The Tragedy of the Utah Jazz

This blog is meant to tell the reader why my beloved Utah Jazz will never win an NBA championship- at least not in the next 10 years. There are many factors which figure into this complicated equation, including location, politics, and bad moves by the team.
The first problem with the Utah Jazz is that they are the Utah jazz. Utah? Where is that place anyway? This is what most east-coasters think of when they hear Utah. Now don't get me wrong. I love Utah. It is a great place, but let's face it. Ninety-nine percent of NBA superstars want to live and play in a big-time location like New York or L.A.. As Salt Lake City grows, I expect this to be less and less of a problem, which may enable the Jazz to attract more big names to the team.
Then their is the more theoretical problem with the team. While I have no "actual" evidence that this theorem is true, I believe there are many fans out there who agree with me. Here it is: The NBA is scripted. Now perhaps not every single play is written into it, but I believe that NBA referees are instructed to give the more "popular" team the advantage. Also, and to a greater extent, the star players get all the calls in the NBA. Case and point: the recent loss by the Jazz to the Los Angeles Lakers. As the game clock expired, Kobe Bryant missed a long jumper. As he was coming down off of his shot, he threw his arm into the defender, thus creating the illusion that he was fouled. The Lakers went on to win the game. However, despite this "scripting" of games, all teams still have a chance, if they play hard enough and get some lucky breaks. I believe John Stockton's last-second 3-pointer against the Houston Rockets in 1997 to send the Jazz to the finals was not supposed to happen; I also believe that Michael Jordan's no-call push-off against Bryon Russell in the finals was supposed to happen.
Lastly, there is probably the most frustrating problem with the Jazz of all. Foolish moves by the management have set back the team time and time again. Let's relive some of these moments, shall we? The Jazz have had only one first-round draft pick in the last 10 years really turn out, that being Andrei Kirilenko. The many foolish choices of players such as Raul Lopez, Curtis Borchardt, Quincy Lewis, and Kirk Snyder have prevented the Jazz from improving as much as they should. And then of course, there is the big one. The signing of CARLOS BOOZER the LOSER. I have a deep dislike for the man, as I believe many Jazz fans do. Not because he is not a good player, he most definitely is. But his injuries are becoming ridiculous. He has not played a game since February, and at that time there were questions about his effort. To top it all off, Boozer does things like purchase a $9 million dollar mansion in L.A. when he plays in Utah! What a mess!
Despite all of their shortcoming, I still will not give up on them. The people who live in Utah and don't like the Jazz need to be sorted out and kicked out. They are our only REAL professional sports team, and we simply have to support them or it is possible they could leave. Yes, the Jazz have many shortcomings, but I will never give up on them.

Jr. Jazz - A True Man's Game

With all the hatred and violence going on in the world today, people need something they can look to in times of great trials. For me, and many others in this community, this beacon of hope is Jr. Jazz basketball. Jr. Jazz, while it may be a less prestigious league than, shall we say, the NBA, it's competition is just as intense. While most enjoy this competition, and partake of it any chance they get, there are always those that feel they are too, well, "cool" for the game.
From the moment I first picked up a basketball, I eagerly anticipated the day I would play in Jr. Jazz basketball. I attended my brother's games, which fueled my drive to compete even more. My proud day finally came in January of 1998. I was in the 3rd grade, my first year of eligibility, and I was psyched to get started. Why do I love this game so much? Well, some of us are just born with a natural drive to compete, and to dominate. It is lucky that I was blessed with the skills to do these things. Just as Jake Glenn about that one.
Well, here I am in 2005, with the fear that I may not be able to play Jr. Jazz this year. Yes, it's true that if I walked away from the game right now, I would leave Jr. Jazz basketball as the all-time career leader in points, assists, and assists-to-turnover ratio, but quitting is just not my style. While some (Hank Hillstead) can live with themselves after quitting something they have worked their whole life for, I simply cannot. This is why I need you, reader. Give me a call. My number is 224-7215. And Mr. Rich, if you would be so kind as to post this on the wall of blog fame, it would be most appreciated. I need your help!
But why do I need your help? This is a question I have often asked myself in my most solitary moments of meditation. I believe the answer is simply put, that I lack the resources to organize, manage, coach, and star on a winning basketball team. While I could put together a sorry excuse for a team with a half-baked effort, I choose not to. I've always been a team player, and I believe the reader should be as well, and pass on my desperate message. Again, that number is 224-7215, and my name is Cuyler Frisby. Hi-C for short.

See you on the hardwood!

Lord of the Flies

Last term, I read William Golding's Lord of the Flies for my outside reading. I enjoyed the book thoroughly. It is a very symbolic piece, and it can be applied to anybody's life.

The book begins with a large group of young English boys being stranded on an island. They form a tribe, elect a chief, and organize a society. In the beginning, this system works very well. This can be related to the real world. Mankind usually think that everything is ok in the world in times of piece. They are oblivious to the looming terrors that may be lurking around the bend.

After a time, there begins to be a division among the boys. One faction wants to do nothing but hunt, while another group believes that keeping a signal fire going is most important. Over time, the hunters split from the original tribe, taking most of the boys with them. Only 4 older boys are left in the original group.

This represents the silliness of war. One of the main themes of the Lord of the Flies is that men's squabbles are trivial. When the boys are rescued by soldiers from Britain, who are fighting in World War II, the soldiers laugh at the boys and say, "are you having a war?" What these men do not realize, is that the boys are behaving in the exact same manner as the various nations who are at war. However, no one is going to save these "men" off of their "island". How will all the chaos in the world stop then? This is the question which William Golding poses in the conclusion of his masterful work.