Dubyaworld

One Final Blog Post for Two Years

2008-05-27T16:00:00.002-06:00

First, I have to apologize for not posting anything on this blog for over a month. This blog was nearly taken over by required assignments from my Journalism and Communication 1130 class at Utah State, and absorbed away the time and space that I may have used to write about other things, like sports.
However, I want to use this blog to send out some final thoughts, whether or not it be read by anyone...
First, if a team wants to build around a point guard, they should do so with Deron Williams. Or Chris Paul.
Second, a team that builds around a dominant post player and surrounds him with precise outside shooters (like four-time champion Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs) could use a player like Jaycee Carroll. So take a chance on him, NBA teams.
Third, can the Angels PLEASE get some production from their bats? Good thing their pitching is so good. Paging Vladimir Guerrero (who has, to be fair, been hitting better as of late)...
Fourth, if an NFL team wants to build around a running back, they should do so with Adrian Peterson. Or.. Adrian Peterson.
Fifth, I love the new Chronicles of Narnia movie, Prince Caspian. And I've gotta see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull soon.
Sixth, Cherry Hill, New Jersey is the best mission in the world. And I'm now a (very) moderate fan of the Giants, Nets, Eagles, 76ers and Phillies. And the Flyers, if need be.
Seventh, the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is absolutely true. Having a testimony of it is the key to happiness.
That's all! Thanks to everybody who may have stumbled across this blog.

The series shifts back to Utah...

2008-04-26T17:22:00.004-06:00

An unexpected split was the result of Games 3 and 4 in Salt Lake City in a great first-round matchup between the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets.

Game 3 was a game the Jazz did not play well, yet still nearly pulled out the victory. Count the problems the Jazz had in this game: poor free-throw shooting, out-rebounded by the smaller Rockets; and Utah was also outscored in the paint by Houston, a stat where the Jazz are #2 in the league in points-in-the-paint scoring.

Woeful numbers
20-33 shooting from the free-throw line for a measly 60.9 percent. Most important was the fourth-quarter numbers: 2-6 free-throw shooting, and six (six!) turnovers.
Utah was also out-rebounded 43-38, outscored inside 40-26, and let Tracy McGrady have his highest scoring output of the series, scoring 27, including seven in the fourth quarter, where he only had one point combined in Games 1 and 2.
Deron Williams carried the team throughout the first half, scoring 21 of their 44 points.

Outplayed in the First Half
Somehow, the Jazz were tied with the Rockets at halftime, despite being ouplayed physically and energy-wise. Obviously Rafer Alston- who due to injury missed the first two games in Texas- was the catalyst for this energy and physical play. Overall, his 20 points and five assists were numbers that were sorely needed for Houston in Games 1 and 2.
The epitome of the Jazz getting out-hustled in the game were forward Carl Landry's 11 rebounds, seven of which were on the offensive glass. Utah will not win another game in the series if they can't keep a player who plays less than a third of the game to rip the boards on the offensive side so easily.
But, overall, the biggest culprit for defeat was free-throws. Nobody could make 'em- not even Mehmet Okur, who shoots from the charity stripe at 80-plus percent. He shot 4-7. Booz was 3-8. AK, 0-2.

Down the Stretch
It was admittedly quite amazing to see the Jazz nearly overcome a seven-point lead with about a minute to go in the game, with a three of a curl from Kyle Korver, a push-off by McGrady after AK didn't let him cut where he wanted, and then D-Will finding Memo for another trey. However, after T-Mac fails to draw iron on the other end, a fadaway D-Will runner doesn't have a chance when it meets the hand of Carl Landry.
Finally, Tracy McGrady finally failed to not disappear in the fourth quarter this series. Though he struggled in the first nine-and-a-half minutes of the final stanza, and shot just 2-8, he did just enough at the end- two field goals for four points, and three free throws- to barely put Houston over the top.

Game 3
MVP: Alston- 20 points, five assists, court leadership and a high presence of energy that his team fed off.
Goat: Lots of contenders for Utah: Kirilenko, with just five points, two rebounds, one block and no steals (a very un-AK like line indeed); Memo, 3-13 and lazy defense, despite guarding the ancient Deke Mutombo; Kyle Korver. For all the key things off the bench that he did in Games 1 and 2, he did absolutely nothing on Thursday night until hitting a 3 with around 40 ticks left.
Subway Sub of the Game: Landry.
Key Stretch: Houston opens up a 15-8 lead; Utah, highlighted by a surprising corner '3' from Matt Harpring, ties the game at halftime; after giving up control of the game in the third quarter to the Jazz, Houston, down 86-83 with four minutes left, goes on a 10-0 run late in the contest that Utah barely fails to recover from.
Key Play: With just over a minutes remaining, McGrady hits a wide-open jumper from the corner, and Landry gets fouled by Kirilenko. Landry proceeds to hit both free throws to complete the four-point play, and opens up what proves to be an insurmountable 93-86 lead.

In Game 4, the Jazz reverted back to their good habits in the series' first two games in Houston. The Jazz got back to winning the battle of the boards and superior scoring in the paint. After an average defensive performance in Game 3, they stepped it up once again Saturday, holding Houston to just 37.6 percent from the floor. A monster board from Mehmet Okur, followed by two consecutive made free throws, ended Houston's very-alive hopes for a tied series heading back to Texas.

Tracy 'The Game Plan isn't working on Me" McGrady
Once again, T-Mac struggled in the fourth quarter, connecting on just one field goal and mustering just four points; McGrady, who is averaging 23.3 points per game thus far through the series, is averaging just three in the fourth quarter. Additionally, T-Mac is shooting just 39.5 percent from the field (34-86). He may be getting his points, and tallying a fair amount of rebounds and assists as well, but the Jazz defenders- Brewer, Kirilenko, Harpring and Korver, not to mention a dose of D-Will in Salt Lake- are making it tough for him, playing him tight, physical and meeting him at half court.
I had to laugh when after the game Saturday I heard McGrady say that Utah's game plan isn't working on him- not at all. Hmmm, then how do you explain the sub-40% shooting, a 3.0 fourth quarter average, and most importantly, a 3-1 series deficit, Tracy? The game plan seems to be working quite well if you ask me.

Shooting Woes and Booz
Carlos has yet to find his offensive groove in this series. He shot just 3-13 from the field on Saturday, but at least hit all eight of his free-throw attempts and grabbed 14 boards. The team went 0-14 from the beyond the arc, but as Coach Sloan said, "It proves that you don't win the game from the three-point line."

Brewin' well in Utah
Ronnie Brewer played fantastic in Games 3 and 4, and other than Deron was the most consistent player during the Utah trip. He scored 12 points both games on 50-plus percent shooting, and played solid defense on Houston's star in the first half. In fact, Jerry Sloan probably made in a mistake in pulling Brewer, who had been playing fantastic, in the fourth quarter of Game 3 in favor of Kyle Korver, who had his worst game of the series last Thursday.
Not to mention that Ronnie had perhaps the highlight of the series when in the third quarter of Game 4 he crossed over a Rocket along the baseline, and as he went for the reverse layup, was hammered by two more Rockets, only to will his body underneath the center of the basket to face it and throw in a triple-clutch, spinning and-1 shot to give the Jazz added momentum.

Balanced Scoring
Williams led the way with 17 points, followed with 14 from Mehmet and Booz, 12 from Brewer, 11 from AK and 10 from Korv- though he was 0-6 from the three-point line. Balanced scoring has been a consistent mantra throughout the season for this team, so there's no reason for that to stop in the postseason.

Game 4
MVP: Memo, who had 18 boards, and the biggest one being the 18th with the offensive rebound that staved off a possible loss; and Williams, who made two key drives late in the fourth quarter and continued his consistent fantastic play.
Goat: Bobby Jackson- 1-10 shooting; Luis Scola- just seven points, but six fouls to force himself out of the game.
Subway Sub of the Game: Paul Millsap- 8 points, 5 boards.
Key Stretch: Houston, down 16 points midway into the third quarter, cuts it to one early in the fourth.
Key Play: Up 83-78 with 2:35 left, D-Will comes out of the timeout with a thunderous dunk, driving right past Alston and throwing it down over Battier. The next possession, after a Utah stop, he drives past Alston again for a layin. Houston, down nine at that point, cuts it to two twice in the final 20 seconds, but Mehmet Okur rebounds the second of Williams' two free-throw misses and hits the two clinchers with 5.5 ticks left.

Houston, you have a problem- Jazz roll in Houston: Observations

2008-04-22T20:54:00.005-06:00

It certainly looks like the Utah Jazz, the only playoff team in the Western Conference with a losing record on the road (17-24) in the regular season, have figured out how to win on the road.
Well, at least they have figured out how to beat the Rockets four straight times at Toyota Center (dating back to the regular season and Game 7 of last year's playoffs), and know how to beat a team without its starting, and best, point guard, and without its 7-6 giant Yao Ming, since February.
I don't want to dampen the significance of Utah's wins on Saturday and Monday, though. They certainly played very well. They played good team ball, both on the offensive and defensive sides, particularly in throwing multiple defenders at Tracy McGrady.

Guarding T-Mac
The Jazz's efficiency in guarding T-Mac just proves that outside of the star swingman, the Rockets have a less-than-stellar supporting cast. Simply said, Utah is exposing everybody not named Tracy. While he has had his share of problems in the series' first two games, shooting just 16-43 including 0-7 for one point in the two fourth quarters, Houston's other players have failed to step up. Maybe it would be different with Alston, who would be more capable to step up when T-Mac gets harrassed on the perimeter, be it by Ronnie Brewer, AK47, Korver or Harpring.
Speaking of the 'Big 4' who have the task of guarding the star, I have been particularly impressed with Brewer being able to stick to him for the most part, despite being a young player in just his second year. AK is a better off-the-ball than on-the-ball defender, but has done impressive work. And I love the way Harpring meets McGrady early when he gets the ball and at least tries to keep T-Mac from going where he wants.
Korver is not a great defender, but as a fourth option to defend McGrady, it gives a different defensive look that keeps the Rockets and McGrady guessing. It's a really nice element, and good to know that the Jazz have at least slow-down perimeter defenders.
T-Mac is averaging 21.5 points per game, but is shooting sub-40% in the process, and his average is 7.3 points lower than his career playoff average, proof that the Jazz are doing a fine job defending him.

Rockets' red glare
Game 2 was evidence that Houston intended to be more physical with Utah from the get-go. It looked like they were trying to turn the tables after being out-physicalled particularly at the start of Game 1, where the Jazz where able to seize control of a game they relinquished for only the start of the third quarter.
I mean, we've got backup rookie point guard Aaron Brooks flailing his elbow into Deron Williams' side on a pick, Battier roughing up Kirilenko, and Luis Scola picking on just about everybody.
Too bad Scola's dirty play hurt the Rockets.
His push of Andrei late in the game, right before Bobby Jackson hit the would-be game-tying three, was the biggest factor in the game. Scola may have scored 14 points, but absolutely killed the Rockets with his bonehead push at the end.

The rest of the Rockets
Surprising was the play of Shane Battier in Game 1, when he scored a quiet 22 points on perfect 7-7 shooting, including 4-4 from the three-point line, and also 4-4 from the charity stripe to boot. He in fact nearly matched Andrei Kirilenko's fabulous Game 1 performance, where AK scored 21 points, grabbed four rebounds, had three assists and made life difficult for Houston's star. But Battier was held to 3-7 shooting in the second game. Kirilenko may have shot 1-8 himself, but unlike Battier made himself useful in other aspects of the game, including grabbing eight boards, dishing three more assists and again, making life difficult for Houston's star.
That's the difference between the two teams' small forwards. Where Battier can only help his team if his outside shots are falling, AK can help the Jazz in a variety of ways even if his shot's aren't going down.
Bobby Jackson failed to fill the role left glaringly vacant by Alston, shooting 3-15 in Game 1. He did better in Game 2, as did his temporary backup Aaron Brooks, shooting 7-17, but failed to come through in the end. With his team down three with 4:23 left, he missed back-to-back free throws, then let D-Will score a crafty layup on the other end, before missing two more shots down the stretch. Come to think of it, D-Will frankly took the game over while being guarded by Jackson, scoring four of Utah's last seven field goals. The shot Jackson actually knocked down was negated by Scola's foul.
Then there's Scola, who had a nice Game 1 with 14 points and 13 rebounds but only grabbed four boards in Game 2. He certainly is scrappy, but he is dirty, and it hurt and exposed Houston in Game 2.

Utah's team play: Jazz makin' sweet music
The team play demonstrated by the Jazz was phenomenal over the three days. I mean, AK was the leading scorer for Game 1! The ball was distributed evenly in both games. Players that struggled offensively in Game 1 turned it around in Game 2: Mehmet Okur followed a four-point outing with 16- but even more importantly, 16 rebounds; Ronnie Brewer followed a goose egg with 10 on an efficient 5-9 shooting. Conversely, Kyle Korver went from 11 to 7; Kirilenko, 21 to 3. Carlos Boozer, 20 to 13. Simply said, this club is so team-oriented, that it doesn't matter who has the big night with regards to putting the ball in the hole.
Then you've got a play that many would call lucky, but others would say good teams will to happen: Utah's up three with less than a half-minute left in the contest. D-Will finds Korver on the wing. Kyle drives baseline, and with time running down on the shot clock, fires an awkward turnaround that goes off the side of the backboard. But of course, the ever-active Russian Rifle Kirilenko finds the rebounds, and with not even two seconds left on the shot clock and with his back turned back to the basket, quickly flips the rock back to Korver, who buries both the shot and the Rockets' hopes with one hand. Swoosh. Jazz 2, Rockets 0.
Those sorts of plays are not luck. Rather, they are made by teams that are hustling, active, aware and cognizant of the situation in the game. Great teams make those sorts of plays.

Working 8-to-5
Williams has obviously been a stud in the series so far, averaging 21 points and 7.5 assists per game. Early in Game 2, he bailed out a somewhat-stagnant Jazz offense by nailing three straight three-pointers in the first quarter. He also largely took over the last five minutes of the game, driving to the basket at will. Meanwhile, Boozer hasn't had as big as offensive games as expected, since he has the quicks advantage over 74-year-old Dikembe Mutombo. But he has been efficient, scoring 20 and 13 while grabbing 10 and seven boards, respectively.
The thing about Booz is that unlike many All-Stars, he doesn't force or even demand his points. He takes what is given to him, and if nothing is there, he's fine with others scoring. This is the epitome of the team ball that the Jazz are playing right now. Plus, when his time does come, he can score several consecutive baskets, and all of a sudden his scoring isn't an issue. This only shows to me what sort of All-Star he is.

Game 1
MVP: Kirilenko- 21 points on 9-13 shooting, 4 boards, 3 assists and a steal.
Goat: McGrady. 7-21 shooting.
Subway Sub of the Game: Korver- 11 points, and two big threes in to ward off a Houston third-quarter rally.
Key Stretch: Early in the game, when Utah established their physicality, and late in the third quarter, when the Jazz stopped Houston's biggest run cold.
Key Numbers: Rebounds, even, though the Jazz grabbed more offensive boards; 50 points in the paint. 18 second-chance points for Utah.

Game 2
MVP: D-Will- 22 points, 3-5 3FG, 5 assists, four of Utah's last seven field goals in the final five minutes.
Goat: Jackson. Though he played better than Game 1, he missed several shots, including free throws, and couldn't handle Deron.
Subway Sub of the Game: Want to say Paul Millsap (8 points, 5 boards), but Korver again- his one-handed dagger were by far the biggest points of his seven. Don't forget Harpring, if only for the fact that he makes things tougher for T-Mac.
Key Stretch: End of first half; D-Will finds Memo for back-to-back threes to give Utah a six-point lead heading into halftime. End of third; Williams goes into the locker room to attend to an injury, but Ronnie Price nails a 3 at the buzzer to give Utah the lead back after a couple of Battier shots gave the advantage to Houston. End of game, where Williams guides ship.
Key Numbers: 41-36 rebounding advantage to the Jazz; 38-16 bench scoring for Utah.

NBA Playoffs: First Round- Analysis

2008-04-19T14:30:00.003-06:00

Western Conference
#1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. #8 Denver Nuggets: Denver has two of the Associations' finest scoers in Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, but give me an NBA champion who one, doesn't play as a team, where two players take two-thirds of the shots; and two, that wins it all with perimeter scoring and a lack of a real offensive threat inside. Sure, Marcus Camby is a nice player, if you're talking shot-blocking and rebounding- basically defense. Kenyon Martin could be a better offensive power forward if he got more looks at the basket. Likely MVP Kobe Bryant should have a field day every game of this series. Both teams love to get up the floor early and often, especially Denver. The Lakers, from Bryant, to Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher, simply have weapons that can put the ball in the whole. Lakers in 5

#4 Utah Jazz vs. #5 Houston Rockets: The Rockets went on a 22-game winning streak mostly without Yao simply by playing great defense, making good passes, and cutting hard to the hoop to give each other good looks at the basket. Team basketball. Houston had to become better at this without their 7-6 giant to take up the paint. Heck, even Tracy McGrady became more of a team player, and with his 6-8 frame could afford to post up more to give the Rockets the occasional inside look despite their Chinese teammate. (We all know Dikembe Mutombo can't give Houston that back-to-the-basket threat anymore.) Then you've got the Jazz, the hottest team since the turn of the calender- after the Rockets. With Mehmet Okur able to draw Deke away from the paint, the pick-and-roll game should be open for Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, if Boozer can find the offensive rhythm that he lost two weeks ago. Utah's bench is better than the Rocket's inexperienced reserves, but Houston was the better defensive team in the regular season. Jazz in 6

#2 New Orleans Hornets vs. #7 Dallas Mavericks: My, how things change in the course of one year. Last postseason, Chris Paul & Co. were enjoying the playoffs on their 52-inch flat-screen TVs. Now, they are trying to establish themselves as a serious contender this year and in the seasons to come. Meanwhile, Dallas went 67-15 last season and was the overwhelming #1 seed before getting shocked by the Golden State Warriors and ex-coach Don Nelson in the first round. This doesn't mean, however, that the Mavs can't pull off the "upset," if that's what you want to call it. The Hornets don't have an answer for Dirk Nowitzki, which means that the Hornets better hope that Jason Kidd doesn't have enough left in his defensive legs to slow down Chris Paul (who, by the way, is worse than Deron Williams). Hornets in 7

#3 San Antonio Spurs vs. #6 Phoenix Suns: The absolute best series of the playoffs, from a national perspective. For the third year in a row, the Spurs and Suns meet in the playoffs. This is the rubber match, since the Suns won a conference semifinal series in 2006, while San Antonio won a controversial conference semifinal matchup last year, when Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw were wrongly suspended for the deciding game. Now, Stoudamire looks to prove that he has surpassed future Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan as a premiere power forward in the West. Phoenix has talent, and may yet get enough out of Shaq to cause Duncan problems, but San Antonio is deeper- and a four-time NBA champion with Duncan as their captain. Spurs in 7

Eastern Conference
#1 Boston Celtics vs. #8 Atlanta Hawks: You kidding me? Celts in 4.

#4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. #5 Washington Wizards: Washington may throw Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson (who called LeBron James "overrated" earlier this week- not a good idea heading into a playoff series against the man), and perhaps even Gilbert Arenas at James, but it shouldn't matter. Three of those four players are All-Stars, but defensively they won't be able to slow him down. The Wizards have fine perimeter players, like Jamison, Butler and Arenas, who missed almost the entire season with a torn ACL, but if the Cavs are smart they will utilize their superior size down low and dominate the glass with Zydrunas Ilguaskas, Ben Wallace and Joe Smith not having a problem on the boards against Brendan Haywood and Andray Blatche. Heck, half of the Cavs' points might come off offensive putbacks. Cavs in 6

#2 Detroit Pistons vs. #7 Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers showed life in the latter quarter of the season, but had a four-game swoon to end the year that pits them against Detroit rather than the beatable Cavs. Andre Miller may in fact be just as good a point guard as Chauncey Billups, but after that Detroit is just so much deeper than Philadelphia. Samuel Dalembert of Philly may have problems getting taken outside by Rasheed Wallace. Pistons in 5

#3 Orlando Magic vs. #6 Toronto Raptors: SNORE. ZZZZZ. Oh, wait, Dwight Howard against Chris Bosh? That's intriguing. Two of the best young, but so very good big men face off. That's a lot of length getting thrown around right there. Howard has more size, and a better supporting cast with Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. Magic in 5

Practice News Story 11: Accident

2008-04-17T10:22:00.002-06:00

Tragedy hits Utah State University in midst of Agriculture Week
Posted: April 17, 2008 10:21 AM

TREMONTON, Utah- A terrible tragedy hit Utah State University as a van carrying eleven passengers rolled on Interstate 84 west of Tremonton, at around 4 p.m. Only two of the passengers- Robert Peterseon and Jared Nelson- have been confirmed to have survived.
Five other names of those who have deceased were releaed- instructor Evan Parker, who was the driver; Steven Bair; Curt Madsen; and Brad Wilcox.
The group had been returning from a field trip to Green Line Implements as part of Agriculture Week at the University.
Several of the members were taken to Brigham City Hospital, while another was taken to Ogden Hosptial, according to Utah Highway Patrol trooper Jason Jensen. Jensen, who arrived on the scene at around 4 pm. and worked on three people at the scene of the accident, also estimated that the van was traveling 95-100 miles per hour on roads that may have deteriorated a bit due to the layer of salt and sand that had been laid on the cement to help prevent ice slippage.
(It was) a clear day, no storms happening," Jensen said. "It was a horrific scene." Jensen added that in fifteen years of working for Utah Highway Patrol, this crash was by far the worst event he has ever been involved with.
Kyle Holden was a host of the field trip at Green Line, where he works. Estimated to have been traveling at "79-ish" miles per hour on cruise control, Holden said that he was passing the van and glanced at Parker when the wheel on the driver’s side rear mirror blew.
"I turned and watched, and I saw people flying. They were just shot out of the van. They probably rolled four or five times," Holden said.
"This was an exceptional group of students. The fact that we’ve pulled in 20 or 30 really quality students this year… that I can look at this year as one of the highest years in potential of the students. This is a hard day not just for the university, but for the college of agriculture," said Noel Cockett, Dean of the College of Agriculture.
Holden had also been a former student of Parkers’ 15 years ago.

Practice News Story 10: Investigative

2008-04-10T10:20:00.002-06:00

Gates and Turner begin supposed philanthropic endeavor in support of Africa
Posted: April 10, 2008 10:19 AM

LOGAN, Utah- Entertainment mogul Ted Turner and Bill and Melinda Gates were seen leaving a private jet together to meet with local African officials last night.
Reasons were unclear as to why Turner and the Washington-based couple were traveling together, but Bill Gates offered explanation as to why they made the trip.
“(The trip to Africa) was very successful,” said Gates. “We met with officials about future plans. (The plans) are very encouraging.”
Among the “officials” Gates spoke of is African Mayor Malik Ok, who is encouraged by the promise of the three’s endeavor through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“We met with the three of them (Turner, Bill and Melinda)… we wanted to get a feel of what they wanted to accomplish, and how it fills my people’s needs,” Ok said.
Ok explained that oftentimes, organizations from the United States have donated supplies to the African people to assist in the treatment of fatal diseases in the various African country. However, Ok noted that the donations always came without training and education for the African people as to how to use the medicines and practice proper sanitation- “We are teaching (the African people) how to fish, rather than giving them the fish,” Bill Gates explained.
“There are a lot of diseases, high percentages of diseases that (Turner and the Gates are looking to get rid of. Our city would benefit from their efforts. They want to get rid of diseases like measles and smallpox, diseases that in many areas (of the world) hardly exist. We are going to go into villages and teach the people how to treat diseases and know sanitation,” Mayor Ok said.
Gates claims that his wife and Turner, through he and his wife’s foundation, are working with the World Health Organization to educate the African people about these diseases, and how to treat them.
There could be, however, an ulterior motive underneath the face of humanitarian efforts.
Gates’ 1 billion dollar donation to the cause was one-upped by Turner’s 1.1 billion dollar donation. It remains to be seen if Turner is just as gracious, or perhaps more so, to the cause than Gates, or if perhaps the two economical giants are competing for a face of goodwill.
More motives in the philanthropic endeavor should be unveiled as details are released in two weeks, as Gates said they will say more about the project in two weeks’ time.

