Williams earned a spot on the All-NBA second team; Boozer was on the third team.

Williams went on a tear in the playoffs; Boozer went on a slump.

Williams came off the bench and chipped in productive minutes for the gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball team; Boozer stayed on the bench but remained chipper and cheered on Team USA.

Both players also made headlines for their long-term contracts — Williams signed his with an opt-out clause in 2012; Boozer talked about opting out so he could sign up for his raise, but will it be in Utah? Miami? Indiana? Baylor?

And, finally, both players suffered injuries this fall — Williams was out 13 games with a sprained ankle; Boozer has missed 18 games (and counting) with a strained quad, a bruised knee cap and a foot-in-the-mouth ailment.

Good news for Jazz fans: The last time Boozer sat on the bench this much, his team won the championship.

3. BYU football: Quest for perplexing season achieved

The preseason talk was about a "Quest for Perfection," on and off the field preferably. A pummeling of a football powerhouse — mighty Northern Iowa of Division I-FCS-AA, or something like that — did nothing to quell the on-the-field quest. Neither did two straight victories over Pac-10 teams — one thanks to a controversial celebration penalty that led to a blocked 73-or-so-yard PAT attempt in the 28-27 win over Washington, and the other thanks to UCLA sending its tackling dummies and Norm Chow-coached waterboys to face BYU in a 59-0 rout at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

There was even some early season talk about a national championship — and not of the mocking-the-1984-schedule variety, either. BYU soared to No. 8 in the coaches poll, had a 6-0 record and held its BCS destiny in its own hands.

Ah, life was good — until, of course, speedy, revenge-seeking TCU grabbed the football, fame and fortune from BYU, and left the Cougars wondering what race car had just hit them and raced away with their happily-ever-after ending.

BYU bounced back with four wins in a row to set up "The Greatest BYU-Utah Match-up EVER!!!"

You might not want to ask BYU quarterback Max Hall what happened after that. (To sum it up: five passes to the guys in red, one fumble and a humiliating 48-24 loss).

That, however, didn't keep the Cougs from their annual week-before- Christmas tradition of playing in the Las Vegas Bowl. You might not want to ask kicker Mitch Payne, the defense or the rest of the Cougars what happened after that. They're still hoping what happens in Vegas — memories of a 31-21 loss to Arizona — stays in Vegas.