(Image courtesy of the National Basketball Association)
Charging hard towards Summer Time, we are already past the halfway point in the Month of May. There’s not a ton of things going on locally here, with the collegiate season coming to an end. We will have the NBA Draft Lottery Tuesday night (carried live at 6pm on ESPN 700) and find out where the Utah Jazz will pick, if they so choose to keep their pick, in June’s NBA Draft. So let me give you a few links and odds and ends from the weekend.
A couple of Utah Athletics Notes from the weekend:
1. Utah Softball appears to be the next sport at Utah to make the jump to competitive in the Pac 12. Amy Hogue’s team just completed a 4th place season in the Conference of Champions and finished their season at NCAA Regionals in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Utes finish the season at 36-19 overall and a ton of promise moving forward with 7 of 9 starters returning next season.
2. After it’s most successful season in a decade, Utah Men’s Basketball lost a valued member of their coaching staff over the weekend. Director of Basketball Ops, Norm Parrish, is leaving the program to become an assistant at the University of Hawaii. Here are the details from the Warriors if you need them. Parrish, who coached for 25 years at Salt Lake Community College, will return to the bench joining new Head Coach Eran Ganot’s staff.
Let the Hype Begin for Booker
When you rush for more than 1500yds in the Pac 12 you aren’t likely to remain a mystery for very long and that’s now the case for Utah Senior RB Devontae Booker. There are big things in the works for Booker with the Utah offense this coming season. In fact, Booker told ESPN 700 that his two main goals are to rush for 2000yds and win the Heisman Trophy. So it’s no surprise that the national media is beginning to pick up on his lofty goals. Fox Sports College Football Insider Stewart Mandel profiles Booker in a really nice piece right here, which lays out exactly where he came from and why he returned for his senior season. He’s got big plans for his senior season and he’ll have a great launching point on National Television September 3rd against Michigan.
Mad Men Finale (Spoiler Alert)
I spent 7 years investing my Sunday Night’s in Don Draper and the World of Advertising from the late 50’s through the early 70’s. It all came to a close on Sunday night in the Series Finale of Mad Men. As much as I’ve anticipated the final season, I’ve also come to dread the closing of the franchise, because as attached as I’ve become to the characters, the series has been limping to it’s end for more than a year now. That said I thought the Finale did a more than adequate job of wrapping up the characters and storylines, with Don’s being the biggest to contend with.
What I liked:
1. Peggy and Stan: at long last the two who have driven each other nuts for years end up professing their love for one another. For the first time in a long time Peggy Olson, who I think was the 2nd most important character on the show, seemed happy. The phone call between her and Draper was a fantastic piece of acting.
2. Pete Campbell: for much of the series he was the most unlikeable character. In the last 3-4 episodes, he won me back over. He gets his 2nd chance at life with his family, a new start, and a big job in Wichita with LearJet.
3. Sally Draper: One of the most underrated characters and storylines throughout the show. She stepped up her game in the final two episodes, especially when lecturing her father on why he needed to stay away. She had a better read on the world and her world than both of her parents.
4. Don Draper: Apparently after wandering the earth Kwai Chang Caine style, Don finally had the awakening he needed at a commune in Northern California. There was way too much Stephanie for my liking, but ultimately it looks like Don found himself and his happy place and the world and soft drink industry looks to be all the better for it.
There are few series that can wrap things up to everyone’s liking; I think Matthew Weiner did well enough to satisfy me.
