Notes on the Jazz

1:59, first quarter: I am so embarrassed by you right now. I am going to put this in caps, bold, underline, and italics because I think it's fairly important... STOP TAKING JUMPSHOTS AND DRIVE TO THE HOOP. They even cleared out for Boozer, who is being guarded by Fabricio Oberto (yeah, that guy) and he took 3 steps, spun and faded away... CLANK. Stop playing scared you clowns.

End of first: I didn't watch after about 2:30 left because I was so mad. Now you're down 19 in San Antonio where you haven't won since Clinton was in office. Congratulations, you are officially DONE. No freethrows and -8 in the rebound dept. You guys got PUNKED in the first 12 minutes and look like a bunch of schoolgirls.

9:03 in 2nd: I must be dreaming, we just shot free throws on 3 straight possessions. Wait, nope, I'm not dreaming, we missed 2 of them.

5:41 in 2nd: Harpring misses 2 more freethrows....awesome

4:26 in 2nd: Jazz now have 5 players with 2 fouls, Spurs have 1.

Halftime: We have now shot more freethrows, we are outrebounding them, and have more assists, what does that mean? It means we're still down 16 because we've missed 7 of those freethrows and we're only shooting 32.5%. If the Jazz lose by less than 10 points, it will be a miracle.

6:15 in 3rd: More of the same, missing jumpshots on one end and giving up layups on the other.

?? in the ??: Is it over yet?

6:22 in the 4th: Peeking in for the score, down 25.

1:28 in the 4th: I watched the last 90 seconds of the Jazz's season. Don't know what to say anymore. I'm glad that we got to feel what it's like to be GOOD again. This city has been crazy during the playoffs, something we haven't felt in almost 10 years. It's like a drug, but I have to wait 10 1/2 months to taste it again. Next year, it's Finals or bust. *SIGH* I need a hug....

Seeing red

40-21, 17-27, 25-2. I can't begin to describe my anger. I know the Spurs are the better team, and I know that they have the experience and the talent to win ANY game they play. But seriously, 25 free throws in the 4th quarter and only 2 for the Jazz? The Spurs shot 4 more free throws in the 4th quarter than the Jazz did for the entire game. I am also convinced that there is no low that Manu Ginobli will not sink to in order to get a foul call. Additionally, he is the first one to complain when he doesn't get his BS foul calls. He is shameless and is an embarrassment to professional sports.

Before anyone gets their panties in a twist, let me say that I do not believe and official can win or lose a game, they don't put the ball in the hoop. I understand that the good teams get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to certain calls, the Jazz were getting that treatment for years. But I find it unbelievable frustrating when the double standard is applied in the playoffs. I defy anyone to say that the exact same play will always be a foul regardless of who is defending who. If Jarron Collins is on Duncan, Collins will get called for a foul, regardless of what happens. On the other end, Duncan will not, even if the exact same thing happens. It's been going on for years and, like I mentioned, the Jazz were getting a lot of those calls 7 or 8 years ago. But for a guy like Manu Ginobli to be getting almost total Kobe Bryant treatment is an absolute joke.

The Jazz were beat by a better acting team. They missed 5 or 6 straight shots in the fourth and threw the ball away several times. But the officials were too big a part of the game, when the story of the game is that one team only had 17 fouls, shot almost double the freethrows for the game and 23 more in the 4th, then the officials have taken control of the game away from the team. Despite all this, though, the Jazz were only down 4 with 5 minutes left and just needed to make more shots and play better defense.

/rant

Notes from work

I am splitting my time between the security department and legal collections; here's a little story from security:

Someone opened up an account online and went into a branch to deposit the required $25 to keep the account. Then he deposited 4 counterfeit checks in the space of about 5 days and immediately withdrew the $500 limit. The account was opened with a stolen identity so the phone number and address are bogus. Then, everyday, he went to an ATM to withdraw the $500 limit; the 10 or so ATM withdrawals left the account with under $1000 and when the checks came back as fraud and were taken out of the account, it took the account almost $5000 in the negative. Not an uncommon scheme. Now I get to look through security camera footage to find the dirtbag. Luckily all of the deposits were through our ATMs so we have him there, but all of the withdrawals (save one) were at gas station ATMs so we don't have footage yet. It's quite a rush to scan through security footage and know that the guy you're looking at deserves to be in prison. Moral of the story: make sure to check your account at least once a month and also get a copy of your credit report once a year to make sure that no accounts have been opened in your name without your approval

7 days later

So here I am in my beautiful hometown. I have a room with a soft bed and a pool right up the street. I drove 1330 miles to get here and I drive almost 80 miles round trip every day to my job. Things are good.

