SALT LAKE CITY — Back in the early 1960s, or about 20-30 years before most members of this Utah Jazz team were even born, there was this great television series called “Route 66.”

The TV show was about a couple of young men, Tod and Buz (and later a dude they called Linc for the series’ final season), two buddies who spent their time traveling around the country. They moved in and out of the lives of people, helping them deal with their various adversities as this Corvette-cruising couple of guys passed through various cities throughout America along “Route 66.”

Well, the Utah Jazz have their own version of “Route 66″ — an arduous schedule of 66 regular-season games, crammed into a four-month time frame because of the NBA owners’ lengthy lockout that essentially wiped out almost all of the preseason and most of the first two months of what would’ve been the 2011-12 regular season.

Much like those two young men back in the ’60s, the Jazz will be playing “Route 66″ as they’ll visit a couple-dozen cities among their 33 road games, most of them with just enough time to check into a hotel, go to the arena for shootaround, play the game that night and then quickly head for their next destination.

And now, instead of playing 82 games in a season stretching over almost six months, NBA teams will play 66 games in four months’ time. If you do the math, it only comes down to an average of about three more games a month than what they’ve typically played in the past. That may not sound like much, but it’s a schedule that offers them less rest, less time to bounce back between games, less time to recover from injuries and less time to prepare for the next opponent.

But on this “Route 66″ — a wild and rugged journey the Jazz hope will lead them to the NBA playoffs — there will no doubt be a few bad bumps and chuckholes in the road, maybe a blown tire or two, and plenty of need for a rest stop whenever they can find one. Don’t be surprised if they run outta gas along the way, too, maybe more than once.

And these guys won’t be able to call AAA for any roadside assistance, either.

“We want to compete as hard as we can every night we step on the floor,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. “Everything else will take care of itself.”

That seems to be the team mantra this season — come out and compete every night of the season because, with this team of role players and no real superstars to speak of, they can’t afford to take nights off.

Hundreds of fans gather as the Utah Jazz unveil a third uniform alternative for the upcoming season during a fan open house at Energy Solutions arena in Salt Lake City Friday, Dec. 9, 2011.

The Jazz will open training camp today after the NBA owners and players ratified a new collective bargaining agreement earlier this week. The first regular-season game for the Jazz is scheduled for Dec. 27.

Standard-Examiner Jazz writer Jim Burton, left, gets his ankle taped by Jazz trainer Gary Briggs at the Utah Jazz Fantasy Training Camp at the Zions Bank Basketball Training Center in Salt Lake City Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The camp is offered to members of the media who cover the Jazz.(photo by Nick Short)

by

Tim Gillie

Tooele Transcript Bulletin

District won’t allow program into school gyms because of unpaid usage fees

While contract negotiations have delayed the start of the Utah Jazz season, a different contract dispute will prevent Tooele and Stansbury youth from suiting up for Junior Jazz this year.

The Tooele County School District announced last Friday that it has terminated its contract with Utah Sports Academy, the Layton-based nonprofit organization that has been running the Tooele and Stansbury Junior Jazz program since 2006. This effectively means most of the basketball courts in the county are no longer available to the county’s largest youth basketball program.

“The action was taken by the Board of Education as a result of an outstanding amount owed to the district for facility rentals from the 2010-11 Junior Jazz program,” said Terry Linares, Tooele County School District superintendent, in a prepared statement.

Utah Sports Academy owes the Tooele County School District $33,390, according to Linares.

“When outside groups use school facilities during hours when we would not ordinarily be open or have a custodian on duty, we charge a fee to recover the additional costs to the district,” said Linares.

Lewis Lofton, president of Utah Sports Academy, said those fees can’t be covered by participants alone without some additional funding.

“It is our sincere hope that some other entity will step forward and continue the Junior Jazz program,” said Lofton. “We have, however, notified the school district that unless the city, county and/or some other sponsor steps up to help supplement costs of the program, then it will be extremely difficult to remain viable.”

The $33,390 represents 927 hours of usage by the Junior Jazz program at $36 per hour during the 2010-11 season, according to Linares.

In past years, Utah Sports Academy paid usage fees at the end of the season. Last year, the school district did not receive a payment and despite several discussions that took place over the summer, the district has still not received payment, Linares said.

The school district raised its gym usage fee from $26 per hour to $36 per hour for the 2010-11 year to cover the rising cost of utilities and to incorporate the cost of custodial staff, said Linares. In response, Utah Sports Academy raised Junior Jazz registration fees from $80 to $100 per participant for the 2010-11 season, said Lofton.

However, enrollment in the Tooele/Stansbury Junior Jazz program declined by 25 percent, from 944 players to 708 players, according to Lofton, and Utah Sports Academy had difficulty collecting payment from 100 families with financial hardships.

The drop in enrollment was an unforeseen result of the fee increase, Lofton said.

Registration fees cover costs of court time use, liability insurance, Junior Jazz licensing fees, awards and referee costs, said Lofton.

Grantsville Junior Jazz, which is not connected with the Utah Sports Academy, was only charged $26 per hour for gym usage in 2010-11 and Lofton has asked the school district to adjust their bill and charge Tooele Junior Jazz the same rate.

