Vince Talks Sports

Jerry Sloan: My thoughts.

2011-02-10T16:33:00.000-08:00

Saddened. Shocked. Sick.

This is truly surreal for me. I knew Jerry Sloan wouldn't be the coach forever. Obviously. But I never imagined him going out like this. That is the most upsetting part about this whole thing. I hope to write a separate post as a tribute to Jerry (time permitting...), but for now I just want to get some thoughts out of my head.

Jerry was forced out. Let me explain what I DON'T mean by that. I don't mean that he was fired. I don't mean that an ultimatum was proposed.

Here's what I do mean. Jerry comes from a different era and generation of basketball. An era when, believe it or not, the coaches were in charge of the teams. I think that's how it should be. Back in his prime as a coach, he managed egos and attitudes masterfully. He dealt with the likes of Karl Malone and Greg Ostertag (among others). I'm sure that disagreements between players and coaches are a frequent occurrence. But back then, everyone knew that the coach had the final say. The coach was the boss. Sadly, in the NBA that is no longer the case. Franchises are so obsessed with catering to the every desire of their "superstar" players (who may or may not actually play like "superstars"...), that the coach's authority is basically a farce. Coaches are fired regularly. That is just the landscape of professional basketball today.

It has been well documented that Deron Williams and Coach Sloan have butted heads, particularly this season. Deron regularly takes shots at Sloan in the media, and openly criticizes the system and the plays that Sloan wants them to run. Brian T. Smith (Jazz beat writer for the Salt Lake Tribune) indicates that at least three "blowout" arguments have taken place between the two this season, the most recent of which happened in the locker room at half time last night. It apparently stemmed from a sequence in the first half when Jerry called a play from the sideline and Deron ran something completely different.

Less than a week ago, Coach Sloan signed an extension to continue coaching the Jazz for another season. After last night's disappointing loss, Sloan tendered his resignation. It is my feeling that at some point, probably gradually throughout this season, Jerry began to feel that he was no longer in charge of his team. Last night, Deron basically refused to be coached. It seems that was the straw that broke the camel's back. It obviously affected him enough to change his mind from what he had decided a week ago.

At the press conference today, the media fished for answers regarding the speculation surrounding Sloan's reason for calling it quits. They asked just about everyone if the conflicts with Deron had pushed him towards this decision. Of course everyone within the organization denied it, or side-stepped the questions. Perhaps the most telling was Jerry's own response:

Rod Zundel (KSL): "Jerry, did Deron push you out?"
Jerry Sloan: "Deron is a great player."

If the situation with Deron wasn't a major factor in his decision, a simple "no" would have sufficed.

So there you go. That's my feeling and what I've been able to piece together from media reports and such. If Jerry had decided to retire at the end of the season, I would have been sad. But the way this all went down just makes me sick. Anyone who knows anything about Jerry Sloan knows that he was not a quitter. He was a fighter. He wouldn't bail in the middle of a season just because he's tired and feels ready to be done. Especially just days after signing an extension. No. Jerry was forced out. Forced out by the fact that he feels like he can no longer be effective as the coach of this team. And why can't he be effective? Because his player(s) are no longer listening to him and doing the things he says.

And that sucks.

What the...???

2010-11-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, it actually took me a few minutes to come up with a title for this post. This was the best I could do to sum up how I'm feeling about the Utes right now.

Going into the TCU game, the Utes were averaging 45.3 points per game, and destroying their opponents by an average of 29.9 points per game. In the last two weeks, the Utes have only managed to average 5 points per game while losing by an average of 32.5 points per game. Why the huge turnaround? Here's what I think:

TCU GAME:

Let's be honest. Going into this game, the Utes hadn't faced a real tough test. You could argue that Air Force is a good team, and you'd be right. But Air Force is no where near the level of TCU. The Utes rolled through their first 8 games, and I think the ease of the schedule gave Utah a false sense of security. They started to think that they were invincible. I don't know. Maybe they thought they would waltz into Rice-Eccles Stadium and drop 60 points on the number one defense in the country. It's disappointing to me that they weren't better prepared. Coach Whittingham has a reputation for preparing his team very well -- especially for big games. As it was, they looked like they had no game plan whatsoever. But what's more disturbing is that the didn't seem to make ANY adjustments throughout the course of the game. I think TCU ran the same play -- a swing pass to Jeremy Kerley -- about 500 times, and it went for 8-10 yards EVERY SINGLE TIME. If I were their OC, I would have just said, "Ok, we're just gonna run that play on every snap for the rest of the day".

NOTRE DAME GAME:

For me, this game was even more disappointing than the TCU loss. I say that because going in to the TCU game, we knew we were going to get a fight. I figured we had about a 50/50 chance of beating TCU. We knew TCU was a fantastic team. But Notre Dame? Going into the game, ND was 4-5 with home losses to Tulsa and Navy. They lost their starting QB a week before they played the Utes -- which meant they were starting a true freshman in his very first game at the collegiate level. And the QB wasn't the only position that was thin due to injury. There was no doubt in my mind that Utah would win that game. They'll bounce back. They'll re-focus and win out. They'll respond to getting embarrassed by TCU by getting a huge win at one of the most storied programs in the nation. No doubt about it. Yet they came out absolutely flat. They honestly looked like they couldn't care less. So yes, this game was even more disturbing to me than the TCU game.

I'm frustrated. I know I'm a biased fan, but I honestly think the Utes are better than Notre Dame. That probably makes me sound really dumb, but I do believe it. If they had played the way we know they're capable of playing, they would have won. Maybe they still had a little hangover from the TCU game. That's inexcusable.

Utah's QB situation is a mess right now. I voiced my disapproval of Coach Whittingham's decision last season to bench Terrance Cain and make Wynn the starter half-way through the 8th game of the season. First of all, Cain was not really playing that badly in that game. The play calling -- in my opinion -- was more to blame for the lack of offensive production. Up to that point, Wynn hadn't seen the field. My feeling was that he should be red-shirted in order to preserve a year of eligibility. But that didn't happen. Now we have a situation where our starter is not playing well AT ALL, and we have a fantastic back-up QB sitting on the bench, wasting his last year of collegiate eligibility. By all reports, Terrance Cain has improved leaps and bounds since last season. Can the same be said for Wynn? Look, I don't dislike the kid, but can anyone honestly say he's any better today than he was when he came in at half-time against Wyoming last season? If you have noticed any improvement in him at all, please let me know. But me, I'm just not seeing it.

Now, that being said, I don't really think starting Cain would have won the TCU game. But I think it could have won the ND game. Obviously there are MANY other problems with this team right now, but the QB situation, to me, is the most disturbing. Whittingham is a great coach, and I wouldn't want anyone else. But I believe he has made a very serious and costly mistake here. Utah has 2 games left this year, plus a bowl game. If they play the way they have the last two weeks, I am 100% sure that they will lose all three.

Just putting this out there...

2010-09-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

If the Jazz trade AK to the Denver Freakin' Nuggets, and get back Boris Freakin' Diaw...

I. WILL. RIOT.

That is all.

What a difference a couple of days can make

2010-07-15T15:48:00.000-07:00

Wow. The last 48 hours for the Utah Jazz have been crazy and exciting. Just 3 days ago this offseason was looking like it could end up being the most disappointing one I could remember. Boozer gone (which I was glad about, but with no prospects to replace him with I was worried), Korver gone, Matthews likely gone. I felt like the Jazz had taken a massive step backwards. I was trying to look on the bright side, thinking about next year's lottery pick -- I was sure the Jazz couldn't make the playoffs in 2011.

And now? So much has changed.

First, the Jazz were able to work things out with Chicago to do a sign-and-trade for Boozer. By signing Boozer and then immediately trading him to Chicago, the Jazz obtained a Traded Player Exception (TPE) which is basically an exception to the rule that states that the salaries of the player or players who are traded away must match the salaries of the player(s) brought in. With the TPE, the Jazz could obtain a player via trade without having to send back matching salaries. They used the TPE to bring in Al Jefferson from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Al is a 6'10" Center/Power Forward. He was the key piece that Boston sent to Minnesota in the blockbuster trade that netted the Celtics Kevin Garnett. Al was the piece that made losing KG ok. He puts up great numbers -- which I believe will be even better here in Utah. He was really the only good player the T'Wolves had, so teams would zero in on him, double-team him, and make his job tough. They won't be able to play him that way here. The Jazz have too many other weapons. Al isn't known for his defense, but he blocks more shots than Boozer or Okur, and he's longer than either of them as well. But perhaps the most important thing is this:

via twitter.com/tribjazz

In a text-message conversation with Paul the other day, he said something that I completely agree with: keeping Deron Williams happy should be the number 1 priority. He's the one guy that is truly irreplaceable on this team. His contract is up in 2 more years, and if we want him to re-sign, the Jazz as an organization has to show him that they will do whatever it takes to become a contender. Deron likes what he sees in Al Jefferson, and that says a lot to me. I think Al will fit right in here in Utah, and give the Jazz a true low-post back-to-the-basket type player. I love this trade.

But...

The one thing that I didn't love about it was that Al's $13+ million contract put the Jazz into the luxury tax, meaning that the likelihood of matching Portland's ridiculous offer sheet to Wes Matthews was slim to none. With the addition of Jefferson, the Jazz were a playoff team again. But without a guy like Wes, they weren't a contender. In order to really be seen as a contender the Jazz needed a guy who was:

A consistent outside shooter.
A lock-down defender.
A tough, hard working, team player.
Someone they could afford.

Wes fit the bill on 3 out of 4. But unfortunately, he was just too expensive thanks to Portland's outrageous offer. So to me, it looked like the Jazz were destined for a 6-8 seed in the playoffs and an early exit.

But then, a miracle happened. Somehow, even though the "experts" and the "sources" all said that he had narrowed it down to San Antonio and Los Angeles, Raja Bell signed a 3 year, $9.8 million contract with the Utah Jazz.

Many will remember Raja from the 2 year stint he played with the Jazz from 2003 to 2005. I was on my mission the entire time he was on the team, so I never got to see him in a Jazz uniform. Bell is known for being one of the best perimeter and one-on-one defenders in the league -- particularly against one Kobe Bryant. He doesn't take any crap from anybody -- and he doesn't let anyone get away with pushing his teammates around (ala Malone, Harpring) Who could forget his infamous clothesline play? I could watch that all day... Bell is also a fantastic 3-point shooter. He has shot 41% from 3 throughout his career, and 46% in the playoffs. His percentages are actually higher than both Korver and one Jeff Hornacek. From what I understand, when the Jazz were having their struggles during a miserable few seasons, Bell was the one urging his teammates on, trying to stir them up and get them to give a whole effort. When it became official that the Jazz would not make the playoffs, Bell said, "So what, we didn't make the playoffs? We still have a job to do. We can still go out and beat teams just to say we beat them." This attitude is the epitome of Jerry Sloan's oft repeated words, "We can't start feeling sorry for ourselves".

Bell covers all four of the needs that I mentioned above, but he also brings something that the Jazz have been in need of -- veteran leadership. Raja is 33 years old and has been deep into the playoffs. He understands what it takes to win, and he can help shoulder some of the team-leadership responsibilities that have rested solely on Deron's shoulders for the last several years (because, let's face it, no matter how many times Boozer said "I'm the leader of this team", he was never a leader. If you have to say you're the leader in order for people to know it, you're not convincing anyone.) Derek Fisher (let's not get into that now...) was a veteran player and provided leadership and experience in the Jazz locker room when he was on the team. It's no coincidence that that year was when the Jazz made it to the Western Conference Finals. Hopefully Raja can help fill that void.