So, my job: it started out as a giant clusterf***. No one was really sure where I was supposed to be or what I should do. I had a phone but no computer. I will start the day in the security department investigating fraud, then spend the second half in legal collections trying to get dead-beats to give us the money we loaned them or show up and take it back ourselves. I got to go to small claims court yesterday and that is a well-oiled machine if I ever saw one. We went through 80 cases in 30 minutes. In 85% of the cases the defendant doesn't show up and has a default judgment placed against them, 10% are dismissed by the plaintiff, only in about 5% are both parties present. Today I went to bankruptcy court and that is just depressing. There was a 500 lb guy who had no money, no job, and his car and trailer were about to be repossessed. This guy has no chance in life and I remember thinking to myself that he ought to just give up and go lie on the train tracks.

On a lighter note, I spent last weekend at the Lake (about 2 hrs north). We invited an old friend from high school who just recently showed up back in town. She's a tiny little lady but she is 100% foxy. Very good decision. Not only is she a total babe, but she's super fun. We bought $115 worth of fireworks and put on a show after we built a giant bonfire (we might be pyromaniacs). Twin #1 told me that a family friend had talked to her lawyer about a property dispute she was having (which she explained to me in detail right before Spring Break). Apparently the lawyer now wants to know if I want to work part time for him. Which is awesome except that I already have a job! Maybe I can do some nights and weekends as needed.....maybe.


Finally, I am getting a new car. I will make you all wait until it's in my possession before I reveal its identity...

YAY FOR SUMMERTIME!

In case there was some confusion

just watched the Dukes of Hazzard (well, I "watched" it, I wasn't paying attention until certain spots) it is now apparent to me that Jessica Simpson is, by far, the hottest thing on 2 legs. End of story.

Final Drive Numbers

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to bump up my mileage for the last leg of the trip. I made much better time than I thought I would, especially during the first leg. I got to the motel 2 hrs before the Jazz game started, so I could have slept in another 2 hrs.

After making this drive 2 times, all I can say is that Wyoming is the most boring state in the universe.


Total Miles: 1319.7
MPG: 16.05
$$ per mile: $0.20
MPH: 65.17
Drive Time: 20 hrs 15 min
Gas Money: $269.47

My motel room, while not exactly the Waldorf Astoria, was surprisingly comfortable. Kudos to Super 8 for the recliner, made watching the Jazz game especially nice.

You knew this was coming...

Jazz are in the conference finals. They needed some luck tonight, and they got it from about 16 straight misses by Golden State. I think I'd rather play the Suns, they're really only the lesser of 2 evils. GO JAZZ!


interesting note: In the Houston series, no team scored 100 points until the Jazz did in game 7 (elimination game). In the Golden State series, no team scored UNDER 100 points until the Warriors in game 5 (elimination game).

Derek Fisher saves the series.

Interesting note #2: In their 4 losses, the Warriors shot (in order): 45%, 42%, 40%, and 36%. Think they got tired?

Uber Nerd

OK, leg one of the trip home breaks down as follows:

Total Drive time: 11 hrs 3 min
Total Miles Traveled: 714.7
$$ Spent on Gas: $160.96

(now to use that stupid algebra that I swore I'd never need...)

Miles Per Gallon: 15.07
$$ Per Mile: $0.23
Miles Per Hour: 64.6 (NO idea why this is so low...aside from the obvious)

Let's hope tomorrow goes a little better

Basketball Genius

No, not me, although I'm flattered that you all think so ;)

Bill Simmons had this to say about the Warriors back on Thursday after game 2. Look at the 5 bullet points and tell me that these aren't the exact reasons they lost again last night.

1. Warriors can't control the boards AT ALL, let alone when it matters
2. Baron missed 2 big ones in the 4th quarter when the Warriors were down 3 and only shot 61% as a team from the free throw line
3. Down 4 with just over 2 minutes left and Warriors give up a 3 pointer
4. Um...no (JRich's battery of Memo, and Baron's forearm shiver of Fish)
5. After Fisher's 3, Warriors missed 4 straight 3 pointers, made a layup, then missed another 3.