“We gave Tooele Junior Jazz notice a year ago that the rate would be going up and we gave Grantsville that same notice this year,” said Linares. “I talked with Scott Bryan, board president, and the board is not interested in lowering the rate for Tooele Junior Jazz. The rate is based on what we need to collect to recoup our expenses. We have nothing against the Junior Jazz program and we are willing to work with another group that wants to run the program, but we will not contract with the Utah Sports Academy again. The district at this time is working hard to balance our own budget and we don’t have the room to absorb the cost of running Junior Jazz.”

The decision to discontinue renting to the current Junior Jazz program comes at a time when public health officials are clamoring to get youth more physically active to combat a rising epidemic of youth obesity. This year, the district also started charging local youth sports league $1 per player for the use of outdoor sports fields — a move that was criticized by some youth sports leaders.

Stansbury and Tooele high schools are making plans to expand their basketball camp program to fill the void left by the absence of the Junior Jazz program.

“Stansbury and Tooele high schools will take 100 youth per grade from first to 8th grade in their basketball camp programs,” said Ken Luke, Tooele County School District assistant superintendent. “The program will include three weeks of skills training and eight weeks of games.”

The basketball camps will not be affiliated with Junior Jazz and there will be a registration fee in the neighborhood of $65. Each high school will work with youth from the elementary schools that feed their school, Luke said.

“These programs will be ran by each high school and will not be a part of a districtwide effort,” said Luke. “It is an effort to reach out to youth that may be displaced by the loss of the Junior Jazz program in Tooele and Stansbury.”

The Grantsville Junior Jazz program is not affiliated with the Utah Sports Academy and will not be affected by the program change.

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com

During the single season he played for the Utah Jazz, Derek Fisher became the go-to guy for guys like me.

And by “guys like me,” I mean notebook jockeys and microphone hounds looking for a good quote.

See, unlike some of his teammates — Carlos Boozer, for example — Fisher actually thought about the questions he was being asked, then answered them in an interesting manner.

Of course I know Fisher’s departure from the Jazz was clouded with controversy and now that he’s back with the hated Los Angeles Lakers his name is high on the EnergySolutions Arena enemy list.

Personally, I like the guy. I appreciate his ability to express himself and I love his candor.

At almost 37-years-old, Fisher’s best playing days are behind him. But given his penchant for hard work, eye for detail and thirst for knowledge, he’ll be in the spotlight for years to come, whether it’s as a coach, an analyst or possibly even a political figure.

Currently, he is serving his second term as the NBA player’s association president. He was first elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2009.

Today, Fisher is in the middle of a battle he’s been preparing for for quite a while now. With no collective bargaining agreement in place and a stalemate between the league and its players, the fate of the 2011-12 season now hangs in the balance.

“I don’t know if there’s going to be any major movement,” Fisher said last week before kicking off his camp in downtown L.A. “We’ve agreed maybe to table some of the economic issues and really focus on the system issues and non-economic items that are still extremely important to rounding out a collective bargaining agreement.”

On Monday, Fisher and players union executive director Billy Hunter met with league officials to discuss the current lockout. To nobody’s surprise, nothing came of the meeting.

Fisher said the two sides are as far apart as they were a month ago. NBA commissioner David Stern was even less optimistic, expressing his belief that the players association is not even negotiating in good faith.

Digging in even deeper, the NBA lawyered up on Tuesday and filed two claims against the players association in federal court. Essentially, the league beat the NBAPA to the punch, heading off any attempt by the players to file an antitrust claim.

It’s obvious the league and its owners mean business and the bottom line here is that this labor situation is going to get uglier before it gets cleaned up.

In many ways, Fisher seems like the perfect man to head up the players’ union. As noted earlier, he’s bright and well informed with the oratory skills of a seasoned Washington insider.

Unfortunately, Fisher’s opponent in this matter is Stern himself. And the commissioner won’t be beaten.

Worse still, Fisher’s bright future might actually become a burden.

See, Stern is a fierce competitor and a steely leader. He runs the league with a dictatorial edge and he almost always gets what he wants.

Those who stand in his way sometimes get hurt.

Think of it this way: Fisher is a nice guy who may someday have a career in politics. Stern, on the other hand, doesn’t care how he’s perceived and he already possesses the political chops to get things done by hook or by crook.

Fisher may have the charm and communication skills of a Ronald Reagan or a Bill Clinton, but Stern has the chutzpa and the iron hand of a Lyndon Johnson or Teddy Roosevelt.

Anyone who goes after Stern will do so at his own peril — and that includes Fisher.

Honestly? I can’t even pretend to know how this whole lockout thing with shake out or exactly how long it’ll last. But with Stern at the helm, the NBA isn’t going to back down any time soon.

As for the NBAPA, it has a terrific leader in Derek Fisher. Unfortunately, if he plants his feet and attempts to take a charge, the commissioner will plow him and his future plans right into the third row.

Jim Burton is the Standard-Examiner’s sports columnist. He also covers the Utah Jazz and the NBA. He can be reached at 801-625-4265 or at jburton@standard.net. He tweets at http://twitter.com/jmb247