Utah Jazz 96, Trail Blazers 86

Posted on January 3, 2007 at 12:40 PM - 6 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Delta Center Renamed EnergySolutions Arena

Posted on November 24, 2006 at 12:38 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

The home of the Utah Jazz has a new name this evening.

With an embattled Delta Air Lines struggling to emerge from bankruptcy and the prospect of a hostile takeover by US Airways, the Utah Jazz on Monday announced it was dropping the Delta Center name in favor of EnergySolutions Arena, effective today.

EnergySolutions is a Salt Lake-based company, formerly known as Envirocare, that disposes of and recycles low-level radioactive waste.

Financial terms of the 10-year deal were not disclosed. Naming deals for professional sports stadiums typically involve millions of dollars annually.

Dennis Haslam, president of the Utah Jazz, said it was important for the team to have a naming-rights partner that was a Utah-based company.

Haslam said several other companies were considered. EnergySolutions was not the first pick, but Haslam declined to say what other companies were contenders.

"This is a partnership we have been working on for some time," Haslam said. "EnergySolutions has the same kinds of ideals that we have. It's a very innovative company and progressive."

When Jazz owner Larry H. Miller was asked if he thought naming the arena EnergySolutions might be controversial, he said people need to educate themselves about the company before they criticize. He says that's what he did.

"I know a lot more about it now than I did then," Miller said, "enough to be totally satisfied that the business that EnergySolutions has engaged in ... is a safe business and is a necessary business based on what the alternatives are going forward."

The Utah Jazz have played under the Delta name since 1991, when the arena was completed.

According to information KSL got from ESPN, Delta Air Lines paid 1.3 million dollars a year for the right to name the Delta Center.

We may never know the exact dollar amount EnergySolutions paid for this naming deal.

Nationwide, naming contracts vary widely in cost. Just last week, Citigroup doubled the previous record, by offering 20-million a year to name the new stadium for the New York Mets.

Giant banners with the EnergySolutions logo were hanging outside the arena Monday afternoon. Miller and EnergySolutions chief executive officer Steve Creamer unveiled a new logo on the basketball court, which reads "EnergySolutions Arena."

Creamer, a Utah native and Jazz fan, bought EnergySolutions months ago and has been expanding the company around the world.

Creamer wants people to look past the stigma associated with nuclear waste. He said joining more recognizable companies with their names big and bold outside arenas and stadiums throughout the country is a good start.

"We looked at lots of different ideas and when this came available we felt like it was a great opportunity," Creamer said.

"We think it's a great way for us to help people feel more comfortable and help our education efforts."

Delta is trying to emerge from bankruptcy. Long before its financial troubles, the airline had a 10-year agreement for the Jazz arena name rights with a 5-year option, which expired Sept. 30.

The two sides couldn't agree on a new deal, so the Jazz started looking at other options. Delta will still advertise in the 19,911-seat arena, but the name and logo will no longer be part of the city's western skyline.

"We were working to re-negotiate a new contract, but in the end we were unable to reach an agreement on naming rights," Delta spokesman Anthony Black said from Atlanta.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

Jazz wouldn't mind trading up in draft

Posted on June 13, 2006 at 9:14 AM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

