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DJ & PKDJ AND PK IN THE MORNING | KFAN 1320. Monday – Friday 6:00 am to 10:00 am Funny, topical, debatable and educational all in one show! Utah’s top sports authorities bring it all together. David James and Patrick Kinahan “DJ and PK in the Morning” offer the best radio sports show – funny, topical, debatable, and educational. David James “DJ”, is one of the top sports personalities in the market. DJ’s knowledge of sports is immeasurable, and with nearly 20 years in this market he has gained the trust of the local sports community. His partner, Patrick Kinahan “PK”, is also recognized as one of the top sports personalities in Utah. As the beat writer for BYU sports and Utah sports over the last 15 years, no one has developed better insights into the major rivalries in Utah. Tune in to “DJ and PK in the Morning” from 7 to 10 to hear the hosts answer all the tough questions and to hear interviews with some of the most prominent sports figures around: LaVell Edwards, Bronco Mendenhall, Kyle Whittingham, Jazz players, and much more. 
PK BLOG
With two games left, BYU and Utah each are 8-2 with virtually no chance of winning the coveted Mountain West championship.
Good seasons for both? Only one of them? Neither?
Let’s start with the Utes.
Since Kyle Whittingham’s stated primary goal is a conference championship, then there’s no way to consider this season a success. But reality is, as we saw last week, the Utes never had a chance to repeat.
Recognizing that TCU was too good, the gauge used to evaluate Utah’s season has changed from the original goal. Based on a different perspective, the Utes are still in line for a great season.
In order to get there, they need to finish on a three-game winning streak. Without question, an 11-2 season – particularly on the heels of last season’s 13-0 – would be a smashing success.
The Utes need to close strong to validate their record after 10 games. As it stands, they only have beaten one team – a lackluster win in overtime against Air Force – that is above .500.
Assuming the best for them the rest of the season, the Utes would have beaten only three teams with winning records. A loss against BYU next week could mean Utah gets stuck with a .500 team Pac-10 team in the Poinsettia Bowl. Under that scenario, the Utes would finish with only one win against a plus .500 team.
There’s no way I could define Utah’s season a success with only one win against a team that finished with a winning record. (With two games left, including TCU this week, 5-5 Wyoming theoretically can finish above .500).
To summarize, 11-2 is great and 10-3 is decent, although nine of those wins potentially could come against losing teams.
With a senior quarterback, as history has proven, BYU is all about conference championships. Not this year.
Much like for Utah, it’s hard for me to consider an 11-2 team unsuccessful. Even though Max Hall will have won only one Mountain West championship in his three years as a starter, his career has got to be considered successful if he wins 11, 10 and 11 games, respectively.
So what if the Cougars lose one of their final three games? 10-3 isn’t good enough, especially if the loss is to Utah.
Because of TCU’s greatness, BYU gets off the hook for a conference championship this season. But with an embarrassing loss at home to FloridaState already on the books, the Cougars need to win their three remaining games. Even by their high standards, anything less is a disappointment.
San DiegoState at Utah
Just when we’re ready to pump up the Aztecs, they choked away a win against Wyoming last week at home. A closer look at their season reveals these are the same old Aztecs, whose four wins have come against teams with a 10-30 record.
With this in mind, the Utes ought to cruise on their final home game. With the rivalry showdown looming next week, it’s important for freshman quarterback Jordan Wynn to play well against a defense that TCU and BYU shredded.
While Wynn may not throw for 300 yards, he’ll be good enough. The other key is to remain healthy.
Utah 34, SDSU 17
Air Force at BYU
A tale of two teams, the Falcons have a great defense and a suspect offense. Against quality teams, Air Force struggles to score, as we saw four weeks ago at Rice-Eccles Stadium. But its defense, which hasn’t allowed more than 20 points all season, is legitimate.
Outside of the Gary Crowton era, the Cougars have handled Air Force over the years. I don’t see this game as an exception.
The key is for BYU’s linebackers, who haven’t played all that well as a group this season, to make the correct reads. I don’t see the Falcons being able to pass the ball at all against the defense.
The predicted inclement weather should hurt the Falcons, who could end up slipping all over the horrendous turf. BYU really needs to show well in this game.
BYU 27, Air Force 12
PK BLOG
Now or maybe never for the Jazz
Seven out eight at home, against some of the NBA’s dregs. In other words, it’s now or next season for the Jazz.
Between now and Dec. 4, the Jazz leave Utah only once, briefly stopping down around San Antonio to play the Spurs. The other seven games are all at EnergySolutions Arena, where the Jazz absolutely must re-establish homecourt dominance.
If the Jazz have any intention of making a serious playoff push - and getting smoked in five games in the first round doesn’t count – they must beat up on the likes of Toronto, Detroit, Oklahoma City and Minnesota. No matter that they aren’t at full strength, the Jazz are done with excuses.
At 4-6, the Jazz rank among the league’s most disappointing teams. And it means nothing.
The NBA’s track record shows that many elite teams have struggled over the first month, most notably the Spurs and Mavericks in recent seasons. But eventually all strong teams take advantage of favorable schedules.
