Pitt will be a nice test for Utes

I noticed today that Pitt is picked to win the Big East this year which gets me a bit more excited for Utah's season opener.

It seems like it has been a while since the Utes opened at home with a legitimate opponent. Utah has opened against Oregon St. (07), Michigan (08), and UCLA (06) in recent years but those games were all on the road. It will be fun to have the favorite in the Big East come into Rice Eccles to open the season.

My only worry is that Utah tends to come out a bit rustic in its opener. Even last year it started slow against Utah St. before waking up to win going away. Utah did not look good opening at Oregon St. in 2007 and at UCLA in 2006; both were fairly bad losses. It beat Michigan in 2008 but that Michigan team was not that good. Nonetheless, I like opening against a legitimate opponent. It makes it that much more exciting.

Random Thoughts

The arrogance of the byu continues to amaze me.
I'm not a Utah fan that hates the byu more than I like Utah but listening to Bronco Mendenhall during the MWC football media day made my stomach churn. Mendenhall was asked on numerous occasions if he felt Utah going to the PAC-10 might in anyway negatively impact the byu's recruiting. Mendenhall responded boldly each time that he didn't think it would impact at all. He said the following:
"I don't think it will be effected one bit. They may say it it will be effected a ton but I don't think we will lose a single player who wants BYU to any other team in the country," he said.
"There have been some people who have been recruited nationwide but a kid who wants the byu experience can only get it at byu. There is no other place that is as unique, as specific and as special as Brigham Young University for all the reasons that make it special."
To say that byu won't be impacted negatively by Utah going to the PAC-12 is not only arrogant, it's plain stupid. If Mendenhall's statement is true, he doesn't need to recruit. Players will just come knock on his door because they want that experience. To think that a local kid won't be swayed in his decision to go to Utah is crazy. It appears that Mendenhall thinks that the only type of kid that wouldn't want the byu experience is one it doesn't want or couldn't hack it. This arrogance drives me nuts!

To hear what Larry Scott is doing in the PAC-10 makes me that much more excited that Utah is going to be a part of that conference. Scott has been on an east coast trip with PAC-10 football coaches the past week. Scott seems like the guy that is an Urban Meyer of conference commissioners. His optimistic outlook and aggressive style is a breath of fresh air and should make PAC-10 schools excited. He seems different than any other commissioner in the country right now.

Utah's level of success in the PAC-12 the first few years it joins the conference will indicate how legitimate the MWC really is. If Utah is in the upper part of the league immediately I think it will indicates that the MWC is what it claims to be. However, if it falls into the middle to bottom of the pack it means that the MWC is a conference that can't compete with the big boys. It seems that the MWC would have a better argument for BCS inclusion if Utah is immediately successful.

Jordan supports my claim about James

I just heard a spot on Yahoo sports that said Michael Jordan indicated he would never sign with other superstars like Lebron James did. "In all honesty, I wanted to compete against those guys," Jordan said. He also indicated he never would have called Bird or Magic and suggested they play together. He said he wanted to beat the elite.

This supports the idea that I made when James signed that he was taking the easy way out. The best players in the world want to beat the best; not join the best! James is afraid he can't get it done by himself!

Jazz Signing Bell is another Great Move.

The Jazz continue to impress me with their offseason moves. Raja Bell coming to Utah is another great move. He gives them veteran leadership, defensive toughness, and someone that is not afraid to knock people around. He has played in Utah before so he knows the system. He can shoot the 3 and will come significantly cheaper than Wesley Mathews. I love Mathews but I love the fact that the Jazz are willing to call Portland's bluff and will likely now let him go. I loved watching Matthews last year and I'll be sad to see him move on but I don't think he'll be as effective outside the Jazz's system and Portland is showing its stupidity by woefully overpaying for him. It appears the Jazz will be getting Bell at roughly $3.3M per year whereas Portland is giving Matthews $32M over 5 years (which is crazy).

I loved the way Bell played for the Jazz in his previous stint. I especially remember the year he performed so well the year after Stockton and Malone left. The Jazz were supposed to win maybe 10 games that year yet ended up winning 41 and just missing the playoffs. Bell was a stud in PHX and was the only guy on that team willing to play defense.

