Here we are just a couple games into the season and we have already seen that the Jazz aren't ready to play defense or even if they can. It is going to be a long season if they don't get the defense turned around. Already early in the season Boozer and D-will have looked great.
Wayne Estes was already Utah State's career-scoring leader when he took the court this Monday evening against the University of Denver. The 6-6 senior forward was in the midst of an All-American season, averaging 33.7 points per game. Only Barry (37.1) was ahead of Estes, who was also averaging 13.7 rebounds a game.
Andreasen, KVNU's play-by-play announcer, was grateful for the distraction that tonight's home game at Nelson Fieldhouse would provide. Earlier in the day, he had attended the funeral of his father-in-law.
Elsewhere in the stands sat Eleanor Olson, the sports editor of Utah State's yearbook, The Buzzer. Estes' most unabashed fan among the Aggie coeds -- at least among those who were not also pursuing him -- Olson had begun keeping score at Aggie games as a freshman to track his exploits.
Some 350 miles north in Butte, Mont., Judy Morstein was relieved to be listening to the game indoors. Ordinarily Morstein, who had befriended Estes the previous summer, would drive her red Datsun convertible up the "M" mountain ("Here, we'd just call it a hill," she says) and listen to the games on KVNU in the sub-freezing temperatures. On this evening some friends who lived nearby let her listen in their home.
Twenty-five miles northwest of Butte, in Anaconda, the Estes family -- Wayne's parents Joe and Helen as well as Wayne's 10-year-old brother, Ron -- had no radio reception. They would wait for Wayne's post-game phone call.
Apparently Matt White has made quite a nice investment when he bought a rock quarry. His aunt needed money so he gave her $50,000 dollars that she needed for a nursing home. Maybe he should buy the Cubs they are up for sale. He would of course have to out-bid Mark Cuban.VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Matt White, a journeyman pitcher trying to make the Los Angeles Dodgers, could become baseball's first billionaire player.
It has nothing to do with his arm. He owns a rock quarry in western Massachusetts.
White, who has appeared in seven big league games in nine professional seasons, paid $50,000 three years ago to buy 50 acres of land from an elderly aunt who needed the money to pay for a nursing home.
While clearing out a couple acres to build a home, he discovered stone ledges in the ground, prompting him to have the property surveyed.
A geologist estimated there were 24 million tons of the stone on his land. The stone is being sold for upward of $100 per ton, meaning there's well over $2 billion worth of material used for sidewalks, patios and the like.
Of course, that doesn't factor in the expenses involved in processing the stone and transporting it for sale.
"It sounds bogus even saying those numbers," White said. "I'm just a small town guy trying to get to the big leagues. It's beyond comprehension."
The news has prompted some of White's teammates to refer to him as "The Billionaire," but the 29-year-old left-hander isn't counting his money just yet.
"There are a lot of questions," he said. "It takes time, it takes money, it takes machines. There are professionals who handle that stuff."
White's father has been involved in selling the stone, but it's presently a small-time operation.
"I guess you could say the property is for sale," White said with a chuckle. "We'll have to see how things turn out. I don't even know where to start. I'm in the process now of getting in touch with business-savvy guys, finding out how much to ask."
LOGAN, Utah -- Great shooters always tell the same story."After our pregame film session and run-through, I stay after a little bit," Utah State guard Jaycee Carroll says. "There are specific shots I want to work on."
Ryan Talbot, USU Athletic Media RelationsJaycee Carroll is averaging 20 a game for the Aggies. Then Carroll, at a reporter's request, enumerates a list of shots that he requires himself to take -- correction: to make -- before he will excuse himself for the Aggies' pregame meal. "I do five from the right wing (beyond the arc), then five from the left wing, then three pull-up jumpers from each side, then 10 free throws," says Carroll, a 6-2 junior from the truck-stop town of Evanston, Wyoming. "Then 10 three-pointers. Then I go to pregame meal."
His knuckles bound in yellow tape, his face concealed by a black hoodie, Chris Fernandez bounces around the ring, taking his frustrations out on the shadows.
His training is constant, and his focus is singular - he wants a title fight and to earn enough money boxing to take care of his three boys.
But his pursuit of this dream has dropped him into an ongoing political slugfest on Utah's Capitol Hill.
In one corner is Fernandez's manager, Greg Hughes, a well-positioned Republican lawmaker from Draper who is sponsoring a bill he hopes will lead to more fights and bigger crowds.
In the other corner are members of the state's Pete Suazo Athletic Commission and ultimate fighting enthusiasts, who look at the legislation as a threat and at Hughes as an opportunist with a big conflict of interest.
Despite the venomous political fight, those in both camps agree that Fernandez may be the best fighter Utah has seen in some time.
MESA, Ariz. -- Kerry Wood threw 25 pitches off a mound Monday, his second session in Cubs camp, and impressed new manager Lou Piniella.
"He threw the ball nice and easy," Piniella said of Wood, coming back from a partial tear in his right rotator cuff. "The ball really comes out of his hand real easy. He's got some good life to it."
Wood has been throwing for a few months, but his sessions in camp were delayed when he suffered a bruise on his chest after falling out of a hot tub one week ago. The Cubs have not established any rules regarding jacuzzis.
"It was just a freak thing," Piniella said.
"I've been off the mound longer than most of the guys here," Wood said. "Once we get the chest issue out of the way -- I still feel it a little bit -- I'll be OK."
MESA, Ariz. -- The Cubs and Carlos Zambrano reached agreement on a one-year, $12.4 million contract Tuesday, avoiding a showdown just a few steps before the scheduled arbitration hearing.
