Rising Stars Challenge Mock Draft

The format has changed for the Rookie-Sophmore game, and I could not be happier. It is no longer Rookies vs. Sophmores, but rather two teams drafted by Shaq and Charles Barkley from a pool of Rookies and Sophmores. The NBA blatantly stole this from the NHL, but who cares? No one watches hockey anyway. I for one hope that the NBA is just testing this system out during this game, and later decide to use it in the big boy game as well. Shaq won the coin flip on Thursday and picks first. Below is my Mock Draft based on how I think they will draft.

1. Shaq - Blake Griffin (Shaq has already said this will be his pick)
2. Chuck - Ricky Rubio
3. Shaq - John Wall
4. Chuck - Derrick Williams
5. Shaq - DeMarcus Cousins
6. Chuck - Paul George
7. Shaq - Kemba Walker
8. Chuck - Greg Monroe
9. Shaq - Kawhi Leonard
10. Chuck - Kyrie Irving
11. Shaq - Evan Turner
12. Chuck - Markieff Morris
13. Shaq - Tristan Thompson
14. Chuck - Gordon Hayward
15. Shaq - Marshon Brooks
16. Chuck - Landry Fields
17. Shaq - Brandon Knight
18. Chuck - Tiago Splitter

Teams:
SHAQ
Blake Griffin
John Wall
DeMarcus Cousins
Kemba Walker
Kawhi Leonard
Evan Turner
Tristan Thompson
Marshon Brooks
Brandon Knight

Sir Charles
Ricky Rubio
Derrick Williams
Paul George
Greg Monroe
Kyrie Irving
Markieff Morris
Gordon Hayward
Landry Fields
Tiago Splitter

I hope that Rubio and Blake play together honestly.  Also I know for a fact that it will be Barkley who picks Hayward. He has too much Jazz love.

The Worried Note's NBA Preview (2011-2012)

Back-to-back-to-back games. My wife is going to hate me. Probably worth it.

It's going to be a sloppy, wild ride this NBA Season. I imagine it to be something like a night with John Mayer.

Here's what I'll do. I am going to breakdown the teams that I think are going to be worse than people think and teams that I think will be better than people think. Then I will break down my beloved Utah Jazz.


WORSE

Memphis Grizzlies - The bandwagon is still over-flowing after an exciting and surprising playoff run last year. The pundits are lumping them in somewhere near the front of the West. They resigned Marc Gasol which only helped that opinion along. Here's the thing though: the run was a fluke. It was a team of guys who had never done anything playoff wise before that season. They were missing their best player which at times can lift the rest of the team (see The Ewing Theory). It was also a team of guys who were not getting paid. This season: Z-Bo PAID, Gasol (PAID). I don't what a rich Zach Randolph on my team. I just don't.

Boston Celtics - This team is done. Rondo is disgruntled. Allen was beginning to look washed up two years ago. Paul Pierce was terrible in the playoffs last year against a team/player (Heat/LeBron) he usually thrives again. KG has no legs. Jeff Green's heart doesn't work. And still ... this team is picked to be in the top of the East somewhere after the Heat and Bulls. I think there is a legit shot this team doesn't make the playoffs. Mark my words.

New York Knicks - It's no secret that I think Carmelo is junk. So take this with a grain of salt, but I think that after the Melo trade last year, this team legitimately sucked. I think that Amare and Carmelo don't complement each other at all. People seem to think that Fat Baron Davis still has some games left in him. I don't. I don't think the players like D'Antoni or their Donnie Walsh. I think they'll make the playoffs, but they are certainly not contenders as many believe them to be this year.

Philadelphia 76ers - Like Memphis, they made a nice little run last year. Where in the playoffs, played decent against the Heat. Like Memphis unfortunately, some guys got paid this year (Thaddeus Young). I think young teams like this once they get a little taste of success lose their scrappyness. This team was scrappy this year. I think it's gone this year. I don't like Igoudala. Also, Doug Collins has the reputation as somebody who has a great first year with a new team and is fired within the next two season. I can't see anyway this turns out any differenly.

