MIL BASEBALL: SABERS, BEARS ON TOP

(March 31): Perennial baseball arch-rivals, Maui High and Baldwin, find themselves in familiar positions – deadlocked atop the MIL Division I standings with 6-0 records.

But there's a lot of baseball remaining between now and when the front-runners tangle in a regular-season-closing two-game series on April 18 and 19.

With Peter Ibanez and Jacob Babauta combining on a three-hitter, Maui High knocked Kamehameha out of the unbeaten ranks with a 1-0 win on Friday. Mitch Crim's sacrifice fly in the third accounted for the only run.

The Sabers followed that up with a 6-4 win over the Warriors on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, Baldwin beat defending overall champion Saint Anthony 4-2. The Bears face Kamehameha at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Saint Anthony's loss, coupled with Molokai's pair of lopsided victories over Kaahumanu Hou., dropped the Trojans to 2-2 and a half-game behind the 3-2 Farmers.

From the diamond to the track:

Jessica Davis, a sophomore from Highland High of California, stole the show at the Yamamoto Invitational track and field meet by shattering three meet records. She was clocked in 11.99 in the 100, 24.75 in the 200 and 57.41 in the 400.

Baldwin's Kalei Kamahele set new marks in the 100 in 11.04 and 200 in 22.16, while teammate Joey Amescua won the 800 in a record time of 2:02.13.

King Kekaulike's Reid Hunter brple the 1,500 mark in 4:15.33 – some 13 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

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LOW DOWN: UNC SPANKS COUGARS

(March 28): The college basketball career of Derrick Low came to a sobering, but not surprising, conclusion last night in Charlotte.

Low and his Washington State teammates were soundly beaten, 68-47, by top-ranked and No. 1-seeded North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen round of the Big Dance.

The Tar Heels got off to a slow start, trailing 12-10, with 11:33 remaining in the half. But UNC picked up its offensive pace while the Cougars struggled with their shooting.

Low finished with 14 points, but made just 6-of-16 from the field and 2-of-9 from behind the arc. His shooting woes were reflected throughout the Wazzou lineup. The Cougars made only 31 percent of their attempts and just 2 of 16 – or 12.5 percent – from 3-point range.

Led by Tyler Hansborough's 18 points and 9 rebounds, North Carolina eased to its third straight lopsided win in the tourney.

The Tar Heels will next face third-seeded Louisville on Saturday.

The Cardinals advanced with a decisive 79-60 victory over No. 2 Tennessee, limiting Vols' star Chris Lofton to 15 points on 3-of-15 shooting. Louisville put on a clinic on how to defend the 3-poiint shot as Lofton went 2-of-11 from behind the arc and his team a combined 5-for-20.

In the West Region, Kevin Love scored a career-high 29 and grabbed 14 rebounds in leading top-seeded UCLA to an 88-78 victory over Western Kentucky.

The Bruins will next meet Xavier on Saturday. The third-seeded X-Men were extended into overtime before subduing No. 7 West Virginia 79-75.

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UPDATE ON MAUI'S BIG-LEAGUERS

(March 27): Both of Maui's big-leaguers – Philly center fielder Shane Victorino and Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki – will start for their respective teams.

Playing mostly right field last season, Victorino batted .281 with 23 doubles, 12 homers, 78 runs scored and 37 steals. He was also among the National League leaders in outfield assists.
In short, he was a contributor to Philly's stunning late-season run to overtake the collapsing New York Mets in the NL East.

His strong play essentially allowed Philly the luxury of letting Aaron Rowand pursue free agency and install Victorino in his place.

Although the A's have a few more exhibition games left on their spring schedule, Oakland already played a pair of regular-season games this week against Boston. The A's split the series in China and Suzuki went 3-for-8.

Suzuki became Oakland's starter last June in what amounted to an audition. Kurt won the starting role on a permanent basis by batting .249, with 7 homers and 39 RBI in 68 games.

Things aren't looking so sunny for Kauai product Tyler Yates. Atlanta traded the 30-year-old lefty to Pittsburgh yesterday for a minor-league pitcher. Because the Pirates have a surplus of relievers, Yates could end up starting the season in Triple A.

