The Coaching Carousel

Ron Haun, huh?

The story goes that Greg Croshaw was fired (ahem, let go) due to academic standards that were not addressed and the College felt that they needed to go a different direction. Then Dexter Irvin goes out and hires Haun. A good fit? I'm not sure.

Haun is a Dixie alumnus and will be dedicated to the College and the community. That much I feel comfortable in saying. He knows the ropes when it comes to recruiting in this state and in this area. That is attested to by his success at Ricks/BYU-Idaho. He can coach at a junior college level. Again, that is attested to by his record at Ricks.

My question is whether he can coach at this level and whether the hire was motivated by the College's desire to distance itself from any impropriety. Try this on for size. Following the defection by Jeff Kidder (I am glad he's gone to be honest), the College goes and hires a good guy in Coach Judkins. He's about as milquetoast as they get. Then they go and hire an ex-Ricks coach to replace Croshaw. I'm not saying Haun is milquetoast, but he was on Ron McBride's staff last year. Need I say more?

I am hoping for the best with Haun, but I hope they keep Jeff Schroeder and the other coaches that have worked this spring with the kids, because otherwise the transition is going to be a long and hard one, both for the College and the athletes.

On a totally unrelated topic. Would the Dixie Athletic Department please publish a schedule on their website for next year. Please.

A Shout-out for Joe Beutler

It's not like swimming is the end-all, be-all sport around these parts, and that is just fine, but local swimmer, Joe Beutler, is the end-all, be-all swimmer around these parts and Southern Utah should take note. A double gold medalist at the recent 3-A State Championship in Provo and 3-A State Swimmer of the Year, Joe one-upped his accomplishments a week or so ago at the Western Sectional meet in Phoenix, Arizona by setting a state mark in the 1650 yard freestyle event and the 1000 yard freestyle event. In the latter event, Joe qualified for Nationals. No, not Nationals for his age-group (he's 15) but Nationals for every age group. He is one of the top distance swimmers in the entire United States and will have the opportunity to get some valuable experience at that level in the Nationals this weekend in Federal Way, Washington.

Joe is a freshman at Snow Canyon Middle School and should be making waves for years to come. Here at the SUSBlog, we wish you the best and will be following your progress.

The Final Four

I wonder if the George Mason run is the most amazing thing to ever happen in team sports. Think about it. It is the equivalent of Utah State beating USC in football, my Dad beating Tiger in a round of golf, and the Clippers winning anything of significance.

I am not saying it is unprecedented. LSU had a similar run from the 11 seed back in 1986 but this is so much more impressive. First, LSU had the advantage of a lot of conference money being sifted into its program from the Kentucky's and Alabama's of the SEC. George Mason hardly sees any such money. Second, LSU is a school with a huge fan base and a subsequently large talent pool to recruit from. George Mason is a commuter school in the shadows of Georgetown and George Washington. And lastly, LSU had a schedule that prepared it for the tournament rigours. Nothing against Hofstra and UNC-Wilmington, but that was pretty much it in the CAA.

I think the other thing that endears them so much is their unbridled enthusiasm for the whole thing. They are genuinely blown away by the accomplishment and rightly so. I don't expect them to win in the Final Four (Florida is just too balanced and athletic to expect an underdog victory), but I expect them to be classy and exciting, and maybe, just maybe, they'll shock me yet again. I can't wait.

And from Louisiana Tech

So last night, I dragged myself away from the NCAA Tourney (where I went three for four on my picks, though I sweated things out) to watch the tribute to Karl Malone. Yep, the Utah Jazz did what was expected of them and retired his jersey and made a nice little presentation of a statue.

A few thoughts about the Mailman. For all he says that the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the one on the back, I think he says it with tongue in cheek. Yes, he gave it his all in every game, but as he put it (with little or no eloquence), every play went through him. It is easy to say that when your selfishness is rewarded on every possession. Lest we forget, Karl struggled every offseason to keep himself from throttling Larry Miller. I am a big fan of Karl's but I am also a fan that thinks Karl got everything and more from the Jazz.

I won't harp on Karl too much about the missed opportunities in the playoffs but I still see no banners hanging in any rafters that mean much.

In summary, congrats Karl, on a fine career. It was fun and it was real, but it wasn't real fun (to steal a line from the Jazz promotions team).

