Friday, May 30, 2008

HIRING COLLINS BAD MOVE FOR BULLS

(May 31): It's a foregone conclusion that Doug Collins will be leaving his post as a television analyst for TNT to become the coach of the Chicago Bulls.

I may end up being terribly wrong on this matter, but I don't foresee a happy ending to this saga -- either for Collins or for the Bulls.

It puzzles me that the Bulls, who were so upset about being stood up by their original preferred choice, Mike D'Antoni, would then hire someone who is a polar opposite in temperament and preferred playing style.

You can make a strong case that Collins is Scott Skiles 2.0.

I'm not saying that Collins can't coach. He's an exceptional teacher, who has produced improvements of 10, 18 and 18 victories in his first season at each of his previous three coaching stops.

But he's also a relentless nagger, who – in time – turns off his players and is tuned out by them. It happened in Chicago, Detroit and Washington, and I strongly suspect it will happen again during his second stint in the Windy City.

Maybe Doug Collins has changed in the interim. Maybe he will ease the pedal on his relentless harping. Maybe he will give more playing time to younger players. Maybe he will allow his teams to play at a higher tempo.

Maybe, but I doubt it. Heck, Doug Collins gets on my nerves just listening to him on TV. Can you imagine being a player and having to listen to him on the court and the locker room?

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Thursday, May 29, 2008

NO NEED TO PANIC, METS FANS

(May 29): I find it amusing the way pro baseball is covered by the national media, as if the only teams that matter are based in New York or Boston.

Take, for example, the furor surrounding the New York Mets and their embattled manager, Willie Randolph.

You would think the Mets really, really stunk. But a look at this morning's standings reveals that the Mets are one game under .500 and 4.5 games out of the first place in the NL East. Not very good. But not truly awful, either.

By comparison, there are any number of other teams around the major leagues that are suffering through equally or more disappointing this season than the Mets. But from watching Sportscenter, listening to this radio station or surfing the net, you wouldn't know it.

The list of under-achieving teams, actually, is fairly long.
Cleveland and Detroit both have performed under expectations. The Tribe's is 24-29. The Tigers are struggling on the mound (which was expected) and at the plate (which was not).

After acquiring pitchers Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva, many felt Seattle had the goods to challenge in the AL West.
Instead, the M's are tied for the worst record baseball at 20-34.

In the NL West: Colorado, which made a Cinderella run to earn a spot in the World Series, is next to last in the division --- just a half game ahead of San Diego, which at 20-34 has the worst record in the NL.

So, take heart, Mets' fans. You are not alone.

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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

LOCAL BOYS SWINGING HOT BATS

(May 27): Both of Maui's major-league baseball players are swinging hot bats of late.

After a slow start at the plate and a 15-day stint on the disabled list with a calf injury, Philadelphia center fielder Shane Victorino has been on a recent tear.

Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki got off to a red-hot start at the plate and suffered through an 0-23 stretch before regaining his batting stroke.

Yesterday, Victorino scored four runs while going 1-for-2 and stealing his ninth base of the season as Philadelphia routed Colorado 20-5 and stayed within 2.5 games of surprising NL East leader Florida.

The switch-hitting Victorino also attained a painful milestone by being hit by a pitch from both sides of the plate.

The day before, Victorino drove in three runs and scored twice in Philly's 15-6 rout of Houston. Shane had a single and double in five at-bats in that game.

Over the past seven outings, he's batting .387 with 12 hits, 10 runs and 5 RBI while stealing three bases. The surge has lifted his season average to .270.

Oakland was idle yesterday, but Suzuki went 3 for 4 on Sunday to raise his average over the past seven games to .412 and lifting his season average to .253.

Suzuki also ranks first in the American League and second in the majors in throwing out runners trying to steal. He has gunned down 13 of 33.

The Athletics trail the Angels by two games in the AL West.

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

BASEBALL BOWS SHORT ON HEALTHY ARMS

The Baseball Bows are short-handed -- make that, short-armed – going into today's opening round of the WAC baseball tournament.

Staff ace Jared Alexander made the trip, but is unlikely to see any action because of pain in his pitching elbow. Two pitchers, Alex Bates and Alex Capal, are also doubtful because of injuries.

By the process of elimination, left-hander Nick Rhodes became the designated starter for today's game against New Mexico State in Ruston, La.

