So we just charge an entry fee so that we cover all that

The NBA released its 2016-17 regular-season schedule on Thursday. As Portland Trail Blazers fans peruse their teams schedule, here are the five games they should circle on their calendar:Oct. 25: Trail Blazers vs. Utah JazzFollowing an overachieving season in which the Blazers (44-38) unexpectedly reached the Western Conference Semifinals, guards?Damian Lillard?and?C.J. McCollum?will be looking to jump start the season with an opening-night matchup against the Jazz.?Oct. 27: Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles ClippersThis is the first of three games in which the Blazers face off against Chris Paul & Co., who they defeated in the first round of the NBA playoffs last season. Lillard averaged 22 points during the six-game first-round series against the injury-plagued Clippers.Nov. 1: Trail Blazers vs.?Golden State WarriorsThis game marks the Trail Blazers first matchup against the team that booted them out of the playoffs last season. Lillard & Co. went 2-7 against their rivals last season, including the playoffs.Dec. 23: Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio SpursLaMarcus Aldridge?returns to the Moda Center for the first time in the 2016-17 season. The Spurs big man averaged 17 points and six rebounds per game against his former team last season.?Jan. 11: Trail Blazers vs. Cleveland CavaliersThis will be the only game in which Portland welcomes the defending NBA champs to the Moda Center. The Trail Blazers went 1-1 against the Cavs last season. Fake Soccer Jerseys . The 15th-ranked Canadian men lost the opening two games of their European tour: 19-15 to No. 17 Georgia and 21-20 to No. Soccer Jerseys China .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. https://www.fakesoccerjerseys.com/ . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. Soccer Jerseys Black Friday .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Cyber Monday Soccer Jerseys .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. ORLANDO, Fla. -- Alex Martins full-time job is CEO of the Orlando Magic. But throughout the season, the 52-year-old has another role that comes into focus once the NBA calendar turns to July. Martins serves as the gatekeeper for the Orlando Summer League, the less-publicized and more exclusive summer locale for NBA teams to check out their newest draft picks and younger players trying to find a way into the league.We have a waiting list of teams right now that would love to get in, Martins told ESPN.com recently.The Magic executive didnt say this in boastful way. In fact, he went out of his way to say that he and the rest of his staff wanted to work alongside the NBA and the organizers of the Vegas Summer League to make sure they werent stepping on any toes. But Orlando has turned into the preferred destination for many around the league, away from the glitz and glamor of the Vegas Strip.How did this happen?Back in 2002, Martins and the Magic staff were looking to try something different. The Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat joined up with the Magic, and the Orlando Summer League was up and running.Vegas is very productive and the teams that go out there love it and enjoy it and they get benefit out of it, Martins said. But we wanted to create an environment that was really just all about basketball. In a basketball setting, not an arena-type setting. Where the media and scouts and team officials could access and watch and evaluate, but confined to that group. Over the years, what weve been told by the teams that participate here is that they really love that environment. They love the fact that its just all about basketball. And thats not speaking negatively about Vegas in any means -- this is just different.In Vegas, teams play in the Thomas & Mack Center and the Cox Pavilion, much larger venues, which serve as the home to the UNLV mens and womens basketball teams. In 2002, the Magic started the Orlando league in the RDV Sportsplex on the practice floor the Magic used. In 2010, the Magic moved the league to the new Amway Center, but maintained the cozy atmosphere by still using their practice floor in the new structure, not the arena floor itself.The biggest difference in atmosphere, besides the cities themselves, is that the Orlando Summer League is not open to the public. The only people who can gain access are team or league personnel, agents, scouts and media. The Vegas Summer League, and now the even smaller Utah Summer League, are both open to fans. The Orlando games are broadcast on NBA TV and streamed on ESPN3 but there are only a couple hundred people in attendance in the small gym.Detroit Pistons coach and head of basketball operations, Stan Van Gundy, loves the set up in Orlando. I like the environment for players, Van Gundy said. I like the environment that its not public so you dont have a lot of people comiing in.dddddddddddd I think they can concentrate on their game more. I like this as a city a lot more than Las Vegas, Utah would probably be the same, but a few less distractions. I think they just run a really, really well-organized league. You can just come here and get to work. Well have been here 12 days, and its 12 good work days with great organization and no distractions.Part of the charm of the Orlando league is in its quaintness. In Vegas, league personnel are spread out in hotels on the Vegas Strip. In Orlando, many players and coaches can walk back and forth to the arena from the hotels located nearby. Coaches and executives can come and go as they please without being hassled by fans.Since its inception in 2002, the Orlando league has grown to a nine-team venture (the Magic have a Blue Team and a White Team to even out the schedule to 10) and has developed a loyal following. Like Van Gundy, who coached the Magic from 2007-12, Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing sung the praises of the league. Ewing, who coached the Charlotte Hornets summer league entry, served on Van Gundys Magic staff.I enjoy coming to Orlando, Ewing said. Ive lived there, I think its great. I like the fact that this one, you get in, you get your work done, and then you leave.Martins says the Magic dont make any money off the league itself, but the exposure for both the organization and the Orlando area is important.Theres no financial benefit to us, Martins said. The way it works is every team has an entry fee, and we ask basically the teams that participate just to cover all the costs. We have everything. We feed the media, we feed all the personnel that are here. We have expenses associated with using the building, etc. So we just charge an entry fee so that we cover all that. The entry fee is around $10,000-15,000 depending on the year.While there has been some talk about expanding the league in the future, Martins says there hasnt been much talk about opening the league up to the public. The only exception came in 2003 when LeBron James played his first professional game as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers Summer League team. Aside from the sellout crowd at the old Amway Center, that game will always be remembered as the one in which former Utah alum Britton Johnsen, playing for the Magics summer league team, dunked on James.Theres always room for that special situation, Martins said. Like the year that LeBron came out and we took the game to the old Amway Arena. But beyond that, again, the beauty of this specific summer league is that it is all about basketball. Its about basketball personnel, both from the administrative side as well as the competitive side and the playing side. And thats what everybody loves about coming here. ' ' '