Opening Night Game Journal

8:31pm: have to suffer through another terrible pregame show with Pace Mannion. Already my wife and I are talking about how long it will take for us to be annoyed by something they do in the pregame.
8:32pm: Just got annoyed. Man, Pace Mannion must have some type of blackmail material that he is using on Larry H. Miller.
8:36pm: Just realized I forgot to get my wife into the fantasy league, sending a text message to my dad to fix that.
8:40pm: It is nice to see the advertisers didn't think to do some new commercials for this season. The ameco windows jingle is burning a hole in the side of my head.
8:46pm: Waiting for the first Boone comment of the season, they are breaking down players around the league and that is where you know Boone is at his prime.
8:48pm: Team walking out to the tip and C.J. Miles is at half court giving everybody five. There should only be two ways Miles plays at all tonight. 1) We are up by twenty points with two minutes to play. 2) The rest of the team starts pucking their guts out and Sloan can't talk people in the crowd into suiting up. Miles is a waste why did we resign him.
8:50pm We won the tip we are going to the NBA finals.
8:50 1/2pm: AK misses a one foot layup we are going to win 10 games for the year.
8:53pm: Boozer has first points for the year, but team looks slow.
8:55pm: Okur has two quick fouls; surprise move Sloan goes with Millsap over Collins(thank goodness!)
8:58pm: Brewer goes over the top of a player in the paint for his first points of the night, that is a good look. It is nice to have some one who can get to the basket at two guard.
9:00pm: TV time out. Boozer already has 6 points and three boards. I think on the last layup it clicked in Boozers head, "oh yeah, nobody can guard me on the Warriors." The next five plays should go to Booz in the blocks. Need better defense to with stand the first quarter burst. Out of the timeout Hart came in for Williams, this will be interesting.
9:04pm: Dunk-steal-dunk combo by Brewer. This could be good!
9:05pm: I believe that was the twentieth time Bolerjack and Boone has mentioned that Baron Davis dunked on AK in the playoffs last year.
9:09pm: Booz showing dominance now 10 points and 6 boards. Has back to back baskets and rebounds.
9:11pm: Harpring is now in the game, no preseason play by Harpring so it will be interesting to see if that plays a role in how he plays.
9:14pm: With all the success Brewer is having around the basket he is 0-3 beyond ten feet.
9:15pm: Gira in the game for less then thirty seconds and already has done two stupid plays. TRADE HIM!!! They should just have it sown underneath his name, " Need to move looking for low draft pick, OBO." Maybe we could get the Jazz announcer to auction him off at the beginning of the first Jazz home game.
9:18pm: First Quarter is over, good quarter. Start of the second C.J is in the game. C.J. makes his first mistake. Him and Gira on the floor at the same time is a train wreck.
9:22pm: C.J. Miles bailed out by the officials going baseline. He is statically great on first nights so maybe Sloan is milking this knowledge.
9:25pm: AK blocks Baron Davis. "Ron, did you know that AK got dunked on last year by Baron Davis?" Saw that one coming, out of Bolerjacks mouth.
9:26pm: AK only has two points, but he is making the difference in the game, blocking shots, altering shots, great passing, and hustle tips and deflections.
9:30pm: the schedule makers weren't kinda to the jazz for the first five games. Warriors, Rockets, Warriors, Lakers, Cavs. Three out of the five are at home, but the Jazz should be happy going 3-2 in this stretch.
9:35pm: Williams is playing like a stud. The Jazz need to do everything they can to keep him in Utah. Also, after some harder fouls on Williams I miss Rafa from last year. It was nice to have the option if things were getting rough on the floor to have Rafa lay out a few people and have it stop right quick. Nobody on this team can play the role of the muscle, and every team needs that. Maybe that is what we could get for Gira, just a thug twelfth man that can lay down the justice. Rafa though was the perfect enforcer, because you could blame anything he did on the poor coordination that he had.
9:40pm: Jazz have an eleven point lead Jazz 48-Warriors 37, which means nothing when you are playing a team like the Warriors. Once we have twenty points in the fourth quarter that is when I feel comfortable, but not really comfortable. Just noticed Okur hasn't been on the court since leaving at the 8 minute mark in the first quarter.
9:43pm: Williams just picked up his third foul and it will be Hart for the rest of the half. Lets see if we can keep the lead. 11 points when he checked out of the game with 4:54 left in the half.
9:45pm:BOOZER!!! The man can't be stopped by the Warriors 18pts 6 rebs. C.J. Still hasn't learned how to play defense.
9:47pm: Sasha is still unsigned by the Cavs, maybe we could send them Gira and Miles for Sasha in a sign and trade. (never happen but a man can dream). Coming back from timeout Utah 58- Warriors 45; the Warriors have a run in them before halftime, the Jazz need to finish stong with Williams on the bench.
9:50pm: Two minutes left in the half and Boone hasn't said anything dumb yet, turning over a new leaf? After so many years has Boone become comfortable behind the mic?\
9:53pm: Just as I finish Boone comes up clutch! He breaks down Mr. Boone comments by Boler like the boone of old.
9:54pm: under a minute left in the half and Golden State is making the run, but the Jazz maintain 11 point lead going into halftime.
