To begin the links, I hope this doesn’t turn into a I-told-you-so, but Williams is ticked.  He’s not very happy about Dee not being back.  Of course I think SJF has a valid point.  He’s not going to be moving up in Utah and could earn a better spot somewhere else.  I don’t think he’s a starter, but he’s still a capable backup.  Dee didn’t really do much in the Revue though to boost his cause.  He didn’t do anything either to damage his case.  I guess if he’s not improving, everyone else is passing him by.  Deron will cool on this though.

• Chris Mannix grades the FIBA players - Although as stated in a previous post, I would have to give the nod to Williams and Mannix does with his grades but not his explanation.
• AK-47 makes a lot of money - He’s #3 on the overpaid list this year.  And if you were to base it solely on 2006-2007, definitely.  But thanks to some off-season bonding, I think AK is back on track this year.  And never mind that I need him to be in a Jazz uniform for at least two more years or until my boy grows out of his Kirilenko uniform.
• And he loves the Mormons - If I updated more frequently this summer perhaps I could have come up with a witty comment here.  As it is, it would be wasted with this old news.
• All the Jazz TV you want - Between KJZZ and Fox Sports, you’ll be able to see all of the Jazz games this year.  FSN will have nine of them in HD, but KJZZ doesn’t have HD equipment yet.  I emailed the production manager last year and he said it’s still cost-prohibitive.  He stated that it’s coming, but it will be a bit.  Let me tell you that HD OTA is sweet.
• That was a ballsy attempt - The Hall of Fame Utah Jazz Bear shows us why men still cringe, even though it was a mascot in a padded suit.  It doesn’t look like it helped him though.
• The latest on Dee Brown - Here’s this comment from Dee, “No deals from other teams have came up, Utah Jazz deal is still on the table. Like I said before, I have so much to say about this situation but I will beat my tongue on this one.”  He later goes on to say he’s going to wait to comment until he’s signed with a team.  So we may never know how he feels.
• Is this the route to the hospital? - Boozer didn’t participate in the FIBAs as he and his wife are expecting twins.  That was announced back in May.  Where are they?  I thought she was due at any time.  Hope all is well.  (And his info was obtained through public records).

 Well, after fires kept me from last Friday’s Revue game, the release of Harry Potter, and now flooding, I’m finally able to play ketchup and get things going again.  I’m not going to recap the Revue in this post as I want to do one on that separately.

We’ll start with the Ronny Price signing.  To which all I have to say is what?  This baffles me on so many levels.  So now we have potentially 6 guards?  So what happens if CJ and Dee accept their offers?  Maybe the Jazz have received word that they’re not going to accept.  That’s the only possible explanation I can think of.  No good fan reactions from this.  My other question is, who are we getting that can play some defense at the two?

Deron Williams is kicking can at the Blue/White Team USA scrimmage.  He didn’t shoot particularly well, but when you have the black holes that are Carmelo and Kobe, he doesn’t have to worry about points.  But I’m sure they’ll take his thirteen assists.  And if the PGs for Team USA are anyone other than Kidd and Deron, we’ll finish 3rd again.

Millsap was named MVP of the Rocky Mountain Revue.  No shock here.  He edged out Louis Williams, who was everywhere.  The Jazz could be regretting letting him go especially as they need another big man.  Have I mentioned that they just signed another guard?

I’ve uploaded a new video that I couldn’t edit about the ref scandal and Williams at the FIBA tryouts.  I couldn’t edit it, so you’ll have to forward to about 2:22.

Poca-what?  Dee Brown visited a school in Pocatello, ID where he admitted he didn’t even know Pocatello existed.  As a native Idahoan, we don’t like to admit that Pocatello exists either.  He wants to be back and should be back.  Although with the Price signing, it looks bleak.

AK loves the ice cream.  Kirilenko was spotted in St. Tropez with his family.  He seemed to blend in pretty well despite being 6′9″.  At least he’s not biting anyone’s throats.

deronwilliams.net has some info on his upcoming charity golf tourney.  Looks like the .com is a domain cybersquat.

I’ll get up a proper review of the Revue and each player.  Until then, please no more mother nature.

Is it possible for a player to become a legend in only his second year in a summer league?  For someone who was overlooked and unheralded in the 2006 draft, Millsap has done more in that short of time than I’ve ever seen growing up a Jazz fan.  The Millsap lore grew as he calmly nailed the game-tying three-point shot to send the game to overtime.  And then in a bit of deja-vu for the Hawks, Millsap hit the game-winning shot with a reverse layup from under the basket.  After the game, nearly the entire crowd hung around until after Millsap’s TV interview to cheer him before he went to the locker room.  And in a bit of Millsap-mania, as Paul ran off the court, he threw his towel into the crowd where a boy caught it and almost started crying.  For games “that don’t count” according to Millsap, he’d have a hard time arguing that after tonight.