BETTER

Minnesota Timberwolves - I never thought I'd say this ... but I like the Wolves. I think Rubio is going to be great for this team. Kevin Love seems to have become a better rebounding version of Memo Okur (RIP). I have had a man crush on Wesley Johnson since he was trying to avoid eye contact with Bernie Fine at Syracuse. B-Easy can score. Darko is tall and servicable. BOLD PREDICTION: 8th seed - Minnesota Timberwolves. There. I said it.

Milwaukee Bucks - I think we get a good/healthy year out of Andrew Bogut this year. That will make most of the difference. However, I love what GM John Hammond has done. I think Stephen Jackson is perfect fit on this team (underrated defender/great shooter). I love Mike Dunleavy for them ( needed change of scenery, place he could become a playmaker). Then they surrounded those guys with good defenders. Bucks ... also in the playoffs.

New Jersey Nets - I think Deron is going to have vengeful season this year. He has two legit shooters to throw it out to (Morrow/Stevenson). He has been reunited with his pick-n-pop partner Memo Okur. He has a scrappy rebounder (Humphries) who can share Kim Kardashian stories. Nice backup PG's to spell him. Most importantly I think he has the chip back in his shoulder. I think he wants to go out and prove that he is the best PG in the game. The Nets will be the 8th seed in the East this year. Bang.

Sacramento Kings - The Jimmer is going to be fun. I really want the Kings to sign AK so that they can officially become my 2nd favorite team to watch this year. I like the Jimmer, Isiah Thomas rotation at point. Isiah I think is going to be phenom in terms of popularity with the fans. He owned the Jimmer Jam in Provo last summer. I like the JJ Hickson additon. I think DeMarcus Cousins is going to breakout this year. I think the Kings will compete for the playoffs early in the year before falling off considerably. BOLD PREDICTION: Jimmer Fredette wins ROY. (Chances I regret saying that in about 4 months? 95%.)

Washington Wizards - I am frisky on the Wiz this year. Wall, Jordan Crawford, Nick Young, Jan Vessely (hustle, lob guy), Javale McGee (block and lob guy). Sign me up. They have done a nice job of surrounding Wall with shooters and guys who can catch passes up at the rim. I don't think they make the playoffs, but they will be tough. I think this team makes the playoffs if you switch Wall with Derrick Rose. Wall just might be the poorman's Derrick Rose.


The UTAH JAZZ

The Jazz are not going to be good this year. They are too young. The veterans that they do have don't fit the season. This is going to be a growing pain year. This team will have a Top 10 pick in next years draft (which is loaded). This team is not going to win often. It's going to be fun though.

With the trade of Mehmet Okur (RIP) to the Nets. It appears that the Jazz have embraced a full-on rebuild for the first time since perhaps they traded away Adrian Dantley in 1986. Derrick Favors is going to be the guy. CJ Miles I think is going to have his best season. Jeremy Evans will be fun. Gordon Hayward I think is going to have repeat of last year (slow start, strong finish), Alec Burks is going to be a phenom once he gets comfortable (see: Gordon Hayward). Jazz fans will have fun losing this year because it is going to be awesome watching this team develop.

Jefferson is the next to get traded by the way. KOC I think is going to pull a shrewd move and move Jefferson to a desperate team for a 1st round pick. (I see the Rockets as the likely place). Then the rebuilding will completely be in full swing.

The only thing that scares me: I think Raja Bell plays 30 minutes a night. Yikes.