And Kamehameha grad Dane Sardinha, a catcher, is in the running to make Detroit's roster as a backup to Pudge Rodriguez.

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SUZUKI OFF TO HOT START

(March 26): Initially, I had no issues with the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics opening the major-league baseball season with games in Japan.

Upon further review, the idea stinks. It has not only detracted from the opening of our league, but it has stolen substantial thunder for the opening of the Japan League, as well. A lose-lose proposition, if you ask me.

Normally, I would make a point of watching the first big-league game of the season, regardless of who is playing. And particularly if a local kid, as is the case with Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki, is playing in the contest.

But there's no way I was going stay up until midnight to watch the start of this year's campaign.

Kurt, by the way, went 2-for-3 – including a double – and scored a run in Oakland's 5-1 win over the defending World Series champs as Rich Harden allowed three hits and struck out nine over six innings, giving Oakland a split of the series.

After another productive spring, Suzuki is off to a 3-of-8 start at the plate.

Although the season has technically started, here are my picks for the campaign that truly begins this weekend:

In the American League, Boston beats out the Yankees in the East, with New York claiming the wild card. Detroit takes the competitive Central and the Angels beat out Seattle in the West.

In the National, the Mets out-duel Philly and Atlanta in the East, while the Cubs take the Central and the San Diego wins the West. Philly is my wild card pick.

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FULL PLATE FOR INCOMING A.D.

(March 25): Jim Donovan officially began his duties yesterday as the University of Hawaii's athletics director, and he has plenty on his plate.

A key issue Donovan must resolve quickly is a new TV contract, which is linked to resolving his biggest challenge – balancing a budget that is believed to be between $4 million to $6 million in the red.

Revenues from UH's appearance in the Sugar Bowl will cut into that deficit, reducing it by an estimated $2.5 million.

That's where the TV contract comes in. The likelihood of UH returning to a BCS bowl game isn't likely to happen anytime soon. But the TV deal will continue to generate revenue over the life of the contract.

UH is negotiating with K5, which has carried UH sports since 1984. K5 carries about 120 UH sporting events annually, and produces 19 of those for pay-per-view. Oceanic Time Warner, which operates OC-16, has indicated interest in bidding for the TV rights.

Hawaii earned more than $2.5 million for telecasts of 2007 games, including a big increase in pay-per-view revenue.

The school collected $794,000 as its share of pay-per-view compared to $400,000 for 2006. That's despite late-season games versus Boise State and Washington being carried on ESPN and not the pay-per-view distributor.

Adding local TV rights of about $1.7 million, UH's total TV take was $2.5 million.

But how much value is there in pay-per-view when ESPN can cherry-pick the best games? Four are planned for this season, with a possibility of up to seven.

UH also is negotiating radio rights with ESPN 1420, which paid $1 million over three years.

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UPSETS GALORE IN BIG DANCE

(March 24): My bracket is in tatters. So, most likely, is yours. If not, you're either the luckiest or the wisest of basketball fans. And I'll go with the former.

Consider that of the more than 2.5 million brackets submitted to ESPN's Tournament Challenge, only two of survived the opening weekend of the NCAA tourney with a perfect record.

That's what happens when four unheralded teams crash the Sweet Sixteen, as was the case with Davidson, West Virginia, Villanova and Western Kentucky.

Granted; all four of the top seeds survived. But while North Carolina and Kansas cruised through their opening two games, UCLA and Memphis were fortunate to advance.

UCLA needed a overtime as well as clutch performances by Darren Collison and Kevin Love to subdue Texas A&M on Saturday.
Memphis, again showing there's nothing free about them, struggled at the line and to a 77-74 win over Mississippi State yesterday.

Although all four of the top seeds advanced, a pair of No. 2s bit the dust as Davidson shocked Georgetown and West Virginia ousted Duke.

