Short-handed Bears hosts Mules

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

Baldwin will be without the services of its most dangerous offensive weapon tonight when the host Bears open their bid in the state Division-I football tournament against high-powered Leilehua.

Ro Wilson will not suit up for the 6 o'clock game at War Memorial Stadium because of reasons not related to an injury. Wilson is the MIL's leading receiver – and one of the best in the state -- with 29 catches, 547 yards and nine touchdowns.

Leilehua is led by All-State quarterback Andrew Manley, who guided the Mules to a state title as a sophomore and a runnerup finish last year.

This will mark the third straight year that Baldwin and Leilehua tangle in the state tourney, and the Mules have won each of those games.

The game will be aired on ESPN 550 and televised on OC 16.

In the other D-I quarterfinal game, Farrington is a huge favorite when it visits Honoka'a, a school with an enrollment of 764 that won its first Big Island title in 35 years.

No. 1 Kahuku and No. 2 Kamehameha are the top seeds and drew byes into next week's semifinals at Aloha Stadium.

Despite being seeded No. 4 in Division II, Lahainalua will be on the road tonight for its game at OIA-White runnerup Aiea.

The 7 o'clock game will be aired live on AM-900.

In the other D-II quarterfinal, Moanaolua hosts No. 3 HPA.

No. 1 Iolani and No. 2 Kauai are the top seeds in D-II.

UH ROUNDUP: Quarterback Bryant Moniz and star slotback Greg Salas have two things in common. Both did not practice this week because of injuries and both insist that they will be able play in Saturday's key game at San Jose State.

Moniz has started six straight games after Greg Alexander suffered a season-ending knee injury. He was knocked out of last week's game against New Mexico State, a 24-6 victory, with bruised right ribs.

Salas, the national leader with an average of 136 receiving yards per game, has a sprained right foot. Despite suffering the injury on the first series, Salas finished with a school-record 16 catches for 196 yards.

If Moniz can't go, Shane Austin is the next man up. If Salas isn't available, UH will have to do some juggling – perhaps moving Kealoha Pilares back into the slot.

The UH men's basketball team, off to a 2-1 start, play host to BYU tonight in what is Bows' biggest challenge to date. Picked to win the Mountain West, BYU is 2-0 with wins over Bradley and Idaho State.

The Cougars have a trio of dangerous shooters in 6-2 Jimmer Fredette, 6-3 Jackson Emery and 6-6 Jonathan Tavernari. They combined for 177 3-pointers last season.

The Rainbow Wahine were overwhelmed 98-52 at UCLA last night as the physically superior Bruins hit 12 3-pointers, pressured UH into 24 turnovers and out-rebounded the 'Bows 42-25. Freshman Shawna Kuehu's 15 points led Hawaii.

Baldwin and Lahainaluna open their state football tournament bids on Friday night. Baldwin will host Leilehua at 6 p.m. in a game that will be televised on OC 16. The Lunas will visit Aiea at 7 p.m. Both games will be carried on PRG sister stations: Baldwin on ESPN 550 and the Lunas on FoxNews 900.

________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at mail.pacificradiogroup.com

Monopolistic BCS hires chief apologist

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

His official title is "Executive Director." But the real duties of the newly named Bill Hancock is to serve as the chief apologist for the Bowl Championship Series and trying to convince critics that it is the best way to determine a college football champion.

It's not an easy job, given the criticism and controversy aimed at the BCS from the politicians, the media and fans.

Hancock, who previously oversaw the wildly successful NCAA men's Division-I basketball tournament, must convince critics that a scaled-down version of that event is not the answer for college football.

Hancock says, "A lot of the frustration with the BCS is because people don't understand it. They think there is this hypothetical playoff which would just be a panacea. The fact is a playoff would be as contentious or more contentious than what we have now. A playoff is just not right for college football."

So why are playoffs right for every other sport, including football, at every division of the NCAA, with the lone exception of D-I football?

The real answer is that the BCS is about making big money and not about fairness. The current system is a cash-producing monopoly involving the nation's top football conferences and bowl-game organizers that has been a financial bonanza for those interests.

The challenge for Hancock is to sidetrack pressure from lawmakers to change the system, and defuse the threats of antitrust lawsuits.

RETIRING COACHES: Two veteran football coaches with ties to the Aloha State have called to an end to their respective careers.

Earlier this week, 71-year-old Dick Tomey announced his retirement at the end of the current San Jose State season. Yesterday, 67-year-old Jerry Glanville resigned as head coach at Portland State.

In each case, the coaches were brought in to turn around once-proud programs out of recent declines.