 The Jazz have readily acknowledged that they wouldn't mind trading up in the June 28 NBA Draft.
      They even suggest there is a good chance they'll make a significant deal before the 2006-07 season begins — and, no, that is not a reference to last week's swap that sent youngsters Kris Humphries and Robert Whaley to Toronto for former BYU star Rafael Araujo.
      Beyond that, though, it seems there is plenty more smoke where the fire is being fanned.
      And, as has so often been the case since shortly after he arrived as a free agent from Cleveland in 2004, it seems $68 million power forward Carlos Boozer is smack dab in the oven of hot talk.
      The Houston Chronicle recently reported that the Jazz — who currently own the No. 14 overall selection in this month's draft — join Portland, New Orleans/Oklahoma City, Golden State, Philadelphia and Orlando on the long list of teams that "would like to move up" by draft night.
      Seattle, which currently has the 10th pick, and Toronto, which owns the No. 1 overall, both reportedly are interested in perhaps moving down.
      Last week, while addressing e-mail questions from readers in the Chicago Tribune, longtime NBA writer Sam Smith answered a query from Salt Lake City by writing that "it seems clear (Boozer's) not thrilled with Utah and they haven't always been with him and his injuries."
      "At some point," Smith added, "the Jazz may just have to take a draft pick to get out from under his salary."
      On Sunday, noted New York Post rumormonger Peter Vecsey — reporting from Orlando, where late last week many of the NBA's front-office movers-and-shakers were on hand to talk trade while scouting the league's annual pre-draft — took the chat a few steps forward.
      Vecsey had the Jazz on a list of 13 teams he deemed to be "the biggest talkers" in Orlando and wrote that Boozer's was among a half-dozen or so well-known NBA names "that were on the loose lips of many down here."       He may be onto something in this instance.
      Vecsey also writes that "Samuel Dalembert is definite to be relocated, (and) despite a fairly prohibitive contract, numerous teams continue to find the 7-footer appealing."
      The Jazz admittedly are seeking a shot-blocking center, and are believed to have liked the Philadelphia 76ers swatter for some time.
      When Utah dealt for reserve-center Araujo, by the way, multiple franchise officials also made it known they clearly consider both Boozer and fellow big man Mehmet Okur to be power forwards.
      They did so by suggesting one reason they made the trade is that with Greg Ostertag retiring and Jarron Collins about to become an unrestricted free agent, they had no centers under contract for next season.
      On the limited occasions Boozer has been on the floor at the same time as Okur, who has not missed a game since coming to Utah in 2004, the Jazz essentially did without a true center.
      One other related note: Jazz officials also suggested that acquiring Araujo will have no impact whatsoever on their interest in re-signing Collins, a part-time starter throughout his five seasons in Utah.

Raptors trade Araujo to Jazz for Humphries, Whaley

Posted on June 9, 2006 at 11:25 AM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Will Redick wear Jazz colors?

Posted on June 2, 2006 at 4:06 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Michael Brandy, Deseret Morning News

Former Duke University shooting guard J.J. Redick works out for the Utah Jazz Tuesday.

      J.J. Redick can shoot. Oh, can he ever shoot.
      "The best shooter in all of college basketball," 

      But is "shoot" all the Duke University product can do? And, if so, how should that affect his stock?
      Those may be topics of great debate for Jazz brass — and Jazz fans, too — as the franchise contemplates whom it should select at No. 14 overall in the June 28 NBA Draft.
      They're also seemingly sore subjects with Redick, the reigning Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award winner — and one of four shooting guards to work out Tuesday in Utah, along with Villanova's Randy Foye, West Virginia's Mike Gansey and Australian Brad Newley.
      In fact, the 6-foot-4 Redick gets downright defensive — there's some irony — over mere mention of the suggestions.
      "I think it's stupid," he said of such criticism, the sharpest of which centers on his defense. "I don't think a guy would be consensus national player of the year, two-time first-team all-American, (Atlantic Coast Conference) all-time leader scorer — I can go on — if he couldn't just flat-out play.
      "Especially coming from a program like Duke."
Every dot-com rip, though, is countered with mounds of praise for Redick's shooting.
      And from those who saw his stroke first-hand Tuesday — media members did not, as the Jazz hold auditions behind closed doors — there was way more praise than disparagement.
      "He's a tremendous shooter, a tremendous player — and, you know, he's not one-dimensional," said Gansey, who also worked out with Redick and Foye last Friday for Golden State (which picks No. 9). "He can take you to the hoop, he can defend. He can do a lot of things out there. I just think people don't really realize that."
      "I don't think it's a fair knock. I really don't," Jazz basketball operations senior vice president Kevin O'Connor said Redick's perceived defensive deficiencies. "I think Duke's always been known to play defense, and I think he's been a good defender. . . . I think what's fair to say is he didn't guard the (opponents') best offensive players some of the time, (because) they needed him to be on the court to do the (offensive) things he did."
      Besides, O'Connor suggested, hardly anyone's two-way game is perfect.
      And with the Jazz still seeking the consistent outside shooting from the 2-spot they've not had since the 2000 retirement of Jeff Hornacek — who wasn't the world's greatest defender, either — that's a tradeoff coach Jerry Sloan and the rest of the organization must weigh.
      "One of the things we all get caught up in is what (prospects) 'can't do,' or what they 'don't do as well as other things,' " O'Connor said when asked how scouts project if great college players can elevate their game to the NBA. "You (should) try to look at what they do well, and how that translates — and you accept the rest of it."
      For now, then, no one can be certain what the Jazz find acceptable.

