CLAY LEADS AFTER FIRST DAY OF DECATHLON

(June 30): There are many sports that American fans only pay attention to every four years -- namely, when the Summer Olympics roll around.

Such is the case with track, swimming and gymnastics just to name a few.

But with the Beijing Games right around the corner, the focus is now firmly on those sports as we again begin to discover the athletes that will be taking center stage in the coming weeks.

One of those is Castle High School graduate Bryan Clay, the now 28-year-old decathlete who is considered a leading candidate to win a gold medal in China after having secured a silver in Sydney.

After yesterday's opening five events, the 5-foot-11, 185-pounder – tiny by modern decathlon standards -- had a modest 22-point lead over Troy Hardee. The remaining five events will be held today at the U.S. Trails in Eugene, Ore.

The most notable performance of the day took place in the 100 meter trials, where Tyson Gay ran faster than anyone in history with a 9.68 clocking. However, the time will not be recognized as a world record because of a tailwind that was blowing more than twice the allowable limit of 2.0 meters per second.

Two world records fell during the opening day of the swimming trails in Omaha. Michael Phelps broke the 400 individual medley mark with a time of 4:05.25, while Katie Hoff shattered the women's record in the same event with a clocking of 4:31.12.

One final U.S. Olympic note: Center Dwight Howard is suffering from a stress fracture in his sternum, but is expected to play in China, nevertheless.

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NASTY NINE ON NINTH SINKS MICHELLE

(June 27): Michelle Wie has been playing better golf of late. Not great, mind you, but better.

Wie was 1-over when she approached the ninth hole in yestrday's opening round of the U.S. Women's Open.

Nine shots later, she was headed for an eventual 8-over 81 and effectively out of contention of even making the cut. The disastrous round dropped her from the middle of the pack to 146th in the 156-player field.

With Kurt Suzuki getting the day off, the Oakland A's posted a 5-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in yesterday's rubber game of a three-game inter-league series that has captured the attention of local baseball fans.

The other Maui product, Shane Victorino, had a solid outing, however, Victorino accounted for two of Philly's three hits off Oakland starter Rich Harden.

Victorino also stole a base for the third time in as many games, upping his season total to 20 – fifth best in the National League.

It's soccer tournament season on the Valley Isle, with two major youth events taking place over a span of a couple of weeks.

The No Ka Oi concludes a four-day run tomorrow.

After a week's respite, the Hawaii Cup kicks off its 22nd edition starting on July 9. This year's event will feature 50 teams, including nearly 30 from off-island.

The Just Win Football Camp is under way on the campus of Kamehama and one of the most notable attendees is Baldwin defensive lineman Mana Rosa.

The 6-3, 245-pounder put on an impressive display during a recent combine on the mainland, prompting additional attention from recruiters. Utah and UNLV have already made offers, with Oregon State, Oregon, Washington, Washington State, Cal and Arizona also expressing interest.

Former UH receiver Chad Owens was named to the Arena Football League's all-rookie team. Owens caught 66 passes for 674 yards and scored 16 TD for the Colorado Crush.

He also led the Crush with 983 kick return yards. He scored nine times on receptions, six on rushes and once on a kick return.

The Crush will open their playoff campaign on Saturday versus the Utah Blaze, which includes lineman Vaka Manapuna of Kihei.
Baldwin grad Kawika Kahui is a linebacker for the Arizona Rattlers, who host Grand Rapids on Monday.

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ROUND 2 OF SHANE VS. KURT

(June 26): The major-league schedule reads Philadelphia at Oakland. But as far as baseball fans here on the Valley Isle are concerned, it's really Shane Victorino versus Kurt Suzuki.

In the second game of an inter-league series, Victorino's Phillies blanked Suzuki's Athletics 4-0 last night in Oakland. The rubber-match of the series concludes today.

Victorino went 1-for-3 at the plate, beating out a bunt single, scoring a run and stealing a base at the expense of Suzuki, Oakland's starting catcher, for the second straight game. Suzuki also went 1-for-3.

Congratulations to Lake Casco of Lahainaluna and Bailey Massenburg of King Kekaulike for their selections earlier this week as MIL athletes of the year by the Maui News.

Casco is bound for Penn of the Ivy League this fall, where he intends to play football as a defensive back. For the Lunas, he was an all-purpose all-state player on the gridiron as well as a state champion in wrestling. He also competed in track.

Massenburg still has one more season remaining in an already illustrious prep career. The talented distance runner won two gold medals in the state track meet and was third in the state cross country meet. She also played tennis for Na Alii.