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
EAST                     WEST
1. Miami Heat          1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. Chicago Bulls       2. Dallas Mavericks
3. Atlanta Hawks     3. Portland Trailblazers
4. NY Knicks          4. LA Clippers
5. Indiana Pacers     5. LA Lakers
6. Milwaukee Bucks 6. Denver Nuggets
7. Orlando Magic     7. Memphis Grizzlies
8. New Jersey Nets  8. Minnesota Timberwolves

Round 1:
Heat over Nets in 5
Thunder over Timberwolves in 4
Chicago over Magic in 6
Mavericks over Grizzlies in 7
Hawks over Bucks in 6
Blazers over Nuggets in 7
Knicks over Pacers in 6
Clippers over Lakers in 7

Round 2:
Heat over Knicks in 6
Thunder over Clippers in 7 (GREAT SERIES)
Chicago over Hawks in 5
Mavericks over Blazers in 5

Round 3:
Heat over Bulls in 7
Thunder over Mavericks in 6

FINALS:
Heat over Thunder in 5

The Ghost of Keith McLeod

The Utah Jazz bottomed out during the 04-05 NBA Season. After an unexpected fast start, the losses began to pile-up and the team began to quit. Chief among these quitters was newcomer Carlos Boozer, who after being called out by late Jazz owner Larry H. Miller for his poor effort, faked an injury at mid-season and didn't return for the rest of the season. Among the people on the roster at this time: a baby-faced Mehmet Okur, a fiery Raja Bell, and one Keith McLeod, an undrafted rookie from Bowling Green who started the majority of the season after Jerry Sloan threw Carlos Arroyo into the doghouse and traded to Detroit.

Things looked up though. The Jazz received the 6th pick in the draft which Kevin O'Connor brilliantly parlayed into the 3rd pick giving the Jazz their pick of either Chris Paul or Deron Williams. They also drafted early in the second-round a promising shooting guard that was being targeted by the San Antonio Spurs by the name of C.J. Miles. The subsequent Rocky Mountain Review (R.I.P.) gave us our first glimpses of the future. It was the Jazz's Stark Expo.

The season began against the Dallas Mavericks. Dirk was there, so was Devin Harris, and a young wing player out of Wake Forest: Josh Howard. Keith McLeod started this game. The Jazz were electrified by the entrance late in the 1st quarter by their star rookie Deron Williams who ended the game 18 points including a half-time buzzer beating heave from half court. It seemed that the future had arrived. The Jazz beat the Mavericks that night.

But it was not so. Jerry Sloan stuck to starting Keith McLeod who continued to look worse and worse compared to his backup rookie. Then Sloan started Williams ... at shooting guard, and began playing the legendary Captain Crunch: Milt Palacio. Things went grey in Jazzland. Deron began to fume at Sloan, setting the stage for a battle that would last 6 years, his play diminished. His playing time too. Keith McLeod remained. During a game late in the season against rival Chris Paul and the Hornets, McLeod and Palacio (what? This still makes no sense) had a disappointing first half (one in a long series). Sloan went with Deron to start the second half. The rest was history. At the time I believed that Keith McLeod was history as well. The Jazz went a run after Deron started at PG, falling just short of the post season. Things again were looking up.

The Jazz seemed poised for greatness. A young roster. Another great draft pulling in Ronnie Brewer who looked dynamic during a great Rocky Mountain Review (R.I.P.), Dee Brown, and the little known Paul Millsap.Then something curious happened. Keith McLeod was traded. It made sense, until it was revealed that the trade was for Derek Fisher. It didn't make sense. Why pull in a veteran PG making a lot of money when we had the PG of the future on the cheap right now? Either way the season looked promising. Sophmore C.J. looked to be the starter at SG, Brewer looked poised for an All-Rookie team run. Then the Jazz coaching staff pulled another curious move. They pulled C.J. from the starting lineup after he had started hot and then gone cold, and gave all the SG minutes to Derek Fisher. This is curious for one reason. Derek Fisher is 6'0 and is not a SG. The rest of the minutes went to basically useless veteran Gordan Giricek who was curiously not traded to this point despite his poor play, fighting with Sloan, and routine smoking breaks during timeouts and half times. Nevertheless the Jazz had a successful season, making all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

Again the future looked bright. And it was. For four years. Brewer developed nicely. Millsap became a beast. Deron became the best PG in the league, and Memo was Memo. Then the Chicago game happened. And it all fell apart. It was time for the Jazz to start over. The seemed poised to do so.

