SharePoint 2007: Understanding Master Pages and PlaceHolders (Link dump)

Office Online - Basic Site Customizations (a quick introduction to customizing pages)
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/HA101741431033.aspx

SharePoint Pages - Page Anatomy
1. Master Page
2. Page Layout
3. Page
4. Web Part Zones
5. General Purpose Web Parts
http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2006/02/16/533461.aspx

Master Pages (Look and Feel)
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/helloitsliam/archive/2006/09/21/12637.aspx

Creating a Minimal Master Page
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa660698.aspx Working with (and

Working with Master Pages http://mindsharpblogs.com/kathy/archive/2007/02/19/1577.aspx

Base Master Page File
http://www.heathersolomon.com/blog/archive/2007/01/26/6153.aspx

SharePoint Customization Ramp-Up
Part1 - Getting Started
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/mossman/archive/2007/02/19/19651.aspx
Part2 - Initial Concepts
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/mossman/archive/2007/02/25/20094.aspx
Part 3 - Basic Customization
http://sharepointblogs.com/mossman/archive/2007/03/11/sharepoint-2007-customization-ramp-up-part-3-basic-customization.aspx