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Orlando Sentinel: PRODUCT: OS DESK: SPT DATE: 02-07-2007 EDITION: MET ZONE: MET PAGE: C1.0 DEADLINE: 22.15 OP: pdowd COMPOSETIME: 01.03 CMYK Inside: Orangewood takes new mind-set into soccer final 4, C3 FINAL SPORTS Blog Al Thornton thinks FSU has shot at NCAA Tournament SECTION WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2007 Orlando Sentinel Extra Emily Badger explains at OrlandoSentinel.comoncampus why the forward is optimistic. BUCKS 116, MAGIC 111 Magic turn to ice in Milwaukee Another shaky effort results in Orlando's 15th loss in its past 16 trips to the Bradley Center. it TODAY'S GAME MAGIC at Toronto Raptors 7 p.m., Sun Sports one and the one before that to point guard Jameer Nelson. "My last two seasons, it seems like we've looked back and said, 'If we'd have beat this team and if we'd have beat that team Nelson said. "That's a trend.

And that's a trend we will have to get out of. We only have so many games left. "We've got to kick it into gear." The Magic, now just one PLEASE SEE MAGIC, C4 Center. The temperature in this winter wonderland was 3 degrees below sanity. The Magic were out in the cold.

They fear it might not be a metaphor. They began talking about making the playoffs for the first time since 2003 in training camp in October. Now the Magic are heading toward By BRIAN SCHMITZ SENTINEL STAFF WRITER MILWAUKEE The Orlando Magic bundled up and trudged slowly outdoors Tuesday night to their waiting bus. There was no defense against the bitter, frigid elements, just as there was none against the Milwaukee Bucks, who beat them 116-111 at the Bradley a chilly place possibly falling out of the Eastern Conference postseason race until they warm to the task of winning basketball games. Once again, the Magic grossly underachieved against a league doormat.

This season is starting to feel like the last MORRY GASHTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu (left) was called for a flagrant foul against the Bucks' Ruben Patterson (23) during the 4th quarter. National Signing Day i Today 1 COMMENTARY MIKE BIANCHI IK rW! Sentinel Columnist Montoya making big jump From Indy cars to Formula One to Nextel Cup, Juan Pablo Montoya is a can-do competitor. Meyer stays far in front in recruiting race By KYLE HIGHTOWER SENTINEL STAFF WRITER DAYTONA BEACH It's less than two weeks from happening, and people still are trying to find an equivalent. Maybe if Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning decided to leave the NFL to pitch for the New York Yankees. Or perhaps if Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski left his empire on Tobacco Road to try his luck coaching the Miami Dolphins.

As outlandish as WILL PLAY COLLEGE FOOTBALL The best description of recruiting ever uttered came many years ago when an anonymous old coach mused: "Recruiting is like shaving. If you don't do it every day, you look like a bum." And, so, there will be a lot of scraggly, scruffy coaches out there when National Signing Day commences this morning, because Florida's Urban Meyer is making them all look like a bunch of hobos. In fact, there are a few coaches in the state and across the country who should start hopping freight trains when they make an official home visit. Or maybe they should show up at their signing-day news conferences with their tattered recruiting lists wrapped in cloth and tied to a stick. This is getting really, really tiring and tedious, but here we go again: The Florida Gators No.

1 in basketball, No. 1 in football and, now, most likely No. 1 in recruiting, too. According to most analysts, Meyer and his staff will sign the nation's top-rated recruiting class today. "I'm jacked," Meyer said Tuesday.

"If we can hang on to all our commitments for the next 24 hours, this will be a tremendous class." Here's how ridiculous Meyer's recruiting prowess has those scenarios are, they might be as close as it gets in trying to frame the shift Juan Pablo Montoya is trying to pull off. This year, Montoya, 3 1 becomes the biggest name in racing history to make MONTOYA FOR the full-time switch from Formula One to NASCAR. Legends AJ. Foyt and Mario An-dretti started the trend almost 40 years ago, but they never really left open-wheel racing behind. It's different for Montoya, who says he's in NASCAR for the long haul.

Montoya has been reunited with team owner Chip Ganassi, who paid a reported $5 million to free Montoya from his Fl contract. He also fielded Montoya's cars during his run to the '99 CART title and the Indianapolis 500 crown in 2000. "He showed he's willing to put in the effort to make this work," Ganassi said. Montoya will drive the No. 42 Dodge on Ganassi's Nextel team vacated by Casey Mears' departure to Hendrick Motorsports.

And like it or not, he also is taking a symbolic torch. "I think a lot of guys who fol-please see MONTOYA, C8 For dozens of talented recruits, decision will come this morning become, here's how ahead of the game he is. He already has nine members of this year's class enrolled at UF and ready to take part in spring practice. Never in the history of college football has a school had so many early enrollees. And while other schools throughout the nation spent last weekend bringing in high-school seniors and trying to shore up this year's recruiting class, Meyer had a "Junior Day" where he invited the top juniors in the country so he could get a head start on next year's recruiting class.

Monday, Meyer and his staff met for most of the day to discuss the 2008 recruiting class and to start identifying the top sophomores in the 2009 recruiting class. Coming soon to UF's campus: "Kindergarten Day." And how phonso Bryant, Jaye Howard, Demarcus VanDyke, Bert Reed, Claude Davis and Deonte Thompson. Coaches from Florida's seven NCAA Division I-A programs will be huddled around fax machines in their offices, awaiting word from the athletes they have been recruiting for at least the past nine months. Most of the work already has been done, as the great majority of players have committed. Most recruiting ser By BILL BUCHALTER SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Sometimes, National Signing Day decisions don't come easily.

Jonathan Colon, for example, signed with Miami and Florida in 2000, triggering a name-calling battle that had to be settled by the NCAA. The organization ruled the Gators' grant-in-aid to be the valid one. While that scenario is unlikely to happen again extremely, extremely unlikely college decisions will be made this morning by coveted state players Al- vices believe Florida's class will be No 1 PLEASE SEE SIGN, C5 PLEASE SEE BIANCHI, C5 KEY DATES AT DAYTONA SATURDAY Daytona ARCA 200 (80 laps, 200 miles) Budweiser Shootout (70 laps, 1 75 miles) SUNDAY Daytona 500 pole qualifying (two laps, two positions) FEB. 15 Gatorade Duel at Daytona qualifying races (60 laps, 150 miles each) FEB. 16 Craftsman Truck Series Chevy Silverado HD 250 (100 laps, 250 miles) FEB.

17 Busch Series Orbitz 300 (120 laps, 300 miles) FEB. 18 Daytona 500 (200 laps, 500 miles) Speedweeks schedule. Back Page ILLUSTRATION BY MATT HUMPHREY it ORLANDO IS SENTINEL OTHER FAMOUS SIGNING DAYS IN HISTORY JUNE 15, 1215 What: King John signs the Magna Carta Where: Runnymede, England Why: Lacking a five-star running back with breakaway speed, oppressed Brits force their sovereign to limit his powers. JULY 4, 1776 What: Congress signs Declaration of Independence Where: Philadelphia Why: Because of this, our unalienable rights include life, liberty and the pursuit of the quarterback. Go to OrlandoSentinel.comsports for up-to-date news all day on who your team is getting to sign on the dotted line and analysis by recruiting guru Bill Buchalter..