The future for the Jazz is looking bright. I can't believe how things have shaped up over the past couple days, but it has me very excited to see what this team can do this season. Go JAZZ!!

I totally called this...

2010-07-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

Well, Kevin O'Connor, you just don't learn your lesson, do you? I just KNEW this was going to happen. The Portland Trailblazers have signed Wesley Matthews to a massive, front loaded offer sheet. How does this make any sense at all for Portland? They have one of the best shooting guards in the NBA -- Brandon Roy. So they really want to pay their backup SG $9.2 million next year? No, I don't think so. They did this because they like to screw the Jazz. My guess is that they're banking on the Jazz matching the offer.

I've made my position known. I want to keep Wes. But wow -- 9.2 million dollars?! This just sucks. I hate Portland.

Free Agency Update

2010-07-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

We're a week into the free agency period and several contracts have already been inked. Some of my predictions were right, some were wrong, and some are still yet to be determined.

I was right about Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade teaming up in Miami. However, I did not think LeBron would be joining them. I guess I underestimated how big of a jerk he is. Not only did he turn his back on the town and the people he grew up with, but he made a ridiculous spectacle of the whole thing. I had no idea how self-absorbed, narcissistic, and pompous he is. I've never had a problem with Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh, but now I just hope that experiment fails miserably. I hope their egos are too big to coexist on the same team. I hope karma comes back to bite LeBron.

As far as our own free agents...

When it comes to Boozer, I am actually pleasantly surprised. All signs indicated that the Front Office intended to keep him around. And while the ideal situation would have been to work out a sign and trade to bring in a player to fill a need, I'm satisfied with the trade exemption the Jazz received in the transaction. (That being said, I wish the Jazz would have traded Boozer last summer, or last season before the trade deadline so that we could have gotten a player in return.) The trade exemption allows the Jazz to make a trade and bring in a player (or players) for salary equal to what Boozer will make in his first year in Chicago (+- $100K). Without the exemption, the Jazz would have only been able to offer a player part of their Mid-Level exemption -- whatever portion is left after re-signing Matthews. The trade exemption only benefits us if we use it, so I truly hope the Jazz don't sit on their hands. There are players we could go after, but we have to act fast. Both Toronto and Cleveland have significant amounts of cap space now that they've lost Bosh and James. If we don't act, someone else will. My prime target would be Al Jefferson. The T-Wolves just acquired Michael Beasley, and rumor is they are trying to unload Jefferson to relieve salary (since they offered Gay a big fat contract). Jefferson could thrive in the Jazz's system, and I'd love to see him here.

Sadly, I was also right about Korver. It was announced today that he'll be joining Carlos Boozer in Chicago. I appreciate everything he did for the Jazz and for the community. I wish him nothing but the best.

So now we have to wait and see. My guess is that Portland will make a pitch to Wes Matthews, which the Jazz will match. I think they'll most likely bring back Fesenko as well, since we'll need a center with Memo hurt. Besides, I haven't heard any talk about teams being interested in Fes.

I'd love to see the Jazz go all in and make some big moves. Bring in another scorer, a big, a shooter, etc. I can only imagine how D-Will is reacting to all of this. He sees his team getting worse -- losing a productive (sometimes) player in Boozer, and a consistent outside threat that spreads the floor. He's probably frustrated right now and anxious for management to bring in some help. I hope they can do it. At the end of the season, he said that this team keeps doing the exact same thing and expecting different results. And it's true. For the most part, the roster hasn't changed over the last 3 seasons, and the Jazz have been eliminated by the Lakers 3 years in a row. But management has seemed content to just stand pat and hope things get better. Now that Boozer and Korver are gone, I think this kind of forces their hand. They HAVE to do something now, or risk losing their franchise player in two years when his contract is up. I wish Larry was still here. He had more passion for the Jazz in his little finger than Greg has in his entire being. I just hope they do something.

The Offseason

2010-07-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

July first has arrived. Today is the day that NBA teams can begin to court free agents. Of course, if you don't think organizations have been in under-the-table discussions with players' agents for weeks, you are a bit naive as to how things are done in the NBA.

Now that the free agent market is officially open for business, I'd like to make some predictions about the Jazz's free agents, as well as some of the other high-profile FA's in the league.

Utah Jazz

Free Agents: C Kyrylo Fesenko (restricted), G Wesley Matthews (restricted), F Carlos Boozer (unrestricted), F/G Kyle Korver (unrestricted)

The Jazz sent qualifying offers to both Wesley Matthews and Kyrylo Fesenko, meaning that they can match any offer either player receives. I don't particularly like being in this position. To me it means that the Jazz are really hoping to keep them both (especially Wes), but if that's the case -- why not try and get something worked out and in the books before July 1st? Now we're at the mercy of other teams. This is what happened last season with Paul Millsap, and the same thing happened a year earlier with CJ Miles. CJ signed an offer sheet with OKC, and the Jazz matched. Paul signed an offer sheet with Portland, and the Jazz matched. The frustrating thing about this is that CJ ended up getting overpaid, and some argue that Paul Millsap did as well. I think Millsap is worth every penny he's making and more, but his contract did hurt us last year because Portland intentionally made it a very front-loaded deal (meaning Paul makes more in the first year of the contract than he will for the other 3 years). It put us over the cap and we had to give up Maynor and Brewer in cost-cutting moves.

My guess is that we will end up re-signing both of these players, but don't be surprised if someone else makes them an offer first.

As for Korver, I think the writing is pretty much on the wall. Sad to say it, but I think he's gone. When the Jazz drafted Gordon Hayward -- a guy who plays Kyle's postion, and has a similar skill-set -- they basically were broadcasting to the fan base that they had no intention of going after Korver. The reality is, I don't think we can really afford him. Several teams will be interested after Kover set a new record for 3-Point % in a season. The Jazz should have calculated how much revenue will be lost now that no more pink Kyle Korver jerseys will be sold. I'd imagine the Jazz's female fanbase will take a significant hit. Joking aside, I really like Korver and I'll be sad if he goes. He's been a great player and always given 100%, and what's more, he's been a huge part of the community.

And then there's Boozer. Oy vey. Reports indicate that the Jazz are making it a priority to bring him back... Are you kidding me?! Look. Boozer is capable of being a dominant PF in this league. But the fact is, he is not the answer for the Jazz. I don't want to spend a lot of time making a case against Boozer, so I'll just say this. You can't do the same thing over and over and over and expect a different result. If the Jazz re-sign him, Boozer will miss a significant number of games over a 5 or 6 year contract, the Jazz will win between 45 and 50 games each year, consistently lose to the Lakers, probably make the playoffs (but without home-court), and more than likely exit in the first round. And the sad thing is, I'm pretty sure the front office is just fine with that.

One idea that I've heard tossed around is to work out a sign & trade with Boozer. The scenario is that the Jazz sign Boozer and immediately trade him to Orlando for Marcin Gortat + either JJ Redick or Ryan Anderson. Works for me. Gortat is probably the best back-up center in the league, and could start on a lot of teams. His number won't wow you, but remember he's playing behind Dwight Howard. He would bring a 6'11" defensive player with deep playoff experience to the team. Redick could fill the role of the departing Korver (the basketball role -- not the heart throb role). But this is just one of many rumors that are floating around.

LeBron James

The hype surrounding his free agency has been almost as obnoxious as Kobe's angry under-bite face. But I'm not convinced... My guess is, in the end, he'll end up signing with Cleveland. I just don't really see him abandoning his home state and the fans who love him. However, if he does decide to leave, I think New York is his most likely destination.

Dwayne Wade

I know this is going to sound boring, but I don't think he's going anywhere either. I think he'll continue to be part of the Miami Heat, and possibly end up playing his entire career there.

Chris Bosh

I think he's Miami bound. Just a feeling I've got, but I think he and Wade will team up.

So there -- that's what I think. We'll see how it all plays out over the summer.

Response to some silly comments...

2010-06-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

Utah will become the 12th member of the Pacific Athletic Conference starting with the 2011-12 season. I plan to write another post expressing my thoughts on this, but right now, I just want to address some things. A lot has been said about this situation. I'd like to respond to some of the statements that have been made. Some of the names have been omitted to protect the ignorant... ;)

"Utah good for six years, BYU good for 30? Who gets invited to the Pac 10? Oh yeah, Utah..... This whole religious bigotry crap is really getting on my nerves!!" -- Random Facebook Friend

Strictly in terms of football -- if any non-BCS team deserved to be invited to a BCS league, it was Utah. The only other program that could possibly state that they should have been invited would be Boise State. But Utah's 2004 season when they totally annihilated everyone they played, combined with their 2008 campaign filled with gut-it-out type wins and a thrashing of Alabama clearly overshadow Boise's gimmicks and trick plays. Since the beginning of the BCS era, Utah has had more success against BCS teams than any other non-BCS school. And Utah holds the nation's longest active bowl win-streak at 9 straight victories.

But this move isn't just about football. Although Utah's basketball program has seen a couple of less-than-impressive seasons recently, they still rank in the top 20 in the nation in all-time win%. In womens gymnastics (which is important to the PAC), Utah has one of the most successful programs in the country, boasting multiple national championships.

But this move isn't just about athletics. Utah is considered a prestigious research university. Developments such as the first artificial human heart (1982), and multiple advances in cancer research (Huntsman Cancer Institute) have taken place at the University of Utah. Utah has a very respected and competitive medical school. These things are important to the PAC, and were factors in their decision to invite Utah to join their conference.

No one can say that BYU doesn't have a good football program. But the most impressive thing they've done since I turned 1 year old is beat a mediocre Oklahoma team. No one cares about 10 win seasons. No one cares about MWC championships. They want to see you win the BIG games. Run the table. Pound a perennial powerhouse into the ground. You're not going to turn any heads winning the Vegas bowl.

And while BYU is a fine institution, they are in no way a research university. They don't even have a medical school. They just don't fit the mold of the PAC. But as for the comment about religious bigotry, I'll address that next...

Dick Harmon -- writer for the Deseret News and notorious BYU homer -- was interviewed by ESPN. They asked him why Utah was invited to the PAC. His response:

"Primarily, [because] they were not BYU and they were not tied to the LDS church -- or the Mormons -- and that's probably the bottom line. BYU has better facilities, a bigger football stadium, umm... the last 40 years of better tradition in football, and they've just dominated the Mountain West Conference, and the WAC conference in total athletic supremacy, uh, for decades."

Poor Dick. Maybe he misunderstood the question. He was asked why Utah was invited to the PAC, and instead of answering that, he threw himself and Cougar nation a little pity party. Clearly Dick, my FB friend above, and many other BYU faithful feel that the one and only reason that BYU was not invited over Utah is because of their religious affiliation. They were discriminated against because they're the Mormons.

So here's my response to that. False. I've already responded to most of what Dick said above, but I really grow weary of BYU peeps playing the religion card. "We're at a disadvantage in recruiting because of our honor code!" "We're at a disadvantage because our good recruits leave on missions and lose some of their athletic ability due to 2 years without playing!" Blah, blah blah. Waaa, waaa, waaa. Yep, you're a church-owned private school. What do you expect? Quit griping about it. BYU should be proud of the church. They should be proud of their honor code, and proud of their players for putting athletic careers on hold to serve missions. But more often I hear it discussed as something that handicaps their athletic programs.

I'm sure part -- a very small part -- of the PAC's decision was due to the fact that BYU doesn't play on Sundays (well, until they get to the NFL that is...), which is usually part of the PAC schedule for multiple sports. BYU has this entitlement complex. It's like saying, "PAC, you should invite us to your conference AND accommodate us and change how you do things so that we fit in, because we're BYU!" Sorry guys, that's just not how it works. And that doesn't make other people bigots.

