The Utah Jazz are looking for their rowdiest fans to populate a brand new "Jazz Rowdies" section inside EnergySolutions Arena. Selected loud and energetic fans will sit together in their own section and get free tickets to home games for the rest of the season.

Auditions for the Jazz Rowdies will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 8:30 p.m. at the Megaplex Theatres at the Gateway. Fans will watch the Jazz /LA Clippers game on the big screen and do their best to show how rowdy they can be. Props, costumes, makeup, etc. are encouraged. Team management will select the rowdiest fans for the special cheering section.

Giving free tickets to fan cheering sections seems to be catching on in the NBA. Last year former Ute Andrew Bogut of the Milwaukee Bucks shelled out about $100,000 for free season tickets for a new Bucks cheering section called "Squad 6." Bogut was tired of playing in an arena that sometimes sounded like a library, and Squad 6 members are required to stand and cheer throughout the game, or they won't be invited back.

The Bucks are 22-26 so far this season, and  I've questioned whether it makes sense to essentially pay fans to cheer for a struggling team. But Squad Six is only doing what team cheerleaders have always done - they smile, clap, shout and entertain even when their team is getting pounded. There's nothing wrong with a little infectious enthusiasm and old-fashioned team spirit, even if at times it's manufactured.

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Photo courtesy NBA Photos

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday, here are the results of the About.com Salt Lake City pizza poll. No surprise: Salt Lakers love The Pie Pizzeria, with its thick, cheesy, great-tasting pizza. The Pie was the poll's runaway winner with 57 percent of the vote. Runners up were Este Pizzeria, Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana and Sweet Home Chicago.

One of the things I like most about The Pie is that their largest pizza is a gigantic 23 inches, making The Pie an excellent place to get pizza for your Super Bowl party or any big party.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, if you haven't already, check out the About.com Urban Legends list of Super Bowl urban legends. It includes the "Super Bowl Flush," a legend that originated with a water main break in Salt Lake City during the Big Game in 1984.

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Photo by Getty Images

Of course the Big Game will be the focus of attention in SLC and around the country this weekend, but there are plenty of non-sporting events worth considering:

• The popular Peking Acrobats will perform at Kingsbury Hall tonight and tomorrow. There are plenty of tickets left for tonight, but just a few left for tomorrow.


• Seagulls can be soaring and graceful, but also vicious, gluttonous and just plain nasty. Jamie Wyeth, son and grandson of Andrew and Newell Convers Wyeth, has been observing seagulls off the coast of Maine for more than 25 years and has cast the birds in a series of paintings entitled "Seven Deadly Sins," now on display at the Salt Lake Art Center. It's intriguing to have the paintings displayed in Utah, where seagulls are the state bird and have a special place in LDS history and folklore.


• Super Bowl XLIV, between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts, will air on CBS beginning at 4 p.m. MST with a kickoff time of 4:30 p.m. Two former BYU Cougars are playing for the Colts, including wide receiver Austin Collie and defensive back Aaron Francisco.

Did you know a water main breakdown in Salt Lake City during the 1984 Super Bowl spawned a persistent urban legend? Read about the "Super Bowl Flush" and other Super Bowl urban legends on About.com Urban Legends with guide David Emery.

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Photo courtesy Kingsbury Hall

Legislative season is one of my favorite times of year in Salt Lake City. It's interesting, inspiring and sometimes infuriating to see what Utah's elected representatives are up to. As a former political reporter, I have a lot of respect and appreciation for the hours of frustrating, tedious and low-paid service rendered by elected officials, but I do think at times they take their ideas too far.

The state's budget is priority number one at the 2010 session of the Utah State Legislature, with lawmakers trying to figure out how to close a budget gap of nearly $1 billion. Legislators seem to have found the time to deal with a variety of other issues, though - some more important than others. So far we have proposals to eliminate the twelfth grade, exempt Utah from federal gun laws and federal health reform, and prevent wolves from migrating into the state.

Part of being a good citizen is finding out what your elected representatives are doing, so to help you with your civic duty I've created a Citizen's Guide to the Utah State Legislature. Whether you're a political news junkie or you don't even know who your representatives are, you'll find resources to help you keep track of all the legislators on Utah's Capitol Hill and stay informed about issues that are important to you.

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Photo by Michael Smith, Getty Images