And here’s why the Jazz are a different team.  Almond missed a three and the Hawks made a quick two on the other end to push the lead to five with just under two minutes left.  They the Hawks added on two more points for a seven-point lead.  After the Almond miss, here’s what I wrote in my notes:

Almond’s missed three and subsequent basket by Atlanta did them in

That’s how I became accustomed as a Jazz fan growing up.  But after a couple comebacks in the playoffs last year and seeing the young guys tonight, I vow never to make that assumption again.  And this game made up for me missing the Seattle game.

And now we have two people with Mansap Crushes as PCA professed to me.  His article about the summer leagues in Vegas and SLC are up at FreeDarko.

On to some other game notes

• You’ve read about Fesenko’s earring that reads “Fess.”  Shouldn’t it be Fes or Fez?
• There was an early rumor about Dee Brown being signed but nobody could get confirmation.  I was going to try to talk to his girlfriend about it as she headed back to towards the locker rooms.  But as she was coming back, I got a call from my wife and didn’t get a chance to talk to her.  That led to this conversation between me and PCA:
  Me: I can’t talk to Dee’s girlfriend because my wife keeps calling.
  PCA: So your wife calls you every time you want to talk to his girlfriend?

  Hmm, maybe that wouldn’t sound very good if it was overheard.

• DNDs for both Brewer and Hoffa
• Randy Ribgy, new Pres for LHM Multimedia Entertainment and dealerships and race cars and restaurant Enterprise, made his first public appearance since the promotion.  He was chatting up Frank Layden most of the night and listening to Sloan after the game.  And of course he was sporting the Jazz baby blue tie.
• Lack of pictures tonight as my batteries were dead.  So the picture above of Rigby is brought to you by PCA’s four AAs.
• And showing why the refs are are in summer league as well, after a tipped ball out of bounds, none of the refs had seen the play and the one closest called for another’s help.  It could have gone either way but it went to the Hawks.  That led to this comment from Tyrone, “There wasn’t even anyone on the play!”
• Jerry Sloan loves the Skittles.
• Mario West for the Hawks has some major air.  He made a couple plays on both ends that looked like he chose to come down and not because gravity made him.

Audio coming in a bit when I get it up.

Let’s get caught up on a few things I’ve missed.

• Karl Malone loves to hunt - Really?
• What would happen if BJ Armstrong and Greg Oden had a kid? Would we finally get a basketball player that looks his age?
• The Jr Jazz Orem tip off this November - Heaven help us if both Dee Brown and Ronnie Brewer are Flashers.
• I left my comment on this article - I did think that there was a favor done at first, but after talking to DeAngelo Simmons (Millsap’s agent/uncle), I don’t think this is the case.
• More Deron Williams nickname suggestions - I know I just posted that we need a nickname for Millsap, but I got to thinking, don’t the cool nicknames come from some announcer’s comments or something from their childhood? If they haven’t got a nickname this late in the game, I don’t think we can just make one up. These nicknames have to be earned as well. Don’t force the issue, one will come along. And just say no to DWill, Slick, and The Kingpin.
• Interview audio from the Spurs game Monday:
  • Tyrone Corbin Recap
  • Morris Almond
  • Paul Millsap
  • Fess
  • Hoffa talks about his injury
  • Millsaps Mom

Technorati tags: utah jazz, rocky mountain revue

I didn’t get a chance to go the the Seattle game yesterday or watch it so I can’t really comment much on it. There is a YouTube recap up though (link on the right).

Despite Durant’s 29 and Green’s 25, the Jazz were able to put this one away in the second half. Unfortunately, this was Durant’s only game at the Revue as he’s been at the Las Vegas summer league and he’ll head back to start Team USA tryouts.

Millsap had his typical 22 & 9 and Dee had his best game of the Revue with 10 points and 10 assists. Fes had 8 boards to go along with his 3-4 shooting. And Almond rebounded from his lackluster previous game with 18 points.

I’ll be back in full-effect tomorrow night when the Jazz take on Atlanta again followed up by Friday’s finale with Chicago.

Other news late tonight, Dennis Haslam, President of all things LHM, is stepping down. I put in for the opening but apparently it went to Randy Rigby. Man, the things I would have done for the LHM conglomerate. I was thinking he should expand into NASCAR, movie theaters, restaurants, etc. Man, they’re missing out.

And finally for the night, Boozer won’t be participating in the FIBA tourney this summer to be with his wife as they’re expecting twins. Deron will be representing the UJ though.

