Jazz Verses the Thunder

Mehmet Okur was signing autographs after warming up (his back turned to the other side). He is a very nice man!

I forgot my camera and so Joe used a Droid Phone to take the following pictures.

Deron Williams?

Mehmo takes a shot.

Craig Bolderjack, newscaster, gives us updates on the teams playing.

Pre-game show from Suite 44.

Jerry Sloan coming onto the practice floor.

"Mehmo" Mehmet Okur practicing before Tuesday night's game.

Tonight Joe and I were invited by the Les Olsen Company to a Jazz Event: Floor tickets, catered dinner, Suite 44 with refreshments to view the game. We met in a private room just off the main floor for appetizers, drinks, and special speakers. Jazz Spokesman, Steve Johnson introduced Kevin O' Connor GM of the Jazz who spoke to us about the game tonight and about upcoming events like recruiting and working with the Jerry Sloan and the Jazz. He quoted Jerry as saying, "It is easier to lose than to win!" "We want Oklahoma to feel that way tonight!" He went on to explain that tonight was an important championship game to determine the rank they would be entering the playoffs. (This is following the disappointing loss to the Laker's on Saturday in LA). They are second place currently. Each team they play will be a challenging team from here on out. The draft is coming up and NY gets the first pick. The Jazz will select nine names to draft. When asked whether he would opt for height or skill, his response was "Big guys beat little guys at checkers." He went on to explain that in this game, "if a big player is good=go big!" the exception was a player like Deron Williams. Andrei Kirilenko will probably be "out" due to a leg injury (MRI shows blood in the calf, docs won't let him play) for another couple of games. How long can the Jazz afford to let him heal, I wonder? Next, Craig Bolerjack (renowned for his 13 years on KSL "Sportsbeat Sunday" eleven years ago) came in and spoke to us about the "crazy five last game run." He coined the phrase, "if you've got'em--buckle up." The playoffs will happen after these five games. This would be a "Monster Game" as to importance in the playoffs. The other team's players to watch are two year player, Kevin Durant and one year player Russell Westbrook. Both are relatively "new" and showing a lot of promise. Bolerjack spoke a little of his wife and sons. He travels with the Jazz and after the game tonight they will board a chartered plane and fly to Houston to get ready for the game there tomorrow night. It can be a grueling schedule. On the way up to the fourth floor where we would eat dinner and watch the game from a suite, we had to take an elevator. Out of the elevator came Elder M. Russell Ballard. Joe, fast on his feet, said hello and touched his elbow as he smiled and passed us. The Jazz played the Oklahoma Thunder. It was a game in which the Jazz never took a huge lead and Oklahoma (with players massive in height) shot very well and made their baskets. We got photos (from LOC) of Deron Williams playing in Boston and Joe won four tickets to a Salt Lake Bee's Baseball game in a drawing. (He said he had a "feeling" he would win which is funny because as an actuary knowing the probability--he usually tells people "I never win.") Joe and I left when the clock had only three minutes left worried about the crowds, traffic, upcoming baby, and children (probably not asleep) an hour away. It was a good thing because we walked to the wrong parking and became quite disoriented. It took a little while to realize we were on the other block and get to our car. meanwhile, I hear we missed an intense finale with Durant getting a foul that wasn't called from the refs which might have won the Thunder the game. (To be fair, a couple of calls were made against the Jazz that were very unpopular. I remarked to Joe that being an NBA Ref would not be a low stress job.)