Officiating sucks lately! (Casey)

With the Playoffs in full swing for the NBA and the NHL and with Baseball up and going I have had the opportunity to watch some great games. I unfortunately had to see some horrible officiating at the same time. Lately a lot of officials have seemed to make themselves the focal point of the games. I pay the money or turn on the game to watch the athletes not the officials. Last night while watching the Bulls Vs Heat game it got chippy I understand that the officials had to get a hand on things to keep it from getting worse. But at the end of the game when the Bulls were getting blown out it seemed to me that the officials just started looking the other way. For example both Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson got ejected at the end of the game by referee Scott Foster because the officials blatantly missed calls. Here is a video of what happened (Don't Read Lips)

But NBA refs were not the only ones that blew calls and made themselfs look bad. Yesterday during a Cleveland Indians VS Oakland A's game late in the 9th inning the A's were down and it looked like Adam Rosales' shot was a HR. Well the Umpire called it a Ground Rule Double and was asked by the A's manager to take a look on Replay, Well here is the replay and It sure looks like a HR to me. 

It Clearly looked like the Ball hit the railing behind the wall which would have tied the game, but somehow the umpire said it was a Ground Rule Double and made him stay at 2nd. And as you saw the next batter up hit a simple shot up the middle and was thrown out to end the game. So in this case even instant replay didn't help these officials. So What to do? Now I know that officiating is an extremely hard thing, you have to make split second decisions. But in the case of the sports where instant replay is used there should be No excuse. Check this video out! 

Very Early Bowl Projections

Here are some very early bowl projections courtesy of Greg Wrubell via CBSsports.com

Updated May 7

BCS National Championship Game Jan. 6, 8:30 p.m. Pasadena, Calif. BCS #1 vs. BCS #2 ESPN Comment: In the final year of the BCS, No. 1 Alabama will take on No. 2 Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game. -- Jerry Palm The champions of selected conferences are contractually committed to certain bowls, unless they are No. 1 or No. 2. (ACC: Orange; Big Ten: Rose; Big 12: Fiesta; Pac-12: Rose; SEC: Sugar). If a Bowl loses a host team to the title game, then the bowl gets first choice at a replacement team. The rest of the selection order for 2014 is as follows: Orange, Sugar, Fiesta.

Orange Bowl Jan. 3, 8:30 p.m. Miami, Fla. ACC vs. at-large ESPN Comment: Florida State is the projected winner of the ACC and will land in the Orange Bowl for the second consecutive season. With the first at-large pick after replacement selections, the Orange Bowl takes Notre Dame.

Sugar Bowl Jan. 2, 8:30 p.m. New Orleans, La. SEC vs. at-large ESPN Comment: By losing the SEC Champion to the title game, the Sugar Bowl takes Texas A&M as the replacement selection. With the second at-large pick, it takes a highly-ranked Clemson squad.

Fiesta Bowl Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. Glendale, Ariz. Big 12 vs. at-large ESPN Comment: Texas is the projected Big 12 champion and lands in the Fiesta Bowl. With the last pick of at-large selections, the champion of the new American Athletic Conference (Louisville) lands here.

Rose Bowl Jan. 1, 5 p.m. Pasadena, Calif. Big Ten vs. Pac-12 ESPN Comment: With Ohio State in the title game, the Rose Bowl will take the next best Big Ten squad, which is Nebraska. Stanford is the projected Pac-12 champion, heading back to Pasadena.