Anyway, I've never been able to read more than a few lines of Dick Harmon's articles, and this interview really irritated me. Grow up and try to be a little professional next time, Dick.

Trade Thoughts: If I were Kevin O'Connor...

2009-12-24T09:55:00.001-08:00

So, it's pretty clear that the Jazz need to shake things up. Their recent trade (Eric Maynor and Matt Harpring to OKC for... nothing...) has some people scratching their heads. It makes sense to me, only from a purely financial point of view. Greg Miller made it clear at the beginning of the season that he was willing to bite the bullet and pay the luxury tax if that was what it would take to build a championship team. However, it's obvious that the Jazz -- as presently constituted -- are not even close to being a championship team. I'm guessing he's not as willing to pay the tax for a 8th seed, first round exit team. And I can't say I blame him. So, in order to dump Harpring's contract, the price was our impressive young rookie backup PG. I'm sad to see him go. (as a side note, I'm also sad we don't have Matt Harpring out there anymore, getting under people's skin and driving them crazy... I'll miss that guy.)

This trade, however, has left a vacancy on the Jazz's roster. Per NBA rules, teams are required to carry 13 players on their rosters, and we now only have 12. Does this mean another trade is in the works? Possibly a trade that will focus more on improving this team, rather than being purely a business move? Unfortunately, that is unlikely. As much as I'd like to hope that is the plan, it seems much more likely that the Jazz will call up someone from the D-League's Flash to fill the spot.

Nevertheless, it's fun to speculate on what could happen (however ridiculously unrealistic it might be...) In playing around with ESPN's NBA Trade Machine, I came up with this trade. I think it's a gem. Take a look:

Click HERE to enlarge

All in favor, please manifest. Any opposed, by the same sign? (Sit down, Brother Willey. I'm pretty sure you don't count anymore...)

Problem with trades is, the other team has to agree to it too. Darn.

Oh well.

Rivalry Week: I hate BYU!

2009-11-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Well, it's finally here again! Actually, it doesn't seem like it was that long ago that these two teams last met on the field. What a glorious day that was.

Last season, I posted this list of the reasons I don't like BYU. I'd like to revisit it. My feelings about BYU will never change, but since they're constantly finding new ways to be obnoxious, here are this year's top 10 reasons for hating BYU:

10. If you've a Ute fan, you've undoubtedly heard BYU fans refer to our football program as "Little Brother". I can't tell you how stupid I think that is. I can't understand where this term came from. Our programs is older than theirs, so age has nothing to do with it... Are they saying their program has had more success? Well, no, that can't be it either. Utah owns the series by 20 games. Surely it can't be because they have a national championship. Because any bonehead would have to recognize that if the same bogus system that awarded them that national title were still in place today, Utah would have TWO national championships (instead, a new bogus system is in place...). Are they saying that their recent success makes them our "big brother"? Well no, because Utah has gone undefeated twice in the last 5 years, won 2 BCS bowls, won 5 of the last 7 Holy Wars, and 8 bowl games in a row. BYU can't say they've done any of that. So I am left to conclude that the only reason we are "Little Brother" is this: We all know that every Cougar fan has the Book of Mormon memorized (they're just all so very righteous...). So they MUST be referring to the fact that Nephi (aka "Little Brother") was made a ruler and a teacher over his elder bretheren. That's GOT to be it.

9. This was, in all seriousness, said to my father at church last sunday. Please understand that this was not said in a joking manner. The man who said it was as serious as a heart attack. My dad asked this BYU fan in the ward how he thought the game will go this Saturday. The man's response: "BYU's going to win. They've got more returned missionaries on their team, so the Lord will bless them." WHA....??? Seriously??? And I have to say, he's not alone in this school of thought. Remember the imfamous quote by Austin Collie? You do. I know you do.

8. Bronco Mendenhall. This guy is just... it's so hard to even put in words. He is the epitome of what I don't want the world to think members of the church are like. He's arrogant, he's weird, and he ALWAYS make football about religion. What I wouldn't give for a chance to punch that guy in the face.

7. Speaking of coaches... BYU fans seem to take great pleasure in bringing up the fact that coach Whittingham played his college football at BYU. I always hear things like "It took a cougar to turn your program around!" Guys, get over it. Yeah, he went to BYU. He was there for 4 years and he's coached at Utah for over 15 years. And while we're on the subject, your golden boy LaVell Edwards played his college ball at Utah State, and earned his masters degree from the University of Utah. So if you really wanna play that card, it took a Ute to guide BYU to ALL of the success their program has EVER had.

6. Idiot fans. Please understand that what I'm about to say does not apply to all BYU fans. And I am able to admit that there are idiots at every school, and the U is no exception. But come on. You know the guys I'm talking about. The guy from number 9 for example. Or how about this guy. And definitely this guy. It's the arrogance. The "holier than thou" attitudes. Those are the fans I can't stand.

5. Speaking of fans, why do so many of you guys pretend you don't care about the rivalry game? That drives me nuts! You do care -- I know you do. How do I know? Because when you guys win, all I hear for the next 12 months are clever little quips such as "Hey, Harline is still open!" or "4th and 18!". So seriously, don't give me that bull. It is such an obvious ploy. Pretend you don't care so that when you lose, you can continue pretending you don't care.

4. Why on earth do you people sing "Popcorn Popping" (complete with actions) at your football games?! News flash: people already think Mormons are weird. Is this really necessary?

3. Traitors. Harvey Unga and Manase Tonga, I'm talking to YOU!

2. Here's a double-standard for you. Bronco always goes on and on about how BYU gets it done with returned missionaries. He seems to think that going on a mission is a pretty important thing to do. Couldn't agree more. In fact, at age 19, it is THE MOST important thing to be doing. So why then, does BYU distract young men who are on missions by recruiting them while they are on their missions?! BYU has a nasty habbit of stealing away athletes who have already committed to other schools. Somehow these guys commit to some other school, go on their missions, and come back Cougars. Fishy. Actually some guys are so distracted, they don't even finish their missions. *cough* Max Hall *cough* Sorry, but I think it is absolutely unacceptable for a school that is owned by the church to distract these guys while they're supposed to be focused on missionary service. A lot of these guys have a hard time making the decision to do the right thing and put their football careers on hold to go serve missions. Pretty shady.

1. Just because they're BYU.

Happy rivalry week, and GO UTES!!

Season Opener: Highlights and Lowlights

2009-10-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been waiting for it since May... What a let-down.

Let's start with the highlights, since it's a much shorter list:

Deron Williams. We all know this guys is a stud. 28 points and 13 assists, he looked as sharp as ever. As long as Deron stays healthy, we will compete in most games.
Free throw shooting. The Jazz overall had a pretty good showing from the line, finishing 25-29 (86.2%)
Memo's outside shooting looked pretty good.
Fes didn't look too bad when he came in for Memo early in the game. He seems to have improved. I'd still like to see more Koufos.

And the lowlights? Well, there are many, but I'll just list a few:

Carlos Boozer. I think most of us are expecting Boozer to play out of his mind this year, since he's trying to get a big contract. Boozer's all about the $$. Maybe he still will, but last night he looked like crap. Poor shot selection, zero defense, the usual. He blew a couple of assists for Deron by not being ready for the passes. He just looked terrible.
Turnovers. We had 16 which isn't horrific, but they led to 22 points for the Nuggets. And we only lost by nine.
Second-chance points. We gave up 14 offensive rebounds that led to 20 second chance points. I don't know how many put-back dunks the Nuggets had, but it was a lot.
Defense. We didn't get back in transition, we didn't rotate over, and we gave them way to many easy baskets.
Depth. We were missing CJ, Kyle, and Matt last night, and it showed. I think those guys might have been able to give us the lift we needed.
Paul Millsap. I never thought he'd be a lowlight, but last night he didn't really do much to show the world why he got such a big raise. I have no doubt that will change as the season progresses, but as for last night, he just really didn't play that well. He's still one of my favorite players, and I don't think anyone (aside from Deron) works harder than him.

Agree? Disagree? What were your highlights and lowlights?

I hate bye weeks.

2009-10-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

But in the mean time...

GO AGGIES!!

The Utes So Far

2009-09-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I have been a little uncomfortable during both of our games so far. In the USU game, the second half was much better, but the SJSU game really could have been a disaster. Then again, it also could have been a blow out. We made some mistakes that cost us points, and I think it was more a case of us shooting ourselves in the foot than SJSU outplaying us. It's hard to guage this year's team based on the two games we've seen so far, but I have three areas of concern:

Turnovers. 3 against Utah State and 2 against SJSU (actually three if you count turning the ball over on downs -- which I do.) I think we need to really focus on this. We have to take care of the ball. You can get away with it against lesser WAC opponents, but if we don't get this fixed, teams like Oregon, TCU, and BYU (heck, maybe even AFA or CSU) will make us pay.
Pass coverage. We gave up a big pass play to USU, and a few of them to SJSU. Fortunately Oregon's strength is not the passing game, but that doesn't mean they can't burn us there. We have to do a better job keeping up witht he WR's. And it's not just the corners' responsibility. The pass rush has been pretty unimpressive thus far, and I am a believer in the addage "The key to a good secondary is a great pass rush".
Goal line offense. We've been stood up inside the one yard line twice in as many games. I really have to question the play calling: 1st down -- Asiata direct snap. 2nd down -- Asiata direct snap. 3rd down -- Asiata direct snap. 4th down -- you guessed it, Asiata direct snap. We did the same thing 2 weeks in a row, and I have to say, it's about as predictable as Gary Crowton. We need to try somehting else, because if USU and SJSU can stop us, it's obviously not working.

Nevertheless, I don't want this post to sound negative. We have seen some good things -- actually some great things -- so far as well. I really like Cain, and he is going to be an excellent QB. I loved seeing him take off and run -- boy can move! Asiata has been a great run threat (and I was impressed with backups Wide and Shakerin as well). Reed and Brooks are huge playmakers and fun to watch. Defensively, I think our linebacking corps has been great, not really allowing much on the ground (aside from the flukey play by USU). Our new punter seems to be really solid.

Well I'm rambling. Vote here -- what are your thoughts on the Utah vs. Oregon game?

My prediction? Utah 34, Oregon 21

Just how good is BYU anyway?

2009-09-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

Alright – I mentioned that I had more to say on the BYU – OU game, so here it comes.

First of all, I have to give credit where credit is due. I was extremely surprised and actually impressed with how well BYU play Oklahoma in the first half. I expected Oklahoma to be sitting on a 3 touchdown lead at half time. I think you can attribute it to a few things:

Oklahoma did an absolutely TERRIBLE job of rebuilding their offensive line. They were penalized over and over and over for holding, false starts, etc. Bradford had no protection whatsoever, and that really changed the whole dynamic of OU’s offense.
Play calling. Can someone tell me why OU insisted on running the ball? I understand it’s important to establish the run in order to open things up for the passing game, but really? When you’ve got Sam Bradford slinging the ball, capable receivers, and BYU’s secondary, it should be a no-brainer!
BYU’s defense has improved significantly. Their pass rush was great, and they had constant pressure on the QB (which eventually led to his injury).