Tomey enjoyed success at Hawaii and Arizona, leading the Rainbows to their first Top 20 ranking in 1981 and the Wildcats to a 12-1 mark in 1998. His 63 wins were a record at UH until broken by June Jones. His 95 wins remain the most in Arizona history.

Tomey spent a few years as an assistant with the 49ers and Texas Longhorns, and another few years as a color commentator on telecasts of UH games before beginning a 5-year stint at San Jose State.

He led the Spartans to a 9-4 mark in 2006, but the team has sunk to 1-8 this year going into Saturday's home game versus Hawaii. Tomey is 24-33 overall at San Jose State.

Glanville spent three seasons at Portland State, going 9-24 overall and 2-9 this year. He took the job after serving two years as defensive coordinator at UH under June Jones. He formerly served as head coach with the NFL's Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons.

Glanville's colorful personality did not translate into wins on the field or fans in the stands, and now he's gone.

________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at mail.pacificradiogroup.com

UH hoops rally falls short

UH hoops rally falls short

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

Much like the Hawaii basketball team, I tried but came up short.

Down by 17 points, 69-52, w i t h 4 : 2 8 r e m a i n i n g , the Bows went on a furious rally to get as close as 76-74 with 22 seconds left.

But Northern Colorado hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final seconds to secure an 81-75 win in the title game of the 46th annual Rainbow Classic that ended past 1 o'clock this morning.

To accommodate ESPN's College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon, the game tipped off at 11 p.m. before a crowd of 2,513 at the Stan Sheriff Center and an unknown number of insomniacs in a national TV audience.

Despite my best intentions of seeing the game through, I nodded out sometime in the midst of Northern Colorado's 17-0 run in the second half to break a 52-all tie.

The wonders of DVR enabled me to watch UH become unglued, regroup behind guard Jeremy Lay's trio of 3-point baskets in the final 90 seconds and eventually suffer its first loss of the young season.

L a y f i n i s h e d w i t h a g a m e - h i g h 1 8 p o i n t s , i n c l u d i n g f i v e 3 - p o i n t e r s . UH's other guard, Dwaine Williams, added 17 points, with 14 coming in the first half. But he finished 4 of 16 from the field, including 1 of 8 from behind the arc.

Memo to coach Bob Nash: Remind your two guards that this team's best player is forward Rodney Flemings, who finished with 12 points and was treated as an after-thought by his new teammates.

WAHINE OPENER: The Rainbow Wahine open their season with a three-game swing through Soutthern California. UH faces UC Riverside tonight, followed by visits to UCLA on Thursday and CS-Bakersfield on Saturday. All three of their opponents lost their openers over the weekend.

New head coach Dana Takahara-Dias inherits 11 returnees, a high-profile local recruit and a program that went 8-20 (4-12, WAC) last year. UH welcomes freshman Shawna Kuehu was highly recruited coming out of Punahou, which she led to state titles in 2005, 2006 and 2008. Kuehu sat out last year, turning down an offer to play at Cal.

UC Riverside lost 86-63 to Miami in which just 8 players suited up due to injuries. The Highlanders finished 19-12 with a WNIT appearance last season. UC Riverside lost all 5 starters from last year's team and return three players and six red-shirts.

UCLA lost, 61-55, to Illinois State. The Bruins return 10 players from last year's 19-12 team, including 4 starters and 6-6 senior Monique Alexander.

Cal State Bakersfield rallied from a 12-point deficit but fell short in a 78-76 loss to Montana State. Katie Williams scored 22 and has scored in double figures in 18 straight games. The Roadrunners, an independent team, return nine players from last year's 19-10 team and are in their fourth and final year of a transition period from NCAA D-II to D-I.

Hawaii's home opener is November 27 agaisnt 16th-ranked Arizona State in the Rainbow Wahine Classic.

________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at mail.pacificradiogroup.com

A wonderful weekend of sports

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

Thank goodness for the invention of the DVR. Were it not for this miracle of modern technology, I wouldn't have been able watch so many of the various games and events that made the past weekend so wonderful for sports fans.

Where do we begin?

Let's start with Manny Pacquiao's demolition of Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas for the WBO welterweight title, giving the pride of the Phillipines championships in record seven different weight divisions.

Pacquiao turned an interesting bout into a rout and the fight was finally and thankfully stopped in the 12th round. Pac Man clearly deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of all time.

Michelle Wie finally won her first professional golf championship, capturing the Lorena Ochoa Invitational by two strokes in Guadalajara after 65 starts on the LPGA Tour that include more than a handful of close calls.

In an NFL season during most given Sunday's featured more blowouts than cliffhangers, Week 10 had more than its share of interesting games.

The Indianapolis Colts rallied for two late scores and capitalized on a gamble gone bad by New England head coach Bill Belichick for an unlikely 35-34 victory.

