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Show 63 SPORTS Thunder 7 Boldt Utah Valley volleyball setter Brookelyn Campbell gives a day-to-day, inside look of the team's trip to North Dakota for the Great West Conference tournament. The Wolverines had just clinched the regular season conference crown and the tournament No. 1 seed the week before with a win over North Dakota at home. Nov. 15 Today we flew into North Dakota and we had our same bus driver from the last time, Dewey, who is awesome! For winning conference he bought us this GIANT bucket of vanilla ice cream! Re also brought chocolate syrup and caramel. Yumm! It was so hard that it took Sarah, Rachel, Lacee and me to scoop out the ice cream. It was so worth it though! Nov. 16 Today we woke up in North Dakota at 9 a.m. for breakfast. We don't play until Friday, so today is a chill day. We had study hall after breakfast for an hour and a half. We then left for practice and when we walked outside to get on the bus everyone was freezing! It's about 20 degrees here - so cold! After practice we went 1-o an all-you-can-eat buffet. I had pizza, pasta, chicken noodle soup, ice cream and the list goes on. This girl can eat! It was delicious! After leaving the buffet I was about to get onto the bus and I totally slipped on the ice and crashed into the The NBA, back in business 0 By JOSH CANN Sports Writer Yes, the NBA is a business as fans were abruptly reminded this off-season. Owners and players alike were little kids fighting over their Happy Meal toy the fans gave them. But a Happy Thanksgiving will once again lead to a Merry Christmas, especially for the Jazz and its followers. A deal was agreed upon on none other than Black Friday. While shoppers were out hustling and bustling, hitting up local WalMarts and Best Buys, NBA players and owners had their own door-busters of sorts. The NBA season of 66 games is set for take-off on Dec. 25, 16 games short of a normal regular season. stairs. OOPS! Dang snow... We then made our way to the mall and I went on quite the shopping spree. I didn't break $100, but almost! I bought some belts, tights and a couple winter jackets. A yellow and brown one, they are super cute can't wait to wear them! Jaicee got her hair done at the mall for our banquet tonight. It was actually really smart of her because now she doesn't have to do it tonight! We just got back from the banquet. It was awesome! We were awarded the conference award because we won. Sara was awarded Player of the Year. Jaicee was awarded Second Team. Me, Chealea, Sara and Erica were awarded 1st team All Conference. I was awarded Setter of the Year. Nov. 17 The tournament started today, but since we were first we had a bye and didn't have to play the first round. We went to watch the game against the two teams that we could possibly be playing in the semi-finals. It was against Chicago and NJIT. NJIT ended up winning and so that is who we were gearing up to play the next day. Nov. 18 Today is game day, and we are pumped to make it through this game so we can play in the championship game. Our bus driver Dewey NBA on Christmas is becoming the NFL of Thanksgiving. There is no assurance there will be an equivalent to a Turkey Bowl, but intriguing matchups are aligned to bring some extra cheer to this holy day. This Christmas in particular will hold extra meaning, as it marks the success of what looked like to be an NBA Armageddon of sorts. The Jazz will begin preseason games starting on Dec. 19 and 21 against Portland. The intriguing storylines of the Jazz season though will not start on Christmas, but rather Dec. 9, when free agents can be signed. Behind closed doors, the Jazz brass will have some important issues to confront, one of them being their big man situation. Returning is Al Jefferson, who's proven to be a go-to scorer down low for the Jazz as he led the team in points, rebounds, and blocks last season. He's cemented his spot on the 12-deep, or so fans would think. Enes Kanter is the Turkish big who was highly sought after and the Jazz acquired in the NBA draft this past June. Derrick Favors was awesome. Re would play music videos for us on the bus to get us all pumped up for the game. He did a great job. We had our pregame meal and then headed to the gym to get warmed up for our match. Before our game our coach did his little pep talk and then we got ourselves all pumped for the game. elf Nov. 19 The morning of the championship game, we went to eat breakfast and then to the coaches' room to watch film. We watched tons of film and I had even watched film the night before and the morning before we got to the coaches' room, trying to get as ready as possible. We all felt really prepared going into this match. We knew it would be a battle, especially since we had bet them twice before. We started the game and they had totally changed is just as touted and will be looked at for some quality minutes this coming season. Jeff Hornacek, former Jazz player and current assistant, said he'd be shocked if Favors wasn't an all-star after four years in the league. And of course, Paul Milsap, who has the Riley Nelson mantra of sorts in the form of a blue-collar, hardworking mentality. Four bigs. Only two can start. It makes management wonder if they could ink a sign-and-trade with a team, or at least sign a free agent to help their lack in the backcourt. This has been an issue for quite some time, and with the resignation of Sloan and trade of Deron Williams last season, the Jazz simply don't have a whole lot to lose. It may take some time for NBA and Jazz fans alike to adjust from the football to basketball mindset, but it helps a whole lot now the NBA actually has a season. It's Jimmertime in Sac Town, its Burk's time in Utah, but most importantly, a business party in the NBA labor negotiation office for settling the mud to cement a season. Josh Cann can be reached at jccodyll @ yahoo .com. 411. . -AL 41, 01.10. • AA -IL_ ": Kuppy Williamson Jonathan Boldt -- - We won in 3 [sets] and celebrated because that meant we were now in the championship game! After our game, North Dakota was playing I-1BU and during the breaks they had a hospitality room with tons of food so we would just sit and eat up there all of the chances we got because we love to eat! North Dakota ended up winning, which meant we were going to play them for the championship game - exactly who we wanted to play. MAWL's favorite moments so far Jordan McKeachnie Sophomore Brookelyn Campbell was named to first team all conference and was awarded setter of the ear. The lady spikers ca p just short