Talkin' Sports

A Letter to Kevin O'Connor

2011-02-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

Dear Kevin,

I just want to say thanks.

You have been the GM of the Jazz for about a decade man! You took over a top tear NBA franchise who was competing for titles and you have shaped and molded them in to a consistent competitor for 8th place. So thanks for that!

If there is one really good thing you have done since you've been our GM, it was drafting Deron Williams. Man he's good. He was a good move. He has a heck of a crossover, a mean jump shot, amazing court vision, and really knows how to get to the rim. He is a walking Double-Double and more importantly the face of the franchise. A guy you can really build a team around. Oh wait...what is that I just heard? You just traded him?!?!?!?!???! Oh you got Devin Harris and Derrick Favors and a couple draft picks (you have a great track record with those).

Maybe you should consider a career change...you might have a future as a BUTCHER!

Before today I was willing to tolerate some of your stupid moves. But this month you really screwed the pooch! First off you let Jerry Sloan resign because he and Deron William couldn't get along. Okay, I could actually live with that, we all knew Jerry was going to retire soon. But then you turn around and trade D-Will? So lets add up the damage...We lose a Hall of Fame Head Coach and a 2 time All-Star Point Guard and we got one okay player, one guy that might be good and 2 draft picks? Some how that doesn't add up.

So like I said Kevin, I want to thank you....FOR NOTHING

Sincerely,

A lifelong Jazz fan

The Definition of JIMMER

2011-02-12T14:16:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of the college basketball season Jimmer was just a name. After the start of conference play it became a household name. But when he dropped 43 points on SDSU, Jimmer became WORD. No longer is it just the name of the best player in the NCAA, Jimmer is officially part of the English language.

Because of this new addition to the dictionary its time that everybody take Jimmer 101. Lets begin!

First off it needs a definition.

Jimmer (Jim-er)- adjective; A word denoting greatness. May be use interchangeably with Awesome, Great, Wonderful, and Good.

Now that we have a foundation, lets explore the plethora of ways Jimmer can be used.

If two friends met on the street they might say something like this to each other:

Tom: "Hello Larry! How are you today?"

Larry: "Jimmer! Thank you for asking."

Perhaps when exiting a movie theator you would hear somebody say this:

"WOW! That was the Jimmerest movie I've seen in ages!"

or:

Person #1: "I really didn't see that twist coming at the end, it took me completly off guard."

Person #2: "Yeah, the director did a really Jimmer job of hiding it from the audience."

A father and son might say to each other:

Father: "You did so Jimmer on that test! Lets go get some ice cream to celebrate."

Son: "Yippee! You are the most Jimmerful Dad alive!"

As you can see there are a plethora of ways to use Jimmer. I hope you have found this lesson useful as you embark on your path to Jimmerdom.

Thank you! And have a JIMMER day!

Jerry

2011-02-11T09:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was one of those days where reality seemed to be impossible. A day that I always knew would come, but hoped never would. As days like that always seem to happen, It completely blindsided me.

2-10-2011: The day Jerry Sloan stepped down as the head coach of the Utah Jazz. To me it just seems wrong! It wasn't supposed to happen this way, not with his last game being a loss, not in the middle of the season, not amid controversy. I know its crazy to say this but I feel like one of the last remaining things from my childhood just died! Jerry has been the coach of the Jazz for almost as long as I have been alive. It's hard for me to imagine the Jazz bench without him. But whether or not I can do that, and whether anybody likes it or not, the Jazz bench will just look wrong tonight when we play the Suns.

Jerry's longtime faithful assistant Phil Johnson will also be gone. A man who had countless opportunities to leave Jerry's side, but never did.

No matter what anybody says or thinks Jerry and Phil are Jazz Icons. They have done more for Jazz than anybody will probably ever know.

As the sun sets on the Sloan era, it rises on the Corbin era. Maybe its poetic justice that we are playing the Suns tonight, lets hope that the sun shines on the Jazz tonight and for a long time to come!

Jerry I'll Miss ya!