9:55pm Halftime- Good AK and Brewer's hustle plays; FYI- Booz and Williams are still studs; C.J. is on the verge of losing his opening night legend status. Jazz need to keep the foot on the throat of the Warriors and extend the lead. Last year the Jazz would let the other people off the hook and let them get back into games, hopefully this changes with the new year. Went over to TNT halftime for the second half of their double header just in time to hear Chuch give love to the Jazz. Heard a great interview of Charles Barkley by Bill Simmons. Highlight of interview Barkley admitting he would have like to have played for Jerry Sloan during his career.
10:10pm: Second half off to sloppy start for Jazz. Okur looks bad against fast Warriors. Lead down to six points Utah 63-Golden St. 57.
10:14pm: two straight turn overs by AK. Gets a block to make up for it.
10:16pm:Fifth turnover by the Jazz, at the 9:23 mark in the 3rd quarter, on a carry call against Williams. Thus start another year of NBA officiating in which they call something way to tight in the first twenty games on to become to lax for the rest of the season.
10:17pm: Sloppy, Sloppy, Sloppy. Both ends of the court. Jerry is very calm considering the play of the Jazz in the quarter. Terrible call on Boozer gets nothing more then a look of death from Jerry to the official. The melo Jerry continues.
10:24pm: First TV timeout of the second half Utah 74- Golden St 64. Booz is a beast 22 pts 9 rebs. AK and Brewer still haven't hit a shot from beyond ten feet, they are making up for it in hustle plays. (Will need the outside shot to start falling in the near future though.)
10:27pm: Brewer hits first shot beyond fifteen feet. Hopefully one of many. Only to go down pick up a foul and shank his next outside shot(UGLY!!!)
10:30pm Booz blows by the double double, 24 points 12 rebs. Utah 81-GS 67. Questionable call on Hart, but I like the way the game has been officiated so far. Official scorer just gave AK his fifth block.
10:34pm: Hart has an awful shot!! Plus he just recorded his fourth turnover. I will give it two week before I make up my mind on Hart. Brewer is everywhere tonight fourth steal of the night with 1:14 left in the quarter.
10:39pm: End of the Third Quarter. Jerry said that Brewer needed to show it on the defensive end. I think Brewer has stepped up to the challenge. Millsap is putting together a good night. Okur looks bad. The shot at the end of the quarter sums up his night a blind turn around throw at the basket. I like what the official have been doing with a lot of no calls. Let them play, you don't have to call something every time someone falls down. Collins still yet to log a minute, and I love it.
10:43pm: Williams delivers a dagger by knocking down a step back three, after his man flops to the floor. Williams is a warrior you know he will give it a 100% every night.
10:46pm: Jazz are flirting with the twenty point, 'put it in the refrigerator and lock the door' point advantage Utah 95- Golden St. 76. 9:17 still a lot of time if Golden St. get hot.
10:48pm: flipped over to the Rockets-Lakers game to check the score, and I really like what the Staples Center is doing by turning off the light over the crowd. I wish they would do that at Jazz games. It brings more attention to the court.
10:51pm: AK is a good passer when he isn't on the move. Two straight assists by AK. He gets the ball to people at the proper spots were they can shot. To bad he still has yet to find his shot tonight. Great stat line though.
10:54pm: The assassin, that is my recommendation for a nickname for Deron Williams. I know he already has D-will, but he needs something else. When Shaq is done basketball the Jazz should hire him to be a nickname consultant. Yet, he should be treated like an assistant coach. Let him dress in a suit and sit on the bench during the game. The nicknames and post game interviews/comments would be great, especially if Sloan was still the head coach.
10:57pm: Warriors on a run lead down to 15pts. 104 Utah-GS 89. They are a three away from making things interesting down the stretch. Brewer is on the bench for the closing minutes of the game, with Sloan going with Gira. I would rather have Brewer out there to finish.
11:00pm: Why is Booz taking 15 foot turn around shots against the Warriors. He shouldn't take a shot outside of ten feet unless he has to beat the shot clock against the Warriors. He owns the Warriors and the paint.
11:02pm: We go to Shaq for his take on the situation... (wouldn't that be great. You would have to have him mic'ed up the whole game, although ever having a mic that close to Jerry is always a bad idea.)
11:05pm: If you can't get enough of Pace Mannion tune in for his insight after the game. What did Larry do and how did Pace get a picture of it?
11:07pm: C.J. is set to come into the game, for the what should be the first time. Collins also will make an appearance and will end up with the same amount of points as Okur. (Yikes! I hope he gets it going against Yao.)
11:10pm Final score Utah 117 - Golden State 96. Final thoughts, Boozer looked good and still owns the Warriors. Williams has a great night. Brewer cements his starting spot with GREAT defense, he just needs to work on cracking the finishing lineup. AK took some terrible shots, but great game flirting with a 5x5 stat line. Okur really really off night, but he should be off against a running team. Hopefully he picks it up against Houston. I said I will wait two weeks but I will give Hart just one before I make a decision about him. Not a good, but not a terrible performance tonight. Also Baron Daivs, he is a fantasy killer. He starts every season looking like the stud player he can be, only to go down for months due to injury. He seems like a good guy and a compeitior I hope he stays healthy for nothing else then just being able to make fantasy owners feel good to have him on their teams. All in all good win by the Jazz against a quality opponent.