenged 'toppers to the Regional Semifinals. Lee's Cinderella season would end with a loss to UCLA.

Considering the uncertainty of our shooting guard position, Lee is a kid who has the ability to come in and make an impact. With a few tweaks here and there, he'll have an NBA-ready body. He is a scorer who is not shy about pulling up from mid-range, a lost art in today's game. Having played the point guard spot during his sophomore season, Lee can handle rock a little as well, but don't plan on seeing him become our floor general any time soon.

On the down side, Lee will have to overcome the stigma of jumping into the NBA fire from a mid-major program. We know the kid can score. Now, he's now gonna have to show that he can defend the two guard position at the next level and improve his consistency.

Courtney Lee is a high character kid. Why doesn't that surprise me?

Otis Smith has not been a GM for long, but the one common thread in Otis's short tenure is that he is high on character, low-maintenance guys, team-first players. No Boneheads allowed! Now, Lee will be the first one to admit that the main reason he attended a small school after finishing second in the running for Indiana's Mr. Basketball is that he just didn't take his early years of high school as seriously as he should have. Many of the big boys backed off. He settled on WKU.

Early in his collegiate career, Lee would suffer the loss of his mentor, roommate, best friend and teammate Danny Rumph to a heart condition. Lee credits the late Rumph for convincing him to remain at WKU when severe bouts of homesickness would hit. To this day, Courtney Lee dedicates his basketball career to the late Rumph and the impact he had on his life.

What kind of impact will Lee have in Orlando in year one? That remains to be seen.

What we do know is this: Otis Smith got his man in Courtney Lee.

Me neither. But, ya know what? This is the way it should be. Picking late in the first round of the NBA Draft translates into a great regular season. Give me boring draft nights for the next 20 years!

Let's get this straight: the player we pick at 22 tonight is gonna have warts. He won't be perfect. We won't be throwing ticker tape parade down Orange Avenue tomorrow. It's highly unlikely that we'll be hanging this kid's number from the rafters in 15 years.

With that said, I think we're gonna get a solid player tonight. This draft, while lacking star power after the top two or three picks, is deep enough to where the Orlando Magic can walk away with a guy who can help us now and into the future.

Magic GM Otis Smith held a pre-draft news conference Tuesday. Otis talked for 13 minutes, but didn't say a whole lot. How can you blame the guy? NBA execs cannot, and should not, tip their hands at this very crucial time of year.

So, we're left with an educated guessing game.

I could throw a whole host of names at ya...but I've narrowed my list to three:

Chris Douglas Roberts. I stated a few weeks ago that my pick would be CDR. But rumor mill has it that his stock is falling rapidly. Apparently, NBA types are concerned about his ability to score at the next level. From what I hear, CDR's workouts in Orlando and other whistle stops were less than stellar. We'll see. I still think he would fit this team. He's versatile and big for a two guard. The kid shot 54% from the field last season. He averaged 18 points per game and stroked it at a 41% clip from beyond the arc.

Courtney Lee. I like the fact that he's stayed in college for four years. Excellent shooter. He averaged 20 points and shot 48% FG last season at Western Kentucky. Lee has the ability create his own shot at the next level. He has a high basketball IQ and I am told he's a good character guy. The red flags? Lee has a tendency to become invisible on the court at times and disappeared in the NCAA Tournament. Defensively, he needs work.

Marreese Speights. Will he be around when the Magic pick 22? It's unlikely, but if Otis is gonna stick with his strategery of picking the best available player on the board, the kid from St. Pete is the one! We need a big. Marreese is plenty big and still growing. In just 24 minutes per game for Coach Billy this past season, Speights averaged 14.5 points and 8 rebounds. If those numbers were to be projected out to 40 minute per #'s, they'd look like this: 28 points and 18 rebounds. The question marks surrounding young Speights center around his work ethic and a raw outside shot.

If Marreese Speights is still on the board, don't ya have to take the Florida Gator?

There ya go. That's my finalist list for the Magic's #22 pick. It's not the most exciting list in the world. But, ya know what? That's just the way I like it.