Back on the Wagon

2011-01-13T13:18:00.000-08:00

I know nobody reads my blog anymore because I never post. But I'm back on the wagon.

Here is my opinion on what has happened in the world of sports since the last time I posted. Let us begin.

Kobe and the Lakers win the title...again

As much as I HATE the Lakers I have to respect them. I hope that kobe never gets to hold another trophy though.

Al Jefferson comes to Utah

Now here is some news worth blogging about! The Jazz got a bigger better big man. This of course came after the long anticipated departure of Carlos Boozer. I'd say the Jazz took a big step forward by bringing Big Al and saying happy trails to C-Booz.

2010 World Cup in South Africa

Okay, so most of you who know me have heard me call Soccer a "girl sport" but let me go on the record here and now. The 2010 world cup was so awesome that I may have had a change in opinion. The USA had a good run and I must admit that when Donovan scored the game winning goal vs. Algeria I jumped off the couch and ripped my shirt of in celebration. Even after the USA got eliminated I had a great time cheering for Germany. The Spanish team took the cup so...Ir a Espana!

BYU and Utah Leave the MWC

What it all boils down to are the following two items

1. BYU was not getting the exposure or money they knew they could get elsewhere and when the MWC refused to listen to them when they asked for some liberties, BYU said it's final good byes to Craig Thompson and the rest of the MWC.

2. Utah got offered a spot in a AQ conference. Making the move means more money more exposure and a better chance at national championships. It only made sense for the yewts to jump ship.

BYU's Roller coaster Season

It all started with a 2 QB system and win vs. Washington, but after that the Cougs went in to a bit of a tail spin losing 5 of the next 6 games. After that things got better in a hurry. Riley Nelson got injured and true freshman Jake Heaps stepped his game up leading BYU to over coming a bad start to finish the season with a winning record after a bowl victory over UTEP. As soon as the season was over BYU "let some coaches go" and reloaded with a young up and coming set of coordinators.

17-16

I don't really want to write about this. But I have to. All I can say is this...U got lucky! (yep...that was a pun)

BCS=BS

Auburn beat Oregon to win the so called "BCS National Championship". The BCS is BS and I will never consider the BCS champion and the National Champion. Down with the BCS!!

Thats about It. I hope it wasn't too boring. I'll be posting again soon! Until next time...stay safe knuckleheads!

Dunk Face

2010-05-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

Anybody who knows me knows...I am a devout ESPN SportsCenter watcher. SC is famous for making up awesome sports words...like "trifecta" "Redunkulus" and my personal favorite "Dunk-Face!".

Here is the Definition

Dunk-Face: A Phenomenon which occurs when a Dunker is Dunking upon a Dunkee. Usually involving a grimace, scowl, snarly look, and often accompanied by a loud shout.

Here are some awesome DUNK-FACES:

Dwight Howard

Deron Williams

Kevin Garnett

Amare Stoudamire

Lebron James

Josh Smith

Whose got the best Dunk-Face? Please vote on my pole.

FEAR the BEARD!!!

2010-02-04T08:46:00.000-08:00

The Jazz are hot right now! 7 wins in-a-row and counting! Anybody who doesn't understand why the Jazz have gotten so hot need only look at the picture below...

It's the beard! D-Will started growing a beard and stated that he would not shave it till the his team won 5 games in a row. Since then, they haven't lost. All signs point to the beard staying for the foreseeable future. All hail the BEARD!

One less injustice in the world!

2010-01-29T15:17:00.001-08:00

Just in case any of you out there have been living in an alternate universe where every thing is perfect, there are a lot of things in this world that just don't seem quite fair. Things like a devastating earthquake basically leveling Haiti, which is already the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Or the fact that right now people with perfect credit can't get approved for a loan from many major banks, while the CEO's of those banks give them selves 7 digit bonus'. NBA refs gambling on games they are assigned to call and so on and so forth.

But last night one of the greatest injustices the world has ever seen was finally put to an end. Deron Williams was named to an all-star team roster for the first time in his 5 year career. FINALLY JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED!

