JC The Savior
Called on to help younger players, Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson appears to be doing the work of a missionary.
He posted two zeros on his account.
» Jordan Clarkson had poured his heart and soul into the 31 points he scored Thursday night against Golden State in a 127-126 thriller, but you can tell the losing is wearing on him. You can tell he wants to be on a contender and that the Jazz at 12 wins are nowhere near that point in their development, a team that has a total of 30 draft picks at the ready. As the hours approached toward the NBA Trade Deadline, Jazz fans suspected the end was nigh for the one and only Flame.
“Whether you stay or go to a contender you're a Jazz legend for life,” said one fan. Others also expressed their gratitude towards Clarkson. Grown men were telling JC they loved him. Ladies posted emojis of tears rolling down cheeks.
» It just hasn’t been Clarkson’s year; he’s only played in 28 games and has been dealing with plantar fasciitis for months insofar as how he’s been used in the Jazz lineup [whether or not that injury report is accurate is another story]. Could team trainers possibly “fudge” Clarkson’s injury? According to a 17-year study of injuries to NBA players from 1993 to 2010, anything is possible though it’s happening less often.
“In the current study, 12,594 injuries in 1366 players occurred over 17 years. During this period, the game became increasingly physical and played by larger individuals. Henry et al [1983 in an earlier study] noted that 94% of games missed were due to injuries of the knee, ankle, and foot, compared to 53% of games missed in this study.”
» The 32-year-old’s shots are still going in somewhat; the referees simply aren’t falling for Clarkson’s old man tricks as often anymore and more of his off-balance jumpers are ending up bricks. His shooting is worse than it ever has been as a pro at 41 percent and he’s averaging just 16.6 points per game.
That’s been hard for people to see here because Clarkson is a bonafide hero, a guy who arugably has been the Jazz' most valuable player over the past 10 years, his headband covering up tightly strung braids that frame his gritted teeth.
With apologies to Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles and Rudy Gobert it was Clarkson, a half-Filipino, half-black and US Air Force brat who could get buckets when nobody else on Utah could as he blazed his way towards a Sixth Man Award. 2021 was a whirlwind year, one that heaped international attention not only on Clarkson but on a state where racism is always a hot button topic.
“It has been an emotional few days. The love and support that we got from all of you has been deeply heartfelt. My family can't thank you guys enough,” posted Ben Pierce of the Yum-Yum Food Truck attacked by vandals that spray-painted racist slurs on it, necessitating a repainting. “Special thanks to Utah Jazz's Jordan Clarkson and Dan from Identity graphics for the new look.”
Pierce is half-Filipino. Like Clarkson, he’d endured racism and hatred throughout his life but found most Utahns to be some of the nicest people in the face of adversity.
» While it does feel like Clarkson’s made the ultimate sacrifice by staying here for six years, he’s a guy so valuable to the Jazz franchise and owner Ryan Smith that the love for Clarkson may have surpassed that for which Jazz Nation adored Ingles—a point proven by fans’ collective sighs after the final seconds ticked off the game clock of the NBA Trade Deadline this past Thursday.
And so JC will stay for the rest of the season, taking one for the team the way that Ingles took one for Clarkson in their battle for the NBA Sixth Man Award back in 2021.
There’s no telling what Clarkson’s future may hold beyond this season, but he’ll be waiting for his turn to leave for his next destination a while longer on these Jazz, who make DNPs such a regular thing that it's a running joke on X, that place where JC left those two O's a space apart, signifying something. «
Lukaplaquia
RUMORS » The debut of Luka Doncic the LA Laker [above] was supposed to be on Saturday against Indiana—but got scrapped. This is kind of how a young man [“Lucas”] who went by one name [Lucaplaquia, a virus] ended up: A] hooking up with the hottest girl in school; B] driving around with Charlie Sheen and C] catching the winning pass at a football game. He also ended up in the hospital after getting creamed by about five opposing players but you can’t have it all…what a movie, though, man.
