Playoffs vs. 14th Pick in Draft

I can't believe that Jazz fans, media members, or anyone else is actually having this conversation and taking it seriously.

The Jazz have been pummeled, to put it lightly, by the San Antonio Spurs in the first two games of their first-round playoff series. I think that's a bit of a shock to the system after the high that most fans were feeling as we rolled into the playoffs with some very clutch play by the team down the stretch. We felt like we are a worthy playoff foe. The Spurs came into the series after tying the Bulls with the best regular season record, and that is AFTER conceding several games where Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili didn't even play. Heck, Coach Pop didn't even travel for the last couple of games with the team.

So now, after all fans were enthralled with the race to the playoffs, ecstatic after the win against Phoenix to clinch their spot on the playoffs, and now brought down to earth by the first two playoff losses, fans are beginning to speak out, saying that the 14th pick would have been better than being dragged up and down the floor by the Spurs in this first series.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

First of all, we're not missing out on a top 3 pick, or even a top 5 pick that could come in and make a difference next year. We're talking a 14th pick, who could end up being Kobe Bryant or Alec Burks or Rashad McCants or William Avery. The draft is far from a sure thing, and Jazz fans should know this best of all. While we've had our share of draft underachievers, we've also enjoyed great careers from later picks, with Karl Malone, John Stockton, Paul Millsap, and Ronnie Brewer.

We could end up with anything. We could draft a Raul Lopez in the same draft that Tony Parker goes way later. This 14th pick could be the MVP in four years, or could be out of the league, but either way, the Jazz need to be in the playoffs right now, with this young team.

Utah has been one of the most consistent playoff teams of the past quarter century, and it needs to be understood that the playoffs is the MINIMUM standard of excellence that the team should be pushing towards.  Preferring the draft lottery over the playoffs is never ok. Teams who do that are stuck in the draft lottery every single year. Take a look at the top 14 draft picks from last year:

Take out the Jazz, who had the craziest year in team history and somehow came out with two lottery picks, and tell me how many of the teams with picks in last year's lottery are currently competing in the playoffs. How many? It took me a minute, but I think the answer is ZERO! What's even crazier is that MORE THAN HALF OF THE TEAMS IN THE LEAGUE QUALIFY FOR THE PLAYOFFS, AND NOT A SINGLE ONE THAT SELECTED IN THE LOTTERY LAST YEAR IS AMONG THOSE TEAMS!

Think of the teams that are contenders nearly every year: San Antonio, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston. How many of those teams are getting lottery picks every year? How many of those teams have their fans wishing they'd miss the playoffs to pick up a borderline role player? I understand that they're in different situations than the Jazz because of the pull that they can create for large profile free agents, but the principle is the same. Contending teams are not made or broken by their one "edge of the lottery" draft pick.

I was asked on Twitter yesterday if I would rather have Alec Burks (who was close to that draft position) or be swept (possibly) from the playoffs. I would absolutely rather be swept. I'd rather get to the playoffs and lose 4 games by 50 points than settle for a lottery pick. The Jazz don't have enough room on the roster to develop more lottery players. They struggle getting two #3 draft picks on the floor and give them enough playing time to help them develop. Where is one more lottery pick going to fit?

Whether the Jazz can squeeze out a game in this series or not, the experience is there, for both a young team and a young coach. All good playoff and championship contending teams have gone through the growing pains of getting killed in the playoffs. Heck, Tim Duncan and the Spurs got killed by the Jazz back in the day, and didn't break through for several years. The Shaq and Kobe Lakers had trouble with the Jazz as well. The OKC Thunder (every Jazz fan's dream model to follow, even though we're not following it) also had to get bounced from the playoffs by more experienced teams, including last year's Mavericks team, before developing into a contender, and they STILL might not be able to get past the Spurs with TWO All-NBA caliber players on the roster. 

Jody Gennessy yesterday on the radio talked about the impatience of Jazz fans who have forgotten that we had to learn through TWELVE years of struggles before the Stockton/Malone teams finally broke through to the Finals with the help of Jeff Hornacek (46th pick in the draft). We're so impatient, we have outlets like blogs and Twitter where we can complain about everything from players, coaches, to radio and newspaper guys. Be patient. Kevin O'Connor has shown that he knows what he's doing, and the Jazz organization is showing that they're not settling for the lottery. Once you settle, you're just another Detroit, Washington, Cleveland, or Golden State. 