He also said that the Warriors would win game 3, Jazz would win game 4, then Jazz would win game 5. He also predicted the Jazz would beat the Rockets in game 7, Bill Simmons is a basketball genius.


"Did that blow your mind, because that just happened."

This day in history

Possibly the strangest thing I have ever read...

I was WAY off...

I said it would be a closer game, decided by 5 or less. The Jazz won by 14 and are now up 3 games to 1. Baron wasn't getting the calls he got in the first 3 games and you could tell he was irritated. Fisher came up HUGE in the 4th with two 3s and Boozer was a freakin animal, 34 points (13-19 fgs) and 12 rebounds.


It has become abundantly clear the Golden State is running out of gas, their shots were much flatter and they never got into a rhythm. The crappiest part of all of this is that I will be on the road (somewhere in Nebraska) driving home during game 5 in SLC. If I have to pull over at a truck stop to watch the game, I will. Also, if the Jazz can make it to the Finals, I would be willing to pay $500 out of my own pocket to go to a game.

Finally, Mr. Richardson, show some class, a foul that hard with under a minute left and the game clearly decided is BUSH LEAGUE. Mr. Davis, your elbow of Fisher coming down the court is also BUSH LEAGUE. Really shows where your team is emotionally, you won't get far with that kind of mentality. You guys want to be tough and be intimidating? How about you start by making some shots (combined 9-28) and playing some defense (9 fouls and only 7 rebs total).

I said Jazz in 6, looks like it will be Jazz in 5.

On the Jazz and the end of the semester

Wow, what a week. The Jazz had 3 games and I had 3 tests. The Jazz won 2 of the 3 games and I probably failed 2 of the 3 tests (ok, no, not really).

Friday May 4 - Con Law final (I was up the night before watching ANOTHER Jazz game, which was one of the happiest basketball related moments in my life)

Monday May 7 - Jazz game, win

Tuesday May 8 - Torts final (the previous night's game didn't end until 12:30 AM, so I didn't get a ton of sleep)

Wednesday May 9 - 8 hours of studying at Panera, then the Jazz game, win. This one took a Hurculean effort (down 5 with 33 seconds left) but I'll take it any way I can get it ("that's what she said")

Thursday May 10 - FREE DAY! (this means there was no test and no Jazz game) But I went back to Panera for another 8 hours.

Friday May 11 - Property test AND Jazz game, loss. Believe it or not, I predicted a 20 point loss, which was as amazing as my prediction of the 10 point victory in game 2. This night ended VERY late after some student gatherings, which involved some celebrating.

Saturday May 12 - MOST BORING DAY IN 5 MONTHS. After 4 1/2 months of studying and reading, I figured today would be GREAT if I just hung out and did nothing. Not the case. I found myself wishing that I had some work to do.

So, I am finished with my 1L year. High five for me. The first 2 months of the school year seemed to last 6 months, the entire 2nd semester seemed to last about 3 weeks. Now I get to spend all day Tuesday and all day Wednesday driving home, BORING

On to the Jazz. Let me first address the game 3 officiating. I do not believe that refs can win or lose a game for any team, they don't put the ball in the hoop. That said, the refs totally bought into the Warriors team flair and have now turned Baron Von Davis into this year's Dwayne Wade, can't touch him, can't even BREATHE on him and Baron Davis flops...a lot. This is not an opinion, this is a fact. Truthfully, the whole team does. They use their lack of size to their advantage by falling over anytime someone nudges them. Now to shooting, is there anyone on this team that will not shoot, and make, a 3 pointer? 11 threes in the first half is obscene. I didn't watch the whole game and I didn't the the dunk, but it sounds like it was pretty cool and I hope Warriors fans understand that it's still only 2 points and the Jazz only need 2 more wins to send them all home for the rest of the summer. An energy driven, emotional blowout win does not erase games 1 and 2. [Sidenote: I freakin love Jerry Sloan, "I thought the crowd in Houston was just as loud as it was last night," "They have good fans ... but I could hear the whistle blowing last night. I couldn't hear the whistle blow in our building."]
Prediction for game 4, pick 'em, but I think it will be decided by less than 6 points.

Google-icious

I freakin love Google. Here is a list of Google tools that I currently use:

- Gmail - No refreshing needed to "check mail." Saves emails in discussions. Labeling and lots of storage

- Docs and Spreadsheets - Sorta like having MS Word and Excel, only free! Cool collaboration and sharing options (including live chatting)

- Analytics - Actually having trouble with this right now, but I think it's my fault.