The center of the Upset Universe was Tampa, where – for the first time in tournament history – all four of the lower seeded teams won their first-round games, producing second-round match-ups involving No. 12 Villanova vs. No. 13 Siena and No. 12 Western Kentucky versus No. 13 San Diego.

So the road to the Final Four is already littered with upset victims. Let the madness continue.

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ELAM'S DAYS IN DENVER NUMBERED

(March 20): The Denver Broncos and veteran place kicker Jason Elam appear close to a parting of ways after 13 years.

The former University of Hawaii standout has been one of the most reliable kickers of his era. But he spent the past week in meetings with the Atlanta Falcons after his negotiations for a new deal with Denver stalled.

The Broncos apparently are holding firm on a three-year offer they believe is comparable to, if not better than, the current deals for other aging kickers.

Ironically, the 38-year-old Elam is coming off a season in which he registered four walkoff game-winning kicks – the most by an NFL kicker since 1990.

In fact, his game-winners accounted for more than half of Denver's seven victories.

And he finished the season by making his last 15 field goal attempts.

In case you had forgotten, Elam was born and raised in Georgia, adding credence to reports he's be doing his kicking in the Georgia Dome this year.

It's the latest twist in an off-season of instability for the Broncos.

They released wide receiver Javon Walker and linebacker Ian Gold during the off-season. They experienced turnover at both coordinator positions for a third straight year.

And, to top things off, head coach Mike Shanahan, who doubles as Vice President of Football Operations, fired general manager Ted Sundquist, a veteran of 16 years with the organization.

So a lot of things are up in the air in mile-high Denver, including the likely departure of their dependable kicker.

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CELTICS BRING ROCKETS TO EARTH

(March 19): The Streak is over. The Boston Celtics took care of that last night, bringing the Rockets back to earth in jolting fashion in Houston.

Demonstrating why it owns the NBA's best record, Boston followed a sensational comeback at the expense of defending champ San Antonio on Monday by crushing the Rockets 94-74 in a showdown between conference leaders.

It was actually a close and interesting game at intermission, with the teams deadlocked at 40-all. And then, Celtics clamped down on defense and outscored the Rockets 54-34 after the break for a win that improved their record to 54-13 and ended Houston's victory run at 22 – the second longest in league history.

Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 11 rebounds while Paul Pierce scored 20. But the big offensive boost came from Leon Powe, who came off the bench to contribute 21.

It was on defense, however, that Boston made its mark. The Celtics never allowed Houston's Tracy McGrady a clean look at the basket, and he ended up with eight points on 4 of 11 shooting.

I've been among those who have doubted the Celtics, wondering whether they would be all that if they played in the West. But Boston has addressed those doubts where it matters most – on the court.

As in a 22-4 record against the West, and posting back-to-back road victories on successive nights the likes of San Antonio and Houston, with Dallas and New Orleans the next stop on their challenging tour.

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WHERE'S THE MONEY, JUNE?

(March 18): You may recall the uproar caused by an ugly divorce between Rich Rodriguez and West Virginia University prompted when the head coach walked out on the Mountaineers to move in with the Michigan Wolverines.

In fact, the financial aspects of that messy breakup remain unresolved, with West Virginia officials insisting that Rodriguez owes the university the entire amount of a $4 million buyout clause in his contract.

A court case on the matter is scheduled to begin on April 3.
By contrast, June Jones was overwhelmingly the recipient of adulation instead of being the target of recrimination after opting to leave the University of Hawaii for a higher-paying gig at Southern Methodist.

UH fans generally expressed appreciation for the way Jones inherited a winless team and, by last season, guided Hawaii to a perfect regular season and a berth in the Sugar Bowl.

They understood that the money offered by SMU – a reported $10 million over five years – was hard to turn down. And they also knew that poor athletic facilities had been a source of frustration for Jones.

But just like Rich Rodriguez in West Virginia, June Jones has an unsettled debt in Hawaii. Under the terms of his final contract with UH, Jones owes the school $400 thousand in the form of a buyout clause in his deal with the school.

And that amount was due on March 7.

What, June? No can afford to pay up? Just asking.

