Normally I’d rank Utah vs. Utah Valley in baseball pretty far down my list of must-see games.
Actually, it was nice column material, but since I was on vacation, I missed it. Nevertheless, it was 
a good story. UVU was on a 32-game win streak, tied for the second-longest in college baseball history. The other two teams to win 32 in a row were Fresno State and Arizona State.
If you know anything about college baseball, you know those two schools are among the heavy hitters of the sport. Continue reading
The curious case of Carlos Boozer just keeps going.
He is soft spoken and non-confrontational, but at the same time condescending and glib. He produces numbers but not championships.
After last week’s 1-11 shooting performance in Game 6 of the playoffs – which eliminated the Chicago Bulls – Boozer was criticized for declaring, “We had the best record again in basketball, won our division again, had the top seed again, that’s all that matters, yo.”
Meanwhile, a Chicago Sun-Times blog quoted Jazz coach Ty Corbin praising Boozer’s time in Utah.
“I worked with him for all the time he was in Utah, and some of the stuff that I heard about him after being here, I didn’t understand,” Corbin said. “The guy came in to work every day. He was great with our group of guys. He came in early before games to get himself ready to play. If his shot wasn’t going in, he stayed after to work. He would come in and work extra. Great teammate. Versatile guy.”
Boozer played in all 66 regular season games this year, one of only three Bulls to do so. That was a wide turnaround from the Boozer who missed dozens of games with the Jazz, due to injuries.
I’ve always felt Boozer was a self-oriented player, who could put up impressive numbers. But not a guy to be counted on when things got really tough. (OK, there was that one playoff year with the Jazz…) Yet respected people like Corbin say it’s a bad rap. Let us know where you fall on the Boozer meter.
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Top 20 NBA free agents the Utah Jazz should target in the 2012 offseason
I guess if Raja Bell and Blue Edwards could come home, so could Andrei Kirilenko.
But I doubt it.
The former Jazz forward was quoted this week by Reuters, saying that returning to Utah is an option. His first option among NBA teams.
Deseret News photo
This season he played in Russia for CSKA.
“I have a huge history with the Utah Jazz and they are a priority for me among the 30 teams competing in the NBA, while CSKA are just as close to my heart in Europe and when the Final Four is over I will weigh my options and make a decision,” he said. Continue reading
Normally, exit day at EnergySolutions arena is a pretty boring affair. The Jazz players meet with Kevin O’Connor and Ty Corbin and head out into the sunshine.
Most of the time nobody has anything terribly interesting to say — at least since Karl Malone left the building. Occasionally Deron Williams would made a negative remark. Continue reading
Raja Bell – in case you haven’t been getting the signals since mid-season – is not happy. He feels he’s been disrespected by coach Ty Cobrin.
The Jazz guard lobbed a verbal grenade in his coach’s direction on Tuesday, saying the way Corbin handled his situation this year was wrong.
Deseret News photo
“I just thought that the way I was handled by Ty was unprofessional,” Bell said.
That remark made national news. But it really wasn’t so shocking here in Utah. Anyone who has watched Bell understands him. He’s fiery, competitive and maybe a little bit out of touch, considering his age. But I understand that. Everyone who doesn’t play feels he is being misused.
Bell was an undrafted player from Florida International. He fashioned a respectable career based on fierceness and hard work.
Now he feels powerless to earn his minutes.
Because Corbin and Bell are two nice people off the court, it’s a little surprising this Continue reading
May isn’t my favorite time of year.
That’s because the Jazz are usually in the playoffs. And it’s my anniversary. And it’s Mother’s Day.
None of those should cause consternation, but they do. Almost every May, my wife says: “You’re not going to be gone to a game on our anniversary, are you?” Or she’ll say the same regarding Mother’s Day.
And almost every May I say, “I might be.”
If I’m traveling on such days, I tend to feel sorry for myself and for my wife. You know, apart on a special day that should be for us. Continue reading
A little over a year ago, I walked into a hotel in Tucson at the same time as then-WAC Commisioner Karl Benson.
Karl Benson/Deseret News photo
I’ve known him since the 1990s, when he took over the conference. I always considered him a forthright, astute guy. The kind of guy, in fact, who could save a conference. And he nearly did.
I asked him about the condition of the WAC, and his candid response was that there were just not enough Division I football teams in the West. Benson is an upbeat guy, but he seemed pretty discouraged. He had been trying to recover from the news that Fresno State, Nevada and Boise State were leaving the WAC. In the months ahead, others would follow such as Hawaii, Texas State, Texas-Arlington, Louisiana Tech,Texas-San Antonio, San Jose State and even Utah State. Continue reading
Maybe it’s the Code of the Coaches.
In any event, the Spurs and Jazz are in a mutual admiration society. A few weeks ago, Spur coach Gregg Popovich said (for the millionth time) the Jazz play hard every single game and make it a war. He was a big admirer of former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.
Tom Smart, Deseret News
Now Popovich is the NBA’s Coach of the Year for the second time and the Jazz are taking note. (Jazz coach Ty Corbin tied for sixth in voting.)
“I was hoping Coach Corbin would get more credit for Coach of the Year, I really did,” said Jazz assistant coach Scott Layden. “I think he deserved that, but I was happy for Coach Popovich, because he is a coaches’ coach. A Continue reading
Ah, the life of an NBA player. Wealth, travel, fame.
Then there’s the part that’s a lot like everyone else’s life.
I figured that out on Sunday when I asked the Jazz’s Raja Bell how his new son was doing. Bell said fine. Then I inquired whether he and his wife were getting any sleep. His
ibabuzz.com
response: Nothing after 6:30 or 7 a.m.
Yup. Even rich people have to get up to feed the kids, get them to school, etc.
Seeing how I have my own kids, all older than Bell’s, I offered him some advice, free of charge: Get used to it.
When they’re six months old, you’re getting up with them in the night. When they’re eight years old, you’re getting them ready for school and leaving early for carpool. When they’re 15, you’re taking them to cheer or choir practice or a football weight lifting session.
I told him to plan on catching up on his sleep in 18 years or so.
Ask any player who misses a free throw at the end of the game about it, and he’ll tell you he didn’t seize up. But ask players or coaches before a game if they get the nerves, and they’ll usually admit it.
Jazz forward Josh Howard said before Sunday’s game that he does get butterflies.
“Yes,” he said, “everybody does. They just don’t stay as long (for veterans).”
Howard, who missed 18 games with a knee injury this year, said he didn’t hear he was going to be starting until he got on the team bus Sunday morning.
“I was surprised and at the same time it was kind of expected. I guess they wanted to lean on me a little bit.”
Jazz coach Ty Corbin, too, said he felt some nerves.
“When it gets close to game time, it gains a little more significance. I’m excited but I’m a little nervous at the same time,” he said.
Small wonder. Here it is a few hours later and Howard went 0-4 from the floor and Corbin is 0-1 as a playoff coach.