In the moments before Real Salt Lake kicked off its 2019 home opener against the Vancouver Whitecaps, after the Unity Gospel Choir finished singing the national anthems for the United States and Canada, a group of fans behind the south goal of Rio Tinto Stadium made their way down the stairs.

Each of them held a section of a giant piece of painted cloth. With each step, what they held slowly revealed itself to be a tifo, which is any type of visual display showing support for a soccer team. RSL’s tifo spanned nearly the entirety of the seats on the south end of the stadium. On it read, “We are The Riot” in blue and “Estamos Unidos” (We are United) in red.

The moment marked the first time RSL’s many supporters groups united under one flag. The new contingent calls itself The Riot. It was such a milestone that the team pointed it out in a pregame email sent to media.

It also marked the potential end of years in which the six official RSL supporters groups — Riot Brigade, Salt City United, La Barra Real, Rogue Cavaliers Brigade, Section 26 and Section 35 — each sang their own chants, on their own time, in their own way. Previous attempts to band together had failed.

The divided loyalties at RSL games have been an anomaly in MLS, where most teams typically have one or two dominant supporters groups backing them at home games — think the Timbers Army in Portland — who are united and coordinated in terms of chants and activities. RSL’s half-dozen groups, meanwhile, have been marked as much by rivalry as cohesion.

It took time, compromise, and even an assist from coach Mike Petke and the RSL front office. But these once-divided groups got it done, and finally feel like they’re on the right track.

“This is the most united I’ve seen them,” said Todd Nate, a leader of Riot Brigade.

A coach’s request

Talks to figure out somehow, some way to bring the supporters groups together were ongoing long before this season’s home opener. But it was during the offseason when those conversations started to hit a turning point of productivity.

Petke requested to meet with leaders of the the supporters groups to discuss what it would take to get them unified, and how he and the front office could help. Once he sat down with them, he gave what he called a presentation, detailing what he would like to see from the supporters and what kind of culture he wants to build for RSL home games.

“It was just an open conversation and I threw myself out there to say, ‘I’ll do what you guys need. Just let me know.’ But this is what I would like,” Petke said recently.

That wasn’t all Petke did. He also offered to make players available for a short time after games to connect with supporters, and suggested a supporters group-only picnic organized by the team, said Thomas Welker, who represents Section 26 on the supporters groups’ leadership council.

The RSL higher-ups helped, too. They provided the supporters groups with the conference room for meetings, opened the stadium so the groups can hold chant practices, and facilitated a warehouse space where the tifo could be made, Welker said.

CJ Arsenault, vice president of RCB, said having Petke’s support was a motivating factor in getting the groups to come together.

“I think having him and the players invested in it and hearing from them that, ‘We want this, we appreciate when you guys do that,’ kind of gives us a little bit more incentive to do it and do it right,” Arsenault said, adding that it was “unprecedented” for an RSL coach to get involved as Petke did.

A strenuous past

This new venture is actually not very new at all. There have been several attempts over the years to unite the supporters groups, but all of them quickly fizzled out. At one point, they were called the Royal Army.

But concerns about individual supporters groups losing their identities, coupled with the feeling that RSL’s front office was forcing them to unite instead letting that happen organically, were the main sticking points that made joining as one group difficult, Arsenault said.

Another snag was merely the manner in which each group supports the team. The groups on the south end cheer loudly, play their instruments even louder, and do it for practically the entire 90 minutes.

The other two groups — Section 26 and 35 — however, are made up of more mild-mannered fans. They cheer, and some are loud. But they also like to sit and watch the game with their friends and family.

Welker said that in years past, no one group wanted to be in led in chants by another, and those in the south end took the position that they were going to do their chants and others could join if they wanted.

But all of those hangups seemed to have gone by the wayside. The groups are learning each other’s chants in both English and Spanish, picking specific chants for specific points in the game, and have plans to make different tifos throughout the season.

“Now people have realized that we don’t do any good supporting the team separately,” Welker said. “We’re much better off when we’re united and supporting together. I think people are realizing that and I think it’s making a big difference.”

A hopeful future

After RSL beat Vancouver, the team, along with its supporters, revealed a new tradition that will occur after every home win. Kyle Beckerman, who was named Man of the Match by Petke, planted a team flag in front of the south goal in honor of when former RSL defender Brian Dunseth did it after scoring a goal that marked the franchise’s first-ever win back in 2005.

That idea came about through deliberation among the supporters group council, which wanted a celebration unique to the club. Someone brought up Dunseth’s goal celebration, and it stuck.

“That was the best idea that came up,” Arsenault said. “It’s go all the way back to the beginning. Everyone loved that so let’s just keep it rolling.”

The new tradition provides a glimpse of what’s to come. But no one really knows how sustainable the united front will be. However, there are different levels of optimism around the supporters groups.

“I guess we’ll see,” Nate said when asked if the groups can sustain their newfound unity. “I hope so. I think that’s what everybody wants. I think people just have to put their egos aside and realize we’re here for Real.”

Even members of the team are encouraged. Corey Baird said after the Vancouver game that he liked the energy the south-end supporters displayed and called it “infectious.” Petke said recently that the supporters are an extension of the team, and having them united was “key” for RSL and the stadium’s environment.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight, but I think tonight was a good sign,” Petke said after the Vancouver game. “I think the environment tonight was pretty damn good down there.”

Jeremy Johnson, a leader of Salt City United, said the groups joining forces will also encourage casual fans to become supporters of RSL.

“We just need to come over as one umbrella group so it’s more inviting, get more people to go,” Johnson said. “So that’s why we’re making such a big deal about it.”

But Arsenault’s optimism was a little more measured. He said he has seen previous attempts to join the supporters groups falter even before this point of the current season. But he admitted that he senses a different vibe with this attempt.

“This time around feels better than the last couple of years,” Arsenault said. “But at the same, time I’ve seen how quick it can turn. So I’m cautiously optimistic this time.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has added a new full-time organist to its team of musicians at Temple Square.

