Random Thoughts on Opening Day

Posted by Trevor Fuchs on October 28, 2009

As I’m sure that I’m not alone on this, I’m elated for the season to finally start.  Nearly 5 months of boredom, depression, and longing are over at last.  With the Jazz’s season opener only hours away, my mind is running rampant with query and reflection.   Here are 5 random thoughts or questions that have been weighing heavily on my psyche:

NBA preseason games: Are they necessary? – This is now the second season in a row that the preseason has brought injuries to multiple starters and regular rotation players for the Jazz.  Is it worth it?  The preseason record rarely correlates with the regular season record, otherwise we’d be looking at a 61-21 season.  More than half of the playing time is usually delegated out to players that will be looking for jobs by November.  The amount of fans that attend preseason games (half of capacity on average) probably doesn’t cover the costs of opening the arena with a full staff.

Don’t get me wrong, I am more than inviting to basketball starting in early October, but do the teams really need 7-8 open dress rehearsals before the start of the season?  With 82 regular season games spanning over 5 months, I think there is plenty of leeway built in to the schedule to allow teams to get the bugs out.  Besides, if our Jazzmen get injured while playing their guts out to add one more check mark in the win column, it will take a bit of the sting out of it.  As it stands now, we are looking at 40+ man-games lost to injuries acquired during the preseason.

What do I do about the road games? – Unfortunately/fortunately (depending on how you look at it), I have spent nearly all of my available liquid funds on season tickets.  If I were to budget in basic cable to watch Jazz games as a necessity, sleeping in the doghouse would be the least of my worries.  I can probably trade an occasional ticket for a reserved couch spot at a few friend’s houses to get me through most of the season.

Does anyone have NBA League Pass Broadband?  For around $90 for the entire season, you can pick up to 7 teams to watch online ($160 for all teams), without having to pay for hundreds of channels that you will never watch.  They are doing a free 1 month preview of the service, so if you’re worried about missing your games, go to www.nba.com and sign up.  I think this will be my best option and I can probably donate plasma a few times to cover the added expense.

Keep the big names and big egos.  I’ll take my Jazz – More and more I am gravitating towards disliking NBA “superstars”.  What is exciting about watching one person carry the weight of the entire team on their shoulders?  Perhaps I was just born with a team oriented philosophy, but I would much rather watch 9 or 10 guys contributing equally.  When LBJ puts up nearly half of the Cavs’ points, assists, steals, turnovers, and blocks while playing 45 minutes, there is a big problem.  If the Jazz were to win a title, it would be THE JAZZ who won the title.  If the Cavs win a title, it is LeBron who will win the title.

Boozer discount rack at Fanzz: Why is it still full? – Seriously people, they are 50% off!  I have been told that it may be possible to bargain down to 60-70% off because they are not getting rid of them fast enough.  What do you have to lose?  If you really just can’t be seen in a Boozer jersey, than unpick and pull off the name and number.  Than at least you have a new generic jersey for the games.  If he gets traded or leaves after the season, it instantly becomes a throwback and will be cool in an “I like to recycle fashion statements from the past” sort of way.  The hipsters will love it.  The best reason why you should go to Fanzz immediately, however, is it is time to show Booze some love again.  He’s on our team and that is that.

Public humiliation for sports journalism experts – There must be some kind of punishment for these people when their predictions are way off.  They get paid to know the ins and outs of every team in the league, yet suffer no consequences when they are dead wrong.  I mean, who can’t predict that the Lakers, Celtics, Cavs, Magic, Nuggets, and Mavericks are title contenders this year?  If I just have to look at last year’s results, I could be the next John Hollinger.

A perfect example is the Denver Broncos.  If you asked any expert in August, they would have told Denver would go 2-14 this season.  Well, so far they are 6-0 and look like one of the NFL’s elite, despite being underdogs for the 6^th time so far.

It is time to hold them responsible for all of our wasted time reading their predictions and power rankings.  Nothing too crazy, but somewhere in the mild public humiliation realm.  Any ideas?

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4 Comments

Joey Parker on October 28, 2009 said:

I could not agree more about the media not being held responsible. Radio guys love to say “SEE, I told you this was going to happen!” But you never hear them say “Remember last week when I said the Jazz would lose to the Rockets in the 1st round? Well, I was wrong.”

Joe Sovee on October 28, 2009 said:

I support preseason. 8 games isn’t that much, it helps teams build chemistry, coaches establish a rotation and figure out which guys are most deserving playing time. It is rather unfortunate that Kyle and C.J. got hurt, but that’s not preseason’s fault. Players get injured all the time.

I very much rather give them 8 extra meaningless games to get the team right for the real competition than have them to get the team right at a time when every loss may be the difference between playing the Lakers or the Nuggets in the 1st round. Besides, the main players actually see little time on the floor in the preseason, which is a reason why you should expect fewer injuries for those players in the preseason. And, at last, if I am not mistaken, C.J. got hurt in practice and no one knows how Kyle got hurt. If that’s really the case, no point in blaming the preseason.

Shannon in Sacramento on October 28, 2009 said:

I definitely recommend getting the NBA league pass broadband. One, it’s cheaper than getting the NBA ticket, and two, if you are patient enough to wait until the all star game, you get it for half off, or maybe even better. This is what I did last year, as I live in Sacramento and only get to see the Jazz live a few times when I visit my parents in Salt Lake, or when they play the Kings here. Last year I enjoyed the free month, suffered with the few Jazz games they aired on TNT or ESPN for November through beginning of February, and then right after the all star game, signed up. It was great, and you can pick from like 5 games a night to watch, or you can split the computer screen and watch two at a time. Anyway, I highly recommend it for your Jazz fix. It does a fan good! (Luckily tonight I get to watch them on ESPN on the flat screen)

Trevor on November 03, 2009 said:

FYI…If you live in Utah, don’t get League Pass Broadband. Not a viable option. Because all Jazz games will either be broadcast nationally or “locally” on FSN Utah, ALL Jazz games will be blacked out on LPB if you’re in the FSN Utah Broadcast area. Looks like the best options are forking out the money for cable tv, listening to the radio, or getting season tickets…

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