We have several young talented players who have only been in the league a year or two, and already know what it's like to fight for a playoff spot. Next year, they're going to want to make it back to the playoffs, and fight their way out of the first round. Who knows if this is the path that eventually leads back to the Finals/Championship, but it sure gets us a lot closer than the 14th pick in this year's draft.

Staving Off Basketball Withdrawals

Most who are familiar with the NBA and the current lockout situation also know that things are not looking great for the near future. 2 weeks gone, and we'll be out a couple more in just a day or two. Basketball before Christmas, which now seems like a taken-for-granted luxury, is in serious jeopardy.

Twitter is filled with daily rantings of fans who are absorbing all of the shrapnel from the back and forth battle between players and owners. We'd be finishing up the preseason right now, buzzing about new draft picks, trades, and free agent signings. Instead we're hanging on every glimmer of hope that comes from the daily "more important than the last" meetings and observing from a far the back and forth media war that is the NBA's "negotiations."

A lot of fans have turned to football. Honestly, the shorter seasons of the NFL and college football provide some exciting story lines and situations every single week. Even during a regular NBA season, it doesn't seem like the national focus shifts to basketball until after the Super Bowl. In my case, that's not true. I don't really have an NFL team that I watch and root for. It's basketball from Halloween until April (and hopefully May or June!).

So. We're halfway through the football season. For college, you've got about 7 weeks left, and then the borderline ridiculous bowl season. The NFL is about halfway home. 9 more week and we're sitting in the middle of the playoffs. What happens if the NBA hasn't come to an agreement by January? If nothing has happened by then, there's a strong possibility that the remainder of the season would be cancelled. Even a 50-game season has got to get going by then.

Here's what to do. Pick an NHL (that's hockey) team to root for during the remainder of their season. Get into it! Lots of the teams, especially the ones in the U.S. are televised on Versus. I have said it before and I'll say it again, investing in an NHL team was the best sports fan decision that I have made over the past year, and it's looking better and better with each passing day of the NBA lockout.

As part of my work, I get to keep in touch with many Canadian contacts on a regular basis. One of them lives in Victoria, British Columbia, and is a huge Vancouver Canucks fan. He would talk them up every time I was on the phone with him. During their run to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, we talked several times per day, and I was more emotionally invested with every series. I knew I was hooked when their opening series against the Chicago Blackhawks came down to a Game 7 overtime. Starting at 8 pm our time, regulation didn't end until almost 11 pm, long after my wife had given up trying to talk sense into me and had wandered to bed. I was ready for overtime!





So, I'm actually from Edmonton, home of the Oilers, and sworn enemies of the Vancouver Canucks. I had my family up there giving me a hard time seeing me Tweet about the Canucks and how stoked I was about their trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. When I went up to Edmonton over the summer, I decided to do something about it. I know it's not much, but I invested in my first Oilers hat. Since then, I've committed myself to rooting for the team with the worst record in the NHL over the past three years. The bonus about that is that I'm rooting for a team with loads of young talent after selecting first overall in several straight drafts.

Now my Vancouver Canucks fan buddy (@jbraidwood23) now give each other friendly jabs, as our teams are in the same division. They play six times this year, and the first one resulted in the first career hat trick for last years #1 overall pick, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, albeit in a losing effort (4-3).




So I know that we're all missing the NBA. November is often one of my favorite months of the year, between the NBA season beginning, eating, football, Thanksgiving, eating, football, and the NBA season beginning. It doesn't get much better. I'm missing my Utah Jazz, feeling bad for the young kids who haven't even had a chance to get their feet wet in the NBA yet, and wishing the greedy parties on both sides of the dispute would think of fans like us. But in the meantime, make the best decision that you will make during the NBA lockout, and start watching hockey. This is just a taste of what you're missing out on!

And for goodness sake, don't try soccer!

"VICTORY, Let's rush the field!!!!!" "uh.....again?"

In the wake of BYU's come from behind victory over UTAH STATE (let's not forget that-we'll come back to it), it seems that it's time to revisit an often discussed topic: fans rushing the field of court, in post-victory jubilant celebration.

This seems to be becoming more and more of a fad among college sports. During the basketball season, a much-hyped BYU basketball team was mobbed after a victory in Provo over San Diego State, with the Jimmer being at the center of the crazed throng. For that one, I'll offer a pass. San Diego State and BYU were both in the top 10, and we're not going to see something like that on the BYU campus for another 20 years until the next Danny Ainge/Jimmer Fredette urban legend comes along.