Practice News Story 9: Sports

2008-04-03T10:21:00.004-06:00

Victory blocked from Duncan, but not from the Jazz
Several players, including the return of Ronnie Brewer, contribute to pivotal 106-99 win

Posted: April 4, 2008 10:20 AM

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah- In a Western Conference race this close, the Utah Jazz need every single win coming down the stretch.
Not to mention every single one of their players- something that was helped with the return of Ronnie Brewer.
In a scramble to the finish that coming into the game placed the Jazz in a tie for fifth place, three games out of first in the conference, but four-and-a-half from the dreaded ninth spot, Brewer returned to give the Jazz a much-needed lift with seven points-including a dagger of a shot in the form of a three-pointer to give Utah a 100-97 lead with just two minutes left.
The shot contributed in a big way to a 106-99 victory that puts the Jazz (51-26) just a game-and-a-half from the Spurs’ (52-24) second-place slot.
“Deron, he’s just been able to find open guys all game… it felt good coming off, and it put us up by 3… it was pretty big, big for me and big for the team… I’m glad it went through,” said Brewer, who also said that he tried not to favor the groin during the game, and who also played limited minutes due to the nagging injury.
However, the limited minutes weren’t able to stop Brewer from coming through when it counted most.
With the game tied at 97, Spurs point guard Tony Parker fed Duncan in the post, with Mehmet Okur guarding him. Not known for his shot-blocking abilities, Okur promptly blocked Duncan’s field goal attempt, leading to a Jazz possession that saw point guard Deron Williams find Brewer on the wing for the tiebreaker.
“Memo” also added to his block with 15 points, not to mention a career-high of 30 from C.J. Miles, who just earlier this week tallied his previous career-high with 29 Monday against Washington.
“Some nights, the hole just looks big. Right from when I got put into the game in the first quarter, I felt good and shots were fallin’… D-Will found me for some good looks, “ said the 21-year-old Miles. Of his point guard running mate Williams, Miles said “he is definitely one of the top point guards in the league and the Western Conference… he has only been in the league a few years, but he definitely gets the plays going for us.”
Williams tallied 14 assists in addition to scoring 15 points.
His pick-and-roll partner Carlos Boozer also added 26 points and 12 rebounds.
“I’m proud of my guys for our defense… we made some big stops at the end… I was worried that we weren’t going to make the stops that we needed… but we ended up making the stops that we needed,” said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, alluding to Okur’s big block on two-time MVP Duncan.

Putting a cap on the Utah State basketball season

2008-03-27T16:35:00.007-06:00

This season, the Utah State men's basketball team met one of two goals: first, they won the WAC regular-season championship, tying with Nevada, New Mexico State and Boise State but securing the #1 seed for the conference tournament; and secondly, they came short of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, the 65-team field that promises the chance for a national championship, known as March Madness.
Once the Aggies didn't qualify for the NCAA Tourney, they got a pairing against Illinois State, one of the top teams to not make in in the Big Dance, in the National Invitation Tournament, losing 61-57.
Before the NIT game, Utah State traveled to Las Cruces to play in the WAC tourney, winning the first game against San Jose State 85-65 before failing to beat Boise State for a third time this season the next day, falling 88-79.
The Aggies tried to crowd the post against the Broncos, which led to open three-point looks for Boise. Once these early makes got them in a rhythm, there was no stopping them, not even seldom-used bench player Aaron Garner, who averaged barely over one point per game heading into the third meeting against USU before shooting 4-5 from the three and scoring 14 points.
Utah State players and supporters felt a little better the next night, after Boise State defeated New Mexico State on the NewMags' home floor for the WAC Tournament championship and ensuing automatic NCAA berth, taking a 107-102 triple-overtime thriller.
I mean, let's face it, northern Aggie fans: the Broncos brought their best ball into the weekend. Beating a team who they tied for the regular-season title on the road in a championship game is proof of that.
Still, it was admittedly hard to see Utah State allow the looks that they gave to the Broncos to only give them more rhythm and confidence, and also see USU get out-physicalled by BSU, who simply turned the tables from a 88-69 loss to Utah State at home just eight days earlier.
In the NIT, the Ags played hard in a defensive struggle, but when they got limited chances to take the lead on the road, they couldn't make a play. The Redbirds would come up with a steal, or get an offensive rebound, to boost the lead back up to two to three possessions in the last couple of minutes, before Utah State's last attempt to take the lead came up dry when Jaycee missed a good-looking 3 from the corner with 20 seconds left in the game.
Looking back, a week-and-a-half after the season ended, there were a lot of positives out of the season. The team went undefeated (17-0) at home, won the regular-season conference title, and saw Jaycee Carroll break or build on ten school records, including becoming the leading scorer, and also witnessed coach Stew Morrill become the winningest coach in Utah State history.
Not easy tasks.
Next year, the Aggies should compete for the conference championship again, despite losing three seniors, including Carroll. USU does return three starters, two that are sophomores, and five players from their rotation this past season. Nine of the thirteen players will be back, as the four leaving will be the graduated seniors (Carroll, Kris Clark, and Steve DuCharme) and a redshirt from this past season, Brad Brown, who is headed on a mission.
Sophomores Tai Wesley and Tyler Newbold will continue to play alongside upcoming senior Gary Wilkinson in the starting lineup. The open starting positions are at the point guard and wing positions. Point guard will likely be filled by upcoming senior Desmond Stephens (2.3 ppg, 1.2 apg, 11.8 mpg) or redshirt freshman Jaxon Myaer. The other wing who will start alongside Newbold will be sophomore Pooh Williams or Jared Quayle, an incoming JC transfer from Western Wyoming who will be a junior. Quayle shot 52 percent from the 3-point line in junior college this past season.
Other players in the mix are senior DeUndrae Spraggins (F/G) and sophomore posts Matt Formisano and Moduo Niang, one of whom will need to replace DuCharme's production off the bench.
The other incoming players are high school commits, one who is a point guard and the other, a center.

Extra Practice News Story 8: Business

2008-03-21T20:25:00.005-06:00

Google makes hostile takeover bid of Time Warner
Posted: March 21, 2008 8:31 PM

SAN JOSE, Calif.- Google made a bid to take over Time Warner, Inc. in a hostile offer Thursday, wanting to buy the company despite objection from Time Warner's board of directors.
Despite the resistance of the heads of Time Warner, Google CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt feels the time is right for the takeover given the landscape and conditions of the media industry at the current time.
"Google strikes while the iron's hot, and the iron is hot right now in the media industry. This is the correct move at the correct time for Google," he said.
In Dr. Schmidt's mind, that is especially the right move considering that Microsoft CEOs also had their eye on the takeover of Time Warner Inc., an indication that Google aims to become a stronger media conglomerate before other large companies have the chance to capitalize the way that Schmidt feels his company is doing with this takeover.
Analysts, meanwhile, are hopeful that a hostile takeover by Google would enable the media industry to improve even more than it currently is, given their success as a search engine that has increasingly been pushing search engine rival Yahoo off the map, the primary reason for their diminishing presence in the media market.
Yahoo also wanted to get bought by Time Warner, but with their primary competitor aiming to make the purchase, Yahoo would be upset to be owned by their rival.
This move by Google Inc. would make Yahoo even less relevant in the business landscape.

Practice News Story 8: Business

2008-03-20T10:03:00.005-06:00

Google makes hostile takeover bid of Time Warner
Posted: March 20, 2008 10:19 AM

SAN JOSE, Calif.- Google made a bid to take over Time Warner, Inc. in a hostile offer Thursday, wanting to buy the company despite objection from Time Warner's board of directors.
Despite the resistance of the heads of Time Warner, Google CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt feels the time is right for the takeover given the landscape and conditions of the media industry at the current time.
"Google strikes while the iron's hot, and the iron is hot right now in the media industry. This is the correct move at the correct time for Google."
This is especially the right move considering that both Yahoo and Microsoft CEOs had their eye on the takeover of Time Warner Inc. as well, an indication that Google aims to become a stronger media conglomerate before other large companies have the chance to capitalize the way that Schmidt feels his company is doing with this takeover.
Analysts, meanwhile, are hopeful that a hostile takeover by Google would enable the media industry to improve even more than it currently is, given their success as a search engine that has increasingly been pushing search engine rival Yahoo off the map. This is a primary reason for Yahoo's discontent, as this move by Google Inc. would make Yahoo Inc. even less relevant in the business landscape.

Do the majors get less bids than they're accustomed to this season?

2008-03-11T16:28:00.002-06:00

There is no doubt that more and more parity is reigning in college basketball. This is especially evident when a conference like the West Coast could get three bids and the Sun Belt may get two. One of those two scenarios is likely to happen.
Most of the season, it was believed that the Big East would receive seven bids to the Big Dance. However, with the regular season having wrapped up, it's looking more like half of the conference may qualify for the NCAA playoffs, especially if Syracuse can beat Villanova in the first round of the Big East tournament.
Six teams- champion Georgetown, Louisville, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Marquette and Pittsburgh- are definitely in, while West Virginia is all but qualified. Both Syracuse (19-12, 9-7, low-40s RPI) and Villanova (19-11, 8-8, mid-50s RPI) are on the bubble, and conveniently for the selection committee, they play each other in the first round. The Orange are most definitely in with a first-round win, while the Wildcats may need to both beat the 'Cuse and possibly either show well or win the second round too.
Among the ACC, both Virginia Tech and Maryland are vying to be the fifth ACC team to make it. Va. Tech has come around strong to end the regular season, earning them consideration. Conversely, the Terrapins have been shaky down the stretch, and lost a bad one against Virginia on Sunday. Only one club will qualify, to be sure, and if both bow out in the first round, then the ACC may only be a four-bid league this season.
The SEC is intriguing, because right now it features more bubble teams than it does locks, in four to three. Arkansas (low-40s RPI) and Kentucky both can't feel completely safe about where they stand in the committee's eyes, though after a win over Florida the Wildcats can feel better if they can at least make the semifinals of the SEC tourney. As for Ole Miss and Florida, things are looking bleak, especially for the defending national champion Gators. With an RPI in the mid-60s, an SEC tourney title may have to be the key to giving them a shot to defend their championship.
The Big XII has a great chance to field six teams this season. Two are locks- Kansas and Texas- while two are near-locks- Oklahoma and Baylor- while Texas A&M (22-10) and Kansas State (19-10) are on the inside track of the bubble. I don't know if the selection committee could actually keep K-State freshman phenom Michael Beasley from the Big Dance.
The Big Ten should only get four teams in this season, unless Ohio State (18-12) can somehow upset Michigan State for a second consecutive game. If they can't, with a low-50s RPI the Buckeyes, who like Florida lost four starters last year, including three to the NBA, should be NIT-bound.
The Pac-10 has been rumored to have up to seven teams qualify for the Dance this season, but with the quality of mid and non-majors abounding this season, they really shouldn't get more than five. Four are locks, while Arizona, Oregon, and Arizona State are battling for what may be as few as one berth. Arizona (18-13, 7-9) has plenty of losses, but with a strength of schedule of #1 in the nation, they get an RPI in the low 30s. That is ridiculous. The Wildcats can hardly even win a game the last three weeks, as they have lost eight of 11. That is a fact that should tarnish their resume enough to force them out of the Dance, especially when you consider that their rivals for the bid, ASU and OU, swept them this season. Oregon most recently got a win over the 'Cats, last Saturday, to put their record at 18-12 and 8-8 in the conference. With an RPI of 49, the Ducks might be the lucky ones here, especially considering that ASU (18-11, 8-8) has an RPI of 75.

My Picks: Big East (8), Big XII (6), ACC (5), SEC (5), Pac-10 (5), Big Ten (4)

What mid-majors need to prove themselves this week to belong in the Field of 65?

2008-03-11T16:05:00.003-06:00

There are several mid-majors that sit squarely on the bubble, including three or four in the Atlantic 10 Conference alone. With the early exits of non-majors St. Mary's, South Alabama, and VCU, will that take bids away from the mid-majors? Will it take the Mountain West Conference from three bids to two? Conf. USA from two to one? The Atlantic 10 from three to two, or even just one? We already know that the WAC will get just one team in this year, as opposed two two bids that they have received every year from 1993-2007.
The A-10 has a lock in #10 Xavier, who was clearly the cream of the crop of a very balanced league, but half the league is trying to propose a case to get in. This includes Massachusetts, Dayton, St. Joseph's, Temple and Rhode Island.
UMass is 8-4 in their last 12 games, an indication that they are playing well to end the season, and have an RPI in the low 30s. The Minutemen are a safe bet to make the Big Dance, and are a guarantee if they win their semifinal game to which they have a bye.
Dayton has an RPI in the high 30s, but at just 8-8 in the conference, putting them at the #8 seed for the tourney, the Flyers need to at least reach the championship game to receive consideration.
St. Joe's is 18-10 with an RPI in the mid-to-low 50s. They looked like they might slip in after defeating Xavier a week ago, only to follow it with a loss to one of the worst teams in the A10 just two days later. Like the Flyers, St. Joe's may need to reach the tourney final to get consideration.
Temple sits at 18-12 with an RPI in the mid 50s. With no marquee victories, the Owls will need to win the tournament at this point.
The same goes for Rhode Island, a 19-12 team whose RPI sits in the low 60s. I nearly didn't put R.I. on this list.
In its nine-year existence, the Mountain West Conference has gotten two teams into the NCAA playoffs six times and three teams in three times. If New Mexico (24-7, 11-5, 51 RPI) manages to get past Utah in the first round, and then either beat or play tourney host UNLV tough in the semifinals, then they should get in. BYU (26-6, RPI 22) is a lock and in the hunt for a #6 or possibly a #5 seed, while UNLV (23-7, RPI 30) simply needs to win their first round game against TCU to guarantee their spot.
Conference USA has been dominated all year by #2 Memphis (29-1, 16-0), but could another team in the form of UAB or Houston slip in under the radar? UAB (22-9, RPI mid-50s) could if they reach the tourney final and at least give the second-ranked Tigers a great game, as opposed to how they played against Memphis last week when they lost by 30 to badly hurt their cause. Houston, with a 66 RPI, must win the tournament and get the automatic bid.
As a Utah State student, I must give mention to the WAC, a traditional solid mid-major conference. It's really too bad that as the 20th-ranked conference out of 32, there is no way the league will get more than one bid. The best RPIs in the conference belong to the Aggies (72) and Nevada (74).
That leaves it up to the Ags, who have won 23 games for the ninth straight year and have the #1 seed in the tourney, to win it all on a floor that is hosted by fellow co-champion and #3 seed New Mexico State, who has 13 losses due to a bad 7-9 record against a brutal non-conference schedule. Both schools, and also Nevada (20-10) and Boise State (22-8), finished 12-4 to create a massive share of the WAC crown.

My picks: the Moutain West gets three bids, the A10 two, and Conf. USA one, especially since a small conference as mentioned at the start of the article may get more than their traditional one bid.

With no conference tourney title, which non-majors will be Dancing?

2008-03-11T15:45:00.003-06:00

The past three days of conference tournaments have only muddied up the bubble picture when trying to determine Who's In and Who's Out of the NCAA Tournament just five days before Selection Sunday. After games in three conference tourneys in particular, with "early" conference exits, three teams will be sweating it out through Selection Sunday:
St. Mary's, South Alabama, and Virginia Commonwealth.
All three of these schools won their regular-season conference championships, only to bow out earlier than expected. This only serves to make the selection process even more difficult for the selection committee.
What do you do to teams who ran up impresssive won-loss records, dominated their conferences in the regular season, and possibly even spent time during the year in the Top 25, only to fall early in a tournament of a conference that traditionally only gets one bid?
Such is the case with these three. Let's examine each of their cases to get in the Big Dance:
ST. MARY'S. The Gaels (24-6) took the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a 13-1 record over #22 Gonzaga and WCC Tourney champion San Diego. Their only WCC loss was at Gonzaga. St. Mary's spent most of the season in the Top 25, only to fall out in the second-to-last week of the season.
SOUTH ALABAMA. The Panthers (26-6) spent a week in the national rankings, tied for first in the Sun Belt with a 12-2 record, and beat Mississippi State and UAB for quality wins. One thing that may work in the Panthers' case is that there has been speculation for most of the season that the Sun Belt may be a two-bid league this year, especially since the WAC, which has gotten two bids to the Dance every year since 1993, will only get one this season.
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH. VCU (23-7), the darlings of last season's Dance when as a #11 seed beat Duke in the first round, won the Colonial Athletic Association, but fell in the semifinals of the tournament to William & Mary. 2006 Final Four darlings George Mason proceeded to beat W&M last night in the final. The CAA has gotten two or three teams in the Dance for a few years now, so it wouldn't be a complete shock to see VCU join Mason in the field. However, people were skeptical if VCU would make it BEFORE St. Mary's and USA bowed out unexpectedly early.

Unfortunately, I think that only one of these three teams will make the NCAA Tournament, and I feel like that team will be South Alabama. I can hardly see the West Coast Conference given three bids, and VCU has no quality non-conference win on its resume to prove they can truly compete with the big boys this year outside of the CAA. With 26 wins, USA deserves to go dancing in my book.

End-of-regular season grades for USU basketball

2008-03-10T15:58:00.002-06:00

Post Players
Gary Wilkinson: A- Center
Wilkinson's game improved over the course of the season, especially on the road. He particularly became a better rebounder and defender, whie averaging 13.4 ppg and 6.8 rpg. This improvement was reflected in a second-team all-conference honor.
Tai Wesley: B+ Power Forward
Wesley was a pleasant surprise to become the team's starting power forward as a redshirt freshman. With averages of 10.4 ppg and 4.2 rpg, Wesley would often have problems with foul trouble, but occasionally respond with 24/9 or 23/7 games as he did against Hawaii and La. Tech.
Steve DuCharme: C Power Forward/Center
DuCharme wasn't much above average, even in a better second half of the conference season, but rose to the occasion with great games on Senior Night last week and a huge 20-point game at Boise State when the Aggies needed it from him most if they wanted a piece of the conference title. Inconsistent, but there when USU needed him.
Overall: B+

Wings
Jaycee Carroll: Valedictorian Shooting Guard
What more can you say. WAC Player of the Year, Senior Class Award Finalist, holds 10 school records, with more accolades headed his way. He averages nearly 22.3 points a game, while bumping it up to 24.5 in conference play, while averaging 6.2 rebounds per game, good for second on the team, as a 6-2 guard. Leads the nation in three-point shooting (50.2%) and is third in free-throw shooting (92.0%), while he is 12th in the nation in scoring average. Beyond the stats, he took his game to another level when USU needed some way to stay in tough games. In the second half of conference play, he routinely scored close to 20 points or more in the second half. All in all, Carroll should be an All-American and hopefully will get to display his shooting ability in the NCAA Tournament.
Tyler Newbold: B+ Small Forward
Newbold is a terrific defender, and is the consumate play-within-yourself type of player. He shoots 47 percent from the three when he does shoot them (averages about 1.5 attempts per game). To consider that he has three more years of eligibility in Logan has to please Aggie fans from anywhere.
Pooh Williams: B- Small Forward/Shooting Guard
"Excrement" made tremendous strides as a defender and even as a minor offensive contributor in the second half of the conference season. Pooh was a huge part of Utah State's amazing final-week finish of the regular season.
Overall: A-

Point Guards
Kris Clark: A-
Clark, for the most part, played well in the final handful of games of the regular season, including setting the USU single-season record for assists on Senior Night, despite turning the ball over five times in that game. He still dished out nine dimes in that game. Clark is not a good shooter, but did improve from last season. He hit a critical 3 against Boise State on Thursday.
Desmond Stephens: B+
You didn't exactly know what you would get out of Stephens, but Aggie fans got a better idea by the final four or five games of the season, when Stephens played his best basketball. He did a tremendous job playing extra minutes that he's accustomed to when Clark dealt with foul trouble at Boise. This is a welcome sign given Stephens will probably be the starting point guard next season.
Overall: A-

Team, Overall: A-

WAC CHAMPIONS!...Word on the Tournament

2008-03-10T15:37:00.003-06:00

Jaycee Carroll is WAC Player of the Year; Gary Wilkinson makes All-WAC second team

What an amazing week for Utah State last week, going 3-0 with two road wins to make a late surge all the way to the top of the WAC standings and a #1 seed. These wins including a fantastic 79-66 win over Fresno State on Senior Night, followed by a shocking 88-69 win at previous sole WAC leader Boise State and a 78-58 victory over Idaho on Saturday to clinch the #1 seed.
Carroll played great in all three games. This included a 33-point showing with six three-pointers on Monday in his last home game, followed by back-to-back 23-point games. This last-week surge by his team helped him earn the WAC Player of the Year honor. This is indeed deserving for a player who is now just 69 points away from passing Keith Van Horn as the state's all-time leading scorer.
I must also commend Gary Wilkinson for his deserved second-team honor. Wilkinson improved, especially on the road, as the season continued, and the Ags wouldn't have been able to surge to the top of the league last week if his play hadn't improved on the road as it did.
Too bad that the WAC Newcomer of the Year award didn't go to redshirt freshman Tai Wesley; rather, it went to Nevada freshman point guard Armon Johnson.
Carroll's point guard running mates Kris Clark and Desmond Stephens also played fantastic games. I was especially proud of Stephens for picking up the load at Boise when Clark got in foul trouble early. Stephens indicated that he may actually be ready to be USU's starting point guard once next season rolls around.
Wings Tyler Newbold and Pooh Williams continued to play solid. For the week, Newbold went 3-6 from the three-point line, but more importantly was primarily responsible for stopping lights-out BSU outside shooters Tyler Tiedeman and Matt Bausche. Together, they average 24 points a game, and Newbold and Pooh held them to nine on just 3-15 shooting.
The posts struggled through foul trouble, particularly Wilkinson and Wesley, but DuCharme stepped up his play off the bench, particularly against Boise, when he scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 31 minutes of play. Matt Formisano also saw significant time in both games in the state of Idaho, and was solid. His steady play was needed when Wilkinson and Wesley both got in foul trouble in Boise.
The Aggies really are playing as well as they have all season heading into the WAC Tournament beginning on Tuesday. They shouldn't have a problem with either San Jose State or Louisiana Tech in the first round- but then again, SJSU has already beaten the Aggies this season. If USU wins that game, it will definitely be tough to beat the Broncos for a third time in the semifinals, as that matchup will happen if BSU defeats the slumping Hawaii Warriors.
At least they avoided matching up with home team New Mexico State until the championship game, assuming (hoping) both teams can get that far. With the WAC only getting one bid this year, the fact that the tourney is hosted by a co-champion of the league has huge implications. If the NewMags get the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the tourney at home, then they will probably get a low seed in the form of even a #15 seed, since their 13 losses and RPI down at 121 is not impressive. Same goes for Boise State if the Broncos win, since their RPI is 101.
On the other hand, if the Aggies or Nevada win the tourney, they can probably manage to get a better seed due to RPIs of 72 and 74, respectively. Perhaps a 12-14 seed could be in the works for USU or the Wolfpack if they can win the three-day title.