Who's it gonna be?

Courtney Lee? Chris Douglas Roberts? Roy Hibbert? Bill Walker? Robin Lopez?

Who will be the Magic's pick at #22 in the first round?

You NBA Draft geeks are in your glory this time of year.

I have been covering the draft for a long time now. Some would say too long. I actually covered the draft before the internet age when reporters actually had to work their contacts and the phones instead of browsing the web to get their 'inside' information.

There are scores of NBA Draft related websites. They each have their own mock drafts, team needs and player profiles. Heck, some even proclaim to have the 2020 NBA Draft already broken down!

Now, these websites are invaluable. I love 'em. I couldn't do my draft prep without them. But can we please get real with some perspective here?

Did you ever notice that each potential draftee is the next coming of (insert name here)? Derrick Rose is Dwayne Wade. Michael Beasley is Carmelo Anthony. OJ Mayo is Ben Gordon. Kevin Love is, gulp, Wes Unseld? Wes Unseld? Kevin Love couldn't carry the ole Baltimore Bullet's jock strap. Derrick Rose is a very good player, but comparing him to D-Wade? PUUHLEAASE. Let's allow these guys to become who they are, not who we want them to be.

Ya ever notice how, according to the web, every player has tremendous upside and is seemingly a Hall of Famer in the making? "Incredibly explosive"..."Great Shooter"..."Athletic"..."Excellent floor vision"..."Gifted offensive player". Not once have I seen, "This guy's a bust waiting to happen" or, "Stay away from picking this cancer!". 1-60, these potential draftees all have the potential to become the next coming of Bird, Magic and Michael combined. You want to know that truth? The truth of the matter is that a majority of these 60 players won't even be in the NBA in three years.

With that said, these sites can be valuable tools to find out what's going on in other cities. So, because of their popularity, they're also used in counter-intelligence. Say, for instance, that Magic GM Otis Smith is interested in taking Courtney Lee from Western Kentucky with the #22 pick. Do you think that, in this day of the instant information age, Otis would allow that 411 to get out on the web so that other teams can peruse in real time? What I am saying here is that there is a whole bunch NBA execs whose noses are growing this time of year. Why in the world would any NBA GM show his hand?

I have my favorite NBA Draft websites. The depth of some of these sites is absolutely phenomenal.

But, this time of year, don't believe everything ya read.

It's akin to Michael Jordan being on the cover of Sports Illustrated a record 49 times.

Make that three consecutive Sez's on the Topic of the Tiger.

I know it must seem like I am blowing alotta sunshine up Tiger's skirt. Perhaps Sez is angling for a free twosome at Isleworth titled, "Eldrick and Me"? I assure you though, nothing nefarious is going on here. I just callz 'em as I seez 'em.

Tiger Woods is not only the best golfer in the world. He has to be the toughest, most driven athlete on the planet!

Wednesday, Tiger announced that he would forgo the rest of the 2008 schedule to have season ending knee surgery. We've come to find out that Tiger had a torn ACL in his left knee. To add injury to insult, Tiger would also suffer a double stress fracture in his left tibia while rehabbing from arthroscopic surgery last month. So, in essence, Tiger Woods won the 108th U.S. Open on a peg leg, a prayer, and an abundant amount of talent and intestinal fortitude.

Keep in mind that this guy has been playing golf tournaments over the last ten months with that torn ACL, which, is simply unfathomable to Sez considering the torque he exerts on that outside left knee during his power swing. I looked up his stats over that 10 month time period and get this: Tiger won nine of the 12 tournaments he entered, including two majors, and never did the dude finish lower than fifth.

The stress fractures, suffered two weeks prior to the Open, are attributed to rehab after the arthroscopic knee surgery back in April 15.

Tiger's swing coach, Hank Haney says that two weeks prior to the open doctors told Tiger that he'd have to be on crutches for three weeks and then he'd have to undergo three more weeks of inactivity before rehabbing. According to Haney, Tiger told his docs, "I'm playing in the U.S. Open and I'm gonna win."