- iGoogle - Love all the cool customizing

- Blogger - Allows me to publicly vent and gloat

- Google Earth - Possibly one of the coolest things ever invented

- Calender - More cool sharing and collaborating features and very versatile interface

- Talk - Conversations are automatically saved and no third party software need be installed

- Picasa - Like photobucket, only with a cooler name

- Reader - Just set this up today, keeps me updated on all the blogs I read without having to visit each site

- Notebook (I'm gonna use this next semester) - Free version of OneNote!

It is all so intuitive and operates like a program through a browser, which makes it all accessible from any online computer. My roomie and I have discussed how long it will be until ALL operating systems are decentralized, all you have to do is boot up and have an internet connection then all the software and applications are run through servers. I mean really, what good is a computer with no internet connection? That's like having an iPod video but only using it to store your pictures. Speaking of the iPod, I also believe that the grand unified PDA will be available in the next 5 years. We're dangerously close with the new Blackberrys. Imagine an iPod (or similar large capacity digital media device) combined with a phone, high resolution camera (still and video), PDA functionality, and easy browser access for the Google Nerds like myself. [Sidenote: I just spent a half hour looking at the iPhone and the new BlackBerry Curve. Verdict: I prefer the iPhone but I hate iTunes (and Apple in general)].

I really love having all these cool things available to me from any online computer and all under one password. If Google released an iPhone-like device, I would wait in line for 3 weeks and spend upwards of $30,000 for it. I think I am to Google what SLLS and others are to Apple. There's got to be a cool nickname...Googler?

Last post on the Jazz game

OK, I think by now we've all seen (or SHOULD have seen) the highlights from the game. The only reason the Warriors were even IN the game was because of the 3-point shooting, which is their forte. I feel really confident that if the Jazz can keep them under 32% from the three point line, they'll win the rest of the games. The rebounding margin was just embarrassing, +28 for the Jazz. Nellie even called out Harington and said he's not a good rebounder. The Warriors gave this one away with lousy free throw shooting, bottom line is that they are down 0-2 and need to win 4 of the next 5 games or they will be watching the rest of they playoffs from their couches.

And big ups for D Fish, flies in from NY after his daughter had surgery. It was like Willis Reed limping out of the locker room for the Knicks, didn't score a lot, but made a huge emotional impact. Obviously, like everyone and their dog, I hope all is well with little Fish. Also, I'm surprised Dee is alive after just about getting broken in half by Memo, we need him back!

On a lighter note, I spent 7 1/2 hrs studying at Panera yesterday and I am going back. The soft leather chairs are fantastic and there's free coffee refills, plus cute girls go in there all the time (gotta love the eye candy). Big test tomorrow, last one of the year, then it's party time! (after the Jazz game of course).

I hate to say I told ya so...

...but I distinctly remember saying it would be a double digit victory. Final score: 127 - 117. Steve Javie is a tool, this is overtime in the playoffs, no horse shit calls like that will be tolerated.

PS Was that Willis Reed out there?

W O W

What can I say? Deron comes up HUGE, now we have overtime. Time for the defense to go on lockdown.

And the award goes too...

[Edit] Does anyone in the playoffs flop more than Baron Davis The Warriors?

Halftime Notes

With ZERO point guard play, we're up 5 at half. Getting lots of layups and we're out-rebounding the Warriors 30-13. Just need to stop some more 3s and we're in like a dirty shirt.

Notes from the tip-off

LOVE the sea of blue...

Missed it by THAT much...

I can't help that I think this is absolutely hilarious. I can just imagine the faces of the people in the audience, "....wait....what?"

Happiness is...

...game one. 3 more to go.

The REAL reason for this post is to discuss my strange obsession with Indian women (dots, not feathers). Is it the olive skin? The dark hair? The nose-rings? I have no idea. If you took the hottest 1% of every country and compared them, I think India would win hands down. Look here and here then tell me that I am crazy. For some reason I don't feel the same way about Italian women even though they share a lot of the same characteristics.

Anyway, vote and let's see what you all think...

[PS. The vote box is not an ad nor will it invite thousands of pop-ups]

A dime a dozen...

