Put Me In, Coach - I'm Ready to Play!

A man, a coach, a legend!!  That is how I would like to describe my favorite coach of all time - Coach Sloan.  I was 6 years old when he started coaching the Jazz after Frank Layden handed him the reigns.  I remember some of the greatest Jazz games I attended and thought he was such a great coach.  One thing I really liked about Sloan is that he didn't take nonsense.  His players were never allowed to wear headbands.  It wasn't his style.  He got more out of some players that other coaches never would have.  To get as much out of Greg Ostertag as he did is saying a lot because any other coach never would have played him because there is no way he would have been able to produce.  At least Sloan got some sort of result out of Tag.  Sloan was your blue collar coach.  The way you reach the top is you work your butt off.  That is the only way to get anywhere in anything is if you work as hard as you can all the time.  No matter what happens, no matter what comes up, no matter who is in your way as long as you work as hard as you can and put in the necessary things to make it happen you will be successful.  The Utah Jazz would have been just another ho-hum team if it weren't for Sloan.  I really hope that Coach Corbin can carry it on and get the most out of his players like Sloan was able to.  I have had the opportunity to talk to him on a few different occasions.  He looked super harsh on the sideline, but outside of games he was the nicest guy you will ever meet.  One time I made it down close enough to the court to talk to him and even get a picture with him.  He was always willing to make someones day even if it was taking a picture with them which I'm sure he hated, but at least he knew it would make their day.  Great coach, great man, great legacy for the Utah Jazz.  The most tenured head coach in any sport (23 years).  No other coach will ever surpass that tenure.  It is an unbreakable record.  Even though he never won NBA Coach of the Year award, I sure hope the NBA gives him some sort of recognition at the end of the season.  He will be missed as he is the last link to the great Jazz years of the 90's.  Along with him, his sidekick Phil Johnson is on the way out too.  What a great assistant coach to have, one that will follow you on the way out instead of sticking around wanting to make millions.  Gotta love a coach and his assistant that have done what they did.

Something Not Very Many People Know.....

So there is something not a lot of people know about me, I really, really like American Idol. Yes, it's true. Everyone really liked the David Archuletta season and then think that ever since then American Idol has gone down hill especially with the addition of Ellen and then subtraction of Ellen. But this year it is really cool because Steven Tyler from Aerosmith provides some great comic relief. So far, they are into the Hollywood part narrowing down who the top 20 will be. Wow, this sounds super dorky of me to know all of this but I like it. This year they lowered the age limit from 16 to 15 because of the emergence of Justin Bieber as he was 15 when he set out. Last night during Hollywood week - it was Groups!! Pretty interesting how people combine forces to get a good group together. There are a TON of people in the competition who think they are SO good that all they think about is how they will shine in the group, and not the overall success. This is a video from last night, one of the groups combined with ages of 15 and 16 year olds. I thought it was really neat the level of impact they could have being so young.  They sang a song by Queen called "Somebody To Love" - which is an epic Queen song and I love it.  Here is the video, they are so young that their Mom's are hanging around in the back watching them.. gotta love it.

Super Bowl XLV - Good, Bad, Ugly

Another year, another Super Bowl in the books. Let's break this year's Super Bowl into three categories: Good, Bad, Ugly:

Good:
-Aaron Rodgers - MVP Performance and played like he had been there before (only ran the ball 13 times - impressive!
-Green Bay bringing the game - 4 guys went out with injuries and next man in steps up and playing a vital role
-Commercials

Bad:
-Steelers 2 minute offense - Game was theirs to win. They looked discombobulated and didn't play like they had been there. I was expecting them to go down and win the game but they folded
-Ball protection by Ben Roethlisberger - you can't turn the ball over 2 times (3 with fumble by Mendenhall) and expect to win the game especially when you throw a pick 6
-Halftime show. GREAT show, LOVE the BlackEyed Peas!! Sound was a little off and Fergie didn't really sound good at all. Slash?? Bringing Slash from Guns & Roses out there was kind of weird, but the sound was not up to par.

