Jerry Sloan

Its been a little over a week since the shocking departure of the legendary Jerry Sloan. I actually remember very vividly when he became the coach. I was in my type class, yes with a real typewriter--no handy backspace key, it was just after lunch when Matt Davies who was sitting next to me gave me the news that Layden had quit and Jerry Sloan was now the head coach. I was in the 9th grade.

Last week I was in a 9th grade class, albeit my own, and received a few texts and emails about it. Have to say that I was floored. Still kinda am. 23 years is a real long time. But I didn't think he would leave so abruptly.

So here are my thoughts. First off this never should have gone down like this. Jerry deserved to leave at the end of the season. Not in the middle. Granted he is the one who called it quits, it just isn't the way it should have happened.

Secondly, we all wondered out loud at times how long Sloan would go. Well we got our answer. He is nearly 69, 23 years is a long time to coach. It is more stressful and draining than people know. At the end of the day all anyone cares is whether you won or lost. That's stressful. I'm sure part of this was just not wanting to deal with the stress anymore.

Thirdly, the Deron factor. Since I am no longer privy to the locker room I don't have the inside scoop. But let's face it Deron isn't the best leader. He complains and sulks too much. I have noticed for a few years, but it seems everyone else is catching on to his act. He will complain about toughness and running plays and then not live up to his own complaints. Hypocrite? Sometimes. Whiner? Yes. Leader? Well yes but not a good one. Players want someone to believe in, someone to trust, someone that will get dirty when he needs to. Not someone who will point the finger in a loss. I am certain his antics wore on Sloan. Is Deron the sole reason Jerry quit? No, but he certainly is A reason. In a year we may not mind if he walks away. All the best point guard talk is gone. I rank him behind Rose, Paul, Nash, Westbrook, and Rondo. I would take all of them, yes even an old Nash, over him. Can't stand moody, sulky players.

Finally, I really like Jerry. I like that he NEVER EVER made excuses when the team lost. He never blamed refs. He never blamed injuries on team performance. He expected his team to play hard ALL the time. He developed a great offense. He definitely has the respect of other coaches and players...even if his own aren't as grateful as they should be. I will say his language was abrasive, more so than you could ever know. I will just leave it at that.

When I worked for the Jazz he was always nice and even kind. His brusque on court behavior was never a problem before or after the game. He was the coach during the game, but before and after he was Jerry. Back in the day he used to smoke in this closet like room in the locker room. I was glad for him when he finally kicked the habit. He was always courteous and cheerful to me. In fact he even hugged me on a few occasions. (Thought about leaving that last sentence out. Decided it showed his human side, albeit it is a weird sentence)

One of my favorite Jerry moments was him stating that Ostertag needed to decide if he wanted to be the Jazz bear or a player on the team. Greg was notorious for watching the bear during time outs instead of paying attention. A few times Sloan was going to put him in the game during a time out but he was too busy watching the bear, so he didn't.

I was in the locker room after game 1 of the '98 finals. We won that game. Jerry told the team how proud he was of them. He said that he knew they could play with the Bulls and beat them, he was proud of them for believing and then doing it. He even got a little emotional. He was inspiring. It was my favorite Jerry coaching moment.

Alas, he is the last tie to that team. John and Karl are gone, Larry is too. Jerry was that last piece. Perhaps that is why so many Jazz fans are upset over this; he is the last remnant of the best Jazz memories.

state of the jazz

Yea I know its been a real long time. Went to the game last night on a daddy daughter date with Natalie. Had good seats and a fun time. AK and Millsap played well. Overall the game was fun. But rather than give a state of the game address, since the Pres just did his state of the union I am going to give my state of the Jazz address.

Deron Williams. He is a great player, not so great leader. Leaders don't complain and sulk and moan like he does. I imagine this attitude has a major negative effect on teammates. He will call guys out and then not do the stuff he calls them out for. He is a heckuva talent, but his mood swings are not helping.

Paul Millsap is the steadiest player on the team. His improved shot makes him deadly. Once Memo gets rolling he could be real deadly. Have always liked his toughness and tenacity.

Al Jefferson is coming along. I think he will be fine. Not a big fan of his one handed shots, they seem to miss more than make. He had played fine, not great but he is still figuring his role on the team.

CJ Miles. Consistently inconsistent. Never saw a shot he didn't like. He can score, but is a step behind his guy defensively and his shot selection and overall judgement is below average. Can't believe we let Wes Matthews walk to keep him.

Raja Bell has been a disappointment. And I like Bell. He still hasn't found his shot, his leadership is obviously not what I thought, and his defense really hasn't been all that great. Look it was a good signing and I would still do it, it just hasn't panned out. Again can't believe we let Wes Matthews walk.

Andrei. Consistently inconsistent. He can be absolutely frustrating at times. Last night was his best game in years. His shot is better than its been, but his passing is erratic, defense is not at all what it once was. I am waiting for him to break down any day. Trust me it will happen. Unfortunately. Definitely the most frustrating Jazz player.

Jeremy Evans. Can't believe he doesn't play more. He is always productive and can flat out jump. Obviously needs to gain some weight.

