This week, for the final playoff game that ended the Jazz season a group of about 20 of our friends were invited to cheer on the team along with former Jazz players Thurl Bailey and Pace Mannion along with local broadcaster David James during the Jazz pre-game and half-time show at Energy Solutions Arena as part of the KJZZ broadcast.
My friend, John Maxim, does a local movie critic show (inset link) that is edited by my roommate and editor-in-chief of this blog, Jon Madsen. He had the opportunity to plug his show on KJZZ if he brought a group of rowdy friends to help cheer on the Jazz during the telecast.
We arrived at the arena around 8 p.m. and enjoyed free pizza. On cue going into commercial breaks during the pre-game and half-time show, the stage director would point at us and we would yell and cheer for the team. It was pretty awesome!
Our friends Zo, Scott Hannah, and Cameron really made this fun, and quite funny! We did several choreographed cheers that were made up on the fly! We did a high-five cheer, a chest-bump cheer, and a run-out-of-the-tunnel cheer. Scott provided a few back hand-spring acrobatics and Jon provided some Heely madness.
After the cut from our madness, Thurl “the hurl” Bailey would still be laughing from our antics. I’ve always heard really positive stories about the former Jazz player as a genuine person, and he lived up to the rumors. He is a wonderful person (and a church convert) who really embraces his local celebrity status as an influence for good. After meeting him, I was impressed enough to even to buy his Christmas musical CD!
We didn’t stick around for the end of the game because it would be silly to have us there in case the Jazz lost. We decided that if they made the game interesting, we’d rush back over to scream for the post-game, in case we won. Ronnie Price and Paul Millsap almost made that possible, but in the end, the Jazz came up short. Such was the story of the season.
It was a weird, unlucky season for the Jazz with all sorts of injuries that cost them a lot of games and a low seeding in the playoffs. We could never really get things going all year as one player or another missed the playoffs.
Looking toward to next season, change should happen, but knowing the Jazz, it probably won’t. It looks like coach Jerry Sloan is planning on coming back and so is All-Star forward Carlos Boozer. AK47 is pretty much untradeable, and we need Millsap to stay; but the team can’t afford him. Here's how I see the roster shaping up for next year:
PG - Williams, Price
SG - Brewer, Korver
SF - Miles, Harpring
PF - Boozer, Kirilenko
C - Okur, Koufos
It appears Jazz will stick it out one more season with this team, then try to make more championship changes in the summer of 2010, when Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Kyle Korver and Matt Harpring become free agents. Andrei Kirilenko will be more easily tradable plus we will own the draft pick of the New York Knicks in the 2010 NBA draft which could be a top-5 pick.
The Jazz need a dominant big man, who isn’t undersized or European to team up with Deron Williams (who needs to lower his turnovers). Throw in a shooter or two, some defenders/slashers/rebounders and that team could win a title, not this soft, offensive-oriented team.
2 comments:
No more Boozer....please
Don't feel bad Joe, no one in the west will stop the Black Mamba. The Lakers should win unless Kobe sabatoges team chemistry like always. Meanwhile the Lebrons will probably win the east. The question I have is whether Lebron will handle both Kobe and the rest of the Lakers. I predict Cavs in 7 with Lebron averaging a tripple double.
Post a Comment