Posted: Nov. 19, 1863

2008-03-06T10:06:00.003-07:00

Practice News Story 7: Speech
A 'Great Task Remaining before Us'
Lincoln captivates the audience in his gripping "Dedication to Devotion" speech

GETTYSBURG, Penn.- President Lincoln gave a stirring address in the dedication of the Gettysburg battlefield, yesterday, November 19, 1863.
On a hot, humid afternoon, where 1,500 people sat ready to hear the dedication given by the Union’s president, Lincoln aroused the American spirit with notes “of honored dead” that as Americans “take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion” and promises “that we (American people) here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.”
Lincoln caught hold of the audience with these notations and promises of a greater future ahead for a fledging country that has only been developing for, as Lincoln phrased it, “four score and seven years ago”- the 87 years that has seen this continent be thrust into a Revolutionary War, only to fight itself over additional rights, in a climactic, blood-ridden three-day battle that took place at this very site four months ago.
A strong theme evident in Lincoln’s speech was his point that no matter how much dedication goes towards Gettysburg, nothing can truly amount to honor the greatness that the men and women served on a grounds that saw 7500 soldiers killed in a mere three days. Lincoln constantly noted that while the dedication “is altogether fitting and proper… in a larger sense, we can not dedicate… we can not consecrate- this ground.”
Only a man as dignified and as respectful for this struggling nation as Lincoln could address these issues in such a gripping and relatable manner. It didn’t take him much words, but it had great affect on his audience yesterday afternoon.

WAC Title hopes still possible for Aggies

2008-03-02T23:01:00.004-07:00

Utah State followed up a well-played 72-59 ESPN BracketBuster victory over UC Santa Barbara with a solid 86-59 dominating win over Louisiana Tech on Thursday in a return to conference play, setting their record at 20-9 overall and 9-4 in the WAC.
The Aggies are among two other teams- Nevada (11-4, 19-10 overall) and New Mexico State (10-4, 17-13) with four conference losses, behind first-place Boise State (12-3, 22-7).
I was impressed by the play of both Gary Wilkinson and Tai Wesley in both games in the Spectrum. Wesley totaled 24 points and nine rebounds against the Gauchos before following that up with a 16-point, eight-rebound night versus the Bulldogs. Meanwhile, Wilkinson went 14/12 against La. Tech after going for 19/10 against Santa Barbara.
The play of the Aggies' bigs is pivotal to the final three conference games of the regular season, particularly on Thursday against Boise State, when they will take the floor against forward Reggie Larry and center Matt Nelson.
While Jaycee had a personal shoddy performance against the Gauchos with just 15 points, he followed that up with a quiet 30-point night against the Bulldogs, earning most of his points with drives to the hole and aggressive play in the open court during the second half.
Isn't that funny how, because of the standards that Carroll has said for himself, that I can actually say that 30 points can be "quiet" for him?
Kris Clark was shaky, but with nine assists against La. Tech, he set the single-season record for assists at Utah State after totaling nine against the Bulldogs.
The wings were particularly impressive in both games, especially Pooh Williams in Thursday's game, where he scored a personal career-high of six points on 3-3 shooting with two assists, a steal and no turnovers. Meanwhile, Tyler Newbold, in addition to Williams, played fine defense. What might be surprising for some people to know is while Jaycee remains first in the nation in three-point shooting percentage at 50.3 percent, Newbold is shooting at a 48.2 percent clip at 22-46.
Tomorrow's game against Fresno State is going to be packed both in the stands and in the emotions of loyal Aggie fans, especially those who have witnessed the play of Carroll over his four years in Logan. To be honest, it might be tough for me to hold it in as they introduce Jaycee Carroll for the final time. Well, at least I will be able to see him in Las Cruces at the WAC Tournament, and who knows, possibly in a home game in Logan if the Aggies fail to reach the NCAA Tournament and receive a home game in the NIT.

Practice News Story 6: Press Release

2008-02-28T10:00:00.005-07:00

Posted: Feb. 28, 2008 10:19 AM

Feb. 28, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact Infomation:
North Logan, UT 84321
info@clearpointinstruction.com
President Mary Ann Parlin
maryann.parlin@clearpointinstruction.com
Phone: 435.767.4158

Company strives to educate patients on the conditions of their surgeries

LOGAN, Utah- A fledging company called ClearPoint Instruction aims to help instruct those who will be paying for treatment with a healthcare organization, through the means of instructional pamphlets and DVDs that do not cost anything above how much the medical treatment would require. In fact, the price is rolled into the surgery.
“President Mary Ann Parlin discovered that those who lacked additional education were slower in their recovery, while those who were more educated were quicker to recover from their surgeries,” said Senior Vice President Preston Parker. What is the reason for this slower recovery for those who lacked additional information on their treatment?
“If you show up the day of the surgery that morning, not knowing anything about the surgery, then the hospital will not be as eager to help those who do not understand what they are going into. On the other hand, those who go into surgery having read the pamphlets and watched the DVDs better understand the surgery that they are going into. That’s why ClearPoint Instruction was created: to help people better understand the conditions of going into a surgery so they will be more prepared heading into the hospitals.”
ClearPoint was founded in Jan. 2006 with this exact goal in mind. Their current clients include Mountain West Physical Therapy and Cache Valley Specialty Hospital.
The employees of ClearPoint have first-hand gone into operating rooms and areas of healthcare treatment with the intent of gathering information that they can present to their customers in order to provide better education concerning any sort of healthcare.
“We have gone into hospitals, into the operating rooms, in order to better help patients what is going to happen to the given customer at the time of their treatment,” Parker said. “This education may scare some people away, but the costs outweigh the benefits since patients will better know what is going to happen to their bodies.”
This basis of the company serves to help both the doctors or health-care providers, as well as the patient. It is an increased mutual understanding between the two parties that will help the surgeries go smoother and more efficiently, not to mention provide for quicker recovery. This endeavor is made possible through the research and education of ClearPoint instruction.
“Doctors are tired of telling patients the same information every time a patient heads into a surgery. It is that information that we at ClearPoint Instruction are putting onto the DVD and in the pamplets,” Parker said.

Project Salvage the Season begins Tonight

2008-02-22T15:14:00.003-07:00

At 18-9 overall and 8-4 in conference play, the once-conference-leading Utah State Aggies are a measly fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference. With five games to go in the regular season, including three at home, it is time to initiate Project Salvage the Season.
With three road losses in eight days, the Aggies have fallen from nearly realizing their goal of conference champions to an ordinary team. Tonight needs to somehow spark a surge for the Ags in these last five games and the conference tournament, against UC-Santa Barbara in an ESPN BracketBusters contest.
The Ags better be able to defeat a 3rd place team in the Big West. The Gauchos are 20-6 and 9-4 in the Big West, but should not defeat USU in Logan tonight. That would frankly be just sad.
Tonight, somebody else needs to step up their play to help Jaycee Carroll. Gary Wilkinson didn't even show up for Monday's game at San Jose State. Tai Wesley was miserable whether it was fouling out or getting ejected a minute-and-a-half into the game. Tyler Newbold was off-an-on during the three games, as was Kris Clark, who had nine turnovers at Nevada but played OK in the other two games.
Don't even get me started on Steve DuCharme. Also, Desmond Stephens had an awful road trip.
Basically, what I'm saying is that players need to step up their games. Jaycee Carroll has done everything he can. His teammates need to wake up if they somehow want to get a piece of this conference title.

Cleveland, Chicago and Seattle in three-team trade: Does this actually make the Cavs better?

2008-02-21T15:37:00.002-07:00

Just an hour or so ago, the Cavaliers, Bulls and SuperSonics pulled one of the biggest trades in NBA history, swapping 11 players.
Cleveland gets: C Ben Wallace, SF/SG Wally Szczerbiak, F Joe Smith and G Delonte West
Chicago gets: PF Drew Gooden, G Larry Hughes
Seattle gets: F Donyell Marshall, G Ira Newble, future first-round pick

While a lot of talk is going around about how much this can improve the Cavs' roster, I remain suspicious whether the new version of the Cavaliers will indeed be better than the roster that has struggled to a 30-24 record.
Big Ben is a fabulous defensive player, but is a liability on offense... at least Drew Gooden could score a little. Joe Smith might be able to fill this scoring void a little, but not as much as Gooden. He won't even play for Cleveland as much as Gooden did.
Losing Larry Hughes isn't a problem when they are getting Szczerbiak, but I think Chicago benefited just as much as the Cavs by saving money in trading Big Ben's big contract, and I agree with Ric Bucher, senior writer for ESPN the Magazine- the Bulls needed to do something to shake up the roster and re-awaken the franchise, which should be having a great year right now. It will be interesting to see where Hughes fits in a rotation of guards that includes Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and an improving Thabo Sefolasha.
Seattle? They are simply clearing cap space to make a run at a big-time player in the summer to be another cornerstone to their massive rebuilding project.

Meanwhile, Seattle got rid of an older player on the roster in Kurt Thomas, shipping him and his large contract to San Antonio for C Francisco Elson, another guard and cash. This trade really helps both clubs. The Spurs are assisted because Thomas can be a solid player off the bench who can come in for C Fabricio Oberto, or spell Tim Duncan. Thomas could also play alongside Duncan, giving the Spurs a pretty tough front line, a feature that the Spurs will need in needing to play post defense against the bigger, new-look teams of the Suns and Lakers (O'Neal and Gasol).

Then, there's the trade that went down this morning: New Orleans gave up backup guard Bobby Jackson, another player and a draft pick to Houston for guards Mike James and Bonzi Wells, the Rockets' top two players off the bench this season. The Hornets just got deeper, with James and Wells combined with Jannero Pargo gives N.O. a lot of perimeter threats off the bench to spell Chris Paul and avoid losing a step when Peja Stojakovic or Morris Peterson comes out of the game.

All of these trades have left one Western Conference contender who have not made any recent personnel changes in an attempt to improve amongst an ultra-competitive and exciting conference race: the Golden State Warriors, who you could argue have made a move with their signing of postman Chris Webber a couple of weeks ago.

Projections on NBA season's second half (uh, final third)

2008-02-19T14:41:00.002-07:00

Jazz trade for sweet-shooting Kyle Korver!
Spurs bolster rotation by signing veteran guard Damon Stoudamire!
Warriors gear up by signing big man Chris Webber!
Lakers shake up West by trading for Grizzlies pivot Pau Gasol!
Suns will change pace after trading for 14-time All-Star Shaquille O'Neal!
Will the Mavericks be able to pull the Jason Kidd trade?

So many headlines have shaken out in the Western Conference in the past month. Several franchises in the powerful conference have made minor-to-monumental deals in an attempt to improve their team in a conference where nine teams are playing .615 ball or better.
Now, the question is, who will actually improve with all of these deals?
Will a team that made a minor move be able to move up the most? How about the Suns slowing down, despite Shaq's insistence that they won't have to? Will a team that stood firm while everybody else was shaking be able to take advantage of other teams who might take a little time trying to adjust with a new player?
Who knows. There are way too many questions to try and figure it all out. Honestly, let's just see what happens. It truly is anybody's guess.
With that said, here's my guess- uh, I mean, 'expert prediction' on who will win the West and how it will be won:
1) Phoenix Suns. Yes, Steve Nash may need to drive the Mustang a bit slower for the Diesel to keep up, but the track will still be plenty fast for the rest of the league.
2) San Antonio Spurs. As tempting as it is for me to want to believe that the Spurs franchise is slowing down, keep in mind that this is the defending champions of the league. Once Tony Parker returns from injury, the point guard position will be super-deep with Damon Stoudamire and Jacque Vaughn backing him up.
3) Los Angeles Lakers. The Pau trade has been working (the Lakers are 5-1 with him so far), and when Bynum returns from injury, it will work even better. What a great trade for the Los Angeles franchise, and bad for the rest of the NBA. (Memo to Memphis: thanks a lot for ruining the hopes of a lot of other teams in the Western Conference.)
4) Utah Jazz. While the Jazz may or may not be a couple of games behind a couple of other teams for this spot, they will get this seed by virtue of winning the Northwest Division. Winners of 12 of 13, 16 of 18 and 18 of 21, Utah is now rolling. Hopefully the All-Star break didn't cool them off too much.
5) New Orleans Hornets. I want to put the Hornets here just so I can dream of a first-round matchup involving Deron Williams' Jazz and Chris Paul's Hornets. For once, the NBA would have all eyes on a series involving Utah. Plus, I think the Hornets will hit a six-to-eight game slump, which will be enough to drop them a few spots in the uber-tight conference.
6) Dallas Mavericks. I'm not sure how much the Jason Kidd trade is going to help. They are getting him for defense, yet Devin Harris, the young point guard who they will give up in the trade, is a pretty decent defender himself. In the West, Kidd will find himself to be almost average as far as point guards go in a conference with Nash, Paul, Williams, himself, Davis, Iverson, and Parker. Yes, seven of the league's elite eight point guards (including Chauncey Billups) will now all be in the same conference. What the Mavs really need is a dominant big man, something they are no longer getting from Erick Dampier.
7) Denver Nuggets. While not a complete team, the Nuggets have enough with 'Melo and Iverson to get the club in the playoffs. Throw in Camby, Nene and Martin, and Denver has one of the league's better front lines. Rumor is that they might trade for bad boy Ron Artest. As a fan of the Nuggets' rival Utah, I say bring it on. Artest will not help their team in the slightest. Case in point: how has he helped Chicago or Sacramento? Plus, he plays the same position as Anthony.
8) Golden State Warriors. Though their style screams win-in-the-regular-season-and-then-get-shut-down-in-the-playoffs, the Warriors do have enough talent to at least make the postseason. 31-14 since Stephen Jackson returned from a seven-game suspension to open the season, the Warriors aren't that deep, but are electrifying when on the run with Davis, the much-improved Monta Ellis, Jackson, and Al Harrington. The bench? Um... Andris Biedrins, anyone? Oh, yeah. At least they got Webber. Maybe he will help in the slightest bit.

Just barely missing out:
Houston Rockets. T-Mac and Yao are proof that although two stars may be on the same team, it doesn't necessarily form a dynamic duo if they can't make each other better or play to the others strengths. Though they are hot right now, I don't think they have enough pieces on their roster to make a return trip.
Portland TrailBlazers. The Cinderella team is slipping. It should continue into March and April.

What's to say in the Eastern Conference? Boston and Detroit, who can play with any mighty Western Conference team. 'Nuff said.

Aggie season going down the toilet bowl (from a depressed Aggie fan)

2008-02-19T14:40:00.003-07:00

The Deseret Morning News headline summed it up perfectly:

"Aggie tailspin continues"

Couldn't be better said. After three straight losses on the road in an eight-day span, the Aggies are now in a 3rd/4th place tie in the WAC with Nevada. They no longer control their own destiny in the conference race. They are COMPLETELY off the bubble with regards to the NCAA Tournament. Simply put, they are ordinary, a little overrated, and a pathetic team on the road.
What's there to hope for anymore?
It's tough to see Jaycee Carroll's senior season winding up like this. While he has had an absolutely fantastic year personally, his team is apparently just too inexperienced and lacks the toughness both physical and mental needed to win tough games on the road.
With no real quality wins, unless you want to count home victories over Boise State, Oral Roberts and Austin Peay, but plenty of bad losses (Weber State, Cal-Poly, UC-Irvine, blowout to Utah, blown 14-point lead at Hawaii, San Jose State yesterday), the Aggies are actually a fringe NIT team at this point. That's how far they've dropped in the NCAA Div. 1 totem poll after becoming the first Aggie team in the Stew Morrill era to lose three consecutive games.
How sad and embarrassing.
Though they still have three home games left among their five regular-season contests yet to come, this horrible road team must still play at Boise State, who is now the #1 team in the conference.
How sad. I expected SO much more from the Utah State Aggies this season, only to be letdown with nothing coming from it, not even the highly-expected WAC regular-season championship.
Let the swan song begin...

Posted: Feb. 15, 2007 10:50 PM

2008-02-15T22:00:00.008-07:00

Practice News Story 5: Obituary
The world mourns as Oprah unexpectedly passes away

CHICAGO, Ill.- Having been noted as caring, benevolent, understanding of various groups of people, and someone who truly made a positive impact not just in her native country but the entire world by peers and non-peers alike, the the international network of those touched by Oprah Winfrey are mourning her passing yesterday afternoon.
Though healthy at the age of 54, Oprah Gail Winfrey tragically was mobbed by adoring fans after her afternoon talk show in Chicago. While walking to her car at 3:30 p.m. in lieu of driving home after another successful show, a large throng of fans entered the parking lot and stormed her. While the bodyguards around her tried to halt the mayhem, the sheer number of those madly wild to see her was too overwhelming. Having fallen to the ground in the onslaught of excitement, our dear Oprah suffocated beneath the pile.
Winfrey was the host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which has won multiple Emmy Awards and is the highest-rated talk show in television history. Besides succeeding in the one medium in television, she was also a highly influential book critic, an Academy Award-nominated actress, and a magazine publisher. This bevy of successes has ranked her as the richest African American of the 20th century. Those who knew and spent continuous time with this remarkable woman, and even those who didn't know her on a personal level, call her the most influential woman in the world.
Oprah's time spent helping others and being accepting of those who hold preferences beliefs that may even be far from her own comes from her experiences earlier in life. She was born into poverty in Mississippi to an unwed, teenage mother. Throughout much of her child, she lived in Milwaukee. Tragically, she was raped as a nine-year-old, but fought through the trauma. Additional tragedy fell into her life when she at age 14 gave birth to a son who died as an infant.
However, her career was launched at just age 19, a young age to already be co-anchoring the local evening news, in Tennessee. The emotional impact that she made on her viewers quickly presented her with even greater opportunities until her own show eventually grew into the highest-rated program ever known to television.
Winfrey's humanitarian efforts were off the charts, especially in South Africa. In 2004, she and her crew went on a 21-day journey through the country exposing others in the United States to the poverty and AIDS that many of South Africa's citizens offer. The report was focused primarily on the children. In addition, she developed the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in the same country.
Oprah is survived by her partner of 22 years, Stedham Graham, and her four dogs. Additionally, she is survived by what she would call her 227 daughers of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, and her best friend Gayle King, who has said how touched she has been by Winfrey's work as a philanthropolist.
Millions of people in a great variety of countries could say how much Winfrey means to them in their lives, so a few quotes will not do this great woman justice. With that said, many powerful and influential leaders within this country do recognize the contributions that she has made in the world, thoughts that no doubt are reflected in the minds of many across the world:
Senator Barack Obama, current delegate leader for the Democratic nomination to be the next U.S. President, has said she "may be the most influential woman in the country," while renowned political and news analyst Bill O'Reilly has said that "this is a woman that came from nothing to rise up to be the most powerful woman, I think, in the world. I think Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful woman in the world, not just in America. That's — anybody who goes on her program immediately benefits through the roof. I mean, she has a loyal following; she has credibility; she has talent; and she's done it on her own to become fabulously wealthy and fabulously powerful."
While indeed powerful and influential, countless numbers of people in this country and beyond appreciate the love and the humility which she has shown others while she has gained such notoriety. Surely the world is losing one of its greatest contributors in its history in Oprah Winfrey.

With Kobe injured, could D-Will be an All-Star?

2008-02-15T21:47:00.003-07:00

The big latest news in the NBA came down last night in the form of Kobe Bryant (what's new)?
The Los Angeles Lakers team doctor found that Bryant has a torn ligament in his right pinkie finger, making his appearance in Sunday's All-Star Game questionable.
Could this be the window of opportunity for Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams, whose deserving All-Star spot was taken by others?
Could happen.
However, he has plenty of competition to fill the spot vacated by Bryant, if Kobe indeed opts to sit out as the doctor and coach Phil Jackson advise. Golden State guard Baron Davis runs the high-energy, shoot-with-no-conscience Warriors offense that currently has them tied for a playoff spot.
Other would-be contenders include another Warrior, Stephen Jackson, Houston's Tracy McGrady, a five-time All-Star, and perhaps the L.A. Clippers' Chris Kaman or New Orleans' Tyson Chandler.
But honestly, we all know who deserves this possible open slot.
The doctor also recommended that Bryant undergo surgery that would keep him out of action for 6-8 weeks, but Kobe is, at the moment, with perhaps the Lakers' chances looking good in the second half with new acquisition Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum soon to return from injury, declining on that option.

'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' movie coming August 15th!

2008-02-12T14:45:00.001-07:00

George Lucas, you seize to amaze.
'Star Wars' is coming back to theaters.
On Aug. 15, 2008, the world will be introduced to an innovative style in filmmaking with 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars.' It will introduce a whole new television series that will premiere in September on the Cartoon Network, and then TNT.
Both the movie and the television series of 'The Clone Wars' is being created through computer-generated images, or 'CGI' technology. The film will be one of the first of its kind to be made entirely by this style, while the TV show will mark the very first of its kind.
A slew of television networks bid highly for the series before the CN and TNT- allies under Warner Bros. entertainment- won out.
Surprisingly, this means that Warner Bros. will be the studio behind the film, rather than 20th Century Fox, who was the studio for the six previous 'Star Wars' films that as two trilogies put together make the most famous film series of all-time.
As a 'Star Wars' fan, I was shocked and amazed by discovering this previously well-kept secret this morning in one of my classes on USAToday.com. I must commend USAToday for being the first news organization to discover this news on starwars.com and release it to the public.
'The Clone Wars' will chronicle the three years of time in between 'Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones' and 'Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith," a time period where the Old Republic fought against an increasingly large group of seceding star systems known as the Confederacy of Independent Systems, led by the evil Sith lord Count Dooku. The Republic learned of a clone army created for them on the watery world of Kamino in Episode II, and used it during the action-packed and story-filled war against the droid armies of the Separatists.
Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker, who will become the evil Darth Vader, were heroes during this time. Both the film and the show will follow these heroes, who are already among the most famous movie characters of all-time.
There is no doubt that the characters will become even more notorious after they have been additionally explored in this movie and television show.
The Clone Wars era of the expansive and ever-growing 'Star Wars' universe has tantalized fans ever since its very first reference in the original 'Star Wars' film in 1977. Farmboy Luke Skywalker asks old 'Ben' Kenobi about fighting with his father in the Clone Wars. Ben replies that he did indeed, and 'was once a Jedi Knight, the same as your father.'
Creator George Lucas has been directly working with supervising heads Dave Filoni and Catherine Winder over the entire project, including collaborating with them over what makes good storytelling, and making sure that they get the right 'Star Wars' look so that it blends in with the six films.
The 16-person crew, in addition to Lucas, who are working on the project have plenty of source material to draw from, including six Clone Wars novels from Del Rey books and a nine-volume graphic novel series from Dark Horse comics, not to mention the 2-D animated 'Clone Wars' series created and released from 2003-2005.
However, this new movie and series will replace the cartoon as part of the official continuity of the entire 'Star Wars' storyline.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to see neither the film or the show for over two years, since I will be going on an LDS mission in May or June. But that is okay. I will have a lot to look forward to in 2010.