Jazz: More draftees to work out this weekend - NBA

Posted on May 29, 2006 at 4:33 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

The Utah Jazz will continue workouts for potential draftees this weekend at the team's training facility. 

Guards Sean Dockery of Duke, Justin Gray of Wake Forest, Keydren Clark of St. Peter's and Will Blaylock of Iowa State will participate today. 

On Monday, four big men will workout, including Hilton Armstrong of UConn, Shelden Williams of Duke, Patrick O'Bryant of Bradley and Saer Sene of Senegal. 
Armstrong, Williams and O'Bryant are considered likely first-round draft picks. 
The Jazz own the 14th pick in the first round of the draft, which will be held June 28.

Pay or Punish. Just Do Something

Posted on May 22, 2006 at 1:16 PM - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link

By Mike Rothman
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer 

Let me paint a picture for you. It is this past Monday night; you have just opened another beer and are toasting with your friends. Why? Being the smart gambler that you are, you placed a significant wager on the San Antonio Spurs over the Dallas Mavericks, and the Spurs are up 111-109 with 15 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Even more important, by betting on the Spurs, the Sportsbook gave you 4.5 points because the game is in Dallas. No need to worry about that now because the Spurs look like a lock to win outright.  

“This game’s over. Finley’s three-pointer sealed the game,” your friend says.

Dallas comes out of their timeout and predictably feeds the basketball to their star, Dirk Nowitzki. You are counting down the seconds, waiting for the final shot and the game to end, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8. Dirk is simply backing down in the paint and covered by San Antonio’s defensive stopper, Bruce Bowen. All of a sudden, a whistle blows, but nothing really happened. Did Dallas call a timeout? Nope. The referee calls a personal foul on Bruce Bowen, and the Spurs are over the foul limit.

“WHAT, are you serious?” you start to scream. “Nothing happened!”

A little bead of sweat begins to form on your brow, and you crouch about five inches from the television. Nowitzki calmly makes the first free throw. You cannot believe this is happening. Nowitzki calmly makes the second free throw. Duncan misses a last second shot, and the game goes into overtime. You still have the spread, but of course, the Mavericks end up winning the game, 123-118. Your money is gone. In the span of a second, you went from euphoria to depression. Why? Did you pick the game wrong or celebrate too early?

No, poor officiating once again ruined another close game in another crucial situation. Why is the officiating so bad? There are two reasons. First, the salaries are too low, considering the power that these officials possess. For NBA refs, salaries can be as low as $90,000 per year. This may seem high, but it is not when compared to what players and coaches make. Furthermore, these officials are human, and there has to be some resentment that these guys control million dollar players, but make less than $100,000. This contributes to bad calls, consciously or unconsciously.

Pay these guys. Put them on the same level as the players or at least the coaches. Level the playing field and better results will follow. I am not saying that refs should be paid millions of dollars, but they should at least receive more than they are making now. Some of these guys just do not care, and why should they?

The other factor is the lack of punishment from the League Office. After game four in Dallas, multiple suspensions and fines should have come down on those officials, but basically, nothing happened. It was not just the last play of regulation that was called poorly, but rather, the entire game. On a team, if a player is not producing, he is benched. Why not do the same for professional officials? There needs to be a possible punishment in the mind of the official to ensure his full effort.

Punish these guys. Again, try to level the ground and put the officials in the players’ shoes. Professional sports needs to put an end to the whole referee vs. player war and make a joint effort to create fair contests. This will result in classic games where the right team actually wins the game.

I will leave you with one of the greatest current examples of poor officiating, Super Bowl XL. This game was atrocious. Actually, the game never seemed to start but was completely dominated by the officials. The TV ratings were the lowest for a Super Bowl in recent years, and anytime a great play was made, it was simply reversed by the refs. Why did this happen? This happened for the same reasons I stated above. NFL referees make as little as $25,000 a year and are considered part-time employees. Lonely sports writers make more than that. In addition, there was not really any severe punishment. This was the Super Bowl, one of the biggest sporting events of the year. People, we need to make a change across the board. If not, we are going to be left with these part-time employees controlling the fate of the biggest sporting events, and like it or not, our money is at stake.