Just looking back to see what the "experts" picked for the NBA playoffs:

the percentage that picked the actual winner (winner underlined)
GS - Dal 0%
Lal - Pho 100%
Den - SAS 100%
Uta - Hou 9%

Orl - Det 100%
Was - Cle 100%
NJN - Tor 45%
Chi - Mia 54%

That said...3 of the 4 predictions have the Warriors over the Jazz. Am I worried? HA! My prediction: Jazz in 6

Houston, you have a problem...

Yes, I know it's hokey...

Jazz win 103-99 and beat the Rockets 4 games to 3, I haven't been this happy since they started replaying American Gladiators on ESPN Classic. I love the Jazz so much. If you were to ask people who know me, they would say that I have an unhealthy obsession. Carlos Boozer was a freakin animal, 35 points 14 rebounds and 2 vicious dunks that he really ought to apologize for. And how about a round of applause for Memo's and AK's HUGE HUGE HUGE 3 pointers.

Now that we're playing the Warriors in the second round (and with home court) I feel confident that we'll be playing in the conference finals. I love Jazz.

Cripes...

I was SUPER lucky and I found a legal job this summer back home. I was really hoping that I would be able to save some money and put it towards my mountain of debt that is rising at a staggering rate. Unfortunately, I have to pay rent back in lawschooltown at my apartment AND at my new place starting in June. This will total almost $1400. Add to that the cost of driving to and from my home-state (about $400 each way) and this summer will cost me around $2200. I'll probably make somewhere around $3100 at my job, so I should net around $900. Don't get me wrong, I think that's awesome. Instead of being in the HOLE, I come out ahead just enough to buy my books. But still, I was hoping to buy an Xbox instead...

I don't want it to sound like I am complaining about my job, SO not the case! I am super excited and (mostly) lucky. I'm just disappointed that it won't help me FINANCIALLY like I hoped. It was bad enough that $3100 wouldn't make a much of a dent in my debt, so $900 (about 2% of my debt) seems like nothing.

I'm not the only one thinking JAZZ tonight...

Thank you Bill Simmons:

Just wanted to go on the record: I'm predicting an easy Utah win tonight. Once the Jazz finally figured out that nobody could hurt them except for T-Mac, this series took on a totally different feel after Game 2. Utah has three guys who can get quality shots -- Williams, Boozer and Harpring (coming off screens) -- whereas the Rockets have T-Mac and that's it. And to answer your "What about Yao?" question ... exactly. What about Yao? Defensively, he's been a liability; offensively, he can't even post up 6-7 Paul Millsap, much less Boozer or Memo Okur. It's his fifth season in the league. He should be KILLING a team like Utah -- the Jazz don't have a single guy to guard him. So why isn't he killing them? Great question. If you're a Rockets fan, you should be petrified right now. Your team needs a superhuman performance from T-Mac to win one of these next two games. Anything less and they're going home.

Let's hope he's right.

Because I have lots of free time...

As a result of my latest car washing incident, I will be tracking the weather reports to see how much and how often they change. I am really annoyed that we can now expect 4 days of rain next week when it was supposed to be ZERO. I don't know if it's the lack of predictability on the part of the weather service or the fact that the weather here is quite volatile (i.e., freak thunderstorm Sunday night). Stay tuned for the results.

Summertime, and the livin' is easy

I am officially excited for summer. Not because I'll be back home and employed, not because girls start wearing tank tops, not because I can drive with the windows down. I AM EXCITED FOR THE SUMMER MOVIES. Which movies, you ask?

1. Transformers. As a child of the 80s, I had all the toys. I just hope there are a couple explosions in the movie. What's that you say...Michael Bay is directing? Excccccccccccellent.

2. Live Free or Die Hard. Yippee Ki-Yay M'F'er (edited for mom...) John McClane could whoop Jack Bauer any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

3. Ocean's 13. Granted, Ocean's 12 was a little weak, but it looks like they're back in Vegas and Michael Corleone is in it.

4. Bourne Ultimatum. "Bourne finally uncovers the mysteries of his past. And, yes, there will be a car chase."

5. The Simpsons. The last few seasons have really tailed off, not great stuff. I hope the movie revives the good ol' days.

"Did that blow your mind, because that just happened."

Murphy's Law...times 100

So I washed my car on Saturday, it was a B-E-A-utiful day. The weather report listed no indication, at all, of any rain for the next 10 days. My shiny car, how pretty. Enter Mr. Murphy and his damned law. Rain on Sunday, rain on Monday, rain on Tuesday. Talk about rubbing salt into the wound.