UTAH STATE AT NEVADA TONIGHT, IN LESS THAN TWO HOURS

2008-02-11T18:04:00.000-07:00

IN THE BIGGEST LITTLE CITY IN THE WORLD

OK, talk about a big game. Well, I will write about it. Utah State (18-6, 8-1), as the current top team in the WAC, plays against Nevada (15-8, 7-3), who are #4 in the league but yet are just 1.5 games behind the Aggies for first place. Just nine days ago, USU defeated the Wolfpack 77-63 in Logan in their best-played game of the season, extending their win streak over Nevada to three dating back to victories over the Top-10 Wolfpack last spring.
Simply put, the Aggies win this game, and the conference is theirs. Lose, and it's up for grabs among five teams- not just the Ags and the Pack, but also Boise State (8-3), New Mexico State (8-3) and also darkhorse Hawaii (6-4).
Quite honestly, it's tough for me too see my beloved Aggies winning tonight. Their winning streak is tentively sitting at three, but it's tough for me to see it getting extended. Nevada is 10-2 at home this year and have won their last two games in the Lawlor Events Center by an average of 29 points, including a 38-point win over San Jose State, whom USU beat by just five two days ago in the mighty Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The Pack followed up that victory by clobbering contender Hawaii by 29 on Saturday.
In fact, I'm so down on the Aggies' chances tonight, that if anybody actually reads this post and the Aggies win, then you can comment here below the article, or call me if you have my number, or speak to me if you know me, requesting a candy bar or something, because it's not gonna happen. Nevada is too strong at home to lose. My Aggies are good, but they aren't good enough to turn around from a lackluster win over a bad team with almost no rest and win a game that has already been postponed.
Aggie fans, remember Justin Hawkins' two games against USU this year? After getting shut down in Logan, he lit up the Aggies in Las Cruces for 30 points with nine rebounds as the NewMags very un-gracefully laid a 30-point shellacking onto the northern Aggies 16 days ago.
Well, fellow NBA prospect Marcellus Kemp similarily struggled against USU up here in Cache Valley. I would expect him to respond at his team's home court in a similar way that Hawkins did.
If the Aggies want to have a chance, they cannot get out-rebounded the way they did against the Spartans two nights ago. If somebody told me that a team would get out-rebounded by eight boards and still win, I would say to be unlike DeUndrae Spraggins and get off the pot. Utah State MUST out-rebound Nevada like they did up here if they want to win. That might be difficult considering nine of Wolfpack seven-footer JaVale McGee's 11 rebounds in Logan came on the offensive end. That shouldn't get any better from Utah State's point of view when McGee is playing in front of a friendly crowd.
All right, I'm off, and hoping for a miracle.

Midseason WAC grades for the Aggies

2008-02-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

The third in a three-part series analyzing the play of the Utah State basketball team- preseason, halfway point of the entire season, midseason in WAC play, and the final part, after the season ends.

Post players- The '4s' and '5s'
Gary Wilkinson: A-
The Aggies' starting center stepped up his play when the conference battles began, particularly on defense and rebounding the ball. With perhaps the exception of Vanderbilt's Andrew Ogilvy and Utah's Luke Nevill, he has had to face tougher post players in the WAC compared to non-conference games- including Boise State center Matt Nelson, Nevada big man JaVale McGee, and San Jose State pivot C.J. Webster- and has, for the most part, played bigger and rebounded more consistently than before the calendar year rolled around. Webster did own him and his teammates Tai Wesley and Steve DuCharme, but in the other eight games you've got to be happy by the way Wilkinson has stepped up his game on both ends of the floor. His rebounding has increased by nearly two boards a game (4.5 to 6.3) since starting WAC play.
Tai Wesley: B
Tai has continued to be a pleasant surprise for Utah State, especially since moving into the starting role, where since that day USU has gone 13-1. He has had some monster games in conference, starting with a bang against Hawaii with 26 points. In fact, the factor that holds the 21-year-old freshman back the most is himself, since he often suffers from foul trouble. Take the very next game after he dropped 26, for instance, against New Mexico State, where he played just 6 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble and finished with just four points. However, he has played well in most of the WAC games, particularly in six of the nine contests when he didn't get into serious foul trouble. Take the Idaho game in Logan, the very night that Jaycee Carroll celebrated the scoring record. Although it was Carroll's night, and he finished with 21 points, Tai scored 23 and simply embarrassed Vandal post Darin Nagle. Consistency really is the key for Tai: against Nevada, he scored 14 points and ripped eight boards, but then followed it up two games later with 13 points but zero rebounds versus SJSU two days ago.
Steve DuCharme: C-
DuCharme has struggled in conference play. He simply hasn't seemed to have the confidence that he had before losing his spot in the starting lineup. Turnovers have been a big issue with DuCharme. Against Nevada Feb. 2, he committed four straight turnovers in the first half when the ball went into his hands. In fact, Tai Wesley has probably passed DuCharme in his abilities as a basketball player. Still, DuCharme plays a pivotal role on the team, playing 20-22 minutes per game despite coming off the bench. In fact, he plays two positions for the Aggies, at power forward alongside Wilkinson or at center with PF Wesley, a true challenge indeed made even more complicated coming off the bench.
Overall: B

Swingmen- The '2s' and '3s'
Jaycee Carroll: A+
There is nothing wrong at all with Jaycee Carroll. In conference play, he has proven that in addition to being able to light it up from three-point land (over 50 percent for the season, best in the nation), he can score in a variety of ways- mid-range, running in the fast break, scoring off offensive rebounds- which he has a great knack of doing- and off the dribble a little bit. That is exactly what the NBA scouts, particularly frequent Spectrum visitor Richard Smith of the Utah Jazz- need to see from him. He is even an average defender now, or as Stew Morrill would put it early in the season, 'adequate.' Though he had slow starts in two of the nine games so far- at home against Boise State and San Jose State- he still finished with stellar games of 29 and 26 points, respectably. In fact, against BSU he turned a slow start into one of the three or four personal best games of the season, hitting six three-pointers in ten attempts in a huge, nail-biting 82-78 win that made coach Morrill the winningest coach in Utah State basketball history. Add in 92-plus percent from the free-throw line (2nd best in the country) and 54 percent from the field, and you have a guy that should be an All-American when the year is over.
Tyler Newbold: B+
The 6-4 Newbold has been a wonderful surprise, usually taking on the defensive assignment against the opponent's best player, whether they be 6-1 or 6-8. Particularly impressive on the defensive side is that he has managed to slow down a couple NBA prospects, completely shutting down 6-7 forward Justin Hawkins (well, at least once in Logan- the game in Las Cruces was a different story), and limiting Nevada swingman Marcellus Kemp, among others. When his team didn't show up to play in that Las Cruces game, at least Newbold had the offensive night of his career with 20 points on efficient outside shooting. Though he is not asked to score, Newbold can hit the 3 with regularity and is a great free-throw shooter at 84 percent. Newbold has shot the majority of these free-throws late in WAC games, as well.
Pooh Williams: C+
The 6-3 small forward has essentially taken DeUndrae Spraggins' spot in the rotation, as the 20-year-old freshman has been in the regular rotation four out of the last five games- and the one game he wasn't was when he was suspended for partying at Louisiana Tech. He has helped Newbold slow some of the conference's better perimeter players, even players who may have three or four inches on Williams. This includes SJSU's small forward Tim Pierce on Saturday. While the Aggies as a whole did not play well, Williams was a large part in the 6-7 senior going just 5-14 from the field and tiring him on offense to the point that he got too fatigued to chase around Jaycee Carroll effectively while playing defense. Williams needs to get more comfortable shooting outside when he gets the rare opportunity.
DeUndrae Spraggins: C
Spraggins has been replaced in the lineup by Pooh. While a solid perimeter defender who deserves credit for his work the first five games of WAC season, for whatever reason he can no longer crack the rotation in his first year with the Aggies- though he is a junior.
Overall: A-

Point Guard- The '1s'
Kris Clark: A
Clark has maintained his place as a member of the top tier of point guards the league has to offer, along with Fresno State's Kevin Bell and NMSU's rather plump Fred Peete. He leads the conference in assists per game (6.2) and assists-to-turnover ratio for the second straight season. He finds his teammates in all the right places for scores, especially Jaycee outside on cuts and also Wilkinson on cross-screens underneath. While not a great shooter, his jump shot is improved from last season and even non-conference play this year, and has a really good ability of finding teammates in tight spots on a fast break.
Desmond Stephens: B
Stephens has improved during WAC battles compared to an up-and-down November and December. For the most part, he has been able to hold down the fort while Clark is on the bench, playing 10-12 minutes per game. He just can't get suspended any more and put the team, who only runs a two-point guard rotation, in an uncomfortable situation.
Overall: B+

Team: B+

The improved play at point guard has made the biggest difference in the Aggies' play through the WAC so far- at 8-1 and in first place. The play of three freshman in the eight-man rotation, including two in the starting lineup, cannot be overlooked either, nor can the astounding play of Carroll. Utah State has just gelled better over the course of the season. However, they have played six home games and just three road games in conference, and now face a stretch of playing three straight road games in eight days. USU just needs to play the way they did against Nevada, New Mexico State, and at Fresno, their three best WAC performances among their eight victories, and among their five or six best-played games of the season, and they will have a shot at the end of every game.

USU on top of league, winners of three straight

2008-02-10T19:15:00.001-07:00

Following a 100-70 debacle at the hands of New Mexico State in Las Cruces, N.M., the Aggies have turned things around the last two weeks to remain #1 in the WAC. Utah State faced Nevada a week later at home, and turned in perhaps their best performance of the season in defeating the Wolfpack 77-63 in a game that the Aggies controlled from start to finish. USU took a 13-2 lead three minutes into the game, and never looked back.
Keep in mind that this Wolfpack bunch lay claim to the WAC championship four years in a row. No, they no longer have Nick Fazekas, now a member of the Dallas Mavericks organization, or Ramon Sessions, but they do have NBA prospect Marcellus Kemp and a fine freshman point guard in Armon Johnson, who commits several turnovers a game (4.2) but often delivers the ball in good places for his teammates and already knows how to score at the Div. 1 level.
In addition, seven-foot sophomore center JaVale McGee is averaging 13 points and eight rebounds per game this season, and in a couple of years, if not next year, will be as good as Fazekas. He may not have the outside touch that Fazekas did, but is already just as good if not better at offensive rebounding.
OK, enough drooling about the Wolfpack. The point is, they are a fine team, and Utah State completely took them out of what they wanted to do. In fact, they outrebounded the bigger Pack, and thanks to primarily Tyler Newbold but also Pooh Williams, held Kemp to 15 points (nearly five below his average) on 6-15 shooting, including 1-5 from three-point land.
Coach Stew said that Gary Wilkinson "played his best game as an Aggie" in scoring 21 points and nabbing 13 rebounds. USU desperately needed that type of rebounding game from Gary, particularly going against McGee.
The Aggies followed this game up with a 77-72 road victory over Fresno State this past Thursday. USU built a 22-point lead in the first half, only to see the lead slip to 3 in the final minute before holding on for the win.
Yeah, they lead a big lead get away, but you can't complain too much about a road victory, especially considering the Ags' last road outing and their 3-6 record away from the Spectrum coming into the game. It is worth noting that Jaycee shot 6-9 from three-point range in the contest, and totalled 22 points. Gary also scored 16 points and grabbed seven boards and along with Tai and DuCharme slowed down the Bulldogs' Hector Hernandez, a power forward who can also shoot from the outside.
Finally, yesterday's game. Simply put, it wasn't the sharpest game of the year for the Aggies. Hey, it was a win though. Utah State put away San Jose State 78-73 in a game that the Spartans forced to the wire. You gotta give SJSU credit for the work that they did in defending Jaycee for most of the first half, however. 6-7 forward Tim Pierce received the defensive assignment on the 6-2 Carroll, and used his length and fairly decent speed to hold Jaycee to just 3 points with 3 minutes to play in the first half. At that point, the Spartans actually held a 27-23 lead on the Aggies. However, Carroll began to get more creative in finding decent looks, and was at 10 points on the night by the time a 32-all halftime rolled around.
Finally, USU began to break away from the 10-13 Spartans after intermission, and held a 50-40 lead eight minutes into the half. In fact, the lead got up to 62-47 following a DuCharme free throw with 8:03 to go in the game.
It just occurred to me, the Spartans outscored the Ags 26-14 the rest of the way? That's no good. Good thing SJSU sent the Aggies to the line a lot from that point on- Utah State went 18-22 from the line from there with just one field goal during that time.
Happy to say that Jaycee got going, though. He came out with a lot more energy and aggression in the second half and wound up with 26 points on 8-16 shooting. He had 11 rebounds too! He's only 6-2, and the Spartans played four players who were 6-8 or taller! That's impressive.
Gary scored 15 and grabbed eight boards, and Tai scored 13, but didn't grab a rebound. Hmmm. That's really surprising, especially considering how physical Tai plays.
Every Aggie played pretty well, except for DuCharme, who went 1-6 from the floor and badly missed two three-pointers. It has been interesting but kind of sad to see him struggle in recent games.
SJSU outrebounded USU 47-39. This is a stat that makes it quite remarkable that the Ags actually got this game in the bag. It isn't very often that you win when you get out-boarded by 8. That's simply an attribute to the Magic of the Spectrum. Good job, students.
The win was not perfect, but in conference play, you sure gotta take it. In fact, the Aggies must forget about it since they will have a load to deal with tomorrow at Reno in playing Nevada again, as the game was postponed from mid-January when snow conditions were so bad in Reno that the Aggies wouldn't have been able to make a safe flight into the Biggest Little City in the World.

Tale of Two Tournaments: South Padre Island vs. Gossner Classic

2008-02-10T19:00:00.001-07:00

Evidence at how the Aggies improved over non-conference play can be pointed at two preseason tournaments: the South Padre Island Invitational in Texas and the Gossner Foods Classic in Logan.

In one (South Padre Island), it showed the Aggies how much they needed to improve if they were to attain their goal of winning the WAC; in the other (Gossner Foods), it proved that they had indeed improved, and needed to keep taking strides to be ready for conference play.

Utah State finished third in the six-team S.P. Invitational, behind champion Vanderbilt and Bradley and ahead of fourth-place Iowa, Austin Peay and Montana Western. The Aggies, Vandy, Iowa and Bradley were the four teams that actually traveled to Texas over Thanksgiving break. Austin Peay played at Iowa and Utah State, and hosted Montana Western, while Montana Western had to take their Invitational games on the road.
USU was pounded 76-55 by the Commodores, who have been ranked in the Top 25 nearly all season. However, the Ags responded by knocking off Iowa 65-52.
Previously in Logan, USU beat NAIA Montana Western 77-58 in an ugly game, and Austin Peay 71-68 in a much better played game.
Overall, the Ags played two good games in the tourney, and two bad ones.
In their two wins, USU played like a WAC contender. In their two losses, pretenders.
It really was that simple.
The Aggies were smacked around by a top SEC team, but took it to an average Big Ten team, proving that they can be Big Dance-worthy this year, but only if they give a consistent effort every game.

Then came the Gossner Foods Classic.
The Aggies were drubbed by Utah 72-48 to put their record at 5-5 fifteen days earlier. However, Utah State came out of the gates strong in the opening game against Utah Valley, and maintained the intensity in an 87-65 win. Two of the nation's top scorers, Jaycee Carroll and UVSC's Ryan Toolsen, faced off against each other, and Carroll took the battle in a landslide.
Then in the championship the next night, the Aggies played another solid game in a 78-62 victory over a 7-4 Northern Arizona club. Gary Wilkinson had perhaps his best game in the Aggie blue up to that point in the season.
Utah State looked SO much better in these two games than they had when they played another inferior team in Montana Western a month earlier. It really indicated that they had taken strides and made the choice to be a tough team after the wake-up call at the Utes' home in Salt Lake City. Add in a victory over a solid Oral Roberts group eight days later heading into WAC play, and Aggie fans, after initial concern with a .500 start to the season, could breathe a bit easier.

Midseason grades for Utah State basketball

2008-02-10T18:29:00.002-07:00

This is an article that I wrote back on Jan. 2, the day before conference play was about to begin. At this point in the season the Aggies had just wrapped up non-conference play at 10-5. However, I saved it and never published it...

Post Players
Gary Wilkinson: B Center
Wilkinson has proven that he can score. However, many players have been able to out-rebound him with ease, particularly really talented posts like Vanderbilt's Andrew Ogilvy.
Tai Wesley: B- Power Forward
Tai has taken over the starting power forward position, a spot that he took and hasn't relinquished since an early December game at Cal State Bakersfield. He has played better in the role with more and more playing time, and with the way he is going will be in the running for WAC Freshman of the Year once conference play gets rolling.
Steve DuCharme: B- Power Forward/Center
Steve started strong earlier in the season, particularly in weekend games in southern Californinia at Cal-Poly and UC-Irvine, when he averaged 20 points and was really the only Aggie to perform well. However, he has struggled to find his place on this team that has been ever-evolving over non-conference play.
Moduo Niang: C- Center
Moduo saw some playing time in the first ten or eleven games of the season, but has found his place on the bench his freshman season as coach Stew Morrill has been trying to solidify a rotation. Niang is still very raw but has shown signs of being a big contributor in seasons to come.
Overall: B-

Swingmen- Shooting Guards & Small Forwards
Jaycee Carroll: A Shooting Guard
What can I say? He has kept the team afloat as they have come together and improved, especially over the holiday break from school (a 32.5 ppg average during the Gossner Classic, a school record). Is still shooting just as well, or even better, than last season. While his scoring average was a little down from last year early on, he has scored at a higher pace the last 7 games while still involving his teammates.
Tyler Newbold: B- Small Forward
After burning his redshirt when Nick Hammer's tenure with the time ended right before the season, Newbold took over the starting small forward position vacated by DeUndrae Spraggins in the same December game at Bakersfield that Tai Wesley took the starting power forward slot. He has played good defense most of the time, and unlike Spraggins has fully accepted that he isn't going to get a lot of shots in an offense that looks for Carroll and passes to the post players coming off of low-post cross screens.
DeUndrae Spraggins: B- Small Forward
Spraggins has been a stellar defender, often taking on defensive roles against the opponent's best scorer. However, he has taken too many questionable shots for coach Morrill's liking, and perhaps has had a little too much pot recently, especially when compared to returned missionary Newbold.
Pooh Williams: C- Shooting Guard/Small Forward
Pooh played quite a bit in the first 6 or 7 games of the season, but has fallen out of the rotation as Morrill has sought to tighten the playing lineup. He can be a very solid player, but as coach Morrill has said, needs to develop consistent practice habits and fight fatigue in practice.
Overall: B

Point Guards
Kris Clark: B
Clark surprisingly had a major issue with turning the ball over in the Aggies' 5-5 start. However, since an embarrassing loss at Utah, Clark has been more steady with the ball, beginning with the Prarie View A&M game. In the two-game Gossner Classic, in fact, Clark turned the ball over just once. It is good to see that he is regaining his steady form from last season.
Desmond Stephens: C
Stephens has proven that he is a pretty good outside shooter, and while he isn't the largest man on the floor (5-9, 160 pounds), he contains serious speed to emphasize the fast break. However, he has had a huge problem with making lazy passes that lead to points for the opponent on the other end. However, the last few games he has seemed more accustomed to Div. 1 basketball.
Overall: C+

Team: B-

The team needs to continue to improve at the rate that they are improving to be contenders in the WAC. Starting conference play at home should help a lot in that regard.

2008-02-10T18:29:00.001-07:00

Posted: Feb. 7, 2008 10:18 AM

2008-02-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

Man accused in burglary of LDS Meetinghouse
35-year-old man, in addition to juvenile, is suspected

LOGAN, Utah- Jim Michaels, a 35-year-old man, and a 15-year-old juvenile have been accused of being involved in the burglary of the meetinghouse of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that took place last week, early Thursday, January 31, at 900 North 1600 East in Logan, Utah.
Michaels and the juvenile face trial in a preliminary court March 21.
Prosecuting attorney Noel Mayfield believes that there is “plenty of incriminating evidence” to be presented in court. Mayfield seeks the maximum punishment for both Michaels and the unnamed 15-year-old.
Intriguingly, this is not the first time that Michaels and the unnamed juvenile have intruded on the law together.
“I’m definitely going to seek for the maximum of the law for these two individuals… they are acquaintances, I can say that much… they have committed crime together in the past,” Mayfield commented.
While Mayfield is committed to seeing justice be done on these two individuals, Robbie Cochran, the defense attorney representing Mr. Michaels, doesn’t believe there is sufficient evidence for his client to be proven guilty.
“There is concern (over the evidence for the case). My client doesn’t want to go to jail… I don’t even believe (Michaels getting prosecuted) is an issue. I’m surprised that the judge even called a trial, because I believe (what Mayfield has against Michaels) is flimsy evidence.”
On the other side, Noel Mayfield claims that there is forensic-type evidence that she can present in opposition to Michaels and the 15-year-old. According to Mayfield, Michaels faces six months to a year in jail for the burglary of the meetinghouse on account for breaking and entering the building.
Mayfield refused to release any additional details of the burglary.
Judge Alan Mayfield is to run the trial. Michaels has posted a bond of $5,000 in his defense.
Cochran strongly opposes Judge Mayfield in this case.
“This will be an interesting trial because Judge Alan Mayfield (no relation to Noel Mayfield, prosecuting attorney) is unpredictable. You never know what side he is going to go on.”
Sheriff Geoffrey Hasty, who has been involved in the burglary since it first happened last week, remains involved in the accusation and will appear in the court March 21.

Jazz still haven't lost since the post a week ago

2008-02-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

Since the last Dubyaworld posting about the Utah Jazz exactly one week ago, the Jazz still have not lost. In fact, they have won four games in a row since that post to build their impressive, NBA-leading winning streak to eight games.
At 30-18, the Jazz are the leaders of the Northwest Division, which currently puts them as the fourth seed in the Western Conference. However, their record is actually the sixth-best in the conference, one game behind the Los Angeles Lakers and a half-game behind the San Antonio Spurs, whom the Jazz defeated five days ago 97-91 in Salt Lake City.
Utah takes on the New Orleans Hornets in a continuation of the never-ending Deron Williams-Chris Paul comparison tonight at seven in SLC at the EnergySolutions Arena. This will be the tenth meeting between the two. Williams currently has a 6-3 advantage head-to-head versus Paul. With that said, Paul is going to his first All-Star game this season, while Williams did not get selected. However, Williams has taken his team to the playoffs in his three-year career- something that Paul cannot claim. In fact, Williams led his team to the Western Conference Finals last year. 'Nuff said.
In addition, and more importantly, the Jazz are just three games behind the Hornets in the standings, who are second in the Western Conference, a half-game behind the Phoenix Suns.
This is, without a doubt, the biggest game in the NBA today amidst a schedule that includes ten games.

Four suspended Aggie ballers most likely partied at La. Tech

2008-02-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

The whispers coming out of the Utah State University campus are that the four men's basketball players who were suspended for the Aggies' Jan. 26 game at New Mexico State- Steve DuCharme, Desmond Stephens, Pooh Williams, and Jaxon Myaer- are that they went to a party on the Louisiana Tech campus.
The Aggies played La. Tech that Thursday, the 24th, two days before the game at NMSU. It is unclear whether the players partied on the Bulldog campus before or after the game in Ruston, La.
The most credible source for this information is Aggie athletics insider and women's basketball assistant team manager Atlee Zipf, who knows every single player on the men's team as well and counts most of them as his personal friends.

David West and Josh Smith on the All-Star teams?!