Where does Tiger's act of courage rank on the all time list of athletes playing in pain? I am not quite sure about that. Willis Reed playing in game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals with a dilapidated knee was pretty impressive. Central Florida resident Jack Youngblood playing Super Bowl XIV with a broken leg was off the charts. A gimpy Kirk Gibson coming off the bench to hit a home run in game one of the 1988 World Series certainly stands out.

But, knowing that Tiger Woods walked approximately 22 miles in five days and played 91 U.S. Open holes on one leg with the other throbbing in immense pain, I'd put this one right up with the greatest acts of playing with pain in sports history.

This kinda stuff comes around once in a lifetime.

Babe Ruth. Muhammad Ali. Michael Jordan. They all had IT! They're all athletes who transcended their particular sports because of their indelible magic on the court, on the field and in the ring.

I am officially adding Tiger Woods to that mix.

Monday, Tiger added to his living legend by capturing the 108th U.S. Open over a game Rocco Mediate. Folks, if the field wasn't gonna get him at Torrey Pines, they're never gonna get him.

Tiger was coming off knee surgery two months ago. He had not walked nine holes until the Sunday before the Open started. He hadn't bent over to take a look at a putt until round one on Thursday. He was wincing for 91 holes over five days....and yet, they still can't beat the guy. Rocco gave him but Tiger kept pushing and pulling until he was able to hoist his 3rd U.S. Open Trophy.

What Tiger Woods accomplished is nothing short of remarkable!

What's stunning to me is that this guy still has his detractors. Some say he's not as good as Jack. Others say he's rude to fans. He's not accessible to the media. He only plays the majors. He's not this...He's not that. I guess it's all part of the cynical society we live in today. People have been trying to knock this guy off his perch for a long time now and guess what? He just keeps winning.

I consider myself fortunate to be watching a man I consider the greatest golfer to ever walk the planet and one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Every athlete is talented to an extent. But very few combine that talent with the discipline, the endurance, the sheer will and grit as Tiger has in his short yet storied career.

Tiger has IT.

Stop hatin' and start appreciatin'.

Imagine...Playing 60 minutes of football. The score ends in a tie. The referees then decide to play another 60 minutes....or, the score is tied after playing nine innings of baseball. The umpire decides that the teams must play an extra nine innings to decide the winner.

Absurd, right?

Monday, the sublime meets the ridiculous as Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate go toe to toe in an 18 hole playoff to decide the 108th U.S. Open. I'm not knockin' the match up. It's a plum: the ferocious Tiger, chasing his 14th major championship vs. the affable 45 year old Rocco, the underdog who's ranked #157 in the world. It makes for great reality TV.

But do we really need an extra 18 holes to decide our national champion? Come on USGA. Get your snooty little noses outta the air and fix this ASAP!

The U.S. Open is the only major tournament to employ this ridiculous 18 hole playoff format. The Masters employs a sudden death playoff format. They play three extra playoff holes at the PGA Championship. If any tourney on the face of the planet is deserving to even consider this archaic 18 hole playoff it would be the granddaddy of them all, the British Open. Yet, they play a four hole playoff at the British, if needed.

Heck, if we guys really wanted to press the issue here, we could argue sex discrimination! Recently, the USGA finally relented and agreed to require the lady golfers to scrap the 18 hole playoff format in favor of a three hole deal at the U.S. Women's Open. Why not do the three hole playoff for us guys?

Listen...I am all for tradition. On the purist scale, I rank myself as about a 9.5 outta ten. And I have to admit, there's no one who enjoys watching the world's best squirm more than this duffer does. But this 18 hole playoff format is way too much of a good thing. 90 holes is just to much!

The U.S. Open is the most grueling, mind-numbing and exhausting four days of torment a golfer will ever experience. After four rounds on a U.S. Open course, these guys are ready to kick up their heels and stare at the ceiling for days without end. To ask them to come back the next day and play 90 holes is too cruel, too unusual and totally unnecessary.

USGA, get back in touch with reality. Scrap this pointless 18 hole playoff format and give us a more just way to crown our national champion.