Joseph Peeples, who earned a master’s degree in organ performance from Brigham Young University, is the newest organist for The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, the church announced Friday.

Organists are key members of the Tabernacle Choir’s musical staff and are known for their high level of skills, the church said. They bring the sound of the iconic Tabernacle and Conference Center organs alive for audiences from around the world.

Peeples previously served as the university organist at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif., where he taught courses in applied organ, keyboard harmony and music appreciation. He also has been serving as organist at First United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara, where he accompanied the Chancel Choir.

When he begins in June, Peeples will be one of four full-time organists on staff, the church said. There also are two part-time Temple Square organists.

Mack Wilberg, the choir’s music director, looks forward to the addition of Peeples to the artistic staff. “He is a talented musician who will add to the excellent tradition of the choir family.”

A nemesis is defined as “a long-standing rival, an archenemy, the inescapable agent of something or somebody’s downfall.”

So yes, the Jazz have James Harden on their minds once again.

The league’s reigning Most Valuable Player, the man who does everything, the force that cannot be stopped, returns to the scene when Utah opens its best-of-seven first-round playoff series against Rockets in Houston on Sunday.

“Is there a formula?” Jazz center Rudy Gobert said when asked if there’s a blueprint to slowing Harden down. “Looking for it. If there’s one, let me know. Hopefully we find it.”

Harden’s game is both definitive and antithetical for the modern NBA, a left-handed wizard with the ball who lures in defenders, draws absurd foul calls, buries absurdly deep 3-pointers and wiggles his way into the lane with opponents seemingly glued to his hip. And he still makes it work, because only he can do what he does. Usually to the cheers of Rockets fans and to the maddening, hair-pulling, expletive-inducing ire of those who watch, always waiting for him to slip up.

It doesn’t happen often. Harden is typically in control, which makes the first-round showdown with the Jazz that much more enticing. A defense-first, share-the-ball-at-all-times group in the Jazz versus the MVP who, at times, tucks the ball into his elbow alone atop the 3-point line, waiting for a weakness to expose itself.

“A lot of times, he gets to his comfort zone,” said Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell. “You could say you can take him out of his comfort zone, but it’s easy to say. He’s done it on every team. For us, it’s making it tough on him, finding ways to break the rhythm, and he has counters to that, so we’ve got to be able to be ready for those.”

To Mitchell’s point about rhythm, when dealing with Harden, it’s about not getting stuck in the avalanche of points that the Houston superstar can generate to flip a game on its head in a matter of minutes. Harden averaged 36.1 points, 7.5 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game in the regular season. There weren’t many teams that were able to handcuff Harden, but the best team in the league this year did a swell job of making the guy who makes every opposing team uncomfortable feel his own wrath.

The Milwaukee Bucks held Harden to 23 points on 9-of-26 shooting when the Rockets visited Milwaukee this season. They did it by shadowing Harden and trying to always force him right, meaning some players stood straight up to this right knowing that a big down low was waiting to help should Harden use his deceptive speed to burst by. The Bucks often picked Harden up in a full-court press, too, not giving him any sort of breather on any part of the court. Every defender had their hands up, doing their best to block his vision.

Milwaukee Bucks defending James Harden

-Force Right
-Force REALLY Right
-Help In Paint
-Show Hands At All Times@CoachPaintCH pic.twitter.com/WLn7McDN19

— Half Court Hoops (@HalfCourtHoops) March 27, 2019

Here’s the thing: Only one team in the league has Giannis Antetokounmpo. It ain’t the Jazz.

The Jazz have implored that sort of defensive look at times this year with point guard Ricky Rubio, who could start off as the primary defender on Harden, waiting for Gobert to be in vicinity to help out. Rubio was not available in last year’s Western Conference semifinal series with the Rockets when Houston beat the Jazz in five games. Harden averaged 28 points, 7.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds a game in that series. After the season ended, Mitchell vowed to go back and study every regular season and postseason game from a year ago to learn entering his sophomore season.

What did he glean from that Houston series in 2018?

“This year James is on a completely different level,” said Mitchell. “What he’s doing this year is 10 times better than what he had last year.”

So, there you go.

Houston isn’t the exact same team as it was a year ago, but it still has the MVP.

“There are a lot of things about their team that are different,” said Jazz coach Quin Snyder. “Obviously who they are still is James, and there’s no better player in the league obviously. That’s something that doesn’t need to be discussed or debated.”

So get ready, Jazz fans. You know what’s coming. Jab steps, step-back 3s, controversial foul calls, flailing arms, otherworldly anticipation — the best, most unique offensive player in basketball. He’s very much back in the picture. So get used to it for the next week or so. Or at least try to.

All models of Rock 'n Play sleepers by Fisher-Price are being recalled after reports of infant fatalities occurring while using the product.

More than 30 infant fatalities have been reported since the product was introduced in 2009, "after the infants rolled over while unrestrained, or under other circumstances," according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The recall came three days after the American Academy of Pediatrics wrote a news release calling on the commission to recall the products, pointing to their danger. Last week, the safety commission and Fisher-Price asked consumers to stop using the sleeper after an infant reaches three months of age, "or is capable of rolling over."

Between 2011 and 2018, 32 babies have died, "included babies even younger than the 3-month threshold cited in the initial warning, which is alarming," the AAP noted in their release.

"This product is deadly and should be recalled immediately," said Kyle Yasuda, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in the news release. "When parents purchase a product for their baby or child, many assume that if it's being sold in a store, it must be safe to use. Tragically, that is not the case."

Consumer advocates say the recall has too many restrictions and could cause confusion.

"It's problematic," said Rachel Weintraub, general counsel at Consumer Federation of America.

Weintraub and others point to Fisher-Price's offer of a full refund only to people who have owned the product six months or less. People with older Rock 'n Plays are reimbursed on a sliding scale - less money the longer they've owned it.