Here's to many more for #8!

BACK TO BLOGGING!

2010-01-27T15:28:00.000-08:00

The last time I wrote a blog was the day before the BYU Utah game. Since then life has been a whirl wind! First I went to Vegas for the weekend. Then I found out I'm going to be a dad. After that came finals week followed right up with a HEAVY dose of Christmas. As soon as Christmas was over it was time to start getting ready for this semester at school. Add in a surprise trip to a Denver Broncos game and top it off with my beloved wife and I taking a much needed Vacation to get away from EVERYTHING! In the midst of all of that you might imagine that I have had very little time to even think about (let alone blog about) sports! So let me catch up

First things first! (pause while I clear my throat...)IN YOUR FACE UTAH!!!!! 26-23!!! I know it was a pretty ugly game! Utah played like Crap! BYU played like Crap! The refs officiated like Crap! Basically it all boils down to this...for the 3rd time in 4 years Utah had a chance to win the but failed when it mattered most. After the first time it happened you could call it luck. After the second time you could call it a coincidence. After three times, its a trend.

I know I'm not the only member of COUGAR NATION who is pretty much on cloud 9 about the fact that there is going to be a COUGAR playing in the super bowl. Check that...there is a COUGAR that is one of the main reasons his team is playing in the super bowl. Not only did Austin Collie have a great season with the colts (good enough to earn him NFL all-rookie team honors) but he also had the best game of his season in the most important game of the year to date for his team, the AFC Championship game. 7 Receptions 123 Yard and one HUGE TD! Nobody can say the he wasn't a difference maker in that game! My prediction...next time Austin collie rolls in to Provo, he'll be sporting a phat SUPER BOWL ring baby! GO COLTS!

Until recently I have been pretty ticked off at the Jazz...those of you who know me well know that I have a "love-hate" relationship with them (i.e. for every time I have exclaimed "GO JAZZ" I have also exclaimed "STUPID JAZZ"). Deep Down I am a devoted loyal Jazz fan, they just tick me off once in a while. The beginning of the season saw me say "STUPID JAZZ" a lot! But recently they seem to have turned things around a bit. Two weeks ago they were in 11th place and not even in the playoff picture. Now they are in 6th place and climbing! This has made me quite happy! This past few weeks has had a lot less "STUPID JAZZ"'s and a lot more "GO JAZZ"'s (ask Sarah...she'll tell you all about it! D-Will has gotta be a shoe in for all star this year. Go Jazz!

Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with it a lot better than before. Until Next time. Bon Voyage!

Show Down in P-Town!

2009-11-27T16:09:00.000-08:00

Well it's official! The "Holy War" is tomorrow! It's what I've been waiting for all season, BYU and Utah head to head on the gridiron. In recent years it has been one of the closest mach-ups in the nation as 13 of the last 16 games have been decided by 7 points or less.

BYU brings a high powered offense in to the game complimented by a stout rush defense that has reeked havoc in teams backfields all year. Utah brings a balanced run and gun attack and a defense that has plenty of speed to keep up with the Cougars.

Some think it's going to be a high scoring shoot out, others think it will be a battle of defenses. But everyone knows that the truth is when the Cougars and Utes square off the only thing for certain is that nothing is certain.

BYU is my team so you know who I'll be rooting for, But either way I think its going to be another great one that won't be decided till the bitter end.

Here's to another great BYU Utah game!

RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH! RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH! RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH! GOOOOOO COUGARS!!!!

How I KNOW I'm a BYU fan...

2009-11-16T11:02:00.000-08:00

If there was any doubt in anybodies mind as to weather or not I truly am a BYU fan it was all put to rest through a quite interesting experience I had on Saturday.

First you need to understand this. Sarah (my wife) and I love to play tricks on each other. One of our favorite tricks to play on each other is to steal the other ones cell phone and send a text to somebody that is either inappropriate or something that the owner of the phone would never say.

