Jazz nab important win surrounded by enemy

Somewhere along the borders of Salt Lake County must lie a secret city — an underground city. Inside this city there are purple and gold banners hung about with posters praising Kobe Bryant, awaiting his annual return to Salt Lake City.

I’ve attended several Jazz vs. Lakers games at EnergySolutions Arena over the years, and each time it seems as though the number of fans wearing the purple and gold colors of the Lakers tends to rise. Wednesday’s contest, a 95-86 win for the Utah Jazz, was no different. The gates of East L.A. City, Utah, open for a short time during basketball season for these Utah Laker fans to converge on EnergySolutions Arena.

The Utah Laker fans make up 20-25 percent of the arena when the Los Angeles Lakers are in town, so in a year when these two teams play against each other only three times with only one game played in Salt Lake City, the necessity for the Jazz to beat the Lakers at home drastically increases. EnergySolutions Arena never stops being loud, but with so many Laker fans in attendance the cheers are loud for when the Lakers do something positive, dampening one of the best home court advantages in the NBA.

Winning games at home isn’t lost on the Jazz. They know, especially against the Lakers, the season will be tight and home wins can make the difference.

“The West is going to be tight all year,” Jazz guard Gordon Hayward said. “It’s good to get wins at home because playing teams on the road is tough so we’ve got to get all these at home.”

Hayward’s defensive play in the first half against the Lakers on Wednesday helped the Jazz jump to an early lead. He had three blocked shots and steals, one of which he snatched from behind Lakers’ superstar Kobe Bryant. After taking the ball away from Bryant, Hayward sprinted down the court and finished the play with a two-hand dunk. The Jazz held Bryant to seven points in the first half.

“We were physical with [Bryant],” Hayward said. “We didn’t give him anything too easy to get him going.”

Hayward said the Jazz still need to learn to play defense without fouling. The Lakers attempted 46 free throws in the game, and Hayward himself fouled out of the game. He had already committed his fourth foul while there was still 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Even while shutting down the Lakers in the first half, Bryant and his teammates found a way to battle back into the game, bringing the 4,000-5,000 Laker fans to their feet and silencing the Jazz fans. The arena felt as though home court advantage had shifted — that is until Jazz guard Randy Foye shifted the balance right back. The Lakers had cut the lead to four points at 70-66, and then Foye nailed three consecutive 3-pointers to send the Jazz fans into a frenzy and the Laker fans back into their seats.

“It was real important,” Foye said. “We lost three in a row so it was real important to get back to our winning ways.”

Foye gave all the credit to his teammates in being able to find him open for those 3-point shots and help the Jazz pull away from the Lakers.

The Jazz split their home games with the Lakers in the previous three seasons, but in 2008 when the two teams played just one time in Salt Lake City, the Jazz won. That win in 2008 was important because the Jazz were the No. 8 seed in the playoffs that year. A loss at home to the Lakers could have been detrimental. Just like that year this was the only game of the season that will be played in Salt Lake City between the two teams. If the Western Conference turns out to be as tight as Hayward said it would be, look back to this home win for the Jazz. It was a win against one of the supposed elite teams in the conference, and it was also a win in an environment that didn’t feature “the loudest fans in the NBA.”

rbriggs@tooeletranscript.com

Maybe there isn't a reason for my madness

Thank you to all those who responded and voted for your favorite professional sports teams. There weren’t as many votes as I would have liked, but I appreciate all those who did respond.

In Carlsbad we have a pretty good mix from the small sample of people who voted. There’s love for the Boston Red Sox, Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Reds in Carlsbad. Also, there’s a family of Dallas Cowboys lovers here as well.

New Mexico is a place where there isn’t a state pro sports team to support, so I was interested to see how diverse the list was going to be. Back home it was easy: If it was basketball season, then everyone supported the Utah Jazz. But I imagine it’s a little different here.

Back at

Dixie St

ate College in St. George, Utah, I had this friend who was on the school newspaper with me, McKoye. She had the belief that if you live in the state where there was pro sports team, then you were obligated to support that team. I completely disagreed with her on this topic, but I may be changing my tune.