"It will discourage participation," said Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids in Danger.

Rachel Moon, a doctor and chair of the AAP's task force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, added in a news release that "infants should always sleep on their back, on a separate, flat and firm sleep surface without any bumpers or bedding."

"Putting safety first, in partnership with the CPSC, Fisher-Price issued a voluntary recall of our Rock 'n Play Sleepers," Fisher-Price tweeted. "All product use should be discontinued."

Consumers can find out if they are eligible for a refund or voucher at www.service.mattel.com.

Harold Vincent Robinson, Jr., who police say committed two robberies then led officers on a bullet-spraying chase through Salt Lake City, had a mental illness, according to a statement published by his family, apologizing for the “horrible events.”

“He was struggling with paranoia and delusions,” the statement said. It added Robinson was “trying to decipher from what was real and what was not.”

Robinson, 37, on Monday morning robbed two convenience stores, police said, then fired gunshots near 500 S. West Temple in Salt Lake City. Officers pursued him in his Ford F-350 south on State Street.

Police said Robinson was firing a rifle out the truck’s window as he drove. The truck crashed into an alterations shop. Police have not specified how Robinson died, though witnesses said there were many gunshots fired by officers, and 15 are now on administrative leave.

The Robinson family statement was issued through the Utah chapter of Black Lives Matter.

“The family would like to express their deepest sympathy & apologize for the horrible events that transpired and any fear or stress that was inflicted upon the people who witnessed it or were involved," the statement said.

It also said they were “devastated" by the loss of Robinson, who they referred to as a son, brother, uncle and friend whom they called “Junior.”

“The family had tried to get Junior help as he seemed unstable a few months back,” the statement said. It added he was admitted to a University of Utah mental health facility for evaluation and was released after a few days.

“He seemed calmer, he was trying to get back on track," the statement said.

The family said it hopes Monday’s events would increase awareness of mental illness and the effects it has on the community. The statement closed with a request for privacy as they mourn Robinson.

This Pat Bagley cartoon appears in The Salt Lake Tribune on Sunday, April 14, 2019. You can check out the past 10 Bagley editorial cartoons below:

• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2019/04/11/bagley-cartoon-take-me/" target=_blank><u>Take Me Out of the Barr Game</u></a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2019/04/10/bagley-cartoon-fer-hecks/"><u>Fer Heck’s Sake — Get Out!</u></a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2019/04/09/bagley-cartoon-name/"><u>The Name Caller</u></a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2019/04/08/bagley-cartoon-radical/"><u>Radical Extremists</u></a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2019/04/05/bagley-cartoon-official/"><u>Official Mugging</u></a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2019/04/04/bagley-cartoon-church/"><u>Church Approved</u></a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2019/04/03/bagley-cartoon-brexit/"><u>The Brexit Knight</u></a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2019/04/02/bagley-cartoon-national/"><u>National Security Crisis</u></a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2019/04/01/bagley-cartoon-troubling/"><u>Troubling Downturn</u></a>
• <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2019/03/29/bagley-cartoon-gop-health/"><u>GOP Health Care to Die For</u></a>

Want more Bagley? Become a fan on Facebook.

Lehi resident Tony Finau has positioned himself for another high finish in the Masters, being only four strokes out of the lead after two rounds at Augusta National Golf Club.

Sandy's Mike Weir almost qualified for the weekend rounds for the first time in five years, but a 17th-hole bogey prevented him making the 36-hole cut.

Finau made three birdies and one bogey Friday to post a 70, and is 3 under par for the tournament – tied for 16th place. His birdie on the par-5 No. 15 came after a brief rain delay and was made possible by an approach shot over the pond to within 8 feet. The West High School graduate has shot under par in three straight rounds at Augusta, dating to last year, when he ended his Masters debut with a 66.

Finau tied for 10th place in 2018, earning a return invitation with a top-12 finish. That remains a secondary goal this week, with Finau being close enough to the lead at this stage to think about winning.

Weir shot 72-76, missing the cut by one stroke. With the co-leaders at 7 under, Weir could have posted a 3-over total for 36 holes and advanced, thanks to a 10-shot provision. But after rallying with birdies at Nos. 13 and 14, he missed the green with his approach and bogeyed the par-4 No. 17.

Utah utility regulators have shut down a natural gas pipeline in Grand County, citing numerous violations of safety and operational standards that have gone uncorrected for nearly three years.

The Public Service Commission on Wednesday ordered Pacific Energy & Mining Co. to cease moving gas through the 26.2-mille line, which it deems a “hazardous facility” and pay a $100,000 civil penalty.

The action is the latest, and not likely the last, in a long-running effort by the Utah Division of Public Utilities to get Pacific, a Reno, Nev.-based company, to comply with Utah regulations. For example, Pacific could not show it has an adequate leak-detection system, according to division Director Chris Parker.

“We didn’t see any immediate problems with the pipeline’s physical integrity, but they didn’t provide assurances that it would continue to be safe,” Parker said. “We tried for a year to help them with compliance, but we weren’t getting a meaningful response. Even then, our goal was to get them into compliance. Last summer they tentatively agreed to get it all fixed and we would settle it. Then they never followed through.”

The company and its combative president, Tariq Ahmad, do not appear to be backing down, instead through a lawyer, they called the assertions “vindictive, misleading and factually incorrect.”

In a letter sent Friday, Pacific’s lawyer Terry Spencer disputed the division’s conclusions, calling them “illegal,” and accused the agency of misleading the Public Service Commission and “covering up its own mistakes." The letter states Pacific responded to each of its notices “immediately or within the time periods allowed by the Notice” and the division relied on an unqualified inspector.

The line connects Pacific’s oil field with the Northwest Pipeline north of Moab and is used to transport other companies’ gas production.