With that in mind...On Saturday evening we were upstairs watching TV when Sarah asked me to go get her a glass of ice water. While I was gone, unbeknown to me Sarah got her hands on my cell phone and texted something to my brother (a huge Utah fan)that I would never say. Shortly after I got back I received a text from my brother which read "did you really just say that? did your fingers actually type those words?". Immediately I looked at Sarah and said "what did you text to him?" she acted like she didn't know what I as talking about so I went to my sent message box and opened the most recent message sent to Steve...it read "GO UTAH". This is where it gets interesting. As soon as I read those words I got EXTREMELY nauseous ran to the bathroom and PUKED my guts out! NO JOKE! I felt fine before that...and I felt fine after. I have thought long and hard about why this would happen. I have no explanation other than this...I AM A TRUE BYU FAN!

GO COUGARS!

Expectations

2009-10-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, but its already time for the NBA basketball season to start! It was an interesting off season. Lots of teams made big moves, lots of teams decided to stand pat. Here is my break down of what I think will happen Division by Division this season:

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division
Lots of big changes over the summer on the East Coast, but in the long run it probably won't change a whole lot. Boston still looks really good, if K.G. and the rest of the team can stay healthy they should have no problems bringing the Division crown back to Bean Town.

1. Celtics
2. 76ers
3. Raptors
4. Knicks
5. Nets

Central Division
If the Central has one thing its STARS to the ump-teenth power. With the likes of LeBron, Derick Rose, Micheal Redd, and Sheed being joined by Shaq there will be no shortage of great play. The Cavs look good but I wouldn't be too surprised if the Bulls or Pistons made a serious push for 1st place.

1. Cavs
2. Bulls
3. Pistons
4. Bucks
5. Pacers

Southeast Division
If there is a division where ANYTHING can happen, this is it. Orlando will be a contender for the Title again, and D-Wade is hungry for another ring. If the Wizards and Hawks can get their acts together they will be hard to beat. The only easy pick in the Southeast is last place.

1. Magic
2. Heat
3. Hawks
4. Wizards
5. Bobcats

Western Conference

Pacific Division
This is an interesting division. The Lakers are without question the best team, and unless Armageddon occurs they will win the division with no problem. It gets chippy after that. The Suns are good but ageing, the Warriors are fast but lack disipline, The Clippers are Talented but can never put it together, and the Kings can hits 3's all day but have no inside game. Spots 2-5 are up for grabs on the left coast.

1. Lakers
2. Suns
3. Warrior
4. Clippers
5. Kings

Southwest Division
There is no question that its going to be a competitive grind it out type of season for the Southwest. When it comes down to competitive grind it out basketball nobody does it better than the San Antonio Spurs. It will be a close race but in the end Timmy and the boys will edge out the Hornets and Mavs for the #1 spot. Sorry Houston, with Yao out and Artest in Purple and Gold, it might just be best to tank it and see if you can get a good lottery pick

1. Spurs
2. Hornets
3. Mavs
4. Grizzlies
5. Rockets

Northwest Division
Probalby the best division in the NBA this season. I expect it to come right down to the last game for the division championship to be decided. If the Nuggets can gel like they did last year they could win it. The Blazers have a strong backcourt and if Oden comes up big...look out! But if the Jazz avoid injurys and locker room drama, they will be haging another division championship banner in the ESA!

1. Jazz
2. Blazers
3. Nuggets
4. T-Wolves
5. Thunder

Mascots

2009-10-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

The other day I was thinking about all these College's and their mascots...and I realized that there are 3 types. There are normal mascots, there are bad mascots, and mascots that make NO SENSE WHATSOEVER!!!!!!!!! Here are some of my favorites:

Virgina Tech Hokies: If you look up the word Hokie in the dictionary wanna know what you'll find? NOTHING!!! It isn't even a word! Va Tech gets and E for E-magination on that one!

TCU Horned Frogs: Yeah they are a real thing that lives in Texas. But there are a lot of other more scary things to choose from like...racoons...cottontail rabbits...and......hillbillies!

St. Louis Billikins: Nobody knows what a Billikin is...but it looks like a cross between the devil, a mouse, and the abominable snowman.

