New Mexico State ‘intercepts’ QB Manley

By Fred Guzman

 

The state's football talent drain is a constant source of consternation among University of Hawaii fans.  "Why can't we keep local kids?" they ask.  If not that, it's:  "Why won't best local kids stay home?"

 

There are various reasons:  A chance to play in higher-profile programs and conferences.  The opportunity to get away from home.  And, of course, the ineffective recruitment of local kids by the state university.

 

Going into a season when UH appears to have a gaping hole at that key position, losing former Leilehua quarterback Andrew Manley to New Mexico State really hits home.

 

His new coach, DeWayne Walker, said Manley will be given a chance to compete for playing time as a true freshman.

 

Hawaii coach Greg McMackin has outlined UH's efforts to recruit Manley.  But the bottom line is that Hawaii made a final take-it-or-leave-it offer to Manley last summer.  When Manley asked for time to consider his options., McMackin gave the scholarship to Kevin Spain.

 

At this point, we don't know if Kevin Spain will be better, as good or worse of a college QB than Adrew Manley.  But we do know that Kevin Spain is from Arizona and that Andrew Manley is from Hawaii.   Being able to sign a talented local QB would seem to have been a good idea for a program suffering from an eroding season-ticket base. 

 

When discussing Manley this week, Walker said, "we think we stole a good player.  We feel there are a lot of schools who dropped the ball in his recruitment." 

 

On that top of list, in my view, is the University of Hawaii.

 

GOLF ROUNDUP:  With Maui's Cassy Isagawa making a major contribution, Team Hawaii took top honors at the Girls Junior America's Cup in California.  Isagawa, the Baldwin golfer who won the state high school individual title last spring as a junior, shared medalist honors with a 2-under, 214 – including a final round 71 yesterday at Morgan Run course in Rancho Santa Fe.  Team Hawaii posted a combined score of even-par 648 for a three-stroke victory over Oregon.

 

There was more good news on the golf front for Hawaii fans.

 

Michelle Wie opened her bid in the Women's British Open with a 2-under 70, putting her two strokes off the pace set by co-leaders Yani Tseng and Katherine Hull.  Wie, of course, is the most celebrated product of the state's junior golf programs, coming to national attention as a 13-year-old prodigy.

 

Other youngsters have followed Wie's lead, including a pair of precocious 12-year-olds by the names of Mariel Galdiano and Allisen Corpuz.

 

Galdiano finished second to in the Hawaii State Women's Stroke Play championship yesterday at the Mid-Pacific Country Club, five strokes behind Nicole Sakamoto, a junior at James Madison University.

 

But Galdiano may be just the second-best pre-teen girls golfer in the state. Allisen Corpuz, a Punahou seventh-grader, will try to win her fourth U.S. Kids national title next week on the mainland. She is the reigning Hawaii State Women's Match Play champion.

Victorino on DL; Suzuki goes deep

By Fred Guzman

 

On the same day that Shane Victorino was placed on the disabled list, another of Maui's major-league players, Kurt Suzuki, slugged a key home run for his team.

 

Victorino became the latest member of the Phillies to be bitten by the injury bug when he was deemed out for at least three weeks with an abdominal strain.

 

Despite a string of injuries to the likes of All-Stars Jimmy Rollins, bruised foot, and Chase Utley, on the DL with a surgically repaired right thumb, the Phillies extended their winning streak to seven games last night with a 7-1 win over Arizona.

 

Highly-touted prospect Domonic Brown, called up from the minors in the wake of Victorino's injury, had an impressive debut with two hits and two RBI in support of right-hander Roy Halladay's complete-game six-hitter.

 

The victory kept the Phillies within 3.5 games of Atlanta in the National League East and within 2.5 of San Francisco for the wild-card spot.

 

Suzuki, meantime, crushed his 12^th homer of the season – a two-run shot in the sixth inning that lifted the Oakland Athletics to a 3-1 road victory over the American League-West leading Texas Rangers.

 

Suzuki has been on a tear since signing late last week a new four-year, $16.25 million contract.  He's gone eight for 20 over that span, with two homers, four runs scored and eight RBI, lifting his season average to .267.

 

PAY PER VIEW:  It was a bit of news that produced a generally negative reaction among  listeners of our mid-day talk show on ESPN 550.  Oceanic Time Warner Cable announced this week that it will be airing 12 of the University of Hawaii football team's 13 games on pay-per-view.  And that includes all of the team's six road games.  In fact, the only game that will be available on free TV is the Sept. 2 opener against national power Southern California.  That contest will be carried on ESPN.