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BASEBALL BOWS SWEPT BY UC IRVINE

(March 17): We really don't how Hawaii will measure up against the rest of the Western Athletic Conference once league plays begins this weekend.

But based on early evidence, this is much appears certain: UH very clearly is not in the same league with the nation's best college baseball teams.

No. 8 UC Irvine underscored that point over the weekend by sweeping a three-game series against the visiting Bows by a combined 36-7. The Anteaters followed up a 9-0 win on Friday with romps of 14-3 and 13-4 on Saturday.

Those lopsided setbacks dropped Hawaii's record to 7-12, including 0-8 against ranked opponents.

UH plays another ranked team on Tuesday, hosting No. 21 San Diego, before opening the WAC campaign with a three-game series against visiting Fresno State.

Avenging a four-game loss the night before, Hawaii posted a 33-31, 30-26, 30-27 volleyball victory over UC Irvine on Saturday.

UH improved to 9-10 overall and 6-8 in the MPSF. The Bows are back in eighth place, the minimum requirement for the MPSF playoffs. They have eight matches remaining, with six on the road.

Texas topped No. 16 UH 5-0 in a Spring Fling softball tournament on Saturday, limiting the Rainbow Wahine to four hits. UH split a pair of games on Friday. UH is now 21-8 overall.

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DISAPPOINTING SEASON COMES TO AN END

(March 14): For a half, it appeared as if the University of Hawaii just might extend what has been -- in my book, anyway -- a highly disappointing men's basketball season.

But an eight-point lead at intermission evaporated in all of 3 and a half minutes of the second half and Boise State went on to post an 80-74 quarterfinal win in the WAC tournament.

Yes, I know that Bob Nash got a late start in recruiting after belatedly being promoted to the head coaching job. But never in my wildest dreams -- nor his, I suspect -- did I envision Hawaii closing out its campaign with seven straight losses and finishing with an 11-19 record.

The Broncos shot a blistering 78.9 percent from the field after intermission, making 15 of 19 field attempts, to overtake Hawaii. Reggie Larry led Boise State with 26 points.

In his final game in a UH uniform, an ailing Matt Gibson had 17 points and five rebounds despite recovering from a bout of food poisoning.

The mercurial 6-5 guard finished his career as Hawaii's ninth all-time scorer with 1,126 points, ninth in assists with 310, sixth in three-point shots with 129 and five in steals with 142.

Other departing seniors include Bobby Nash, Riley Luettgerodt and Jaren Dellinger.

Bottom line: Bob Nash has a lot of recruiting to do this off-season.

DONOVAN: It's official. Jim Donovan is the new athletics director at his alma mater, the University of Hawaii.
Donovan's hiring was formally approved yesterday by the university's Board of Regents.

The 48-year-old former UH football player and associate AD, was given a 5-year contract with an annual base salary in the $240,000 range, plus bonuses.

He succeeds Herman Frazier, who was fired after five and half years on the job, inheriting a 19-sport program with an annual budget of nearly $27 million..

BASEBALL: The UH baseball team opens a three-game road series today at No. 13 UC Irvine. UH's record is 7-9, including 0-5 vs. ranked foes. You can listen to Saturday's and Sunday's games on FoxNews 900 starting at 10 a.m. each day.

VOLLEYBALL: Hawaii will open a two-match series against defending national champion UC Irvine tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center. With a 5-7 record in the MPSF, UH currently occupies the eighth and final playoff spot with 10 matches remaining -- including six on the road.

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SHOULD WE TAKE ROCKETS SERIOUSLY?

(March 12): I'm not saying that they should be listed as a front-runner to win an NBA title.

But, based on their 19 consecutive victories, at what point do we add the Houston Rockets to the title conversation.

Following their latest victory earlier this week, a 91-73 win over the Nets, New Jersey's Vince Carter observed that if it's so easy to win 19 games, why haven't more teams accomplished the feat? Good question.

In fact, Houston's run is the third-longest in NBA history, trailing only the 20 by the Milwaukee Bucks during the 1970-71 season and, of course, the seemingly unreachable 33-game streak by the Lakers way back in the day, when Wilt and the logo, Jerry West, were wearing an LA uniform.