The concern on Bell would be age. Is he too old now? Will he be as affective coming off of wrist surgery? He's 33 and will be 36 when his deal is complete. Nonetheless, the Jazz need a veteran. I think it is worth the risk.

Jazz Move to Acquire Jefferson is Brilliant!

All those Jazz fans that have been criticizing Kevin O'Connor recently need eat their words. The Jazz acquiring Al Jefferson is a brilliant move. It essentially becomes a trade of Carlos Boozer and Koufus for Jefferson.

The Jazz get a younger power forward that has only 3 years left on his contract at a slightly cheaper rate than Boozer received. More importantly, keeping Boozer would have meant signing up to a at least a 5 year deal for an injury prone power forward. Jefferson only has 3 years left on his deal which makes his contract much less risky.

Jefferson gives the Jazz a true post player that is meant to play with his back to the basket. This will be perfect in the Jazz's power forward oriented offense. I expect the Jazz to start running the famous guard screen to get Jefferson position on the block that it ran for so many years with Stockton and Malone. My only concern is Jefferson's ability to run the floor. Jefferson is not known for his ability to get up and down the floor quickly which is one reason Minnesota parted with him for a more agile style. Nonetheless, I think this is a great move for the Jazz. This is a much better situation long term than resigning Boozer to a long-term deal.

LeBron's decision a major disappointment

I heard an analyst say on ESPN this morning that Lebron James should be given credit for going to Miami because it shows he is all "all about winning." What a load of garbage!!! What it tells me about Lebron James is that he realizes he can't win a championship on his own. He needs two other superstars to do it. He's scared he can't live up to his own potential without some help from his friends. He's lost all of my respect and Miami is now officially joins my list of teams to cheer against.
LeBron took the easy way out. He is not all about winning! He's just about doing it the easy way. Staying in Cleveland would have required finishing something he started. It would have required him to be one of the league's best ever to win a championship. It would require him to step up his game and make his teammates better as well. Going to Miami makes it easy. He doesn't have to be at his best to win a championship with Wade and Bosh. He can probably just coast and with help from Bosh and Wade he can hide a bit. It's an easy way to establish a legacy. However, it my eyes I'll just view him as someone that couldn't get it done by himself.

The depressing thing is that it will probably work. Bosh, Wade, and James will probably gone on to win multiple championships together and James will be praised as one of the best ever. It's worked for Phil Jackson. He hasn't had a coaching job in the NBA without the best player in the league on his team and yet he's praised for being one of the greatest coaches in history even though without Jordan, Bryant, Shaq and Gasol he's probably like Doug Collins jumping from job to job around the league.

My only hope is that Miami fails. I might even have to cheer for the Lakers to beat them as hard as that may be.

Boozer to Bulls

I'm proud of the Jazz for their unwillingness to overpay for Carlos Boozer. Although this likely means the franchise will take a step back for the next couple of years; it is the best long-term decision for the franchise and will it much more competitive in the long run. The Jazz are definitely a better team with Boozer right now but that won't be the case a few years from now.

The decision helps the Jazz get out from under the financial mess they're currently in. It didn't make sense for the franchise to be paying the luxury tax for a team that didn't have a chance of winning a championship. It will allow the team to be a player in the free-agent market once Kirlenko's contract comes off the books next year.

Boozer is likely at the peak of his prime right now. He may have 2-3 more years of great basketball in him. However, he'll likely start declining drastically in the last few years of his new deal and will become a financial liability. He's an undersized power forward in the league that relies on his quickness that he likely won't have in a few more years.

Boozer missed close to 30% of his games with the Jazz. Although I'm not one that felt Boozer sat out unnecessarily, it will be interesting to see how many games he plays this next year now that he has a guaranteed five year deal and doesn't have the contract year to use as motivation.

The downside is the Jazz could very well be in a world of hurt in the front court this coming season and will likely lead to the organization taking a major step back this coming year. Millsap will move into Boozer's starting role but who will move into Millsap's role? The thought of Kosta Koufus taking that spot is a bit depressing. Okur will also be out for the first half of the season so the center spot will be more handicapped than it already is. Nonetheless, I'd rather sacrifice this next season than over-pay for Boozer and tie the organization's hands the next 5 years.