losing to No akota in the conference ament. Elsa Alvarado "Watching volleyball "I love that Ronnie Price has "My favorite game [when] come to the past two home Zach Jones played the beat USU." games because I think it's most." awesome that he supports his alma mater. I love watching our boys kick trash." their whole lineup, and almost everything we had studied and reviewed had gone out the window. We couldn't stop them and we couldn't get anything going on our side. Nothing seemed to be going our way. We get trying and trying but ended up losing in 3 sets. At the end of the day though, we realized how far we had come and what a great season we had. We had the most wins this year that UVU has ever had. Nov. 20 We had to get up at 3:30 a.m. to catch our flight home, so me and my roommate, Cassie, stayed up the whole night and ordered pizza at 1 a.m. to keep us awake since we had to wake in like 2 hours anyway. It was a fun morning in the airport considering we were the only 2 slightly awake, but as soon as we sat down on the plane we were out like a light switch. Thompson stepping up in new starting role By ALEX RIVERA Sports Writer The weather calls for a high of 69 degrees on Dec. 5 — in Paramount, Calif, where Keith Thompson was born. In Utah, 36 degrees. Although the weather may be cold in this state, Thompson is just heating up as the season rolls on, and it might have something to do with his role this season as Utah Valley University's new starting forward. "Last year, I was playing a role on the team," Thompson states during a postgame interview. "This year, I'm taking the leadership role. I believe I'm a key to this team." A key might be an understatement as he ranks in the top three on his team for rebounds (13), steals (5), and points (41) this season. Thompson is currently in his final year at UVU. This year, however, is the year that he's an everyday starter. Last year as a junior he averaged 2.6 points a game but has already surmounted that average this season, with 10.3 points a game. "I just want to come out with energy," Thompson said. "Do anything to get my team going." Before Utah Valley, he was down in Citrus College as an everyday starter as well. He played very well, averaging a team-high 11.7 points a game in the 2009 — 2010 season. He also led the team in blocks (56) and steals (43) in the same season. He even took them to the Western States Conference Championship game and won it. Head coach Dick Hunsaker has been impressed by his 6'6" starting forward from Paramount. "When energized, he can do a lot on the court for this team," Hunsaker said. "He's progressing." During Homecoming week and on national television, Thompson showed his energy and progression when he scored a career-high 16 Lance Larsen/UVU Review Senior Keith Thompson has been a pleasant surprise for Dick Hunsaker and his squad this year. Thompson may be the most improved player since the end of the season last year and has taken a prominent role with the Wolverines. points in a Wolverine victory over the Kangaroos of Missouri-Kansas City. He also sealed the win with a block from the 3-point line with six seconds remaining in the game. In last Monday's 58-47 win over Northern Illinois, Thompson impressed Hunsaker in a completely different way. Despite finishing with no points and four rebounds, Hunsaker lauded Thompson for having his best game of the year — because of his defense. Whether it is his offense or defense, Thompson is proving to be a great leader for this team. He continues to play good hustle ball and is not afraid to share the ball with others. Despite Thompson's confidence and hustle on the court, as well as the numbers he puts up on the stat sheets, he always remembers to credit his team's success as the most important factor. "The key to this team is success," Thompson said. v Hype - what is it good for? Absolutely nothing Sometimes the line between being a journalist or reporter gets in the way of fandom, and even the best of us get blurry vision at times when that line creeps up on us. It turns out it's an actual medical condition, called "hype-rventilation." Those in the media these days tend to get caught up in the ebb and flow of public hype surrounding certain stories, and end up pushing the issue farther and longer than its natural life span would have allowed. Sometimes it's a big game that all the pundits huff-npuff about and other times it's scandals of varying degrees. Not too long ago, it was the Tiger Woods disgrace that was leading the topic of discussion around the country with the ethics of marital infidelities. Now the discussion has moved to something much more evil and sinister -- the issue of coaches and their molestation of young boys. When the Tiger Woods scandal broke, you would have thought it affected the very existence of everyone in the country with the size and scope of the coverage that it garnered. Jerry Sandusky and Barry Fine and their scandals at Penn St. and Syracuse, respectively, have figuratively dropped the proverbial hammer on all our collective 'me-isms' and squashed our selfish worries. I challenge you to come up with more than a handful of sporting events that have actually lived up to the hype. A lot of the time, the most amazing games come out of the blue and have more shock value than pre-game hype. Take the USA hockey team versus communist Russia in the miracle on ice, or BYU over SMU in the Miracle Bowl as examples. More often than not, the games with the most hype end up on the bottom of the scrap heap of sports history. This year, No. 1 LSU played No. 2 Alabama in what was built up as a clash of the titans, but turned out to be a game of field goals and defense. I don't care what anyone says. So what if they were the two of the best defenses college football has seen in decades? It's never one of the greatest games to ever be played if neither team found the end zone. Just a word to the wise, if something is full of too much hot air coming from the fourletter network, it's not worth your nerves or ulcers to get too caught up in the excitement. Even if a game does live up to the billing, it's a 50/50 shot that the team you get all huffy-n-puffy about will win. In the spirit of full disclosure, this may or may not be a response as a Detroit Lions fan to the emotional infant Ndamukong Suh, and his inability to control his temper and single handedly torpedo the first season to excite me since the Barry Sanders era. The Irish may have luck, but Lions fans own defeat. Jonathan Boldt can be reached at jonboldt@gmail. com . You can also follow him on twitter @jboldt24. |