One other notable streak by the Rockets: They take an NBA-record-tying 10 straight double-digit wins into tonight's road game against Atlanta.

In NBA action last night, Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 34 points in the final 8:30 as the Lakers regained the top spot in the wild, wild West with a 117-108 win over Toronto. LA opened up a half-game lead over idle San Antonio.

And Phoenix improved to 5-6 since acquiring Shaquille O'Neal following a 132-111 romp past Memphis.

Only five games separate the top eight teams in the West, with Denver trailing Golden State by 2.5 games and currently out of the post-season despite a 37-26 record that woudl rank fourth in the East.

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NO SURPRISE: DONOVAN IS NEW A.D. AT U.H.

(March 11): To absolutely no one's surprise, Jim Donovan -- a former University of Hawaii football player and administrator -- will take over as UH's new athletics director.

Donovan was long considered the front-runner to replace the fired Herman Frazier. A key assistant to Hugh Yoshida, Donovan was inadvisedly not retained when Frazier became the AD.

Donovan landed on his feet, however, securing a job as exectuive director of the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl and enhancing his resume by doing an excellent job in that capacity.

Sheraton Hotels recently agreed to a two-year extension to remain the title sponsor of the event, covering the 2008 and 2009 games, which will feature teams from the Western Athletic Conference and the Pac-10.

Hawaii has an automatic berth in the game if it becomes bowl eligible, and has won three of its four appearances in the Hawaii Bowl.

With UH earning a berth in the Sugar Bowl during the past season, the last Hawaii Bowl was filled out by two out-of-state teams, with East Carolina upsetting Boise State 41-38 in a well-attended game at Aloha Stadium.

His ability to promote and attract nice crowds for games between neutral opponents, his strong ties to UH and -- perhaps most importantly -- his knowledge of local folks and local ways played heavily in his favor and his ultimate selection as the new athletics director.

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CLAY WINS WORLD HEPTATHLON TITLE

Hampered by nagging injuries and assorted illnesses over the past few years, Hawaii's Brian Clay gave notice that he's back and with a real shot at winning an Olympic gold medal this summer in Beijing.

Clay won the world decathlon title in 2005 and was twice runner-up in the world indoors, but his performances had suffered of late.

Yesterday in Valencia, Spain, the man from Kaneohe set the world standard in the heptathlon – a grueling multi-event challenge staged over two days.

The fully-recovered Clay amassed a personal best total of 6,371 points, just 105 short of fellow American Dan O'Brien's 1993 world record.

The 28-year-old Castle High grad put on a dominating performance, winning four of the seven events -- the 60-meter dash, long jump, shot put and 60-meter hurdles -- to finish 137 points ahead of runner-up Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus.

MEN'S HOOPS: The Basket Bows would have been better of remaining stranded at the Dallas Airport.

As a result of the awful weather that's stricken that area of the mainland, UH was stuck in Dallas all day Friday en route to Las Cruces, N.M., from the team's previous stop in Rustin, La.

The Bows arrived in town five hours before Saturday night's game and resembled a team whose game was packed in lost luggage and were routed 106-71 by New Mexico State despite a career-best 26 by Riley Luettgerodt.

The Aggies avenged an earlier 23-point road loss to UH, out-rebounding the Bows by an astounding 65-29 margin. They had nearly as many offensive rebounds -- 28 – as Hawaii's entire total.

New Mexico State improved to 19-13 and earned a share of the WAC regular-season title at 12-4. The Aggies finished in a four-way logjam that also included Utah State, Nevada and Boise State.

Hawaii fell to 11-18 with its sixth straight loss and finished fifth in the WAC at 7-9.

The Bows won't have to worry about travel for their next game. They will remain in Las Cruces for this week's WAC tourney, facing fourth-seeded Boise State in a quarterfinal game on Thursday that will tip off at 8 a.m., Hawaii time.

