BELOVED SPORTSCASTER PASSES AWAY

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

The Aloha State has lost one of its most distinctive and beloved voices with Tuesday's passing of sportscaster Les Keiter just two weeks shy of his 90th birthday.

After spending many years calling games in major markets and covering national events, Keiter began an extended run as Hawaii's leading sportscaster.

Personally, I have a lot of affection for Les Keiter. He was our first guest on when we launched a sports talk show some 16 years ago.
He was scheduled to be on-air for 15 minutes. He stayed on for an entire hour, cheerfully recalling highlights of his colorful and varied career in a trademark booming voice.

To many, he was simply "The General," a nickname given to him by Joe Moore, his long-time on-air partner on KHON-TV, after Keiter played that role in an episode of Hawaii Five-0.

A native of Seattle, Keiter began his broadcasting career in Hawaii after World War II. He moved to the East Coast and made a name for himself as a play-by-play man for baseball's New York Giants and basketball's New York Knicks, among others.

He is also noted for calling 14 heavyweight title fights, including Muhammad Ali's stunning victory over Sonny Liston in their first bout – regarded as one of boxing greatest upsets at the time.

Keiter returned to Hawaii in 1971 and became the voice of the Hawaii Islanders and University of Hawaii sports as well as serving as the long-time sports anchor on KHON.

Needless to say, this gracious and kindly man will be missed.

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

MAUI WELCOMES UH FOOTBALL TEAM

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

An estimated 3,000 fans attended the University of Hawai football team's visit to Maui on Saturday.

Hawaii went through practice drills and performed live 9-on-7 and 7-on-7 drills before inviting fans on the field for picture-taking and autographs.

This was a very nice outreach effort by head coach Greg McMackin to underscore his belief that this is truly Hawaii's team.

CHANGES: There will be two new coaches at the University of Hawaii. And neither change comes as a huge surprise.

On Saturday, UH men's volleyball coach Mike Wilton said he would not return next year. Out of respect for Wilton's accomplished during a 17-year stint, we will give him the benefit of the doubt as say he's retiring.

But after two seasons during which the once-proud program failed to reach the conference playoffs, it's highly doubtful his contract would have been renewed had he wanted to return. Further proof that Wilton wasn't in line for an extension was his announced intention of serving as an assistant for the BYU women next season.

There was a time that men's volleyball was a marquee program at Manoa.

In 1996, featuring Yuval Katz, UH suffered only one loss -- in an epic five-game classic to UCLA in the NCAA title match.

Six years later, led by Costas Theochridis, UH won the national title only to have it vacated because of an NCAA ruling based on their star having played alongside pro players in his native Greece.

It was a foregone conclusion that UH would make a change in women's hoops. Jim Bolla has been on paid leave since Feb. 13 when the school began a probe into allegations that he kicked a player in practice. The Rainbow Wahine finished with a dismal 8-23 record.

The new coach will not be in place before Thursday's national letter of intent signing date and thus will essentially miss on a recruiting class.

UH BASEBALL: You can bet your bottom dollar that UH's pitchers couldn't wait to get out of Reno. Not because they dropped too much money at the tables. The Bows' hurlers were simply awful while dropping two of three in a weather-shortened weekend series originally scheduled for four games.

The Bows rolled into town with a No. 23 ranking and a three-way share of the WAC lead. They left with marks of 21-12 overall and 4-3 in the WAC, largely because their pitchers gave up 30 earned runs – and 35 total – in 28.1 innings.

Things got off to a bad start Thursday as the Bows blew three leads in a 14-12, 12-inning loss, committing five errors and their six pitchers conceding 11 walks.

Hawaii was leading 4-2 going into the bottom of the second inning on Saturday when play was suspended because of bad weather. Because the series was supposed to conclude with a twinbill on Saturday, the fourth game was cancelled.

WAC rules do not allow three games to be played in a single day. Since there is no home-and-home series, there is no way to make up the game. That means the two teams will be one game short in WAC play.

