Kragthorpe - The Salt Lake Tribune

Kragthorpe: LeBron James gets one more shot to win us over

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:34:40 MDT

Kragthorpe: LeBron James gets one more shot to win us over

by Kurt Kragthorpe Tribune Columnist

Published Jun 19, 2013 12:34PM MDT

LeBron James’ legacy, continually subject to re-evaluation, was about to be updated Tuesday night. The ball was in the air in the closing seconds of Game 6 of the NBA Finals, with the Miami Heat trailing by three points in a desperate quest to extend their season. As James launched his tying attempt, everything was playing out right in front of us: Make that shot, and LeBron would be lionized for a clutch delivery. Miss, and he would have to live with a bitter defeat that all of us would remind...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Kragthorpe: U.S. soccer team merits more noise in second half (with video)

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:55:23 MDT

Kragthorpe: U.S. soccer team merits more noise in second half (with video)

by Kurt Kragthorpe The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 18, 2013 11:55PM MDT

Sandy Every four years, Jozy Altidore personally makes sure high-level international soccer keeps coming back to Utah. If not for Altidore’s left-footed goal in the 73th minute Tuesday night, Rio Tinto Stadium would have been remembered as the site of a rare non-victory for the U.S. men’s national team in a World Cup qualifier on home soil. Even worse, this night would have become known as the time when the Riot — the stadium’s nickname — was too quiet. Altidore rewrote that script, to the re...

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Kragthorpe: U.S. soccer team loves Utah, with conditions

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:29:57 MDT

Kragthorpe: U.S. soccer team loves Utah, with conditions

by Kurt Kragthorpe Tribune Columnist

Published Jun 17, 2013 03:29PM MDT

Sandy Provo, in particular, might be out of the picture. Generally speaking, Utah remains a go-to venue for a U.S. men’s national soccer team that’s always looking for a home-field advantage in World Cup qualifying. Who could have seen this coming? The U.S. team took a chance by playing in an unproven soccer market in 2005, staging a game on a temporary grass field at Rice-Eccles Stadium, and loved every bit of the experience. Well, there was Landon Donovan’s famously wry, mixed review: “I wo...

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Kragthorpe: Phil Mickelson didn’t deserve U.S. Open title

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:52:49 MDT

Kragthorpe: Phil Mickelson didn’t deserve U.S. Open title

by Kurt Kragthorpe Tribune Columnist

Published Jun 17, 2013 09:52AM MDT

Phil Mickelson’s latest U.S. Open experience hardly fits into any certain category. Saying that another second-place finish In the Open makes him a tragic figure is misguided, because he had his chances to win Sunday. Criticizing him for poor decision-making is wrong, because he played creatively but not recklessly. Justin Rose simply outplayed him. And Mickelson deserves credit for putting himself in that position again at age 43, but the fact is he faltered on the last six holes. Halfway throu...

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Kragthorpe: Is Austin Collie crazy? It’s his life, his choices

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:35:41 MDT

Kragthorpe: Is Austin Collie crazy? It’s his life, his choices

by Kurt Kragthorpe Tribune Columnist

Published Jun 16, 2013 03:35PM MDT

Austin Collie’s father is acknowledging his bias, using the word as a disclaimer. “I’m the dad,” Scott Collie says, before endorsing his son as a proven NFL receiver, who’s looking for a job. And then he continues, “I think a team’s crazy if they don’t bring Austin in.” Interesting choice of words, right? There are those who believe that description fits former BYU star Austin Collie. He’s so determined to keep playing football that he’s willing to sign a waiver, making himself responsible for ...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Kragthorpe: Heat, Spurs have become likeable

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:58:31 MDT

Kragthorpe: Heat, Spurs have become likeable

by Kurt Kragthorpe Tribune Columnist

Published Jun 14, 2013 05:58PM MDT

Now that the NBA Finals are even again, it is obvious that the winner will have earned the championship. Whether that’s the San Antonio Spurs, by winning in Miami next week, or the Heat, having responded from a 36-point defeat by winning Thursday’s Game 4 on the road, the NBA will have produced a deserving champion. And, in an upset, I’ll have grown to like each team. My interest in these NBA playoffs faded when the teams that featured former Jazz players were eliminated. The Spurs-Heat matchup ...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Kragthorpe: Johnny Miller’s 63 in ’73 U.S. Open resonates

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:32:49 MDT

Kragthorpe: Johnny Miller’s 63 in ’73 U.S. Open resonates

by Kurt Kragthorpe Tribune Columnist

Published Jun 11, 2013 10:32AM MDT

With the 40th anniversary of his epic round approaching, Johnny Miller expressed surprise about how the subject keeps resurfacing. But he knows why his 63 in ’73 remains so prominent in golf history, and the way his NBC Sports colleagues discuss it every June during the U.S. Open telecast is only part of the reason. Factoring in all of the circumstances, Miller’s winning performance at Oakmont Country Club may be the greatest round ever played — and that’s not just according to Miller, a former...

Kragthorpe: Time for Utes to do more than wear Pac-12 patch

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 18:20:56 MDT

Kragthorpe: Time for Utes to do more than wear Pac-12 patch

by Kurt Kragthorpe the Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jun 8, 2013 06:20PM MDT

On that June afternoon in 2010 when Rose Bowl organizers delivered flowers to the University of Utah’s president at Rice-Eccles Stadium, welcoming the Utes into the Pac-12 Conference, this became the inevitable question: When will the novelty wear off? That’s worth asking now. So is this: Am I the only one who overestimated Utah’s ability to win a bunch of Pac-12 football games, right from the start? In two seasons, the Utes have gone 7-11 in conference play, including 3-7 against Pac-12 South ...

Kragthorpe: Jazz were good enough to beat Heat, Spurs

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 09:45:36 MDT

Kragthorpe: Jazz were good enough to beat Heat, Spurs

by Kurt Kragthorpe Tribune Columnist

Published Jun 5, 2013 09:45AM MDT

In December, the San Antonio Spurs came to town with a fully healthy, fully participating roster of players and melted down in the final four minutes of a 99-96 loss to the Jazz. In January, the Miami Heat visited EnergySolutions Arena after a day off and fell behind by 21 points late in the third quarter before staging a futile rally in a 104-97 defeat. These are your NBA Finals contestants. Viewed in the context of the NBA season, those performances are easily rationalized. Nobody goes undefe...