Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Jets get pass into Playoffs?

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

In the past few days, there has been much spirited debate about whether Indianapolis coach Jim Caldwell did the right thing by pulling his key starters – including quarterback Peyton Manning – with the Colts leading the Jets by five points in the third quarter on Sunday.

 

The Jets went on to win the road game, 29-15, sparking a string of boos of the hometown fans and touching off a national furor over Caldwell's decision. 

 

On one side, there are the many who are outraged because the Colts essentially threw in the towel in a bid for a potential perfect season. 

 

On the other side, are the pragmatists who note that the only  meaningful goal in the NFL is to win the Super Bowl, and that Caldwell did the right thing by protecting his key players from injury.

 

The irony of all this is that the people most affected by Caldwell's decision were not the Colts or their irate fans.  But, rather, the teams that are competing with the Jets for a playoff berth.

 

And the same situation could surface again this weekend when the Jets face Cincinnati in the final game of the NFL regular season. 

 

By playing in Sunday's late game, the Bengals will know by then if the game has any meaning for them.  And, if it doesn't, head coach Marvin Lewis might take the same tack as Caldwell did last week. 

 

And if that happens, the Jets could end up qualifying for the playoffs by beating a pair of teams that essentially laid down their cards and conceded a meaningless game.  Somehow, that doesn't seem right.

 

MIL FOOTBALL: Congratulations to Baldwin junior wide receiver Ro Wilson and Maui High senior lineback Kotoni Anitema for their selections as players of the year in the MIL all-star team announced today by the Maui News.

 

WAHINE WIN:  A clutch pull-up 10-foot jumper by Keisha Kanekoa with 3.3 seconds left enabled the Rainbow Wahine to overcome 21 turnovers in a 54-53 basketball win over Kent State last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.  Kanekoa finished with 19 points and sister Big Island product Leilani Galdones added 14 as UH improved its record to 5-7. The two teams play again at 7 tonight in a televised game.



Tuesday, December 29, 2009

For June Jones, a triumphant return

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

It took 25 years to finally overcome the so-called death penalty, but no one can argue that football is again alive and flourishing at Southern Methodist University.  And a coach with a history of resurrecting football programs was the architect of this turnaround, capped by a triumphant return to Aloha Stadium.

 

June Jones, who took over an 0-12 team Hawaii and turned around the program before leaving for financially greener pastures after leading UH to the Sugar Bowl,  guided the Mustangs to 45-10 romp past Nevada before a modest Christmas Eve crowd of 20,217.

 

Leading the way for SMU was 18-year-old true freshman quarterback Kyle Padron, who passed for a school record 460 yards and two touchdowns. The 6-4, 201-pounder completed passes to nine different receivers, hitting on 32 of 41 attempts without a pick. 

 

SMU finished the season at 8-5 after going 1-11 in Jones' frst year on the job. The Mustangs' last previous post-season appearance was in the 1984 Aloha Bowl, when they beat Notre Dame, 27-20.

 

SMU averaged 8.2 yards per play and its 534 offensive yards was a season-best.  Nevada, which entered the game ranked first nationally in rushing with 362.3 yards per game, was held to 137 yards on the ground. The Wolf Pack played without two of its unprecedented three 1,000-yard rushers.  Vai Taua was academically ineligible and Luke Lippincott had season-ending surgery.

 

URBAN DEVELOPMENTS: If your head is still spinning from Urban Meyer's two misdirection plays over the weekend, you are not alone.  Fans of the Florida Gators are confused, as well, but pleased that Meyer changed his mind about stepping down as head coach of their wildly successful football program.

 

The reasons given by Meyer for his stunning initial announcement on Saturday were concerns about his health and the effects of what he described as "self-destructive behavior" could have on his family.  At the time, Meyer said he would coach the Gators in their Sugar Bowl game against Cincinnati and then resign as head coach.  Meyer has guided Florida to a pair of national titles in five years on the job.

 

Twenty hours later, after a sleepless night and a spirited practice with his team, Meyer withdrew his resignation and said he instead will take a leave of absence, fully intending to return to the sideline for Florida's season-opener next fall.

 

Meyer sidestepped specific questions about his health during yesterday's press conference.  He has long had a heart muscle defect that has him chest pains over the years.  He also recently revealed that he has a brain cyst that causes him acute pain during stressful situations.  But what is football coaching at the highest level if not stressful.  And addictive, as Urban Meyer's change of mind clearly reflects.

 

TEO DEFERS MISSION: Notre Dame freshman linebacker Manti Te'o will delay taking a Mormon mission and return to play next season.  The Punahou graduate from Laie started the last 8 games for the Irish and was fourth on the team with 63 tackles.  The 6-2, 244-pounder had 10 stops in the season finale against Stanford and also had 10 versus the   Washington Huskies.  

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Hawaii humbled by UNLV

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

Any illusions that the University of Hawaii may have harbored about competing against quality basketball opponents evaporated very quickly last night.

 

The Rainbows missed their first 10 shots of the game, fell behind 24-7 early on and trailed by 25 at one point in the first half and 44-21 at intermission.

 

As a result, just one night after having registered its best game of the season in an 84-71 win over College of Charleston, the Bows suffered through their worst outing of the campaign in a 77-53 loss to nationally 20th-ranked UNLV.