Karl, you don't have a championship and you don't have the all-time scoring title and it's Karl Malone who has to shoulder the blame in both cases.

We love ya, but we don't miss ya.

Cashing In on the Spectrum

Every once in a while, I intend to take the Spectrum to task. I think a number of their sports staff do an outstanding job but other times I think they are a bunch of hacks (they will probably say the same of me). Today, however, I want to use a poll that they had up at their website.

It suggests that nearly 20% of Southern Utah sports fans consider the Dodgers to be their baseball team of choice. It lists the Giants (5%), Diamondbacks (10%), A's (6%), Mariners (5%), and Padres (5%) and the all-inclusive Others (47%).

Is this true? Are we really a Dodgers enclave here in Dixie?

I wonder how many of the 47% are Cubs fans or Angels fans or Braves fans. I might even wonder about Yankee and Red Sox fans. I, personally, am a Dodger fan and would love to cover the Dodgers a little more closely if, indeed, the area wants that coverage, but I wonder if it really does.

On this blog, I believe the Jazz are the team of choice in basketball and the 49ers and Broncos probably rule the roost in football, but baseball is an enigma in these parts. Help me out.

The Sweet Sixteen

I have been debating starting up a blog that focuses in on the Southern Utah sports scene for a while and I have finally decided to launch it. For what it is worth, this first post will focus in on the NCAA Tournament and the round of sixteen. Here is a little primer on what to look for both today and tomorrow.

#1 Duke vs. #4 LSU--in a lot of cases I look for the team with the better inside presence to win out and so the Tigers have a leg up using traditional thought, but this is Duke and they have some pretty special players. I suggest you look for both Sheldon Williams and Josh McRoberts to look to get to the line early by taking it right into the chests of the LSU big men. Redick will score his, but look for the real damage to be done by Williams. My pick--Duke by 7.

#2 Texas vs. #6 West Virginia--Yes, The Mountaineers have been here before and, yes, they have exceptional big men, who can shoot, but Texas is playing with purpose now and they have every bit the talent of the top teams in this tourney. This will be close but look for the Longhorns to get to the line late and pull away. My pick--Texas by 6.

#1 Memphis vs. #13 Bradley--On the outside, it would be foolish to choose Bradley to beat the Tigers, but...but...nothing. The speed and athleticism of Memphis will ultimately lead them to a blowout in this one. I hope I'm wrong, but Calipari beats teams he's supposed to beat and even though his team is young it is unbelievably disciplined. My pick--Memphis by 15.

#2 UCLA vs. #3 Gonzaga--These teams are very evenly matched in almost every single way, except one; defense. UCLA can defend and Gonzaga cannot. In the end that will prove to be the big difference in this one. Gonzaga needs Raivio and Altidor-Cespedes to come up big and I don't see it happening. My pick--UCLA by 9.

#1 Connecticut vs. #5 Washington--I am tempted to switch on this game if only because Connecticut hasn't found its rhythm yet and Washington definitely has. Roy and Dentmon have been awesome so far in the tourney, but I think Jim Calhoun will find a way to eliminate their penetration and that will make them very vulnerable to a team that will get out and break opportunistically. My pick--Connecticut by 11.

#7 Wichita State vs. #11 George Mason--I didn't think I'd see this matchup at all when I first looked at the brackets, but here it is. I like that George Mason won this one back during the Bracket Busters, but this is a different tourney and the Shockers look to be the more dangerous team. This will be tight but look for the Shockers to pull away in the second half. My pick--Wichita State by 3.

#1 Villanova vs. #4 Boston College--I am a believer in the fact that guards win tournaments, but I really like B.C. in this matchup. I am not going to get into an X's and O's discussion because I'd talk myself out of my pick. That said, my pick is BC by 5.

#3 Florida vs. #7 Georgetown--I am picking Florida over everyone right now. Georgetown has played exceptionally disciplined b-ball to this point and that slow down may harass the Gators for a little while, but this Gator team is so intelligent and so quick on both sides of the ball that I think they will pull away pretty easily. My pick--Florida by 10.

So that's it, folks. Welcome to the Southern Utah Sports Blog, where I will try to touch all the pertinent local sports as well as the big sports we all love and know. Welcome and Come Back.