They received Derrick Favors from New Jersey, Gordon Hayward developed at the end of his rookie year as a legit scorer and playmaker. The Jazz had exciting second rounder Jeremy Evans, and then drafted big-man Enes Kanter and swingman Alec Burks in the lottery. It seemed that the Jazz had fully embraced the OKC Thunder model and were going to let their young core develop together and hopefully create another golden age of Jazz basketball.

Then a name appeared. A name I hadn't heard in a very long time. A name I thought I would never hear again. Keith McLeod. This didn't make sense. Why here? Why now? Old demons filled my brain.Visions of Deron Williams sitting grumpily on the bench. Still, McLeod doesn't have a guranteed deal. Even if he made the team it would be as a 3rd stringer. Still I couldn't shake the feeling that this was a bad omen. However I remained steadfast in my faith that the Jazz were committed to letting our young guys play and develop like the Thunder had done with Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, and Harden. I ignored Jamal Tinsley, a minor blip on the rader, a strange blip, but just a blip.Word began trickling out of Jazz camp that Raja Bell was impressing. THE Raja Bell. My mouth was beginning to go dry. Surely Corbin wouldn't play that corpse instead of Burks, Hayward, or C.J.?

Then for the 1,000 time in my Jazzfan career, something curious happened. Something curious indeed. The Jazz signed Josh Howard. Yes. That Josh Howard. The Jazz Howard who admitted to smoking marijuana live on SportsCenter, the Josh Howard who was once too hungover to play a game for the Dallas Mavericks, the Josh Howard who couldn't tolerate standing for the National Anthem, the Josh Howard who had barely played any games in the past few years. This Josh Howard. I have seen this before. I can see Burks and Hayward sitting sourly on the bench and Bell and Howard struggle to defend or score points. I see Corbin losing his young players. I see the Jazz relying too much on their "trusty veterans". I see mediocrity.

I see the ghost of Keith McLeod. It should haunt you as it does me.

A Visual Essay On My Trip To Rupp Arena

(with textual notations by the author)

You are looking live from scenic Lexington, Kentucky! I am heading to Rupp Arena to watch the Kentucky Wildcats take on the legendary Portland Pilots.

 

 

This is not inside the arena. This is inside a mall near the arena. Lexington loves their Wildcats.

 

 

This is inside the arena. So if there is a tornado I can look forward to flying urine and feces.

Wildcats fans. Their necks are red and their bald heads are painted. Look for the mullet in Picture A.

 

Must be nice.

Armed with my Free Enes badge, I was ready for the game.

I cannot tell you how much this waving flag hypnotized my wife and mother-in-law. Place gets pretty noisy.

And we're off for a sloppy first half!

At some point during the second half the brought out former Wildcat Antoine Walker out onto the floor. Standing O. I hope they paid him.

Whatever he said to them as he passed their huddle must of worked because then this happened: (watch the whole sequence. The first dunk was not the only dunk)

Then they did this flag pyramid thing. My wife woke up. Crowd also went wild. I should mention that Rupp holds 5000 more people than the home of the Utah Jazz, the ESA.

 

As the game ended the cheerleaders (male and female) stood on the court as they and the crowd sang "My Old Kentucky Home". Very cool and reminiscent of Yankee Stadium.

\

Then a cardinal was outside my window.