Excited about Utah moving to the PAC 10

It has been a couple of weeks since the Utes officially joined the PAC 10 but I'm still excited about it. The thought of having a home schedule full of PAC 10 teams and the opportunity to compete at the highest level makes me as excited as I've ever been about Utah athletics.

The week leading up to the official announcement drove me nuts. I was constantly checking the internet to see what was going on and at one point and I really got to the point where I thought the PAC 12 was absolutely dead and I thought our only chance was to be the last spot in the new PAC 16. That would have been a good thing too but I think the way it worked out gives Utah a much better chance to be competitive right off the bat.

I think the local (Utah) media did an absolutely horrible job of covering this story. The only insight that was given was from another source (mostly from the Texas Rivals home site Orangeblood.com). The local writers that have the job of covering Utah had no idea what was going on which was extremely disappointing. At least the local radio shows (1320 KFAN and 1280 the Zone) covered the story in great detail and gave it the attention it deserved prior to the official announcement. However, the local papers were extremely disappointing in the amount of coverage it gave the story and the insight provided. They were clueless. I had more information from just searching the internet than they reported.

I've been surprised at how bitter the byu fans have been over all of this. I expected them to be disappointed but the level of bitterness has exceeded my expectations. Most seem to have the "it should have been us! We deserved it" mentality. It is almost like a girl pouting because the boy she had a crush on asked someone else to the dance. I truly think the byu ends up in the Big 12 within the next few years but with the way that conference shares its revenue is not as advantageous of a situation as the PAC 10.

The other rationalization I hear from the byu fans is that Utah will be sorry it left because they will just be lucky to win 6 or 7 games in the PAC 10? Aren't those providing this argument insulting their own school and conference? All I hear is how the MWC is on par with the big boys and deserves a automatic berth into the BCS. If you truly believe that the MWC is legit than you should think that one of its top schools will be immediately successful in the PAC 10. In fact, you should hope for it because it would help legitimize the claim.

Thoughts on the upcoming Utah Football Season

I was a bit surprised to hear last week that Jordan Wynn is now the frontrunner for the QB job at the U. However, he must be pretty darn good. My theory is that if the other two QBs were even close to him, one of them would be the starter. It would seem like a waste of a redshirt year otherwise. I could be wrong.

I don't have huge expectations for the year. However, I think this year will tell us a lot about where the program is. If they follow up last year with 10 wins this year we have something special for a very long time. On the other hand, if we fall to a mediocre 7 win season it might simply mean last year was a fluke and we're now back in reality. I think 9 wins this year would be more than acceptable having to go to Oregon, TCU, and Byu. All I ask is that we win the games we're supposed to. The rest is gravy.

Unfortunately, I think the byu will win the conference this year. That may be blasphamy coming from a die-hard Ute but that's the way I see it. They have TCU and Utah coming to their place and they have a Senior QB that is pretty tough. TCU will falter somewhere along the line. They'll be tough but I think they drop that game in Happy Valley. Utah will have to win at Byu and TCU likely to win the conference. That might be too much to ask. If we get one of those I think we're doing well (assuming we don't drop a game we shouldn't).

Jazz may miss Boozer

I don't like the idea of the Jazz losing Boozer. Although I like Millsap as much as the next guy I don't think he can carry the load. Apparantly the Jazz and Boozer are going different directions but I think both sides might regret it.

The Jazz offense is made for Boozer. It revolves around the power forward and plays to Boozer's strengths. I've always felt like Boozer got a bad rap here. What has he done that is really that bad? The knock on him in Utah is that he doesn't play hurt and doesn't play hard enough. If I can get a guy that gets me over 20 points and 10 rebounds a game without playing hard I'll take it. That just means when things matter such as in the playoffs I'm likely to get even more out of him. The best players seem to get their stats with ease (with the perception that they're not trying that hard).

BCS a good thing for Mid-Majors????

Since the BCS was dicussed recently and the Mountain West Conference reluctantly decided to sign the new agreement I've been thinking about the BCS a little bit this week. I can't believe I'm even going to present this argument but can the BCS be a good thing for the smaller conferences compared to the way things used to be? Before you think I'm crazy, just think about it for a minute.