Earl Watson is the best backup I can remember the Jazz having. Not the best shooter but a great passer, runs the floor well. Just knows how to run a team.

Ronnie Price has heart but is limited by his size and lack of a consistent outside shot. He always plays hard but is not a true point. Really can't run a team.

K Fes has bad hands and hasn't learned how to play nba ball yet. perhaps never will.

Gordon Hayward is a step or two slow for the nba. can't get his shot off, can't defend well. He does play hard but really shouldn't be playing at this point. Evans is clearly better.

Elson is a backup and plays like one. He is okay. Nothing to get upset or excited about.

Memo is incomplete. I like Memo and hope he gets his confidence and game back. He brings a unique skill set to the team.

Overall I had high hopes after the comeback wins in the beginning. Right now they are struggling, but I imagine they will be fine. In the nba you have to bring it every game. Its a long season and sometimes you just don't do it. Of course the best teams do, which means the Jazz are a shade better than average. If they right the ship and play well down the stretch they could get as high as the 3 seed, if not they start out on the road in the playoffs against LA, San Antonio, or Dallas(w/Dirk) and that just wouldn't go well. Deron needs to become a better leader, Raja needs to find his shot, Memo his legs, Ak and CJ consistency, Evans minutes, Hayward and K Fez a clue and all would be well.

Go Utes

Got home from a cold overall crappy game to put up my U. Fun 4th quarter. Crazy ending. Merry Christmas to all of U and God Bless. Guess our team was living right this time.

Jazz win in miraculous fashion

I watched most of the game. First half stunk 32 points. For comparison the Jazz scored 42 in the fourth quarter alone. There is so much too say about this game. Whatta comeback. Down 22 and they came back. Millsap scores 11 in final 28 secs going 3 for 3 from 3 point line. I am sure the Heat were happy he took those shots. Then hits the game tying shot as time expires to go to OT. No Deron, Okur, or Al Jefferson in OT. No problem. Francisco Elson hits game winning free throws with .4 seconds left. Wow. So many things had to go right and they did. Wads played great and the Heat still lost. Lebron gets a triple double and the Heat still lose.

Paul Millsap scores 46 points. 11 in final 28 seconds. Unreal. Unbelievable. Miraculous. Ridiculous. Amazing.

Notes from game:
Millsap has already made me forget we had someone else start last year. Who was that guy?

AK hitting the timely 3. You never know about his shot. But he seems to hit that timely three. Finally had a good game.

D Will was great down the stretch. That final foul call was horrible.

Heat missed big FT's down the stretch.

Heat shot 33 more FT's than Jazz and Jazz still win. Wow.

CJ Miles is a shooter that can't shoot. And can't do much else.

Raja Bell's halftime speech. I don't even care how much the guy plays this year, having him on the team is essential.

Paul Millsap!

Lebron looked lost down the stretch. D Wade didn't

Chris Bosh is an average forward in the league. He doesn't do anything special.

Fess played well. Still surprised about that. Elson nailing the free throw to win, still surprised about that too. Millsap hitting 3 threes in final 28 secs, don't even know what to say about that.

Jerry Sloan is a great coach. His teams will never quit.

Go Jazz!!!

FIRST CRASH

While west driving down Gentile street I was hit by a car turning left out from King street. This was a weird moment. When I saw the car pull out I knew there was no time to stop or swerve, although I tried both. I knew I was going to hit her and that there was nothing I could do. Nothing. It was a surreal moment when the cars hit. Unavoidable from my vantage point. I am guessing she was focused on the other lane of traffic and saw her opening and then went for it, without again looking back to the other lane. She didn't really remember what happened and just didn't see me. 20 yr old girl. Felt bad for her. Felt bad for my car. Luckily no one was hurt. Not a scratch. It could have been much worse. I could have tee-boned her car and slammed into right where she was sitting. Luckily it didn't happen. They towed my car off, we'll find out soon enough how much damage was done. My hands shook for about another hour. I was only going 30 mph, can't imagine what it would be like if I was going 65 mph. My first crash. One experience I could pass on. Just got my car registered and safety and emissioned last week. If the car is toast there goes that $250. I am fine, just shook up.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

computer issues solved?

Our motherboard had to be replaced right around when school started. It was thankfully, but that set off a chain reaction of other problems. For some reason with the new motherboard vista didn't like our configuration and wanted us to reactivate. That was a pain to deal with. Then the dvd burner stopped working. My tech guy slaved away and did all he could, but we were stuck. Apparently when upgrading to servicepack two on vista a lot of people had their dvd drive stop working. The only fix would be to upgrade to windows 7. Luckily as a district employee I have very nice discount. So I purchased and downloaded 7. I had to burn a disk. Finally got it done and then at the end of the installation it all crashed.

This was terrible. I couldn't finish the installation, it kept freezing at the same spot, and I couldn't stop it from installing. I was in a bad place. I spent the day retrying and thinking of other ways to fix it. Alas nothing worked. Then around 11 pm before I went to bed I tried again. It got to the part it kept freezing at and magically it worked.

I am back up and really like windows7. Vista was a pain and full of problems. Things are going well. I am just glad it is all working. Finally. Keep your fingers crossed