Utah Jazz suffering financial shortfall

Posted on May 16, 2006 at 5:07 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Financially, however, they're not even close. The team was more than $10 million in the red, according to owner Larry Miller. And losses for the last two seasons combined approach $25 million, Miller said.

"We're losing a lot of money. Huge numbers," Miller said of the team he has owned for 21 seasons. "Blow-your-mind numbers."

Miller says the losses are painful, but concedes, they're self-inflicted pain.

During the summer of 2004, Miller authorized a quarter-billion dollars in long-term contracts to Jazz players, including $86 million to Andrei Kirilenko, $68 million to Carlos Boozer and $50 million to Mehmet Okur.

That doubled the team's payroll, but Miller hopes those players will eventually put the team in championship contention.

"Being competitive on the floor is important to us, and we believe we are headed in the right direction," Miller said. "You have to be smart about it, and I think we have been. This (loss), it's an eight-digit number. ... But it's something we were prepared for."

NBA Draft: O'Connor planning as if Jazz will draft 14th

Posted on May 10, 2006 at 9:11 AM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Chances for Winning by the Losers

Posted on May 3, 2006 at 4:42 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

By Jeff Zell

WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

It is a catastrophe that in professional sports, a non-winning record can set the table for a legitimate shot at a world title.

In baseball, it has come close (see 2005 San Diego Padres, 1973 NY Mets). In the NFL, only two .500 teams have made the playoffs since 1991 (1991 NYJ, 2004 STL). In the NBA, however, it has been the norm to find teams with a losing record compete in late April and into May.

Below, a table of the number of .500 win percentage teams, the number of first round games they have won, and the number of series they have gone on to win.

Courtesy: Basketball-Reference.com

Parody just hasn’t existed in the NBA playoffs. These 15 teams in the last 10 years have combined to win just 12 playoff games and have never advanced. In 2004, four teams in the East had the shot and surely one could pull off the upset? Not even the four vs. five could do it.

The last time a team with a losing record entered the playoffs and won a Series was 1988. Then, the Seattle Supersonics boasted a 39-43 record as the 7-seed and made it all the way to the conference finals. They upset both Dallas and Houston, before being swept by Pat Riley’s Los Angeles Lakers.  Since Seattle, a total of 31 teams have entered the playoffs with a record at or below .500. And these teams are 0-31 in playoff series.

So, how good of a chance do Milwaukee (40-42), Chicago (41-41) and Indiana (41-41) have this year?  I’m not going to say “none,” because that’s why they play the game—but let’s delve into these match-ups.

(1) Detroit vs. (8) Milwaukee

One-seeds haven’t lost since 1999. But there was a technicality about that year: First, 1999 was the NBA lockout year, and only 50 regular season games were played. Second, three other teams had the same 33-17 record, but Miami won by a tiebreaker.

In a full 82-game season, it was the 1994 Denver Nuggets who upset the top-seeded Supersonics to advance to the second round.

With Flip Saunders at the helm, we’ve seen the Pistons play looser offensively, but still maintaining impressive defense—leading them to their best regular season record ever (64-18). Don’t worry about the nonsense concerning Ben Wallace not getting along with Flip: This team is focused when it comes to the playoffs.

Having said this, Milwaukee has their hands full. Let’s just look at player vs. player matchups.

Billups will substitute size for speed and can dominate Ford. Hamilton is a workhorse. Prince is undoubtedly better than Simmons. And I’ll just point out the experience from the front court to suffice my argument for the Wallaces.

To make matters worse, the only type of success they had against Detroit was when they played Toni Kukoc at the three. Kukoc is already banged up and will miss the first game, so his health will be a definite factor.

Prediction: Pistons in a sweep

(2) Miami vs. (7) Chicago

Chicago is the hottest of the East’s bottom-3, finishing 12-2 in their final 14 to slip into the show. They had a similar run in the final month of the season last year, winning 15 of their last 19 games. The Bulls’ only win against the Heat in the regular season came back on April 15 when the Heat rested most of their stars.