Cincinnati held Pittsburgh without a touchdown for an 18-12 road victory. Green Bay's defense shut down Dallas for a 17-7 victory, again raising doubts whether the Cowboys are really all that.

After a 6-0 start, Denver dropped its third straight, suffering a 22-17 loss to lowly Washington. The loss dropped the Broncos into a tie for first place in the AFC West with San Diego. The two teams meet this week in the Mile High City. The Chargers beat Philadelphia 31-20.

For most local fans, the only reason to watch Monday Night Football is to catch a glimpse of linebacker Kaluka Maiava, the former Baldwin star, when his struggling Cleveland Browns face Baltimore.

In college football, Hawaii won its second straight by defeating New Mexico State 24-6 as Greg Salas set a school record with 16 receptions. UH is at SJS this week. Spartans coach Dick Tomey, who formerly coached at UH and Arizona, formally announced today tht he will retire at the end of the current season.

The biggest news in college football was Stanford's 55-21 road demolition of USC. It was the most points ever given up by the Trojans.

In college hoops, Hawaii won its first two games of the Rainbow Classic, defeating Southern Utah on Friday and McNeese State on Sunday. The Bows play for the championship tonight against Northern Colorado in a game that begins at 11 p.m. – that's right, 11 p.m. – to accommodate ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon.

Finally, preparations continue this week for Baldwin and Lahainaluna, which open their state tournament bids on Friday night. The TV hook? Baldwin will host Leilehua at 6 p.m. in a game that will be televised on OC 16. The Lunas will visit Aiea at 7 p.m. Both games will be carried on PRG sister stations: Baldwin on ESPN 550 and the Lunas on FoxNews 900.

________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at mail.pacificradiogroup.com

A journey to NBA via Italy

A journey to NBA via Italy

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

Many critics questioned Brandon Jennings' decision to forego college while waiting out the required one year before entering the NBA draft. Instead, the talented point guard got paid handsomely -- $1.65 million net -- to play for one season with a top team in Italy.

Judging for his early success with the Milwaukee Bucks, Jennings made the right choice in going overseas instead of going through the one-and-done charade with an American college team.

His stats with a team in Rome were not particularly impressive, but playing on a daily basis with and against men appears have to prepared Jennings well for the NBA.

Through six games as a rookie, the 20-year-old Jennings is averaging 20.7 points and 5.2 assists, including 32 points and 9 assists in last night's surprise 108-102 victory over Denver in which he was matched up against the highly respected Chauncey Billups.

Interestingly, Jennings is actually taking a paycut this season with the Bucks. His NBA rookie salary of $2.1 million translates to slightly more than $1 million in take-home pay.

My guess is that more players will consider taking the international route in the future instead of going to college in anticipation of entering the NBA draft.

In fact, a kid who played for his prep tam in a tournament at the Lahaina Civic Center just last December took the overseas option.

Jeremy Tyler, a 6-11 junior, dropped out of San Diego High School and signed a $140,000 annual contract to play for a pro team in Israel. The 17-year-old Tyler became the first player born in the U.S. to leave high school early to play pro basketball overseas. Tyler intends to come back in two years, when he is eligible for the NBA draft.

Tyler has struggled early adjusting to life at the professional level and adapting to a new culture, according to newspaper reports. The biggest knock against Tyler by his current coaches and teammates is a lack of work ethic.

The key for Tyler is realizing that he no longer can just step out on the court and dominate as he did in the prep ranks. Not when he's competing against men who are just as tall, but much more physically and emotionally mature than himself

NBA NOTES: Dwayne Wade has picked up where he left off last season, when he single-handedly carried the Miami Heat to an unlikely playoff berth.

Wade led the league in scoring, with a 29.9 average, and earned well-deserved recognition for MVP honors that went to LeBron James.

Allen Iverson's future remains in question. AI signed a one-year deal with Memphis, was held out of training camp and exhibitions because of a hamstring injury, and then sulked when he was left out of the starting lineup for his first three games with the Grizzlies.

Iverson received permission from the Grizzlies to take an indefinite leave to take care of unidentified personal matters. The general feeling is that AI left because he was unhappy coming off the bench, which – technically, I guess – qualifies as a personal matter.

________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at mail.pacificradiogroup.com

Boise State in no-win situation

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

The knock against Boise State is the same as with other top programs from second-tier football conferences. Namely, the critics invariably point to that team's strength of schedule, or lack thereof.

As the argument goes, if TCU and Boise State played in, say, the SEC, Big-12 or Pac-10 on a weekly basis, they would be merely middle-of-the-road teams within those power conferences.

