Steal of a D-Will

Just got a big laugh while shopping at Wal-Mart — and it wasn’t because of any of the eclectic characters that apparently hang out there, according to peopleofwalmart.com. (Too bad peopleof7-11.com doesn’t exist because I could’ve submitted a doozy after seeing a guy in a skirt at one store in Salt Lake City this afternoon.)
Anyway, my LOL moment at Wal-Mart came while perusing the magazine rack for preseason basketball publications.
This rack had either been picked over or they just don’t make as many basketball preseason magazines as they used to. This store only had two pro hoops magazines: One was about sports trading cards (not my cup of tea since they stopped putting bubblegum inside of the packages), and the other was a publication called SLAM.
It’s not just hoops — it’s hip hoops.
From what I gleaned, SLAM magazine is edgy, new school, designed and written for cool cats who know that “kicks” is another word for shoes and for people who don’t have to scratch their heads to figure out what the headline “You got Rondo’d” means.
What really caught my attention about SLAM was the cover-page story: “Why are you still hating on Carmelo Anthony???”
Because I’m a cheapskate, I flipped through the magazine to start reading about why I (or you) shouldn’t still be hating on Carmelo Anthony when I noticed something interesting.
Something inside of the magazine had been ripped out.
It made made me curious to see if the ripped-out page(s) was a sample of Melo’s new cologne or if it was a 75-percent-off-the-retail-price subscription offer.
Or what?
When I picked up a non-pilfered copy, I found out. And I started to laugh.
This issue included — like the other one originally had — a still-intact centerfold cut-out poster of … Deron Williams.
Which means, of course, somebody ripped out the Jazz point guard in the other magazine and ripped off the store in the process.
That’s one D-Will steal you won’t see in the boxscore.

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Have to admit I was somewhat bummed out — though not surprised — when the Jazz waived Goran Suton and Spencer Nelson this week.
Nelson, the former Utah State star, was one of the friendliest pro ballers (yes, SLAM is rubbing off on me now) you’ll ever meet. He greeted reporters with a smile and a salutation on a daily basis. He and my grandpa are both from Pocatello, so there’s that, too.
Suton was quite pleasant as well.
In fact, the Michigan State center is the only NBA player who has ever personally thanked me for writing a story about him. Of course, the Bosnian is also the only NBA player who has ever asked me how late 7-11 stays open.
To answer two questions that that last paragraph might’ve made you ask:
1. Yes, Suton counts as an NBA player for this blog’s sake. He did, after all, get paid some moolah from the Jazz for summer-league play, for going through training camp and appearing in preseason games this fall.
2. No, Suton was not the guy I spotted wearing a skirt earlier this afternoon at a Salt Lake City 7-11.