CHASE RANK: The NBA's Top 100 Players

I had problems with ESPN's #nbarank . Everyone had problems with ESPN's #nbarank . Here are my Top 100. But first my guidelines:
-Contract- DOESNT MATTER
-Age - MATTERS
-Upside - DOESNT MATTER
-Homerism - MATTERS (I tried though)
- Above all I ranked based on what players I think would get you the most wins simply by his presence on a team. If I were picking my top 12 guys based on one single game to determine my life, I may not pick them in this order. Purely based on an 82 game season. Here we go: (I added comments when needed)

100. Andrei Kirilenko
99. Ben Gordon
98. Tayshaun Prince
97. Andrea Barginani
96. Chris Kaman
95. Tony Allen
94. Gordon Hayward
93. Elton Brand
92. Emeka Okafor
91. Mehmet Okur
90. DeAndre Jordan
89. Andre Miller
88. Chauncey Billups In the battle of washed-up, semi-fat PG's I took Billups over Miller
87. Thaddeus Young
86. Carl Landry
85. Darren Collison
84. Jrue Holliday
83. JJ Barea
82. David Lee Perhaps the most wildly overrated player in ESPN's ranking
81. Shawn Marion
80. Caron Butler
79. Brandon Jennings
78. Danillo Gallinari
77. Grant Hill If you would have told me 7 years ago that Grant Hill was still IN THE LEAGUE ...
76. Raymond Felton
75. Demarcus Cousins
74. Jamal Crawford
73. Derrick Favors
72. Wesley Matthews
71. DeMar Derozan
70. Nicolas Batum
69. Kyle Lowry Congrats Kyle
68. Taj Gibson
67. Aaron Afflalo
66. Mike Conley
65. Brook Lopez
64. Brandon Roy Should legally change his name to Poor Brandon Roy
63. JaVale McGee
62. Jameer Nelson
61. Kendrick Perkins
60. Roy Hibbert
59. Devin Harris
58. Ty Lawson
57. George Hill
56. Wilson Chandler
55. Jason Kidd
54. Carlos Boozer
53. Luol Deng
52. James Harden
51. Andre Igoudala
50. Luis Scola
49. Paul Millsap
48. Danny Granger
47. David West
46. Tyreke Evans
45. Kevin Martin
44. Joakim Noah Another wildly overrated player by ESPN
43. Al Jefferson
42. Monte Ellis
41. Gerald Wallace
40. Josh Smith
39. Ray Allen
38. Tyson Chandler
37. Serge Ibaka
36. Jason Terry
35. Tim Duncan Watching him last season, even this might be too high
34. Stephen Curry
33. Marc Gasol
32. John Wall
31. Nene
30. Andrew Bogut
29. Al Horford
28. Kevin Love
27. Zach Randolph
26. Kevin Garnett
25. Eric Gordon By the end of the next season (whenever that is) I wager this will be much much higher. I saw Eric Gordon DESTROY Deron Williams in a game at the ESA. I worry about his injuries.24. Lamar Odom
23. Rudy Gay
22. Joe Johnson
21. Chris Bosh
20. Carmelo Anthony
19. Rajon Rondo
18. Russell Westbrook
17. Amare Stoudemire
16. Tony Parker
15. LaMarcus Aldridge
14. Paul Pierce
13. Steve Nash
12. Blake Griffin
11. Manu Ginobili He is a surefire Hall Of Famer right? They never mention that on broadcasts but think about what he has done in his career. He should be a first ballot HOFer.
10. Pau Gasol
9. Kobe Bryant
8. Chris Paul
7. Deron Williams
6. Kevin Durant
5. Derrick Rose
4. Dirk Nowitzki
3. Dwayne Wade
2. Dwight Howard.
1. LeBron James

In the words of Principle Skinner: "Prove me wrong kids! Prove ... Me ... Wrong!

The Worried Note Book Review (Vol. 1 Issue 1.)