In the playoffs, it comes down to defense and though the “Baby Bulls” are young, they do buckle down, leading the NBA for the second straight season in defensive field-goal percentage (.426).

Offensively, the Bulls’ patented “drive-and-kick” out game has given opposing teams a hard time. Ben Gordon ranks 2nd in the Eastern Conference, hitting 43.9-percent from 3-point land, and point-guard Kirk Hinrich has shot 42.9-percent from behind the arc in his last five games.  

Although the Heat have been locked into the No. 2 spot since basically January, I don’t see them having trouble kicking into high gear. Even when the Bulls shut down Wade in their meetings this year (12.3 ppg), the Heat have found a way to win.

The Bulls have no answer for Shaq, who had 14 points and 6 rebounds in just 20 minutes of action on April 15.

Prediction: Heat in 5

(3) New Jersey vs. (6) Indiana

This might very well be the best shot for a team at the .500 mark in the regular season to win a Series. The Nets came from the weak Atlantic Division that sent no other teams beside themselves to the playoffs. The two teams have similar defensive work ethics, as they are 5^th and 6^th in points allowed, respectively, in the NBA. The interesting thing about this series is the way they view each other: New Jersey players have said the Pacers are a good transition and look to slow it down, while Indiana players have said the exact same thing about the Nets! Wow, this should be a fun series to watch!

Jermaine O’Neal looks to be healthy into the playoffs, having played 30-plus minutes in his final 11 regular season games, but I don’t foresee him being the difference. The difference must come from the defense side of the ball, in particular, the ability to stop Vince Carter.

Peja Stojakovic and Stephen Jackson must play top-notch to pull the upset.

I have a feeling this series will go seven. The Nets were 29-12 at home, fourth-best home record in the Eastern conference, so that’s the way I lean.

Prediction: Nets in 7

The only Constant in Life is Change

Posted on May 3, 2006 at 4:41 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

By Michael Rothman

WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Well, this counts for everything but the National Basketball Association. The first problem we had this post-season was the division rule, which will leave the Spurs to play the Mavericks in the second round, all due to a technicality of being in the same division. This rule alone should constitute uproar from the fans and needs to be addressed immediately. Now, we have another significance issue.

We have the fact that the MVP Award is announced and decided before the NBA playoffs are over. It is decided on before the first round is even over! What’s the result? It was announced Wednesday that Steve Nash will win his second straight MVP Award.

Now I am not arguing that Nash is not worthy of his second MVP. Actually Nash supporters are going to say that he had a better statistical year this season than last season, when he was the clear choice for MVP. Sure, Nash upped his points from 15.5 per game last year to 18.8 per this year, but last year was last year. More importantly, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James were not in the playoffs last year and did not come even close to the caliber of seasons they each had this year.  What I am arguing is that other players are just more deserving of the award.

On Wednesday night, Nash got posterized like no one has ever seen before. Who was the player that abused Nash so horribly, you ask? Oh it was Kobe Bryant, another top candidate for MVP and someone more worthy of the honor than Nash. More than just making Nash look like a fool on national television, Bryant’s dunk in the fourth quarter sealed the victory for the Lakers over the Suns. This now leads us back to our issue at hand.

The Suns might not make it out of the first round of the playoffs. After the Lakers’ 93-90 victory Wednesday night, the series is even at one game a piece. Now, the Lakers are heading back to Los Angeles with home-court advantage and control of the series. By the way the Lakers are 27-14 at home this year and we all know Kobe is going to turn it up a notch for the home crowd. If this round is the last stop for the Suns, where does that leave Nash? At home with his MVP trophy, even after he couldn’t beat the seventh-seeded Lakers in the opening round. Remember way back when Charles Barkley was actually one of the first MVPs not to win the NBA Championship? That was in 1993 and seems like ages ago now. Back then the MVP committee got things right, and even more ironic is that Barkley won the award while playing for the Suns, Nash’s current team.

More over, if the Suns do in fact lose to the Lakers in the first round, the case grows even stronger that Kobe is the MVP. Do I have to read the laundry list of accomplishments to you? The man scored 35 points per game during the regular season, not to mention getting an overachieving Lakers team back into the playoffs with a record of 45-37. And now he might get them into the second round as a seventh seed. Without Kobe, this team would already be planning for the Draft Lottery.