Before the BCS existed each conference had affliations with certain bowl games (still exists in the current system). The Big 12 Champion went to the Orange Bowl, Big 10/Pac-10 Champion in the Rose, SEC to the Sugar. These affliations still exist. However, the difference is this past year my own beloved Utah Utes played in the Sugar Bowl. In 2004, my Utes played in the Fiesta. As I thought about the BCS this week I realized that under the old system the Utes wouldn't have had either of these opportunities. They would have been stuck playing in the Las Vegas Bowl or something similar because the prior system did not allow any outlet whatsoever to play in the big ones.

I'm not saying the BCS is fair or that I'm in favor of it. The point I'm trying to make is that allows more access than existed prior to its existence for teams like Utah and other non-BCS conferences than existed in the old bowl system.

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The Jazz are done!

The Jazz were thumped again in Dallas tonight. There must be some internal issues going on with the team right now because they aren't even close.

As Jazz fans we need to stop kidding ourselves that this team is great because they're not. They have the potential to be there but it will be a long summer and this team's "potential" may not be so optimistic after the Jazz make some tough personnel decisions this summer.

Random Thoughts

I was pleasantly surprised that the Utes went undefeated this past year in football. The team found a way to win each game. The most impressive thing to me is that it never did anything in the big games to beat itself. The team was simply patient, waiting for the other team to make mistakes, and then capitalized. It was very impressive especially since in Utah’s football history the past 10 years it seems to be the opposite on so many occasions. Now we have the golden opportunity of playing Alabama in the bowl game. I have no idea what to expect out of this game but I’m excited about it. Hopefully, Utah will find a way to pull that one out.

As for the basketball team, I’m somewhat optimistic about the progress that has been made but what troubles me the most is that we now lose quite often at home. That is not a good sign at all. That just didn’t happen during the Majerus era and it bothers me to no end that we are no longer dominant in the Huntsman Center. I still like Boylen but I miss the dominance we enjoyed for so long under Majerus.

The BCS is as messed up this year as ever. Texas got the shaft! How could anyone ever give the nod to Oklahoma over Texas when Texas beat Oklahoma? It reminds me of Florida St’s national championship back in the 90s when it and Notre Dame each had one loss but Flordia St.’s loss was to Notre Dame yet Florida St. was still voted National champ. That was before the BCS but it is the same problem. How can anything mean more than head to head competition? I’ll never understand that.

The 2nd BCS problem this year that has been overlooked is that fact that Ohio St. was selected as an at-large team. We depend on this system to determine who the two top teams are to play for the national championship but Ohio St. gets a bid when it is rated below an undefeated Boise St. in the standings. It doesn’t make any sense.

One major improvement to the BCS would simply be to remove the automatic bids. That would have eliminated non-deserving schools this year like Virginia Tech and Cincinnati and given the chance to teams like Boise St. We all a playoff is more likely than that though. Why would the major conferences give away that power? It has a monopoly.

Utes Get the Shaft from Officials in Provo

I can’t believe some people’s thinking after this game. The refs lost it for us but everyone seems to be focusing on Utah not coming through on 4th and 18. Yes, that was a huge opportunity to close the deal. However, that mistake does warrant giving the game away. Byu did not have to make another play following the 4th down conversion. It needed at least 2 more first downs after that conversion to get in decent field goal range for its kicker. It was given 30 yards on an early Christmas gift from the officials. The personal foul was a joke. It was a good football hit. How do you call that after letting Keihl’s hit on Brooks go in the first half?

As bad as that call was, the pass interference was worse. The ball was way under thrown, Byu’s receiver pulls Stanford into him, and Stanford turns to look for the ball. An incredibly horrible call!!!!

This got me thinking of the times in the past when Utah has been screwed by officials. I assume we aren’t the only ones but it sure seems as a Ute that we get the short end of the stick quite a bit. Here are a few on my all time “got screwed” list in no particular order:

1994? at Texas (basketball) – Officials allow Texas a catch and shoot with 1/10 of a second remaining for a game winner in Austin.

2002 at Arizona (football) – Utah’s apparent game winning touchdown catch to Josh Lyman is called out of bounds when replays indicate that Lyman’s foot was in bounds by a good foot and a half.

2000 Byu (Football) – Lavell Edwards’ final game. Luke Staley fumbles on Byu’s game winning drive but officials call him down; replays clearly showed that the ball was loose before Staley was down.