Inspired by the recently much discussed Tribune profile of the LHM Company, I decided to return to the (now reborn) blog to write a post that I have been meaning to write since May. One of my New Year's resolutions ( drinking more water is an annual resolution which I always fail: see disastorous Disneyland Trip May 2011) was to read more sports related books. I don't read fiction. The last fictious book I read was indeed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Despite sticking to non-fiction, before this year I had read very few (or perhaps no) sports books of any kind. Thus in January I decided to change this. Here are the sports related books I have read this year so far. (I plan to soon read Jane Leavy's new to paperback profile of Mickey Mantle)

I began ny sports non-fiction odyssey with one of the quintessential books of the genre, Buzz Bissinger's book chroniciling a single season of Texas High School Football powerhouse Odessa High. The book was written in 1988 and for that reason it is some what dated. Once you get past the dusty cultural refrences the book becomes a unbelievably intimate portraite of a town that seems stuck in the past.

Through the early stages of the book, Bissinger explores the town's ugly history and ties it in with it's still ugly present. Odessa is a town that seems plucked up from the Jim Crow south and placed back down in Reagan's America. Segregation is still the name of the game in Odessa. The whites live in one side of town, the blacks in another and there is literally train tracks that seperate them. Race is one of the main themes of the book, and racism runs rampant through Odessa. Black athletes for their beloved Panthers are praised before the start of the season, but if they begin to show signs of not meeting the often unfair expectations, they become venom in the mouths of the white town people. The character (I use the term loosely) who tragically represents this aspect of the interaction between the team and the town in the star HB James "Boobie" Miles. Reading a follow up on Miles after completing this book was disturbing.

Second, only to the black star athletes, in terms of pressure and at times hositility is the coach of Odessa Gary Gaines. I'm not sure that most professional coaches experience the day-to-day pressure that Coach Gaines deals with throughout the season. After critical losses, his home and car are viciously vandalized.

All in all the book paints Odessa in a horrible light, as a town that is literally dying. The anger in the town due to the socio-economic issues is palpable and the team definitely recieves the brunt of that hostility. One top of the social issues I became engaged in the team through every win and loss and was anxious to see how far the team goes. Highly recommend.

As the college basketball season was heading towards March Madness at the same time that Gordon Hayward was finally emerging for the Jazz, I next read Underdawgs: How Brad Stevens and the Butler Bulldogs Marched Their Way to the Brink of College Basketball's National Championship. The book was written by David Woods a local Indiana based sports journalist. My first of two complaints about the book was why Underdawgs when they are the Butler Bulldogs? To seem modern? Or perhaps is he racist and he chose the dawg because of the black players on the team? Seemed like a weird choice.

The other complaint would be that the book doesn't feel like a single work, but rather a bunch of newspaper columns thrown together. This probably be because that is what Woods does for a living, but the book does flow as nicely as something like Friday Night Lights.

My favorite thing about the book is definitely the history of Butler and particularly their storied basketball program that I knew little about. I had no idea how much the history of the sport was ingrained in the history of the program. Due to my own personal collections to the Hoosier state, this proved to be a fascinating aspect of the book for me.

The other great aspect to the book would be the individual profiles of the key players. The chapter on Gordon Hayward and his fanily was of particular interest for me for obvious reasons, but the profiles of other players like Shelvin Mack were equally as interesting. When Butler a month after I read the book made another miraculous run to the Championship game, it made it even easier for me to root for this team.

We all know how the season chronicled in the book played out, but one of the most interesting chapters in the book explored the events immediately following the end of the Championship game. It describes a scene in the Hayward car ride home with Gordon's two parents. His Mom feels very strongly that he should return to Butler. His Dad feels strongly about heading to the NBA. Knowing how the Hayward-less season played out it only makes one wonder what would have happened if Gordan had not come to the Utah Jazz.

Jazz fans should be able to appreciate this book, or people interested in basketball history, but the clunky writing style makes it a difficult read.

Clemente by David Maraniss is what I turned to next as catchers and pitchers began to report. For such a legendary baseball figure I have to admit that I knew very little about Clemente. I came away blown away. This is one of the best biographys I have ever read. Period. Maraniss is a great writer and Clemente proves to be an amazing subject.

