Hands that make me smile... value value value

Bodog $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $67.89
UTG+1: $51.57
MP1: $48.20
Hero (MP2): $101.95
CO: $46.75
BTN: $46.50
SB: $35.38
BB: $59.60

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP2 with 9h 8h
UTG calls $0.50, 1 fold, MP1 raises to $1.50, Hero calls $1.50, 2 folds, SB calls $1.25, BB calls $1, UTG calls $1

Flop: ($7.50) 5h 3h 2s (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, MP1 bets $3.75, Hero calls $3.75, SB calls $3.75, BB folds, UTG calls $3.75

Turn: ($22.50) Ah (4 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, MP1 bets $4.00, Hero raises to $16.00, SB calls $16, UTG calls $16, MP1 calls $12
They're not going away, given my raise.  I'm mildly concerned about the possibility of a flush over flush - particularly due to the 2 low cards out there already.  Their flat on the turn is troubling, though it is re-assuring that the Ah is on the board, meaning that the hand combos of flushes dramatically drop (barring random Kh7h -type hands).

"Reasonable" combos include non-Ace broadways (i.e. KQ, JT, etc.) and suited connectors / gappers, which aren't that abundant.

River: ($86.50) 9s (4 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets $30.00, SB calls $14.13 all in, UTG calls $30, MP1 folds
Given the flat on the turn and the lack of action on the river (given the brick), I have to imagine that I'm only getting called by worse hands (and folding out the draws who missed), which is why I choose to value bet.

I consider an open shove, where I have the table covered, but honestly don't think he calls his effective $47 stack with a non-flush.  Therefore, I settle on a "smaller" value bet, trying to get each of the 3 remaining players to call.  Note that the difference between "smaller" and "shove is really $17, but I do think it makes a difference to UTG and MP1, who will be most affected by bet sizing.  Betting $30 into $87 is much more reasonable to me than $50 into $87.  2 out of 3 ain't bad, and it's a decent pot for my suited connector gamble.  I'm surprised, though, that when MP1 calls, UTG calls as well.

Final Pot: $160.63
Hero shows 9h 8h
Hero wins $31.15
Hero wins $126.48 (FWIW, MP1 had 4d6d for the flopped straight and UTG had 4c 4s for the turned straight, though HandGrabber didn't pick up the showdown results)
(Rake: $3.00)