Last season, Utah fans rushed the field after a dramatic, come-from-behind-blocked-last-minute-field-goal win over BYU. It was a crazy moment. Utah came through in the biggest moment of the game. Hats off for that. The part that we don't always remember is that just a few short weeks before that game, Utah entered a matchup with TCU touting the #5 ranking in the BCS standings. BYU limped through the early part of the season searching for an identity before finally putting together a winning streak and becoming bowl eligible against some of the weakest competition in the country. I understand that it was a dramatic win over an in-state blood rival, but there's no reason that Utah should not have run away with that game. Beating last year's BYU team did not warrant rushing the field.

The Cougars have had an interesting start to this season as well. After coming up big against SEC competition at Ole Miss and hanging close with the Longhorns in Texas, a smackdown (to put it nicely) against Utah left the team and its fans in a tailspin. Expectations were obviously lowered, and all of a sudden a game against UCF was looking scary.

Even with Utah State looking like possibly the team with the most talent in the state, they dropped several games that they should won. Auburn was a heartbreaker that the whole country saw and took note. A blowout against Weber State seemingly righted the ship, until Colorado State came in and pulled an Auburn on USU's home turf. Fatal flaws were starting to show.

Coach Bronco was preaching National Championship before the season. That's the goal. I'm ok with that (though I'd prefer a more realistic goal to start with). But if your goals are BCS bowls or the National Championship, then rushing the field after a victory against a 1-3 Utah State team at home should be shameful for BYU's fan base.

Let's set some ground rules. Rick Reilly (one of my favorite writer's when he was with Sports Illustrated, but not since he's been with ESPN), has outlined some of his rules for storming the court after basketball games. It's a great starting point for some of these "unwritten rules" for college football fans.

• Under NO circumstances should fans rush the field after beating a team that is under .500

• Fans should not rush the field after beating a team that they have beaten in the last three years. (slightly adjusted from Reilly's list, but helps keep rivalry perspective during big wins).

• Fans should not rush the field if they are ranked within ten spots of their opponent (another point modified from Reilly's list).
• Exception: If it's the first appearance that you've made in the top 25 in a decade or more. Let's say you are ranked 13 in the country, but haven't been ranked since 1999. You just knocked off the nation's #3 team, to show that you deserve your ranking. Go ahead. You get a pass.

• Every University gets only one field/court rush every 5 years. This year, BYU students decided to use it to add to the legend of the Jimmer. That's fine. It's probably the best way that you could have used it this year. In fact, I'm sure it is. A season like that doesn't even come along every decade. Now we've gotta hold off until we hit the 2016 season. More than that is overkill.

• I threw the issue out on Twitter and Google+, and here's what I got back:
• From @EricJ11: 

• From Kyle Kirkham on Google+ (@kyle11kirkham):

•  From @MacDiego:

• Hilarious conversation that I had with Nicole, my Ute Stepsister :)

• Last but not least, from @Ridge79:

• For the record, my wife disagrees with me completely, mostly because she enjoys to get me riled up about sports whenever she can. :) She thought it was a great win, and rushing the field was the logical reaction to such a great game.

I don't want to take away from what the Cougars did this weekend. I thought we were toast. A long-haired junior with too many religious comparisons to name (my favorite is Samson) came into the game and did the near-impossible. Taking the reigns from the Chosen One and showing him how it's done on a 96 yard drive in 2:26, are you kidding me? It was the most exciting game I have watched this year. Riley Nelson has earned the glory that has come from the victory.

The post game scene soured the victory a bit for me. If I had been there in person, I would have been jumping, screaming, chest bumping, back-flipping, head-butting, high-fiving, fist-bumping, and heel-clicking. I was ecstatic at home on my couch, even though I was trying to not wake up the baby. It was a great finish. The fans saw something special. Then they ruined it.

Have rules to add? Don't agree? I know there are many who don't. Let me know on Twitter or on Google+ or on any other weird social network that you can track me down. I'd love to hear it!

The Red/Blue Rivalry

In 2008, when I had recently returned from the mission field just in time to jump into college football season full swing, I began to realize something that I hadn't really noticed before. The rivalry between BYU and Utah was becoming pretty heated. I didn't think (and still don't) that it was anywhere near the Duke/UNC basketball rivalries, or some of the more traditional football rivalries like Notre Dame/Michigan, but it was a lot more heated than I remembered it being after a two year hiatus where I rarely heard a sentence spoken about "American Football."