So, in my opinion, those are the reasons the score was so close at halftime. Now let’s talk about the second half. The obvious difference is that Oklahoma is now playing without their best player. Even then, BYU couldn’t do much. The OU defense kept them in check, while the OU offense hardly did anything. Finally Oklahoma put together a pretty good drive. They got all the way down to the 2 yard line. They didn’t get in on 1st and goal. They didn’t get in on 2nd and goal. They didn’t get in on 3rd and goal. And so, of course, they line up on 4th and goal, as anyone would. Except they had a freshman QB playing in basically his first game since high school. He let the play clock expire. Would Sam Bradford have let that happen? I guarantee you, he would not. Thus, OU was backed up 5 yards and opted to kick a field goal rather than risk coming up empty. Again, I have to disagree with the coaching decision. Listen up, Bob Stoops. You’re on BYU’s 5 yard line, you have the lead, and the game is nearing it’s end. If you go for the TD on 4th down, you have the opportunity to basically put the game out of reach. If you come up empty on 4th, BYU gets the ball – on their own 5 yard line. And your defense has been able to stifle every drive BYU has put together so far in this game. They’ve picked off Max Hall twice, and gotten pressure on him numerous times. You would be in perfect position to score a safety, which also gives you the ball back. Why not trust your defense?

But even then, OU was still not down and out. BYU put together a very impressive drive that led to a touchdown with about 2 and a half minutes left in the game. On the ensuing kickoff, Mitch Payne boots the ball out of bounds, giving OU the ball on their own 40. They’re down by one point, so all they need is a field goal. That means they have 2 and a half minutes to move the ball about 30 yards. Did they accomplish that? Oh yes, they did. Except they tried to get just a little closer. And then, that magnificent OU offensive line had yet another penalty that moved them back. With time running out, they had to try the long long field goal. 54 yards is a tall order for any college kicker. They missed it. BYU wins.

So I ask again, just how good is BYU? If not for that one penalty at the end, that field goal is probably good. Have the Cougars really fixed the problems that plagued them against TCU, Utah, and Arizona last year? I submit that they have not. If you could pin-point BYU’s two biggest weaknesses last year, what would you say? I’d say this:

Max Hall: Sure, he’s an extremely accurate QB… when he has all day. And in most of their games last year, he did have all day. But the truth is that any team who consistently put pressure on him, beat him. He was sacked, picked off, he fumbled, made bad reads, you name it. And what I saw on Saturday against Oklahoma was the same old Max Hall. Every time OU got pressure on him, he threw it up for grabs. He got picked twice, but it could have easily been 4 or 5. I also saw him try to squeeze it into triple coverage a couple times. I really don’t think he’s any better than last year. The difference? This year he doesn’t have a veteran O-Line to protect him. Thus, the key to beating BYU this year will once again be getting pressure on Maxie.
Slow secondary: This was the other major criticism made against BYU last year. Because their DB’s were considerably slower than most teams’ WR’s, they were forced (or rather, coached) to play 10 yards off the receivers at scrimmage. This left the receivers wide open on short, underneath routes which a lot of times went for big yardage after the catch. Are they any better this year? I really don’t know. But I doubt it. Since OU barely threw the ball at all, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

I’d just like to finish up by saying that I agree with coach Whittingham’s opinion of the polls. He thinks that any poll taken before 4 or 5 games have been played is completely meaningless. BYU beat #3, Oklahoma. So does that mean that BYU deserves to be in the Top 10, or does it mean that OU never did deserve such a lofty ranking. I’m inclined to think the latter. Time will tell.

College Football Kickoff Weekend

2009-09-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

College football is finally here! After 8 months of anticipation and speculation, the season has finally begun.

The Utah game was about what I expected it to be. It was sloppy at times, but overall I saw good things. Terrance Cain appears to be a very capable QB, and I think he will improve as the season goes on. The play calling was conservative by design. It was meant to make Cain feel comfortable. I also think it was a smart move -- Why open up the playbook in the season opener when you don't need to? With tougher games coming up down the road, the coaches knew that a conservative game plan was the way to go.

The MWC made a lot of noise during the off-season. We are trying to gain respect and work our way towards inclusion in the BCS. We have several opportunites to make our case stronger this season. Here are the games that feature MWC teams vs BCS opponents:

BYU has already shaken things up with their win over Oklahoma last night (I have more to say on this game... later). TCU has a chance to make a statement against the ACC with games against Virginia and Clemson. Utah takes on Oregon, the only team that looks to challenge USC for the PAC-10 this year. Wyoming takes on Texas, who many have projected to play in the NC game. I think that if the MWC wants to be taken seriously, we need to win at least two-thirds of these games. That means that it can't just be Utah, TCU, and BYU. Some other MWC teams will have to start pulling their weight.

College football is one of my favorite times of the year, and I look forward to another great season of Utah Utes football!

Should I really be surprised?

2009-08-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

Wow. If you were to look up the word "poser", I'm pretty sure these photos would follow. Just take a look for yourself.

Mr. "Righteous Living" Austin Collie is starting a new trend:

wearing just the hood of your hoodie.

Max Hall poppin' the collar. (and the sleeve)
Dennis Pitta, Max Hall, and Austin Collie trying WAY too hard.

Collie sports the "just woke up look"

So this is how Bronco holds practice... that explains a lot.

"YIPEEEE!!!"

As if we needed any further proof that these guys are dorks...

Umm... YES PLEASE!!!

2009-07-06T20:44:00.001-07:00

Chris Bosh: Raptors May Move Him

Update: The Raptors are privately acknowledging that they might need to trade Bosh, or risk losing him as a free agent in 2010, the New York Daily News reports.

Analysis: Bosh is set to join the free agent lottery in 2010, when Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are also free. According to the report in the Daily News, Toronto is interested in packaging Bosh in a deal to acquire Carlos Boozer. The Bulls are also interested in Bosh, with Luol Deng being offered.

It doesn't look like much will change... again

2009-06-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

After the 2007-2008 NBA season, The Jazz didn't make any big moves. The only change to the roster was the trade that brough Brevin Knight to Utah (and we all know how well that worked out). I actually thought that the lack of change might be a good thing. I thought that the fact that this group of players had already spent some time together, and had playoff experience together would be an advantage. However, my reasoning was flawed. I have come to realize that the Jazz are still lacking something. (my personal opinion is that we need a strong defensive big man, but who knows...) I was hoping to see a big move during the off-season. Something to get excited about after a disappointing performance towards the end of the regular season and in the playoffs. However, it looks like we may end up with pretty much the same roster again.

Korver has decided not to opt out
Boozer probably won't either
We've made an offer to Millsap (which I pray he takes)

So it's not looking like there will be a blockbuster trade this year. I could be wrong though. I guess we'll just have to see what happens.

Derek Fisher belongs with the Lakers...

2009-05-07T23:16:00.000-07:00

So, I have to say that I really liked Fisher last year. He was a definite leader on the team, and he made big plays at big moments. Then he used his daughter's disease to play on Larry H. Miller's sympathies. He got released from his contract in order to be closer to his daughter's physicians (located in New York... I guess someone failed geography.) Ever since, I have realized he's shady. He is a big-time actor, and he flops a lot. He's an all out punk. And for anyone who wants to say, "No, come on! Derek Fisher is a class act!", I submit the following:

You can see that Fisher knows the screen is coming. He keeps looking over his shoulder waiting for Scola. When he sees him coming, he preps himself, turns, and with all his strength he blasts Scola. It was a straight up dirty play, and 100% intentional. He was ejected from the game. Here is Fisher's explanation of what happened:

Nice try Derek, but ANYONE can see that it's a load of bull. You are lame, and if anyone needed proof you're a crooked liar, now they've got it. Case closed.

2009-04-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

I hate this man...

I pretty much want him to fall on his face. Like thirty times. Or more.

Call me an idiot...

2009-04-19T00:59:00.001-07:00

...but I just can't help being excited for the NBA Playoffs. The Jazz kind of crashed and burned at the end of the regular season, losing 7 of their last 10 games. If they had won just ONE more game, they would have avoided a first-round matchup against the Lakers. But as they often say in sports, "it is what it is". (Because really, what else could it be? It certainly can't be what it isn't -- am I right?) So even though the outlook is bleak, I will watch every game and cheer my team on. Anything is possible. In the history of the current NBA playoff system, the number 8 seed has won the first round series against the number 1 seed a total of three times. But I say, why not four?

Go Jazz.

Dear Utah Jazz,

2009-04-11T20:34:00.000-07:00

You just lost. At home. To Golden-fricken'-State (who happened to be extremely short-handed tonight). I don't even know what to say right now. Why do I even watch your games?

Sincerely,
Disappointed

Let the Madness Begin!!

2009-03-19T22:53:00.000-07:00

So, I know I'm a day late in posting this, but I thought I'd get it out there, because turns out I'm doing pretty well so far! I'm pleased that a couple of the upsets I picked ended up working out (Michigan over Clemson & W. Kentucky over Illinois). So here is my bracket. Click HERE it to enlarge.

I know I'm probably being too kind to the Utes, but what can I do? It's the fan in me. We'll see what happens!

Go UTES!!

2009-02-05T15:54:00.000-08:00

While admittedly the Utah Jazz have been less than enjoyable to watch this season, the Utah Utes basketball team has been playing very well as of late. Last night they played @ TCU, and they overcame a 7 point halftime deficit to beat the frogs 62-54. Carlon Brown had a great game, and he definitely got me excited with his dunk at the end of the first half. I deemed it the "play of the game". Take a look below:

Well... This just sucks.

2009-01-12T06:23:00.000-08:00

It's Official. Utah's star defensive end Paul Kruger has declared he will enter the NFL draft and forgo his two remaining years of elligibility.

It's not like I didn't see this coming. This is what happens when you have a fantastic season. You lose all your great players and half your coaches. This obviously is a big blow to the Utes. Especially since our best corner, Sean Smith (a junior) is also expected to go pro.

Before this news, I was (perhaps unrealistically) hoping for a Top 20 preseason ranking for next year. Most of our graduating players are on offense, and we have very capable players stepping into those vacancies. But now with two of our defensive play makers likely gone, I will be very surprised if we are even ranked to start next season. Which means that even if we repeat what we did this year, the best we can hope for (once again) is #2. Had we started the season ranked # 20 or better and gone undefeated, there would be a very remote chance of getting a BCS National Championship bid. (only if NO ONE from a BCS conference went undefeated of course.)

Oh well, such is college football. You gotta feel for Max Hall though. With Collie and Kruger both going pro, who is he going to throw to next year?

I'm FAMOUS!!

2009-01-04T15:43:00.000-08:00

Check me out here.

I should say this... the quote she used was preceeded by "I really believed that the Utes would win, but..."

I just didn't want it to come across as though I didn't think the Utes could do it.

Victory.

2009-01-03T14:29:00.001-08:00

To ESPN "experts" and all other doubters: Have you got the message yet?

Utah is the best college football team in the country. What and amazing game. Utah came out with a fury and burried Alabam early. The Tide spent the rest of the game trying to dig themselves out of the hole we put them in. No one gave the Utes any respect, so they went out there and demanded it. There is no reason why Utah shouldn't be # 1 in the final polls, though unfortunately that won't ever happen under the current system.

No matter, the Utes are the National Champions in my book. They earned it.

I must also address the fact that I am deeply disappointed in the total lack of class some BYU fans are already showing. I came home from SkyBox where we watched the game, and found that several BYU fans were commenting on the stories in the Tribune online, discounting Utah's success this season. Some said the Utes were lucky. Others quite intelligently (sarcasm) said the Utes "suck". Some were bringing up the 1984 BYU "National Championship", saying that it's something the Utes will never have. To you sore losers and poor sports, I simply say this:

Grow up and pull your heads out.

Here are some pictures from last night's game. GO UTES!!

Photos via.

An interesting development...

