Howdy Y'all and Jazz Retrospective

Haven't updated in awhile and for good reason. One, the Jazz were still in the playoffs and all of my waking moments were focused on good karma and pleasing the basketball gods. I must've done wrong by being in Texas while the Jazz were playing the San Antonio Floppers. Second, as previously mentioned I now live in Texas and have been working hard moving in and getting to know the "folks" around town and whom I work with.

That being said here are a few photos of the apartment and what Mary and I have been up against.

A. This room is now a light blue and much less imposing as you enter inside. Also there are significantly less items cluttering up the space and a beautiful desk sits elegantly apress the far wall. A delight not only for the senses but for life in general.

B. A quaint little bedroom just off the living space that was plain and has transformed into a wonderful sanctuary for Mary and I. The walls are much less plain now and have a painting of Jesus Christ called Lost No More by Greg Olsen and a wonderful picture of My Bride which is now hanging on the wall just over my left shoulder in this photo.

Also in this update I would like to give a seasons retrospective on the Utah Jazz. The season began with a flurry. 11-1 start best in the NBA but this Jazz fan was still a little hesitant to say the Jazz were back. The past few seasons that Jazz had start out well and fizzled towards the grind that is the NBA regular season. But the team was different this year, led by a crafty veteran named Derek Fisher who before the first game of the years showed the young team his championship ring and told them this is what it is all about guys. The team didn't fizzle and continued to improve and show poise in situations where they had not in previous seasons. The emergence of two stars were mostly guilty for the new found strength. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer before this season were the young nucleus the Jazz HOPED to build around. After this past season the HOPED has been dropped and the word MUST has been substituted. Carlos Boozer was invited to his first All Star Game and Memo Okur although feeling some pressure in the playoffs was an All Star as well. Deron Williams was left off the team which pushed him to be even better as the season went on, but rest asure he will be an All Star for years to come in this league. A team isn't made with superstars though, the unlikely bench players for the Jazz are the true sucess of the team. Matt Harpring is incredibly under-appreciated and the play of the rookies for the Jazz was a pleasant surprise. Paul Millsap, drafted in the second round was a steal. I remeber watching him play against the Utah State Aggies in Logan and thinking that it was like watching a man amongst boys. There were even times in the season I thought that about Millsap, he is going to be a great role player. This team will continue to get better and the components that they need are less and less. The one gleaming hole is the 2 guard, which doesn't need be a killer offensive player. Just one solid defender with a shot that can spread the defense when needed. Easier said than done, but if the Jazz want to make the next step and go to the finals, we need our very own Steve Kerr or Bruce Bowen.