Coming off a 2-2 road trip, the Jazz vibe has changed dramatically. Two weeks ago, this was a team that lost to Houston and Sacramento at home in the same week.
Now, the thinking goes, this is a team that has discovered two promising rookies to mesh with a solid nucleus, which is still missing two injured rotation players in C.J. Miles and Kyle Korver. With Wesley Matthews and Eric Mayor proving capable, suddenly expectations have dramatically risen.
Why?
When Deron Williams had to return home for his daughter’s medical reasons, the outlook appeared gloomy. But the Jazz regrouped to beat the lousy Philadelphia 76ers and could have beaten the LeBron James Gang if Andrei Kirilenko had taken his one-year exemption of ignoring the offense.
With Williams out, we saw a group of veterans raise its collective level of play, rallying around two rookies who didn’t know any better. So now the assumption is that reincorporating an elite-level point guard into the mix, combined with great play from Carlos Boozer and friends, will make this team awfully difficult to beat.
Hold on a minute.
For better or worse, this is D-Will’s team. His return could lead to more stagnant play, although it wouldn’t be necessarily his fault; the other players simply could fall into a pattern of standing around, thinking that Williams will find a way to create something.
For this team to win, it must maintain the same attitude it had the last two road games. Anything less, as we saw against the Kings at home, and these two weeks will be nothing more than wasted time.
At worse, the favorable schedule should result in 6-2. Since it seems like Jerry Sloan was in his 40s the last time the Jazz won in San Antonio, it’s reasonable to conclude this Thursday’s game is a loss.
Plus, it comes on the second night of a back-to-back. Two games on consecutive nights usually don’t lead to winning streaks, as we saw last week when Phoenix won at home and then got drilled by the Lakers the next night, only to have the Lakers lose big at Denver on the second half of their back-to-back.
But other than the Spurs game, the Jazz don’t have any reason to lose. For more than two years, they’ve been blowing winnable games, and now it’s got to stop.
If the disturbing pattern continues, then maybe management should seriously consider wholesale changes
PK BLOG
As Bronco Mendenhall has stated dozens of times during his five years as head coach, BYU doesn’t concern itself with the opponent. It’s all about the Cougars, the mantra goes.
Winless or undefeated, the other team doesn’t matter.
Never was that more evident than in Saturday’s 24-19 win over New Mexico, the same winless team whose best hit this season came in a skirmish between first-year coach Mike Locksley and an assistant coach.
Somebody forgot to tell BYU that the Lobos are awful. The Cougars barely beat a team that should finish as the Mountain West’s worst ever.
Following Mendenhall’s philosophy, BYU can’t say the Lobos for playing a gutsy game. Good for them, but it’s irrelevant in this case.
“A win’s a win” doesn’t cut it under the Mendenhall way.
“It was a great college football game,” Mendenhall said after the game.
No, it wasn’t. One team woefully underachieved.
If it’s all about the Cougars, as their coach believes, then Mendenhall ought to be furious. Right from the start, BYU did not play well.
On the game’s first drive, the Lobos converted three times on third down and marched 80 yards in 15 plays. Sure, senior quarterback Donovan Porterie made several great plays during the series, but it doesn’t matter. Remember, it’s all about BYU and not the opponent.
On this drive, the defense stunk. Don’t justify that New Mexico was playing well.
Where was the pass coverage? And what about the defensive play calling?
Bad and bad.
Is it too much to ask for a cornerback to be within 5 yards of the receiver as he catches the pass? This is one time it’s ok to talk about the other guy. Please tell Brandon Bradley to scoot closer to his opponent.
If not for horrendous place kicking – can anybody say James Aho without laughing? – the Cougars might have suffered the program’s worst loss in recent memory. Three aborted field goal attempts and a missed extra point might have made the difference.
Credit the defense for making a great stand on New Mexico’s last possession, during which Jan Jorgensen sacked Porterie twice. The temptation is to blame Porterie for allowing the sacks and trying to run on fourth-and-30, but under the rules we can’t blame the opponent, either.
The offense also suffered through a below average game. Max Hall had decent numbers (22 of 34 for 315 yards and one touchdown), but he seemed off his game, relative to his ability.
Too many passes were either poorly thrown or dropped. And it’s time to finally stop hyping O’Neill Chambers, who was called for pass interference and a personal foul on the same play.
The running game also was lousy. The perpetually injured Harvey Unga only managed 48 yards, 25 of which came on one play, and the other running backs also were virtually non-existent.
Nursing a five-point lead, BYU’s offense tried to take time off the clock after recovering an on-side kick late in the game. What shouldn’t have been a problem turned into disaster when Brian Kariya fumbled away the ball.
On New Mexico’s first play, Porterie threw an incompletion, but safety Scott Johnson got flagged for a personal foul. Chalk up another one to a stupid play that didn’t have anything to do with the opponent.
In summary, only those with blue-colored glasses can feel good about this victory. But they need to understand the justification that New Mexico played well goes against your leader.
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