Ugly:
-400 people with Super Bowl legitimate tickets who were not able to sit in their seats. These seats were deamed "unusable" by the NFL and they were not able to sit in their seats. Granted, they are refunded cost of tickets, though.
-Green Bay's receiver hands - receivers had chance to give Rodgers over 400 yards passing. Catch the ball guys!! You played good, but could have been a great unforgettable Super Bowl performance
-Cameron Diaz feeding A-Rod popcorn! Ha ha, his teammates are not going to let that one go.
-And Finally - Christina Aguilera - just sing the national anthem!! I don't know if any of you noticed, but our friend Christina totally skipped a line of the national anthem before the game. I had no idea and didn't even notice mainly because I was timing it to see how long it was going to take (based on some vegas lines that people set up) - but she totally slaughtered it and forgot a whole line of the song!!


All in all, good Super Bowl, could have been GREAT!! But I will wait for the future (hopefully next year) when my team makes it and it will be a great time!! San Francisco 49ers - Super Bowl XLVI Champions!!!

Oh, yes, i also must mention that my Pregame Super Bowl prediction for this game was VERY VERY VERY close. The outcome was Packers 31-25 - my prediction for this game was 31-27. I feel like I had the football gods on my side with this.. ha ha, not really but pretty good prediction I must say myself!!

After Jazz Dance Party

So last night we went to the Jazz game (Me, Lisa, JD, Katie) - unfortunately the Jazz lost a close one by 1 point with a C.J. Miles last second miss. On the way out of the game we were trying to figure out what that techno song is that they play at the beginning of the BYU games. Come to find out it's called Sandstorm (Thanks JD) - we bust out the song, which can be heard here SandStorm!!!!!. Upon listening to this song in its full splendor, JD's wife, Katie, then leans over and says Brick (there will be a blog post about this nickname of mine soon to come) I dare you to get out in front of ALL these cars and start dancing to this song. At first, I thought she was absolutely kidding. After a few times of this dare talk, I did what I had to do and get outside and start dancing. I got a few car honks and it was pretty epic. Here is the video of this crazy dare and some weird dancing moves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rw_xV3G1Jw

Super Bowl XXIX

Since this week is Super Bowl week, I would like to give an ode to my favorite Super Bowl of all time. SUPER BOWL XXIX (29)!!!! This was the 49ers 5th trip to the Super Bowl and their 5th Super Bowl Victory.... First team in NFL history to reach 5 SB wins. This was kind of the last great season deep into the playoffs that was had with Steve Young, Jerry Rice, and others. Not only that, if you remember, one Deion Sanders was on this historic team as well. Another thing that made this SB historic was that it was the 75th anniversary of the NFL and the 49ers scored 49 points. Steve Young threw for 325 yards at 24/36 completion and 6 touchdowns!! What a great game!! 3 Touchdowns caught by Rice, 2 by Watters, and 1 by Floyd. I remember when I was in middle school this game and how awesome it was. Shortly thereafter, Sports Illustrated came out with a Super Bowl XXIX commemorative VHS tape that I bought and I probably watched it so much that it broke. This Super Bowl was by far my favorite one and I am hoping that in the near future the 49ers can return to their glory and start winning Super Bowls again. I think that Jim Harbaugh is a key component in this and getting him was absolutely huge for the team and their future success. Question remains, who will the quarter back be for the 2011 season? Alex Smith? Troy Smith? Who knows... but please, let me it be someone other than Alex Smith. I have tried so many times to like him and he always fails me. It's like going to a restaurant you have been to before that you hated and saying, "oh this time it will be better, I will get a better menu item", you go into the restaurant and try a 2nd and 3rd time and you are reminded of the fact that it is just as horrible as you remember the first time. Please 49ers do everything you can to come back to glory so I can become an even more dedicated fan!!