Rhodes is 4-6 with a 5.23 ERA. He'll be opposed by right-hander Heath Goin, who is 6-2 with a 4.68 ERA as well as a pair of earlier victories against Hawaii.

UH, by the way, won the regular-season series between the two teams by a 5-3 margin.

Today's other first-round match-ups in the double-elimination tournament: Regular-season champ Fresno State faces Sacramento State and Nevada meets San Jose State.

The survivor will earn the WAC's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

On another baseball related note:

Five UH players received all-WAC honors yesterday. Shortstop John Hee, center fielder Brandon Haislet and Alexander were name to the first team. Catcher Landon Hernandez and Gregg Garcia were selected to the second team.

Fresno State swept the top individual awards. Outfielder Steve Susdorf was Player of the Year, Tanner Scheppers was the top pitcher and infielder Danny Muno was the leading freshman.

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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

FINALLY, SOME GOOD LUCK FOR BULLS

(May 21): Just about everything that could go wrong for the Chicago Bulls did this season.

After advancing to the conference finals last year, much was expected of the Bulls, who overcame a slow start to win 49 games and push Detroit to six games in the third round of the playoffs.

But the Bulls never lived up to expectations.

Head coach Scott Skiles received the axe on Christmas Eve and his replacement, promoted assistant Jim Boylan, couldn't turn things around, either.

As a result, Chicago finished with a hugely disappointing 33 wins and missed the playoffs.

Then, they missed out on landing the coach they really wanted when Mike D'Antoni, unhappy in Phoenix for reasons that still puzzle me, opted to join forces with the Knicks instead of heading to Chicago.

In a sense, you could say the Bulls were due for some good luck and it doesn't get better than last night.

With a 1.7 percent chance to secure the top overall pick in next month's draft, Chicago benefited from the NBA's quirky lottery system to vault from the No. 9 spot on the draft list to land the No. 1 pick.

And now, the Bulls have a change to select between a pair of immensely talented players – Kansas State forward Michael Beasley and Memphis point guard Derrick Rose. Whether they actually capitalize on their good fortune is another matter.


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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

IN SPORTS, PUNAHOU IS NATION'S BEST

(May 20): Who's No. 1? In the case of high school athletics programs nationally, Sports Illustrated magazine has determined that distinction belongs to Punahou.

It doesn't come as a shock for anyone who follows prep sports in Hawaii that the Buffanblu would rank among the nation's best.

Consider that Punahou teams won 16 out of a possible 32 state titles during the current academic year. Or that the Buffanblu have captured 368 state titles overall since 1958.

The last time Sports Illustrated published a similar ranking of the top 25 sports programs among the nation's 38,000 high schools was in 2005.

Vaunted Long Beach Poly of California was ranked No. 1 in that issue of the magazine. Punahou finished No. 4 and received a five-sentence review.

This time, the Buffanblu will receive the full-on treatment, featuring photos and interviews with key members of the athletic department, including players, coaches and administrators.

Punahou's size, academic reputation, athletic tradition and financial wherewithal are key factors in the school's sporting success. So are the 114 teams competing at three levels – varsity, junior varsity and intermediate – in a variety of sports.

In fact, school officials say that 1,075 out of the 1,720 high school students – or 62.5 percent – play at least one sport.
Others say Punahou's edge comes from recruiting promising athletes. Punahou officials deny the allegation, saying the school awards scholarships almost exclusively on financial need.

Regardless, Punahou is No. 1. In Hawaii. And in the nation.

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Monday, May 19, 2008

MIL ATHLETES WIN 6 GOLDS AT STATES

(May 19): MIL athletes returned home with six gold medals from the state high school track meet held over the weekend at Mililani High.

Seabury Hall freshman Kailea Tracy-Visintainer took first place in the 200 and 400, with King Kekaulike senior Bailey Massenburg winning the 800 and 1500 races.

Also grabbing gold medals were Baldwin's Sean Tesoro in the discus and teammate Joey Amescua in the 800, beating out Kekaulike's Reid Hunter for the top spot. Hunter also was runnerup in the 1,500, losing by less than three-tenths of a second.
Four other

athletes posted third-place finishes: Baldwin's Brittany Feiteira in the 100, St. Anthony's Billy Pacheco Jr. in the pole vault, Lahainaluna's Bryson Williams in the triple jump, and Kalei Kamahele in the 200.