Pacific built the 16-inch-diameter steel pipeline in 2008 at a cost of about $10 million, according to court records. It runs southeast from Pacific’s gathering system at Ruby Ranch Road near Interstate 70, tying into an interstate line where U.S. Highway 191 meets State Road 313 outside Moab.

Along the way it ties into the Blue Hills processing plant near the Canyonlands Field airport. Fidelity Exploration and Production Co. built this plant in 2014 to process vast amounts of natural gas that come off its oil wells near Dead Horse Point State Park.

Closing Pacific’s pipe could force Fidelity’s successors to either shut in their wells or flare off the natural gas.

Spencer wrote that shutting down the pipeline will cost the state royalties and will cost Grand County tax revenue.

The dispute with the Division of Public Utilities began when inspections in 2016 documented 13 violations, which pertained to informing employees and the public about emergency procedures, to leak surveys and to welder qualifications.

The division initially sought a penalty up to the maximum $1 million because Pacific did not show “any good faith in attempting to achieve compliance," but reduced the penalty in light of the company’s financial losses operating the line. Eleven of the violations have yet to be remedied, according to the Public Service Commission order.

“The gravity of the violations weigh heavy here, as they all involve pipeline safety issues, which, if left unresolved, could lead to catastrophic consequences involving human life and property,” the order states.

Ahmad has battled not just regulators but also other operators and contractors. For instance, Fidelity sued Pacific over its refusal in 2016 to move gas produced by its successors Wesco Inc. and Kirkwood Oil & Gas through the pipeline. Pacific insisted on getting a $10 million bond as an assurance against damage to the pipe.

The producers refused to put up the money and wound up flaring their gas at the Blue Hills plant because they could not safely shut in their wells, according to the suit. This drew the attention of regulators when a Pacific executive, posing as a Sierra Club activist, alerted the state.

In an April 2016 letter to Ahmad, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes blamed his company for the waste and ordered him to resume moving the gas.

During this same period, Ahmad fought notices of violation issued by another Utah agency, the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, that alleged problems with the company’s wells served by the pipeline. In response, Ahmad filed a formal complaint, alleging the division treated him unfairly and leveled false accusations against his company because of his race.

“It seems to me that every instance … Division staff take the word of a white person over what I have to say. This is racial and religious discrimination,” he wrote to the Board of Oil, Gas and Mining. “This has to stop. This discrimination has continued over the years, there were actions taken to alleviate this situation but discrimination rears its ugly head.”

The board dismisses his claim, concluding he provided no factual basis to support it.

A Utah doctor has been charged with prescribing nearly 900 pills to undercover federal agents investigating him, and prosecutors have filed an injunction to stop him from prescribing more.

While Nick Carl Greenwood “holds himself out as a medical practitioner who operates the premier outpatient program for the treatment of opioid dependence in the Western United States," federal prosecutors wrote he is actually doing more to fuel and profit from the opioid epidemic than cure people.

Documents filed Friday in Utah’s U.S. District Court allege Greenwood knew his patients were selling the narcotics he prescribed them — the Schedule III drug buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone — and that they weren’t using the drugs to treat their addictions. Instead, patients were using the drugs to “lessen the effects of opioid use.”

Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began looking into Greenwood, who runs Greenwood Addiction Physicians in Murray, after the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office learned in April 2018 that an inmate in their jail was paying people to get pills through Greenwood, according to court documents.

Ultimately, the DEA sent three undercover agents to try to get pills from Greenwood. They visited him 20 times in total between June 28, 2018 and Feb. 21, coming away with 889 pills “without a legitimate medical purpose.”

The agents describe lax clinic protocols, saying Greenwood never physically examined them, reviewed their medical records or discussed a treatment plan. They also say Greenwood never tested the agents’ urine samples, which were taken before each visit.

Court documents show that during a Sept. 25, 2018 visit, one agent poured soda into the sample cup instead of urine and Greenwood either didn’t notice or didn’t say anything if he did.

The agent also talked about selling the prescribed pills. In one instance in July 2018, the agent said Greenwood walked him out of an examination room and gave the agent advice for how to profit from selling his pills.

The doctor allegedly told the agent to use less than the recommended dosage and sell the rest. In another visit in August 2019, Greenwood is reported to have told an agent that he believed 40% to 50% of patients illegally sold their pills — and that he was certain 25% did.

Agents also found that Greenwood accepted cash payments for prescriptions, which were often pre-signed and given out without Greenwood seeing patients, the court documents allege.

Federal prosecutors charged Greenwood with unlawfully prescribing controlled substances. He could be fined a maximum of $64,820 per violation for a total of $1,231,580.

Prosecutors are also asking a judge to approve a preliminary injunction against Greenwood, which would immediately prevent him from prescribing any more Schedule II and III drugs.

The injunction filing describes Greenwood’s alleged conduct as “significant," but cautions “it is likely just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Based on Dr. Greenwood’s comfort and fluency with the street price of buprenorphine and drug deals, and knowledge that his patients are illegally diverting prescriptions, he likely has previously engaged in — and will continue to engage in — similar illegal conduct,” prosecutors wrote. “There is every reason to believe illegal prescribing pervaded his customer population and will continue.”

Greenwood has 60 days to respond to the charges filed and 14 days to respond to the injunction, U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch said in a news release.

He did not immediately respond to The Salt Lake Tribune’s request for comment at his clinic. An email address associated with the clinic appears to no longer be active.

After just one season at Utah State, star freshman center Neemias Queta has decided to try taking his game to the next level.

On Friday, Queta announced he would declare for the upcoming NBA draft, which will be held June 20. He made the announcement on Twitter and included a parting message to Aggies fans.

“After discussing with my family and coaching staff, I have decided to pursue my dream of playing in the NBA and will declare for the 2019 NBA Draft,” Queta wrote. “I plan to hire an agent with the full intent of staying in the draft, while also retaining my eligibility should I choose to return to school.”