2008-02-04T15:59:00.000-07:00

The NBA All-Star reserves were announced four days ago, and though I agree with most of the coaches' overall selections, there were a couple of instances that made me scratch my head.
David West was named to the Western Conference roster?
Josh Smith was named to the Eastern Conference roster?
These were two named that really blew me out of the water when I first saw the listings of the reserves on ESPNews. Though West's New Orleans Hornets are currently one of the best teams in the NBA, with the second-best record in the Western Conference, he did not deserve to go to the game. He has decent averages of about 19 points and nine rebounds per game, but are these All-Star numbers? A fellow power forward that is on the All-Star roster is Carlos Boozer, who is averaging over 22 points and almost 11 rebounds per game, not to mention shooting a very higher percentage than West. Or Dirk Nowitzki, another power forward averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds per game, and as a seven-footer is also shooting over 35 percent from the three-point line. Besides, the Hornets already were going to be represented in the game by a very-deserving Chris Paul.
I guess the coaches were feeling generous to the Hornets for two reasons: number one, because they are a very good team this year, and secondly, because the game is being played in New Orleans. Maybe the coaches are being mindful of the fans, who will be paying big bucks for the game and would be more than happy to see TWO of their own players in the game.
I feel like that All-Star selection, however, should have gone to Golden State's Baron Davis or Utah's Deron Williams. Both players are point guards who are commandeering their clubs to fine seasons, as both the Warriors and Jazz are currently in the playoff picture. They matter to their teams much more than West does to the Hornets; in fact, they are their respective teams' MVPs, much like West's teammate Paul.
In the East, an All-Star spot went to Atlanta Hawks swingman Smith. While a great talent, who can shoot from the outside and can jump out of a gym, Smith is not an All-Star, at least not yet. This spot most definitely should have gone to Boston's Ray Allen, whose teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are on the team. Allen matters to the Celtics' success just as much as Garnett and Pierce do. The Celtics would not be as good as they are without all three of those superstars. With only two of the three, Boston would be average at best. It does not do the Boston organization justice to not include one of these three players who have sacrificed much of their own personal glory for the success of the team this season.
In addition, what has Atlanta done this year, especially in comparison to Boston? Go 10 games under .500? Simply said with the facts, Smith is not nearly as pivotal to Atlanta as Allen is to Boston.
I agree with all of the other selections for the game. I thought that New Jersey's Richard Jefferson would be on the East roster rather than the Wizards' Caron Butler, but I can let that one slide. Two spots that I cannot let slide at all, however, are the two above-ranted selections.

Practice Story 3: Break-in

2008-01-31T10:19:00.000-07:00

A meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was broken into early this morning at around 2 a.m., witnesses say. The meetinghouse is located at 900 North 1600 East in Logan, Utah.
Sheriff Deputy Geoffrey Hasty said that some computer equipment, including two CPUs, were taken, while two monitors were found smashed in the hallway outside of the bishop’s office.
“I came in to fix some ceiling tiles,” said physical maintenance manager Robert (Bob) Knotz, who came in to repair tiles at 6 a.m. Knotz found the front door to be unlocked, so “(that) was my first thought that something was amiss, so I opened the door and there were two monitors smashed. That’s when I realized something was wrong. So that’s when I called for help,” he said.
Bishop Larry Shirk had been the last person to leave the meetinghouse before the break-in occurred, at about a quarter to 11 the previous night. He had locked all of the doors, but left his window open in his office.
“It had been snowing, hailing last night, and that’s why I opened the window, to listen to the storm, and obviously I forgot to close the window,” Shirk said.
Shirk also noted that confidential information on the CPUs had been erased since they were getting retired in exchange for newer models.
One citizen in the neighborhood had heard the sounds of the break-in, but assumed that it was the sound of the garbage truck. 85-year-old Evelyn Breathwaite remarked that she heard some noise at 2 a.m., but thought it was the garbage truck. However, when she checked her garbage cans and found no truck there, she went back to bed.
“I never felt like (the neighborhood) was never safe,” Breathwaite said. “This is a safe neighborhood, this is not a very common occurrence.”
“It looks like (the case) doesn’t look to complicated,” Hasty remarked. “(It involved) two juveniles… I’m just glad nobody was hurt.”
Knotz also noted that this was the first time that any sort of break-in had occurred at that particular meetinghouse, though he doesn’t suspect the thievery was any sort of malicious act against the LDS Church in particular.

Thank you, President Hinckley

2008-01-28T15:25:00.000-07:00

Nearly thirteen million people- and more- appreciate and love you for what you did for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Aggies get embarrassed in Las Cruces

2008-01-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

Oh, my, how Utah State's ten-game win streak and WAC run came to a crashing halt in the form of a 100-70 defeat at New Mexico State on Saturday.
Since my last post about the Aggies, they defeated Boise State and Idaho at home- CONGRATULATIONS TO STEW MORRILL (WINNINGEST USU COACH) AND JAYCEE CARROLL (ALL-TIME LEADING USU SCORER)- and then beat Louisiana Tech on the road on Thursday before the tough defeat at Las Cruces.
I want to know what's going on with the suspension of the four players- Steve DuCharme, Desmond Stephens, Pooh Williams, and Jaxon Myaer, though. Every single release about the suspension simply states that they were sent home before the game against the NewMags for "violating undisclosed team rules" What rules?! Let's get specific here and stop being so cryptic about what is going on with my Aggies!
Hopefully more details will come out soon- and hopefully three of those four players outside of Jaxon who are not redshirting will be available to play Saturday against Nevada, because in a game as huge as that, the Aggies need all the help they can get.

Jazz now at 26-18 since last post was 20-17

2008-01-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

The Utah Jazz have won six of their last seven games since I last posted about them. They have been playing better team defense, and finding good shots on the offensive end.
It has been interesting, but good, to see that Carlos Boozer hasn't had to score as much while the Jazz have won ten of their last 12 games. This is largely due to the fact that new addition Kyle Korver has brought an additional scoring average of 10.2 points per game to the club.
The Jazz face the ever-formidable San Antonio Spurs (28-14), winners of four of the last seven NBA championships, tonight at the EnergySolutions Arena. Hopefully the result will be different from the last time I blogged in advance of Utah's game against San Antonio back on Dec. 7th.

Extra Practice News Story 2: Fire

2008-01-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

A fire broke yesterday in Ogden, at 2100 Washington Blvd. at around 2:00 in the afternoon. Five people were in the building when the fire spread- three in Pedro’s Restaurant in the basement, including two girls of the age of four and two, who were taken to McKay-Dee Hospital. The two who were in an apartment level upstairs escaped the fire without needing any treatment.
Deputy Fire Chief Greg Chamberlain suspected that the fire was probably started by a grease fire in the restaurant, a fact that was confirmed by restaurant owner Pedro Sanchez.
“I was cooking hamburgers… the grease came on really fast. I told Michael (Freeman, a customer inside the restaurant) to call somebody. Then dark smoke came,” said Sanchez.
While the two people in the restaurant- Sanchez and Freeman- escaped, 27-year old Miguel Sanchez, Pedro’s brother, and his two daughters Maria del Mar and Mercedes weren’t so lucky. Miguel was treated at the scene, while his daughters were taken to McKay-Dee Hospital shortly after the occurrence.
Pedro Sanchez remarked that he is a legal resident in the United States, as is his brother Miguel, who is currently waiting for a working visa so he can work in the restaurant with him. Sanchez also noted how he has enjoyed operating the restaurant in the two years that he has been in the country.
“I like my restaurant. I like being here in America. My brother came here wanting to help with his two girls. We were wanting to grow bigger with the restaurant.”
"I think I will talk with the owner of the building to see what we can do (to fix the restaurant)," Sanchez continued.
Apartment owner Rachel Calhoun had no comment on the incident.

Practice News Story 2: Fire

2008-01-24T09:44:00.000-07:00

A fire broke at 2:00 in the afternoon yesterday, at 2100 South Washington Blvd. in Ogden. Five people were in the building when the fire spread- two in Pedro’s Restaurant in the basement, and three upstairs, including two girls of the age of four and two, who along with their father were taken to McKay-Dee Hospital.
Deputy Fire Chief Greg Chamberlain suspected that the fire was probably started by a grease fire in the restaurant, a fact that was confirmed by restaurant owner Pedro Sanchez.
“I was cooking hamburgers… the grease came on really fast. I told Michael (Freeman, a customer inside the restaurant) to call somebody. Then dark smoke came,” said Sanchez.
While the two people in the restaurant- Sanchez and Freeman- escaped, 27-year old Miguel Sanchez, Pedro’s brother, and his two daughters Maria and Mercedes weren’t so lucky. They had to be taken to McKay-Dee Hospital shortly after the fire occurred.
Pedro Sanchez remarked that he is a legal resident in the United States, as is his brother Miguel, who is currently waiting for a working visa so he could work in the restaurant with him. Sanchez remarked how he enjoyed operating the restaurant in the two years he has been in the country.
“I like my restaurant. I like being here in America. My brother came here wanting to help with his two girls. We were wanting to grow bigger with the restaurant.”
Apartment owner Rachel Calhoun had no comment on the incident.

Practice News Story 1: Accident

2008-01-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

Ten Utah State University students and a USU instructor were involved in a fatal van accident yesterday at on Interstate 84, west of Tremonton. The accident occurred at about 4:00 in the afternoon. Eight of the eleven people have passed away as a result of the accident.

The students were taking a field trip to Greenline Implements in Tremonton, Utah, as part of Agriculture Week at the university. Eyewitness Kyle Holden, an employee of Greenline Implements, said that they were “about halfway back” from the plant when “the van was in the fast line, then swerved into the slow lane… I just happened to look back, and made eye contact with Evan… I saw smoke, and that’s when I realized something was wrong.”

Holden suspects that there was a malfunction involved with one of the wheels.

After the accident occurred, Holden said that he got out of his car and “tried to stabilize anybody who needed help.” He said he got to Evan Parker, the instructor who was driving the van, “but his head was crushed.”

It is very likely that neither Parker nor the passengers were wearing seatbelts, said Lieutenant Jason Jensen, who said that the van was also going 95-100 miles per hour when the accident occurred.

“In my 15 years of experience, you don’t get thrown out of a vehicle like that when you’re wearing a seatbelt,” said Jensen.

Jensen was the fourth vehicle to arrive on the scene, at about 4:10 P.M.

“I did not personally work on anybody who was alive,” Jensen said.

Names of four who passed away were publicly released: Parker, a 45-year old man; and three students, Steven Bair, 24 years of age; and Curt Madsen and Brad Wilcox, who were pronounced dead at the scene.

Meanwhile, names of two of the survivors are Robert Petersen and Jared Nelson, both who are currently at Ogden Regional Hospital. Nelson was initially life-flighted to Brigham City before getting tranferred to Ogden.

Though it is suspected that the passengers were not wearing seatbelts, alchohol was likely not involved, said Noel Cockett, Dean of the College of Agriculture.

“Evan (the driver) is not the type to allow alchohol… I highly doubt alchohol was involved,” she said.

Cockett said that the regularily scheduled events for the rest of the week had been canceled.

"Field trips happen two or three times per day during (Agriculture Week). This is an agricultural school... it's just ironic," Cockett said.

"Evan had told me that this is the finest group of students that he had yet to work with," she continued.

Thoughts on Aggies improving to 2-0 in WAC play

2008-01-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

The Aggies weathered several storms of New Mexico State in winning 74-62 in Logan Saturday night.
Gary Wilkinson scored 18 points, Jaycee Carroll had 15, and Steve DuCharme did a nice job playing extra time in lieu of Tai Wesley's foul trouble to score 13.
The Aggies won this game with defense, rebounding and bench play. Utah State out-rebounded a team that usually out-rebounds its opponents by 6.6 boards per game. Further, New Mexico State shot just 35.2% from the field, including 8-30 from the 3-point line. Utah State had probably their best defensive effort of the season on Saturday.
It was refreshing to see the Aggies win without Carroll having to score over 20 points, a major problem for the team during last year's NIT-berth season. Carroll shot just 5-16, but with the way that others around him played on offense, it did not matter.
A player to step up his offensive production, besides Wilkinson and DuCharme, was backup point guard Desmond Stephens, who scored nine points on 3-4 shooting from the 3. Stephens hit his bombs during the middle-to-latter part of the second half, when the southern Aggies made it difficult for the northern Aggies to get the ball into the post. Stephens' shooting is an unsung key attribute to the win. The 5-9 player also had five rebounds.
Tyler Newbold did not play a great game, but had the comedic part of the night all to himself when he volleyball-spiked a long NMSU pass into the stands with 2.3 seconds left in the game. He can be forgiven of his performance just because the spike was so funny.
Tai, coming off a career-high 27-point game, was only able to play six minutes in the first half. Though he totaled 22 minutes for the game, the 21-year old freshman scored eight points and did well when he was in the game.
Wilkinson and DuCharme's play were huge keys. With Wesley out for extended periods of time, and Carroll not hitting his shots like normal (though he had seven rebounds), Stew Morrill needed those guys to have good games.
Perhaps another great unsung performance came from DeUndrae Spraggins, on the defensive end, for holding NMSU star Justin Hawkins, who was averaging 18.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, to just seven points and three boards. Though Spraggins hasn't contributed much on the offensive end this season, he has made up for it by playing great perimeter defense.
Finally, there's Kris Clark, who dished out eight assists and played a very solid game with just one turnover.
I would say that the Aggies played a 'B+' type game on Saturday, as opposed to a B- performance nine days earlier against Hawai'i in their WAC opener. They need to play just as well as they did two days ago on Thursday against Boise State (12-4, 3-1), who is much improved and possesses a talented forward in Reggie Larry, one of the five or six best players in the conference. It should be fun to see Carroll and Larry as the opposing teams' top players go at it on Thursday.

Great win for Jazz, but danger looms

2008-01-11T14:54:00.001-07:00

So the 20-17 Jazz beat the Steve Nash-Shawn Marion-Grant Hill-less Suns last night, 108-86. While Phoenix is the best team in the Western Conference, they were missing three of their four or five best players. With that said, last night's win was a big one for the Jazz. They needed that sort of confidence, and a win to nearly put them back in the playoff picture, if the playoffs were to start today.
However, there is plenty of room for caution as 45 games remain on the schedule. As Deseret Morning News columnist Brad Rock pointed out, three of the past six seasons, the Jazz had the same identical 19-17 record through 36 games.
Those past three seasons were 2001-02, 2003-04, and 2005-06. The final tally of those seasons? 44-38, to take the last spot of the playoffs; 42-40; and 41-41, to barely miss the playoffs both times.
This is not inconceivable to happen this season. The Western Conference playoff race is now a 10-team affair, and the Jazz are currently ninth, a half-game behind #8 Golden State and a half-game ahead of #10 Houston. Every other team of those ten are 21-13 or better, nearly three games better than Utah.
There is still plenty of time remaining on the season, and the Jazz have the roster to rise up the standings. However, the question is if this will happen. Utah still loses road games that they have no business losing. Though the Jazz are still young, they aren't exactly NBA newborns anymore. But they are still losing to teams like New York and Miami, two of the fecal teams of the league. If they can clear these teams out of the system, and only have to worry about choking against the Spurs and Mavs of the world, then they can possibly rise to even fourth in the conference.
Do I think that the Jazz will still make the playoffs? Hmm... yes. I still think they will. In fact, I can still see them improving to my pre-season prediction of 49-33 and getting the sixth seed. This is very possible.
The Jazz just have to accept the fact that they aren't infants anymore... they are toddlers. And a group of very talented toddlers, at that.

After a one-month absence...

2008-01-08T11:19:00.000-07:00

Finally, a new post! Utah State basketball is on my mind today as the Aggies are riding a six-game win streak.
Utah State now stands at 11-5, 1-0 in WAC play, after rolling off the streak with every game at home. These wins include triumphs over Prairie View, UVSC, Northern Arizona, Oral Roberts, and Hawaii on January 3rd to start conference play on the right foot.
The Aggies' scheduled game last Saturday against Nevada was postponed due to the severity of the snowfall delaying flights into Reno, home of the Aggies' conference rival. This likely means that the re-scheduled date will arrive no earlier than two weeks from now, but probably no more than a month from today.
It is about the mid-season point of the college basketball regular season, and there are plenty of assessments about the Aggies, in addition to plenty of questions that have both been answered and have been prompted as a result of the Aggies' winning play of late.
Is this the first year, in their third of being in the WAC, that Utah State wins the regular-season conference championship, which would all but guarantee a return to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence? Is the starting lineup change, one that came into effect after the Aggies' embarrassing 72-48 loss at Utah that placed them at 5-5, the key to this championship? Forward Tai Wesley and guard/forward Tyler Newbold are just redshirt freshman, but have helped the Aggies take significant steps toward being a WAC contender, rather than the pretender that they were in early-season losses at Weber State, Cal-Poly and UC-Irvine.
The Aggies have parleyed a long, long homestand into this winning streak. However, they are still unproven on the road. The game at Nevada would have been a fantastic measuring stick. Now, they will face several multi-game road trips in WAC play, which will determine if they will indeed take the regular-season trophy. After all, USU is not going to lose more than two, but probably just one, conference game at the Spectrum.
Are the junior-college transfers- Gary Wilkinson, DeUndrae Spraggins, and Desmond Stephens- going to fulfill their roles all for this team for the duration of the season? Wilkinson has fulfilled his role for the most part, being a reliable scorer as the starting center. However, Spraggins is not the scoring option that he was envisioned to be. On the other hand, he has provided stellar perimeter defense and energy coming off the bench. Stephens has also been a mixed bag. The trick for him is to utilize his breakneck speed in the right way. Sometimes he has a tendency to try and make a play, particularly on the fast break, before it has opened up. Cut down on the turnovers, and Stephens will be a reliable backup point guard for Kris Clark, who has re-steadied his game after a slew of early-season on-court issues.
Obviously, Jaycee Carroll will continue to do his thing, breaking the Utah State all-time scoring record that currently belongs to Greg Grant in about three games, and doing everything he possibly can to maximize the return of his senior year.
Truly, Steve DuCharme may be the wild-card. The post player started every game last season coming out of a community college in Kansas, but has lost that spot to Wesley. His minutes have decreased slightly, but he is still seeing around 22 or 23 minutes per game. If DuCharme can come in the game and provide instant scoring and rebounding help in place of Wilkinson or Wesley, then the Aggies won't have problems with post play during the entirety of the game, especially against talented WAC forwards like Justin Hawkins of New Mexico State or Hector Hernandez of Fresno State. DuCharme may be discouraged about the demotion, but the truth is that he may be the difference-maker in the conference run.
This season promises to continue to get more interesting as January turns into February. Utah State should get great competition from several WAC teams. Nevada, New Mexico State, Fresno State, and Boise State have just as good a chance as the Aggies, while San Jose State and Idaho are improved. Louisiana Tech and Hawaii may turn out to be the cellar-dwellars, though teams struggle to win on the islands after all the travel required, and the Warriors gave Utah State all they could handle last Thursday.

Utah Jazz, national championship, Party Poopers

2007-12-07T13:50:00.001-07:00

Well, so far the Utah Jazz are doing better than I expected. Due to Andrei Kirilenko no longer complaining, and just playing (great) ball, the improvement of Ronnie Brewer, and the improved seasons of Boozer and Williams, the Jazz have the third-best record in the Western Conference at 13-6.
Unfortunately, Tuesday night they lost to the lowly Sacramento Kings 119-109 in northern California. Tonight, they face the San Antonio Spurs in Texas on ESPN, in a huge game that has Western Conference top-finish implications.
The Spurs are 11-0 at home, but will probably be without Tim Duncan. The Jazz franchise hasn't won in San Antonio since 1999, when John Stockton, Karl Malone and Jeff Hornacek were leading the crew. Jerry Sloan would obviously still remember that one, since he was the head coach back then too (like he has been for 20 years).
The BCS is a very convoluted system, and this year's wild, unexpected finish in the last week of the season- both #1 Missouri and #2 West Virginia lost- proves the need for a playoff. However, given what college football has now with the BCS National Championship, I think the pairings are correct with Ohio State and LSU.
In Logan, Utah, at the HPER Basketball Court 1, the Party Poopers fell in the next round of the playoffs 14-31, 21-32 to McLovin. McLovin was a HUGE team with massive buffaloes who could also shoot from the outside- up to 5 feet behind the three-point line. If they do not win the entire tournament, I would be shocked.

Party Poopers win first round of playoffs; next round tonight at 6:30

2007-11-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

The Party Poopers, an intramural basketball team at Utah State University, have won their first round game of the playoffs, and are set to take on the next opponent in the one-and-done postseason tonight at 6:30.
After finishing third in the four-team pool of teams in round-robin play, the Party Poopers faced a 2-2 team in the playoffs. With just three players, due to one (Nick Michaelson) having to work at JC Penney that night, compared to six for the other team, the Party Poopers prevailed in the best-of-3 series nonetheless, winning 32-22 in the first game, falling 32-29 in overtime the second game, and winning the third 22-16.
What was worse for the Party Poopers in that contest was the fact that two of their three players, Rhett Wilkinson and McKell Bowen, rolled their ankles in Game 2, a heartbreaker that featured a deep, 23-foot buzzer-beating three-pointer from the opponent to force the game into overtime, before they won it in the extra time.
However, the Poopers perservered, taking the third game. The win, and a trip to the next round, was sealed by Wilkinson's swoosh from 13 feet.
The four players- Wilkinson, Michaelson, Ryan Reid, and Bowen- are peaking at the right time, and have as good a shot as anybody in the upcoming four rounds of the tournament.