I have to hand it to her; she is the biggest Jazz fan I’ve ever met in my life. She watches every game on TV and tries to go to at least a handful of games each year. And she doesn’t buy the cheap seats on StubHub like I do. No, she always buys lower bowl seats and makes a sign to hold up each time she journeys to Energy Solutions Arena.

As I was sitting here thinking about favorite professional sports teams, I realized that I was inconsistent when selecting my favorite teams as a kid.

Living in Utah the Jazz were not my favorite team. My family moved to Utah when I was 10, but I didn’t stop supporting the Los Angeles Lakers. They were the team I grew up with. They were the team that I would sneak out of bed to watch on TV because they were on past my bedtime.

Selecting my favorite baseball team was a completely different process.

As most of you know by now I am a fan of the Chicago Cubs. At age 5 my parents took me and my brothers to see “Rookie of the Year,” the baseball movie about the kid who breaks his arm and then can throw more than 100 mph. The kid then goes to play for the Cubs. As a little kid I loved the movie and remembered it.

When I first started watching sports at age 7, I had the Cubs at the back of my mind. My parents introduced me to WGN and its national broadcasts of Cubs baseball. Here I was as a little kid in central California, and I became a Cubs fan. The Los Angeles Dodgers were right in my backyard, and they were televised on the same channel as the Lakers. But I didn’t choose the Dodgers.

I was so sporadic in picking my teams. The Carolina Panthers are my favorite NFL team for the small fact that their first year of existence was the same year I started watching sports. I picked them for that reason alone … well … and the black and turquoise color scheme was kind of cool.

I now see how bad it would be for pro sports if every sports fan was exactly like me. Pro teams need a strong local fan base. The Utah Jazz need local fans, and if Albuquerque ever got an NBA team, then it would need strong local fans.

At what point is it just ridiculous?

For this particular topic I'll turn to one of my favorite "Friends" moments that came from season 5. Monica and Chandler were keeping their romantic relationship a secret until Phoebe and Rachel found out about it. Hilarity ensued, but it became ridiculous at one point. Phoebe said, "They don't know we know they know we know."

Yeah, ridiculous, but hilarious.

Though I love the NBA Playoffs it finally occurred to me what's happening with the broadcasts of those games. It made me think I wish I could see every game live and do my own color commentary.

Each year, ESPN and TNT pick a team or teams they cling on to. In the broadcasts the praise of those teams gets rather crazy. I'm a Lakers fan, so I'm used to having my team praised on ESPN and TNT. But when it's not your team being praised I can finally see how annoying it is.

It's to the point where I can predict how a broadcast is going to play out:

"Welcome to (insert famous basketball arena here), where it's Game 2 of the Playoffs. We have the (irregular visitor to the playoffs here) in the building to challenge the (ESPN's and TNT's favorite team here). The (irregular visitor) comes in to Game 2 looking to rebound from the loss in Game 1, but they'll have to face (Favorite team's superstar here). It looks like there is no hope for (irregular visitor) to win ever no matter what the year is and even if this team got a No. 2 or No. 3 seed. Heck unless this team had LeBron James, Kobe Bryan, Kevin Durant, or Jeremy Lin on their roster I don't see any reason why we should talk about them."

I feel for those other teams. The Utah Jazz were written off before the playoffs even started. Yes, they haven't given the media any reason to talk about them yet, but it's still an interesting team that is built symmetrically.

Those teams that get praised on ESPN and TNT have earned the right, I suppose, but the broadcasts shouldn't feel like I'm watching the local station that covers the Spurs, Lakers or Heat. On the flip side, teams like the Jazz, Hawks and Grizzlies need to give those stations a reason to keep it balanced.

Lakers vs. Nuggets: Game 2 Preview

Ten blocks.

That's what the height of Lakers center Andrew Bynum is worth. If there's one thing I can take from the first game of the series is that the Lakers size is going to make it impossible for the Nuggets to have an inside presence during this series.

Javale McGee and Timothy Mozgov are not threats, if that's what you're thinking.

