Font Resize
This is not about advocating any rejoicing in the sufferings of others. That emotional toxin should be carefully preserved for the BYU-Utah game.
Rather, this is my annual gift of perspective, the chance to place ourselves in some context and realize that we're not the only ones with worries, troubles and failures. Today's encouraging reminder: It could be worse; you could be ...
Greg Miller
The Jazz's new owner is dishing out $1 million a game in player salaries to run the family franchise. So the fourth quarters of this week's epic losses to Houston and Dallas have cost him $500,000.
His team was outscored 78-38 in those 24 minutes, with the games on the line.
Mix in economic pressures, dissatisfied fans, the burden of Carlos Boozer and a potentially awkward situation with a Hall of Fame coach, and Miller must wonder how all this happened to him. Wow. You know you don't want to be this guy.
Jim Zorn
Once a Utah State assistant coach on a staff with Gary Patterson, who's now thriving at Texas Christian, Zorn is struggling as the Washington Redskins' coach. The owner brought in an offensive consultant and took the play-calling duties away from Zorn, whose team is 2-5 and has lost star tight end Chris Cooley of USU to injury.
Washington's next five opponents (Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Philadelphia and New Orleans) are a combined 27-8.
Matt Asiata
There could be only empathy for this father of three, the Utah running back whose season ended when he injured his knee while scoring a touchdown in the fourth game. Asiata missed all but a few plays of the 2007 season with a broken leg after transferring from Snow College, then shared the job with Darrell Mack last season and was primed for a big senior year.
Unless he somehow receives another year's eligibility, Asiata will leave Utah with just more than 1,000 career yards -- while having had to watch Mack and Eddie Wide gain more than 2,000 yards after replacing him.
Ryan Howard
Philadelphia's first baseman entered Wednesday's Game 6 of the World Series with a chance to still become Mr. November, following an excellent National League Championship Series. But through five games of the World Series, he had recorded three hits in 19 at-bats, while striking out 12 times.
Only the umpires have produced worse postseason moments.
Jake Ellison
While former fixture Michelle Wie played her way off this list with a fine Solheim Cup performance, there's never a shortage of aspiring golfers who wonder where their careers are headed.
It will be a long winter for everybody eliminated from the annual PGA Tour qualifying process, including Ellison, a former BYU golfer from St. George. He bogeyed four of the last five holes and fell short by one stroke of advancing through the first of three Q-school stages.
Greg Olson
Having coached at a few Western schools on the staffs of John L. Smith and Dennis Erickson, Olson has bounced around the NFL for several years and, as of late August, was coaching Tampa Bay's quarterbacks. Bucs coach Raheem Morris suddenly fired his offensive coordinator and promoted Olson, in one of three such moves around the league just before the regular season.
The Bucs are 0-7, they've scored 96 points and Olson's offense ranks 28th among 32 teams in yardage.
And now he's turning to a rookie quarterback, Josh Freeman.
Mike Locksley
For the New Mexico football coach, the theme is if you think things are bad now, be assured they will get worse.
His first season as a head coach could best be summarized by Will Smith in "Hitch" when he said, "I saw that going differently in my mind."
Locksley's off-field issues would be distressing enough, but the Lobos are 0-8 and still play Utah, BYU and TCU.