Championship-Caliber and Rivalry Games in Week 13

2007-11-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving
Pac-10 Championship (Basically): With a win over their respective arch-rivals December 1, the winner of this battle between #6 Arizona State (9-1, 6-1) and #11 USC (8-2, 5-2) in Tempe can lay claim to at least a share of the Pac-10 title; in ASU's case, the whole thing. A victory for the suddenly resurgent Trojans will keep them the hunt for a BCS game (Rose Bowl). The Dennis Dixon-less Oregon Ducks, with their loss to Arizona last Thursday, are now big Trojans fans if they want a piece of the Pac-10 trophy and hopes of that same Rose Bowl. Trojans 34, Sun Devils 24

Day after Thanksgiving
WAC Championship: The #15 Hawaii Warriors (10-0, 7-0) and the #19 Boise State Broncos (10-1, 7-0) meet on the islands for the WAC title, but possibly a BCS berth as well. The winner will be big fans of Connecticut to beat West Virginia; if that happens, chances are almost certain that they will be in one of the big-money games. Colt Brennan's shoulder is perhaps the biggest factor to this battle. The Warriors did prove that they can win without him last week vs. Nevada, but would they defeat BSU without him? The Broncos have sure proven with a pair of sophomore running backs that they can function just fine without Ian Johnson. Broncos 53, Warriors 45

#1 LSU vs. Arkansas: The Tigers (10-1, 7-1) still have to defeat two more good opponents just to get to January 7, the national championship. At step #1, they must slow down powerful running back and top-5 Heisman canidate Darren McFadden. The Razorbacks (7-4, 3-4) can still move into second in the SEC West and harbor slim January bowl game (Outback) hopes with a win. Tigers 24, Razorbacks 14

#18 Tennessee at Kentucky: The ranked Vols (8-3, 5-2) are SEC East Division champs and will play #1 LSU in the conference title if they win. Remarkable, considering the Vols' rocky 2-2 start in a division that experts were sure Florida or Georgia would win. Experts also didn't give Kentucky (7-4, 3-4) much of a shot this season, but behind senior QB Andre' Woodson, the Wildcats have proven that they cannot be overlooked this season. Just ask LSU. Vols 36, Wildcats 23

#13 Texas at Texas A&M: If the Longhorns (9-2, 5-2) can beat their hated rivals, and Oklahoma loses to theirs (see below), then Texas is in the Big XII Championship vs. Kansas or Missouri. For the Aggies (7-4, 4-3), Dennis Franchoine could hold on to his job with the upset. Longhorns 23, Aggies 17

#10 Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State: Freshman Sam Bradford quarterbacks the Sooners (9-2, 5-2) for the first time in this rivalry. He can help save what was a national championship-contending season before the loss to Texas Tech last week with a win and a spot in the Big XII title in Kansas City. The Cowboys (6-5, 3-4) are simply playing the role of spoiler. Sooners 41, Cowboys 20

Saturday
Big XII North Title: It took an 11-0 run, but #2 Kansas (11-0, 7-0) finally has the nation's attention heading into its made-for-TV event vs. #4 Missouri (10-1, 6-1), who is also harboring national title berth-hopes, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. People have finally began to learn who Kansas QB Todd Reesing is, a humble, 5-10 pocket passer who has already given the Jayhawks program their finest season ever. Not that he's the only reason. Similarities abound with Mizzou QB Chase Daniel and the connection he has with stellar wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, a freshman speedster. Both are finally on the map and Daniel is making his own Heisman campaign. One concern for both teams is if they are truly tested; the only truly elite opponent either has faced is the Tigers, who lost 41-31 to Oklahoma in October. With that said, the winner will make a real statement to be in that national championship on national television with a large audience, especially considering it's Saturday night on Thanksgiving weekend. And, oh yeah, the winner is the Big XII North champion. Tigers 31, Jayhawks 27

Big East Championship (Basically): #3 West Virginia (9-1, 4-1) is champions of the Big East with a victory over #20 Connecticut (9-2, 4-2), following a win over Pittsburgh in the Brackyard Brawl the week after. On top of that, they will be big fans of Kansas to lose, because if that happens, the Mountaineers, who are 32-4 the last three seasons (way to go Rich Rodriguez), will be in the national championship. But what if UConn wins? It's very possible. The Huskies would suddenly be making their plans for Miami or New Orleans, and be ready to take the $15 million or so that comes with it. A Huskies win would sure make the winner of Hawaii-Boise State very happy too, since that would almost definitely give the WAC another BCS team. But Pat White and Steve Slaton shouldn't let that happen. Mountaineers 34, Huskies 21

ACC Coastal Division Title: Gotta love an instate rivalry to settle a division title. That is what is going on at the land of America's original colony, between #8 Virginia Tech (9-2, 6-1) vs. #16 Virginia (9-2, 6-1). It's impressive what the Hokies have done with their season just three months after the shooting there that claimed 32 students. They were unimpressive in a 17-7 win over lowly East Carolina in their season opener, but have played great since, save the final three minutes in their 14-10 loss to Matt Ryan and Boston College. The Cavaliers have also surprised, especially considering that in their second game, they lost 23-3 to a 5-6 and not-going-bowling-even-if-they're-eligible Wyoming squad. Hokies 20, Cavs 16

#23 BYU vs. Utah: One of the nation's most underrated and intense rivalries, the Cougars (8-2, 6-0) will win the Mountain West conference outright with a win, but the Utes (8-3, 5-2) still harbor hopes for a share of the title if they can win and BYU can lose to San Diego State the following week. Both teams are on fire, with both currently on 7-game winning streaks. For proof of how intense this rivalry is, consider that 11 of the last 14 contests have been decided by a touchdown or less; every game but one during the last nine has gone down to the last minute, averaging a 3.9 margin of victory; and six of those nine games went down to the FINAL PLAY. Incredible. Utes 31, Cougars 27

#7 Georgia at Georgia Tech: While this rivalry contest is out-of-conference, the Bulldogs (9-2, 6-2 SEC) will still have conference on their mind in hopes of winning the SEC East if Tennessee falls to Kentucky. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets (7-4, 3-5 ACC) are a dangerous opponent for Knowshon Moreno and Georgia. Dawgs 28, Jackets 24

#12 Florida vs. Florida State: The Seminoles (7-4, 4-4 ACC) will want to spoil the Gators' January bowl hopes, as Florida's (8-3, 5-3 SEC) bid to win a second consecutive division and conference title fell short with a very different team from last year. Doesn't mean that sophomore QB Tim Tebow might not win the Heisman, however. The big multiple-threat has accounted for 47 touchdowns this season, more than 85 of the 120 Div. 1 teams! Gators 27, 'Noles 17

#22 Clemson at South Carolina: The Tigers (8-3, 5-3 ACC) fell short of an ACC Atlantic Division title after losing a close one to Boston College last week, but have a chance to express their frustrations on the field against the Gamecocks (6-5, 3-5 SEC). SC won't be a pushover, however. Tigers 21, Gamecocks 14

Washington State at Washington: The Apple Cup! Two bad teams, though. But one of the nation's best rivalries up there in the Pacific Northwest.

Auburn vs. Alabama: Nick Saban went WAY over the line with his comments earlier in the week comparing his club's home loss to Louisiana-Monroe, and the need to heroically rebound against Auburn, to 9/11 and Pearl Harbor. The comparison is there, but it isn't right to compare a game to the nation's two worst tragedies. He may fire up the Crimson Tide (6-5, 4-3), but it won't be enough to win possibly the nation's best rivalry and SEC battle against Auburn (7-4, 4-3). Tigers win sixth in a row vs. 'Bama, 23-21

Huge Games for Week 12

2007-11-16T11:52:00.001-07:00

#7 Ohio State at #21 Michigan: Oops! Both teams got caught looking ahead to this game last week, where the Buckeyes' national title berth hopes were nearly completely dashed with a loss to Illinois, and Michigan, after an eight-game winning streak to bring resurgence to their season, fell at Wisconsin. However, the Wolverines (8-3, 6-1 Big Ten) missed both Chad Henne and Mike Hart in that game, and both are expected to play versus the Buckeyes. (C'mon, a warrrior like Hart wouldn't miss this game even if he had had open-heart surgery two days earlier.) Starting Buckeye RB Chris Wells might miss the game, however, leaving the starting job open to backup Maurice Wells to carry the load for Ohio State (10-1, 6-1). A Rose Bowl berth awaits the winner, while national title hopes aren't completely dashed for Ohio State if the Buckeyes are victorious. Wolverines 30, Buckeyes 28

#6 West Virginia at #22 Cincinnati: Thanks to the surprise of the Bearcats (8-2, 3-2), this game is going a long way towards determining the Big East champion. A win by the Mountaineers (8-1, 3-1), lead by the electric backfield play of QB Pat White and TB Steve Slaton, will essentially put the Big East title game in East Hartford next week, where the Mountaineers will play at #24 Connecticut. A win by the Bearcats will cause Cincy to be big fans of West Virginia next week. Mountaineers 37, Bearcats 24

#9 Georgia vs. #23 Kentucky: The Bulldogs (8-2, 4-2) still have hopes of winning the SEC East if they win their final two conference games, and Tennessee loses one of their final two vs. Kentucky or Vanderbilt. Bulldog RB Knowshon Moreno has been dominant on the ground all season, and should continue that run against a weak Wildcat run defense. Meanwhile, Andre' Woodson has the ability to tear it up in the air for Kentucky (7-3, 3-3), though Georgia has a strong defense, much tougher than the Wildcat defense. Dawgs 34, 'Cats 27

#15 Clemson vs. #17 Boston College: My oh my, how things change in two weeks. Just like USC, Cal, LSU at one point, and now Oregon, the Eagles (8-2, 4-2) find themselves far from the #2 ranking that they held just two games ago. Two losses later, the national title berth hopes are dashed. However, a BCS bowl berth isn't. The winner of this game wins the ACC Atlantic Division and faces either Virginia or Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Dec. 8 for a spot in a BCS game. So, just like USC and Oregon, B.C. can be sad about their fall from grace but can still hold hopes for a lucrative January game. Matt Ryan, can you deliver like you delivered in the final three minutes against Virginia Tech? Who knows. One thing we do know is that Bobby Bowden's boy Tommy sure can coach the Tigers (8-2, 5-2). Tigers 26, Eagles 20

Utah vs. New Mexico: The victor of this battle will remain in contention for the Mountain West Conference title, a position that the Utes (7-3, 4-2) couldn't have imagined themselves in after falling to 1-3 and 0-2 in the conference way back in September. Meanwhile, the Lobos (7-3, 4-2), behind the surprisingly good play of QB Donovan Porterie and TB Rodney Ferguson, have exceeded preseason expectations. Both teams are notorious for being hard-hitting on defense, as the nationally fifth-ranked Ute defense has particularly proven with shutdown performances against UCLA (44-6) and Wyoming (50-0) this season. However, the Lobos have beaten the Utes four of the last five meetings, with the lone Ute victory during that span coming during their unblemished 2004 BCS campaign. Utes 24, Lobos 20

Purdue at Indiana: Both schools have their sights set on a bowl game, and the winner of this contest may realize that goal. The Boilermakers (7-4, 3-4) are seventh in the Big Ten currently, and will lock up a bowl bid with a win. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers (6-5, 2-5) are ninth and could possibly fill the potential open spot in the Las Vegas Bowl vs. the Mountain West Conference champion with a win and the Pac-10's potential inability to field a fifth bowl-eligible team for the game. Boilermakers 21, Hoosiers 17

Guarantee This, Glenn: Utah 50, Wyoming 0

2007-11-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

Utah walked all over, around, above, below, and through the Wyoming Cowboys Saturday afternoon at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Halftime score: Utah 40, Wyoming 0.
3rd quarter: Utah 43, Wyoming 0. Ute coach Kyle Whittingham calls for an onside kick. The Utes would have recovered, but grabbed the ball after 9 1/2 yards rather than allowing it to go a couple more feet for the required 10.
Final Score: Utes hit the half-century mark to make Cowboy coach Joe Glenn, who guaranteed the victory in front of Wyoming students, look absolutely stupid.
The Utes rolled up 505 yards of offense, while doing it in style. Utah run a "fumble-rooskie" play early in the game, with freshman Jerome Brooks running it in for six points on the left side as most of the Wyoming defense was looking towards the right side at quarterback Brian Johnson. The Utes also scored touchdowns on a reverse play, a hook-and-ladder, and later on a 41-yard flip pass from punter/kicker Louie Sakoda to huge 300-pound lineman Neli A'asa, which led to a one-yard TD run from Darrell Mack the next play.
On the other side, the measly Cowboys mustered just 122 yards of offense.
Obviously, the Utes made good use out of their bye week.
Some Wyoming players took offense to Whittingham's onside-kick call, particularly junior running back Wynel Seldon, who promised the Utes payback next year in Laramie.
Yeah, we'll see how well he can live up to that promise.
However, after the game Whittingham explained that he was simply trying to ensure the victory, because apparently Glenn "knew something about the outcome of the game that (Whittingham) didn't know," said the Ute head coach.
Good for Kyle. He sent a message back at Glenn, and proved a point to Wyoming and anybody else who wants to make a guarantee about their game against Utah.
Because, looking at how the Utes responded after Glenn's remark, any others who dare make a guarantee better watch out.

Utah State Basketball: Season Begins Tomorrow

2007-11-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

The Utah State men's basketball regular season officially gets under way tomorrow, Friday, November 9, at 7:05 in the Spectrum in Logan, Utah.
Expect the Aggies to open the game with Gary Wilkinson and Steve DuCharme in the frontcourt, DeUndrae Spraggins and Jaycee Carroll at the wings, and Kris Clark at the point.
First off the bench will be speedy point guard Desmond Stephens, followed by forward Tai Wesley, swingman Pooh Williams, and then center Brayden Bell.
Small forward Nick Hammer is done with his basketball career. Due to an irritation to his previously broken collarbone, the senior declared that he is physically unable to play his last season with the Aggies.

Exhibition Averages
Carroll: 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 62% FG, 50% 3FG
Wilkinson: 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 65% FG
DuCharme: 9.0 points, 3.5 rebounds
Spraggins: 6.5 points, 3.5 assists
Clark: 5.5 points, 3.5 assists
Stephens: 6.0 points, 4.0 assists, 60% FG, 33.3% 3FG
Wesley: 6.0 points, 2.5 rebounds
Williams: 8.5 points, 2.0 assists
Bell: 4.0 points, 1.5 rebounds

Biggest College Football Games, Week 11

2007-11-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

Today
#6 West Virginia vs. Louisville: The Mountaineers (7-1, 4-0) are one game behind UConn in the Big East title race but six spots ahead in the BCS Standings, thus harboring both conference and Nick Fazekas-slim national championship hopes. Meanwhile, the Cardinals (5-4, 2-2) are just trying to salvage a season that they expected was going to be like the Mountaineers' so far. Mountaineers 41, Cardinals 31
BYU vs. TCU: The Cougars (6-2, 4-0) are trying to hold off Utah, Air Force and New Mexico for their second consecutive Mountain West Conference title, while the Horned Frogs (5-4, 2-3) are looking to ride the momentum they found in last week's blowout of New Mexico to propel them to an unlikely win in Provo. Cougars 21, Horned Frogs 10

Saturday
#17 Florida at South Carolina: The Urban Meyer-led Gators (6-3, 4-3) are still very much alive in the SEC East race, while the Gamecocks (6-4, 3-4) can't exactly say the same. However, Steve Spurrier knows the program that he used to run, and he has 'em at home. Gators 24, Gamecocks 21
#1 Ohio State vs. Illinois: The Buckeyes (10-0, 6-0) have just one more game between them and the surprisingly good Michigan Wolverines. They just can't overlook the Fighting Illini (7-3, 4-2), who have the ability to knock off the Buckeyes if Ohio State is looking too far ahead. Buckeyes 34, Illini 17
#10 Georgia vs. #18 Auburn: The Bulldogs (7-2, 3-2) are leading the SEC East for now, but the Tigers (7-3, 4-2) could help a lot of Georgia-chasers, AKA Florida and Tennessee, with a victory. Bulldogs 24, Tigers 20
#22 Tennessee vs. Arkansas: The Vols (6-3, 3-2) are trying to keep up in the wild SEC East, but the only keeping-up they should be worried about on Saturday is trying to keep up with phenomenal Arkansas (6-3, 2-3) running back Darren McFadden, who tied the SEC rushing record with 323 yards last weekend and should still be getting serious Heisman consideration. Volunteers 31, Razorbacks 24
#16 Connecticut at Cincinnati: Shouldn't this be a high-profile game for football, not basketball? The Huskies (8-1, 4-0) are still (surprise!) winning the tough Big East. But the Bearcats (7-2, 2-2) will provide a good challenge. Huskies 28, Bearcats 24
#11 Virginia Tech vs. Florida State: The Boston College-killers the Seminoles (6-3, 3-3 ACC) are not what they used to be, but proved they are still plenty capable of knocking off highly-ranked teams. Teams like the Hokies (7-2, 4-1). Hokies 20, Seminoles 14
#13 Michigan at Wisconsin: After embarrassing defeats to Applachain State and Oregon (39-7 at the Big House), the Wolverines (8-2, 6-0 Big Ten) have been unstoppable since, even in their last two games without Mike Hart. The Badgers (7-3, 3-3) didn't do much to slow down Ohio State last week, but maybe playing a highly-ranked team at home for the second week in a row will change things around. Wolverines 27, Badgers 14
#12 USC at #24 California: Applauds are in order for Cal (6-3, 3-3 Pac-10) who ended their three-game slide from #2 to unranked with a victory last weekend. Kudos are also in order for the Trojans (7-2, 4-2), who thumped Oregon State last week to move to 4th/5th to 3rd place in the conference with the victory, behind newly-returned quarterback John David Booty. Trojans 35, Bears 24
#15 Texas at Texas Tech: It is a rivalry game, and rivalry games always get their due here at Dubya. Hopefully Colt McCoy, #2 in the nation in interceptions thrown with 15, can avoid more than he's used to against a porous Red Raider defense for the Longhorns (8-2, 4-2 Big XII). On the other side, stellar yard-racker Graham Harrell faces a tough test against the Texas 'D' for Tech (7-3, 3-3). Longhorns 45, Red Raiders 31
#14 Hawaii vs. Fresno State: The Warriors (8-0, 5-0 WAC) face their first real test of the season against the decent Bulldogs (6-3, 5-1). Unfortunately, they will not lose since the game is on the island, where Hawaii never loses if they're good that year. Warriors 56, Bulldogs 45
#2 LSU vs. Louisiana Tech: It's an in-state rivalry! The only thing that LSU (8-1, 5-1 SEC) should be worried about is if their BCS average will drop if they don't win this game by at least 25 points over Tech (4-5, 3-3 WAC), who at least boasts Karl Malone and Paul Millsap as their alma maters. Tigers 48, Bulldogs 10

Biggest College Football Games for Week 10

2007-11-02T12:53:00.003-06:00

#4 Arizona State at #5 Oregon: The Sun Devils (8-0, 4-0 Pac-10) are coming off a huge win over Cal where they overcame a 14-3 deficit. Meanwhile, the Ducks (7-1, 4-1) are coming off an even bigger victory over USC. This game not only has implications on the Pac-10 and a Rose Bowl berth, but implications for the national championship, in which the winner will still be in contention.
Ducks 34, Sun Devils 23
#3 LSU at #17 Alabama: Nick Saban faces his former team for the first time in a battle for first place in the SEC West and the inside track to the SEC Championship Game. Both the Tigers (8-0, 4-0 SEC) and the Crimson Tide (6-2, 3-1) are well-rested coming off bye weeks. However, don't expect either team to be that rusty. Backup QB Ryan Perriloux, who constantly is inserted into the game for running plays in particular, will be out with an injury, leaving the responsibility solely on the shoulders of senior starter Matt Flynn. Tigers 21, Crimson Tide 14
#1 Ohio State vs. #21 Wisconsin: The Badgers (7-2, 3-2 Big Ten) are back in the rankings for the first time in three weeks following three straight victories, which followed two consecutive losses. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes (9-0, 5-0) will look to keep an even keel after their surprising win in Happy Valley last week vs. Penn State. Buckeyes 24, Badgers 14
#12 Michigan vs. Michigan State: We have ourselves a rivalry game! The Wolverines (6-2, 4-0 Big Ten) continue their resurgence against the pesky Spartans (5-3, 3-2). Don't expect UM to get slowed down in this game. Wolverines 41, Spartans 24
#19 USC vs. Oregon State: The Trojans (6-2, 3-2 Pac-10) face what was believed in August to be an impossible reality: fifth place in the Pac-10 if they lose. The place in the conference will be the same for the Beavers (5-3, 3-2) with a defeat. However, starting quarterback John David Booty has returned to the field for the Trojans after missing the last three games, and USC should have revenge on their minds after having their national title berth hopes ended by the Beavers' 2006 victory in Corvallis. Trojans 35, Beavers 24
#13 Connecticut vs. Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights (5-3, 2-2 Big East) were giant-slayers once already this season when they topped then-#2 South Florida in New Jersey. However, this second giant-slaying opportunity comes on the road, without the previous advantage of a home crowd behind them. Meanwhile, the Huskies (7-1, 4-0) look to continue their surprising run this season after jumping from unranked to 13th with one victory.
#2 Boston College vs. Florida State: The Seminoles (5-3, 2-2 ACC) are one of four mediocre teams left for the Golden Eagles (8-0, 4-0) to conquer before their national championship-berth hopes are realized. Can FSU give BC a battle? Eagles 27, Seminoles 21
#23 Virginia vs. #24 Wake Forest:First place in the ACC Coastal Division is on the line between the Cavaliers (7-2, 4-1 ACC) and the again-surprising Demon Deacons (6-2, 4-1), who would most likely face Boston College in the ACC Title Game. Cavaliers 31, Deacons 28
Notre Dame vs. Navy: Why this game? Because it's a bit of a rivalry, with the two schools having played 43 times. However, the rivalry is a bit one-sided, with the Fighting Irish (1-7) a perfect 43-0 against the Midshipmen (4-4). If there is ever a year for Navy to get that first-ever win, it's this year. Fighting Irish 24, Midshipmen 20

8 Minutes To Go: Thoughts on the New Jazz Season

2007-10-30T20:12:00.000-06:00

49-33. This is what I predict will be the Utah Jazz's record this season. We will beat Denver by one game to win the division. Then we will lose in the first round, probably to the Rockets.
This prediction may sound pessimistic, but a quick evaluation of the Jazz and of the rest of the league makes this prediction understandable. First, the Jazz lost Derek Fisher, losing leadership, wisdom, professionalism, outside shooting, and our starting shooting guard and backup point guard in the process. Fisher brought all of these factors to the table. No matter what replacements Jason Hart and Ronnie Price do, it is unlikely that they can replace all of these attributes.
Signing Hart and Price is all we did in the offseason, along with drafting Morris Almond and Kyrylo Fesenko. Meanwhile, what did the rest of the league do? Well, Boston obviously took large strides forward with acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. How about in the West? Houston made their weak position a strength by acquiring Steve Francis (again) and Mike James from Minnesota, only getting rid of Juwan Howard, whose career is nearing its end. This basically pushes shaky point guard and '06-'07 Rafer Alston to the third string, if not the fourth, if former Oregon guard Aaron Brooks keeps playing the way he did in the Vegas Summer League. Meanwhile, Denver has Melo and A.I. together for a whole season, while Kenyon Martin and Nene will be completely healthy to make a strong front line when teamed with Marcus Camby.
For these reasons, I'm afraid that the Jazz will be slightly worse. We lost the intagibles that Fisher brought to the table, while Houston and Denver, the teams directly above and below us in the playoff seeding last season, made huge steps toward improvement. In addition, super sub Matt Harpring's effectiveness may be limited for a while with recovering from his surgeries. So our depth has taken a huge hit as well.
I love our team, and they still have a lot of core pieces that will carry the team, but the question is how far can they take them when everybody else around them in the West is so tough still, and improving?

Utah Football is on Fire, climbing the Mountain

2007-10-28T19:07:00.000-06:00

Since the last blog about University of Utah football, the Utes have followed a huge 27-20 win over TCU in Fort Worth with a blowout of Colorado State 27-3, setting their record at a respectable 6-3 and setting the stage for a big November in which Utah could possibly find themselves in the thick of the Mountain West Conference race.
Against TCU, the defense gave up just 13 points to strong running back Aaron Brown and the Horned Frog offense, while the Ute offense did enough, behind Darrell Mack' 100 yards. The offense particularly came through in the first half and fourth quarter, to buoy the 'D.' The defense, however, helped themselves out when defensive end Martail Burnett returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter.
The Utes intercepted Frog quarterback Andy Dalton four times, with a fifth taken away by a horrible pass-interference call.
Utah then followed up the big win with a 24-point stomping of Colorado State yesterday. The Utes had two 100-yard rushers in Mack (142 on 20 carries) and junior Ray Stowers (123 on 11). Brian Johnson went 13-20 for 130 yards, marking his third straight so-so game following a fantastic performance on ESPN against Louisville.
However, it didn't matter as the defense was dominant, holding the Rams to 2-13 on third-down conversions and 0-4 on fourth-down attempts. Utah most likely faced longtime Rams coach Sonny Lubick for the last time, who is contemplating retirement.
Now, the fun is set following a bye next Saturday. The Utes are set to make a push for the title with games all in the state of Utah, with home games against Wyoming (5-3) and New Mexico (6-2), who is second in the conference and one game ahead of the Utes. If Utah can get the job done as they have the last five weeks in those games, then the stakes may be pretty high in the showdown in Provo.
Utah's five-game winning streak has not only awarded them bowl-eligibility and a rise in the conference rankings, but in the national hierchy as well. Following the Utes' loss to Air Force, they were at #89 out of 120 on the CBSSportsline.com rankings. However, after beating UCLA 44-6, they jumped to 78th before falling clear back to 94th after the embarrassing defeat to UNLV. However, with the winning streak, the Utes are up to #46, just nine spots behind BYU and are in good position to go to a bowl game.

