homecoming

given that i wrote a god-damned thesis yesterday, i'll try to keep this brief - really, i just wanted to post my dr. anderson - homer simpson - boozer shoulder devils picture.

tonight's jazz game against chicago is something a lot of people are looking forward to. if i was attending the game, i would give ronnie brewer a standing ovation at his introduction, if for not other reason than he made deron happy. i'd probably rise to my feet for korver too; he's such an honest guy and he gives so much back to every community in which he's lived (and embraced).

but i think everybody knows the palatable electricity regarding this bulls vs. jazz matchup has more to do with a certain power forward from duke.

there's going to be a lot of hard feelings showering down from the crowd at ESA onto carlos boozer tonight. and he deserves a lot of them. phantom injuries that sidelined him for a third of his utah career. that "strained oblique" that had him sitting for the most important game of the regular season in april of 2010. a total lack of defensive effort or skill. talking about leaving with two years remaining on his contract. having sex with a hairdresser (not even a jazz dancer, booze?).

but, and i think this is obvious, despite my early season predictions that losing boozer for big al would show immediate lateral results, boozer brought something to the team that we're missing. i get that losing matthews and korver has a lot to do with it, but boozer was good for 11.2 boards last year and 13.2 boards during the 08-09 and 09-10 playoffs. the guy was an all-star; his deflating effect on team chemistry was, more or less, made up for on the floor when he was actually playing. and he certainly didn't have to help the jazz out with that sign-and-trade exception that basically allowed us to land jefferson

so my question is this: does booze earn only heckling tonight? or does he deserve a tiny bit of gratitude as well when the SLC attendees sip their first $9 uinta draft?

in other words, boos or booze for boozer?