I got some first hand experience during and after the game that year. My wife worked at America First Credit Union, and they put on a party at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake for all of their employees, even handing out team shirts with a "Y" or a "U" on them. It was great fun as there were games and drawings each time one of the teams scored, and we were able to see a great game as well (many forget that it was a 3 point game going into the final quarter until Max Hall went colorblind and Utah ran away with the game). 

It was on the way home that things became quite uncomfortable. Not wanting to fight the downtown traffic, my wife and I had taken Trax to the Salt Palace, and hopped back on to head home. A couple of stops later, and a throng of happy (deservedly so) Utah fans jumped on to begin their journeys home as well. So here we are, a young couple in free BYU shirts surrounded by a throng of face-painted, chest-bumping, yelling, celebrating Ute fans. It was fun to see, even though I was on the other side of the rivalry. Until people really began to harass us and mock us as if we were the ones on the field that had thrown an ill-timed interception. It got pretty close to the point that I felt afraid for my safety, and in my opinion, that's the point when a rivalry has gone too far.

Don't get me wrong. I think that friendly banter and rib-poking between fans is great! I think rivalries is what makes sports relevant and fun. We need sports to help us take a break from real life! I know this better than most, as I work full-time, have an internship on top of that, take a full load at school, and make time for my wife and new baby. When I can wake up on Saturday to a full slate of great college football games from rivalries around the country, there is nothing better. It allows me to breathe a little bit, yell at my TV a little bit, get angry a little bit, and celebrate a little bit (hopefully).

Some friendly Jensen Family back and forth.

When we see horrific events like those that have taken place this year in California, with a Giants fan beat into a coma, and several shootings at a 49ers/Raiders game, I think that it's time to re-evaluate how much we allows sports and rivalries to control our lives. I thought Spencer Checketts summed it up nicely in a blog post on ESPN 700's web page. (Follow him on Twitter @ESPN700spence-Great follow!) He's a Ute, and always has been. He threw out in that post the question,"If I were to start a support group entitled #uteswholovethejimmer, would you join, or would you hate?" He shared some responses as well, mostly hateful ones, even suggesting that if he was going to do that, he might as well start up an Al Qaeda chapter in Salt Lake. If people are taking these rivalries seriously enough that these are the responses that come when someone asks a question like that, we need to re-evaluate it.

I think that the best rivalries in any sport are built on respect. Teams don't have to like each other, but they should respect each other. During the past few years, this has been lacking in the Utah/BYU rivalry, and I think that going back to respecting the opponent is what this rivalry really needs to become one of the premier college football rivalries in the country. Utah fans will quickly point out the misjudgment of Max Hall and comments that he has made. BYU fans will just as fast point out how any miscue from Utah players, fans or coaches, the most cliche being that, "[blank] must have poured beer on [blank]." I want to ask this: If you don't respect your opponent, does beating them really mean anything? If you think your rival school is just a piece of trash, what did you accomplish by beating them? You are better than trash?

The University of Utah has had  a great 15 years of sports, and the last 8 years of football have exceeded everyone's expectations. BYU brings a long standing tradition of great football teams, and is known throughout the country for churning out quarterbacks at a faster rate than almost any other school in the country. Both sides of this rivalry have things that they should be proud of, and it should also command the respect of their opponents. If this rivalry is going to take the step to the next level, and truly become one of the nationally known matchups each year, it needs help from both sides. There are ridiculous over-the-top fanatics on both sides, but I have been able to have great conversation and back and forth debates with other on Twitter and in social situations that have made this rivalry enjoyable.

This year, the rivalry feels like it's in jeopardy. It's already here. This Saturday. It doesn't seem quite right. There are big things in store for both schools, and the rivalry may have been pushed to the back burner. Utah is discovering what life is like in the Pac-12, and BYU is testing independence and exploring other options as far as putting the athletic programs in the best situation long term. I think it would be more intense with two teams with 2-0 records than two 1-1 teams. Based on recent years, we're likely to see an excellent, close, competitive game. I think that going forward, all parties involved will realize that no matter where BYU and Utah go in the future, they are still going to be 50 miles apart, and always be in the same boat. When that realization comes about, I think, and hope, that more weight is placed back into the rivalry, and that it can return as one of the premier rivalries in the country, built on respect.