However, the Nuggets are still the NBA's highest scoring team, and if we can learn anything from the season as a whole, the Lakers struggle mightily against 3-point shooting. If the Nuggets have a couple of games where the majority of their shots were going in unlike the putrid shooting from Game 1, this series can become completely different.

Let's face it, the Lakers are not going to get the same kind of production from Devin Ebanks and Steve Blake like they did in Game 1, so it's important for Kobe to get going a little sooner. The Nuggets will not be as cold as they were in the first game.

Looking at Game 2, the Nuggets will get better scoring than they did in the first game. Since that's the case, it's important for Bynum to keep swatting at everything and the Lakers to tighten up on the 3-point line. Don't let Ty Lawson win Game 2 for the Nuggets.

The Game 1 strategy worked, but now let's see if the Lakers can counter the Nuggets' adjustments.

History of Dixie State vs. BYU-Hawaii

Nov. 29, 2006: The first ever meeting between the Seasiders and Dixie State College. Before DSC was part of the Pacific West Conference and back when the school nickname was still Rebels, these two schools faced off in St. George, Utah.

This was Dixie State's sixth game ever as an NCAA Division II school, and it was the first game for the Rebels at home as such a school. Dixie State was ready for the jump to Division II. The basketball team went 11-16 that season, and this game against BYU-Hawaii was a sign of things to come. The Rebels lost by six, 78-72, but this was the beginning of what has become a young, yet stingy rivalry between BYU-Hawaii and Dixie State College.

In just the third meeting between BYU-Hawaii and DSC, the boys from St. George got a win in this series. A two-game series between the two in St. George on Jan. 23 and Jan. 24, 2008: The Seasiders won another close matchup against Dixie State. This time it was by eight points. However, the two teams came out against each other the next day and this time it was Dixie State that got the win. It was a 15-point win and a statement. The next year when DSC would join the PacWest, Seasiders beware because DSC was here to take over the conference.

However, BYU-Hawaii went on to win the next three games against DSC. Was the conference takeover just a myth? A fantasy? The answer was nay.

On Jan. 7, 2010, BYU-Hawaii made its way to Burns Arena in St. George. With BYU-H's star Lucas Alves hobbled by injury this was the perfect opportunity for the Red Storm to take over the conference. DSC got its second win in the series to make the overall record 5-2 in favor of the Seasiders.

When the teams met in Laie, Hawaii, on Feb. 18, 2010, I thought the time to take over the PacWest was then and there. However, it would be halted as the Seasiders knocked off the Red Storm by 17. But for the first time, DSC clinched a share of the PacWest title. And it clinched the title with BYU-H.

But even the conference championship wasn't enough to make this rivalry feel like it was merely a dream on my part. The stage was set: the conference co-champions on the floor together on Jan. 27, 2011, DSC introduces its new mascot Big Dee, and the Utah Jazz Bear was in town to try and excite the crowd. But it wasn't meant to be. The Red Storm suffered their largest margin of defeat against the Seasiders at Burns Arena on that day. An 83-61 win for BYU-Hawaii. I thought it was over. I thought there was no way we could lose by 22 points at home and then go to Hawaii and beat the Seasiders.

The boys proved me wrong. As my friend Mark would say, "Richard, don't be a fair-weather fan."

A little bit of magic? Yes. A double-overtime win 99-96 gave Dixie State its first ever win in Laie. Stunned, elated, stoked. Whatever the word may be. The rivalry was back on.

The two teams met up a month later in the NCAA Division II Tournament: the Regional Final, a.k.a. the Sweet Sixteen. BYU-Hawaii got the win, but it set the stage for the game 16 days ago.

Feb. 4, 2012, it was a game that featured large leads by both teams, but it ended in high drama. With Dixie State leading by one point, the Seasiders had a shot to win the game. BYU-H's Jake Dastrup pulled up for a jump shot to win the game, but it bounced off, giving DSC the win.

