CITY GUIDE 2017 

Page 4 of 20

Scorin' IN THE BEEHIVE
A celebration of Utah sports legends past and future.
By Mikey Saltas

Of the four major sports associations in the United States—the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL—Utah has just one: the Utah Jazz basketball team. The Jazz are handicapped within their own league, as they don't schedule any Sunday home games, since there's a considerable drop-off in ticket purchases on the Sabbath.

That isn't to say Utah is devoid of great sports teams and players, however. The Salt Lake Bees are the minor league affiliate team of the Los Angeles Angels; West Valley City hosts the Utah Grizzlies hockey team; and local colleges send their fair share of athletes on to the professional sports circuit. Utahns love their sports, and Utah boasts of legends and up-and-comers alike.

THE LEGENDS

Jerry Sloan
Jerry Sloan is arguably the greatest basketball coach not only in Utah, but, some might argue, of all time. Sloan spent 23 years pacing the sideline as the Utah Jazz head coach, an era in which he accumulated 1,223 wins, good for the third-most wins by a coach in the history of the NBA. He stands uncontested in the number of technical fouls received, with at least 446 over his career (when you coach as long as Sloan did, keeping track of stats gets iffy). He never won a championship in all of his years, but his passion for the game earned him enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

John Stockton and Karl Malone
Utah Jazz basketball wouldn't be where it is today without John Stockton and Karl Malone. To describe one, one must also include the other. Karl "the Mailman" Malone delivered high-flying dunks for just under 37,000 career points, good for second all-time. He was the beneficiary of the majority of John Stockon's 15,806 career assists (an NBA record). The Kryptonite to the dynamic duo of Stockton and Malone was undoubtedly Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls. Jordan won back-to-back NBA Finals versus the Jazz, including the infamous Game 5 "Flu Game" in 1997, a contest where Jordan suffered a stomach virus in Salt Lake City, rolled out of bed an hour before the opening buzzer and scored 38 points. Even still, Stockton and Malone will go down as one of the best partnerships in NBA history.

Real Salt Lake 2009 Team
The Real Salt Lake soccer team hasn't been around for long, but the club's followers have grown exponentially. The 2009 team was just the fifth year of the team's existence and on paper, they weren't the best team in Major League Soccer—the team finished the regular season with a losing 11-12-7 record. However, that record was enough to clinch the eighth and final playoff spot. After making a spectacular run in the postseason, Real Salt Lake found themselves in the MLS Cup Final against the Los Angeles Galaxy. It cleated David against Goliath—the Galaxy had worldwide phenoms David Beckham and Landon Donovan, while Real Salt Lake had future stars Kyle Beckerman, Nick Rimando and Javier Morales. Real Salt Lake ended up winning the match 1-1 (4-5 penalty shootout) and became the first professional sports team in Utah to win a major championship.

LaVell Edwards
Utah is without an NFL team, but that only means locals have an incredible passion for their top college football teams—the University of Utah, Brigham Young University and Utah State University. LaVell Edwards put BYU (and college football in Utah, for that matter) on the map. Edwards coached the Cougars from 1962-2000. His resume includes an impressive 257-101-3 record, a 1984 national championship, and coaching Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer in 1990. Before his final game, BYU honored Edwards by naming its Provo football stadium after the veteran football coach.

Alex Smith
During the Edwards era, Brigham Young University dominated the "Holy War," the annual game played between the Utah Utes and BYU. The Cougars' stronghold on the intra-state rivalry leveled off in the 1990s and subsequently shifted in Utah's favor in the 2000s during the Alex Smith years. In his two years starting for the University of Utah, the ace quarterback never lost to the Cougars. Smith led Utah to a 52-21 win against BYU in 2004 to cap off Utah's first undefeated season and eventually went on to beat Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl. Utah was the first non-BCS (Bowl Championship Series) team to go to a premier BCS bowl. Concluding his 13-0 season with the Utes, Smith went on the be the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NFL draft and is currently the signal caller for the Kansas City Chiefs.