Southern Illinois Salukis The Saluki is actually a great dog to have around...when your hunting mice...probably something that only would happen in southern Illinois.

UAB Blazers: At this point, they might as well just change it to the roaches...or the bong water...

California-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs: this one just makes you ask....why?....is creativity really that important?

Cenetary Gentlemen: Gotta give them credit though...they are very Polite!

Grays Harbor Chokers: I bet these guys hate being in a close game!

Purdue Boilermakers: At least they aren't in denial about why their students go to school there....now pass me another boilermaker!

Rhode Island School of Design Nads: yep...my mind is at the level of a 3rd grader right now.

Syracuse Orange: Why would you name your team after a fruit?

Texas A&M-Galveston Sea Aggies: First of all...whats an Aggie? Second of all...What in the world he doing in the sea?

Ohio State Buckeyes: Why would you name yourselves after a nut? At least its not pecans or walnuts thought.

Indiana Hoosiers: I've always wanted to say this.................HOOOOOOOSIER DADDY?

If you can think of any more to ad to the list Feel free!

It's been a while!

2009-10-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry Folks for not posting in a while! Sometimes life comes at ya fast and things like blogging get pushed to the side a little bit. I'll try to keep things up to date from now on.

Here are the up-dates I gotta blog on

Broncos 5-0- Totally unbelievable! I thought they would go down for sure to the Pats, gotta give the mile high boys props for pulling it out in OT! And you gotta love the Oompa Loompa socks!

Cougars Win Big- All I can say on this one is its about time we blew out a team we were supposed to blow out! Harvey looked mean out there, and Max finally had a 0 Int game (his first in 8 games).

Utes Pull it off...again- Gotta give the boys on the hill koodos for coming back and winning against CSU. I'm sure all you U fans out there are singing praises to Johnson and his 3 picks that saved the game.

Ready for basketball- The Jazz had a two game trip to Europe, they went 1-1. I'm actually kind of excited to have Boozer back cause ya know he is going to play his butt off so he can get his big contract next year. Who knows...maybe he'll make an effort on defense this year.

Peace Out!

4-0...and Who-da known?

2009-10-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the NFL season I was looking a Denver's schedule and asking myself questions like "are they even going to win" and "I wonder if we'll get the #1 pick in the draft." When the Broncos beat the Bengals with that miracle catch in week one I said to myself, "If that's the only win this year, I'll be happy." When we beat the Browns into the ground in week 2 I thought to myself, "wow! 2-0, that's more wins than I was expecting all year." When we pounded the Raiders I was like "Ok, this must be where the glory ride ends." Leading up to Sunday I thought there was no way we would beat the Cowboys... boy, was I wrong. It took a great effort, but they pulled it off! Now I'm saying things to myself like "are the Broncos legit this year" and "we probably only have to win 4 more games to win the division and make the playoffs." I don't know what's going to happen the rest of the season. All I have to say is...HOW 'BOUT THEM BRONCOS?!

Top Play

2009-10-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm just a homer, but there is no way any play could have been better than Brandon Marshall's game winner vs. Dallas. Look at the catch and the moves he puts on! This guy has IT!

Rivalry?

2009-10-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

In the state of Utah few sporting events draw more press attention than this one. The headlines are dominated and tensions run high as fans and students from both sides scramble to buy tickets. Yes indeed, this rivalry demands the undivided attention of the entire state. This rivalry is....................

BYU vs. Utah State?

To be honest, I'm not even sure if this can be called a rivalry any more. Before I go any further let me say this. This is not a diss on USU. To tell ya the truth, if I have a second favorite team in the state its USU. I wish them well in every game....except one.

The cold hard fact is this, in the last 28 games the Y has won 25 of them.

Can you really call that a rivalry? Utah State hasn't beat BYU since 1993. BYU's average margin of victory has been more than 3 TDs. In the last three meetings BYU has outscored USU 107-48 (34 of USU's points came in one game).