The quandary for Boise State is that you can't strengthen your schedule if stronger teams aren't willing to play you home or away. Fresno State has tried to address the issue by embracing a philosophy of playing anyone, anywhere, anytime.

But even that strategy doesn't always work. Many teams have pulled out of contracts to play against Hawaii at Aloha Stadium figuring it's not worth the risk of losing to a team from the second-tier WAC.

Boise State, unbeaten and ranked sixth in the latest BCS standings, is encountering the same problem in seeking to fill an opening in its 2011 schedule with a quality opponent.

Teams cringe at playing on Boise's Smurf Turf, where the Broncos are 59-2 over the past decade, including a 19-8 win over Oregon to open the current season.

Big-time programs may pay from $600,000 to $1 million to weak teams for a paycheck game. But they don't want to pay big bucks to a Boise State and run the risk of getting beat at home in the process.
Under the BCS rules only the highest-ranked non-BCS team is assured of a BCS bowl berth while the other is available for an improbable at-large bid.

Last year, Boise State went undefeated during the regular season and ranked No. 9 in the BCS standings, but Utah was ranked ahead of them and earned the guaranteed spot to a BCS bowl. This season, Boise State is No. 6 in the current standings, but TCU is No. 4.

________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at mail.pacificradiogroup.com

At last, Lainaluna beats Baldwin

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

For Lahainaluna, it was a welcome end to a seven-game drought against MIL nemesis Baldwin, a victorious celebration of homecoming and a great tune-up for the state Division-II football tournament.

For the Bears, it was a disappointing end to the regular-season and a source of concern going into a major challenge in the opening round of the D-I tournament.

Rallying from an early 7-0 deficit, the Lunas immediately responded with a touchown of their own as a trick play resulted in a 71-yard pass play between TJ Rickard and Paula Toa.

Lahainaluna never relinquished the momentum en route to a 28-14 win in a game that meant more in terms of bragging rights than it did in the standings. Both had already clinched their respective MIL division titles and both ended their MIL campaigns with two losses.

Baldwin is seeded third in the D-I tourney and will host Leilehua in a quarterfinal game on Friday, Nov. 20. The 6 o'clock game will be televised statewide on OC 16 and carried live on Maui's ESPN 550.

Leilehua let the lead slip between its fingers in the OIA-Red title game as top-ranked Kahuku rallied for a 24-20 win over the Mules, who are led by standout QB Andrew Manley.

Despite being seeded No. 4, the Lunas will have to go on the road on the same night for its game at OIA-White runnerup Aiea, which suffered a 21-7 loss to Moanalua.

In Saturday's MIL regular-season finale, Kamehameha-Maui senior quarterback Eli Ferreira had a night to remember, throwing for five touchdowns and running for another in a 56-22 romp past visiting Maui High. Ferreria completed 20 of 35 attempts for 358 yards.

By my unofficial count, the Sabers were assessed 225 yards on 19 penalties – including 13 of the major variety.

VOLLEYBALL: A news conference is scheduled for noon today at county building to announce that the University of Hawaii men's volleyball team will play at War Memorial Gym in 2010, according to the Maui News. The schedule posted on the athletic department's Web site lists the site as ''TBA'' for a home match vs. Brigham Young on Feb. 27. The schedule shows Hawaii and BYU opening their two-game series at the Stan Sheriff Center on Feb. 26.

The nationally third-ranked Rainbow Wahine volleyball team celebrated Senior Night by extending its winning streak to 19 matches with a 25-11, 25-12, 25-21 rout of Utah State, giving UH its 14th straight WAC title before a crowd of more than 6,000 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Wahine are 25-2 overall and 13-0 in the conference. Hawaii ends the regular season on the road, at Boise State on Thursday, Idaho on Saturday and Utah State next Monday.

UH FOOTBALL: In an offensive performance reminiscent of the 1990s, Hawaii ended a six-game slide with an impressive 49-36 win over Utah State before a modest crowd of 25,883 at Aloha Stadium on Saturday night.

There was more run than shoot in UH's offense for the first time since June Jones' arrival and departure at Manoa as pass-oriented Hawaii rolled up 360 of its 697 yards in total offense on the ground.

The running back tandem of Leon Wright-Jackson and Alex Green combined for 277 yards. Wright-Jackson had a career night with 167 yards on 15 carries and three touchdowns. Green came off the bench and rushed for 110 yards on 10 carries.

It marked first time since 1995 that UH had two rushers each with at least 100 yards rushing in a game.

QB Bryant Moniz picked up 76 rushing yards, including a 31-yarder, in addition to throwing for 337 and four touchdowns, while Greg Salas had 10 catches for 187 and two scores.

________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at mail.pacificradiogroup.com