BCS Standings Accurate Thus Far

2007-10-28T18:57:00.001-06:00

Say what you want about the BCS, but the cold hard truth is that this year, the standings are right on so far.

Blue-White Individual Grades

2007-10-26T21:35:00.000-06:00

Centers: C+
*Gary Wilkinson- Showed a various array of moves around the basket and played solid defense. He will make a major contribution to the team this year. A-
*Brayden Bell- Was lost on defense, had horrible shot selection on offense, and got his coach upset with his one decent play of the night. D
*Moduo Niang- The project showed that he has potential to help the program in a couple of years. C-

Power Forwards: B
*Steve DuCharme- The senior, who averaged 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season, had a difficult time finding his place in the post on offense. Solid on defense, however. B-
*Tai Wesley- Worked hard in the post against bigger players, but had a couple TOs and went just 1-4 from the free-throw line. B

Small Forwards: B-
*Deundrae Spraggins- Was fairly impressive in this scrimmage. Showed he can probably hit the outside shot with consistency, is a good perimeter defense, and penetrated to the basket well. B+
*Nick Hammer- Struggled coming off of his collarbone injury, which kept him from playing basketball for three weeks. Played fairly decent defense, however. C
*Pooh Williams- The 19-year old freshman showed flashes of being a decent college swingman with his tremendous athleticism. He is one of the two or three most athletic players on the team. B-

Shooting Guards: A
*Jaycee Carroll- Leading scorer, hit the 3, nabbed many steals, threw down a fabulous dunk. Won't be surprised if he reaches second-team All-American this season. A+
*Brad Brown- The true freshman from Minnesota played the last four minutes of the game and missed his only shot from the corner with 7.2 seconds left. C

Point Guards: B+
*Kris Clark- The word that comes to mind every time with this guy is solid. The 2006 WAC assists-to-turnover ratio leader did a great job running the rotation players. A
*Desmond Stephens- Demonstrated tremendous quickness and a great ability to run the fast break. Should be a major ignition switch every time he enters the game. B
*Jaxon Myaer- This true freshman from Salt Lake City did a surprisingly good job, handling full-court one-on-one pressure from the older point guards and hitting a couple of nice three-pointers. B+

Whole Team: B

Aggie Basketball Team holds Blue-White Intrasquad Game

2007-10-26T21:18:00.000-06:00

On Friday, October 26, five days in advance of their exhibition opener vs. EA Sports and two weeks in advance of the regular-season opener against Southern Utah, the Utah State basketball team held an intrasquad game. The scrimmage consisted of two ten-minute halves and a 10-minute intermission.
Standouts from the game included Jaycee Carroll, obviously, who went 2-4 from three-point land and had numerous breakaway steals. Carroll led the team in scoring with 18 points.
Also impressive were two of the newcomers: post Gary Wilkinson and swingman Deundrae Spaggins. Wilkinson demonstrated an array of moves around the basket, and had a strong take to the bucket in the first half. Spraggins showed that he has the capability of being the Aggies' other top three-point threat, in addition to being a strong penetrator. JC transfer, point guard Desmond Stephens, also demonstrated tremendous quickness and ran the fast break well.
A surprising strong performance came from true freshman Jaxon Myaer, who as the team's #3 point guard is expected to redshirt. Myaer hit a couple of three-pointers and commanded the offense impressively for a young player.
Returned missionary Tai Wesley, who came back just last May, did well working the post, despite being a bit undersized at 6-6 compared to the 6-9 giants Wilkinson and Brayden Bell, and the 6-8 posts Steve DuCharme and Matt Formisano. However, he went just 1-4 from the charity stripe.
However, a couple of other players showed a bit of rust. Small forward Nick Hammer's play indicated that he hasn't fully recovered from his broken collarbone injury. The senior hit a three-pointer in the first half, but was out of sync on offense most of the time. He was solid on defense, however.
Meanwhile, Ohio State transfer Brayden Bell, the all-state player from Brighton High School who redshirted in Logan last year, did not impress. All he did was fade away in an ugly fashion when shooting, was lost on defense, and when he did do one good thing, a behind-the-back assist to Wilkinson, coach Stew Morrill was upset with his unnecessary flashiness.
Also, DuCharme, who should still do well this season, didn't do to well in this particular mock game, with some awful passes out of the post that missed everything, including Coach Morrill on the sideline. It is obvious that DuCharme is having a little bit of trouble finding his place on offense in the post with Wilkinson and Wesley around. However, I have confidence that the senior will figure everything out by December.
In the first half, the Blue team beat the White squad 21-13. In the second, the Blue, with a new mix of players, beat the White 23-19.

Big Games in College Football, Week 9

2007-10-26T10:49:00.007-06:00

#2 Boston College 14, #8 Virginia Tech 10: Matt Ryan threw two touchdown passes in the final 2:11 of the game to seal the win and avoid becoming the fourth straight #2-ranked team to lose, maintaining their ranking with four games left and a very manageable schedule remaining.
#5 Oregon vs. #9 USC: For the first time in four years, the Trojans head into a game as underdogs. This game marks the first time that Autzen Stadium will be hosting two Top-Ten teams as both squads look to stay one game behind both Arizona State and UCLA in the Pac-10 race, and work themselves into the national championship hunt. Ducks 31, Trojans 27
#1 Ohio State at #24 Penn State: Joe Paterno, speaking about this game, said it best earlier this week when he said "If we're good enough to win this game, then we will." In a season that is so crazy and complicated, it's good to see a wise football master like JoePa simplify it all. Todd Boeckman has done a fabulous job quarterbacking the Buckeyes (7-0) to another #1 ranking. But the hostile environment of Happy Valley may be too much pressure for him. Buckeyes 24, Nittany Lions 14
#7 Arizona State vs. #18 Cal: The suddenly reeling Golden Bears (5-2, 2-2 Pac-10) will try to play spoiler and end the Sun Devils' national title aspirations, a situation that California was in just two weeks ago. Surprisingly ranked #4 in the BCS, Rudy Carpenter should throw for plenty of yards in Tempe. Problem is, DeSean Jackson is on the Golden Bear side. Bears 42, Devils 38
#9 Florida vs. #20 Georgia: The stakes are high, but simple: the winner grabs control of the SEC East and gets the inside track to the SEC Championship Game in December. Matt Ryan's heroics yesterday may have put him on the inside track just before Gator QB Tim Tebow, giving Tebow the opportunity to make a statement of his own in the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party-" er, apologizes to the two prestigous universities who don't want to call it that anymore. Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford is a pretty decent quarterback himself, especially for a sophomore, who could make fireworks happen in Jacksonville. Gators 23, Bulldogs 13
#11 South Florida at Connecticut: Explain this: The UConn Huskies (6-1) are leading the Big East, one of the nation's four toughest conferences this season, with a perfect 3-0 record. They are the only undefeated team left in the conference. This means they are leading West Virginia, the Bulls, Cincinnati, and Rutgers, all who are ranked, yet they are not ranked themselves. Do not be surprised if UConn, the home team, hands the Bulls their second consecutive loss. This is the Huskies' chance to show the nation that they are for real. Huskies 27, Bulls 24
#15 South Carolina at Tennessee: Yet another huge game in the muddled, but extremely good, SEC East. The Gamecocks (5-2, 3-2) are tied for first in the division with Florida and Georgia, while the Vols (4-3, 2-2) are just a half-game behind the three teams. Steve Spurrier has done a great job with his squad, but faces a stiff test at the Rocky Top, particularly after their surprising loss to Vanderbilt last weekend. Volunteers 21, Gamecocks 20
#17 Texas vs. Nebraska: While they are 5-2, the Texas Longhorns feel that they have underachieved this season, especially when there is little chance that they can work their way into the Big XII Championship when they are two games behind Oklahoma in the Big XII South. Meanwhile, the Cornhuskers feel the same way at just 4-4 and two games behind Kansas in the Big XII North, a division they were supposed to win this season. When they were 4-3, New Husker AD and Nebraska coaching great Tom Osbourne said that it was OK; at least they were still having a winning season. I won't be surprised if his feelings drastically change in just two weeks when the team is a losing club with just three games remaining. Longhorns 34, Huskers 17

Party Poopers lose Game 1

2007-10-23T11:47:00.000-06:00

The Party Poopers, consisting of Rhett Wilkinson, Nick Blackburn, McKell Bowen and Ryan Reid, fell to the Hot Pockets Monday in a maximum of three games, 26-31, 31-16, 18-22. The Hot Pockets, who just needed to get to 21 to win, hit a three-pointer to end the close contest.
After dropping the first game, despite leading 18-13 at one point, the Poopers roared back in a dominating second game before losing a close battle.
Next Monday the Party Poopers play the second game of their four-game round robin group play.

Utes riding three-game win streak, to play TCU Thursday

2007-10-17T10:51:00.000-06:00

The University of Utah has turned around a season that started 1-3 with consecutive victories over Utah State, a thrilling triumph over Louisville, and a solid win over San Diego State in Salt Lake City.
The Utes prevailed 44-35 Friday, October 5 against the Cardinals in Kentucky. Ute QB Brian Johnson threw for 312 yards and Darrell Mack rushed for nearly 160 as Utah maintained a 27-7 halftime lead.
The win was a stunner for both teams. The Cardinals, behind Heisman candidate Brian Brohm, began the season in the Top 10, favored to win the strong Big East, and viewed as a prime national championship contender. However, they are just 4-3 after defeating #23 Cincinnati eight days after the surprising loss to the Utes.
Meanwhile, Utah was facing a 2-4 record without the win, creating a must-win situation if they had any postseason hopes.
The following week, Utah defeated San Diego State 23-7 in Rice-Eccles Stadium to up their record to 4-3. Mack rushed for 131 yards on 22 carries, propelling the offense to productivity, behind a stellar defensive effort.
Perhaps the biggest surprise for Utah came from the defensive side, where true freshman linebacker Loma had a sack and a tackle-for-loss. Loma saw playing time due to the loss of senior linebacker Kyle Brady for the season.
The Utes now focus on TCU for tomorrow, October 18, for a showdown with the Horned Frogs (4-3, 1-2) at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. The winner has an inside track for a bowl game, while the loser will be looking desperate for a berth, especially when considering that the Mountain West currently sports six of the nine teams with winning records. All of the other four teams- BYU, Air Force, New Mexico, and Wyoming- have better overall records than the Utes or Horned Frogs.
Kickoff is at 6 PM Mountain Time on Versus. The Frogs won the last meeting in Fort Worth in 2005, 23-20 in overtime, while the Utes prevailed last year in Salt Lake 20-6.

Aggies' woes continue

2007-10-17T10:45:00.001-06:00

Since losing 34-18 to Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the Utah State football team has fallen 52-37 to Hawaii in Honolulu and had a bye the last two weeks.
The Aggies resume play this Saturday, October 20, against the Nevada Wolfpack (2-4, 0-2 WAC), who nearly became the first-ever WAC team to win in Bronco Stadium after losing a heartbreaker to Boise State, 69-67, in four overtimes.
Utah State (0-6, 0-2) surprisingly gave Hawaii a game, leading 13-10 midway through the first quarter after a Peter Caldwell field goal before giving up a touchdown on the following kickoff.
The Aggies also knocked out fading Heisman candidate Colt Brennan in the second quarter with a vicious hit that involved linebacker Paul Igloebi.
The star for the Aggies was again receiver/kick returner Kevin Robinson, whose night included a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 77-yard catch-and-run reception for a TD.
The Aggies' game against Nevada will be in Logan and kickoff at 1:00 PM.

Koala Bears done after losing First-Round Game

2007-10-17T10:41:00.000-06:00

The Koala Bears fell to the Delta Sig team 36-12 in the first round of the men's intramural flag football playoffs.
The K-Bears (3-2) opened a 6-0 lead to open the game, and made a crucial goal-line stand in allowing just 1 yard in three plays on Delta's opening offensive drive.
However, things mainly went downhill from there.
McKell Bowen threw two interceptions, both of which were in the red zone. Delta (3-2) also had a field day passing the ball.
Landon Bastian remained out with a sore ACL.

K-Bears wallop LLC Men's 46-26

2007-10-05T11:05:00.001-06:00

The Koala Bears beat the LLC Men's team for a second time in group play, winning a high-scoring affair 46-26.
Landon Bastian was out of action recovering from a sore ACL. Meanwhile, Rhett Wilkinson missed the game serving a one-game suspension.
The K-Bears are now set on focusing for the Intramural Flag Football Playoffs, which begin starting Monday, October 8.

Final Group Play Standings:
usu.edu/camprec/intramurals/leagues/schedules/flagFootballHper.cfm
usu.edu/camprec/intramurals/leagues/schedules/flagFootballHper.cfm

The One-Game Playoff: San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies

2007-10-01T17:12:00.001-06:00

After finishing the season by winning 13 of their last 14 games, the Colorado Rockies have one thing to say to the San Diego Padres:
Let's play a 163rd game. 162 wasn't enough.
Despite leading the wild-card for most of the last month-and-a half, the Padres (89-73) find themselves deadlocked with Colorado (89-73) after 162 games. San Diego will send NL era leader Jake Peavy to the mound opposite Josh Fogg (4.52 ERA).
The reason for this game manifest themselves by Sunday afternoon, after San Diego had lost to Milwaukee 9-4, while the Rockies edged NL West Division Champion Arizona 4-3 behind a clutch three-run double by NL MVP canidate in the eighth inning.

Analysis
Despite a dominant season, there is a good chance that Peavy will struggle against the Rockies. This season, Colorado has hit well against Peavy, particularly when compared to other teams. Meanwhile, Josh Fogg has risen to the occasion in big games this season, defeating Brandon Webb, Curt Schilling, Derek Lowe and Chris Young, among others.
At the same time, a major trend regarding teams that have been successful in the playoffs has been the indication of how well they have been playing in September to end the season. That theory definitely favors the Rockies, who had their 11-game winning streak snapped on Friday before winning both games over the weekend.

Prediction: Rockies 5, Padres 3.

Big Brother wins again

2007-10-01T17:01:00.000-06:00

Behind the 132-yard rushing day of Darrell Mack, the Utah Utes defeated the Utah State Aggies for the tenth straight time, winning 34-18.
Things looked bad for the Utes when Utah State pulled ahead 7-0 in the first quarter after a long interception return. However, the Utes responded with two passing scores and a 75-yard return by Derrek Richards to seize a commanding 21-7 lead before taking a 24-10 lead into halftime.
However, on the first offensive possession of the second half, Aggie linebacker Jake Hutton intercepted Ute quarterback Brian Johnson on an errant throw, leading to a long run by Derrvin Spreight to the 1-yard line. However, the Aggies were stuffed for negative-4 yards on three successive running plays, leading to a missed 22-yard field goal attempt by freshman Pete Caldwell.
Utah appeared to have to punt the ball away soon after, however, before Louie Sakoda ran 22 yards on a fake punt on fourth-and-8 to maintain the drive, which lead to a 3-yard touchdown run by Darrell Mack and a 31-10 lead.
In a serious 34-10 hole late in the game, the Aggies narrowed the deficit to sixteen following a jumpball throw for a TD from Leon Jackson III and a successful 3-yard conversion run by Speight. The Aggies also recovered the onside kick and drove 47 yards before turning the ball over on downs at the Ute 13.
The Utes (2-3) play at Louisville (3-2) on Friday, October 5, while the Aggies (0-5, 0-1) leave the mainland to play offensive-minded Hawaii (5-0, 2-0) on Saturday.

Two More Starters to miss game for Utes

2007-09-27T22:24:00.000-06:00

Adding to the ever-expanding list of injured Utah football starters who will miss Saturday's game against Utah State is free safety Robert Johnson and experienced middle linebacker Joe Jiannoni.
They mark the sixth and seventh starters out with injuries, rather than eight, since Brian Johnson has returned as the starting QB.
Johnson was named Bronco Nagurski National Player of the Week a week-and-a-half ago for his stellar performance against UCLA, grabbing two interceptions and forcing a game-changing fumble. He will be replaced by Joe Dale, who lost his spot to Johnson after two games.
Jiannoni, a senior, is in his third season as a starter at linebacker. He will be replaced by sophomore Stevenson Sylvester, who returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown in last season's game against the Aggies.
Johnson is expected to be out 2-4 weeks, and Jiannoni 1-2.
Currently, both the Utes and Aggies are suffering through bad seasons. The Utes are 1-3 and searching for answers after getting blanked 27-0 by UNLV after destroying formerly #11-ranked UCLA 44-6 just the week earlier. Meanwhile, Utah State is winless at 0-4 after blowing fourth-quarter leads in three of those four contests.

K-Bears blown out 31-12

2007-09-27T22:19:00.001-06:00

McKell Bowen threw 3 interceptions. Two players left the team for another the week leading up to the game. Another player, Don Larsen, was absent due to the flu. Star receiver Landon Bastian was done after the K-Bears' fourth offensive play of the game. Rhett Wilkinson got ejected and must appeal with intramural director Scott Wamsley if he hopes to play again.

All in all, it was not a good game for the Koalas. They look ahead to next Tuesday's game against the LLC Men's squad.

Horrible Saturday for Utah teams

2007-09-24T10:51:00.000-06:00

The University of Utah unpredictably got blown out by lowly UNLV, 27-0. The turning point in the game came when the Utes, down 13-0 in the third quarter, failed to score a touchdown from the 1-yard line, an instance seen before, where Utah is unable to score when they are feet from the end zone.
Also, on the next possession, the Utes turned the ball over on downs at the Rebel 30 after the Ute defense forced a three-and-out and a punt after the offense stalled at the 1.
These two failed possessions essentially did the Utes in, when they could have made it a game with scores out of those possessions.
In Logan, Utah State lost to San Jose State 23-20 in the final seconds. The Aggies found every way possible to lose in the contest.

2007-09-21T13:30:00.001-06:00

#2 LSU vs. #12 South Carolina: LSU gets its toughest test yet against a surprising South Carolina team who beat Georgia two weeks ago.
#16 Alabama vs. #22 Georgia: The Nick Saban ride continues for the Tide (3-0) against the Bulldogs.
#21 Kentucky at Arkansas: Behind quarterback Andre Woodson, the Wildcats are in unfamiliar territory in the Top 25. Will it hold on the road against Darren McFadden and the Razorbacks?
Arizona State vs. Oregon State: The Sun Devils (3-0) are off to a great start. Sean Canfield still has some issues to work out as the Beavers' starting quarterback.
UCLA vs. Washington: The Bruins will try to recover from their shocking 44-6 loss to Utah at home against a surprising Husky squad (2-1) who defeated Boise State but fell to Ohio State at Columbus.
#10 Penn State at Michigan: Joe Paterno's boys will look to add more dents to an ugly Michigan season.
Air Force at BYU: The Falcon Watch is officially upon us as Air Force looks to go 3-0 against the Mountain West's top 3 predicted teams. Meanwhile, BYU is looking to head forward again after a surprising 55-47 shootout loss at Tulsa.

Utes missing sixth starter for Game 4

2007-09-21T12:45:00.001-06:00

The University of Utah will be missing a sixth starter for their game Saturday, Sept. 22, vs. UNLV in Las Vegas.
Offensive lineman Corey Seuili will be out of action due to an injury that occurred late in last Saturday's stunning demolition of UCLA in Salt Lake City.
Inexperienced freshman Caleb Scheurhaff will start in his place.
However, one of those six injured starters might be back for the game. Starting quarterback Brian Johnson might be ready to make his return tomorrow.
Meanwhile, defensive end Gabe Long remains out 3-5 more weeks. Running back Matt Asiata, H-back Brent Casteel and offensive lineman Jason Boone are done for the season.

3 Weeks Down, 10 to Go...

2007-09-21T12:08:00.000-06:00

After a slow start against Idaho, USC really cranked up their play vs. Nebraska. Wasn't it nice of them to let the Huskers make the score look better at the end?
LSU is one heck of a team. Their performance against Virginia Tech was so impressive, it was almost as impressive as...
Florida's dominance of Tennessee! Who thought Urban Meyer could completely skip any resemblance of rebuilding and go straight to a national contender with a whole new cast of players?
Virginia Tech isn't as good as we think. Neither is Texas A&M. The Hokies followed a lackluster 17-7 win over East Carolina by getting massacred at LSU, then had another very unimpressive win last week. Meanwhile, the Texas Aggies survived three overtimes at home to get past Fresno State before getting waxed yesterday.
Who knew Oregon would be this good? The Ducks have done nothing but impressed on their way to a 3-0 start. They could finish third in a very, very strong Pac-10 this year.
California is the real deal. Though they couldn't close out Colorado State in Week 2. That's OK, they're gonna give USC a run for their money in the Pac-10, if not the championship, title race.
Charlie Weis needs help rebuilding that thing in South Bend. Where did Brady Quinn go again?
The Big Ten needs to hope that Michigan is genuinely bad this season. The worse thing for that conference, which already is enduring several embarrassing defeats, would be having a team in the Rose Bowl, or the Capital One Bowl- or even the Outback Bowl!- that lost to Appalachian State.

Koala Bears 2-0 in USU Intramural Play

2007-09-21T11:55:00.000-06:00

The Koala Bears improved to 2-0 Tuesday, Sept. 18, after beating Ninja Strike on a forfeit.
What did the K-Bears do in a absence of an actual game? They scrimmaged.
The yellow side beat the red side 43-28 in the scrimmage.
KB will face fellow 2-0 squad What The next Tuesday.

INCREDIBLE!!! Utes destroy #11 UCLA 44-6

2007-09-16T21:53:00.000-06:00

The most unlikely of teams, against the most unlikely of opponents, put on a demolition derby Saturday, Sept. 15, at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The University of Utah, 0-2 due largely to the losses of five starters to injuries, mauled #11-ranked UCLA 44-6.
Ute tailback Darrell Mack seemingly solved Utah's issues at running back, rushing for 107 yards on 19 carries in becoming the first Utah running back to gain 100+ yards in a game since Quinton Ganther in the 2005 Emerald Bowl.
The Ute defense also played astonishingly well, shutting down the highly-touted Bruin running game and forcing three interceptions and two fumbles from vaunted quarterback Ben Olson, who is now 4-3 as a starter.
The Utah defense also sacked Olson five times.
Eight receivers caught passes for the Utes, who restructured their offense to better suit quarterback Tommy Grady's lack of mobility. Louie Sakoda was also perfect on 47 and 45-yard placekicks for Utah (1-2).
The Utes face UNLV (1-2) in Las Vegas next Saturday. Injured #1 quarterback Brian Johnson may be available after missing the past two contests.

Aggies fall hard to #3 Oklahoma, 54-3

2007-09-16T21:46:00.000-06:00

Utah State fell hard to #3-ranked Oklahoma 54-3 Saturday, Sept. 15, in Norman, Okla. Two Oklahoma running backs netted over 100 yards in the Sooner win.
Knowing that they had no chance of winning the game, Aggie coach Brent Guy opted to give backup quarterback Jace McCormick some playing time. Guy played starter Leon Jackson III in the first and third quarters and McCormick in the second and fourth.
Curiously, the Aggies' only points came with McCormick at the helm in the second period, going on a 47-yard drive following an interception.
However, it was 38-3 at halftime.
Utah State (0-3) faces San Jose State, who is also 0-3 after facing three straight BCS foes, in their homecoming game next Saturday in Logan.