THE FUTURE STARS

Rudy Gobert
France native Rudy Gobert (Go-BARE) is the 7-foot-2 center for the Utah Jazz with a standing reach of 9 feet 7 inches, just five inches short of the 10-foot-tall hoop. At 24 years old, the "Stifle Tower" has emerged as one of the most efficient players in the entire NBA—in the 2017 season, his stats include 13.1 points (66 percent shooting), 12.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. His imposing presence in the frontcourt and effective play earned him a four-year, $102-million contract extension with the Jazz.

Gordon Hayward
Utah Jazz star small forward Gordon Hayward is a household name in Utah, though his rise to stardom has been a slow climb. The Butler University alum rose to fame when he led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament Championship game and nearly beat Duke for the national title on a halfcourt, buzzer-beater shot that missed by a matter of inches. In 2010, the baby-faced, scrawny player was selected by the Jazz as the ninth overall pick in the NBA Draft. He has since worked himself into the starting rotation and has improved his points per game total each season in the NBA. Now 26 years old and in his seventh year here, Hayward was selected to play his first NBA All-Star game in 2017 and is leading the Jazz to their potential first playoff berth since 2012.

click to enlarge

Jordan Allen
One of the most promising soccer players in the country is Real Salt Lake midfielder Jordan Allen. Though just 21 years old, Allen has been with the club since he was 18, when he signed RSL's sixth-ever Homegrown Player contract (when an MLS club signs local players from development academies directly to the first team roster). Allen has made 48 appearances for Real Salt Lake and has logged five goals. With some development, Allen could grow into a star, and the future looks promising.

Tanner Mangum
At 23 years old, most college football players are at the tail end of their careers, though former LDS missionary and current BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum's career is just beginning. In 2015, Mangum started his freshman year for the Cougars and logged 3,377 passing yards and 23 touchdowns. In 2016, he had a limited role as the backup to Taysom Hill, who returned to the Cougars after a devastating injury in the first game of the 2015 season. With two years of eligibility left, Mangum looks to be the uncontested starter and hopes to bring BYU to its former glory.

The "Hallandale Trio"
The University of Utah football team is a diverse group of players native to Utah, California, Texas, Hawaii, American Samoa and Florida. Perhaps surprisingly, 10 football players from the Sunshine State call Utah home, including the "Hallandale Trio" (Hallandale, Fla.) the nickname given to quarterback Tyler Huntley, running back Zack Moss and wideout Demari Simpkins, all true freshmen in 2016. Moss ran for 382 yards, the most by a Utah freshman running back since Jamal Anderson 20 years ago. Simpkins came down with a crucial 3rd and long catch against Pac-12 rival USC to extend a game-winning drive by the Utes. Huntley played the least in 2016 of the three, but is perhaps the most intriguing prospect—in high school, he was the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year. To put that in perspective, only a handful of FGPY winner since 2000 haven't gone on to play in the NFL.

THE SPORTS PALACES

Vivint Smart Home Arena
The "House that Larry H. Miller Built" in 1991, Vivint Smart Home Arena has hosted the Utah Jazz since its inception, along with numerous concerts and other sports competitions.
vivintarena.com

LaVell Edwards Stadium
Home of the BYU Cougars football team in Provo, LaVell Edwards Stadium is the largest sports arena in Utah with a crowd of 63,470 considered a sellout.
byucougars.com

Jon M. Huntsman Center
Erected in 1969 (then the Special Events Center), the Jon M. Huntsman Center has a long and rich history. The JMHC hosted the legendary 1979 Final Four of the NCAA Tournament featuring Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, which remains the most-watched college basketball game in history.
stadium.utah.edu

Rice-Eccles Stadium
Rice-Eccles Stadium is home to the University of Utah football team. It was renovated to host the 2002 Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies. The stadium holds a capacity of 45,807 fans.
stadium.uta.edu

Rio Tinto Stadium
Built in 2009, Rio Tinto Stadium, or "The Riot," is the home of Real Salt Lake and has a capacity of 25,000. Before Rio Tinto Stadium was erected, Real Salt Lake played its matches at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
riotintostadium.com