When the Orlando Magic open the season tonight, a familiar face will be missing.

Paul Kennedy, host of Magic basketball on Sunshine Network for the past 12 seasons, will not be at TD Waterhouse Centre for the broadcast. Instead, he'll be 1,300 miles north in Minneapolis, starting his new job as the play-by-play announcer for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kennedy is going to have quite the cross-country commute this NBA season. He will split time between assignments for Sunshine and Fox Sports Net North, the Timberwolves' cable TV partner. Kennedy will call about 35 T'Wolves games and will still do "about 25, if not more" Magic games on Sunshine. "It's going to be a unique situation," he said.