Anyway, it pushed the most anticipated arrival to Monday night for arguably the most important arrival in La La Land since … Shaq. Yeah, I said it; I don’t think LeBron ranks up there with Luka. ESPN moved stuff [read: NCAA hoops] around to accommodate for Luka, who was good friends with Kobe. On a scale of 1-10, for example, my basketball loving youngest son ranked Luka Laker up there with the death of 8/24.
“Dad! Luka is a Laker!!” he texted last Saturday night.
Naturally, since I work in the media biz, I’d already heard about the trade and the shockwaves it sent, even here in Utah since the Jazz were also participants or accomplices—or both. CEO Danny Ainge reportedly didn’t know who was being traded; had he known I doubt it would’ve went down. All I know is for AD & key pieces to go to Dallas, and for Luka & nobody cares to head to LA, there HAD to be a third party involved. That party was Utah, who in an almost karmic way also would become a footnote to a footnote to history, as in where-were-you-when-Luka-played his first minute as a Laker. The answer is: parked in front of your device.
It was ironic that the first two baskets of the Luka Laker Era came from a guy wearing No. 11—as if the Jazz needed any more reminders how skewed things are toward LA, who won 132-113 against Utah Monday and will play the Jazz again on Wednesday in the Salty City at what will likely be a crazy scene at the Delta Center. «
Overthink This Photo 📸
📷 » Utah State Athletics
The Utah State Aggies softball team might not be known to many outside cache county—but they should be. This past weekend saw the Aggies upset No. 19 Baylor 6-4 at the AggieClassic in College Station, Texas. The person in the photo is none other than USU junior infielder Grace Matej who went 3-for-4 for the Aggies and 9-for-18 from the plate en route to winning the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week. «
National Boring Assn
Some People Say » The NBA is reportedly suffering losses in fan interest and attendance. Whether or not that continues with the recent trade of megastar Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers on a ho-hum Saturday night is TBD. But one person still had faith in the league delivering the deliverables in the near future.
“We obviously believe in the NBA long-term,” Disney CEO Bob Iger told Front Office Sports. “We think it’s a growth sport, We don’t really look at ratings year-to-year that carefully. We haven’t even seen half a season [this year]. We’re not distracted in any sense by what’s happening ratings-wise this season. We’re happy to have this now for 11 more years, including the Finals in 10 of those years. It is and will continue to be a marquee part of ESPN’s offering.”
“I’m waiting for the 30 for 30 [on the Luka deal],” replied Paul Scheer, comedian and LA Clippers fan who would really like for GM Lawrence Frank to “get off his butt and get some trades going.”
Fair enough; perhaps the Jazz can offer up Jalen Hood-Schifino since he hasn’t joined Utah officially though the team has welcomed him virtually. [He rejoined the Lakers.]
The Jazz also had Mo Bamba [and Dennis Schroder, who completed the illustrious rainbow above by having been traded 3x in 24 hours] before they were waived. They join other Jazzmen who were here for a cup of dirty Dr Pepper at a Swig drive-thru such as Patrick Beverley, who actually showed up at the Jazz training facility bright and early, only to be told by Trader Danny that everybody was dropping their kids off at school and would be in shortly. [Pat Bev was also sent packing later that week.]
So it goes in the Salty City where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints owns the tallest office building. «
#WhatAreWeDOING Playoffs [Most-voted candidate advances to next round; two candidates per week]
» #1 Candidate: last week, Conor McGregor was the toast of Utah. The man could do no wrong as he traveled from Salt Lake to Farmington to Provo. Not this week:
» #2 Candidate: Rob Ryan is back coaching football. At USC as its defensive coordinator. And yes, he’s as certifiable as ever:
Advancing to the #whatarewedoing playoff second round thus far:
Frat pledge set on fire
Player pushes his coach
Ohio State female coach
Dad uses baby to clean off car
Thanks for reading; be safe and be well. I’ll see ya next time. «