On Friday, UH ace Jared Alexander up four runs on four hits in the first, marking the fourth straight start that he's lasted three innings or less, although the Bows held on when play resumed on Saturday for a 13-11 win. But UH then lost the nightcap, 10-5.

The Bows next host Sacramento in a four-game set that begins Friday.

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

PHILLIES STUMBLE OUT OF GATE

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

After capturing their first World Series title in 28 years, and only the second in the franchise's 126-year history, much is expected of the Phillies this season. But after two games, the Phils are 0-2, hardly the kind of start anticipated by the players and their demanding fans.

The City of Brotherly Love literally rolled out the red carpet for the conquering hometown heroes on Sunday only to see the team suffer a 4-1 loss to Atlanta.

The game ended on a pair of strikeouts by slugger Ryan Howard and off-season acquisition Raul Ibanez with two men on base.

Last night, things went from bad to worse as Atlanta blanked the Phillies 4-0.

So far, Maui's Shane Victorino – batting sixth in the opener and second yesterday – is still looking for his first hit of the season.

But the Phillies aren't alone in getting off to rocky starts.

CC Sabathia, who signed a $161 million free-agent deal with the Yankees was absolutely awful in his debut, giving up six runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings while walking five, throwing two wild pitches and failing to register a strikeout.

Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee was equally awful for Cleveland, giving up seven runs and 10 hits in five innings. His NL Cy Young counterpart, San Francisco's Tim Lincecum, also struggled. Lasting only three ineffective innings.

Ah, but remember: It's a long, long season.

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

FOR BASEBALL, IT’S ABOUT THE ECONOMY

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

While the doomsayers in the media continued their obsession over the alleged black cloud hanging over baseball because of the steroids scandal, the fans continued to flock to major-league parks in record numbers and generating record revenues for the sport.

But there is a real fear among baseball owners that this trend could be reversing as a result of the depressed and uncertain financial times.

While the New York Yankees spent freely in hopes of luring more fans to fill the expensive seats, some going for as high as $2,600, at their new $1.5 billion stadium, 13 of 30 teams cut payroll.

Technically, the Yankees were among those reducing spending, trimming $7 million, although their annual payroll is expected to reach $200 million – about $60 million than any other team.

Still, the Yankees committed $423.5 million to secure the services of CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and A.J. Burnett after missing the playoffs for the first time in 13 years and in an effort to bring a World Series title to the Bronx for the first time since 2000.

The San Diego Padres sliced more than $30 million, while the Chicago White Sox chopped more than $25 million in salaries. Only the Cubs and defending World Series champion Phillies raised spending by more than $20 million as most teams took a cautious approach.

So it is no longer business as usual for baseball owners, who will keep as close of an eye on attendance figures as they will the standings during the coming season.

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

BASEBALL BOWS HAVE HIGH HOPES

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

Expectations are running high as the University of Hawaii baseball team begins its conference campaign tonight against San Jose State in the opener of a four-game series at Les Murakami Stadium.

UH has played impressively during the recent non-conference portion of its schedule – including taking 3 of 4 against then-18th-ranked Coastal Carolina last week -- for an overall mark of 16-9 record.

But San Jose State's resume is even more impressive. The Spartans are 19-5 and feature arguably the best pitching staff in the seven-team WAC, which includes defending national champion Fresno State.

The two teams tangle at 6:35 p.m. today, play two tomorrow starting at 3 o'clock and close out the series at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday.

UH will send Jayson Kramer to the mound tonight, while struggling Jared Alexander and emerging Matt Sisto will on Saturday. Head coach Mike Trapasso has not designated a starter for Sunday's finale.

MEN'S HOOPS: Bob Nash received a one-year contract extension with an option for a second year if the UH basketball team wins 18 games or qualifies for a post-season tournament over the next two seasons.

More importantly, perhaps, Nash secured commitments from a pair of highly-touted athletes who he hopes will resolve one of his team's biggest needs – backcourt players who can shoot and handle the ball.

UH was 13-17 during the past season and is 24-36 during Nash's two years on the job since he took over for Riley Wallace.