Koala Bears crush LLC Football Mens, 36-12

2007-09-13T00:41:00.000-06:00

The Koala Bears came out roaring in their intramural opener Tuesday, September 11, at the HPER field at Utah State University, crushing the LLC Football Mens team 36-12.
McKell Bowen threw for four touchdowns, 3 to receiver Landon Bastian. Two came from across-the-body throws while running down the opposite sideline.
Rhett Wilkinson, David Tate and Andrew Haws each hauled in a pass for the K-Bears (1-0).
Tate's reception led to a touchdown and 12-0 lead in the first half. After nabbing a high floater from Bowen, Tate turned and headed upfield before running what looked like the option with a lateral to Mark. Mark promptly took the lateral 10 yards down the sideline for the score.
The closest the LLC Men's team got was 18-6 early in the second half.
That was before Bowen zipped a short pass to Bastian along the sideline, allowing Bastian to race past the defense for a 55-yard score and 27-6 advantage after a 3-point conversion.
The scoring was capped with a touchdown run and a second 3-point conversion after a pass to Haws after Bowen headed right and then cut back left before delivering the pass.
Nick Baker added an interception in the first half when it was only 6-0. That lead to Tate's lateral for the TD.
The K-Bears play Game 2 next week Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 4:30 on the HPER Field against Ninja Strike.

Courtesty of slbees.com

2007-09-09T19:54:00.001-06:00

	BEES FALL TO RIVER CATS IN PCL CHAMPIONSHIP
	Sep 9, 2007 The Sacramento River Cats rallied to score four runs in the fifth inning to defeat the Salt Lake Bees 4-2 and claim the PCL's Pacific Conference Championship Series three games to two. Terry Evans gave the Bees a 2-0 lead in the first with a two run double, but Gregorio Petit led off the fifth for Sacramento with a single to right. Two outs later, Nick Blasi hit a slow bouncer to short that he beat out for an infield single, as Brandon Wood hesitated before he threw to first. Lou Merloni then singled in Petit with a grounder to center. Daric Barton then followed with the three run homer into the right field bullpen. Nick Green pitched well, but took the loss in his triple-A debut, as he allowed four runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and one walk in seven innings.

Utah State loses another fourth-quarter lead

2007-09-09T19:44:00.000-06:00

Utah State football lost their second fourth-quarter lead in as many weeks yesterday, Sept. 15, vs. Wyoming in Laramie.
USU held an 18-14 advantage before being blanked 18-0 in the fourth quarter en route to a 32-18 defeat.
The Aggies, despite trailing 25-18 with five minutes left in the game, were still in contention even with a punt. The Aggie defense could have at least mustered a defensive stand against the Cowboys, giving the offense one last shot.
However, Leon Jackson fumbled the ball on the Aggie 25 on a 3rd-and-6 run, leading to a quick and easy Wyoming touchdown and nail in the coffin. Jackson's fumble marked the second time in as many weeks that Utah State has essentially been done in with a fumble late in the game.
USU will be 0-3 after a loss at Oklahoma on Sept. 15.

Utah Football Looking Even Worse than Before

2007-09-09T19:27:00.000-06:00

Before a crushing 20-12 defeat to the Air Force Academy Saturday, Sept. 8, star receiver Brent Casteel tore his ACL and is out for the season and starting defensive tackle Robert Conley got injured, putting him out for 3-5 weeks.
These injuries compounded the growing list of problems for the University of Utah, who have already lost starting quarterback Brian Johnson for at least 2 more weeks and starting tailback Matt Asiata for the year.
And, oh yeah, starting offensive lineman and all-conference player Jesse Boone was done for the season and essentially his career before the season even began.
However, despite this ridiculous amount of continuous injuries, the Utes had chances to win the game on Saturday, with the biggest blown chance occuring on the last sequence of the game. Down one possession at eight, new starting quarterback Tommy Grady hit Derrek Richards with a pass to move to the 1-yard line late in the game. However, the Utes failed to punch it in, most notably with two failed runs up the middle. These failed runs are yet another indication of how stupid head coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig often are with regards to their play-calling.
Both Whittingham and Ludwig tried to defend the play-calling afterwards. Whittingham noted that "'he likes anybody's chances when their on the six-inch line," as if anybody should score from there no matter how predictable the play, while Ludwig insisted that the 3rd-down play in which receiver Eddie Wide took a direct snap forward was "a play that has worked for us in the past."
Yeah, that was when you had NFL safety, second-round NFL draft pick and play-any-position Eric Weddle carrying the ball.
That is also considering that you have running backs who struggle just to average 3 yards per carry without running against a stacked goal-line defense.
Both teams were absolutely inept on offense until the Utes stopped the Falcons on a failed fourth-down run from midfield. However, Grady promptly responded by throwing an interception, leading to a Falcon touchdown and 17-6 lead moments later.
Utah responded with a shocking 74-yard, 4-play drive that took just 33 seconds to cut the lead to 17-12 after a failed two-point conversion run. Air Force scored a field goal in response, leading to Utah's stalled drive 99/100 of the way to paydirt to essentially end the game.
The Utes will now be 0-3 after their home defeat to UCLA next Saturday.

Utah State Basketball looking to win WAC

2007-09-07T14:03:00.000-06:00

The Utah State basketball team brings many fresh faces into the 2007-08 season. The team has a different look from the one that won 23 games and played Michigan in the NIT.
That is a good thing.
Led by returning players Jaycee Carroll, Kris Clark, and Steven DuCharme, the Aggies have high hopes for this season, which include a return to the NCAA Tournament, due to the expected immediate contributions of many new players, which include Div. 1-A and junior college transfers, returned missionaries, and possibly even a freshman straight out of high school.
Sophomore Brayden Bell will again play basketball in the state of Utah after spending one season at Ohio State and redshirting last season. He is expected to make contributions at center, if not in a starting role then off the bench.
Three junior college transfers come to Logan this year with expected pivotal roles. They include post player Gary Wilkinson, a third-team and honorable mention JC All-American from Salt Lake Community College; swingman Deundrae Spraggins, an all-Region 14 player from Paris, Texas; and point guard Desmond Stephens, from SE Illinois JC.
Wilkinson could likely start at center, while Spraggins will either start at small forward or share time with Nick Hammer at that spot in the lineup. Stephens will back-up Clark at point guard and see significant minutes.
Returned missionaries include Tai Wesley, an all-state player from Provo High, and Matt Forisamo, from Minnesota. Wesley could see minutes at the forward position relieving DuCharme.
One freshman who could see action this year is small forward Pooh Williams, also from Minnesota.
The Aggies should have at least 8 and up to 10 players who can make contributions this year, relieving the scoring load off All-America canidate Carroll. With Wilkinson and Bell, DuCharme will no longer be forced to play an undersized center role, balancing the rebounding responsibilities.
Last year, the Aggies were one piece short of being Dance-worthy. This year, Utah State should not only qualify for the Big Dance but perhaps even win the WAC, where they have placed 3rd and 4th in their first two seasons as part of the conference.

Movie Reviews

2007-09-07T13:41:00.000-06:00

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix-***1/2: Definitely the best film in the series thus far. Focuses just on the events concerning Harry, shortening the story from the book as a result. Changes in scenes are also apparent, but for the better, for the most part. For the first time, the magic of the books is felt in this movie.
Transformers-***: I was skeptical of how a toy line would translate over into a live-action movie, but oh did they "get it right." If you like big explosions, and if you like to see huge robots battle, and if you like Shia LeBeouf, you like Transformers.
Spider-man 3-***: The message is as profound as ever for a Spiderman flick. If this is indeed the final Spidey film, it finished well. Three villains, a solid moral on overcoming vengeance, a story of sacrifice. Gotta love it.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer-**1/2: Better than the first 'F4' film, due to a more interesting villain, a better storyline, a little conflict, and much bigger action sequences. The dialogue is often weak, but the movie succeeds in presenting a comic-book feel.
Ratatouille-**1/2: I am reluctant to say this, but I suggest that Pixar has taken an ever-small step backward in the entertainment value of past productions. Others may scuffle at this suggestion, since audiences have absolutely loved 'Cars' and 'Ratatouille,' but they haven't done it for me the way a 'Toy Story' or 'Incredibles' has. Still, very fun and entertaining.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End-**: For as good as 'Curse of the Black Pearl' and 'Dead Man's Chest' were, 'Worlds End' was a very unsatisfying end to the epic trilogy. The characters are inconsistent, the story itself runs dry, and it is flat-out strange. Though the supernatural elements in 'Dead Man's Chest' were digestible, the supernatural elements in 'Worlds End' go over the top. It hints that the writers had run out of a script to fill nearly 3 hours. But at least the war at the end was pretty cool.

Angels look to win World Series

2007-09-07T13:25:00.000-06:00

At this point in the season, things couldn't look better for the Los Angels of Anaheim. At first place in the division, they have distanced themselves from the second-place Seattle Mariners and have the division pennant all but won, allowing themselves to focus on grabbing the American League's best record ahead of the Boston Red Sox.
With a dominant pitching staff, led by John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar, supported by the consistent Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders, and bolstered by the return of Ervin Santana to the majors, and a more-than-capable, if not potent, offense, lead by Vladimir Guerrero, Orlando Cabrera, and Garret Anderson, and backed by the likes of Gary Matthews, Jr., Reggie Willits, and Casey Kotchman, the Angels just about have a complete team to make a run deep through October. In addition, the bullpen is more than strong, bolstered by setup men Scot Shields and Justin Speier and finished with Fransisco Rodriguez.
There are two minor concerns for the Halos: number one, the health of leadoff man Chone Figgins, and number two, the experience behind the plate. Figgins is working to be ready soon, while the catchers are Jeff Mathis and Ryan Budde. The jury is out on whether Mathis is ready to be a starting catcher in the majors, while Budde isn't MLB-ready yet. However, the Angels didn't have a choice but to call them up from Salt Lake when they traded ex-starting catcher Jose Molina to the Yankees and supposed successor Mike Napoli went down with an injury the next day.
However, these are indeed minor concerns for the Halos. Also, with the rehab of Bartolo Colon and Juan Rivera recently completed, and the return of Howie Kendrick from injury, the Angels roster is stocked with talent and savvy experience. They may have to face New York in the first round, who they defeated in the same round in 2002 and 2005, but if that is the case, so be it. Boston should be the only hurdle for this club this season.

Warriors rough up listless Jazz-Deseret News-by Rhett Wilkinson

2007-09-07T12:57:00.000-06:00

Warriors rough up listless Jazz

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Apr 2, 2005 by Rhett Wilkinson

For this Utah Jazz team, it has been a rough season, one filled with multiple injuries and many setbacks, painful growing experiences that no one would want to encounter.

Friday night at the Delta Center, this young group -- again missing guard Raja Bell due to injury, and of course without Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer -- endured another rather embarrassing defeat, falling 108-91 to fellow Western Conference cellar-dweller Golden State.

Largely in part to below-35 percent shooting from the field, the Jazz witnessed their 50th loss of the season.

Coach Jerry Sloan gave a reason for the dismal shooting percentage.

"We seem committed to watch guys trying to score and play one-on- one instead," he said. "When we get the ball and hold it and clear (the court) out, then we struggle."

Simple things such as executing their designed offense was one of many problems for Utah. Only two Jazz players managed to shoot above 50 percent -- Ben Handlogten and Kris Humphries. Handlogten registered his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

But neither he nor his coach were satisfied with the effort, which is something that has eluded the Jazz as the season has progressed.

"They just outplayed us," Handlogten said. "They moved the ball around and got some good shots outside and it just got worse."

The numbers concur.

Golden State pulled down 15 offensive rebounds and nailed 10 3- pointers, including five from Derek Fisher, who led his team in scoring with 19 points.

Fisher was one of a whopping seven Warriors who scored in double figures.

The Jazz did hold a narrow four-point advantage at the end of a free-throw contest commonly known as the first quarter.

However, it mainly went downhill from there.

Golden State went on a quick 12-1 run early in the second quarter, and the Jazz never were able to recover. By the time 18- point scorer Jason Richardson threw down a scintillating dunk late in the fourth quarter, the Jazz found themselves down 100-77 and the game all but over.

"Maybe I'm crazy, but it seems when we stay together, we have a chance to compete," Sloan said. "Sometimes it seems like our players think winning isn't important."

That is a harsh reality one must face as just 10 games remain on the schedule.

Jazz rookie Kirk Snyder, acknowledging that this year has been a bit of a grind, said, "We just have to try to find some positives, and that needs to be our focus in practice."

A focus that seems to be dwindling down as the losses pile up.

Rhett Wilkinson, a sophomore basketball player at Viewmont High School, is the winner of the Deseret Morning News' "Cover a Game" contest.

Viewmont sophomore will cover Jazz

2007-09-07T12:52:00.001-06:00

Viewmont sophomore will cover Jazz

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Mar 30, 2005

The winner of the "Cover a Jazz Game Contest" for seventh- through 11th-grade students is Rhett Wilkinson of Centerville, a sophomore from Viewmont High School. Rhett and two guests will meet Deseret Morning News Jazz beat writer Tim Buckley this Friday night in the press room at the Delta Center for dinner prior to the game. Rhett will be interviewed on KFNZ radio's Jazz Talk, 1320 AM, and have his picture taken with a Jazz player. Rhett will sit on press row alongside other sports writers during the game and watch as the Jazz square off against the Golden State Warriors.

The hard part of the evening begins after post-game interviews as Rhett writes his report on deadline. His coverage will be published in the Saturday morning edition of the Deseret Morning News.

The second-place winner, Alie Yorgason, a seventh-grader from Salt Lake City, wins a Club Suite Night to a regular-season game for eight guests.

The 10 third-place winners who receive a Utah Jazz baseball cap are William Carlson, Trevor Vlam, Dakota Guenther, Destiny Calvano, Hayley Buchman, Derek Flint, Brooke Hodson, Ben Lockhart, Jeff Merrell and Justus Minardi.

The Special Class Award goes to Mrs. Bachmiller's third period English class from Crescent View Middle School. They win a Sky Box night at an upcoming game.

Bountiful teen to cover Jazz

2007-09-07T12:50:00.001-06:00

Bountiful teen to cover Jazz

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Mar 3, 2004

Dee Dee Nelson from Bountiful is the winner of the "Cover a Jazz Game" contest. The contest was open to seventh-11th graders. More than 200 entries were received and judged on detail, writing style, conciseness, clarity and humor.

Nelson and two guests will be hosted at Friday night's game as the Jazz take on the Indiana Pacers. Nelson, along with her two guests, will meet Deseret Morning News Jazz beat writer Tim Buckley in the press room at the Delta Center before the game. After dinner, Nelson will have her picture taken with a Jazz player and be interviewed on "Jazz Talk" on KFNZ 1320.

During the game, Nelson will sit on press row alongside other sports writers. The hardest part of the evening begins after the post game interviews as Nelson goes to the press room and writes her story on deadline.

The second-place winner is Rhett Wilkinson of Centerville. He will host his friends in a Delta Center club suite at an upcoming regular- season game.

Five third place winners will receive Utah Jazz T-shirts. They are: Brooke Hodson, Dallin Turner, Steve McKee, AJ Nunley and Amber Hunt.

Fifteen fourth place winners will receive Utah Jazz baseball caps. They are: Evan Levesque, Allison Griffiths, Hilary Dent, Kirk Logan, Zach Adams, Matt Knowles, Ryan Smith, David King, Katie Little, Doug Wallingford, Emily Gainer, Jason Bradshaw, Brooke Quinn, Matt Behunin and Rachel Tanner.

Special Prize: Lisa Hayward's second-period class, Crescent View Middle School.

Best NCAA Football Games, Saturday, Sept. 8

2007-09-07T12:23:00.001-06:00

#2 LSU vs. #9 Virginia Tech: The Hokies will need to play better than last week's lackluster 17-7 win over East Carolina to have any hope of knocking off the Tigers in Baton Rouge.
#7 Texas vs. #19 TCU: For so early in the season, the Horned Frogs will be sitting pretty in the BCS picture with a win over the Longhorns in Austin. Colt McCoy and Texas have to play better than they did vs. Arkansas State last week if they expect to win heading into Big XII play.
#5 Oklahoma vs. Miami: These are the types of matchups you like to see: two national powerhouses squaring off in a non-conference game. No more Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Texases. (Though you could never get Applachain State beating Michigan if that were the case!)
#15 Penn State vs. Notre Dame: Can the Irish have any hope of winning after last week's pitiful home performance against Georgia Tech? Maybe with new freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen.
#13 UCLA vs. BYU: The Cougars, despite losing quarterback John Beck, tight end Jonny Harline. and RB Curtis Brown, turned in an impressive performance last week against Arizona. How will they fare in the Rose Bowl against a UCLA team determined to make national waves this season?
Michigan vs. Oregon: The Wolverines try to bounce back from the most embarrassing loss in their illustrious history, while Oregon looks to prove that they are still a top-tier Pac-10 team. The Ducks will have their hands full with Wolverine TB Mike Hart. QB Dennis Dixon has the ability to send Michigan to 0-2 on the season.
#11 Georgia vs. South Carolina: Gamecocks coach and SEC legend Steve Spurrier has beat the Bulldogs plenty of times, but that was with Florida. He has yet to do it with Carolina.
Washington vs. #22 Boise State: The Broncos have long bragged about being so successful against the Mtn. West and undefeated in WAC play at home, but how will they fare playing on the road against a Pac-10 school? (A struggling Pac-10 school, but c'mon, for drama's sake.)
Colorado State vs. #10 California: Two teams going in opposite directions morale-wise: The Rams lead most of the game last week vs. Colorado before blowing it with 12 seconds left and in overtime, while the Bears made a statement with a big win over Tennessee, cemeting themselves as a team to watch as a contender with USC for not just the Pac-10, but possibly the BCS National Championship.
New Mexico vs. New Mexico State: Why this game? It's a rivalry game. And rivalry games are always going to be given their due here at Dubyaworld. New Mexico seeks to continue their nine-year run of averageness after losing to UTEP last weekend.

'Smallville' soars into seventh season September 27th

2007-09-07T11:59:00.000-06:00

On September 27, 2007, the CW program 'Smallville,' which chronicles the earlier life of Superman, premiers its seventh season.
Episode 1, 'Bizarro,' will pick off where Season 6 ended, as Lex Luthor has dispatched the phantoms from the Phantom Zone, created by Clark Kent's Kryptonian father Jor-El, to use their DNA to power the bodies of U.S. soldiers from the Middle East. The last and most elusive phantom, however, took hold of Clark's body, prompting Clark to ask "What are you?" The phantom promptly replied, "I'm you... just a little more bizarre!" This line refers to a Superman nemesis in Bizarro, who is an exact duplicate of Superman, turned-upside-down.
Other story threads to be resolved in Season 7 include the futures of Lana Lang and Chloe Sullivan, two characters who were seen in fatal situations in the Season 6 finale.
After six years, Clark finally told the truth to Lana about who he is, though she had found out six episodes earlier. Lana, also disguisted by the lies and deceit of her forced husband Lex, promptly tells Lex that she is done in her relationship with him. The next scene we see with Lana is her getting into her SUV, when all of a sudden, the SUV explodes. Is this retaliation by Lex? Is Lana truly dead? Or was she even in the car after all?
Chloe, known to be so sacrificing for the sake of her friends, sacrifices herself through a revealed power in saving Lois Lane from death. Lois had gone to investigate Lex's secret labratory 33.1, where he was storing the soldiers, when she got fatally stabbed by a lab guard. Chloe, always intuitive as a budding top-flight reporter, follows the trial to the site of Lois. In her grief, Chloe cries over her cousin, revealing a tear that reverses the effect of death and turns it on Chloe. Though it has been debated over whether Chloe has a healing power created by the effects of kryptonite, or whether it is a supernatural power of sacrifice, I believe it is a power of sacrifice.
Other new events to be seen in Season 7 include the arrival of Supergirl, who will have all of the same powers of Clark with the addition of flight. When Kal-El (Clark) had been sent to Earth as a baby at the time of the destruction of Krypton, Kara Zor-El (Supergirl), as a teenager, had been sent by her parents to watch over Kal-El on Earth. However, her spacecraft had gotten stuck in suspended animation, freezing her aging as Kal-El continued to grow on Earth. Now, in Season 7, Kara has escaped the suspended animation and finally arrived on the planet, albeit younger than the person she was intended to watch and protect. However, Kara knows much more about her Kryptonian past than Clark does, allowing her to teach Clark much about who he and his race is, thus assisting in his growth to Superman. This fact has also been confirmed by "Smallville" head writer Al Gough.
Other storylines to be seen in Season 7 include the increasing evil of Lex Luthor, the mutual interest of Lois & Clark, and the ever-elusive motives of Lex's father Lionel, which include his relationship with Clark's mother Martha and his approach as a self-proclaimed "father figure" to Clark. The first six seasons of this show has been nothing but a success, and Season 7 promises the same.

Utah State has tough road vs. Wyoming, Oklahoma

2007-09-07T11:51:00.001-06:00

The struggling football program Utah State fell Thursday, August 30, to UNLV 23-16 at home in Logan, Utah, heading into a tough game against an improved Wyoming squad and a murderous game against Oklahoma in Norman. USU, determined to end a 10-year bowl drought where they've rarely won over 3 games in that time, played a decent first half against the Rebels, leading 10-3 at halftime. However, the defense got hammered in the second-half due to UNLV head coach Mike Sanford's adjustments, and the offense reverted to their inept form of last season, where they didn't score on offense until the fifth game vs. Idaho. Things won't get easier the next two weeks, either. Week 4 presents San Jose State, which may be a winnable game if the Spartans aren't living up to preseason hype.

Can the Utah Jazz maintain momentum in '07-'08?

2007-09-07T11:43:00.000-06:00

After last season's surprising run to the Western Conference Finals, the Utah Jazz headed into the 2007 offseason looking for a way to improve their team into becoming a legit NBA championship contender, hoping to add shooting and length to their roster to defend against the likes of Tim Duncan and shoot against defensive masters like Bruce Bowen. However, the Jazz may have slipped a half-notch based on their off-season moves after losing Derek Fisher and gaining just point guards Jason Hart and Ronnie Price.
Jazz General Manager Kevin O'Conner also failed to extend Dee Brown's contract, leaving two new point guards to back-up budding star Deron Williams- point guards that I feel aren't as good as a #2 like Fisher or a #3 like Brown. Fisher was also Utah's staring shooting guard, leaving a hole there- and leaving it up to Croatian Gordan Giricek, young Ronnie Brewer, and '07 first-round draft pick Morris Almond to seize the role. Overall, less experience and talent now fill Utah's backcourt, leaving it up to Mehmet Okur to play consistently, Carlos Boozer and Williams to be even bigger stars than they were this year, and Andrei Kirilenko to regain his typical form. Matt Harpring again takes on a larger bench role with one of last year's bench players destined to take over the starting 2-guard position.

Utah Football headed in wrong direction

2007-09-07T11:35:00.000-06:00

With injuries to starting quarterback Brian Johnson (separated shoulder, out 3-5 weeks) and starting running back Matt Asiata (broken leg, out for the season), the University of Utah had absolutely no punch on offense last Thursday, Aug. 30, losing to Oregon State 24-7 in Corvallis, Oregon. After seeing Oregon State get pounded 34-3 to mediocre-at-best Cincinnati yesterday, Sept. 6, it proves that the Utes were probably playing a beatable team. However, they still couldn't even manage to make it a game in the second half. The presumption from here is that they will fall to 0-3 after games against Air Force and UCLA before preparing to play UNLV.