Miller should call timeout before acting

POP QUIZ TIME. Which of the following incidents from the past four months did Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller call "the biggest story made out of absolutely nothing that I've ever seen"?

A. Miller leaves his courtside seat, walks across the court and berates his team late in a loss to the New York Knicks on Nov. 14.

B. Miller boycotts Jazz home games for a month — missing eight games in a row — and is criticized for not showing support for his team.

C. Miller's Jordan Commons movie theater in Sandy cancels the run of "Brokeback Mountain" before it is ever shown but after it has been advertised to be playing, causing local, national and international stories (not to mention late-night talk show jokes) about it.

D. Miller again leaves his courtside seat late in Monday's game, walks across the floor and summons two other members of the Jazz brass for a heated meeting near the Jazz bench and press row. Rumors fly that somebody's job — perhaps Jazz coach Jerry Sloan's — is in jeopardy.

E. All of the above.

The correct answer is "D" — but the quote, really, could have been about any of them. All four incidents made for pretty big stories. And all four — while maybe not about "absolutely nothing"— could have easily been avoided.

Larry Miller is a hardworking, brilliant, self-made, wealthy, emotional and flawed man.

The former auto-parts salesman with a humble upbringing owns numerous car dealerships, restaurants, movie theater complexes, a television station, the Utah Jazz, the Salt Lake Bees, the Delta Center and more.

If it weren't for Miller, the Jazz would likely have moved to Minnesota or elsewhere two decades ago. As such, Utah sports fans owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude. Without him, chances are the NBA would have left town and likely never would have returned.

He's been a risk-taker, and many of those risks — like buying the Jazz in 1985 and building the Delta Center in 1991 — have paid off handsomely.

But he has a tendency to takes action before thinking through the consequences. He simply can't stop himself from occasionally starting unnecessary controversies.

"Brokeback Mountain," anyone?