The star of the meet was Radford's Christopher Rainey, who won four gold medals on Saturday night, setting a record in the 200 and anchoring the 400 relay team to a record in Friday's trials.

His efforts were not enough to prevent Punahou from posting a narrow victory, 55.75 to 52 points, to take the boy's team title. Emphasis on "team." Punahou took only one first, but placed athletes in 10 of 16 events. Baldwin finished third with 41.75 points.

Kamehameha-Oahu won the girl's team title over Punahou. The Warriors garnered 59.25 points compared to Punahou's 55.75. King Kekaulike was fifth with 30 and Seabury sixth with 26 points.

The two most highly touted high school players in Hawaii will be joining forces next college season as members of the Stanford volleyball team.

But on Saturday night, Iolani's Brad Lawson and Punahou's Erik Shoji were on opposite sides of the net in the championship game of the state Division-I tournament a the King Kekaulike gym..

With the relentless Lawson leading the way, Iolani got the better of Punahou when it counted most, defeating the three-time defending champion Buffanblu 25-22, 22-25, 25-20 after being swept twice by their rivals in ILH play.

The 6-foot-7 Lawson is described by his coach, Mike Among, as the best prep player in the nation. It was hard to argue with that assessment following Lawson's sensational performance against Punahou.

Lawson finished with 25 kills, including 14 in the final game, as Iolani captured its second state title, the first coming in 2003. He also dashed Punahou's bid for a 27th title in the 39-year history of the event.

In softball, Kamehameha-Kapalama blanked Mililani for the D-I title, while Pac-5 defeated Kauai 4-1 for the D-II crown. Lanai lost 6-2 to Kapaa for third place.

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Friday, May 16, 2008

SHOJI DOMINATES LAHAINALUNA

(May 16): It was a night to forget for MIL teams. Both of the league's seeded teams were eliminated from title contention in their opening matches.

Seabury Hall, the second seed in Division-II, suffered its first loss of the season in a 26-24, 25-23 upset against Hawaii Prep. Fourth-seeded Kamehameha-Maui lost 25-18, 25-21 to Roosevelt in the D-I quarterfinals.

And led by an unforgettable performance by Erik Shoji, top-seeded Punahou routed Lahainaluna 25-3, 25-15.

After Punahou took a 1-0 lead, Shoji took over the game. The 6-1 senior scored 14 straight service points. There's more: Nine of those points came on aces, including seven in a row.

And his coach, former UH player Rick Tune, says Shoji is playing out of position.

Tune describes Shoji as a world-class libero.

He also predicts Shoji will start as freshman at Stanford next season and establish himself as the best college player at that position in the country. High praise, indeed.

Punahou will face ILH rival Kamehameha in tonight's 7 o'clock semifinal at King Kekaulike. The Warriors of Kapalama advanced by beating the Warriors of the Big Island 25-15, 25-21.

In the other semi, Iolani will face Roosevelt, also at 7, at Kamehameha-Maui, Iolani advanced with a 25-18, 25-20 win over third-seeded Waianae. In consolation action, Lahainaluna and Kamehameha-Maui will meet in a 5:30 match at Kekaulike.

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Thursday, May 15, 2008

LUNAS FACES POWERFUL PUNAHOU

(May 15): If you get the impression that Punahou is absolutely dominant in Hawaii prep sports, the numbers overwhelmingly bear out this feeling.

Yesterday's team championship in boy's golf was the seventh state title out of a possible eight so far this spring for Punahou. And the Buffanblu finished second to Pearl City in girls' judo.

Based on its top seed, Punahou is favored to win an eighth title during the boy's Division I state volleyball tournament taking place on the Valley Isle this week.

Standing in the way of the Punahou steamroller in a 5:30 match at Kekaulike is Lahainaluna, which treated a strong turnout of fans with the most dramatic win in yesterday's opening round of the tournament.

Lahainaluna had the worst record among the 12 qualifiers, at 5-5. But the Lunas jumped out to a 25-18 lead against Kalaheo, dropped the second game 20-25 and then had the crowd on its feet en route to a clinching 25-23 victory in the decisive third game.

But the biggest challenge comes tonight against a Punahou program bidding for its fourth straight state volleyball title and its 27th in the 39-year history of the event.

In the nightcap at Kekaulike, fourth-seeded Kamehameha-Maui faces Roosevelt at 7. The Rough Riders suffered their only loss of the regular-season to Waianae in the OIA title match, but rebounded with an opening sweep of Waiakea.