Queta, who Utah State recruited from Portugal, was the second-leading scorer for the Aggies, as well as their enforcer in the paint on the defensive end. He averaged 11.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.

While Queta was only a freshman on a team full of underclassmen, Queta turned out to be one of the most influential pieces for Utah State, which enjoyed a historic season, won a share of the Mountain West Conference title and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

“Coming from Portugal to Utah as a 19-year-old young man, I never could’ve expected all of the amazing events that would unfold over the next year,” Queta wrote. “From winning the conference championship to making the NCAA Tournament and building lifelong relationships along the way, I’ve loved every minute of it.”

Cedar High School is no longer home to The Redmen.

Members of the Cedar City high school’s transition team announced Friday that the school’s new mascot will be The Reds.

The change comes after years of allegations the old mascot was a stereotype, culturally appropriated and racist. An advisory committee looking into the issue voted 17-7 in favor of a new mascot in January, and gave their recommendation to the Iron County School Board. The school board voted 3-2 in favor of retiring the mascot in February.

Since then, a transition team — made up of Cedar High School students, faculty, staff and alumni — has been meeting to select a new mascot.

Before landing on Reds, the team brought nine possible new mascots to high school and eighth grade students on March 26, and they chose Reds over the other options — which included Titans, Aggies, Iron Wolves, Iron Miners, Tribe, Ranchers, Rockies and Royals.

Royals was the second favorite option, followed by Titans, according to a news release.

The transition team ultimately chose Reds. Now the school will begin the process of rebranding and creating a new mascot to accompany the name. Notably, Cedar High School’s girls sports teams have been known as The Reds for years.

The release states the Cedar High will retain the school colors and other elements that reflect the school’s traditions and heritage.

“The transition team wishes the community to know that this was not an easy process,” it said in the release. “However, there is much good coming from this experience. The Cedar High community is well on its way to finding its own voice in this process, and the students feel empowered with opportunity to design a new mascot.”

It added that the team recognizes that the true meaning of a symbol or brand is not the design itself, but the meaning and values behind it.

“For Cedar High, those values will always be strength, courage, honor, excellence and unit,” the release states.

Tuba City, Ariz. • A former manager of the Navajo Nation’s Tuba City Chapter has been sentenced to jail time and probation in a theft case.

Priscilla Littlefoot had pleaded no contest last year to charges stemming from the theft of more than $1 million in chapter funds.

A tribal judge recently sentenced her to more than five months in jail, followed by six months of probation. She also was ordered to repay the tribe $30,000.

Navajo Nation Attorney General Doreen McPaul says the closure of the case helps restore Navajos' trust in their government.

Authorities say Littlefoot had directed funding to herself and her family, and she forged documents to conceal the theft.

They say the funds largely were taken from the chapter’s tax revenue earmarked for things like scholarships, veterans and emergencies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's longtime confidant, Roger Stone, asked a federal judge Friday to compel the Justice Department to turn over a full copy of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia investigation as part of discovery in his criminal case.

Stone has pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to Congress, engaged in witness tampering and obstructed a congressional investigation into possible coordination between Russia and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. In a court filing late Friday night, his lawyers said Stone is entitled to see the confidential report — which was submitted to the attorney general late last month — because it would help prove their allegation that there are constitutional issues with the investigation.

In a separate action, a former aide to Stone who was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury asked a federal appeals court to determine whether he still needs to testify now that the Russia probe has concluded.

Stone's team also filed motions Friday night arguing he was selectively prosecuted, challenging the constitutionality of Mueller's appointment and that the special counsel didn't have the ability to prosecute him for lying to Congress. They allege that Congress did not formally make a referral to the Justice Department about Stone's testimony and because of that, Mueller's investigation was "a violation of the separation of powers."

In court documents, the lawyers argue they are entitled to a private disclosure of the nearly 400-page report that Mueller submitted to Attorney General William Barr late last month and said they "must be allowed to review the Report in its entirety because it contains the government's evidence and conclusions on matters essential to Stone's defense."

"To be clear, Stone is not requesting the Report be disclosed to the world - only to his counsel so that it may aid in preparing his defense," the lawyers wrote.

Stone, who is set to go on trial in November, has maintained his innocence and blasted the special counsel's investigation as politically motivated. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which stem from conversations he had during the campaign about WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy group that released material stolen from Democratic groups, including Hillary Clinton's campaign.

In a four-page letter to Congress that detailed Mueller's "principal conclusions," Barr said the special counsel did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump associates during the campaign, but did not reach a definitive conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Instead, Mueller presented evidence on both sides of the obstruction question, but Barr said he did not believe the evidence was sufficient to prove that Trump had obstructed justice.

Barr has said he expects to release a redacted version of Mueller's report next week that will be sent to Congress and made public.

In the separate case, Andrew Miller, a former Stone aide, filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia over the subpoena he was issued in Mueller's investigation.

Last year, Mueller's team sought Miller's testimony regarding Stone, WikiLeaks and the Russian government-controlled online persona Guccifer 2.0, which was used to release hacked material during the 2016 election. But Miller challenged his grand jury subpoena, arguing that Mueller's appointment was unconstitutional.

Earlier this year a three-judge panel of the court upheld the special counsel's appointment and a contempt order intended to force Miller to testify.

In the new petition, Miller's attorney, Paul Kamenar, argued that the matter now appears to be moot because Stone has been indicted and like "Cinderella's carriage that turned into a pumpkin at midnight, special counsel Mueller's authority expired."

Kamenar is now asking the court to have the government formally say whether it will still pursue Miller's testimony. If that's the case, Kamenar is asking for a rehearing of the case. He said in a statement that he will take the fight to the Supreme Court if necessary.

___

Read the petition: http://apne.ws/rQRdegR

Utah’s baseball team evened up its weekend series against USC with a 5-4 win Friday at Smith’s Ballpark.