2008-12-30T08:39:00.000-08:00

Ever since the bowl announcements were made, all of the “experts” have been saying that Utah wouldn’t stand much chance against Alabama. One of their main arguments was that Utah’s offensive and defensive lines are much smaller than Alabama’s. Alabama has two first-team All Americans on their offensive line, which provides plenty of time for quarterback John Parker Wilson to make his reads and deliver the ball. They also open up big holes for runningback Glen Coffee to run through. The offensive line plays a huge part in the success of Alabama’s offense.

Well, things just got a little less lop-sided.

All-American left tackle Andre Smith was sent home from New Orleans yesterday and suspended from playing in the Sugar Bowl because of a violation of team rules. He would have gone up against Paul Kruger, the sophomore defensive end who lit up offenses all season. Instead, he’ll be watching the game on Fox Sports like the rest of us.

I have mixed feelings about this. Obviously I’ll gladly take anything that gives the Utes the slightest advantage in this game. Kruger has been preparing for nearly a month to take on Andre Smith. I have to think that all his preparation will be enough to completely overwhelm whoever fills in for Smith. But I can already hear it. Imagine Kruger gets 5 sacks and a handful of tackles for loss. We won’t hear anything about what a great player he is. All we will hear is that Alabama suffered because their star left tackle was out of the game. If Utah wins, the same excuses will be made. So this suspension really cheapens a Utah victory.

Now, that said, a win here would still be a HUGE milestone for the Utah football program. And just because Andre Smith is out, that doesn’t make this an easy victory by any means. It will require a near-flawless performance for Utah to win the game.

Dear Kevin O'Connor :

2008-12-18T08:21:00.000-08:00

It has become abundantly clear that the Jazz do not need Carlos Boozer. He is nothing more than a sponge, soaking up more than his share of salary cap space. Over the last 15 games, we have seen Paul Millsap step into the starting role, and he has proven he is ready. No one on the team works harder than Millsap. It would be foolish to let Millsap go in order to keep Boozer around.

Since the Jazz have opted out of Morris Almond's contract at the end of the season, I propose the following trade:

(Screenshot via ESPN Trade Machine)

I have come to realize that what the Jazz lack is a defensive presence in the paint. Millsap is doing a good job, but his size limits his effectiveness against some of the league's premiere centers (O'Neal, Gasol, etc.). Bosh could be the answer. I think this trade equally benefits both teams, and will give the Jazz the spark they need to make a run at the championship.

Sincerely,
Me

Sugar Bowl, here we come!

2008-12-08T11:05:00.000-08:00

The BCS Bowls were announced yesterday, and there were no surprises. Utah landed a bid against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Allstate Sugarbowl! The game will be played on January 2nd at the New Orleans Superdome.

This is absolutely the biggest game in Utah football history – yes, even bigger than the ’04 Fiesta Bowl. Alabama is an extremely good team this year. Had they won on Saturday against Florida, they would be playing Oklahoma for the National Title. Their defense is ranked 3rd in the nation. They are fast, and they are HUGE! Their nose tackle, Terrence Cody, is a giant at 6’ 5”, 365 LBS. He is scary. This will be a very tough test for the Utes.

That said, I believe in this team, and I believe in our coaches. I think that we have a very good chance in this game. We’ve seen how explosive our offense can be, and we’ve seen how stingy our defense can be. Kyle has almost a month to get our boys ready (though I'm sure they've been watching Alabama film for a while now, since it was the likeliest scenario) , and I think he’s up for the job.

Roll tide! Roll over and die! Go UTES!!!

Going Bowling!

2008-11-26T09:03:00.000-08:00

Ever since dispatching BYU on Saturday, I can't quit thinking about what bowl game Utah will end up in, and who their opponent will be. I was planning on waiting until next week to make this post, but I just can't wait. I'll probably have to post the revised eddition after this week's games have been played. The way I see it, there are basically two options; the Fiesta Bowl, or the Sugar Bowl. Of the two, I'd much rather see the Utes go to the Fiesta. For one, it's played in Arizona so Utah will definitely have more fans there. The Sugar Bowl is in New Orleans. Also, since the Fiesta Bowl picks first this year, it is a more prestigious bowl. Here is the breakdown of both scenarios...

The Fiesta Bowl:

How do we get there?

The Rose Bowl has a contract with the PAC-10, so their champion ALWAYS will go to the Rose Bowl. The one exception is if the PAC-10 champ is ranked # 1 or # 2 in the BCS at the end of the season, in which case they would play in the National Championship game. So, if Oregon State beats Oregon, OSU wins the PAC-10 and gets the Rose Bowl. That leaves a 1 loss USC team in the At-Large pool. Of course the Fiesta Bowl would snatch them up without the slightest hesitation, thus killing the possibility of the Utes in the Fiesta Bowl. On the other hand, if Oregon State loses, USC wins the PAC-10 and they are obligated to go to the Rose Bowl. With 4 losses, OSU wouldn’t even be in contention for a BCS game, leaving a spot open in the Fiesta Bowl for Utah. A USC loss to Notre Dame this weekend couldn’t hurt anything either.

Who would we play?

This is wide open still. While the winner of the Big-12 will likely play for the National Title, the loser of the Big-12 title game will likely play in the Fiesta Bowl. This could either be Oklahoma, Texas, or Missouri. The Fiesta Bowl could also pick Texas Tech.

The Sugar Bowl:

How do we get there?

This one is easy. We are pretty much already slated for the Sugar Bowl, since we would be a more attractive option that either the Big East or ACC champ. If the Fiesta doesn’t take us, the Sugar is almost a guaranteed lock.

Who would we play?

The Sugar Bowl has contractual ties to the SEC. Since the SEC champ will likely play in the National Championship game, the loser of the SEC title game will be picked up by the Sugar Bowl. We would play either Florida or Alabama. While I would LOVE to see the Utes beat Urban Meyer’s team, I think a win there would be quite a long shot. We would stand a better chance against Alabama.

So there you have it. Either way, it's a great accomplishment for the Utes. In 2004, we got stuck in the Fiesta Bowl because they had last pick, and we faced a crappy Pitt team. We didn't earn much respect, because everyone expected us to win. This year, it will be different. We will almost definitely be the underdogs in whichever BCS game we play in. A win against a quality opponent in a BCS game would be huge for the Utes.

The anticipation is KILLING ME!!

Victory

2008-11-24T09:25:00.000-08:00

48-24. What a great game on Saturday!

Remember when BYU fans were calling Max Hall the “Dark Horse” candidate for the Heisman? HA! Well, on Saturday we saw the Max Hall that shows up when BYU faces a good defense (just like at TCU). He couldn’t do a thing out there – our corners were too good, and our D-Line got pressure on him, forcing him to throw before he wanted to. I reveled in the agony on his face after every pick he threw.

So you tell me: Who’s better – Brian Johnson or Max Hall? Is there even any question?

Johnson was awesome. He completed over 80% of his passes, and every time they blitzed, he responded well and made things happen.

Everyone (myself included) expected this to be a fairly close game. The Utes just dominated the whole way. They doubled up the score on the Team Down South.

A BCS game is now a lock. It’s going to be a long two weeks before the bowl matchups are announced, but no matter where or who we end up playing, I give the Utes a great chance to win.

12-0 baby. 12-0.

Utah Saftey Robert Johnson intercepting a pass from Max Hall.

Bronco saying a little prayer -- asking how such a heathen team would be allowed to beat the Lord's University.

Why don't I like BYU?

2008-11-19T07:14:00.000-08:00

Let me just preface this with a disclaimer. I have some good friends who are BYU fans, and we tend to get along just fine (although when one of them picked a fight with my fanatic U-Grad uncle, he got more than he bargained for). I know some really good people who graduated from BYU. Unfortunately, these friends of mine represent a small minority of BYU fans -- those who are not total idiots.

I was having a... discussion... with a co-worker yesterday who is a pretty outspoken BYU fan, and he said to me, "Just answer me this: Why is it that Utah fans just hate BYU so much?" (as if the opposite weren't equally true...) Well, I had to really think my answer through. I didn't want to be rude, or offend my friend. So instead of really answering truthfully, I just kind of side-stepped the question with, "It's just part of being a Ute."

His question got me thinking though. Why do I hate those guys? I'm not entirely sure how much storage space Blogger allows it's users, so I'll just summarize. Here's the top-ten:

10 -- It really is just inherent to being a Ute Fan
9 -- Having suffered through the majority of the Lavell "Bitter-Beer Face" Edwards era
8 -- The term "The Lord's University". Ridiculous, considering the fact that the better part of general authorities over the years have been products of the U of U. FYI, the Lord wears RED.
7 -- The term "The Lord's Team". Even more ridiculous. I can't even express how stupid I think that is.
6 -- STILL having to hear about the 1984 National Championship. Fine. You won. TWENTY-FOUR YEARS AGO!!! Get over it!! You don't still hear Ute fans talk about beating you guys 20 years in a row from 1922-1942, do you?
5 -- BYU fans + media down-playing the rivalry game. They start saying that BYU doesn't care any more about this game than every other game of the season, and that Ute fans are much more invested in that game. This is the new trend. Actually, it becomes trendy every time BYU isn't favored to win. See here for a blatant example. (as I side note, I can't stand the Deseret News)
4 -- The phrases "4th and 18" and "Harline is still open in the endzone!" Both were bad enough when they actually happened -- I'd rather not hear about it from every other BYU fan I see.
3 -- Austin Collie. Not only is he arrogant, self-righteous, and a bone-head, but he also just makes the Church look bad by bringing insisting on bringing religion into football. I sure hope the rest of the country doesn't base their opinions of the Church on Austin Collie's shining example. I would love to see the Cougars lose on Saturday 100% because of something he did. Tip a pass to one of our corners, fumble the ball after a catch, etc. So much for "living right" if that happens. :)
2 -- "The Quest". Great job, Bronco. I know I know, "The Quest was never about an undefeated season". And if you had half a brain it would get lonely. Of course this was how it was going to be seen by EVERYONE ELSE! Too bad it didn't quite work out.
1 -- Self-righteous, holier than thou, obnoxious, cocky fans/players/coaches/students. See here, here, here, and here. This guy represents what the majority of BYU fans are like. What's not to hate?

As Saturday aproaches, my anxiety grows. I really do feel confident in my prediction, but I always get pre-game anxiety, and when it's the rivalry game, that starts about a week early. I can't wait!!

GO UTES!!

Rivalry Week

2008-11-17T07:01:00.000-08:00

“I don't talk trash, I talk smack. They're totally different. Trash talk is hypothetical, like: Your mom is so fat she can eat the internet. But smack talk is happening like right now. Like: You're ugly and I know it for a fact 'cause I got the evidence right there.” --Kelly Kapuur

As for me, I talk both.

Trash/smack talk is one of the things that makes Rivalry Week so much fun. Bernell, one of our former bishops, is a Ute fan – as red-blooded as they come. He’s somewhere in his late fifties/early sixties. He is usually a quiet, soft-spoken guy, but when it comes to his Utes, he holds nothing back. In priesthood opening exercises, a BYU fan in our ward came and sat by him and commented, “Well, it should be a pretty fun football game next Saturday, eh Bernell?” Bernell’s reply cracked me up. “Well, it’ll be fun for us, ‘cause we’re gonna woop ‘em!”

And so it begins.

I don’t usually make any predictions when it comes to this game. Partly because it tends to be completely unpredictable, and partly because I know that someone (…probably lots of someone’s) will come along and rub it in my face if I’m wrong. But then, wouldn’t I do the same? Of course I would!!! Nevertheless, I have decided to stick my neck out and predict the outcome of this game. My prediction is that it will not come down to a last second miracle play as it has the last two years. Utah will lead going into the 4th quarter, and hang on for a victory.

