After 23 years as head coach of the Utah Jazz, making him the longest tenured coach in any of the four major pro sports, it appears Jerry Sloan‘s career has come to an end. According to a report in the Deseret News, Sloan will resign later today along with his long-time assistant, Phil Johnson. Here’s what’s been reported: Read More »

Need a reason why the Utah Jazz agreed to a one-year contact extension with Jerry Sloan yesterday? Watch this. From Al Jefferson to Kyrylo Fesenko to Raja Bell in 1.7 seconds, it doesn’t get any prettier from an X’s and O’s standpoint.

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The Utah Jazz are struggling. Last night’s 29-point loss to the Lakers was the team’s 5th straight defeat, and while Deron Williams and Co. are still only a game and a half behind the Thunder in the Northwest Division, they have dropped to 6th place in the Western Conference.

Utah could use a little help going into tonight’s tip-off with the West-leading Spurs (ESPN, 9:30 p.m. EST). Last time I looked, Karl Malone and John Stockton are both in pretty good shape and wouldn’t need to re-learn the playbook, but Jerry Sloan will probably explore some other options first.

With the NBA set to announce its All-Star starters tomorrow, this is the time of year where blaming the game’s fans for ultimately meaningless travesties is at its peak. You’ll see what I mean once Yao Ming‘s name is revealed as the Western Conference starting center.

NBA fans are safe from blame, though, when it comes to the League’s regular-season awards. If we end up with the wrong MVP or Coach of the Year, that falls on the media members who vote. The idea is that those of us who cover the League for a living are more objective and know what we’re talking about, that we’re not going to reduce things to a popularity contest. Read More »

I don’t know what I’m more surprised about: How funny this video is, or the fact that they got Jerry Sloan to go along for the ride. Either way, Bear (the Jazz mascot) is a G. Thanks to The Basketball Jones for the clip.

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It’s too early. Obviously. Three weeks into the NBA season, no team has played more than 11 games. There’s still about 85 percent of the schedule left. It’s not even reasonable to start talking playoff matchups or gauging Lottery odds.

But it’s never too early to start compiling contenders for the league’s Most Valuable Player award. And while the early MVP debate has centered around Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol — and even Joakim Noah according to some national analysts — right now Deron Williams should be ahead of the pack. Read More »

Now it’s just getting ridiculous. On their final outing of a four-games-in-five-nights road trip, Jerry Sloan‘s boys faced a prototypical trap game: After huge wins in Miami, Orlando and Atlanta, last night’s tip in Charlotte presented a not-so-glamorous opponent and an understandable excuse to let one get away. But that’s not the Jazz way. Once again they fell behind by double-digits, this time in the first quarter, and once again their collective toughness and Deron Williams brought them back … Read More »

We argue. You decide.

JOHN CALIPARI (by A. Macaluso) When it comes to family, no one is closer than the Italians. You used to be able to say the same about John Calipari and his predecessor, Rick Pitino. Both coaches have known each other ever since they worked together at Five Star Camp. Both head coaches were actually friends in the beginning, with Pitino helping Calipari land the head coaching position at Massachusetts in 1988. Read More »

With the NBA preseason underway and three weeks left until the regular season begins, now’s the time when coaches start to decide which players will earn a starting spot or be moved to the bench. Throughout the League, there have been a lot of position battles — most notably Caron Butler vs. Shawn Marion in Dallas, the three-way fight for SG in Minnesota, and most recently, Andrei Kirilenko vs. Paul Millsap in Utah. Read More »

We argue. You decide.

CARLOS BOOZER (by Jorge Azze) Booz is undersized at 6-9, but has been the face of consistency at the power forward spot.

Since getting to the League in ’02, Boozer has averaged a double-double in five of his eight seasons, including the last four years in a row. He is a smart guy, Duke alum, with ridiculous work ethic. Read More »