With the score tied in the bottom of the sixth and runners on first and third, Oliver Dunn got down a successful squeeze play to score Briley Knight and give the Utes a 4-3 lead. Zack Moeller singled on the next at-bat to score Matt Richardson, putting the Utes up 5-3. The Utes (9-18, 2-12 Pac-12) had 11 hits, including five doubles.

BYU 4, Pepperdine 2 • In Provo, sophomore Easton Walker pitched 71⁄3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts as the Cougars beat the Waves.

Softball

Utah 2, No. 25 Stanford 1 • In Stanford, Calif., Ally Dickman hit her seventh home run of the season, and pitcher Hailey Hilburn allowed just four singles in a complete-game win for the Utes (14-24, 3-7 Pac-12).

Back in Season 1 of “Game of Thrones,” Cersei Lannister told Ned Stark, “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.”

Well, we know that Ned (Sean Bean) lost both the game and his head. Cersei (Lena Headey) is still in the running as the eighth and final season of the hugely popular HBO series begins on Sunday.

And fans are dying to find out how it ends. We’re just five weeks away from finding out who wins; the series finale is scheduled for Sunday, May 19.

If I knew how it ends, I wouldn’t tell you. I hate spoilers. But here’s one prediction that’s guaranteed to be 100% true: “Game of Thrones” will end amid controversy. Some fans will love it; others will hate it and take to social media to rip the show.

In an interview with Emmy Magazine, Kit Harington (who plays the King in the North, Jon Snow) called the ending “strong.” But, he added, “I haven’t watched a single series that has a following like ‘Thrones’ does where everyone is satisfied with the ending. I don’t think that it’ll be any different with this. I think it will divide opinion.”

Absolutely. But it’s fun to speculate. And here are a few guesses from Salt Lake Tribune readers and staff:

• Reader Alex White, who’s a “big fan” of the show, thinks that “Jon Snow and Khaleesi (Daenerys Targaryen) will defeat Cersei and ultimately prevail against the White Walkers after a long and devastating battle. But then winter will come. Ultimately, Westeros will survive in the end just like it always has, regardless of who is currently seated on the Iron Throne. As far as the dragons, Khaleesi will maintain one or two dragons who will help her maintain her grip on the throne. She is the true heir to the Iron Throne.

“Full disclosure, I was raised on Disney so this might all be wishful thinking.”

• Tribune movie critic/reporter Sean P. Means said, “The character with the biggest claim on the Iron Throne is the one we haven’t seen yet: The child of Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow. So what if the kid’s parents are related? [Note: Turns out Daenerys is Jon’s aunt.] That child could end up being the symbol around which Winterfell, the Dothraki, and everybody who’s not a Lannister supporter rallies to defeat the Night King — and then knock over Cersei as an afterthought.

“The question then becomes who will raise the child. My guess is Daenerys will sacrifice her life, probably to the zombified dragon Viserion, leaving Jon Snow to be a single daddy and regent to the baby monarch.”

• Tribune marketing coordinator Jennifer Fitzgibbon is of a similar mind. “I think the HBO show will cater to its fans and end with Jon Snow (Targaryen) ending up on the Iron Throne while Daenerys dies heroically in battle.

“When it comes to those dang White Walkers, I have no idea. Maybe aliens will take care of them.”

• Tribune reporter Ben Wood proposes a “happy (sorta) scenario“ in which Jon Snow will kill the Night King, ending the war with the dead, but Jon will also die in the process. The war in the North will have prompted a southward evacuation by the people of Westeros, putting strain on King’s Landing and tying up Cersei’s armies with riots and uprisings. Jaime will return from the North to find the capital in chaos, and will once again be the Kingslayer, stopping a mad monarch from (metaphorically and/or literally) burning the city to the ground.

“Daenerys will then reclaim the throne, pregnant with Jon’s child, restarting a Targaryen royal dynasty allied with Sansa Stark as Warden of the North in Winterfell.

“But that’s the happy scenario, and that’s not exactly the ‘Game of Thrones’ style. So I put it as even money the Night King will end up just killing everyone and covering the known world in an endless winter.”

• Tribune reader Stuart Johnson comes down strongly on the opposite side of the happy scenario. “Given the history of the show, I highly doubt we end up with a happy ending — i.e., Jon and Daenerys defeat the Night King, marry, then rule. I think the Night King will destroy most of the armies of Westoros, but in the end, Jaime will turn on Cersei for the good of the realm, and leave the throne to Tyrion or Sam to shepherd.”

• Tribune web manager Kelly Cannon is basing her theory “on the assumption that Cersei is actually pregnant. She will lose the baby either in a miscarriage or in childbirth. This will cause her to go mad and she will become the Mad Queen. It will be up to Jamie to then kill her to save Westeros. He’s already the Kingslayer because he killed the Mad King. He will now have to kill the Mad Queen and become the Queenslayer. Afterward, he’ll either kill himself or (in a better plot) Brienne of Tarth will have to kill him because she will be honor-bound to do so.”

• Tribune sportswriter Alex Vejar predicts that “with his last dying breath, after helping defeat the White Walkers and the Lannisters, Jon Snow graciously gives the Seven Kingdoms to the mother of dragons [Daenerys]. I think most everyone dies, including Cersei, Jamie, Melisandre, Davos and Varys. And I think Dany loses another dragon somehow.”

• Tribune reader Scott Hansen is an optimist. “Daenerys will win the Iron Throne, and Jon Snow will be her hand.”

(The hand of the king — or queen — is the ruler’s chief adviser. Sort of a prime minister/grand vizier.)

• Tribune photo editor Rachel Molenda is convinced that “Jamie has to kill Cersei. Also, I think even though Jon is heir to rule over everyone, he’ll give the throne to Daenerys. It doesn’t seem like he really wants to be king. But the statues of Jon, Arya and Sansa [in a promo clip] throw me off and I don’t want to think about everyone dying, but maybe everyone will die because the writers just seem that rude. And none of that considers whether everyone who has died up to now will rise because of the ice zombies showing up. I am stressed.”