If you ask the average USU student/fan who their #1 rival is the answer will be BYU every time. Ask a BYU student/fan who their top 4 rivals are and you won't here USU's name. Ask a BYU student/fan who their second favorite team is they will probably say...USU. That's gotta suck for USU's fan base to know that the team they hate the most actually kind of likes them.

I thought it was pretty sad last year when the fans in Romney stadium in logan started chanting "over rated" because BYU was only winning by 20.

They always say that anything can happen in a rivalry. So I guess that means that USU could score its first points in Provo since 2001. Maybe BYU will win by less than 20 points for the first time in 8 years. And maybe...just maybe...USU will win a game against an instate opponent. After all this is a rivalry....right?

Matt's TD

2009-09-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

I was just on Youtube to check out the top plays from this past weekend. There were some pretty amazing plays. But none more amazing than this one! This is my TOP PLAY!

At first glance you might think this is nothing special - that's what I thought - until I did some research. The ball carrier is Matt Ziesel, a junior at St. Joseph's Benton High School in Missouri, who has down syndrome. His team was down 46-0 when his coach asked the opposing coach to let Matt score, not only did the opposing coach say yes, but his defensive players did everything they could to make it feel as real as possible for Matt! That's what I call sportsmanship, and that's why this is my TOP PLAY!

Smoked!

2009-09-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekends college football schedule for The Y, the U, and Utah State had everybody in the state excited. Each member of Utah's big 3 was taking on a high profile BCS conference team, and a lot of people thought there was a legit chance that our state could put even more pressure on the BCS to change!
At least for now - all of that will have to wait. All the big 3 served up were 3 BIG disappointments, as Utah couldn't keep up with Oregon down the stretch, Utah State came up just short in what could have been a huge upset against Texas A&M, and BYU decided not to show up against FSU. For Utah it was the end of the nations longest winning streak. For BYU it marked the first home loss in 3 years. And for USU.....it was the same old same old.

The part that bugs me the most is this...NOW NONE OF THE TEAMS FROM UTAH HAVE A SHOT AT THE BCS, While the teams that beat us, who all have 2-1 records still have a legit shot at not only playing in a BCS game, but also the national championship. Oklahoma even has a better shot at that than anybody from Utah. It just goes to show how bad of a system the BCS is.

But hey, lets look on the bright side....Vegas is beautiful in December. Just ask Bronco Mendenhall, he knows all about it.

Talkin' Sports

2009-09-18T08:05:00.001-07:00

Well here it is...my very first sports blog!

Recently I was on a road trip with my wife, her cousin Elise, and Elise's husband Bryan. On the way home Brian and I were in the front seats Talkin' Sports. Brian turned to the back and asked for the girls to interject to which the reply came...."there is too much testosterone in here." Probably the best reply ever, it made me laugh.

There are so many times I have been talking to another guy and noticed that every gal in the room is totally tuned out, every time I notice this...I'm Talkin' Sports.

What is it that makes chicks zone out when dudes are Talkin' Sports? How could something be so interesting to a guy, and yet totally ungripping to a girl? The answer is.......NO BODY KNOWS!

In a way this blog is doing my wife...and a lot of other girls a favor, cause if they don't wanna hear me Talkin' Sports they don't have to. At the same time though I'm doing a favor for me and all the other dudes out there cause now you can hear me Talkin' Sports any time you want!

So here's a little bit about me and what you can expect on this blog.

I am a HUGE BYU fan! I love 'em! I'm gonna write about them!

I am a HUGE UTE hater! I hate em! But i'm still going to write about them!

I am a MAJOR JAZZ fanatic! You WILL be hearing about them!

I H-A-T-E the LAKERS! They are #2 on my shiz list (right behind the Utes)!

I'm down with MLB baseball! I'm all about the Cards and the Yanks! Hate the Bo Sox!

I don't like NASCAR and I won't write about it!

Every now and then I might write about cricket or rugby or some Olympic sport or something, cause I'm down with them too and I gotta give them their due respect!

I hope all of you out there enjoy my blog! You keep it real, and I'll do the same! Until next time...keep Talkin' Sports