The Wildcat's Den

A few things this evening -

1. Jerry Sloan, who has coached the Utah Jazz since forever, resigned today (see what happens when I abandon the internet for a day?) Coach Sloan was one of the classiest, hard working coaches in any sport ever and I'm going to miss him a lot.  Another piece of my childhood passes on.

     1a. You know, this is one of the moments that it really pisses me off that Sloan never won Coach of the Year (even though there were a few times that it should have been his).  But he never was bitter about it - so I guess I shouldn't be either.

      1b. Same goes with the Finals.  As they say - we was robbed (I'm really bad at letting things go - so's my mom.  It's a family trait, I suppose).

2. I missed last week's "The Big Bang Theory," so I caught up today on the DVR.  I almost got a little teary-eyed with Sheldon's performance as his mom bidding little "Shelly" good-bye as he departs to the 23rd century with Spock. *tear*

    2a. But what in the name of Captain James Tiberius Kirk was up with this week's episode and Leonard re-enacting "The Graduate?"  Has Leonard taken up the role of slut boy nerd or something?  Weird...

3. I had two of the biggest book orders come in the last few weeks (I still have about five more books to catalog).  And there is some dang good stuff in there.  Expect reviews.

4. Watching "CSI" - Nick Stokes is too gorgeous for words.

5. Just got an announcement from my YA services class - now I get to learn how to write a paper in report form.  Yeeeeeeeeaaaahh...

So, up on the front page of Yahoo is a story celebrating that the Atlanta Hawks beat the Jazz in Salt Lake City - a feat that they haven't accomplished for 17 years.

To which I ask The Greater Cosmos - WHY MUST YOU CELEBRATE THINGS THAT MEAN MY TEAM LOSES??  You don't celebrate the things that my team does well.  But nooo... we have to celebrate the mediocre Hawks when the Jazz are making another run for the playoffs.  Quit picking on my team.

All I have to say is that Sloan probably said some naughty words last night.  Just as well - they deserve to get it handed to them.

...sigh... I'm still waiting for that trophy, Davey Checketts.

THE UTAH JAZZ ARE BACK IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS AFTER A NINE YEAR ABSENCE!!!!!  This certainly merits a Chinese-Firedrill-Type lap around the house in complete and total fan-giddiness!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

I know I ought to be asleep, but who cares?! (blame it on TNT scheduling us for the late game)  I have to post my happiness to the world!!!

The last time I was this excited  was when John Stockton made that three-pointer in the Conference Finals against Houston to send the Jazz to the NBA Finals the first year (the second year, we all knew we were going to cream the Lakers, but it was cool anyway).  This is almost just as fantastic because everyone has been predicting the Jazz would flop out the first chance they got (they tried a couple of times -- I guess they like to keep things interesting for the fans).

This Jazz team reminds me so much of the teams that went to the Finals.  First off, you've got your extremely well-rounded roster of players.  It's not just one or two players running the show.  We have the starting five (Boozer, Williams, Kirilenko, Fisher and Okur -- who my dad affectionately calls "The Goon Squad" [they may not be pretty, but they get the job done]), but then we've got Harpring off the bench (who is brilliant when he's spot-on), Dee Brown who can pick it up when the other guards get in foul trouble, and Paul Millsap (who I want to bake cookies for and I'll explain why in a minute).  Our bench is so deep for when we need to make changes in the lineups or when they just need a break.  Now, back in the day, we had the legendary Stockton-to-Malone, but there was also Jeff Hornacek, Antoine Carr, Bryon Russell, Adam Keefe and even the lovable goober, Greg Ostertag (we never said the center position was our best).

Paul Millsap is a rookie, but he reminds me so much of John Stockton in his attitude and his character.  Maybe it's just because he's a rookie and still learning the ropes, but Millsap can come out, kick your butt and make you like it.  He doesn't show off or anything; he just goes out there and gets the job done.  If he gets a double-double in the process, that's just because that's what's going to win the game for his team.  And he is freaking amazing on the court.  I sincerely hope the Jazz keep him and I hope that he stays this awesome because that's what I miss about Stockton retiring.  I've never liked the NBA going to this showboat-alley-oop-circus-jungle-ball style just to sell tickets.  When Stockton retired, I thought we'd probably lose the last shred of dignity the NBA had, but as long as players like Millsap come along, I think things will be fine. </gush>

Now, I am a dedicated Jazz fan (having watched them rabidly since I was gumming Gerbers), but I do know a challenging situation when I see it and I know when the boys need a little tough love from the fans (not that they're ever going to hear it, but they make enough bone-headed mistakes that it makes me feel better).  We're going to end up playing either Phoenix or San Antonio, neither of which is going to be a cake walk, especially since we won't have home court advantage no matter who we end up playing.  All season long, the Jazz have played a lot of close games.  Some they won, but some (especially in the home stretch at the end) they gave up.  Tonight was pretty darn hairy.  For a few minutes, it looked like the only two who didn't want to go back to Golden State were Fisher and Kirilenko (how do you miss a set of three free throws from flagrant and technical fouls?!)  If we get San Antonio, history is not on our side.  I don't think the Jazz have won on the road in San Antonio since 1994 (I could be wrong on my year, but it's somewhere in that general area).  Phoenix is wickedly amazing and either one is going to be tough to beat.  I certainly don't think we'll be scared, but looking at the situation realistically, it's going to be hard and I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't make it (surprised, no; disappointed, yes).

On the other hand, if we did win and make it to the Finals, I would be able to turn and go NEENER, NEENER to all those fair-weather fans who only follow the Jazz when they're good and who told me that it was stupid to cheer for a team when everyone I grew up watching was gone and that it was stupid just to cheer for a logo and assorted other bullshit that I hate taking from all these retarded bandwagon jumpers.

I can dream, can't I?

Love from,
Jenny Wildcat

PS, I have another reason for wanting the Jazz to continue: Anything to keep Dave Checketts and the incredibly stupid Real Salt Lake soccer team off the major sports headlines.  The only good thing about this asinine venture is that the team bears only Salt Lake City's name and not Utah's.  I'm not from Salt Lake City and hence, have no obligation to cheer for them.  I am from Utah, so I can happily cheer for the Utah Jazz, the Utah Blaze arena football, the University of Utah and Utah State University.  See the difference?