Utah 30, BYU 21

There, I said it. I could be way off, but that’s my gut feeling. You’ll probably hear more from me this week, since Saturday’s game is pretty much all I can think about.

GO UTES!! Bust the BCS (again)!!!

What are your predictions??

Utes @ Lobos: Highlights / Lowlights

2008-11-03T06:14:00.000-08:00

Definitely not the most enjoyable game to watch. I was quite hoarse on Sunday. Nevertheless, we got the "W", and it was enough to move us up to #8 in the BCS poll -- which is awesome.

Highlights:

Aiona Key blocking the early UNM field goal. I think a lot of people maybe forgot about this spectacular play (which, btw, probably saved us from an overtime situation), but this kid is awesome! He timed his jump perfectly, and he can really get up there. He's got the highest vertical leap on the team. What a stud!
Louie Sakoda. It will be a sad day in Ute-ville when he graduates. I'm pretty sure we would be somewhere around 6-3 if it weren't for him. Pinning the Lobos about an inch from the goal line -- you just can't punt better than that.
The hook and lateral on our one TD of the game. I love trick plays -- and, note-to-ludwig, when you change it up every now and then, it usually works!
Making Rodney Furgussen a non-factor.

Lowlights:

The O-Line. Granted, UNM blitzed on nearly every snap, and that can wear down an offensive line pretty quick, but come on guys. Johnson gets blamed for making poor choices with the ball, but you've gotta give him some time to make his reads.
Throwing an INT in the endzone. We let our most productive drive of the game end in a turnover. SO frustrating!! (incidentally, that seems to happen to me quite often on the PlayStation.)
Where was the option?! We finally started running it against CSU, and it was excellent! This team executes the option (which, IMO, is one of the hardest plays for a defense to sniff out and stop) as good as any team in the NCAA. I only saw us use it ONCE against New Mexico. And in case you were wondering, it got us about 15 yards. What the heck?!
We did a great job stopping Furgussen, but their Freshman quarterback ran all over us. We just couldn't stop that kid. He was fast. He was hard to tackle. We didn't have an answer. Why does this make me nervous? Because Andy Dalton (TCU's QB) is even better at that game. Yikes.
There's something I just REALLY didn't get. We returned a punt (or kickoff maybe?) to about the 35 yard line. A couple flags come in. The refs have one of there little ref meetings (which always seem to take longer than I think they should), and then the lead official steps up to call out the penalties. "There are fouls against both teams", he says. "Illegal block in the back on the return team, and a dead-ball personal foul on the kicking team". So I'm thinking, "Ok, it could be worse. They'll back us up 10 yards for the block in the back, and then they'll give us 15 yards for the personal foul." Not so. His little ref buddy comes running over and whispers in his ear, then he comes back on the mic and says, "Correction, both fouls are against the RETURN team." WHAT?! You would have thought his would be clarified during their 5-minute meeting. But then, as if to pour salt in the wound, we get marched back to the 5 YARD LINE! Since when was a block in the back a 15 yarder? Very irritating. End of soap box.

What were your highlights and lowlights?

Bye Week Blues

2008-10-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

This happens to me every year. I hate bye weeks. I seriously go through Utah Football withdrawals. In order to keep my mind off the fact that we don’t play again until Nov. 1, I have been trying to focus on the teams that are playing this week. In a perfect world, here’s how it would play out:

*****DISCLAIMER*****
The following does not reflect my actual opinion of who WILL win each game, but simply my opinion of who I would LIKE to see win each game.

#12 Boise St. @ San Jose St.

If SJ State can pull off an upset in this game, that would ease my mind a little. I actually really like BSU, but if they are our toughest competitor as far as crashing the BCS goes. They play in a very weak WAC conference, so there aren’t many teams with even a slight chance of beating them. SJ State is one of them.

#8 Texas Tech @ #23 Kansas

The obvious pick here is Kansas. A loss to Kansas would probably allow us to jump Texas Tech. Kansas would definitely go up in the polls, but it’s unlikely that they would rise high enough to jump us.

#4 Oklahoma @ Kansas State

Rule Number One: Any time a high-ranked team is playing an un-ranked opponent, an upset is the best case scenario. Good luck Wildcats.

# 10 Florida vs. Kentucky

See rule number one. Go… Wildcats.

#21 BYU vs. UNLV

Eh... I don't really care. A win for BYU won't push them up in the polls unless some teams ahead of them lose, which would also move Utah up. I mean, I love seeing the Cougars lose, but it would help Utah a little if BYU was still at least ranked when we play them in November. So, Rebels, Cougars, fight it out amongst yourselves.

#1 Texas vs # 6 Oklahoma State

This is going to be a good game. I am rooting for Texas in this one, and I hope it’s a blow-out. Why? Because an OK State loss might be enough for Utah to jump them. Admittedly not an extremely likely scenario, but it could happen.

#7 Georgia @ # 13 LSU

I’m going with the Georgia Bulldogs on this one. An LSU win would propel them past Utah in the rankings. (Although, it would probably also drop Georgia below Utah at the same time, thus leaving us exactly where we are now.) Scratch that. I don’t care who wins this game.

# 16 South Florida @ Louisville

As per rule number one, I’ll be rooting for Louisville.

# 14 TCU vs. Wyoming

This is an important game for Utah’s strength of schedule. A loss to Wyoming would be devastating to TCU’s credibility. I actually don’t even mind if TCU jumps Utah in the polls between now and November 6th. It will only help us as long as we beat them. Go Frogs.

# 15 Missouri vs. Colorado

Rule number one gives Colorado my support in this one.

# 2 Alabama @ Tennessee

See rule number one. Go Volunteers! (as a side note, I beat the Tennessee Volunteers 67-7 in the Sugar Bowl last night. Gotta love NCAA football for PS2.)

# 3 Penn State @ # 9 Ohio State

Here again, I’m hoping for a blowout win. I’m going with Penn State in this game. If they blow out the Buckeyes, we could potentially jump OSU.

# 6 USC @ Arizona

As per rule number one, Arizona gets the nod. Although, this game also has implications towards Utah. If USC loses, Oregon State’s win over them looks less impressive, and so does our win over Oregon State. HOWEVER, it would also give Oregon State the opportunity to win the PAC-10, so that would make Utah’s win over them seem pretty good.

So there you have it. If I could decide the outcome of this week’s games, that’s how it would all play out. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Utes Stuff

2008-10-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

Oh man, I’ve got so much to say right now. I shall do so briefly:

Thank you TCU. That was definitely the most enjoyable game I have watched this season, that didn’t feature the Utes. See, a lot of people said they wanted the U and the Y to be undefeated come 11/22, but my heart was never in it. Now, the Utes still have a quality ranked opponent on the schedule (TCU), and I don’t have to listen to any more ridiculous notions of BYU going to the BCS National Championship game (although, there are still incredibly naive cougar fans who think that BYU is going to a BCS bowl game. See here – no wonder they call themselves “Cougar Crazies”). Anyway, thanks again Horned Frogs. We shall beat you on Nov. 6th, and I will be there on row 9 in the Red Zone to watch it happen.
I found this really cool Utes blog. Check it out here.
The first official BCS rankings were released on Sunday, and the Utes are ranked at # 11 right now. You know what that means? It means a guaranteed BCS game as long as we win out. That’s pretty freakin’ awesome. The first school to bust the BCS will likely be the first school to do it twice!
So, I know there’s still a lot of football to be played, and this is just estimation right now, but CBS Sports released their latest bowl predictions. If you followed the link, then you know why I am so excited by this. They are predicting Utah vs. Florida in the All-State Sugar Bowl. Why is this significant? Because Urban Myer, the coach of the 2004 Utes (which went undefeated and played in the Fiesta Bowl), jumped ship after that season and went to coach the Florida Gators. How big would that be if Utah could go into the Sugar Bowl and beat their former coach?! That would be SO awesome! I seriously hope this happens. I know there’s no way to really predict right now, but it really got me excited.
So, we’ve got a bye this week, and I hope we use it well. We need to prepare for New Mexico – the Lobos looked good against BYU, and they absolutely massacred San Diego State (70-7). I know the Utes are leagues above SDSU, but still, that game was just unreal.

Ok, that’s all for now. GO UTES!!

Utah vs. Oregon State -- 10/2/2008

2008-10-08T16:49:00.000-07:00

There was a lot of hype surrounding this game. The Beavers had just knocked of USC, previously the # 1 team. Running back Jaquizz Rodgers rushed for 180+ yards in that game, and scored 2 TD's. This made them a much more legitimate opponent for the Utes and their strength of schedule.

RECAP: The Utes did not look anywhere near as sharp as I hoped they would at the beginning of the game, but still held a 20-15 lead going into half-time. They allowed a quick score by OSU to start the third, making the score 21-20. Neither team scored again in the third. In the fourth quarter Jaquizz Rodgers broke loose on a big run, going all the way to about the 3 yard line. They scored the touchdown momentarily, making the score 28-20. At this point there was only about 2 minutes left in the game. And that's when it happened. The Utes took less than a minute to complete an 80 yard scoring drive, making the score 28-26. They of course went for 2 points. Their first attempt failed as a result of a pass interference on the part of OSU. On the second try, Brian Johnson ran the ball in for 2 points. Tie game. OSU then displayed the most ridiculous use of clock I've seen. They used about 23 seconds on three passing plays (thus stopping the clock each time). Utah got the ball back with plenty of time to win the game. They moved the ball up the field, and when they were satisfied, they let the clock run down to 2 seconds and took a time out. Sakoda came in and knocked the 38 yard field goal straight down the middle of the uprights, and it was all over. Eleven points in about 2 minutes of football. So that's the story, in case you missed it.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Defense. Our defense spent WAY too much time on the field, particularly during our abismal 3rd quarter. Still, they kept OSU from running away with the game and did a great job out there.
TD pass from Johnson to Freddie Brown. I'm not sure if there was anyone within 15 yards of Brown when he caught that pass. He was literally standing still in the back of the endzone and didn't even have to move to catch the ball. That's when you know they bought into the misdirection.
Battling back from what seemed like an impossible situation at the end of the game.
Sakoda. I don't need to say anthing more here. He is the man.

LOWLIGHTS:

Andy Ludwig (utah's offensive coordinator). Can we say PREDICTABLE?? I swear at one point, Whittingham was glaring straight up at Ludwig in the booth. This guy needs to shape up if he wants to have a job next year.
Brian Johnson. This guy just plain had a rough night. 1 int and 2 fumbles. He single-handedly spotted OSU 14 points. I have to admit, I was begging for Louks or Manis during that third quarter. Still, Johnson semi-redeemed himself during that amazing comeback.

So we remain undefeated on the season. We've got Wyoming @ Laramie this weekend, and I think it will be interesting to see what happens after last years 50-0 beatdown. I'm not terribly worried, seeing as how Wyoming is worse than the Murray Spartans, but still... any given Saturday...

GO UTES!

Utah vs. Weber State -- 9/27/2008

2008-09-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

Let me just set the record straight...

I am tired of people making a big deal over the fact that Weber State scored 3 touchdowns against Utah on Saturday. Mostly it's people who weren't at the game. Since it wasn't televised, unless they listened to it on the radio (unlikely), they do not know how the game played out. I was there, so please allow me to tell you.

The score was 34-7 near the end of the 3rd quarter when Coach Whittingham decided to pull his starters. Utah played the rest of the game with our 2nd units on offense and defense. The offense moved the ball ok, and put up another 3 points. The defensive 2nd unit, however, was not as good. SO, it was in the 4th quarter, against our 2nd string, with the game well in hand, that Weber scored 2 of their 3 touchdowns. Another point that I'd like to make is that the officials basically gift-wrapped Weber's third touchdown on a pass-interference call that was completely ridiculous. If not for that call, Weber would have had to settle for a field goal.

