Jazz start no cause to freak out

Surprises are certainly a big part, and one of the best parts, of sports. After all, if we always knew who was going to win — and lose — what would be the fun in watching?

The BYU football team's struggles and sputtering offense this season? Wow, what a surprise that's been! The Utah State football program's continued failure to figure things out and turn the corner? Surprising and, more than that, very disappointing.

Brett Favre sending smutty photos of himself to a hottie half his age? Pretty darned shocking and disgusting.

Audrina Patridge getting booted off "Dancing with the Stars?" Absolutely stunning (And so, by the way, is she.)

And what, you might ask, does that last one have to do with sports? Well, pretty much nothing, other than two former pro athletes — the NFL's Kurt Warner and the NBA's Rick Fox — are still dancin' away on one of America's most popular TV shows, whose past champions include former football superstar Emmitt Smith, Olympians Kristi Yamaguchi, Shawn Johnson and Apolo Anton Ohno, and Indy-car driver Helio Castroneves.

So then, by a show of hands, how many Jazz fans are surprised by the team's 0-2 start? Yeah, me too.

It's not so much that they lost their first two games of the 2010-11 season, but the demoralizing way they lost them that's alarming. A 22-point blowout in their season-opener at Denver was followed by an ugly 16-point loss at home against Phoenix.

If nothing else, we've learned this much: the preseason means absolutely nothing, Zippo. Zilch. Nada.

How else would you explain a spotless 8-0 exhibition mark — the best in franchise history — which included a pair of victories on the West Coast over the defending NBA champion L.A. Lakers, followed by back-to-back, double-digit defeats to start the regular season?

Doesn't make much sense, does it? Well, it does if you totally discount that deceiving preseason slate. But, unfortunately, many fans were lured in by Utah's perfect preseason, and some prognosticators quickly jumped on the Jazz bandwagon as well.

Yes, it momentarily appeared that the Jazz were headed for greatness.

Now we know that those eight exhibition wins and $10 might buy you a beer and some nachos at EnergySolutions Arena. Anything beyond that is likely going to cost you a lot more.