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.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, August 17, 2009
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).
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).
Friday, July 17, 2009
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).
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).
Saturday, July 11, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Golf Guru GPS Coupon
Use the following coupon code for 5% off a Golf Guru GPS device at gpsgolfguru.com : 1000117
You can also use the following link:
http://www.gpsgolfguru.com/1000117.html
I played golf with my brother early this spring and he has a SkyCaddie which convinced me that I needed one after seeing his on the course. However, the SkyCaddie has membership fees to use the system each year which I didn't like at all. I didn't want to spend $200 only to have to spend $50 each year to use the thing. I did some research and found the
Golf Guru. This system has everything that SkyCaddie has including a version of the Itelligreen technology called Smart Green. It does not have annual subscription/membership fees! The only thing I didn't like about it at first is that the controls are on the top of the device rather than the bottom. However, after I used it a bit it no longer bothered me. The battery life on the unit (at least the black & white version that I have) is incredible. One charge lasted me 3 full rounds with life to spare. Now that I've used the Golf Guru for over a month I don't know how I went without it. It holds 20 courses which is 10 more than the SkyCaddie.
You can also use the following link:
http://www.gpsgolfguru.com/1000117.html
I played golf with my brother early this spring and he has a SkyCaddie which convinced me that I needed one after seeing his on the course. However, the SkyCaddie has membership fees to use the system each year which I didn't like at all. I didn't want to spend $200 only to have to spend $50 each year to use the thing. I did some research and found the
Golf Guru. This system has everything that SkyCaddie has including a version of the Itelligreen technology called Smart Green. It does not have annual subscription/membership fees! The only thing I didn't like about it at first is that the controls are on the top of the device rather than the bottom. However, after I used it a bit it no longer bothered me. The battery life on the unit (at least the black & white version that I have) is incredible. One charge lasted me 3 full rounds with life to spare. Now that I've used the Golf Guru for over a month I don't know how I went without it. It holds 20 courses which is 10 more than the SkyCaddie.
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