LA Ball Talk's Top Team Blog Contest

If you didn't know, LA Ball Talk is hosting a Top Team Blog Contest right now. Basically -- from my understanding -- it's a "there can only be one" / Highlander style vote where each of the 30 teams will end up with ONE blog that stands above all. Actually, here's the text from the top of the page that explains it a whole lot better: The following are the sites that are trying their hand at being named the Top Blog for the team that they cover on a daily basis. Passion, pride, commitment and knowledge of the game are key to a successful sports blog, and every one of these blogs has these characteristics. Take a look into each of these sites and admire how much work everyone puts into their blogs. Leave these bloggers some comments and help them grow their site in order to bring you the best that they possibly can. The voting polls will be up and running tomorrow, most likely, and will give all the fans a chance to vote for their favorite blog for each NBA team.  (LA Ball Talk, 2008, from their own blog)

Anyway, some teams have more participating blogs than others:

• The LA Lakers have 7 blogs (!)
• The LA Clippers have 2 (even more amusing than the 7 Lakers blogs)
• I'm pretty sure the 5 Utah Jazz blogs could take the Houston blogs out in the 1st round, then cream the Golden State blogs in the 2nd. (sorry, 2006-2007 playoffs flashback) Nah, both fanbases have really strong followings and entertaining blogs (specifically the Dream Shake and Golden State of Mind)
• The Charlotte New Orleans Hornets have a whopping 8 blogs, one for every non-bandwagon Hornets fan in human history
• Some blogs have no other competition, like Indy Corn Rows's dominion over all things Pacers related
• The New York Knicks have 6 blogs, one for every "point guard" on their roster

Anyway, there are more than 5 Utah Jazz blogs, so I am honored to be selected/nominated or whatever. Alas, I'm one of the newest ones, and I do not have a large following. This hurts me in this competition, as well as the fact that I don't blog everyday. I'm not going to be able to 'out scoop' the other Jazz blogs when it comes to news either. And that's fine. Those blogs are really good for what they do, so I've had to carve out a niche doing something else -- like writing posts with very large word counts.

I don't even look at this as a competition at all, just a chance to get more inter-team blog flow, and to present the Jazz blogging unit (all of us, not just any one particular blog) as the best NBA Team Blogging fans there are!

Seriously? Our Top 5 blogs are better than any other Top 5 team blogs out there.

1.  SLC Dunk is solid and dependable -- it starts things off, and is there to finish the game when things are tight like Deron Williams. Everyone likes SLC Dunk.
2. True Blue Jazz, formerly My Utah Jazz, is slightly unpredictable, often controversial, but puts up big numbers and has won the notice of these online blog wars before . . . like how Carlos Boozer is a beast that has been recognized as an All-Star more than once.
3. The Cowhide Globe is not a blog name that rolls off the tongue for some people who are not familiar with our team, but is capable of posting clutch articles that make a big difference, like Mehmet Okur
4. UtahJazzBlog.net has long been in the game (2006! wow!), though has not been keeping up with the rest of the starting five of late. Some may argue that The Utah Jazz should be in this starting five even! In this case, UtahJazzBlog.net appears to be the Derek Fisher to The Utah Jazz' Ronnie Brewer (circa 2006-2007).
5. Last we have All That Jazz, a versatile blog that doesn't get many touches (hits), and wants to play with a spark (write well) but is riddled with translation problems (occasional type-o's) and xenophobia (a Jazz blog written by a Canadian guy living in Detroit). Yes, this is the AK-47 of blogs as I do a little bit of everything, occasionally do something awesome, but over-all am a shadow of my former self. (Back in the early 2000's before Blogs I was really active in writing basketball posts on message boards)

Paying Homage, or plain being a homer?

I was reminded recently when looking over the wiki article listing the NBA players with retired jerseys list that some teams have a greater history than others. For example, the Lakers franchise celebrates (or will after Shaq retires, as his number is currently out of circulation) 15 people, while the cross town Clippers have nothing going on up in their part of the rafters in Staples Center. Additionally, some players are celebrated even in places that they have no affiliation for -- for example Michael Jordan (who is not from Miami, didn't play college in Florida, and has never played for any franchise down there) has his jersey retired by the Heat. The only thing I can think of that links the two is that Jordan used to kill the Heat and Knicks -- both teams when Pat Riley was the coach there. Well, Jordan is so larger than life that he was playing ball for the Bulls with his #45 while his #23 was up in the rafters -- then later unretired his jersey (paid the small fine) and was balling in that to end his Bulls career. Seriously, what a douche-bag. The list is interesting to look over, did you know that Jim Loscutoff, a Celtics player, actually asked for his number to be free to use by others?