Technorati tags: utah jazz, rocky mountain revue

So can I officially coin the phrase Mansap Crush?  What more could a Jazz fan want in a player?  Points?  20.  Rebounds?  14.  And most of those came in just the first quarter when he had 13 & 8.  Is there anything he can’t do?  When the Spurs employed a half-court press, Paul was able to break it down and get the assist.  He grabs any board that’s within 84123 zip code.  I also had the pleasure of speaking with his mother and uncle (agent) after the game.  He loves it in Utah and probably more importantly, his mother does as well.  Also, we need to come up with a valid nickname for Millsap.  I haven’t heard any and I think this needs to happen soon. 

Enough of my gushing.  Here are some notes from the game:

• Brewer didn’t dress again.  Looks like he’ll have to win the SG position come training camp.  Please win the position Ronnie.  Also found out from Millsap’s mom that he hangs out a lot with them.
• Mike Brown is huge.  He’s coaching for the NBDL and scouting.  Check out the Flickr stream.  It really doesn’t do him justice though.
• Kee-Kee played about 10 minutes and got some early work in.
• Hoffa had huge bulges in his shorts.  Couldn’t figure out what it was until later when I saw him shoving ice on to his thighs.  Apparently he had an MRI on his groin.
• We finally got to see the first winner of the Utah Flash tickets by completing a lay-up, free-throw, and three pointer.  Man he really flashed some skill with with the last three.  It’s a good thing I didn’t take a picture and have my flash blind him.  He also won a 2 GB flash drive, a classic Flash comic book, and a flashlight.  Sadly he was arrested outside the arena later for flashing.  Okay, I’m done.
• The press was giving the Jazz fits all night.  It’s probably the biggest reason for their 195 turnovers.
• I guess all of the fans forgot about the playoffs because there were no boos with intros or at any other time really during the game.  The only anger was directed at the refs.  That and there were no players from the Spurs team that were on the summer league squad.  But still, it’s the Spurs for crying out loud.
• Dee’s little boy Darrian was in attendance.  Cute little kid.  He has a nice “Lil D” shaved in the back of his head.  I couldn’t get a good picture of it.  The one I did take of him surprised him because I had forgotten to take the flash off. 
• The coaches wardrobe really looks like they just get handed a new package every game.  If they were the same ones they would have had to have been washed, right?  These didn’t look washed.  Maybe I’ll squirt some mustard on Layden tonight to see.
• Best name of the Revue, #22 for the Spurs, Pooh Jeter.  But Jeter is pronounced Jetter.  Maybe he likes the Jet sounding name because it makes him sound fast.  Bonus note: Lojeski covered him for the latter part of the game and contained him pretty well.  That’s something we haven’t seen from a SG for a while.  And Jeter was smaller and faster.
• The refs hate Ukrainians.  Fes was called for about 4 fouls where he either didn’t touch the guy or he looked at him wrong.
• Finally, the Jazz five of Fes, Lojeski, John Millsap, Kendall, and Gil made a nice comeback.  They were pumped, but then they were all subbed for for Almond, Mansap, Brown, etc.  I’m all for more Mansap, but at this point the coaching had probably given up on the game and were letting lesser players get minutes.  I think the group that got them this far should have been left in to finish.  They should have been rewarded for their play.  And they were playing well together.  I don’t think there should have been any subs unless they were tired.  But I don’t think any of them had played enough minutes where they would have been tired.  Had they still been down by 10 or so with 6 minutes left, we would have never seen the starters back in.

I’ll get the audio put up later and attach the links to this post.

Flickr Photos

There should be plenty of energy at the SLCC tonight as the Jazz host the Spurs in their third game of the Revue.

Of course it was the Spurs that eliminated the Jazz from the playoffs last year. And despite this just being summer-league, you can guarantee that the fans will be all over any non-Jazz friendly call.

It’s about 20 minutes until start time and the buzz has already started with the Jazz coming out for warm-ups. I expect a whole lot of boos coming the Spurs way as they come out for pre-game.

Random Revue notes…

• Sheldon Williams just walked by with a SO or sister. She was in flip flops and was only a few inches shorter than he was.
• Sitting to my right tonight is Dee Brown’s family & girlfriend? and son Darrian. He’s got to be 3 or 4 now I believe. His mother is wearing a Jazz jersey and hat, so that’s a good sign, right?
• Mike Brown is in attendance. I think he’s a scout or something now. I’ll have to look it up.
• Gotta save on AC, be back in a bit.

updates coming …

Technorati tags: utah jazz, rocky mountain revue

Reason 2715 why it’s better to be a blogger than a real reporter, no deadline.  This is coming in a day late and no one cares.  Plus, who’s reading a blog on a Saturday night or Sunday?  Well, according to my stats, nobody.

