Ric Bucher, Foot Firmly in Mouth, Will Hop to Salt Lake City Next Weekend

Update: Actually, no this isn't going to happen at all. According to Sports Media Watch, ESPN has changed their schedule so that Bucher will work in Atlanta, instead. Coincidence?

When trying to explain the Utah Jazz's home court advantage, ESPN's Ric Bucher opened wide and practically swallowed his foot: "Let's be honest. They're Mormon. And they're in Salt Lake. And there's nothing else there. You've got to smile and be happy all the time. This might be one opportunity for fans to get vicious."

He since apologized, saying he regretted it as soon as he said it and tried to clarify but recognizes he didn't do it well enough, adding, "I hope that this apology will do that and that all citizens of Salt Lake City will find it in their hearts to welcome me as hospitably as they have in the past."

Bucher will test that hospitality on Saturday as he's working ESPN's broadcast of Game 4 between the Jazz and Rockets. Will he receive a harsh reaction from the EnergySolutions crowd? Almost certainly. (From the picture above, I'm guessing Bucher needs to be most wary of Kris Kross inspired teenagers and deceptively ruthless elderly couples.)

Does that say something about those who follow the Mormon faith? Absolutely not. Fans are nuts everywhere these days, whether it's the Lakers home crowd chanting "DUI" to Carmelo Anthony, baseball fans in Philly celebrating a player getting hurt or rival fans in any city trying to kill each other. Residents of Salt Lake City, whether they're Mormon or not, don't have a monopoly on being rowdy.