Molenda’s husband, Jeff Rock, takes a dark view of what’s coming: “Cersei takes her own life to become one of the dead. She wins. Arya and Sansa die.”

• Molenda isn’t the only one feeling “Game of Thrones” stress. Tribune reader Taylor Jolley describes himself as a “big fan” who is “way too emotionally invested.” And he thinks “the only fitting ending is in a way that is completely unexpected, and sure to stir lots of emotion in fans. For example, many or all of the key players either dying or renouncing the throne, and a smaller character such as Gendry being crowned after all the dust settles.

“This won’t stop me throwing things at the TV if Jon dies (again).”

• Tribune reporter Nate Carlisle said that the show “reminds us how choices made long ago influence us today. So why not have the show end much as it began?

“Daenerys Targaryen returns to Essos to continue liberating people there. Jon Snow returns to The Wall to protect Westeros from whatever remains after the final battle with the Night King. Sansa Stark takes her father’s place as Warden of the North. Likewise, a Baratheon sits on the Iron Throne.

“Congratulations, Gendry, and your wife/Hand of the King, Arya Stark.”

• I’ve watched every “Game of Thrones” episode multiple times. I’ve read all the books. I’ve interviewed many of the actors, the producers and author George R.R. Martin himself. And — based on absolutely no inside information whatsoever — here’s what I think will happen:

Something will bring an end to magic. I’m guessing it will be the destruction of the Night King, or something related to that. But Westeros will lose magic, and the seasons will return to normal — no more yearslong summers and winters.

But the end of magic will mean the end of magical things. Bran Stark’s abilities as the Three-Eyed Raven are magic. Melisandre’s ability to appear young is magic. Dragons are magic. Jon Snow being alive is magic.

I’m expecting a bittersweet ending.

Four people gambled — and won — Utah’s version of the lottery.

Instead of pocketing millions, though, these winners — all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sing with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

“To have a chance to be in the choir is a dream,” said Daniel Wilson, a resident of Gila, Ariz. one of four people selected to perform with the choir on Sunday.

Wilson, a father of six, has been listening to the choir — formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir — since he was 9. That’s when he would pull out cassette tapes and pop them into his father’s Walkman.

“I’d go outside and lay on our trampoline and listen to the choir,” he said. “It was heaven to me.”

No wonder the tenor admitted to being a bit nervous. “I hope that I can cut it.”

To promote the choir’s recent album — “Let Us All Press On: Hymns of Praise and Inspiration" — leaders held a random drawing on social media, something it had never done before, said Scott Barrick, the choir’s general manager. “We’ve given away tickets and CDs and we’ve had guest singers come from time to time. But nothing like this.”

No musical experience was required to enter. Fans simply had to hit the “like” button on the choir’s Facebook or Instagram page, tag a friend and list three of their favorite tracks on the new CD, which held the top spot on Billboard’s Classical Traditional chart when it was released in March.

Two men and two women were randomly selected from 6,243 entries, Barrick said. They will sing Sunday during the run-through of “Music and the Spoken Word,” which is held just prior to the actual broadcast at 9:30 a.m. While they won’t get to sing in the big show — the 30-minute program is broadcast worldwide — they will be recognized during the broadcast.

Winners also took part in the choir’s weekly practice, getting their sheet music and their official wardrobe, including alterations for a perfect fit. They also were assigned a “buddy” from the 360-member choir who answered questions, showed newbies the ropes and helped them navigate the maze of rooms underneath the Tabernacle building where choir members dress and prepare for performances.

It’s just a taste of what it’s actually like to be part of the Tabernacle Choir — which requires a four-phase audition process that stretches over nine months and includes 16 weeks of training, Barrick said.

Contest winner Matt Breshears, a cabinetmaker, traveled the farthest. He flew with his wife from Palmer, Alaska — at his own expense — “just for the thrill” of singing with America’s choir. As an added bonus, he was able to visit two of his five daughters — one who lives in Eagle Mountain and another who attends Brigham Young University.

While Breshears’ musical background is limited — “I sang ‘Johnny Appleseed’ in the second grade program" — he currently sings in his choir at his Latter-day Saint ward.

Debbie Matheson and McKenna Reynolds live in Cedar Hills and North Salt Lake, respectively. And both are experienced singers.

Matheson, a BYU graduate, sang with the Ricks College A Cappella Choir and with the Mormon Youth Chorus, while Reynolds spent four years in New York City studying and performing in musical theater before returning to Utah and receiving a bachelor degree in music therapy and worked as a music therapist

Before Thursday’s practice, all the winners were sent YouTube videos of the songs.

“I haven’t really had a chance to look at the videos,” said Reynolds, a wedding photographer and mother of a 1-year-old. "I may just have to mouth the words if it’s something I don’t know.”

Lori Hayward, an 8-year veteran of the Tabernacle Choir, said having guest singers — even if they are amateurs — brings energy to the whole group.

“It recharges everyone,” she said. “When you are in the daily grind memorizing music and traveling, you sometimes forget how astounding it is to be in the choir. Seeing their joy, gets you excited all over again."

I read in Wednesday’s Salt Lake Tribune that Envision Utah wants to study Utah's teacher shortage. Do we really need another study?

A few years ago, I wrote a commentary stating that a third of the teachers in the Granite School District (and possibly in the Jordan School District, too) would be retiring by the year 2020, and Utah would be facing a huge teacher shortage. Many of those retiring have 30-plus years of teaching.

Rather than take note of these numbers, the state chose to cut teacher pensions and increase public school testing. Previously, pensions were a huge draw for incoming teachers.

Many incoming teachers knew they wouldn't be at the top of the food chain in pay scale, but they would have a pension if they taught 30 years. Now the state requires more years of teaching to reach the pension. Along with the pension cuts came more student testing, to prove one can teach.

