Grievances in Utah ring hollow in San Antonio

The NBA’s two biggest stars huddled in the middle of the virtual playground, knowing full well they were about to hurt some feelings. Just like when they used to choose teams as kids, captains LeBron James and Kevin Durant based their calculations on not only skill but popularity.

“This is no slander to the Utah Jazz,” James told the TNT crew after Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were left as the last two picks for Sunday’s All-Star Game, but not even James could keep a straight face. If it wasn’t slander, it was at least an insult, and everybody knew it.

For the Jazz, this was the latest indignity on what they consider a growing list of them. Currently sporting the best record in the league, they’re convinced they suffer from both a lack of respect and a lack of fair play, and Gobert seems to have no doubt about why.

“We know that we are a small market,” the Utah center said this week. “I don’t want to say that, but ... it’s a little harder, and that’s one of the things that we’ve got to overcome.”

It’s fascinating, then, to think about how those words sound in the city that trails Gobert’s home by one spot on Nielsen’s list of U.S. TV markets (No. 31 San Antonio is right behind No. 30 Salt Lake City), but leads the Jazz by five NBA championships.

When the Spurs hear the Jazz bemoan the challenges of playing in a small market, do they nod their heads?

Or roll their eyes?

There are times, to be sure, when the Spurs sympathize, and the truth is they might be better examples of this phenomenon this season than Utah is. The

Jazz, after all, added a third AllStar Friday when Mike Conley was named as an injury replace

Cole won its third straight Region IV-3A boys basketball championship and a third consecutive trip to the Class 3A state semifinals with a 67-48 victory over Santa Rosa Saturday at Northside Sports Gym.

Silas Livingston and

Trey Blackmore each scored 16 points to lead the Cougars in their dominating win over Santa Rosa.

Cole had advanced to the state tournament last year at the Alamodome that was postponed and eventually canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic before it could be completed.

Cole will meet Little River Academy next week in the state semis at a date and location to be determined. The winner of that contest advances to the finals Friday at the Alamodome.

Cole had qualified for the regional final by edging Corpus Christi London 50-48 in overtime Friday night.