Sunrise, sunset. sunrise, sunset. Day giving way to velvet night. Season changing to season. Years passing as a dream.
     
Sorry.
     
I got carried away thinking about life's fleeting nature and how quickly things change. Like, for instance, the Utah Jazz. That old familiar lineup? We hardly knew ye.
     
And who are these nameless travelers from faraway lands?
     
Sorry again. I promise. No more attempts at literature. It's just that I'm so busy remembering the past, I hardly recognize the present.
     
The future? You don't want to know.
     
Late in Wednesday's game, the Jazz lineup consisted of John Crotty, Jarron Collins, Scott Padgett, John Stockton and Karl Malone. Forty percent of that group is going into the Hall of Fame. Sixty percent might be playing in Europe next year. Not long ago, even casual fans could recite the starting lineup by heart and recount the substitution pattern by rote. Nowadays, let's put it this way: This might be a good time to buy a program.
     
The Jazz marked the midway point of the season with a 98-92 loss to San Antonio. It was a laudable effort, nonetheless. Trailing by 16 points in the fourth quarter, they drew within two with less than a minute remaining. But it wasn't enough. Steve Smith's free throws moved the lead to four. When John Stockton's running shot rimmed out, it was over. The second half of the season had begun the same way as the first ? with a loss.