Ok, so I am thrilled about the signing of Raja Bell and what he brings to the Jazz.  I have always admired his toughness, his work ethic -- especially on defense, and his overall attitude.  I actually didn't get to see him play when he was with the Jazz the first time, because I was on my mission from August 2003 through August 2005.  So I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can do this time around as a Jazz man.

So here's the thing.  I was talking to my dad yesterday, and I asked him what he thought about the Jazz bringing back Bell.  He responded that he thought it was stupid and that he didn't like Bell.  WHAT???  How come?  Well, his response was that he didn't have a problem with Bell as a player, but that when Raja left the Jazz to sign with Phoenix, he and his wife made several negative comments about the Jazz, Salt Lake City, the team, etc.  This was the first I ever heard about this.  And from everything I've been able to find in research, it never happened.  So my only explanation is that maybe my dad is confused and was thinking of someone else.  I really couldn't say anything in response because I have no first-hand memory of Raja with the Jazz at all.  So...

Did this happen?
Can you think of a different player who acted that way when he left?

Thanks in advance.

Big thanks to those who participated.  Click here to view the results of the polling.  It was almost unanimous that the Jazz will win out.  I hope that it happens that way.  The majority of us also had the Mavs losing last night, which sadly did not happen.  Only 52% of us think that Denver will lose tonight to San Antonio.  It's unfortunate that we have to rely on other teams losing, but I still think the 2 or 3 seed is within reach.  Go Jazz!

We know that the Lakers (curse them!) are going to be the top seed in the West, but that's about all we know.  This is one of the tightest playoff races I can remember -- it seems like every time I refresh NBA.com/standings, it's all different.  I'm curious to see how my fellow fans see the Western playoff picture shaking down.  Take a minute and make your picks below.  It should be pretty interesting to see.  I'll post the results tomorrow.

UPDATE:  For some reason it won't let me embed the form... you can make your picks here.

I've probably got way too much time on my hands, but I looked through the remaining schedules for teams in playoff positions in the Western Conference.  I created this graphic so that I could see it all at once:

via i267.photobucket.com

click here to enlarge

A few things jumped out to me.  First, the Mavs have by far the easiest remaining schedule.  They have the fewest road games, and only 2 road games vs. playoff teams.  And with the way they've been playing lately, I don't see anyone catching them.  Another thing that stands out is that LA only has 6 home games remaining.  They've been struggling lately (would have been a 4 game losing streak if not for a Kobe buzzer beater last night).  I'm just saying, the Mavs are only 3 games back in the loss column, so there's a possibility that LA might drop to the 2 seed.

OKC could make some noise.  They have the most games remaining, and

We've got our work cut out for us, but I am optimistic that we can overtake Denver.  They have two more games vs. playoff teams than we do, and they also have an extra road game vs. a playoff team.  But then, if LA does drop to the 2 seed, I'd rather stay at number 4!

In Monday's DB, Basketball John invited us to predict how the Jazz will finish the season.  I enjoyed reading your predictions, so I thought we could take it one step further.  Predict the playoff seeds and regular season records for the Western Conference playoff contenders.

My Predictions:

1 LA Lakers (59-23)
2 Dallas Mavericks (58-24)
3 Utah Jazz (57-25)
4 Denver Nuggets (56-26)
5 Phoenix Suns (53-29)
6 OKC Thunder (52-30)
7 Portland Trail Blazers (50-32)
8 San Antonio Spurs (49-33)

My predictions are a combination of what I think will happen, and what I hope will happen.  I'm probably a little too optimistic, but I think this scenario gives the Jazz a great shot at a long playoff run.  Call me crazy, but the only team on this list that I'd be truly afraid of in a 7 game series (especially if we had home court advantage) is LA (Denver is a close second though...).  And if the seeds lined up like this, LA would face San Antonio and (most likely) Denver in the first two rounds.  That could really make things interesting.

So, how do you think the playoff teams in the West will finish?  What are your predictions for seeding?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt09.htm

Not that pre-season rankings mean much, but it is a nice place to start.  Considering the fact that these ratings make up a part of the BCS rankings, I'd say this is a very good place to start.  Utah is the highest non-bcs team, followed by TCU(16), Boise St. (19), and Brigham Young(23).

Of course wins are what ultimately matter.  I am positive that if any of the four teams mentioned above goes undefeated this year, they will end up in a BCS bowl game.  Still, a ranking this high can't hurt.

Definitely not the most enjoyable game to watch.  I was quite hoarse on Sunday.  Nevertheless, we got the "W", and it was enough to move us up to #8 in the BCS poll -- which is awesome.

Highlights:

• Aiona Key blocking the early UNM field goal.  I think a lot of people maybe forgot about this spectacular play (which, btw, probably saved us from an overtime situation), but this kid is awesome!  He timed his jump perfectly, and he can really get up there.  He's got the highest vertical leap on the team.  What a stud!
• Louie Sakoda.  It will be a sad day in Ute-ville when he graduates.  I'm pretty sure we would be somewhere around 6-3 if it weren't for him.  Pinning the Lobos about an inch from the goal line -- you just can't punt better than that.
• The hook and lateral on our one TD of the game.  I love trick plays -- and, note-to-ludwig, when you change it up every now and then, it usually works!
• Making Rodney Furgussen a non-factor.

Lowlights:

• The O-Line.  Granted, UNM blitzed on nearly every snap, and that can wear down an offensive line pretty quick, but come on guys.  Johnson gets blamed for making poor choices with the ball, but you've gotta give him some time to make his reads.
• Throwing an INT in the endzone.  We let our most productive drive of the game end in a turnover.  SO frustrating!!  (incidentally, that seems to happen to me quite often on the PlayStation.)
• There's something I just REALLY didn't get.  We returned a punt (or kickoff maybe?) to about the 35 yard line.  A couple flags come in.  The refs have one of there little ref meetings (which always seem to take longer than I think they should), and then the lead official steps up to call out the penalties.  "There are fouls against both teams", he says.  "Illegal block in the back on the return team, and a dead-ball personal foul on the kicking team".  So I'm thinking, "Ok, it could be worse.  They'll back us up 10 yards for the block in the back, and then they'll give us 15 yards for the personal foul."  Not so.  His little ref buddy comes running over and whispers in his ear, then he comes back on the mic and says, "Correction, both fouls are against the RETURN team."  WHAT?!  You would have thought his would be clarified during their 5-minute meeting.  But then, as if to pour salt in the wound, we get marched back to the 5 YARD LINE!  Since when was a block in the back a 15 yarder?  Very irritating.  End of soap box.

What were your highlights and lowlights?

Heads up, Ute fans.  CBS college sports just released their most current Bowl Predictions, and it definitely got me excited.  I know, I know.  It’s obviously way too early still to predict these things.  But just the fact that this is a possibility gets me pretty stoked for the post-season.  Check out their predictions here.

That’s right, Utah vs. Florida in the All-State Sugar Bowl.  Wouldn’t that be amazing?  I would love to see our Utes go up against Urban Myer’s Gators.  That would be a very hyped up game.  Of course a win there would make Kyle Whittingham a very desirable coach, but I really don’t think he’s going anywhere.

What do you think?  Would you like to see Utes vs. Gators?