Today's classrooms are more diverse than ever. The range of student behaviors and academics can be difficult to teach and challenging to test. I believe the only way Envision Utah can truly study why Utah has a teacher shortage is to spend two weeks in a classroom teaching. Then they could see that it's not just the salary.

Peggy Clark, Salt Lake City

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I’ve thought about this a lot, and it is a common topic that is brought up. The classic idea of public servants getting paid much less than they are worth, while other positions get paid a handsome wage.

Politicians are public servants and they seem to consistently receive cost-of-living pay increases every year, while other public servants (police officers, social workers, teachers, fire fighters, etc.) continue to have to fight and advocate for cost-of-living increases. While the costs around them rises, their income doesn’t seem to match.

I can’t help but feel like the “good people with big hearts” are taken advantage of because their will to help others tends to be more important than what they are paid. With all this emphasis on prevention issues like suicide and mental health, wouldn’t it make sense to compensate the people on the ground floor, making the differences, to match their worth for the work they do?

Shouldn’t these positions hold just as much value as their higher-up public servant counterparts? They shouldn’t have to search for outside donations, resources and grants to help make a bigger impact.

Britton Meyer, West Jordan

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Earlier this year, a new Trump administration rule asked Utah’s Planned Parenthood to choose between ending abortion referrals and potentially forgoing $2 million in federal funding for reproductive care.

Planned Parenthood groups in Utah and other states say they will give up the money rather than submit to what they call a “gag rule” designed to silence them on abortions. But they say the loss of funding could stretch them thin as they try to provide free and low-cost birth control, wellness checks and cervical and breast cancer screenings to Utahns.

“My blood pressure is just rising, to be honest with you, thinking about how they [Trump administration officials] have ... bastardized such an effective, ethical program for their own purposes,” said Karrie Galloway, president of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah.

The rule unveiled in February by the Department of Health and Human Services seeks to attach additional conditions to Title X funding for family planning. In essence, it requires new firewalls between government funded services and groups that provide abortions or referrals for abortions.

While Planned Parenthood says no taxpayer money goes toward abortions, its providers do discuss abortions with patients and sometimes refer them for the procedure, a practice that would now be prohibited for Title X grant recipients. The group says it cannot in good conscience accept the funds with these strings attached.

“We just don’t ethically see how we can lie to women," Galloway said. “How we can treat them as if they don’t have any bodily integrity and mental integrity to make decisions for themselves.”

They are hoping the new rule is overturned before they’re forced to give up the money. Multiple states and medical and reproductive rights groups have challenged the Title X change in federal court and asked for an injunction to halt it from taking effect in early May.

The Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (PPAU) uses Title X funds to care for 36,000 Utahns each year, providing birth control and other preventative care, and it has been the state’s lone recipient of these federal grants since the 1980s. The federal funding — which was to total $2 million for the coming year — represents about a fifth of the PPAU budget, the organization says.

Mary Taylor, president of Pro-Life Utah, said she’d rather the federal money go to health clinics that perform a broader range of medical services.

"I think Planned Parenthood only has very limited reproductive health services. If you're going to carry a child to term, Planned Parenthood is not going to help you," she said. "I think that our resources are much better spent somewhere else."

But a group that represents Utah’s health centers says these clinics already strain to meet the needs of their current patient population. Alan Pruhs, executive director of Association for Utah Community Health, says his network encompasses 13 community health organizations that run 55 clinics across the state, serving about 160,000 patients a year. The focus is on primary preventative care, Pruhs said, so filling the shoes of Planned Parenthood would require significant adjustment.

"It's definitely slightly outside of our wheelhouse, so to say," Pruhs said.

Even if the association’s member groups were able to land Title X grants, they would have to provide training for clinicians on reproductive health care to make sure they’re comfortable offering the services Planned Parenthood provides.

In many states, public health departments receive and distribute federal family planning funds.

But that hasn’t been possible in Utah so far because of a law requiring state health departments to secure parental consent before providing reproductive health services to minors. That provision conflicts with a Title X mandate that grant recipients must offer services to any and all residents who seek them.

Hoping that the federal government might make an exception, the state health department applied for the federal grants last year and was turned down, according to Tom Hudachko, the agency’s spokesman.

Gayle Ruzicka, president of the Utah Eagle Forum, says she's confident the Trump administration will relax the Title X restrictions so the Utah health department could accept the funds. Once that wrinkle is ironed out, Ruzicka says, the rule change to redirect federal grants will be a net positive for Utah.

“Taxpayer money should never go to a facility that does abortions of any kind,” Ruzicka said. “Title X should come into the Utah health departments and be available there for all women that need any kind of services besides abortion.”

Galloway says PPAU maintains a “bright line” between taxpayer funding and abortion services — the group’s abortion clinic occupies its own building, and the association is audited annually to ensure there is no budgetary crossover.

This isn’t the first battle Planned Parenthood has fought with the Trump administration. The Utah association last year joined two other Planned Parenthood groups in filing a lawsuit to challenge Title X program changes that placed an emphasis on natural family planning over birth control. Galloway said that lawsuit is still pending.

I know this is old news, but it is still a problem that I see every day.

When the Utah Legislature decided that state safety inspections of automobiles were a waste of time and did away with them, I strongly disagreed, as did many others. Daily, I see vehicles that need tires, brakes, lights, etc., that are causing the vehicles to be a hazard in daily driving.

My daughter has been stopped by police twice in a month, once for a brake light and once for a license plate light. These aren’t normally checked by most drivers, but hopefully a neighbor or friend will point it out to them if they notice it.

It is also a waste of our police force’s time to have to stop and issue warnings for these infractions, but I am glad they do to help correct some of the problems.

Look at the vehicles in a parking lot the next time you are shopping and see how good the tires are — a lot of them are bald or close to it.

I just think that the inspection should be brought back to help with these problems that people don’t correct.

Brent Deveraux, American Fork

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