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Holiday Hoops
Celebrate the success of local teams or cheer on your World Cup favorites.
By Matt Pacenza

Terrific gifts abound for the sports fans on your list. A great experience is always a great present, so let's start with tickets for a pair of surprising Utah teams.

Utah Jazz Tickets
Last summer, after several years of disappointing playoff losses, the Jazz unloaded quicker than a poorly paid, double-parked Amazon truck driver. New team boss Danny Ainge traded star center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves and dynamic shooting guard Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jazz fans lamented the losses, but in return, the hometown team received seven first-round draft picks, plus a collection of role players who might, just maybe, be useful now if you were feeling optimistic.

Well, kids, optimism was warranted! Most professional prognosticators picked the Jazz to have one of the worst records in the NBA this year. Wrong! The new-look Jazz roared out to a 10-3 record to start the season. The team has come back to Earth lately—14-12 at press time—but remains an explosive, high-scoring squad, led by new coach Will Hardy and Finnish big man Lauri Markkanen (aka Lauri Bird.)

Catch a Jazz game! However, you might want to skip the merch. The Jazz underwent a "rebranding" this season and the resulting yellow, black, white and purple jerseys are unspeakably bad. Garish colors, huge letters, unimaginative design. Come on, Jazz. You clearly can pick a coach and a lineup—now, let's pick a graphic designer.

Utah Jazz, Vivint Arena, 301 S. Temple,
utahjazz.com

UofU Women's Basketball Tickets
Last year, the Utes made their first ever Pac-12 championship game and landed their first berth in the NCAA tournament in 11 years. This year, the Utes are even better.

The team has blasted out to a 7-0 start, beating a trio of major conference teams, including a 46-point whipping of the Oklahoma Sooners at home. The young women Utes are currently ranked 15th in the nation, and will soon begin competition in the always-strong Pac-12, which currently has five teams ranked in the top-25 nationally.

The Utes play in the University of Utah's Jon M. Huntsman Center, a gem of a building, with great seats available for modest prices. ($10 a game for adults; $5 for teens and seniors.)

Utah Utes, Jon M. Huntsman Center, 1825 S. Campus Drive, SLC,
utahtickets.com

International Soccer Jerseys
It's time to sing the praises of Utah's least-appreciated shopping destination, the Valley Fair Mall. If you haven't been to this old-school shopping center in West Valley City, you're missing out.

It attracts the most diverse crowds you'll find anywhere in Utah, and has more locally owned shops than chains. You can get your quinceañera dress, visit a tailor, go to the movies and pick up affordable gifts for the sporty folks in your life, with several shops selling sneakers, caps and jerseys.

For futbol merch, you have to check out Castro Sports, a locally owned shop in Utah for the last 14 years, which has made its home in the Valley Fair Mall for the last seven. The shop is owned by the Castro family—father and son—whose offerings include jerseys for the international teams currently competing in the World Cup, teams like Brazil, Mexico and the USA, as well as famed European squads like Barcelona and Arsenal, Major League Soccer clubs like Real Salt Lake and popular Mexican teams like Club América.

You'll find all of that here, and much more, for prices that are shockingly reasonable, with many jerseys available for less than $30. The senior Castro, who declined to give his first name, told City Weekly, "We try to maintain fair prices." Go visit them.

Castro Sports, 3601 S. 2700 West, West Valley City, 801-966-9010