BLOG MOVING TO TUMBLR!!!!

This is an emergency warning for all you (3) followers of this blog. We are moving to www.utahjazz.tumblr.com. It is a much more user-friendly website, and I will be able to post more audio and video with much ease. With the season just around the corner, I want to be able to contribute a blog that will give a 360 degree view of the Utah Jazz's 2010-2011 season, and tumblr is the way to go. So go there, and follow me, and GO JAZZ!

Painful Partings

The Utah Jazz trimmed their roster down to 13 players today, in accordance with regular season roster rules. Although he said it was a difficult and painful thing to do, Jerry Sloan was forced to cut Sundiata Gaines, Othyus Jeffers, Ryan Thompson and Demetris Nichols from the roster. They all have done good things (especially Gaines and the famous buzzer-beater against the Cavs last year), but they had to go. Jeremy Evans is now the only Jazz player with an non-guaranteed contract. He has been pretty impressive and fun to watch this preseason.

The final preseason game is tomorrow night against the Sacramento Kings. The game is in Salt Lake, and it will be televised on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain, so you might as well cancel all previous engagements, get into something cozy, and watch the new-look Jazz finish off their preseason rampage. Or at least flip back and forth between the ALCS and the Jazz. Deron Williams will not play tomorrow for personal reasons, but it looks like Al Jefferson will be playing despite a minor hand injury.

We have less than a week until the regular season tips off (Wednesday night against Denver)!!

Preseason Perspective

The Utah Jazz are undefeated through six preseason games (not saying a whole lot, but it is the first time in franchise history they've done so.) From the looks of things, the team is starting to come together somewhat. Al Jefferson has been playing very well, especially in the last three games. CJ Miles has looked good, although Jerry Sloan still likes to rag on him.

I'm just excited that the Jazz beat the Lakers 99-94 Sunday night at the Staples Center. Granted, it is still preseason, but I'll take a victory over L.A. whenever I can.

I can't wait for the season to start! NBA is just around the corner, and you gotta love it baby!

Bring on the Utah Jazz!

It's almost time for the 2010 NBA Season! I hope you all had a good break, because I have a feeling we're about to go for a ride. I'm usually excited for the beginning of a new season, but for some reason I am extremely excited this year--probably because of the new faces and the new look.

For those of you who don't know (read: anybody who has been living in the Siberian tundra or who has been in a deep coma for the last few months), the Jazz picked up Al Jefferson, the talented big man from the Timberwolves. He is excited to be here, and he's as publicly humble as any professional sports player I've ever seen; he must want something. Dang, Carlos Boozer has really messed me up... Back to Jefferson. He has great moves, he can score like nobody's business, and he seems willing to work hard. Hopefully Sloan can just teach some monster defense and passing skills.

The Jazz also signed Raja Bell. I don't know if that name rings a...bell...for you, but he played for a couple years with the Jazz six or seven years ago. He's a maniac on defense. He'll help the Jazz contain Kobe, and he can knock down a triple every now and then as well. Good veteran pickup for the Jazz.

The other exciting news from the summer is the change in logo, jerseys and court design. It's a fresh rendition of the old-school look, and I like it. I'm excited to see them in action.

The preseason is rolling along, and we're just waiting for a few weeks to tip off the regular season! It may be tough to gel as a new squad, but if the players can get accustomed to each other pretty fast, I think we'll be a dang good team this year. Sloan has taken off his muck boots and put on sweatpants and a whistle; Deron Williams has emerged from the Bat Cave; Carlos Boozer has tripped out of town (and broken his hand in the process); Andrei Kirilenko has looked into the wrong fashion magazine. The 2010 Utah Jazz are ready to rock!!

I Hate L.A.

Last night was a good game in many ways; Paul Millsap played like an animal, muscling his way to the basket, drawing fouls, wrestling rebounds away from the Laker's big men. Wes Matthews shot lights out from beyond the arc and looked like someone that could succeed in Utah for years to come. Deron Williams played well, but not fantastic. Overall, it appeared that the Jazz should have beaten anybody in the league last night.

But they were going up against the Los Angeles Lakers. I remembered last night that I hate the Lakers. They dominated Utah in total rebounds, including one possession late in the game where they grabbed three offensive rebounds and milked the clock for a whole minute before Ron Artest finally made a layup. At times last night it seemed like Utah was a high school team playing against a very good college team. And the part that hurt the most: the Lakers looked disinterested and bored. The crowd was nonexistent most of the night, occasionally cheering lightly when the game got within four points. Kobe had a couple dominant minutes, but for the rest of the game he was just out there running through plays, giving his teammates a chance to be "the man." Every single Jazz fan was pulling out chunks of hair off their heads throughout the game and diving headfirst into their living room wall trying to end the agony of last night.

So the Jazz are down 0-2 in the series with the Lakers, but they're headed back to SLC for Game 3. The best we can hope for right now is to get a big win at home, get Andrei Kirilenko back, and for the L.A. plane to mysteriously nose-dive straight into the depths of the Great Salt Lake. If you hear that story in the news in the next two days, I never wrote this.

The Indomitable Will

For those of you who have been in a deep coma since Monday, The Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 114-111 in Game 2. With Andrei Kirilenko still out and Mehmet Okur done for several months, not many "experts" were giving the Jazz a chance to pull out a victory on the road in Game 2. That's what made Monday night's game so memorable.

Deron Williams played out of his mind. He finished with 33 points (including 16-18 from the free throw line) and 14 assists. Not even John Stockton ever had those numbers in a playoff road victory. Williams was the best player on the court, and he didn't let his team down. C.J. Miles and Wes Matthews did a great job against Carmelo Anthony, forcing him to shoot 9-25 from the field and foul out in the last minute of a very tight game. Everybody on the Jazz hit the big shots when it counted (including Kyle Korver's huge three-pointer to give the Jazz a two-point lead in the final minute), and everybody played tough defense against the crazy Nuggets offense. Every Jazz fan should write down their experience from this game, because we will be telling our great-grandchildren about it. And if you don't, you're not a Jazz fan.

The next game is this Friday in Salt Lake City. Hopefully everybody has enough time to rest and recover from a very draining game in Denver. Hopefully the crowd is crazy; I want to see signs with swear words and personal attacks against Carmelo. Jazz Nation ought to be infused with energy, excitement, and hope after what happened in Game 2. With Williams on our side, we always have a chance.

The Wheels are Falling Off

10 days ago, Utah was in position to take over second place in the Western Conference and head into the playoffs with a very favorable outlook. It was easy to envision them taking care of their first round opponent and having a great chance of going to the Conference finals.

Then the basketball gods stretched out their angry hands. Andrei Kirilenko is most likely done for the year. Mehmet Okur slipped on his ankle in the Game 1 loss to the Denver Nuggets, and he is done for the year. He might not even be able to play for Turkey this summer, as he was planning on doing. Carlos Boozer played well in the loss to the Nuggets, but he could easily wake up with a stuffy nose and be done for the year, so things are looking pretty bleak for the Jazz at this point.

Which isn't to say we've given up hope yet. C.J. Miles had a great first half in Denver until he injured a finger on his shooting hand. Deron Williams was a monster in the second half, and he's going to have to carry the load if the Jazz are going to come out of the series alive. Jerry Sloan will need to devise a few plays that include Kosta Koufos, a sledgehammer, and Carmelo Anthony's knees. Otherwise, they're going to need a miracle. Tonight is Game 2 in Denver, so we'll have a better idea of how the Jazz might fare with their back against the wall. If we're going to win the series, I say we need to steal this one tonight. Here's hoping the basketball gods aren't reading this.