What’s within the water in Salt Lake Metropolis.Picture: Getty Photos
“What’s going on in Utah?” was the Brian Windhorst question that dominated the summer season because the Jazz’s CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge jettisoned Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a boatload of first-round picks by 2029. The reply was Utah gutting their roster and Quin Snyder strolling away so the workforce could be free to pursue the highest decide in 2023. The concept was their roster would put them in pole place for the slalom race to the underside of the NBA hill.
Defensive specialist Royce O’Neal was traded to Brooklyn for a first-round decide. In August, Patrick Beverley was traded for Talen Horton-Tucker, one of the vital overpaid 21-and-under property within the NBA. In a league the place taking pictures is at a premium, Horton-Tucker is likely one of the league’s worst, drilling a paltry 27 % of his triples over the span of his first 4 seasons.
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Utah accomplished their roster deconstruction in September after they closed the saga with a commerce with Cleveland that surrendered Donovan Mitchell. What bought ignored within the fervor over the potential of the 2023-24 Jazz had been the veteran rotation gamers in addition they acquired in these trades and the influence they’d have on this season. Within the Gobert commerce, they hustled Malik Beasley, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt and Beverley out of Minnesota. Within the Mitchell swap, Utah collected Lauri Markkanen, rookie wing Ochai Agbaji, guard Collin Sexton, plus three unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, and 2029) and two decide swaps (2026 and 2028).
Ainge’s managed demolition of the Jazz was their lottery ticket for Victor Wembanyama. With that summer season haul, Utah’s particular tank unit was supposedly assembled. As a substitute, the costs Ainge set off seem to have sparked one thing else. The Jazz are 8-3 and the complete league is pondering “what’s going on in Utah?” for fully completely different causes. The happy-go-lucky group Ainge cobbled collectively is enjoying and not using a true star, enjoying high-quality basketball below rookie head coach Will Hardy and possesses a camaraderie that the Mitchell-Gobert Jazz lacked.
By way of 11 video games, the Jazz lead the Western Convention in wins and boast the second-best profitable proportion within the convention. In addition they led the NBA in pyrrhic victories. A lot to the chagrin of Jazz followers, Utah is enjoying its manner out of the Wembanyama race they entered this summer season.
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This season’s Jazz are the George Costanza Reverse technique personified. Ainge tried to assemble a unit able to shedding at a prolific charge, however in a stunning twist, unlocked a selfless group that’s enjoying properly above their pay grade. Like Costanza, they’re fats and unemployed, stay with their dad and mom, and happy with it, but it surely’s inexplicably working for ‘em.
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All the pieces Ainge has accomplished of late works out the other as he meant. In Boston, Ainge’s persistence on the commerce market wore everybody skinny as he handed on delivering a bonafide famous person who might ship them on the trail to title competition. In 2018, he infamously handed on pairing a Kawhi Leonard rental with Kyrie Irving. As a substitute, the Raptors took a big gamble and Leonard erupted for one of the vital awe-inspiring campaigns in fashionable NBA playoff historical past.
Ainge plucked Brad Stevens from Butler in 2013, noticed him win 55 % of his video games in eight seasons, hit a brick wall within the Convention Finals twice, then Stevens changed him as president of basketball operations and reversed the Al Horford commerce because the Celtics superior to the Finals that eluded Ainge for the previous decade.
In the end, Utah’s pyrrhic victories might have a residual impact a 12 months on their roster a 12 months from now. Finally, the Western Convention’s elite groups will activate their pilot lights and the Jazz will probably be cooled down considerably. The play-in recreation is a pleasant comfort prize, however Ainge may have troublesome choices to make through the Commerce Deadline. In the event that they proceed alongside their present tempo or are packed into the middle of the Western Convention playoff herd, one other clearance sale could also be so as.
Ainge most likely ought to have considered arranging a yard sale earlier for a few of their rotation gamers he didn’t intend to host completely on Utah’s roster. A majority of the rotation Utah has deployed have confirmed to be too skilled, and too team-oriented to be the nucleus of a bottom-three squad. Particularly when in comparison with the uncooked, neophytes populating Oklahoma Metropolis, Houston and Orlando’s lineups on a nightly foundation. On the plus facet, they’ve raised their commerce worth.
Microwave-scoring Sixth Man of the 12 months Jordan Clarkson is averaging 5.3 assists an evening, practically double his career-high, throughout a contract 12 months. Malik Beasley is a marksman who has been unconscious from deep. Collin Sexton is a brash and daring combo guard who can warmth up shortly off the bench. Lauri Markkanen is placing his offensive scoring repertoire on show.
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Paradoxically, two of the groups Utah acquired first-round picks from this summer season, Brooklyn and Lakers are on the tumultuous, shedding trajectory Ainge desired. At 4-6 and 2-7 respectively, the Nets and Lakers are on an reverse course. L.A. surrounded LeBron with a few of the worst taking pictures lineups of his profession and Brooklyn is doing the other of Golden State and embracing calamity and are actually in Utah’s place within the NBA’s basement. Because the NBA’s regulation of equal alternate dictates, the basketball gods giveth they usually taketh away.
