To The Victors...Go The Spoils

The NBA Awards for the past season were handed out tonight. My friend posted this picture tonight of Rudy Gobert's win with the caption: Well Deserved!

And I agree.

There was a time when I was a huge Utah Jazz fan. I followed the team and watched almost every game through several seasons. Of course, that's when they were winning. The rise of the Jazz in the mid-1980s to the end of the 1990s was special. It brought a sense of pride to the community. 

Then came the down years. The teams battled, but could never reach the salad days of Stockton/Malone/Layden/Sloan. But over the past four years, the little team in Salt Lake City has improved each year, reaching the play-offs last year and this year. It's been fun again.

This year, like years in the past, was special. The team battled not only the other teams but injuries. Of course, those in our area believe members of the Utah Jazz should have won more NBA awards this year, namely Rookie of the Year and Coach of the year. They went to other teams and other players. I'm sure the sports radio airwaves will be filled with opinions, discussions, the pros and cons of those decisions.

It's easy to get caught up in what could have been. I just hope the fans remember what an incredible year it was instead of wishing the other voters had the same opinion as the as to who should have won this year's awards. And, as those who follow teams that don't win it all say, there's always next year.

As it stands now, I plan on watching game next year, or at least, following the team to see how they do. They might improve, or they may take a step back. As a fan, I can only hope they do their best. And perhaps, they will be the victor and amass more of those spoils. Time will tell.

I've Often Wondered Who Writes Those Messages...For One Day, I Knew

If you live in an area with a transportation system that has more than two lanes for its freeway, there's a good chance you've got those big signs used to notify drivers of current road conditions, Amber Alerts, and other warnings. Where I live, sometimes those signs are used  in a creative manner. There's a state employee (or employees...) with the job of coming up with those cleaver sayings, mostly to remind drivers to obey traffic laws including wearing seatbelts. Wearing seatbelts is a big one.

I've often wondered who comes up with them. A few days ago, I knew exactly who wrote one of the messages. I knew this because of a contest. A prominent state employee came up with an idea. Whoever came up with the best tweet in anticipation of the Utah Jazz vs Oklahoma City NBA playoff series, that tweet would be seen by millions of drivers.

There were some fantastic entries--the top 10 were tweeted. One was chosen. The first time I saw the sign was going to work. It was dark and my phone camera didn't quite catch the message. But driving home, I was able to get a couple of good pictures. The winning entry, if you can't read it, says, 

DRIVE SAFE: ZERO PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDER

Then the follow-up screen said,

GO JAZZ

The person who came up with the contest was Utah's Lt. Governor, Spencer Cox. The creator of the tweet and winner of the contest was Allison Croghan. To make the story even sweeter, Allison is a meteorologist for a local TV news station.

Though I don't have all the expensive weather equipment that are at Allison's disposal, I cannot say with certainty that we have been without thunder since that sign went up on April 16th. I know tonight, as I am writing this post, the Oklahoma Thunder are in town and playing the Jazz. Both teams will play again Monday night. If things go well for the home team, that'll be the last time Thunder is reported in the valley--at least until next season.

First World Problems...Missing The End Of The Game

I feel I should preface this post by stating we live in amazing times. Earlier this week a thought came to me as I drove to work. I have a car and can travel down a road in relative safety at a speed of 70 m.p.h. (the legal speed limit on that particular road...). In my car I was traveling faster than any human being born before the twentieth century had ever traveled.

And that's just one aspect of modern living. When I got to work I spent the day in front of a computer where I could do the work in one day it used to take a hundred employees weeks to do.

What does this have to do with missing the end of a basketball game?

Good question.

Remember back when a televised event took place and if you weren't in front of a TV, you missed it? It wasn't that long ago. Then a genius invented a VCR, and if you could understand it, you could record the event and watch it later.

But the VCR can't hold a candle to what we have now. Wednesday night the Utah Jazz professional basketball team played the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the first round of the NBA finals. Because we live in amazing times, I set the twenty-first century version of the VCR and recorded the game. Of course I checked the score after the game and was thrilled the Jazz prevailed. And since I had recorded the show, I knew I could catch every second of the back-and-forth, the battles down low, the thrilling ending.

It didn't quit work out that way for me.

Because the game went beyond the allotted time, my recording stopped with exactly two minutes left with the score Jazz - 97, Thunder - 93. In those two minutes of gameplay Utah would score six more points, Oklahoma City two.

I missed those two minutes.

First world problems.

I knew how it ended and if I really wanted to, I could track down the last two minutes on-line. The fact that I can even do that is mind-blowing when you think about it. Yes, we live in amazing times. And that fact that I was unable to watch the last couple of minutes of an amazing game watching amazing athletes is really no big deal.

When you think about it.

The Utah Jazz...Are In The Playoffs Again

Tonight the Utah Jazz clinched a playoff spot for the second year in a row. If you follow our local NBA team, making the playoffs back in the day was not just expected, but virtually guaranteed. 

Then the drought came. It was a long wait for last year's team to get in. And because of changes that happened to the team, many wondered if they'd return to the playoffs this year. I think many fans doubted it--especially back in January when they were not doing well.

That was then; this is now.

This team has been fun to watch. They've made me an engaged Utah Jazz fan. Of course, winning can do that for a lot of people. I realize, by getting involved in the games, I'm opening up my heart to potential heartbreak and emotional ruin. Still, I want to see how far this team goes--it could be far, very far.

The team is loaded with personalities, but one of the big reasons I've enjoyed watching their games so much is because of Donovan Mitchell. I borrowed the above photograph from social media. I also borrowed a video clip of a drive and an assist from the rookie. It took my breath away.

There's two games left in the regular season, then the playoffs. I'll be watching--or keeping track--by TV or computer or cellphone. I wish them well.