Clemente's rags to riches story, the racism he experienced in the early part of his career, and his many eccentricities were all expertly analyzed. One of the great scenes described in the book is about Clemente and his wife on a trip to Europe and the racism they experienced in a upper-end furniture store. The shocking racism was not the interesting part, but rather the way Clemente handled the situation. He is the definition of a strong man. This is a must read.

Very cool for me was the fact that one of the players that plays prominently in the book is Cy Young winner Deacon Law. He was the Pirates ace through the early 60's including their shocking World Series win over my beloved Yankees in 1960. Soon after completing the book, Deacon was a guest of honor at a Salt Lake Bees game. I was able to get a baseball signed by him. He signed it "Vern Law Cy Young Winner 1960". As he handed it back to me he said "They only gave out one of those when I won it." Awesome.

I followed up the Clemente biography with another baseball book by now Grantland writer Jonah Keri. The book chronicles the recent rise of the Tampa Bay Rays. More specifically how the management team headed by non-sports figures used Wall Street tactics to turn the worst team in baseball into possibly the best run team in all of sports.

These men: Stuart Sternberg and Andrew Friedman are now personal heroes. Their profiles in the book were by far the most interesting sections for me. If I ever became exceedingly rich in Wall Street, I would try and by these guys. If I didn't want to own a baseball team before ...

The other great aspects to the book chronichled how the previous (incompetent) owner was able to get the Rays to Tampa. It was especially interesting due to the next book I read.

Like the Butler book earlier, Keri writes like a newspaper journalist which makes the book at times hard to read as a single flowing piece, but rather a bunch of columns thrown together. Still would recommend to anyone who is interested in advanced statistics and such.

(Bring it back to the intro) Reading Keri's book made me very interested in reading Larry H. Miller's autobiography because I knew a little bit about how he came to run the Jazz and the ownership of the Rays lead to natural parallels. I also wanted to read the book because he grew up with my Grandmother and I wanted to learn a little bit about his troubled childhood which I knew a little bit about and about the Capital Hill neighborhood in general. I got that in spades.

The problem with the book is the style. Miller is not a writer by trade so the book is mostly stream of consciencousness talking. This doesn't prove to be a major problem however, because most of what he says is exceedingly interesting.

His childhood was indeed rough. Rougher than I had imagined. It becomes clear that he is an outlier just in the way he was able to overcome his own parents. It also sends a great message about the need everyone has for a support system. Miller's was his wife Gail and her family. Truly touching stuff.

The book also gave me anxiety multiple times. First when Miller risks everything to start his own dealership. The first time he risked his worth, it was very little. His family was living off of scraps. The second time he risked everything (to buy the Jazz) there were millions at stake. His walking the reader through the events surrounding his purchase of the Jazz are thrilling.

The chapters about his relationship to Stockton and Malone are worthwhile for Jazz fans. I was surprised about how vulnerable Miller makes himself in the book. He is open about the fact that his drive in business forced him to basically give up his relationship with his family which he admits caused major damage to his children.

Despite what you may think about Larry H. Miller, I recommend reading this book purely for the story of a truly fascinating life. I came away with more respect, but also a more human picture of Miller. Recommend to all, but highly recommend to Jazz fans.

Why does The Mailman get all the blame?

I guess I'm a masochist.

There has been a lot of discussion in the sports world about two of the stars of the current NBA Finals, Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James. This talk has not been focused on Dirk's dominant playoff run or LeBron's annihilation of the Chicago Bulls. Instead the talk has been focused on their failures of playoffs past. It has been about their psyche and whether or not they have the will or ability to rise to the challenge in the final moments of a championship series. So far, both players have had their ups and downs in this series.