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Volleyball has added a familiar face in former beach volleyball standout Langley Griffin starting fall of 2025.
Griffin will join Beth Launiere and crew as the Utes prepare to pick up where they left off last season making their 19th NCAA appearance, and finishing the year ranked No. 17 in the country. Griffin spent the past two seasons with Utah’s beach volleyball program before making the move to indoor.
“We’re so excited to have Langley join the Utah Volleyball Indoor program,” said Launiere. “She is a tremendous athlete and competitor which allowed her to be one of the best beach players in the country. These attributes, as well as her over skill set gained from playing beach will transfer well back into the indoor game, where she began playing the sport of volleyball.”
The 6-foot talent proved to be a commodity early in her beach volleyball career as a freshman, tallying 18 wins for an overall record of 18-16 with her partner Katie McAlister. Throughout the 2024 season, Griffin helped the potent pair post win streaks of six, five, and four through various matches. She also aided in giving the Utes their first top-20 win in program history over No. 19 Arizona going 19-21, 21-16, and 15-13 against the Wildcats.
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Griffin’s dominance continued in her sophomore year, helping Utah to their best season in program history, winning 35 of her matches for a 23-11-1 final record that included an eight-match win streak with partner Bella Vezzani and 3-0 victory over Arizona in the Big 12 Tournament to move on to the semifinal round.
Before coming to Utah, Griffin was a standout athlete at Peninsula High School in Tacoma, Washington where she excelled as an outside hitter/opposite hitter for her indoor volleyball team, lettering all four years of her high school career. Additionally, Griffin earned league MVP and first team all-state honors in both her senior and junior years in 2022 and 2021.
Griffin was also a standout on her track and field team as a three-time letter winner in the high jump, pole vault, and the 4×200 meter race, and placed third in her district for the 4×200 and high jump.
Griffin is slated to join the Utes as a pin attacker in 2025.
The company historically doesn’t confirm new stores until they’re about to open.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The new Trader Joe’s in Sugar House, on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. Another store, the seventh in Utah, is apparently in the works.
| May 29, 2025, 9:57 p.m.
Another Trader Joe’s grocery store likely is coming to Utah.
Utah’s liquor commission, in its monthly meeting Thursday, approved an off-premises beer retailer license for a Trader Joe’s in Holladay.
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The new store will be located at 1895 E. Rodeo Walk Drive, according to its liquor license application, said Michelle Schmitt, spokesperson for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services.
The location is part of a development being built on the site of the former Cottonwood Mall, which was demolished in 2008.
What’s not known is when the new store will open. The company historically does not confirm or deny rumors of new store locations, and only announces openings shortly before they happen.
Nakia Rohde, a spokesperson for Trader Joe’s, said in a statement that “at this time, we do not have a location confirmed in Holladay.”
Rohde’s statement said that the company is “actively looking at hundreds of neighborhoods across the country as we hope to open more new neighborhood stores each year.”
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The statement is nearly identical to one Rohde issued in December, after the mayor of Riverdale announced that a Trader Joe’s store was coming to that Weber County town this summer. The opening date for that store is not listed yet on the company’s website.
The last Trader Joe’s store to open in Utah was in Sugar House last October. The grocery chain also has stores in Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Orem and near downtown Salt Lake City. The Riverdale and Holladay locations would bring the total of the company’s Utah stores to seven.
SALT LAKE CITY — Ever heard of an air economizer? It’s something some HVAC systems have, and a recent study The University of Utah found in certain conditions these systems could impact indoor air quality.
“We get different kinds of pollution events here, especially wildfire smoke, winter time inversions and dust,” said Kerry Kelly, Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering At The University Of Utah
The College of Engineering teamed up with facilities management to put their research into action throughout Salt Lake City’s campus. “We spend about 80% of our time indoors, we find that wildfire smoke has the biggest impact on indoor air quality,” said Kelly.
Kelly explained that one of the key takeaways was the type of HVAC system that impacts indoor air quality. “Something called an air economizer we found that under certain conditions those can really dry in a lot of wildfire smoke,” said Kelly.
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She explained what an air economizer does: “It’s more common on commercial buildings and it’s a really good strategy that can be really efficient. So, for example, you know it’s kind of hot here in the summer but at 3 o’clock in the morning the temperature is beautiful so at 3 o’clock in the morning, it can pull in more outdoor air because you spent a lot less energy conditioning.”
She explained it’s a good way to save energy, but not so great if it’s bringing in pollution.
So, what can you do then? “Particular matter sensors are pretty good. I mean it gives you a relative indication of what your indoor air quality,” said Kelly.
She also uses portable air filters, which you can find just about anywhere. “They can be really effective but if you decide to do one of these portable air filters, make sure that you only get air filtration. You just want a simple filtration device,” said Kelly.
