Just like that....

  the Utah Jazz are right back in this thing.  A lot can change in just a couple of days.  

The Jazz went from almost flat lining, to having a pulse, to now having a full on heart beat.  Dave (Lunch Box) went from being an obnoxious Laker fan, to an educated Laker fan who can appreciate good basketball from either side, to a Laker fan who no longer responds to his text messages. (He's going to blame that on the fact that he is in Hawaii.  Is that really an excuse?)  Carlos Boozer went from slumping, to everyone's hero, then back to hiding once again.(Please come back Carlos)  Kobe went from unstoppable to a cripple that could barely pull himself off of the floor. (Actually, as a cripple he was still nearly unstoppable)  

Rather than being down and out the Jazz are right back in this thing and now find themselves in a best out of three series.  How will it all turn out?

My gut feeling is that the series will go seven games.  I would love to see the Jazz steal the next game but am hesitant to predict it happening.  Adam has said all along that he thought game 5 would be the game the Jazz steal.  Here's hoping it happens. 

If (and it's still a big if) the Jazz make it through this round who would you rather have them matchup against, the Spurs or the Hornets?  As I watched the Spurs spank the Hornets earlier this evening it brought back bad memories of watching them do the same to our beloved team.  Part of me says bring on the Spurs so that the Jazz can finally get that monkey off their backs and beat Ginobli, Parker, and Duncan just so they can say they did.  On the other hand though I would love to see a D-Will vs. CP3 battle.  D-Will has taken it to Paul so far in their short careers and I would love to see more of it on a national stage with the country watching.  I think the Jazz match up well with the Hornets.

I think in either case though the Jazz, if they get past the Lakers, would advance to the finals.  I think they could beat either team.  

This sort of talk is definitely putting the cart before the horse. Is that so wrong though? Isn't that what fans do?

Back to the task at hand.  I hope the Jazz actually show up to play for game 5 unlike the game 5 down in Houston.  If they can get the win that would be great, but at least if nothing else I hope that they give themselves a chance to win coming down to the final minutes.  Please keep it close.  I hope that isn't asking too much.  

Notes:

-Play of the Day has to go to Ronnie Price blocking Luke Walton from behind on the easy fast break layup.  Nothing like getting denied by the shortest guy on the court.

-Pirate Motor Sports (my softball team) is 2-o on the season.  I have realized that my age is catching up to me.  Softball should not be a sport that makes you sore the next day, especially when half of the time was spent catching behind the plate.  This year could be our year to take the title.  We are three-peat champions in flag football but can never get it together to win it on the softball diamond.

-My two year old boy has outgrown our 1/4 acre lot.  My vinyl fence cannot contain his swing.  His new game is using the fence as his home run wall.  The neighbor kids are trained already to know to just toss the balls back over onto our grass. I bought him a new glove and some cleats the other day (they're about three sizes to big and look like ski's on his feet) and laugh as I watch him out on the grass pretending like he is catching balls with his mitt.  The joys of being a dad.