Five for Five

1.  College Football

One of the things that makes college football so exciting is the unexpected.  Did anyone really see UCLA taking it to the Longhorns in Austin like that?  I didn't.  I think we all knew that Texas was overrated and in the top 10 because of their name, but UCLA gave them a beatdown.  Alabama avoided a scare by beating Arkansas.  When every single game counts so much, you have to come ready to play each week.

In the local news, Utah improved to 4-0 by throttling San Jose State.  It's hard to tell where this Utah team is and how good they really are.  And we really won't know until the 8th game of the season against Air Force.  BYU continued to struggle.  The offense moved the ball effectively at times, but could not seem to punch it in.  It doesn't get any easier for the cougars either.  On paper, Utah State probably won't put up much of a challenge, but Utah State fans don't like BYU and will be ready with lots of venom. That being said, I predict cougars by 10, 24-14.

2.  NBA

Well, basketball season is just around the corner.  With training camps opening up Monday, it will be interesting to see how a drama-filled summer translates into the regular season in the NBA.  Hard to believe its been two and a half months since "The Decision".  LeBron James has put a huge target on his back and it will be very interesting to see how he performs this year.  Keep an eye on how LeBron and Chris Bosh react to not being "the man" all the time.  Make no mistake, this is Dwyane Wade's team.  Can the three headed-monster work?

I have no reservations about saying this.  Kobe Bryant is still the best player in basketball.  LeBron has better stats, but Kobe is better, plain and simple.  Teaming him with the most skilled big man in Pau Gasol, combined with solid role players in Odom, Artest, Fisher, Barnes, and Bynum means another world title for the Lakers this year. 

I think the Lakers beat the Heat in 6.

3.  Rivalries

I love being a part of rivalries.  I have a lot of passion for my teams.  Anything and everything can happen in a rivalry game.  Take the game this past friday night between Viewmont and Bountiful High Schools.  Admittedly, this rivalry is not nearly intense as it used to be.  With the teams playing in different regions and classifications, the game does not mean quite as much for these two schools who sit less than miles apart.

Viewmont had yet to win a game.  Bountiful had a smash mouth defense that had not yielded to anyone.  Bountiful stood at 4-1 on the year and figured to win this one going away.  Then, the game started and by the time things were over, Viewmont walked off the field with a 27-2 victory.  And Bountiful is back to the drawing board.  I don't know how it happened, but only in a rivalry game would you see something like this.

Anything can happen in a rivalry game, and yes, Paul Kruger, Sean Smith, Robert Johnson, Joe Dale, Austin Collie, Andrew George, and, of course Johnny Harline are all still open.  And I hear George is still running too.

4.  Recruiting

I absolutely have to get this off my chest.  Bingham High School has become a football factory the state of Utah has never seen before.  At last look, they stood at number three in the ENTIRE COUNTRY according to USA TODAY.  The last time I saw, they had 13 kids who had either signed or were being recruited by D-1 schools.  I remember times when there were barely 13 D-1 committs in all of the state of Utah!

 For reasons I don't want to go into here, I think Bingham football personifies everything that is wrong in high school sports.  But I do want to reference a news report that came out this week.  A Bingham player who has committed to play football for the University of Utah and Head Coach Kyle Whittingham made the news when it was reported that some time ago he held other people at gunpoint and demanded their wallets.  Turned out to be a pellet gun, but the point is the same. 

Coach Dave Peck, Bingham's head coach,decided to take no action until the charges came to the surface this past week.  I absolutely hate that.  In comments, it appeared as though Peck thought that he didn't need to take any action until the legal proceedings ran their course.  Right.  Hes just a kid!  All of us, at one point or another, have held people at gunpoint and demanded money.  Thats a part of life!  We just grow out of it!  Give me a break.  The moment he found out about these allegations, he should have called this kid into his office and discussed it with him and suspended him.  We are talking about a FIRST DEGREE FELONY!!!!!!  As far as this kid goes, Im sure we'll hear plenty of "he's a great kid, just made a mistake" but I hope he never sets foot on the University of Utah campus until he has figured out some basic life principles.  Figuring out that its wrong to point a gun at someone would be a start, but with so many people going easy on him because he can play football, I wonder if he will ever learn.

5.  Larry Miller

I want to end on a positive note.  I just want to say how much I respect the late Larry H. Miller.  Reading his autobiogrpaphy, I learned that he literally saved the Jazz.  Without him, they would have been sold and moved to Minnesota.  It literally came down to the last minute.  But Larry found a way. 

Today, the Jazz are an icon in the State.  BYU and Utah fans, who can't stand each other during football season, put on the same colors and stand side by side in cheering the Jazz on.  The team has meant so much to the community and has been more than just a basketball franchise.  I can't say it enough.  The state of Utah is a better place because of Larry H. Miller.