BASEBALL: If it's any consolation, the baseball Bows gave a better account of themselves than a 0-for-3 weekend would indicate. For one thing, Long Beach State came to Les Murakami Stadium as the nation's 10th-ranked team. For another, UH was in every one of those games.

And although UH is a lackluster 5-9 overall. Five of those setbacks have come against Top Ten opponents, including earlier losses to No. 1 Arizona State and No. 8 Michigan. That said, Hawaii could benefit from better contributions from its relievers. More timely hitting wouldn't hurt, either.

On Friday, Hawaii's bullpen let one get away, suffering a 4-3, 12-inning loss to the Dirt Bags. Honest, that's the school's official baseball nickname. In other sports, the teams go by 49ers.

On Saturday, LBS jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning en route to a 4-2 win. In sunday's series finale, Long Beach State made a clean sweep of things as Hawaii blew an early 4-0 lead to suffer an 8-4 loss.

The Bows are back in action tomorrow, opening two-game home series against Alabama-Birmingham. The Blazers are 6-7 after taking two of three agaisnt UH-Hilo over the weekend.

SOFTBALL: The 15th-ranked Rainbow Wahine softball team came up short in its bid to win the Malihini Kipa Aloha tournament yesterday as Washington rallied for three runs in the sixth to pull out an 8-6 win in the championship game.

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NOT A GREAT QB IN THE BUNCH

(March 7): I don't see anyone in the in this year's NFL draft class as a future franchise quarterback.

And please don't mention Boston College's Matt Ryan. Frankly, now: Where would you have ranked him among the prospects that came out last year? Or the year before?

Brady Quinn, for example, had better credentials coming out of Notre Dame and he plunged to No. 22 in last year's draft.

My biggest problem with Ryan is that he threw19 interceptions last season against college pressure and college coverage. And that somehow qualifies him as a potential top overall pick? Spare me.

Ryan is more likely to join the ranks of former draft darlings college as David Carr, Ryan Leaf, Joey Harrington and Aliki Smith and so on and so on as quarterbacks who never lived up to the media-generated hype.

Former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith continues to struggle in San Francisco and, quite frankly, Kurt Warner remains a better quarterback than Matt Leinart has become so far in his career.

The point I'm making is that the NFL draft is literally a lottery, particularly at the QB position. And just because you may be the best at a particular position in a particular year doesn't necessarily make you a can't-miss prospect.

So if I'm either Miami, which is picking first, or Atlanta, which is picking third, I'd look to strengthen other positions rather than gamble on selecting someone simply because he's the best QB available among an ordinary group.

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KOBE, LEBRON TOP MVP CANDIDATES

(March 6): It's become fashionable for fans to chant "M-V-P" in tribute of their hometown stars.

Last night, the chant by fans at Madison Square Garden was directed at a visiting player. Not just any visitor, but the exceptionally talented LeBron James.

In one of the signature performances of his career, the 23-year-old James erupted for 50 points to go with 10 assists, eight rebounds and four steals in leading Cleveland to a 119-105 victory over the Knicks.

Although he's a self-described 6-9, 260-pounds and essentially operates as Cleveland's de facto point forward, James made 16-of-30 shots, including 7-of-13 from 3-point range.

His outburst came a few nights after Kobe Bryant scored an NBA season-high 52.

Those types of performances are the reason why Kobe and LeBron are considered the front-runners in both this season's MVP race and the on-going debate about who's the best player on the planet.

Statstically, LeBron is averaging 30.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 2 steals. By comparison, 29-year-old Kobe checks in with 28.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.95 steals.

A slight statistical edge for LeBron, but Kobe is regarded as a better individual defender.

But James also has less of a supporting cast and, interestingly, his team has beaten Kobe's in 8 of 10 head-to-head meetings. Let the debate continue.

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LOCAL PRODUCTS ARE DOING WELL

(March 5): A quick update on local standouts now competing at higher levels.

On the baseball front, Philly outfielder Shane Victorino and Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki recently signed one-year deals with their respective teams. Both are projected starters and both are swinging hot bats this spring, with Suzuki hitting at a .583 clip and Victorino batting .385.

