State Wrestles! (Casey)

Ok Im going to leave the world of national sports and jump into the world of local High School Sports. When I was in high school and possibly earlier than that the State Wrestles were my favorite weekend of the year. To this day I still feel the same way, the state wrestling tournament has become a family time, a time when myself and my parents as well as my brothers and sisters get together and spend Friday and Saturday watching our beloved Delta Rabbits wrestle for the State Title. Delta wrestling is one of the most storied programs in the state, it has a total of 29 state championships from 1955 through 2011 which is more than any other program in the state and is tied for the second most in the nation and according to the Deseret news they are the favorite to win there 30th title this weekend. This year Delta qualified 20 wrestlers for the tournament and had 2 kids win there individual region championships, Dane Nielson (160) and Ryan Peterson (182). There main competition this year are about the same as normal, Wasatch will be gunning for the Rabbits with 15 wrestlers. But this year the Rabbits will have to fend off former 4A power Payson as well as Uintah who is back in the 3A fold. Those teams qualified 17 wrestlers repectivly. Its should be a great time and some great wrestling. I for one love this weekend and will be spending most of it at the UCCU Center on the campus of UVU. My family is coming up and we get to enjoy each other. So if your bored or you are a sports fan looking for something to watch and want to watch some great individual competition head out to the State wrestling tournament and enjoy.

PS the Wrestling schedule is as follows: 4A and 5A are wrestling on Feb 15-16 and 1A, 2A, and 3A are wrestling 16-17. Get out and support these kids and programs and GO DELTA!

So What Now? (Casey)

So now that the Super Bowl has come and gone and of course College Football ended the first of January we as football fans are left with this question, WHAT NOW? Well lets not worry our heads, these days football is never really over. In fact it seems like with the NFL Network and all that you can get, your football fix can always be met. There is also a few events that keep Football alive, they are the chips and salsa before the meal, or the rolls that satisfy the small hunger before you dive into the steak, or the previews before the movie starts.

1. First to keep your Football Hunger alive for college football you get the NLI or National Signing day the first Wednesday of Febrary. This is were high school atheletes sign there commitment to the University that they want to go to school and play football for for the next 4 or 5 years. Now days with websites like Rivals.com and Scout.com and ESPN.com it is pretty easy for fans to check out who is comming to play for your school.
2. Next for the NFL after the Super Bowl you get the NFL Combine which will be taking place on February 22-28 in Indianapolis. This is where some of the top College atheletes who are trying to go pro are invited to show there strength, speed, and knowledge of the game.
3. Following the Combine is the begining of Spring Ball for College Football. Spring Ball usually starts sometime the first of March and is the first time the players and coaches can get on the Football field together and begin to form there teams.
4. Next up for the NFL is the NFL Draft which takes place on April 26-28. There is not much to say about this but I do admit I watch the draft and I write down all the picks and where they are from, for at least the 1st two rounds.
5. Following the draft is where things get a little slow for a while but fear not because Its summer and there is plenty of things you can do during the summer to fill this void.
6. Then when you think all is lost College and Pro football fall camps begin in July/August as well as the NFL Hall of Fame Game and Pre-Season on August 4th. Now I know its the Pre-season and all but in my book its football and one thing that I enjoy doing in the Pre-season is I look up team rosters and write down the players names, numbers, and positions they play of all the local talent from the state and follow them and see how they preform.

Now College Football usually begins its season right after that and here in state is no different. Here are the local teams first games and dates:

• BYU begins its 2012 season against Washington St at Lavell Edwards Stadium on Sept 1st
• Utah begins its 2012 season against Northern Colorado at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Aug 30th
• Utah State begins its 2012 season against Southern Utah at Romney Stadium on Sept 1st
• Weber State begins its 2012 season against Fresno State at Bulldog Stadium on Sept 1st

So fear not football fans before you know it we will have our beloved sport back and we can plant ourselves on our couches again and bask in the glory that is football. But until then let us all wet our palets with all the little things that go on till then. Enjoy the offseason!

The JAZZ after 20 games. (Tyler)

Here is my state of the franchise after 20 games played.

The Utah Jazz are currently 12-8 which puts them 3rd in the Northwest Division behind Denver (game and a half) and Oklahoma City (four and half games) the Jazz are tied record-wise with Portland but hold the tie-breaker over them currently.

Here is the breakdown of the last TEN games... 

The Jazz's record over the last TEN games was 6-4

1. New Jersey- W 107-94
2. @Denver- W 106-96
3. L.A. Clippers W 108-79
4. Dallas  L 91-94
5. Minnesota W 108-98
6. Toronto L 106-111
7. @Dallas L 101-116
8. Sacramento W 96-93
9. Portland W 93-89
10. L.A. Clippers L 107-105

The Jazz definitely had some good quality wins in the last ten games including beating Denver on the road, and beating Portland and Los Angeles at home (the first meeting anyway). The Jazz also gave away some close games to Dallas and Los Angeles (the second meeting) at home. Then there is the frustrating stinker of a game against Toronto that the Raptors had no place even being in the game. I however am still set in my optimism of the Jazz this year. And here is a few stat categories that may sway your thought process my way too...

The Jazz are currently... 

• 10th in the NBA in points per game at 97.2
• 3rd in blocks per game with 6.3
• 11th with steals per game with 8.3
• T-4th in fewest turnovers per game with 13.3
• 11th in rebounds per game
• 11th in offensive rebounds per game
• 12th in FG% at 45%
• 4th in free throw attempts per game
• 6th in free throws made

These stats here show me that the Jazz are playing tough together as a team and are also playing smart, they are very good in blocks, not committing turnovers, and getting to the free throw line a lot each game. The are better than most in scoring, getting steals, rebounding especially on the offensive side of the ball and overall shooting percentage. There are some things that are really hurting the Jazz though...

• 16th in defensive rebounds per game
• 74% free throw shooting.. 19th in NBA
• 29th in 3-point shooting with 29.3%
• 28th in attempts
• 28th in 3 pointers made

The Jazz rebound well on the offensive side, it's a mystery to me why they aren't as good on the defensive side, that can be fixed with a little more effort. Free throws are a tough one to swallow especially after last night's game against Los Angeles, but still a little more focus can improve that. 3-point shooting is horrible, the Jazz don't really have a consistent 3-point shooter, CJ Miles, Gordon Hayword, and Alec Burks were supposed to be the Jazz's deep threats but have not been good at all from behind the arc. Still i believe the Jazz have enough talent, toughness, and good bench play to push them into a good spot in the playoffs this year. Have far they go in the playoffs may be a different story but only time will tell. I for one still have high hopes. We will check in again after ten more games. Go Jazz!