Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller is going for a drive on Sunday. You know, see the beautiful Utah countryside, probably listen to the soothing sounds of one Mr. Lawrence Welk, let the wind blow through his hair on a fine day. Meanwhile, Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer will be launching jumpers and more than likely watching Kobe Bryant drive nail after unrighteous nail into the hearts of the hometown faithful. It will be the first home playoff game in Utah on a Sunday in seven years. Miller, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will not be attending the game due to religious reasons. The LDS Church "admonishes its members to avoid non-religious activities on Sunday, if at all possible." You know, unless you're kidnapped, or the Rapture happens, or something. Then I suppose it would be okay. Either way, Miller won't be attending in order to uphold the religious mandate. Miller has actually worked with the NBA scheduling committee to avoid regular season Jazz games on Sundays. You have to admire a man for sticking up for his beliefs in that way, though he did characterize the situation as "frustrating" and "painful" for people in this predicament such as himself. That might not be entirely fair though. You have to look at the situation from the viewpoint of everyone involved, and if you delay the game, it throws the schedule all off and means Pau Gasol has to go chase tail in Barcelona a week later than he would have had to otherwise. And they say punctuality is next to Godliness.
Oh, well, maybe Mr. Miller can stop and catch a movie while he's out. Oops. Maybe not.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Being kidnapped at the moment of rapture is the definition of something but I can't think what.
Posted at 5:21PM on May 9th 2008 by Carolyn
2. "It will be the first home playoff game in Utah in seven years."
No, it won't. See the prior post, for instance.
Posted at 5:59PM on May 9th 2008 by Ben
3. Yeah your right ben. I was wondering the same thing also. But then I read one of the links he posted and it said in there "It will be the Jazz's first Sunday home game since they hosted Phoenix on Jan. 21, 2001, and their first Sunday home playoff game since they beat Portland 88-85 in overtime in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals on May 14, 2000, also Mother's Day." (from http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_9190865)
Posted at 6:05PM on May 9th 2008 by khajatiger
4. So this guy believes in fairy tales and we are supposed to admire that? Bah. Try pity.
Posted at 7:02PM on May 9th 2008 by ian
5. What would Miller do if Deron Williams became a Mormon, and wouldn't play on Sundays?
Posted at 7:25PM on May 9th 2008 by Jaz
6. If Larry Miller takes sunday off due to his spiritual faith then how come Steve Young played on sundays with the Bucs and 49ers?
Posted at 12:26AM on May 10th 2008 by George B Vieto
7. Psssh. Larry has been to all the Sunday games dating back to the Jazz's Finals Years. He just doesn't come out to his usual seats next to the floor. Instead, he hangs back in the locker room. I know this; I worked for the team back in the day.
Posted at 2:37AM on May 10th 2008 by BSC
8. Exodus 20:8-11:
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy astranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."
In an age of cynics, it's quite ironic that a man is mocked for actually practicing what he preaches. It seems to me that the rest of this country, not Mr. Miller, has lost its way; a way that, up until a few decades ago, honored the Sabbath day. Unfortunately, The Day of Rest has been commercialized, along with just about everything else.
Posted at 3:09AM on May 10th 2008 by Joaquin Fenix
9. It is too bad and very sad when someone tries to do their best to live their faith and others take pleasure in putting that effort down. He is not forcing anyone else to do what he is chosing to do.
Posted at 11:18AM on May 11th 2008 by DanD
10. If anyone ACTUALLY believes that this man in any way "practices what he preaches", then you need a serious reality check. The only reason that Larry H. Miller does stuff like this is so he can continue to endear himself to the LDS population in Utah. Come on people! The Utah Jazz are THE TEAM THAT HE OWNS!!! Along with 3/4 of the the car dealerships in Salt Lake, the longest FIA road course in the country, and MANY, MANY other things.This guy is the worst corporate greed offender of them all! IF he really wanted people to not be going to see their hometown basketball team play on Sunday, maybe he wouldn't have bought the team in the first place! But Mormonism is a dogma of ignorance and fear, so those people eat it right up.
Posted at 1:28PM on May 11th 2008 by Chris Thompson