1998 at New Mexico (Basketball) – Utah goes into New Mexico undefeated and leads by 7 points with a little over a minute remaining. Andre Miller is then mugged and tackled twice without a whistle that allows New Mexico the opportunity to hit a game winner at the buzzer.

2007 at Byu (Football) – A personal foul is called on Robert Johnson on an apparent clean hit as the ball passes John Pitta. Without the penalty it would have been 3 and 10 for Byu with it needed at least 15 to 20 yards to get into field goal range. To pour salt on the wound, on the very next play R.J. Stanford is called for pass interference for playing “too good” of defense giving Byu an additional fifteen yards and setting it up for a touchdown. Utah is flagged for 10 times for 95 yards in the game compared to 4 for 43 for Byu.

Did I miss anything?

The Jazz are done but I'll enjoy the rest of the ride anyway

I hope I eat these words but I think the Jazz are done. They have finally met their match. The Spurs are far and away the best team in the league right now and they are playing like it. They are beating the Jazz at their own game. The Jazz have been competitive in spurts but the Spurs are able to turn it on and off as they please and do so as they see fit.

My prediction for the rest of the series is that the Jazz pull off a victory in Game 3 by riding the home court advantage to an emotional win. This will create a buzz to the series again but the Spurs will be back in full force in Game 4 and win a close one. They will then go home and close out the series in 5 games.

The Jazz have already exceeded expectation this year. Any win from this point forward is a bonus. It took Stockton and Malone about 7 years of playing together to get to the Western Conference Finals and it took them another five following that appearance to get to the Finals. What this young Jazz team has done already this year is remarkable. One of the fun things about this run is that I did not believe that the Jazz were capable of making it this far; especially the way they played at the end of the season. This is a lot more fun than expecting the team to get to this far and have them fall short which is what happened many times during the Stockton-Malone era in the early and mid 90s.

As Jazz fans I think it is important to enjoy this ride while it lasts. Rather than getting frustrated by the play and the inevitable result of this series, just enjoy the experience because it does not happen too often. As a Jazz fan I am going to take it "one game at a time." Any win from this point forward is simply a bonus. After they get one I'll hope for another but I am not looking beyond that first one. I'm simply going to enjoy the ride. Go Jazz!!!

Jazz Playoff Run is Shocking!

Shocking is the only word to describe my thoughts on the Jazz making it the Western Conference Finals. Who would have predicted this at the beginning of the season? The Jazz are going to be in the Finals of the toughest conference in the NBA. You could not have asked more of this team. It has already exceeded expectations and then some. Winning a game 7 on the road and finishing off Golden St. like veterans is something that is only done by the most experienced teams.

The amazing thing is it now has a realistic chance of making it to the Finals again. The Jazz split the season series with the Spurs and beat the Suns three out of four times. I do not actually believe the Jazz will make the Finals but I never thought it would make it this far. That makes it all the more exciting. Jerry Sloan mentioned in the post-game press conference when asked how this trip to the Western Finals compares to the others that this one was “not expected” of his team. His club was not supposed to get this far. Anything past the first round is just a bonus. When Stockton and Malone ran the show anything less than the finals was considered somewhat of a disappointment.

I hope the Jazz realize that it has a golden opportunity now to do something special. It jumped at the opportunity when Dallas lost to Golden St. and will now have multiple days of rest as the Spurs and Suns battle things out in an intense series. That series will most likely go the full 7 games which will give the Jazz a good rest before the Western Finals begin. This opportunity does not come easily; just ask Stockton and Malone. It took them years before they reached the conference finals.

The Jazz match up better against the Suns. I think the Suns run and gun style is vulnerable against a team like the Jazz. The Warriors just discovered that. The Spurs would wear the Jazz down by beating them at their own game. The Spurs just have too much experience. It is going to be fun regardless. Go Jazz!

Golden Opportunity for the Jazz

Golden St. upsetting Dallas in the first round of the playoffs provides a golden opportunity for the Utah Jazz. If the Jazz can knock off Houston in game 7 it will have a realistic chance of making the Western Conference finals. Who ever would have predicted that the Jazz would have the opportunity to have home court advantage in the 2nd round of the playoffs?