So here we are this week. Dixie State clinches at least a share of the conference championship with a win over BYU-Hawaii on Wednesday, and because the Red Storm will have beaten BYU-H twice they will win the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

This actually feels a little unfamiliar even after having won back-to-back PacWest championships. It's the Seasiders who look to play spoiler with the Red Storm trying to secure a spot in March Madness. BYU-Hawaii holds an 8-4 series lead over Dixie State, and it was inches/seconds away from being 9-3. It's a young rivalry, but it's a great rivalry because for the last three years the conference championship has been on the line. It's on the line again for Wednesday's meeting.

Rivalry Week

The Sports Geek is back. And what better way is there to get back into the swing of things than a themed week? It's Rivalry Week at Dixie State College (although I'm sure there's maybe 100 of us out of 9,000 who even know that) so I'll be taking a look at the two men's basketball games this week to help build the hype.

On Monday, I'll start the hype leading up to the game on Wednesday against BYU-Hawaii with a recap of the past four years playing against the Seasiders. How did this rivalry start? Why is it important? Of course, the Red Storm can clinch a share of the Pacific West Conference championship by beating BYU-Hawaii on Wednesday. What's funny is that these roles were completely opposite just two years ago. The Red Storm have become the dominant team in the PacWest, usurping the Seasiders' power. We'll go over all those aspects tomorrow.

I'll have a little fun on Tuesday. My friend Mattie Tueller attends BYU-Hawaii. He and I will have a trash-talking duel to represent our schools proudly. I've been saving up some good Seasider jokes for the past four years. BYU-Hawaii guard Jet Chang will likely be in there somewhere among the insults.

Wednesday is game day so I'll have to be a little more serious. I'll quickly break down some of the key matchups on the floor for the game between Dixie State and BYU-Hawaii. I'll most likely be giving some good praise to Griffon Jones and *cue Denzel Washington voice* my man Maurice Cole *end Denzel voice*.

I'll be shifting focus on Thursday to a more general Rivalry Week topic: pep rallies. Why doesn't Dixie State have pep rallies? Do they fear no one will show up? I understand that this isn't high school anymore, but how are people supposed to know it's Rivalry Week when there are no pep rallies?

Finally, Friday will be the final day of the special Rivalry Week blogging for the Sports Geek. I shift my focus to the Silverswords. Dixie State's first ever nationally televised basketball game took place against Chaminade University, and since then these two schools share an under-the-radar rivalry. I'll talk about Dixie's clean sweep of the Silverswords in 2011, which included a win against Chaminade in the NCAA Tournament.

Get ready for a great week. Rivalry Week is unofficially official right here on the Sports Geek blog. Seasiders and Silverswords are coming to town.

Football!

Let's face it. The reason I haven't been blogging is because now that school has started I have plenty of things to write, but this blog is important. The world needs some goodness from the Sports Geek.

Now that the school excuse is out of the way let's focus on the other reason I haven't been blogging: Football has started, and I've been way too busy watching rather than writing.

Quick hits on football season:

1. College football season is awesome, but we were tricked into thinking every matchup was awesome. Oregon/LSU was the only good matchup to watch, and it turned out to be a cruddy matchup.

2. The lockout jacked up the NFL during week one. It was apparent if you watched any offense, except of course for the Saints and Packers.

3. Your favorite team is never as good as you want them to be.

Alright, so we have the quick hits taken care of. Hopefully those of you who had a rough week in your fantasy leagues are looking to make some adjustments. Picking three Kansas City Chiefs players on my fantasy team was a big mistake. To Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe and the Chiefs defense--the Buffalo Bills? Really? I was banking on that fact that you all were playing the Bills. My week one loss is attributed to you.

Actually, my fantasy team was a [expletive] this week--a perfect storm if you will. Phillip Rivers was meh and Steve Smith (of the Carolina variety) was on my bench. Who knew Cam Newton would have a career game in his first game? I don't think I'll get that same kind of production this week when my favorite team--the Carolina Panthers--takes on the Green Bay Packers. But Smith has been moved to the starting rotation, so we'll see what happens.

Look for more awesome Fantasy tidbits as the season goes along. I've been playing fantasy football since I was eight-years old and have only made the playoffs twice. That's right, I'm the Arizona Cardinals of fantasy football.

But I'll continue to give advice as best as I can.