As a Jazz fan with a typical years-of-getting-my-heart broken complex, my mind drifted to the championship failings of the two superstars who define the franchise. Their names have been mentioned a lot these past few weeks, joining LeBron and Dirk on the list of great players lacking a championship on their résumé (yeah ... I used the fancy e's). I saw those two series losses on ESPN's list of the greatest playoff series ever. Because hearing that was not pain enough, I have been trying to relive those series against the Bulls (now over a decade ago). I watched nearly the entirety of 1997 Game 6.

That was not enough though. I needed to see for myself how the so-called "choke jobs" of LeBron and Dirk matched up against the choke job closest to my heart. Karl Malone was my favorite player long before I can remember. In the summer of 1996 I dragged my grandmother to the Fanzz (what was it called in 1996? I can't remember) store in Crossroads Mall to buy a Karl Malone jersey the first day you could buy those putrid purple jerseys with the copper trim and mountains on the front (they were the coolest thing in the world then). My brother loved Stockton, but I was a Malone man. This is why it pains me so deeply that whenever he is mentioned nationally today, he is only mentioned as someone who choked during those two finals.

So I looked at Malone's stats during those two Finals to compare to LeBron and Dirk's. Malone's stats were actually pretty good for someone who supposedly didn't show up. During his 12 Finals games Karl averaged 24.4 ppg 10.4 rpg 3.6 apg while shooting an okay not great 47% from the field. Fine. He also shot only 67% from the free throw line including multiple games where he missed crucial ones that could have changed the course of NBA history. Still, if Chris Bosh were putting those stats up right now he would be the Finals MVP and the media would be talking about him like he was one of the Top 5 players in the league.

While running over the stats from those finals, something else caught my eye. It begged a question that I have never asked, nor have I heard anyone else ask. Did John Stockton also choke? The many years that I have endured the bashing of Karl Malone's performance in the clutch has changed the way I look at Malone. I used to think he was the best thing (to borrow a term from KOC) canned soup. Now if you were to ask me the greatest player in Jazz history and I would say John Stockton. For some reason both nationally, in the local media, and within the Jazz fan community whenever the Jazz's playoff failings are brought up the only name ever mentioned individually is Karl Malone. Karl Malone choked away a chance at a championship at the expense of Michael Jordan. I have never batted an eye at this. However seeing the stats from those Finals of my youth changed my perspective somewhat.

During the course of those fateful 12 games in June of 97 and 98, John Stockton averaged 12.3 ppg 8.8 apg and 3.3 rpg while shooting just under 50% from the field and 81% from the free throw line. Not exactly the numbers you think of when you think of John Stockton. The numbers are not terrible, but we are talking about arguably the best (or 2nd best) player on the team and one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history (currently Top 25 on Basketball Reference) and a player thought of as the greatest player in franchise history among the fans. Shockingly Stockton was actually not good at all in the 1998 Finals where he put a very 2011 Jason Kidd-eque 5.8 ppg 8.6 apg 2.5 rpg while shooting 48.9% from the field and 72.7% from the free throw line.

Now I understand that Stockton by that point had been in the league for 13 and 14 years respectively, and that he began the 97-98 season by breaking his leg, but still. The Jazz needed more from him right? Somehow though, Stockton has completely escaped the venom that Malone has experienced as a result of those losses from Jazz fans. It's pretty shocking how much of the blame Malone shoulders even though he was almost entirely carrying the team offensive load on his back. Do you think that Phil Jackson in the locker room before the game said "Gang, tonight we have to focus our defense to stop Bryon Russell and Greg Ostertag because they have killed us this season!"? NO! They were geared entirely to stop Karl Malone from scoring the basketball. He still put up 24 and 10 while shooting 47%.

I understand that it was Malone who missed some big free throws and it was Malone who fell asleep and let Jordan strip him to setup the shot in Game 6. People have completely forgotten that in famous "Flu Game", Stockton had free throws at the end of the game which could have forced the game into OT against a completely drained Jordan, but he missed.

It's time that people take some of the burden of those Finals losses off of Karl Malone's shoulders. Like LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and the other great players who never won a championship, the Jazz as a team just didn't have enough.