In other quarterfinal action today: Kamehameha-Oahu meets second-seeded Kamehameha-Hawaii at, fittingly, the Kamehameha-Maui gym at 5::30. Third-seeded Waianae faces Iolani at 7.

KEILEY SHINES: Baldwin sophomore Justin Keiley finished in a three-way for second place in the individual competition and led the Bears to a second-place finish in the state high school golf championships held at Wailua Muni on Kauai.

Keiley followed up his opening-round 71 with a 77 yesterday, finishing at 148, three strokes back of Punahou's Alex Ching.

The Buffanblu eased to their sixth state title, finishing with a team score of 589 – 33 strokes ahead of runner-up Baldwin and 45 shots better than third-place Kamehameha-Oahu.

Keiley's brother, Johnathan, finished eighth, five strokes back. St. Anthony's Taeksoo Kim tied for ninth and Maui High's Ken Takushi tied for 14th.

LUNAS LOSE: Things didn't go as well for the Lunas the state softball tournament.

In a first-round D-I match-up, Lahainaluna let get away a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning and suffered a 7-6 loss to Maryknoll on an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh.

The Lunas were relegated to the consolation bracket, playing Kailua this morning.

The two MIL champs will open their bids with quarterfinal games today.

In D-I, third-seeded Baldwin meets Campbell at 5 p.m. in a game that will be televised on OC 16. In D-II, fourth-seeded Lanai faces Kaiser at 7 p.m.

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

KEKAHUNA MAKES HER MARK AT CAL

(May 14): While her former teammates at Baldwin are seeking to defend the state championship she played such a major role in winning last year, Sanoe Kekahuna has helped lead another pack of Bears to a berth in the NCAA softball tournament.

Kekahuna has started 53 of 54 games for Pac-10 power Cal as a freshman, with a team-best batting average of .324 to go with 59 hits, 8 homers, 46 RBI and 32 runs.

Kekahuna turned down several scholarship offers and opted to walk-on at Cal – partly because her cousin, Kaleo Eldgredge, also made the Bears-to-Bears transition, playing in four NCAA finals and coming away with one championship ring.

Cal is making its 23rd straight NCAA tournament appearance, taking 40-24 record into Friday's opener against San Diego State in the Fresno Regional. Sacramento State and Fresno State round out that bracket.

Just about everyone, including head coach Bob Coolen, figured the Rainbow Wahine's season was over following an early exit from the WAC tournament last week.

And when LaTech pulled off a major upset to capture the tourney and the league's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, UH really appeared done with.

But in a stunning turn of events, the WAC received an unprecedented three at-large bids, allowing Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii to join LaTech in the 64-team field.

Hawaii has been assigned to play in Tempe, Ariz., and will open its bid on Friday against Mississippi State. UH is 38-18 and the Lady Bulldogs of the powerful SEC are 40-10. Stony Brook and host Arizona State round out the bracket.

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Monday, May 12, 2008

ST. ANTHONY SECOND IN D-II BASEBALL

(May 12): Four MIL teams qualified for this year's state baseball tournaments. Three reached the final four of their respective divisions. One made it to a championship game.

Not bad after a long spell of early exits by MIL entries in the tournament sponsored by Olowalu-born and raised Wally Yonamine and played, in part, at a park named after the late Paia-born and raised congresswoman Patsy Mink.

The best run belonged to St. Anthony, which suffered a 1-0 loss to top-seeded Kauai High in the title game of the inaugural Division-II event.

The Red Raiders scored a run with two outs in the first inning off St. Anthony ace Michael Jahns, and Kauai lefty Jordan Buster made it hold up with a masterful three-hit, one-walk performance.

The second-seeded Trojans opened with a 9-1 win over Maryknoll in the quarters and followed with an 11-5 romp past Kalaheo in the semis.

Molokai played for third in D-II, suffering a 4-2 loss to Kalaheo. The unseeded Farmers posted back-to-back wins of 9-6 over Radford and 11-3 over Honoka'a to reach the semis, where they were beaten, 8-0, by Kauai.

Maui High suffered a 6-0 loss to Pearl City in the D-I third-place game. The fourth-seeded Sabers were knocked out of contention with a 5-0 loss to top-ranked and eventual champion Punahou in the semis. Maui High opened with a 6-3 quarterfinal victory over Kamehameha-Hawaii.