 

At the core of the discontent expressed by our listeners was the rising cost of pay-per-view subscriptions generally and particularly for fans from the Neighbor Islands, who can't readily – or inexpensively -- attend games at Aloha Stadium. The general feeling of our callers was that fans outside of Oahu should be able to subscribe for a sharply reduced rate and some grumbled about road games being included on the PPV package.

 

Oceanic officials declined to comment on the package or pricing,  saying an announcement was expected later this week.  The package also will include selected volleyball and basketball events.

 

Pay-per-view telecasts generated about $3.4 million in sales last season, down from $4.1 million in 2008. UH's share in 2009 was about $2.5 million, providing a major boost in revenue for the cash-strapped athletic department.

Suzuki signs 4-year deal with A’s

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

The Oakland A's know a good thing when they have it.  That's why they've retained the services of Kurt Suzuki for the long term, rewarding the catcher from Maui with a four-year contract worth $16.25 million.  The value of the deal could increase by another $9.25 million if Suzuki plays in 118 games in 2013.  By signing him to an extended contract, the A's avoid having to deal with arbitration down the road and, perhaps, even delaying by one year when Suzuki will become eligible for free agency.

 

Oakland didn't have to wait very long to return on its investment as  Suzuki made major offensive contributions on Saturday and Sunday in wins over the Chicago White Sox.  On Saturday the 26-year-old collected three hits – including his 11^th homer of the season – while scoring twice and driving in a pair of runs in a 10-2 romp.  On Sunday, he had two more hits and added three RBI in a 6-4 decision.  The weekend outburst helped boost Suzuki's average to .264 to go with 36 runs and 42 RBI.

 

After hitting safely in eight straight games, Philly's Shane Victorino is 0-for-his-last-8, dropping is average to .254 – although the Phils pulled out of a recent tailspin by winning four in a row.  Kanekoa Texeira pitched one inning in relief for KC, giving up two hits and run, in yesterday's 12-6 loss to the Yankees.

 

WILSON FALLS SHORT:  Dean Wilson appeared to be rolling along to his second PGA Tour victory.  The Castle High graduate had put together five straight rounds of 5-under 65 and had opened up a four-stroke lead going into the final 18 holes of the Canadian Open in Toronto.

 

But the wheels fell for Wilson on Sunday.  He shot a 2-over 72 and had to settle for a second-place finish behind Carl Pettersson of Sweden, who closed with a flourish after barely making the cut.  On Saturday, Pettersson fired a tournament-record 60 and followed that up on Sunday with a 67.  He trailed Wilson by six strokes with 11 holes left before rallying to secure his fourth career tour victory.

 

Wilson, who was playing on a sponsor's exemption, earned $550,000 for his runner-up showing – a marked improvement over recent months for the 40-year-old Kaneohe native who now lives in Las Vegas.  Wilson had missed five cuts in his previous six tour outings.  Wilson's only tour victory came in the 2006 International.

 

Things didn't go well for Michelle Wie in the Evian Masters event in France.  Wie opened with a promising 4-under 68 for a share of fourth place.  But her bid fell apart on Saturday, when she shot a quintuple boogie nine on the 10^th hole, finishing with a 77.  Wie ended up in a tie for 31^st place.

Alabama coach Saban should look in mirror

By Fred Guzman

 

Remember the standard schoolyard comeback to name-calling?  You know, the old line about how it takes one to know one?

 

That's what came to mind when University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, of all people, described player-agents as pimps because what they do is, he said, "entrampment for young people in a very difficult time of their lives."

 

Those comments, from someone who has based his career on successfully luring 17-year-olds into his recruiting web.  This, from someone who has found and capitalized on every imaginable loophole to circumvent NCAA recruiting rules. 

 

Remember, it was Nick Saban who started using video conferencing as a means of avoiding rules limiting face-to-face meetings with recruits.  No Saint Nick, this Coach Nick.

 

Why shouldn't players be allowed to receive the advice of agents before making important decisions regarding their professional futures?

 

Why shouldn't the top players be allowed to receive cars, cash and other benefits from admiring boosters?  The top schools and the top coaches are cashing in, so why shouldn't the star attractions?

 

And please spare me the lame comeback about how these kids are privileged to be receiving a college education.  

 

Big time college sports are not about education, but about money.  Why else would big time programs admit so many marginal students to their universities if not for the huge return on their modest investments.