Kragthorpe: Utes enjoy beating BYU, but advancing to Super Regionals is bigger
Hailey Hilburn produced another walk-off moment in a Utah-BYU softball game Saturday, only this ending was considerably less dramatic. The Ute relief pitcher delivered a called third strike to end a...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Warriors vs. Cavs in NBA Finals not getting old to me, yet
One of the first stories I wrote about the NBA in the 1980s listed the wrong team as the reigning champion, but I didn’t miss by much. Either the Los Angeles Lakers or the Boston Celtics almost always...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Warriors coach takes Jazz influence into NBA Finals
Jarron Collins’ advice to Golden State center JaVale McGee came straight from the Jerry Sloan book of homespun basketball sayings: “Don’t shoot the decoys.” McGee just looked at the Warriors assistant...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Cottonwood's 5A baseball title story is 'like a movie'
Orem The last day of school started with students lining the sidewalk outside Cottonwood High School, where a police escort led the team bus off the campus. Then came the graduation ceremony, complete...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Utahns can care about Colorado Rockies again
This story easily could have become the Curse of the Green Pig. The Colorado Rockies claim Utah as part of their territory, so new manager Bud Black and three players made a promotional visit to Salt...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Good memories of Jack Stockton, John's father
Jack Stockton didn’t match my image of him. The real-life version was even better. Somehow, even knowing his son was a 6-foot-1 guard for the Utah Jazz with a modest demeanor, I pictured tavern owner...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Jazz alumni team is guaranteed to add another NBA title
<freeform> Anyone just tuning into the Jazz’s latest rebuilding project needs a history lesson that only the 2017 NBA Finals can provide. Cleveland’s Deron Williams, Kyle Korver and...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Warriors looking like Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach, but that’s OK
Tiger Woods once played so well that Jack Nicklaus became angry with everybody else. Golden State’s performance in the 2017 NBA Playoffs is resembling Tiger’s 15-stroke victory in the 2000 U.S. Open...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Ogden Raptors’ ‘Hourglass’ promotion mindlessly crosses the line
The Ogden Raptors’ scheduled “Hourglass Appreciation Night” promotion revolved around the historic notion of baseball’s being played without a clock. That’s fairly clever. The problem is that the...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Could ex-Jazz star Deron Williams go scoreless in the NBA FInals?
Kyle Korver took the most memorable missed shot of the 2017 NBA Finals. Deron Williams has missed too many attempts to make any of them distinguishable from the others. The Finals are not going well...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Can the Jazz ever catch up to the Warriors in the West?
Nobody who watched Deron Williams, Kyle Korver and Richard Jefferson play for the Jazz in this decade will ever forget how they were involved in Cleveland’s 86-point first half in Friday’s Game 4 of...
View ArticleKragthorpe: ‘Intensely optimistic’ spirit drives UVU golfer Monica Yeates...
Provo Monica Yeates once thought the toughest moment of her life would be having to pray for the ability to pee. The mysterious illness that struck her in the middle of her Utah Valley University golf...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Jazz deserve some credit for Warriors’ run, thanks to 2013 trade
The Golden State Warriors may have won the 2017 NBA championship without Kevin Durant. They wouldn’t have won Monday’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals without Andre Iguodala. Iguodala’s 20-point effort in...
View ArticleKragthorpe: U.S. Open is big checkpoint for BYU alum Daniel Summerhays
Daniel Summerhays’ immediate goal is a Father’s Day tee time. That’s his job, after all. Advancing to Sunday’s final round of the U.S. Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin would help Summerhays maintain...
View ArticleKragthorpe: A celebration of former Jazz GM Frank Layden's loyalty to Utah
Gordon Hayward's decision to remain with the Jazz or play elsewhere in the NBA will affect the self-image of the franchise and even the entire state. Regardless of what Hayward decides, Utah long ago...
View ArticleKragthorpe: RSL rises above worst in MLS at halfway point
Sandy Real Salt Lake’s season, having become really interesting for the wrong reasons, reached the halfway point with a performance temporarily altering the picture Saturday night. RSL’s 1-0 victory...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Biggest summer in Utah Jazz history will intensify this week
Gordon Hayward never believed his agent’s prediction that the phone would start ringing at 12:01 a.m. July 1. That was three years ago, when some percentage of fans didn’t care whether or not the Jazz...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Utah Jazz’s draft night is full of unknowns
The night when he boldly acquired a top-10 pick in the NBA draft, Utah Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey also chose Rudy Gobert. No other snapshot of Jazz history illustrates the uncertainty of...
View ArticleKragthorpe: Jazz hope Donovan Mitchell’s defense justifies move to get him
When he worked out for the Jazz in late May, Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell stopped short of comparing himself to the some of the NBA’s elite guards. He just hoped to show he was capable of...
View ArticleKragthorpe: BYU’s Ty Detmer balances LaVell Edwards’ legacy with practicality
Provo The patches will be prominent, yet understated. BYU’s tribute to the late LaVell Edwards during the 2017 football season is just the right touch. Edwards’ name and image will adorn the front of...
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