"Loscutoff asked that his legacy be honored by allowing other Celtics to wear his number in the future. It was later retired in honor of [Dave] Cowens. Loscutoff is represented by a square with the letters "LOSCY"."(Wikipedia, 2008)

The Celtics keep it pretty simple	Does this mean that the Jazz have to retire a Kobe jersey?

Out of all the numbers retired (and some not retired . . .) there has to be some politics involved. Jazz fans know about the whole Adrian Dantley situation. He was a key player for our teams back when he played in Utah (1979-1986), and was 'The Man' when the Jazz first started winning division titles and going to the playoffs. He was a top 3 scorer in the NBA five different times, and was recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He left the Jazz under sour terms and his jersey retirement was passed over for many years while the Jazz franchise took care of these franchise icons first: Frank Layden in 1988, Darrell Griffith in 1993, Mark Eaton in 1996, Jeff Hornacek in 2002, John Stockton in 2004, and Karl Malone in 2006. They finally got around to Dantley (who had been retired since 1991, before every one of those guys but Coach Layden) in April of 2007. So getting your jersey retired involves more than just being a good player for a franchise. Just look at Jazz franchise great Pete Maravich.

Adrian Dantley	All 8 of 'em . . .	"Pistol" Pete

Pistol Pete was born in Pennsylvania and played college at LSU. He was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks back in 1969-1970 NBA Draft. He was traded to the expansion New Orleans Jazz franchise (1974-1975 season) for Dean Meminger, Bob Kauffman, two 1st round draft picks and two 2nd round draft picks. It is interesting to note that his years in New Orleans were relatively poor seasons for the team. If New Orleans was so great, why did they have to leave in the first place? If the fans really cared they never would have left. Yeah. The New Orleans fanbase is terrible. The fans have no heart, and don't really care about supporting their basketball franchise -- or at least they didn't back when Pete played there. (compare that to the wild fanbase that the Jazz franchise now is happy to have, it's a great contrast really)

That said, the Charlotte Hornets franchise decided to retire "Pistol" Pete's jersey when they moved to New Orleans. This is stupid, and their franchise is too. Pete was a great player at LSU (basically owning the entire NCAA), and was one of the most spectacular players in the NBA during his peak. But the New Orleans Hornets have no legitimate claim to Pete at all. The Utah Jazz did not retire Moses Malone's jersey -- even though he played for the Utah Stars back in the day. The New Orleans Hornets did not retire Shaquille O'Neal's jersey -- and he was a great player for LSU who also never played for the Charlotte Hornets franchise either. (Seriously, isn't that the qualification to get your jersey retired in New Orleans now-a-days?)

What I see this as is a cheap ploy to drum up interest in a city that has a history of not caring about their basketball team. If the Bulls team moves from Chicago to, lets say, Madrid (in David Stern's world, how far fetched is this in our lifetimes?), and Milwaukee's franchise gets relocated to the Chicago area does this mean that the Bucks franchise can now put up banners proclaiming Michael Jordan as one of their best players in franchise history? (Not that Jordan would care, the more retirements the merrier for him)

Or if the Sacramento Kings get relocated to Seattle, do they get the right to put up Gary Payton and Nate McMillan jerseys before their first home game? It would be one thing for the Charlotte Hornets to pick up the past of a dead franchise upon moving to a new city. (Like how the Toronto Raptors share some history with the Toronto Huskies) But it is an entirely different thing to steal players and history from an existing (and much better) franchise that previously played all of 4.5 seasons there. (as opposed to the 28.5 seasons in Utah)

Seriously Charlotte/New Orleans -- hang up some Muggsy Bogues jerseys instead -- you know, some players who actually played in your pitiful franchise. Rex Chapman isn't doing much now a days, maybe you can sell some more tickets that way. Not that it matters really . . . 19,907 > 14,181. Maybe we can loan you guys Karl Malone too, he played at Louisiana Tech in college and the Utah Jazz in the NBA as well. So that obviously makes him a franchise cornerstone for the Charlotte Hornets. Go knock yourselves out, New Orleans fans.