And what about Lebron James? The Cleveland Cavs are the fourth seed in the East. Let me repeat, the Cleveland Cavs are the fourth seed in the East. Don’t forget that the Cavs also won 50 games this year. This is an achievement in itself. Let’s not forget Lebron’s playoff debut; he only scored a triple double against the Wizards. This is exactly why the playoffs have to count toward the MVP voting, because the playoffs are where legends are made.

Don’t get me wrong, Nash is a nice player who had a nice season. But aren’t MVPs supposed to be spectacular players who have spectacular seasons. Before you answer that question, answer this one. If you take Kobe away from the Lakers and Nash away from the Suns, which team suffers more? The answer to that is your 2006 MVP. I’ll give you a little hint. It’s not Steve Nash.

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Next week on TV (5-1/5-7)

Posted on May 2, 2006 at 1:11 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

By Daniel Kline

WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Both the NBA and the NHL close out the first round of their playoffs. In baseball, you’ve got the Orioles and the Blue Jays, matching up in what has to be one of the biggest questions of the baseball season. One of these teams might hang on to challenge the Yankees and Red Sox, but probably not both, making this early season tilt a little more interesting.

*All times Eastern.

Monday, May 1

NFL Europe, Berlin at Rhein (3 p.m., NFL Network)

Stop arguing about who your team drafted and check in on the sport’s minor league with this mid-afternoon match-up. Though NFL Europe might not get the attention of its big brother, the league offers a good chance to figure out which back-up players might break through come the fall.

Tuesday, May 2

Yankees at Red Sox (7:05 p.m., DirecTV, regional)

Every Yankees versus Red Sox match-up gets covered like a playoff game in Boston and New York, so expect tempers to flare in this tilt. The Sox have had the early season advantage, but that’s nothing new, as the Sox always have a division lead in the Summer – the question is whether they can hold it in the Fall.

Wednesday, May 3

Boxing (9 p.m. ESPN2)

Sharmba Mitchell takes on Jose Luis Cruz in a 10-round welterweight tilt. Cruz plays the role of the fighter on the way up, taking on former two-time champion Mitchell, who wants one more shot at the gold. Mitchell was knocked out in the sixth round in his last fight, but that was against Floyd Mayweather – one of the best in the division – so he’s aiming to prove that was a fluke and knock Cruz off the ladder of contention.

Thursday, May 4

Wachovia Open (4 p.m., USA)

A Tiger-less field should leave this one pretty wide open. Vijay Singh attempts to repeat as champion, a title he took last year in a three-way playoff with Sergio Garcia and Jim Furyk.

Friday, May 5

College Volleyball (Midnight, ESPN2)

Catch the men’s semifinal of the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament. This might be your last chance to see some of your favorite players before they turn pro and head out on the lucrative men’s volleyball tour.

Saturday, May 6

Kentucky Derby (6 p.m., NBC)

Horse racing only matters three times a year to the average fan, but the Kentucky captures the best of the sport. Because it’s the first Triple Crown race, every Derby winner stands the chance of being the first horse to bring home racing’s most elusive prize since Affirmed in 1978.

Sunday, May 7

Premier League Soccer (5 p.m., FOXESP)

Two of the big powers in the Premiership face off as Newcastle battles Chelsea in an attempt to cut into Chelsea’s overall lead in the standings. Chelsea did just fall in the FA Cup semifinal, but their big lead in the regular season standings makes clinching the title almost inevitable.

Daniel Kline’s book “50 Things Every Guy Should Know How To Do” is available in bookstores nationwide. He can be reached at dan@notastep.com.

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Jazz swingman finishes behind Wallace - NBA

Posted on April 28, 2006 at 1:29 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Utah Jazz: Improvement on minds of Jazz players, management

Posted on April 25, 2006 at 12:44 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Jazz fans give retiring Ostertag fond farewell - NBA

Posted on April 20, 2006 at 11:34 AM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

On Wednesday, any boos were overwhelmed by the cheering.

Ostertag ended his 11-year NBA career Wednesday with a few tears and waves goodbye as Jazz fans warmly greeted the player they had booed so often for his inconsistent play.