The hardest part and most important part of it all is winning game 7 in Houston. This will not be an easy task. The Jazz have seemed afraid too win in the previous three games in Houston. They have put themselves in a position to win each game yet to let it fall away in the later part of the game. Nonetheless, this opportunity now is too much to let go by. A win in Houston would give the Jazz home court advantage in the 2nd round, against a #8 seed that acted like it reached its lone goal by getting out of the first round after knocking off Dallas.

This makes game 7 in Houston the most important game for the Jazz since they were playing against Jordan’s Bulls in the 98 Finals. Let’s just hope the take advantage of the opportunity.

It's about Time

When I read that the NCAA was finally moving the men’s 3-point shot back a foot, the first thought that came to my mind was, “It’s about time.”

The 3-point shot should have been moved back long ago. This will be a great change for college basketball for a variety of reasons.

The mid-range jump shot

The current line at 19 feet, 9 inches has destroyed the importance of the mid-range jump shot. The line is close enough that it diminishes the mid-range game. Teams shoot a 3 or they get a lay up. There is very little else in the game. Moving the 3-point line back will decrease this disparity and will hopefully decrease the amount of 3-point shots attempted in a game.

Too many players can shoot the 3 at the current distance

If you go to your local gym and play in a pick-up game I guarantee there will at least one or two guys there that love to shoot the 3-ball but do nothing else. These players do not even step inside the 3-point line. They love the fact that they can shoot it. You make them take one dribble and they are no longer a threat. These same guys cannot hit a 17 footer to save their lives.

Now I realize that the change will not affect these guys. However, it will have the same effect on the college game. There are just too many guys that are considered 3-point shooters in college. Everyone shoots it. Hopefully this change will separate the pretenders from the pure shooters in college basketball.

The change will spread the floor

The college game has become cramped. The players have gotten bigger through the years but the zone of the floor that is used in the half-court has not. The distance change will create better spacing and allow athleticism to shine. It will bring back some finesse to the game and reduce some of the physicality that has increased in the game.


If I could have changed one thing about college basketball this would be it. I only wish the change would occur next season instead of waiting until 2008. It’s a shame we’ll still have to wait yet another year for a change that should have occurred over a decade ago.

MWC Continues to Make Mistakes

The Mountain West Conference continues to make mistakes. Its latest mistake in my view is not its latest television deal that has excluded many of its fans from having access to games (including me). I think that will work itself out in due time. At least I hope so. I definitely do not want to go through another football season trying to figure out ways to see road games on television.

Nonetheless, I think a huge mistake that the MWC is making right now is not expanding to 10 teams. There is a great football program in Boise St. that would jump at the chance to become part of the MWC. The MWC made the mistake of not inviting Boise St. when it brought in TCU a couple of years ago. If it had done so, it very well may have reaped the benefit of having another MWC school crash the BCS party and solidify its claim to a BCS automatic bid.

There is no reason Boise St. should not be invited in the conference. They would immediately join the powers at the top of the conference. They have proved this numerous times in its pounding of Utah and Byu in recent years. Right now the MWC conference has three legitimate football schools in the conference; Utah, Byu, and TCU. That's it. Let's face the fact that Wyoming, Colorado St., Air Force, San Diego St., New Mexico, and UNLV at this point are not capable of having sustained success from one season to the next. They are holding the top 3 down. Therefore, the only way to boost the conference is by adding another school that has earned national respect and would automatically boost the power of the conference.

I realize that Boise St. does not have a legitimate basketball program at this point. However, either does TCU. Football is where it counts these days! Everyone already has an equal chance to succeed in basketball. It is football where you need to build your resume as a conference.
Finally, Boise St. is passionate about football! Its fans are obnoxious, arrogant, and difficult to have a conversation with. They believe Boise St. could be competitive in the SEC. They are similar to Byu fans in that they overestimate their program's stature. Nonetheless, they fill their stadium every week and they travel well. I guarantee that if you took in a game at every MWC school this football season the only stadiums that would be close to full would be Utah, Byu and possibly TCU.

I am shocked that the MWC has not jumped at the chance to add Boise St. to the conference. I do not know what it is waiting for. I do not care if Boise St. is not in a huge television market. It has national recognition as a football program now. That is more important that the market size. At this point market size is irrelevant. MWC games are not broadcast in their schools' own boundaries let alone nationwide. MWC Presidents should invite Boise St. before it is too late. There is no reason to wait.