Non-BCS Games
Bowl	Date	Location	Matchup	Prediction
BBVA Compass	Jan. 4	Birmingham, Ala.	American Athletic vs. SEC	South Florida vs. Vanderbilt
Cotton	Jan. 3	Arlington, Texas	Big 12 No. 2 vs. SEC	TCU vs. LSU
Heart of Dallas	Jan. 1	Dallas, Texas	Big Ten vs. C-USA	Minnesota vs. East Carolina
Outback	Jan. 1	Tampa, Fla.	Big Ten vs. SEC	Wisconsin vs. Georgia
Capital One	Jan. 1	Orlando, Fla.	Big Ten No. 2 vs. SEC	Michigan vs. Florida
Gator	Jan. 1	Jacksonville, Fla.	Big Ten vs. SEC	Michigan State vs. Ole Miss
Chick-fil-A	Dec. 31	Atlanta, Ga.	ACC No. 2 vs. SEC	Virginia Tech vs. South Carolina
Liberty	Dec. 31	Memphis, Tenn.	C-USA No. 1 vs. SEC	Tulsa vs. Miss. State
Independence	Dec. 31	Shreveport, La.	ACC No. 7 vs. SEC	Virginia vs. Missouri
Sun	Dec. 31	El Paso, Texas	ACC No. 4 vs. Pac-12	North Carolina vs. UCLA
Holiday	Dec. 30	San Diego, Calif.	Big 12 vs. Pac-12	Kansas State vs. Oregon State
Alamo	Dec. 30	San Antonio, Texas	Big 12 vs. Pac-12	Oklahoma vs. Oregon
Music City	Dec. 30	Nashville, Tenn.	ACC No. 6 vs. SEC	Georgia Tech vs. Arkansas
Armed Forces	Dec. 30	Fort Worth, Texas	MW vs. Navy*	San Diego State vs. Navy
Russell Athletic	Dec. 28	Orlando, Fla.	ACC No. 3 vs. American Athletic	Miami (Fla.) vs. UCF
Belk	Dec. 28	Charlotte, N.C.	ACC No. 5 vs. American Athletic	Pittsburgh vs. Rutgers
Pinstripe	Dec. 28	Bronx, N.Y.	Big 12 vs. American Athletic	Iowa State vs. Cincy
Kraft Fight Hunger	Dec. 27	San Francisco, Calif.	Pac-12 vs. BYU*	Arizona vs. BYU
Meineke Car Care	Dec. 27	Houston, Texas	Big 12 vs. Big Ten	Baylor vs. Purdue
Military	Dec. 27	Washington D.C.	ACC No. 7 vs. At-Large	Syracuse vs. Toledo
Poinsettia	Dec. 26	San Diego, Calif.	MW vs. Army*	Fresno State vs. Arkansas State
Little Caesars Pizza	Dec. 26	Detroit, Mich.	Big Ten vs. MAC	Illinois vs. Northern Illinois
Hawaii	Dec. 24	Honolulu, Hawaii	MW vs. C-USA	Utah State vs. Rice
New Orleans	Dec. 21	New Orleans, La.	Sun Belt No. 1 vs. C-USA	La.-Lafayette vs. La. Tech
Famous Idaho Potato	Dec. 21	Boise, Idaho	MW vs. MAC	Nevada vs. Ohio
New Mexico	Dec. 21	Albuquerque, N.M.	MW vs. Pac-12	Air Force vs. Utah
GoDaddy.com	TBA	Mobile, Ala.	MAC vs. Sun Belt	Bowling Green vs. Troy
Buffalo Wild Wings	TBA	Tempe, Ariz.	Big 12 vs. Big Ten	Oklahoma State vs. Northwestern
Maaco Las Vegas	TBA	Las Vegas, Nev.	MW vs. Pac-12	Boise State vs. Arizona State
Beef O'Brady's	TBA	St. Petersburg, Fla.	American Athletic vs. C-USA	Houston vs. Marshall

116 Days Left (Casey)

So today as I drove around campus here at BYU, I happened to drive by the Student Athletic Building and passed Ross Apo and Cody Hoffman as they left the building, and because I am a football junky I immediately started thinking about this coming year of BYU football. No I didn't stop and creep out on them and ask for autographs (although maybe I should have) but I did think of what is going on this coming year in Cougar football. A lot has changed since last year, the entire Offensive Coaching staff has changed which in my eyes is a very needed upgrade. The Defense lost a lot of weapons with there interior D lineman gone and there 2 inside linebackers gone, not to mention depth at the corners position. Also next years schedule took a huge jump up in difficulty with Virginia, Texas, Utah, Utah State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Boise State, and a good Nevada team. But all that being said there is talent coming back with KVN, Kafusi, The two WR I mentioned earlier, Jamaal Williams, and Taysom Hill just to name a few, this year will be a lot of fun to watch. So with only 116 Days till BYU at Virginia (August 31) here is a pump up video from BYU's season last year.