"That was fun. It was good to hear them cheer and it was a good way to go out," Ostertag said.

Ostertag cheered much more than contributing in Utah's 105-102 win over the Golden State Warriors. The 33-year-old center sat through much of this spring on the bench and had decided to retire this summer.

Ostertag didn't start for the Jazz in his 700th career game with Utah, but he was introduced to a loud ovation after the starting lineup was announced. Coach Jerry Sloan put Ostertag in during the first quarter to another ovation, but Ostertag played just 3:36.

NBA: Jazz Beats Blazers at Home, 110-103

Posted on April 10, 2006 at 2:54 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

The US National Basketball Association (NBA) season continued with six matches played yesterday.

Utah Jazz, the team of Turkish basketball player Mehmet Okur, defeated Portland Trail Blazers 110-103 at home.

Playing in the first five, Okur displayed an outstanding performance with 18 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and a block.

Making a double-double, the Turkish player scored six of his 10 two-point attempts and six of eight free throws.

Utah 102, Portland 89

Posted on April 3, 2006 at 12:09 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

One night after getting blown out, the Utah Jazz played with a lot more effort on the defensive end.

NBA's player Andrei Kirilenko had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz, who handed the Portland Trail Blazers their 10th straight loss with a 102-89 win on Saturday night.

The Jazz had lost to the Clippers by 15 points on Friday night as Los Angeles shot 55 percent from the field.

"All I'm asking for from these guys is for them to compete hard ... If you like the game enough, this is what you want," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said.

This time, it was Portland's effort that was lacking. The Blazers were outrebounded 48-30, and gave up easy baskets down low.

NBA: JAZZ: Atkins Scores as Grizz Win Third Straight

Posted on March 20, 2006 at 4:14 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 19 (Ticker) -- The outside shooting of Chucky Atkins and the versatility of Pau Gasol were the ingredients needed to help the Memphis Grizzlies send the Utah Jazz home unhappy.

Atkins scored 20 points - and hit four 3-pointers - and Gasol added 15, 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Grizzlies recovered from a halftime deficit to earn their third straight win, a 90-84 victory over the Jazz.

With the win, Memphis took three of four this season from Utah, which ended its road trip with a 1-3 mark.

"Pau has confidence to pass us the ball," said Atkins, who made 6-of-12 shots and picked up three steals. "He knows if we don't have (a shot), we're going to come back to him. Obviously, he's our first option. We're going to play through him. If teams want to double-team (Pau), we have great outside shooters and we'll make them pay."

Trailing, 45-34, at intermission, the Grizzlies made their charge in the third quarter with a 20-8 run. Atkins drained three shots from behind the arc during the surge and Eddie Jones' 3-pointer capped it for a 60-59 lead with 2:49 left.

Memphis outscored Utah, 33-17, in the frame to take a 67-62 lead heading into the final period.

"It was a real good effort in the second half," Memphis coach Mike Fratello said. "We had to find a way to win, a way to tough it out."

In a closely contested fourth quarter in which free throws were the only points during a four-minute stretch, Atkins' 3-pointer ended the basket drought and gave the Grizzlies an 81-76 edge with 2:28 remaining.

After Jones split a pair of free throws for an 86-78 lead with 43 ticks to go, Utah's Mehmet Okur sank three free throws. Gasol made a foul shot, but Andrei Kirilenko drilled a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 87-84 with 17 seconds left.

Jones made two free throws, and rookie Deron Williams' 3-pointer came up short to end Utah's comeback.

"In the second half, they played harder and caused us to take tougher shots," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "We shouldn't have been worn down in the third quarter when they put pressure on us. You have to give them credit. They brought it to us."

Shane Battier scored 14 points and Jones added 13 for the Grizzlies, who have won seven of their last 10 contests.

"It was one of those games where you just had to get through it and find a way to win," Battier said. "It wasn't pretty in the first half. We shot the ball poorly and Utah wasn't missing many shots. We came into halftime down 11 and said, 'Hey, guys, we've got to play.' And then we came out and had a great defensive second half."

Carlos Boozer had 19 points and nine rebounds and Okur finished with 17 and 13 for the Jazz. Kirilenko had 16 points, six rebounds, four blocks and three steals.