Anyway, I wasted most of my recap stuff with my halftime notes.  But here’s a few things from the game (which was over after the third).

The Jazz don’t have any consistent three-point shooting.  This was evidenced tonight as the 76ers summer league squad put away the Jazz in the fourth with a barage of threes.  We have Almond, but don’t think for a minute that he’s going to playing a lot of minutes.  Brewer may get more minutes but he doesn’t have the shot yet from the arc.  What’s going to happen is that Hart is going to be playing the two guard.  The more I think about this signing, the more I get sick about it.  Like Win or Go Home stated, I’m all for signing a vet PG, as long as it doesn’t take minutes away from Dee.  But four years to Hart isn’t good.  He’s been with five teams in six years!  And now we have another player for sign fodder for fans.  Let me be the first to mention ” I (heart sign) Jason.”  Get it?  Clever.  Listen to Dee’s reaction (mp3 at the end of the post).  Let’s hope Deron’s being here helps keep Dee.  And let’s hope things end well with Dee so that we don’t piss off Williams.

A couple former (almost) Jazz men had good games, Amundson & Herbert Hill.  Louis was everywhere.  He seemed to have his hand in every rebound, tip, etc. while he was in the game.  And Hill had another solid game.  Let’s hope this doesn’t come back to haunt us.

My darkhorse Lojeski was solid.  He was only 3-8 but took some good shots and created a couple shots for himself off the dribble.  He also became my first one-on-one interview.  (link at the end, be gentle).  From the interview, it doesn’t sound good for him to make the team.  But I think he’s making others take notice.

Brewer sat out the game.  The final box score had a DNP - Coaches Decision, but that’s not right.  He tweaked his ankle last game and looks like he sat out as a precaution.

Playing time was a lot more spread out this game.  A lot of the guys that aren’t going to be with the team got a lot of minutes.  Althought the two PGs, Clark and Elliott, didn’t get a lot of time; probably as a result of the Hart signing.

But the biggest story of the night was the ridiculous referee.  I couldn’t find his name anywhere, but he’s the one shown above.  I realize they’re trying out too, but good heavens, he was amazing.  He seemed to think that if he wasn’t calling a foul, he wasn’t doing his job.  I wish they would have stats on the number of calls made by the refs because he would have made twice as many as the other two combined.  And he would put on a great acting performance when he would make a call.  He reminded me of a professor I had at Southern Utah University for a basketball officiating class.  Lund was his name I think.  Anyway, he would always perform his calls like he was putting on a ballroom dance or ice skating routine.  It had to have the precision.  Anonymous ref had this down to a science.  He made sure to point twice and let everyone know where the charge occurred that he had just called on Millsap.  And the Pièce de résistance was his T on Dee at the end of the game.  And as the gym showered him with boos and other words, he went over to the sideline and just soaked it in.  He was basking in his magnificent bastardness.

Anyway, here are some thoughts on the whole reporting thing.  With deadlines, things move fast.  They wait outside the locker room for the coach to come out.  After about 4-5 minutes of that, they head to the locker room for player interviews.  And once the lights go out from the cameras, the coach is done pretty much.  They had already interviewed Millsap by the time I got in there and had moved on to Dee.  And by the time I get there, the players just want to get in the shower and get out.  I did get some clips from Dee, Lojeski, and Fes (links at the end).  See why it’s going to take all week to get your questions answered?

Also talked a bit to Kurt Kragthorpe from the Tribune.  He’s got the same thing to say as most of the fans do, let them play.

I’ll wrap this up.  Make sure to check out the audio and Flickr stream.

Flickr Photos

• Scott Layden on the game
• Scott Layden on Almond
• Frank Layden talks Almond and Fes (sorry, the audio is terrible)
• Dee Brown on saying in Utah
• A bit more Dee Brown (first part is inaudible)
• A bit from Fesenko
• My interview with Lojeski