The deal is the largest single-season award ever given to a Cubs pitcher, topping Kerry Wood's 2006 salary of $12 million, and continues the team's large offseason spending spree.
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry and Zambrano's agent, Barry Praver, were walking toward the hearing room in the Phoenix Hyatt, and decided they were close enough to skip the session, which was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. MST.
PROVO - To help offset the costs of repairing LaVell Edwards Stadium, Brigham Young's administration has announced plans to raise the prices of football tickets for next season.
Season tickets will go up across the board, starting with a $6 increase for end zone seats. The biggest increase is $110 for suites.
Built in 1964 for $1.5 million, the stadium was expanded to 65,000 in 1982. It has had several upgrades over the last 25 years.
Several improvements have taken place the last two years, including refurbished elevators, replacing west-side chair seats and adding bathrooms. Among the future projects are new field lighting, various structural repairs, repainting the stands and refurbishing the visiting locker room.
End-zone season tickets start at $96. The most expensive tickets, for Legacy members on the east side, were raised $100 to $1,100.
Scouts Inc. NFL draft guru Todd McShay's most recent column (for you non-ESPN insiders) lists the combine participants with the most at stake. No.1 on that is everybody's favorite over-hyped quarterback, Brady Quinn.
McShay says that after losing his final two games - blowout losses to LSU and USC in big games - and opting out of the Senior Bowl, NFL teams are taking a second look at Quinn. LSU's JaMarcus Russell has taken over the top spot on almost everybody's NFL draft boards. If Quinn decided, as expected, to opt out of some of the combine drills next week, it could make matters worse. Go to Rumors and Rants to read the rest of the post.
"It is a great honor to be picked. I am very happy right now. I knew that to be an All-Star, especially in the West is very difficult accomplishment, but I never stopped working hard. If Marcus Camby, Zach Randolph, Elton Brand, Pau Gasol, Chris Paul and my teammate Deron Williams had been picked instead it would have been a correct decision as well. I would like to thank the entire Utah Jazz family, starting with team owner Larry Miller, general manager Kevin O'Connor, head coach Jerry Sloan, assistants Phil Johnson, Tyrone Corbin, Scott Layden, Mark McKown and head trainer Gary Briggs who was always there whenever I was hurt, I was sick or had some pain. I feel blessed because I have played for two class organizations in the NBA. With the Detroit Pistons I had two special years in which I won my first championship ring. Right now in our third season in Salt Lake City my wife Yeliz and I feel right at home. It will be Mehmet Okur in Vegas, but I will be there representing my country, my family and friends who have been with me through some tough times, Turkish basketball, the Utah Jazz and my teammates. Carlos Boozer was chosen All-Star and deserved it fully. Deron Williams wasn't picked this season but he is more important to our team then any All-Star. I would have been just as honored if Deron had been picked, because he is one of the main reasons I am here, and I would have felt that I would have been one of the main reasons he would be here as well. I owe a lot to Andrei Kirilenko, Derek Fisher, Matt Harpring, Gordan Giricek, Paul Millsap, Jarron Collins, Ronnie Brewer, C.J Miles, Dee Brown, Rafael Araujo, and to Roger Powell as well who is having his way in the NBDL rigth now. I owe many thanks to the Jazz fans who have always made me feel special. Without all these factors it would have been impossible to be an All-Star." said Memo after the official announcement.
"This is a great honor to be an All-Star. However our goals this season remain the same. To win the Northwest, and play our hearts out and get as far as possible in the play-off's. We know not many people were giving the Jazz much of a chance this year, but we have a great team. By team I just don't mean a talented group of players, I mean a team. We have each others backs, and when one falls another picks him right up. I have always believed that team golas are more important then individual accomplishments because basketball is a team sport. I think being picked for this game shows me that I have been thinking the right way all along. This honor will be a starting point in my career, and I will work harder and harder along with my teammates to get the Utah Jazz a championship. Once again I would like to thank everybody that has had a hand in me becoming to this point in my career, and to those fans who have supported me through the good times and the bad times." added the Turkish center.
"I also need to take a time for a special thanks to my lucky angel, who is always there by my side, who is my energy when I am tired, who is the source of morale when I am feeling down, who is my medicine when I am sick or hurt. A special thanks to my wife Yeliz."
Okur did his best Micheal Jordan impersonation last game against the Knicks. Although Memo was bit by the flu bug he came out and played and lifted the Jazz over the Knicks in overtime. Man that game by Jordan in the finals against Utah with the flu still haunts me. Since Boozer went down Okur has more then stepped up to take lead of this team. His play in the last 5 games has been stellar and shows he may be the most deserving player not invited to the all-star game. Okur on his blog speaks candidly about how he felt during the game. There are a lot of people out there that were screaming for Melo to get Boozer's spot if he couldn't go, but I think Okur was just as deserving.
It seems as though the Jazz and Jazz owner Larry H. Miller have buried the hatch and are willing now to retire AD's number. There has been wide speculation about if the Jazz were ever going to get around to it because of the alleged feud between AD and L. Miller. But hey it is nice to see the Jazz willing to accept and embrace a historical figure from the team. AD has been an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets for the past couple of years and each time he has came with the team to the Rocky Mountain Review, he has gotten a warm welcome from the Jazz fans. Well now that AD is checked off the list who is next? Jose Ortiz, Jimmy Les, Bobby Hansen, Raul Lopez, no wait a minute it has to be John Drew.