 

The semifinal loss in the inaugural Diamond Head Classic relegated UH to Friday's 2:30 p.m. third-place game against a St. Mary's team that was on the fringes of the Top 25 before suffering a 60-49 semifinal loss to surging USC.  UNLV will face the Trojans for the title at 4:30.

 

Hawaii simply was overwhelmed by UNLV's defensive pressure, turning the ball over 19 times and harried into shooting a miserable 34.1 percent from the field.  Only Dwain Williams, who finished with 20 points, seemed comfortable shooting the ball.  Rod Flemings struggled.  So did Petras Balocka.

 

The loss snapped UH's win streak at four games, dropping its record to 6-5.  UNLV improved to 12-1, its lone loss coming against No. 15 Kansas State.

 

HAWAII BOWL:  It's good thing for organizers of the Hawaii Bowl that Southern Methodist qualified for its first post-season appearance in 25 years.

 

Without the presence of the Mustangs, today's game at Aloha Stadium would be nothing more than an afterthought in the minds of fans in the Aloha State.  The game will be aired on ESPN 550 starting with the pre-game show at 2:15.   The kickoff is set for 3 p.m.

 

But with former University of Hawaii head coach turning around SMU in only his second season on the job, some interest has been generated in a game that desperately needs the presence of the hometown UH squad to be a viable attraction.

 

Hawaii fell short of the required seven wins to qualify for the game.

 

SMU of Conference-USA brings a 7-5 record in the game and, perhaps most importantly, a bigger following into the 3 p.m. contest.

 

Although Nevada has a better record, at 8-4, is a member of the WAC and Reno is located closer to Hawaii than Fort Worth, fans of the Wolf Pack reportedly purchased less than 200 tickets for the game.

 

Nevada is depleted by disciplinary and academic issues.  Coach Chris Ault has  suspended safety Duke Williams for the game and dismissed linebacker Andre Davis from the program. 

 

The Wolf Pack will also be without star running backs Vai Taua and Luke Lippincott. Taua, who rushed for 1,345 yards, is academically ineligible. Lippincott, who ran for 1,034, is sidelined with a toe injury.

 

PREPS:  The St. Anthony Invitational came to a close last night, with Mid-Pacific Institute of Oahu romping to a 58-33 win over Harker Academy of San Jose, Calif., in the championship game.  Kamehameha-Hawaii beat Hilo 64-53 for third place, Baldwin defeated Seabury Hall 49-43 for fifth and Kailua topped St. Anthony 48-24 for seventh. … In MIL action, Taylor Hiraga's 24P led the KK girls to a 50-41 win over Baldwin. … In soccer, Baldwin swept a double-header vs. St. Anthony at WMS.  The Bears boys defeated St. Anthony 3-0 and the girls won 11-0.

 

MAIAVA OUT:  As a season-long starter at center for UCLA, Kai Maiava took care of businesss on the football field in his first year with the Bruins.  But the former Baldwin High standout didn't take care of business in the classroom and, as a result, was ruled academically ineligible for UCLA's appearance in the EagleBank Bowl against Temple on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Maui gets pro baseball team

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com


Details regarding a Valley Isle team in the independent Golden Baseball League will be unveiled today during a press conference at the County Building featuring Maui Mayor Chamaine Tavares.

 

Plans call for the new local team to play 44 home games at Iron Maehara Stadium, with former major-leaguer Cory Snyder serving as the team's manager.

 

The Maui Stingrays were the league-leader in attendance during all five seasons of their involvement in Hawaii Winter Baseball from 1993 to 1997.

 

LOCAL GOLF:  Kirk Nelson, a Makena Golf Course professional, won the senior title at the Hawaii State Open on Sunday, closing with a 2-over-par 74 for a 10-under total of 206 and two-shot win over Dave Eichelberger, winner of four PGA Tour events and six on the Champions Tour, including the U.S. Senior Open in 1999,

 

PREP HOOPS:  Based on the results of the Baldwin Invitational, we should be in for a closely-contested MIL boys basketball season.

 

The host Bears and Seabury Hall both finished with 2-1 marks in the four-team, round-robin event, with Seabury edging the Bears and narrowly beating Kamehameha-Maui before suffering a loss to Kohala on the closing night of the tournament.  The Warriors also dropped a close decision to Baldwin.

 

The Lahainaluna tournaments for boys and girls continues at the Lahaina Civic.  In addition to the host Lunas, the field will feature the defending state D-II champion Molokai girls and Big Island girls powerhouse Konawaena, as well as visiting California teams from Crescenta Valley, Redondo Beach, Chino, Richmond, Colony and Marin Catholic.

 

PRO FOOTBALL:  Indianapolis remains as the NFL's only remaining unbeaten team, improving to 14-0 with a  close win over Jacksonville.  But the Saints are no longer marching to perfection after suffering a 24-17 home loss to the desperate Dallas Cowboys.  On a Sunday filled with exciting finishes and surprising results, Tennessee topped Miami in overtime … Oakland stunned Denver on the road … San Diego won a thriller versus the grieving Cincinnati Bengals. … Pittsburgh beat Gree Bay on a touchdown pass by Ben Roethlisberger on the final play of the game … and Carolina spanked high-flying Minnesota.  On Monday, the New York Giants stayed alive in the post-season hunt by with a 45-12 road rout of Washingon.