Kawika Kahui and Vaka Manapuna are playing for Arena League football teams. Kahui is a starting linebacker for the Arizona Rattlers while Manapuna is a defensive lineman for the Utah Blaze. Vaka scored a touchdown on a fumble return last week.

A pair of former MIL hoops standouts are completing solid seasons.

Gene Rivera, a 6-4 senior forward at Lewis & Clark, was named named honorable mention All-Northwest Conference. Rivera led his team in rebounding, averaging 6.4 per game, and topped the conference with 43 blocks.

Cody Tesoro, a 5-11 junior forward at Linfield, has averaged 7.3 points, making 23 of 50 three-point shots, in a reserve role.

From the court to the diamond: Cal freshman first basemen Sanoe Kekahuna had anoher productive weekend as the Golden Bears went 4-1 in a tournament played in Las Vegas. One of those wins came against Hawai'i. For the season, Kekahuna is batting .412 and slugging .922 with six homers and 30 RBI in 22 games for the 14-8 Bears.

Cal Poly's Derrick Saito pitched six scoreless innings of four-hit ball with nine strikeouts in a 2-1 win against Fresno State on Saturday, but ended up with a no-decision.

Several local kids are also playing baseball at the JC level, including the quintet of Kaliaka Kahoohalahala, Logan Kanamu, Shaun Shiima, Jimmy Legsay and Kawaiola Texeira. Also, Kalehua Moniz is at De Anza and Kainoa Klask at San Mateo.

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PACKER FANS MOURN END OF AN ERA

I have a son living and freezing his butt off in Wisconsin. He called me very early this morning to inform me of the news that was rocking the state he temporarily calls home.

Green Bay Packers flags were flying at half mast, he said, in a figurative sense.

He told me that you could hear the same gasp coming from cubicles all over his office as co-workers opened their e-mails and learned that Brett Favre, the iconic quarterback, had announced his retirement.

To understand the impact of this news you have to understand that nothing -- absolutely nothing -- binds natives of Wisconsin closer than their love for the Packers. Nothing.

And then you factor in that Brett Farve is arguably the best quarterback of his or any generation. I mean, the man won three MVP awards, a Super Bowl title and holds just about every passing record in the books.

It shouldn't have been totally shocking that Favre opted to hang up his cleats. He had toyed with the idea of retirement for the past several years. But when it finally happened, Wisconsin still was rocked by the news that the Brett Favre Era was coming to an end.

In a sense, Favre's timing was perfect. He decided to return in 2007 although many -- even in Wisconsin -- were speculating that Brett's best days were well behind him.

But Favre enjoyed a career renaissance, guiding the Packers to the NFC title game, where the loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants in overtime.

And now he's gone, and the Packer Nation is in mourning over the retirement of its favorite football son.

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OKANO, CASCO CAPTURE MAT TITLES

Four individual gold medals and a second-place team finish by the Lahainaluna boys. That's the overall haul attained by the MIL during the past weekend's state wrestling championship at the Blaisdell Arena on Oahu.

Two of those golds were captured by repeat winners from Lahainaluna, with Travis Okano becoming his school's first three-time state champ by winning at 130 pounds while Lake Casco took top honors at 160.

The Lunas also received second-place finishes from 152-pounder Daniel Quinlan and 171-pounder Cole Lowen while five others reached the semis to register 176 points -- well behind repeat team champion Punahou's 225.5.

Kamehameha-Maui's Kyle Saiki took third at 145 pounds.

Two girls from the MIL returned home with gold medals.

Kamehameha-Maui's Caronne Rozet defeated Kala'e Johnson of Kahuku 5-1 for 108 title. In an all-MIL final, Baldwin's Kailee Andrade pinned Justina Luafalemana of Molokai. Lahainaluna's Gina-Bella Mataafa finished third in the same division.

The Kahuku girls won their fourth title in seven years. The Red Raiders finished with 152.5 easily beating out Iolani (106) and Punahou (85). Baldwin was fifth at 71 and Kamehameha-Maui, which won the MIL title, was sixth at 68.5.

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