Plus here is a national College Football Pump up Video for all who are not BYU fans but love college football as much as me!

Offseason moves for the Jazz! (Casey

So Another Jazz season has come and gone and in my opinion was wasted as well. The Jazz finished the season in 9th place in the west and did very little to progress themselves moving forward. This team was full of free agents that during the home stretch looked like they just didn't care because they new they wouldn't be there. The Jazz and GM Dennis Lindsey have there work cut out for them this year in trying to get this Jazz team back to a competitive team again. There are a lot of moves that need to be done and in my mind this is what needs to happen. YOUTH MOVEMENT! Yes it is time for the youth of the Jazz to take this team and run with it (pun intended). But lets go back and look at what the Jazz will have to deal with and what I would like to see. 

1. There are 8 free agents on this Jazz team that total $47,428,434 of salary last year. So IF and this will not happen but IF they all left that would leave the Jazz with a Ton of wiggle room and open roster spots. 
2. Out of those free agent you have DeMarre Carroll(SF), Randy Foye(PG/SG), Al Jefferson(C), Paul Millsap(PF), Jamaal Tinsley(PG), Earl Watson(PG), Marvin Williams(PF), and Mo Williams(PG), I would like to see the Jazz extend contracts to Carroll, Foye, Millsap, Watson, and Mo Williams. If you combine there contracts from last year (which will be different obviously) you would subtract $22,788,753 and leave $24,639,681 to go get some free agents. If you sign those player and with what is left on your team the Jazz will have 3 PG's, 2 SG's, 2 SF's, 2 PF's and 1 C! (I think the Jazz could play Favors at the 4 or the 5 as needed). So they would lose a Center, (Big AL), a PF (Marvin Williams) and a PG (Tinsley) and need to fill those spots via Draft or Free Agency.
3.  I looked at 2 different VERY early NBA mock drafts and this is what they said!

• BleacherReport.com has the Jazz selecting at #14 C.J McCollum 6'3" PG/SG out of Lehigh, at #21 Shane Larkin 5'11" PG out of Miami, and in the Second round the Jazz pick at #46 Vander Blue 6'4" SG out of Marquette.http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1623163-2013-nba-mock-draft-complete-2-round-predictions-post-eligibility-deadline  If the Jazz went this way in the Draft they would still have need of a back up Center and a PF. There are a few Centers in the NBA and one possibility is Tiago Splitter the 6'11" center from San Antonio who is a Free agent this year and made just under $4 million last year. The Clippers have a a Center in Ryan Hollins a 7' Center that last year made under $1 milliion! Those are just a few of the Centers available next year. There are quite a few PF as well its kind of a take your pick there. I know the Celtics, Lakers, Bulls, Knicks, Heat, and Nets all need to get rid of money this offseason and there are a few PF,s that could take a bench spot behind Millsap and Favors. 

• NBAdraft.net also has a mock draft up and they have Utah at #14 picking Rudy Golbert, a 7'1" Center from France, at #21 the Jazz select Tim Hardaway Jr, a 6'6" SG out of Michigan, and in the Second round at #46 they have the Jazz selecting Kenny Kadji a 6'11" PF/C from Miami.http://www.nbadraft.net/2013mock_draft This mock actually has the Jazz filling some of the voids, however it leaves at least 1 roster spot open and I would love to see the Jazz (in either scenario) get another bench shooter to stretch the defense off the bench, I know this may be a stretch but Kyle Korver is a free agent this year and already knows the Jazz system and made $5 million last year.