• Coaching team broke out the new tan shorts.  Still had the creases in them.  Makes you wonder if they get new stuff all the time.
• John Millsap got the start along side Paul
• Brewer didn’t dress for the game but was rockin old school Jordans and some huge bling on his right wrist.
• Paul Millsap is a man amongst boys.  He dominated again in the first half.  He really doesn’t belong here any more I think.  He also seemed to be playing to show that he wasn’t playing favorites with John on purpose.  He really didn’t interact with him on the court.
• Doorenkamp was a little too excited to get in the game.  He was coming in in a free throw situation and was halfway to the paint before the ref had to send him back to the scorers table.
• Lojeski can straight stroke it.  He’s got to be the surprise of the Revue so far.  He was also able to create his own shot nicely.
• We had the twin towers in at the same time, Fes & Doorenkamp.  Is that the tallest Jazz combo before? 
• Byars for the Sixers has an attitude.  He was talking all kinds of smack.  Dude, it’s summer league.  Great job scoring on NBDL league type players.  And just the way he carried himself.  Mark my words, he has a Artest-type incident in the future.
• They have Lyde listed at 260.  I would call BS on that.
• The refs are out of control.  If they’re not calling a foul on every posession, then somehow they’re not doing their job.  I guess it’s summer league tryouts for them too.
• Kendall’s block was the definition of rejection.  He was either going to block the ball or take the dude’s head off.
Technorati tags: utah jazz, rocky mountain revue

Off-topic to start with,  The Jazz finally get their free agent.  Of course it’s not Morris Peterson, it’s Jason Hart.  So now Dee Brown has some competition for that backup spot.  He played pretty well in the Revue last night but the decision will more than likely come down to camp this fall.  Four years for Peterson, expecially for the Jazz.  They’re going to need that money for Williams and Millsap.

On to the Revue.  Great game played on both sides.  Horford is the real thing.  Of course it was in the summer league, but he was head an shoulders (sometimes literally) above the other rookies and most of the other players.  Acie Law didn’t shoot well, but he had an okay game running the point.  Can I say thanks again to the Hawks for not taking Williams?

The timeout huddles had some great unintentional comedy.  They have about 16 guys on the team right now and it’s just impossible for everyone to gather around and be able to hear.  So you have the guys in the back that pretend like the know what’s going on.  But really they’re peaking up into the stands and looking elsewhere.  Everybody is really rah rah, even those that know that they won’t be with the team later.  They break with “1, 2, 3, Jazz!”

Ronnie didn’t play much because he had tweaked his ankle.  We’ll see how it is today.

Millsap was his normal self.  He even took a nice charge from Law that got the coaches excited.  And of course he got called for possibly the game winning foul.  And Shelden made his only free throw of the night.  But have no fear.  Millsap picked up the missed Almond shot for the putback and the foul with about 1.3.  He missed the free-throw but it didn’t matter.  He handled Shelden Williams pretty well.  Williams was only 5-14.  Paul also led everyone with 9 rebounds.  Shocker.

Hoffa had a sold game and looked a lot more comfortable out there than I’ve seen him play before.  He also seemed to be one of the team leaders.  I like his chances to sign with the Jazz.

One thing is for sure, Almond isn’t afraid to shoot.  He made some great shots and other looked off, but he’s going to be good.  I spoke with Frank Layden (transcript and audio coming later) and he thinks he’s the real deal.

Matt Lojeski is going to get himself signed if he keeps playing like this.  He was 2-2 from three and looks like he could be a solid player.  Of course it won’t be with the Jazz, but if he keeps it up, he could be signing with another team when all is said and done.

I was really surprised when Eddie Gill didn’t come in.  But now he probably won’t get much of a chance with the Hart signing.

And I really want to see John Millsap play.  I imagine he’ll get most of his time in later next week when most of the evaluations have been done.  Right now, Millsap, Hoffa, and Almond are getting most of the PT.

Fesenko had a couple nice swats.  He’s been knocked for his lack of defense, but the two blocks were great anticipation blocks.  He didn’t do anything offensively, but he’s already the crowd favorite.  He got a standing O when he checked out for the last time.

BJ Armstrong was in the house.  Apparently he represents Acie Law and Shelden.  Click on the photo above to go to my flickr stream of the night.  Or click here.

Let me tell you how nice of a guy Frank Layden is.  I went right over to him after the game and just started talking to him about who he likes so far.  I’ll post the audio later as I need to clean up the background noise.  But we talked for about five minutes about Fesenko and Almond.  He was impressed.  He goes to all the practices and I’m sure still gives his input.  He just talked to me like he would anyone.  I’ve only met him one other time and that was about 20 years ago outside a TGIF restaurant.  He talked to me then too.  Can’t say enough about him.

I got some audio from Corbin after the game and will post that too.  I got lost after that and didn’t get back to the locker room.  I’ll be there tonight though to get your questions.

And finally, I met up with PCA from FreeDarko.  He’s their Summer League Correspondent.  He just got back from the Vegas summer league.  The biggest difference he talked about is that the Vegas revue was all business.  There weren’t a lot of fans in the stands, mainly agents and team officials.  Maybe I’ll have him post a little something here.

So that’s about it for game one.  Anything else you want to here, let me know.