Baldwin lost 7-0 to Saint Louis in the first round, beat Aiea 4-2 and were routed, 18-4, by Kailua in the consolation final.

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Monday, May 5, 2008

TRACK MARKS FALL IN MIL MEET

(May 5): Baldwin easily lived up to its role as favorite in the MIL track and field championships, winning the girls' team title for a ninth straight year while the boys dominated their division.

So it was an opportunity to focus on the individual events, and several athletes came up huge during Saturday's finals at War Memorial Stadium.

King Kekaulike's Bailey Massenburg was the belle of the meet, winning four gold medals. She swept the three longest races by capturing the 800, 1500 and 3000-meter events in addition to running a leg on Na Ali'i's victorious 1600 relay team.

Baldwin's Asia Okamura won three golds, taking the pole vault with a meet-record 9-9 and high hurdles, as well as running on the first-place 400 relay team.

Teammate Brittany Feteira won the 100 and anchored the 400 relay.

Seabury Hall freshman sensation Kailea Tracy-Visintainer took top honors in the 200 and 400, setting meet marks in both with times of 25.06 and 57.1.

The top performer among the boys was Baldwin's Sean Tesoro, who set records in the shot put and discus with distances of 52-4 and 174-1.

Teammate Joey Amescua won the 800 in a record 1:57.44 and anchored the winning 400 relay. Baldwin's Kalei Kamahele swept the sprints in times of 11.01 and 22.04.

Kekaulike's Red Hunter won the 1500 and 3000, while St. Anthony's Billy Pacheco won his second career golf in the pole vault by clearing 14 feet.

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Friday, May 2, 2008

FALCONS BEWARE: DON'T PUSH RYAN

(May 2): I'm far from convinced that Matt Ryan is a so-called franchise quarterback.

Hopefully, for the Atlanta Falcons, my assessment is totally off the mark.

But I will say this: The Falcons will be making a terrible mistake if they opt to force Ryan to start as a rookie, even if their alternatives are Chris Redman and Joe Harrington.

But I fear for Ryan that a franchise seeking to turn the page – borrowing an overused phrase employed by the TV draft analysts -- on the Michael Vick Era is bent on doing just that.

Ryan's face is plastered all over the team's website. Some will say that's good marketing. I say that's putting too much pressure on an untested player.

Or have we forgotten the case of the equally desperate Houston Texans in 2002.

Houston drafted David Carr out of Fresno State, marketed him as the face of their franchise and installed him as their starter because he had the physical tools, mental makeup and poise to do the job.

The poor guy got so beat up physically and so messed up mentally, that I truly believe it prevented him from becoming the QB he might have become.

Carr got sacked more times than any QB in NFL history as a rookie and things didn't get much better in the ensuing four years.

The shell-shocked Carr was released after the 2006 season, had a brief stay in Carolina and recently signed on as a backup to Eli Manning in New York.

Hopefully, Atlanta will learn from Houston's mistake. But I doubt it. The Falcons are too busy turning pages.

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Thursday, May 1, 2008

FANS HAD RIGHT REGARDING COLT

(May 1): There's an interesting item in this morning's internet edition of the Advertiser.

It shows the results of a poll taken before last weekend's NFL draft asking the respondents to predict where they thought quarterback Colt Brennan would be chosen.

Demonstrating that Hawaii fans are more than mere homers, 30.4 percent of them correctly predicted the sixth round and another 20 percent said he wouldn't be drafted at all. A combined 40.7 percent had him going between the third and fifth rounds. And no one had him going on the first day.

The same newspaper ran a story earlier this week concluding that Brennan's decision to return to UH for his final season of eligibility cost him some big bucks.

Had Brennan gone in the second round last year, he would have earned about $2.7 million over a three-year period.

Instead, Brennan dropped to the sixth round, 186th overall, and is likely to earn about $1.25 million over the next three years if he stays healthy and on the Washington Redskins roster.

And remember a committee established by the NFL to advise juniors considering making the jump as to where they were likely to be picked in the draft?

According to insiders, the same group told Davone Bess he would be a second-round pick. Bess was not chosen at all.

He wasn't alone. None of Brennan's receivers were drafted, although did land free-agent deals. Bess signed with Miami, Jason Rivers with Tennessee and Ryan Grice-Mullins with Houston. Offensive lineman Hercules Satele signed with Arizona.

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