Reading is FUNdamental, at least that's what Ricky Davis told me.

I already mentioned how intoxicating my memorial Day weekend was in this space, however I forgot to mention that I also used this past Saturday to do a little shopping, which included the purchase of two books for recreational reading. I figured since I don't use much of my mind on a day to day basis while I'm at work then I might as well use some of it during my downtime. This plan of action worked out well for me since there were two different books which I'd been meaning to buy in the past few months. The first is named "Cane Mutiny" and its written by SI writer Bruce Feldman. Basically, it traces the roots of the University of Miami's football program back to the days in the early to mid-seventies when the university was on the verge of dropping the football program altogether, as they had done to the basketball program just a few years earlier. I've made it through about six chapters in the past few days and must say that it's quite a good read. Even for somebody like myself, who grew up around college football in the state of Florida (I attended the Univeristy of Florida while the rest of my immediate family all either graduated from FSU or are season ticket holders for the Seminoles), it has proven to be quite an interesting read with alot of stories and details that I'd never heard or at least hadn't heard in their entirety. If you have even a passing interest in the last 20 or 30 years of college football history, I highly recommend it.

The second book that I purchased is also based on sports ( I am a VERY boring person), though this time it is high school sports. The title of the book is "The Miracle of St. Anthony" and its penned by another SI writer, Adrian Wojnarowski. The book follows the 2003-2004 St. Anthony High (Jersey City, NJ) Boys Basketball team coached by the legendary Bob Hurley Sr. and has received a number of rave reviews from critics. It's a little longer book than "Cane Mutiny", which is the reason that I've decided to pick up the books in this order. These two books mark the first time that I've actually gone out and bought a book to read for pleasure in at least five years. Either I'm rediscovering the love for reading that a major in history sucked right out of me at the ripe old age of 21 or I'll make it halfway through the second book before I decide that thimble collecting is more my style and pace. We'll see.

On a completely unrelated note: I've decided that I want the Magic to draft Channing Frye with the 12th pick in the upcoming draft. You may be thinking to yourself, "Didn't this guy rip Channing Frye during the NCAA Tourney?". Well, yes and no. Yes I ripped the comparision between Emeka Okafor and Channing Frye because, frankly, there isn't one. They are two different players with very different games. Frye has never displayed the overall toughness or dominance of Okafor but is also a more all around offensively proficient player than Emeka was/is. I wasn't ripping Frye as much as I was the hackneyed logic of one Digger Phelps for making the afforementioned comparison.

In my mind, Channing Frye would be a great complement to Dwight Howard. Frye is a true center who can rebound, block shots and run the floor as well as anybody his size. Frye's problem is that he isn't overpowering in the post and too often loses his postion on the block. In Orlando, Frye would be manning the high post most of the time as Howard is going to be the number one down low option for many years to come in Orlando (fingers crossed). Furthermore, Frye has the ability to consistently knock down the 16-18 footer at the top of the key which will force defenses to honor his offense, thereby giving Howard more room to operate on the block. Finally, if the Magic were able to obtain Frye and pair him with Howard, you'd be hard pressed to find any center/power forward combo with the speed, agility and shot blocking ability of these two young guys. Hopefully, Frye can continue to work out well...just not too well and slip down to the Magic come June.