Everybody, especially Spurs fans, owes Deron Williams big time.
If not for Williams, the breakout star of the NBA playoffs getting the most attention would still be the Warriors' Baron Davis. Luckily for all involved in the Western Conference finals, Williams' emergence as a star player has saved the series and brings attention to a matchup few were giving any notice.

When Game 1 of the series didn't sell out, plenty of questions were raised about whether Spurs fans were getting complacent. When those who did show up at Game 1 didn't make much noise, plenty of questions were raised about whether they even cared.
But after the crowd made a big difference for Utah at EnergySolutions Arena, Williams and the Jazz have made this a series.

Maybe it's even enough to snap the AT T Center out of its Suns hangover.
Don't blame the crowd for being exhausted after all the drama and intrigue of the Spurs-Suns second-round series, billed by many as the real conference final. The 11/2-day break between the two rounds gave little chance for a transition from the high-energy Suns and big names like Stoudemire and Nash to the Jazz, who are three Eastern Europeans and a Boozer.

If Spurs-Suns was a can of Red Bull that pumped everybody up, the first two games of Spurs-Jazz was a warm glass of milk before bed. Like Anchorman icon Ron Burgundy explained, milk was a bad choice.
After the Spurs cruised through the first two victories over Utah and another NBA Finals against Detroit loomed, something had to happen before old episodes of the '80s soap Dynasty become more compelling than this dynasty.

Thanks to Williams' 30-point average this series, the Spurs are facing some adversity, and they need some attention again. Heck, even the Coyote needs some attention, too, at this point.
So Spurs fans can sport those bright pink, not-so-licensed Ginobili shirts bought from a street corner.

Or hang up that Express-News commemorative Matt Bonner poster.
There's still playoff fever, even if fans have built up immunity to it.

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Actress Ashley Judd's popularity went up with shots of her jumping in the rain when husband Dario Franchitti won the Indy 500 on Sunday.

Between that and Judd starring in a new movie called Bug, Web searches for her have gone up 265 percent on the Internet Movie Database.
Here's to being glad Franchitti is married to Ashley rather than Wynonna.
.

.. while you were shocked that Jeff Van Gundy could look even more stressed and uncomfortable while providing commentary than he did as a coach.

The kids were getting hyped up for the Round Rock regional. Since Texas couldn't host its regional at Disch-Falk Field because of renovations, this weekend's games will be played at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, a stadium with one of the best baseball ambiances around.
If Texas wins the regional, Dell Diamond's outfield berm could turn into a huge lawn party.

Hopefully someone can sneak in a slip n' slide.
A.C.

Milan won the UEFA Champions League title last week with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool. But it's soccer, so few on this side of the Atlantic Ocean noticed.
Milan isn't even the most popular A.

C. stateside, losing out to A.C.

Slater of the '90s teen comedy Saved By The Bell.
Where did all the people watching the NBA playoffs go? Over to the movies to check out the new Pirates of the Caribbean.

Pirates made an estimated $142 million last weekend, or about 500 Mark Cuban fines. Here's how the remaining NBA playoffs cast compares to the Pirates cast.
San Antonio as Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp): You can call them dirty, cheap and ruthless, but they're both just trying to seek treasure at all costs.

Sparrow seeks immortality, which the veteran Spurs wouldn't mind.
Cleveland as Will Turner (Orlando Bloom): The young, impressionable upstart is filled with passion and talent but might not be ready to be a Pirate just yet.
Detroit as the Black Pearl: A heavily armed ship that seemingly can't be sunk.

Rip Hamilton's faceguard is totally the new eyepatch.
Deron Williams as Sao Feng (Chow Yun Fat): An angry and cunning new character that's stealing many of the scenes.
The rest of the Jazz as Pirate No.

9: Sure they're in the cast, but they've been somewhere in the background most of the time.

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Some more inventive ways to spice up the Spurs playoffs, since having everybody wear the same color T-shirt in an arena is getting real old, real fast. When a fad even makes it to Utah, it's obviously done.

The NFL is stealing way too much attention from the NBA at this time of the year. A front-row seat to see NFL commissioner Roger Goodell drop the iron fist on another player probably would be a bigger draw than the NBA Finals at this point.
So bring the bad boys of the NFL over to the court.

Give Falcons quarterback Michael Vick control of a half-time show, and place bets on your favorite pit bull. Instead of dropping confetti after a victory, let suspended cornerback Pacman Jones make it rain.
But if Bears tackle Tank Johnson gets his hands on a T-shirt cannon, everybody duck!

What could have been an I-35 or I-10 rivalry in the Western Conference finals didn't happen when the Mavericks and Rockets both floundered in the first round. Of the seven other playoff teams in the West, the Jazz were probably the least appealing in terms of a rivalry for the Spurs to see in the conference finals.
That leaves only one way for the NBA to get people talking about a rivalry for the Spurs.

Bring back Joey Crawford.
The sight of Crawford giving Tim Duncan a technical just for bugging his eyes after a foul call could have made for delicious hype and fodder.
Instead, Duncan is currently allowed to laugh on the bench without any restrictions.

The NBA draft lottery was the most dramatic thing that happened in the playoffs last week and completely overshadowed Spurs-Jazz Game 2 on the same night. The lottery is a perfect made-for-TV event, so who needs the game itself?
Imagine the drama, tension and completely valid outrage if NBA Finals home-court advantage, jump balls or any other edges were awarded by way of lottery.

Even better, maybe there could be a human-size version of the ping-pong ball machine. Throw all the remaining teams into a wind tunnel, and reward the first one to make it out by any means necessary.
In that case, players would be glad Ron Artest isn't still in the playoffs.

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Got any decrees to add to the Chanifesto? Lorne Chan can be reached at lchan@express-news.net.

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