In a public forum that I read, some Cougar fans commented saying, " How much more out of focus can you get than to let a D-2 school score 3 TD's on you?" Idiots. First of all, Weber is not a D-2 school. They are Division I-AA. Kind of like, oh, I don't know, Northern Iowa for example. Are the Cougars really that much better, having let NIU score 2 TD's and a field goal? And, I might mention that this occurred against BYU's starters -- not their 2nd unit.

Ok, so that's my soap-box -- like it or not.

Thank you Oregon State!

2008-09-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

Well, Utah’s “Strength-of-Schedule” points just increased! Oregon State knocked off # 1, USC last night by the score of 27—21. Who do we play next Thursday? That’s correct – Oregon State. That makes them a much more legitimate opponent for Utah.

Last year we opened our season at Oregon State. Things were rolling, and the Utes were looking pretty good. Then, a couple of major players went down with injuries, and the game collapsed. I wish we had been deeper last year, because those injuries really changed how the rest of our season played out. We’ve got them at Rice-Eccles this year, and hopefully we can get a victory. Let’s just hope they don’t break Asiata’s leg again, or jack Brian Johnson’s shoulder...dam Beavers. (get it?)

My Inner Conflict...

2008-09-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

Now, I am conflicted. I have ALWAYS rooted against BYU no matter who they are playing. This is largely due to the fact that I can’t stand smug BYU fans*. But I am torn because Utah only has 2 ranked teams on their schedule: TCU (currently # 24) and BYU (currently # 11). If TCU loses this week (likely-- see below), that only leaves the Cougs. If they lose a game, Utah won’t have ANY ranked opponents. This would greatly lessen Utah’s chances at busting the BCS (aka Bull-Crap-System). So, as much as it PAINS me to do so, I hope that BYU remains undefeated** until the November 22nd faceoff. I won’t object, however, to seeing the Cougs barely squeak out a couple of games in the mean time. That could at least shut some mouths.

A key game for the MWC and Utah’s strength-of-schedule will take place this Saturday when TCU takes on #2 Oklahoma University. IF by some miracle, TCU can go in and win that game, that would be huge. Of course it wouldn’t do the Utes any good if we don’t beat TCU later this season. Still, here’s hoping the Horned-Frogs can go in and get the upset-of-the-year!

* Please note that this does not include ALL BYU fans -- just smug ones. There are many Y fans that are great to talk sports with, and don't give off that arrogantness that really gets under my skin. Pat, for example, is the kind of BYU Fan that I have no problem with.

** UNLESS Utah loses a game, in which case, I will go back to my old ways of hoping BYU loses every game they play.

Catching Up

2008-09-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

This blog has been dormant for quite some time… I’d be surprised if anyone still reads it. I have been so busy with school this semester that I haven’t had time to update it. Lucky for you (if there is a “you”), I have some down-time at work today, and I left my Business Law book at home. So, without any further ado, a recap of Utah’s season thus far:

August 30 – @ Michigan: Utah Wins 25-23

Highlights:

Utah beat Michigan and broke into the Top 25
Matt Asiata

Lowlights:

Utah BARELY beat Michigan after letting a substantial lead dwindle in the second half
Utah’s final possession, in the red-zone (for my full opinion on this, read here)

September 6 – vs. UNLV: Utah Wins 42-21

Highlights:

Avenging our embarrassing loss from last season
Matt Asiata THROWING a touchdown pass
Brian Johnson’s 60+ yard rushing touchdown

Lowlights:

UNLV’s first drive – it looked like Frank Summers might run all over us again
The offense had a lousy first half

September 13 – @ Utah State: Utah Wins 58-10

Highlights:

Blow-out victory
Matt Asiata taking direct snaps (this almost guarantees the Utes a 6+ yard gain, often even more)

Lowlights:

Punt returns! A botched punt return gave USU their only touchdown of the game. Subsequent punt returns weren’t any better

September 20 – @ Air Force: Utah Wins 30-23

Highlights:

Beating our toughest opponent so far this season
Getting a Safety – this is always a sign that the defense is doing a great job.
Darrell Mack – 101 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns -- Mack is back!
Holding Air Force to 53 rushing yards. Anytime you can shut-down the running game against Air Force, you will win. Period.

Lowlights:

TURNOVERS! Brian Johnson had some struggles, but the O-Line is also responsible. They need to protect him better, and he needs to be smart enough to get rid of the ball when protection breaks down.
Sakoda missing 2 field-goals. I don’t know if this has EVER happened in his career. I don’t blame him though. The offense put him in a terrible position for both of them, and he was kicking into a crazy wind. He’s still the man.

Utah is sitting at # 17 in the nation right now, and they remain undefeated so far. We’re off to our best start since the legendary 2004 season. I hope we can keep it up.

Season Opener

2008-08-30T22:39:00.001-07:00

Well, Utah Football has officially begun, which means this blog will cease to be neglected as it has been all summer long!

Utah beat Michigan today by a score of 25-23. Utah dominated most of the game, but they let Michigan come back on them in the 4th quarter. I was really please with how we played (most of the time...). Utah faced some adversity at the hands of the officials. I can't remember EVER seeing Utah get hit with so man penalties.

The thing that was disappointing to me was the very last possession of the game. Utah took over on about Michigan's 15 yard line with 2:35 left. Instead of even TRYING to score, they opted to run laterally and just run down the clock. They ran all four downs that way. In all, they lost about 20 yards on the possession -- intentionally. I just think that the coaching staff showed a total lack of confidence in the players, and it was a cowardly way to finish the game. And they should have at VERY least kicked the field goal (which, for Sakoda, would have been a drop in the bucket).

Oh well, a win's a win. And this one was a pretty big one.

Bring on the Rebels!

I Can't Wait!!

2008-08-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

So, I'm pretty much on Utah Football's official site just about every day. I also read all of the articles in the Tribune about the Utes (deseret news, not so much). I can't help it. I get this way every year. In less than a month, football season will begin!

I can't wait!!!

That is all.

Round 1:

2008-04-17T07:38:00.000-07:00

Well, the regular season is over, and the Jazz find themselves in the exact same situation as last year – Fourth seed (due to winning their division), no homecourt advantage, and opening the playoffs in Houston. (incidentally, my bracket prediction wasn’t even close… wishful thinking, I guess)

I’m hoping that the Jazz can do it in 5 or 6 games this time around. A seven game series is tiring. Not to mention that if the Jazz win in round 1, they’ll almost certainly face the Lakers in round 2. And I’m betting on a Lakers sweep of Denver, which would mean the Lakers would get plenty of rest if the Jazz / Rockets series goes long. Let’s hope that Denver’s dirty duo (Carmelo and K-Mart) do a little damage to the Lakers in that series. I’m kidding. Kind of.

In order for Utah to beat Houston, a few things will HAVE to happen. The keys to a Jazz victory (in my opinion) include, but are not limited to:

Run your offense: In Monday’s game versus the Rockets, the Jazz started out a little shaky. Houston was forcing them into jump shots and taking them out of the paint. The Rockets defend very well against the 3 point shot, so the Jazz can’t fall back on that as a crutch. They must play through the paint. Pick and Roll.
Contain McGrady: Tracy McGrady burned the Jazz badly in their home-opener this season, scoring 47 points. On Monday, he started off the game on pace to do it again scoring 10 in the first quarter. Brewer was in foul trouble early and McGrady was getting whatever shot he wanted. The Jazz were able to hold him scoreless in the second quarter, however, and he finished with 22 points on the night. McGrady IS the Houston Rockets, now that Yao is out, and he must be stopped.
Rebounds: The Jazz out rebounded the Rockets 50-38 including 16 offensive boards. This gave the Jazz a huge advantage one second (or third… or fourth… or fifth) chance points. That said, they really had to battle for many of those. Scola is an animal on the glass, and they will have to work hard to keep him off the boards.
Bench Production: The Utah Jazz have one of the most productive benches in the league. Harpring and Korver provide energy and physical play. It was Korver who iced the Jazz’s victory in Houston this season with some clutch 3-pointers in the fourth, yet he is a streak shooter. Let’s hope he’s on a hot streak. Harpring beats the crap out of people battling for position. He had 9 rebounds on Monday against the Rockets. Millsap blocked 3 shots and had some incredible plays. The one I’m worried about is Price. When Deron Williams leaves the game, there is a tangible drop in the teams energy. Price will really have to step up his play.

So there you have it. It will be a tough series, but I really believe the Jazz are the better team. They’ll have to steal a game on the road, but they’ve already won there once this season. Go Jazz!!

Season Finale

2008-04-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

So much is still at stake tonight as the Jazz take on the San Antonio Spurs. With the Western playoff race ever tightening, a win tonight would guarantee the Jazz the number 3 seed in the West, along with homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs (not to mention, it would break a forever-long streak of consecutive losses @ San Antonio). A loss tonight would mean that the Jazz stay at the fourth seed minus homecourt advantage in the first round (unless by some miracle Houston and Phoenix both lose tonight).

Although a million different scenarios are still possible, here is how I think (and hope) it will all end up:

{Click Image to Enlarge}

In order for this to happen, tonights games must play out as follows:

New Orleans beats Dallas
Denver beats Memphis
Utah beats San Antonio

None of those is a long shot, and I think that this bracket highly favors the Jazz. It puts us as far away from playing the Lakers as possible, and gives us a fairly easy road to the conference final, while making the Lakers' path much more difficult.

So it all comes down to tonight. Go Jazz!!

2 Down, 4 To Go!!

2008-04-09T06:05:00.000-07:00

The Jazz have played excellent defense in their last two games. They held San Antonio to just 64 points on Friday, and last night they held New Orleans to 66. In these two games, the Jazz have completely validated what Sloan has been saying all year – if you want to win, you have to play defense. Especially last night against the Hornets, when the Jazz didn’t have a particularly good night offensively, they were still able to handle the Hornets without any trouble because of the caliber of defense they played. With the playoffs right around the corner, it’s definitely a good sign to see the Jazz stepping up their defensive game – especially on the road like last night.

The Jazz have 4 regular season games left:

4/10 @ Dallas
4/12 vs Denver
4/14 vs Houston
4/16 @ San Antonio

Every game is so important in this tight Western Conference race. The Jazz can’t afford to lose even one if they want to secure home-court advantage at least for the first round of the playoffs. Let’s hope they win them all!

Missing Memo

2008-03-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

(Isn't this an awesome picture?!)

I have come to an indisputable conclusion: We NEED Mehmet Okur. Here are a few stats to support my point:

Memo has missed 10 games this season due to injury / illness. The Jazz have gone 4 - 6 in those games.

The Jazz are 20 – 7 when Memo scores 15 or more points.

The Jazz are 15 – 4 when Memo has 10 or more rebounds.

The Jazz are 15 – 3 when Memo has a double-double.

He brings a dimension to the Jazz that very few teams have. There aren’t many players his size that have such a good outside jump-shot. That is extremely valuable to the Jazz. He stretches opponents’ defenses. If he is out on the perimeter, the other team has to put someone on him – thus opening up the lane for Williams to penetrate or pass to Boozer in the low post. I really hope he is better soon. We need him at full strength for this final stretch.