 So for 2013/14 I would like to see the Jazz go with in there starting rotation, PG Mo Williams, SG Randy Foye, SF Gordon Haywaryd, PF Derrick Favors, C Enes Kanter. Then the 1st team off the bench would be I would hope , PG Alex Burks, SG Kyle Korver, SF DeMarre Carroll, PF Paul Millsap (He won't do this), Center Tiago Splitter, and the bench would be Jeremy Evans (SF), Kevin Murphy (SG), Ryan Hollins (C) ad the Bleacher  Report Draft! The Jazz may not make the Playoffs but if they use the model of the Oklahoma City Thunder and draft there talent and let the young guys grow as a TEAM and in a couple years this Jazz Team could be very good!

 

P.S if the Jazz kept the guys I mentioned earlier and signed Splitter, Hollins, and Korver the Jazz Salary would be, $48,749,098 (From last years salaries), thats not including the rookie salaries which could be up around  $3 million for the 1st round picks to $500,000 for 2nd round guys! So the Jazz salary could be give or take $55,249,098 which would still be under the projected salary cap of $69,650,000! Lets Just hope as fans the Jazz do something different because these last 2 years have been rough. Happy off season Jazz fans!

Messi Does something Amazing! (Casey)

This is one of the most amazing Goals and showcase of skills you will ever see by THE greatest Soccer (Football if your beyond the pond) player in the world today and possibly ever!

Where do Our Allegiances Lie? (Casey)

Well it has been a real long time since we have done anything on this blog, in fact our last post was done almost 1 year ago when the Jazz were swept in the NBA playoffs by the Spurs. Sports in Utah is a very fickle thing. We have everything from the NBA to MLS to College sports and we love them all. In my estimation we are just as passionate about sports as anywhere else in the country. We take our sports allegiances very serious but I have a very interesting question that I want to ask. Should our allegiances lie with a team or a person? For example, I am a big time BYU and Steelers fan. I will follow those team till the end. However there are time when I find myself cheering for a certain player that plays for one of my teams rivals and I feel like I'm almost cheering against my team. Take for example this years Super Bowl between the San Fransisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens. As a Steelers fan I despise the Ravens and have never ever cheered for them in the past, but because they have one of my favorite former BYU players on there team in Dennis Pitta, I found that I was cheering and hoping they would win. Yes It did feel wrong and yes I did feel like I was letting my Steelers down by cheering for them but I wanted Pitta to be able to get a Super Bowl ring. So what should you as a fan do? This year a couple of local football players were drafted to the NFL and they will play next year for these teams. So to the Packers/BYU fans, will you cheer for Ziggy as he is sacking Rodgers or will you curse him? For the Falcons/Ute fans will you cheer for Star as he swallows up blocks and still tackles the RB as he hits the line of scrimmage? So what is it? Do your loyalties only extend for players on your favorite Pro teams or will you find yourself cheering or hoping for a win by one of your rivals or teams you dislike so one of your favorite college players can succeed? I for one have no good answer because I'm sure next year I will be hopeful that Pitta will do good again and I will enjoy having Stevenson Sylvester and Reggie Dunn (Both Utes) on my Steelers squad!

Was it really better? (Casey)

So after we all watched the Jazz totally put there tails between there legs and just stare at the Spurs as they beat them down it makes you wonder these two questions. Was it really worth it for the Jazz to get into the playoffs? And if so, what did the Jazz really gain in playoff experience from the total beatdowns that they took at the hands on the Spurs? My quick thought is they gained very little from being in the playoffs and they learned very little. Its always good to see your team win but at what cost? You were in the playoffs for 4 games and you not only got swept but you lost your 2 possible lottery picks and your young guys gained nothing in fact they struggled mightly the entire series. Now granted Favors played well but we all knew how good he could be and will be down the road. So just think about it and tell me what you think.