The additions of 6-foot guards Dwain Williams and Jeremy Lay, he hopes, will elevate the level of Hawaii's backcourt.

Williams – one of the nation's top-rated prep guards -- was the starting point guard for Providence as a sophomore during the 2007-08 season and scored 23 points – including six 3-pointers – in a stunning upset of Connecticut.

Williams averaged 11 points and led the Friars with a .902 shooting percentage and shot 40.7 percent from behind the arc. He left Providence after the firing of its then-head coach and now has resurfaced at Manoa.

UH also landed Lay, who averaged nearly 17 points and more than six assists last season for a junior college in Oklahoma. He also led the team in steals.

If those two players pan out, they should dramatically elevate Hawaii's dismal three-point shooting a horrid ball-handling. UH is scheduled to return its entire starting five – including talented swingman Roderick Flemings.

VOLLEYBALL: The UH men continued to struggle, rallying late but still suffering a five-set road loss to ninth-ranked UCLA despite 28 kills by FR Steven Hunt. The two teams meet again tonight, with Hawaii having dropped to 6-16 overall and 3-14 in the conference.

SOFTBALL: The Rainbow Wahine are on the road this weekend, facing league-leading and nationally 22nd-ranked Fresno State in a three-game series. Hawaii is 15-19 overall and 3-3 in the WAC, compared to Fresno State's marks of 21-13 and 5-1.

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

BIG DAY FOR UH GRID ALUMS

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

Typically, these types of events are conducted on a university's campus. But in order to attract the maximum number of pro scouts, former UH players will be showing their stuff today at the Home Depot Center in the Los Angeles area.

Leading the way are defensive end David Veikune and safety Ryan Mouton, with defensive lineman Josh Leonard and linebacker Solomon Elimimian also in attendance.

Veikune is the ex-UH player most likely to be selected during the upcoming NFL draft, scheduled for April 25-26.

The 6-2, 260-pounder showed well during the Senior Bowl drills. He also put up some impressive numbers at the NFL combine, bench-pressing 225 pounds 35 times, fourth-best among all the participants. His 40-yard time ranked ninth among defensive linemen.

Last week, the Dolphins conducted a private workout for Veikune and three USC linebackers who are all projected as first-round picks -- Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews and Rey Maualuga. Earlier this week, Veikune had a private workout with Denver's linebacker coach.

With some many NFL teams employing a 3-4 scheme, Veikune's future is likely to be as an outside linebacker.

Mouton showed well at the East-West Shrine game and the combine. He had a 39.5 vertical jump and, despite slowing down near the end of the 40 with a strained hamstring, was clocked in 4.48 -- the fourth-fastest among defensive backs.

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

MORE THAN MONEY TO CALIPARI’S EXIT

By Fred Guzman
ESPN550.com

Call me naïve, if you will, but I really think that it wasn't just about the money for John Calipari in his decision to leave a highly successful program in Memphis to take over the basketball coaching job.

Oh, he'll get a huge chunk of green for accepting the job in the basketball-crazy Bluegrass State. As in an eight-year deal that includes $31.65 million, plus incentives and a $2.5 million signing bonus.

In the end, it was the challenge of coaching for college basketball's winningest program and competing in a power conference that most attracted to Kentucky.

Although Tyreke Evans, the nation's best freshman, will likely leave for the NBA, Memphis still has a talented core. Don't put too much stock on reports the other kids will follow Calipari to Kentucky, because those players would have to sit out a season if they opted to transfer.

The real impact for Memphis is in the players that will not be coming into the program and are now likely to sign with Kentucky, instead.

Four of the nation's top 10 prep prospects were interested in coming to Memphis, including top-rated 6-6 wingman Xavier Henry and 6-11 center DeMarcus Cousins, as well as point guard John Wall and 6-5 shooting guard Nolan Dennis.

Add them to a roster featuring two of the SEC's best players in guard Jodie Meeks and forward Patrick Patterson, and Kentucky could make making a quick return to the nation's elite. Patterson plans to return for his junior season, while Meeks – named a second-team All-America -- is still considering his pro options.

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