The Home Stretch

2008-03-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

It’s crunch time. The Jazz only have 11 regular season games left. That means they have 11 games to try and push themselves to the top of the Western Conference and secure home-court advantage for the playoffs. Here is my expert analysis of the situation :

Things that could help the Jazz:

7 of their remaining games are home games, and the Jazz have the best home record in the NBA (29-4).
4 of their remaining games are against Sub-500 teams.
Dirk Nowitzki suffered a major injury against San Antonio last night. Dallas being one of our tougher road games, this might give the Jazz an edge.
Their schedule is spread out – they will only play one more “back-to-back”. All other games will have at least one day of rest between them.

Things that could hurt the Jazz:

The Jazz still have to play the San Antonio Spurs twice. Their last game of the regular season is against the Spurs and will be played at San Antonio.
The Jazz’ last 6 games are against Western playoff contenders.
4 of their remaining games are against Sub-500 teams (notice how this one made both lists…)

Here’s another random fact… The LA Lakers are in position to end up as the number one seed in the West (darn Lakers... I hate those guys!). The Golden State Warriors are in position to finish at number 8. If that happens, the Lakers will play the Warriors in the first round. Why is this significant? Because the Warriors seem to be one team that has the Lakers number this year. They have won all three matches so far, and they will play again tonight. Could the Warriors end up doing everyone a favor by eliminating the Lakers in the first round? Hey, they did it to the Mavs last year… We’ll have to wait and see. In the words of our beloved broadcaster, Craig Bolerjack, "BUCKLE UP!!"

Good luck Jazz! Here’s hoping we finish off the season 11-0!

The Problem With the MWC Tournament...

2008-03-14T06:56:00.000-07:00

The Utes beat the Lobos 82-80 in overtime last night, so they will advance to the semi-finals, where they will face # 2 seeded UNLV tonight at 10:00. Good Luck UTES!!!

The other semi-final game will be played between BYU and San Diego State. (Go Aztecs!)

So here's my gripe. Since the Mountain West Conference was formed nine seasons ago, the Men's Basketball tournament has been held at the Thomas & Mack Center (home of the UNLV Rebels) six times -- this season being the sixth. Six out of nine seasons. And the plan is to continue to hold the tournament there every year. Of the five tournaments that have been played on their home court, the UNLV Rebels have appeared in the tournament final four times. They have won two conference championships.

How is this fair to the other 8 teams in our conference? Having the home crowd behind you, playing in the same gym you have practiced in all season, and NOT being road-weary are major advantages. Is it any wonder that UNLV has the best overall record in the tournament?

Why couldn't they move the tournament every year, and just cycle through all 9 schools? It just bothers me that they get home court advantage EVERY year in the tournament.

MWC Tournament

2008-03-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

With March Madness coming up, the Utes' only shot at an NCAA Tournament berth would be to win the Mountain West Conference Tournament -- and they'll have their work cut out for them.

Tonight, the Utes face off against the number three seeded New Mexico Lobos. Utah lost both regular season meetings against the Lobos -- first in New Mexico (77-67 OT) and then in Salt Lake (72-71). In Salt Lake City, a made free-throw put New Mexico up by three with under 10 seconds left. The second free throw missed, and the Utes got the rebound. Tyler Kepkay pushed it up the court, but thinking the Utes were only down by two, he drove all the way to the basket for the buzzer-beating shot. Had he pulled up for the three-pointer, who knows?

The Utes have struggled in conference play this season, after going 10-4 in non-conference matches. However, don't count them out just yet. Eight of their nine conference losses were decided by single digits. They can play extremely well -- their fault is inconsistency.

The Utes tip-off at 9:30 PM on The Mtn. (my LEAST favorit sports network). Good luck Utes!

All-Star Break Blues

2008-02-27T05:47:00.000-08:00

Since the All-Star Break, the Jazz have played four games. Even though they have won two of those, their level of play has been pretty poor. Both losses came on the road, but against sub-500 teams. Last night they lost to Minnesota – the worst team in the West. They just aren’t playing with the intensity that they were before the break.

With the West as tight as it is this season, the Jazz really can’t afford to lose these games. They are only two and a half games ahead of Denver in the Northwest Division. With two tough games coming up this week – Detroit tonight and New Orleans on Friday – I am hoping the Jazz can find the spark they need.

The Jazz beat the Pistons in November, and that was on the Road. Tonight’s game is here at the ESA where they hold the NBA’s best home record (24-3). I just hope our boys don’t fall into the same slump they were in throughout December. They are a much better team than this.

D-Will's Got SKILLS!

2008-02-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

Deron Williams set a new record in the Playstation Skills Challenge, completing the course in 25.5 seconds. What made it even sweeter? In the final round of the competition, it came down to Deron and rival Chris Paul. No matter how much they are compared to each other, Deron is consistently a MUCH better player when the two are competing head-to-head. Take a look at Deron's record-breaking run through the obstacle course :

10 Game Streak!

2008-02-07T07:28:00.001-08:00

The Jazz have won ten games in a row for the first time since 1999, and they are showing no signs of slowing down. Let's look at a few factors that have contributed to the Jazz's recent success...

The Kyle Korver trade. In my opinion, this was one of the best moves the Jazz have ever made. It has been compared to the trade that brought Jeff Hornacek to the Jazz in February of 1994 (coincidentally, he also came from the 76ers). Kyle is a pure shooter, and he is really starting to find his rythmn with the Jazz. In the last three games, he has scored an average of 20.3 points, including 27 in last night's overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets. He has become one of Utah's top scorers, and he has provided a solution to the difficulties the Jazz were having against the zone defense. Nice work, Kevin O’Connor!
Deron Williams' improved game. Deron has always been one of the best point guards in the league, but recently he has stepped up his game another level. Over the 10 game win-streak, he has averaged 18.4 points and 11.6 assists per game. He had back to back 29 point, 11 assist games agains New Orleans and Denver. And not only is he consistently putting up big numbers, but he is coming through when it is crucial. His 3-pointer at the end of the 4th quarter sent the game into overtime. Without that shot, the Jazz would have lost to the Nuggets and slipped from the top spot in the Northwest conference. I don't care what anyone says -- he IS an All-Star.
A balanced effort. The Jazz are playing more as a team. They are consistently getting high production from their bench, and usually have at least 8 players in double figures. Before, the Jazz were seen as a two man show: Williams and Boozer. So the way teams handled us was by packing the defense into the middle to shut down Boozer and force us to take outside shots. But now, with Korver, Okur, and Kirilenko shooting the jump shot so well, our opponents are no longer able to do that. Even when Boozer is having an off night -- which all players do, no matter how good they are -- the Jazz are able to compensate. Boozer has been held under 10 points twice during the win streak, but the Jazz have managed wins regardless.

Those are just a few of many reasons why the Jazz are the hottest team in the NBA right now. I hope all of those fair-weather Jazz fans who jumped off the band-wagon in December are feeling lame now. It will be fun to see how long they can keep this streak going!

Jazz vs Spurs

2008-02-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

Well sorry it took so long to post my recap. It was a great game! The jazz won it 97-91. The Jazz are currently on an 8 game win streak, and they will look to make it 9 tonight agains the New Orleans Hornets. Enjoy the highlights!

2008-02-04T15:19:00.001-08:00

Jazz vs Spurs Preview

2008-01-28T09:28:00.000-08:00

*Flashback*

On December 7th, the Jazz seemed to do everything right... but it wasn't quite enough.

The Jazz out rebounded the spurs by 4. They outscored them in the paint 54-20. They held the Spurs to 43.8% shooting. They shot at a 54.2% clip. Boozer and Williams had 28 points apiece. Boozer had 17 rebounds and Williams had 10 assists. And somehow, the Spurs managed a 6 point win.

The Jazz led the entire game, though admittedly, it was a slim lead. The Jazz, however, could not finish out the game, and the Spurs pulled ahead in the fourth quarter.

*End of Flashback*

Hopefully the home court will give the Jazz that extra push they need to get a win over the Spurs tonight. In that December game, Tim Duncan was out with an injured foot. He's back and in proper form, which could significantly cut Boozer's productivity.

Kyle Korver is coming off his best game with the Jazz this season, and the Jazz will look to him to help match the outside shooting of this Spurs team.

It will be a difficult one, but tonight's game is a must-win. What's at stake? Well, the Northwest Division is VERY competitive this season. The Jazz are tied with the Blazers, and both teams are a half game behind the Nuggets. Denver will play the red-hot New Orleans Hornets tonight, who have won 8 straight games, and are currently leading the Western Conference. Therefore, if the Jazz win tonight, and the Nuggets lose tonight, the Jazz will finally find themselves on top of their division, and on their way to a playoff seed. Of course, it's still too early in the season to be speculating on such things... still.

Rockets Failed to Launch

2008-01-28T09:08:00.000-08:00

The Jazz won their second straight road game last night beating the Houston Rockets 97-89. It was a low scoring game for the Jazz. Both teams shot a miserable percentage, although the Jazz improved in the second half.

There wasn't much to highlight in this game. Korver definitely came through when we needed him, by hitting two three pointers in the fourth quarter to give the Jazz an eleven point lead.

Boozer, coming off a spectacular game against the Kings, had a poor shooting night, and went only 4-14. He finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Their win last night makes four in a row for the Jazz, and they'll go for number 5 at home tonight versus the San Antonio Spurs.

Jazz Ruled over Kings

2008-01-26T09:17:00.000-08:00

Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 33 points in this high scoring shootout with the Sacramento Kings. Boozer went 13 for 13 from the field until missing a reverse layup in the final second of the third quarter. This passed the Jazz's franchise record of consecutive shots hit, which was previously held by Karl Malone who converted 12 of 12 on two seperate occasions.

Andrei Kirilenko also had a great game posting 25 points including three 3-pointers. He also had 6 assists and 4 blocked shots. Everyone expected him to have a great game after getting into early foul trouble and going scoreless agains the LA Clippers on Monday.

Deron Williams ran the offense with to perfection. He tallied 16 points and 14 assists without commiting a single turnover.

The Kings held on right until the end. Ron Artest, who made an absolute fool of himself, was ejected from the game with two technical fouls. He made a ridiculous display of poor sportsmanship, and the crowd booed him througout the entire game. When he was finally sent to the locker room, the Energy Solutions Arena errupted with deafening cheers.

Reggie Theus also got himself T'd up. I'm still not sure what he was upset about. An offensive foul had just been called against Matt Harpring. The official was giving the Kings the ball to pass it in, when Theus marched out onto the court and earned a technical foul. Korver converted on all three technical free throws.

So the Jazz won it 127-113. That makes 3 wins in a row, and they'll go for the 4th tomorrow in Houston.

And now, I present my highlights reel, including my pick for "Play of the Game":

I chose that play because it got nearly everyone involved, and it shows one of the biggest keys to the Jazz's success: DEFENSE! Solid defense leads to easy baskets. This play shows that.

Jazz vs. Kings Preview

2008-01-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

Before playing the Kings on December 4th, the Jazz were off to a great start at 13-5. Since then, they are 11-13. They lost to the Kings 117-107 in Sacramento, and that loss was the first of six consequtive losses. The Jazz, however, seem to be figuring things out. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games (could this have anything to do with the Kyle Korver trade?), and picked up their first road win since December 21st on Monday against the Clippers.

The Jazz also have one of the most impressive home court records in the NBA at 17-3. In November, they beat the Kings 117-93 at Energy Solutions Arena.

The Kings were without star point guard Mike Bibby in both matches against the Jazz this season. Since returning from his injury, Bibby is averaging 15.4 points and 4 assists per game. He is also averaging a field goal shooting percentage of 78.6 and a 3-Point shooting percentage of 48.0. While these numbers a still a hair under his career average, he seems to be near 100%.

Tip-off is at 7:00 PM on KJZZ. Come back later for post-game comments and highlights, including my pick for play of the game.