Kanekoa Teixeira of Maui was the winning pitcher after throwing a scoreless inning of relief to help the Carolina League beat the California League 3-1 in the High-A All-Star Game in South Carolina.

The right-hander pitches for the Winston-Salem Warthogs, a farm team of the Chicago White Sox.

And the No Ka Oi soccer tournament opened a four-day run yesterday on fields throughout Central Maui with matches featuring youth teams ranging from the under-10 to under-19 divisions.

In two weeks, the youth soccer campaign continues with the 22nd edition of the Hawaii Cup, featuring 46 teams from Maui, the state and the mainland.

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HISTORIC DAY FOR MAUI BASEBALL FANS

(June 25): Although the overwhelming majority of the 13,348 fans in attendance didn't realize it, those of us who follow baseball here on Maui knew an historic event was taking place at the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland last night.

For the first time ever, two players from the Valley Isle were competing on the same major-league field: Center fielder Shane Victorino for the Philadelphia Phillies and catcher Kurt Suzuki for the hometown Athletics.

For those keeping track of such things, you could say that Victorino enjoyed the better night individually but Suzuki enjoyed the fruits of victory.

Victorino went two-for-four, beating out a pair of infield hits, scored a run and stole a base at the expense of Suzuki. It was Victorino's 18th theft of the season, ranking him sixth in the National League in that category.

But Victorino's efforts went for naught as Oakland capitalized on Emil Brown's three-run homer in the seventh off the very veteran Jaime Moyer, lifting the A's to a 5-2 win in the opener of a three-game inter-league series.

Suzuki contributed to Oakland's cause by leading the bottom of the first with a single in four at-bats. He also suffered his third passed ball of the year.

Despite the loss, Philly maintained its one-game lead in the NL East thanks to Tampa Bay's 6-4 win over second-place Florida. Oakland, meantime, remained five back in the AL West as the division-leading Angels beat Washington 8-3.

The Phillies-Athletics series continues today and concludes tomorrow.

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KAI, CHING ON TARGET IN SOCCER

(June 24): Hawaii's two most noted soccer players continue to make their mark at the international level.

Natasha Kai, the former UH and Kahuku High standout, was named to the final 18-player roster for the United States national women's team in the upcoming Olympic Games.

Brian Ching, the Kamehameha product who is a star striker for the Houston Dynamo of MLS, remains a key member of the U.S. men's squad on the road to qualification for the 2010 World Cup.

Kai's selection was hardly surprising, given that she has scored a team-leading 10 goals for the U.S. this year.

More surprising was the selection of goalkeeper Hope Solo and the exclusion of veteran Briana Scurry. Hope was suspended from the squad during the last Women's World Cup after criticizing then coach Greg Ryan for being kept out of the starting lineup in an eventual 4-0 loss to Brazil.

Ching contributed a pair of goals for the US in an 8-0 rout of Barbados in an opening round match in regional World Cup qualifying. The Americans won the away leg of the home-and-home series in less impressive fashion, defeating Barbados 1-0.
The win earned the US a berth in a semifinal group that also includes Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba and Guatemala.

The top teams from each semifinal group advance to next year's regional finals, which will produce three World Cup qualifiers and a fourth team that will play-off against South America's fifth-place team for the final berth.

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GROVE POUNDS OUT VICTORY

(June 23): Keeping alive his flickering mixed martial arts career after sustaining back-to-back losses, Maui's Kendall Grove was awarded a split decision over former middleweight champion Evan Tanner.

Grove's victory, which seemed more decisive to this reporter, improved his UFC record to 11-5 and kept him in the running for a spot in a UFC card at Aloha Stadium, projected to take place next summer after Hawaii's MMA regulations go into effect.

Grove dominated the first two rounds of Saturday night's nationally televised bout, but appeared to lose a bit of steam in the final stanza.

Two judges scored the bout 30-26 for Grove, while another had it 29-28 for Tanner.

Maui's two major leaguers will be renewing acquaintances this week in Oakland as the Philadelphia Phillies, featuring center fielder Shane Victorino, pay a visit to the Athletics, featuring catcher Kurt Suzuki.

The three-game inter-league series begins Tuesday.

In yesterday's action, Victorino went 0-for-3 and walked once in a 3-2 loss to the Angels in a showdown between divisional leaders. The Phillies lead the National League East by one game over the Florida Marlins.

Victorino is batting .270 for the season and ranks sixth in the NL with 17 steals.

Suzuki went 1-for-4 and drove in a run in Oakland's 7-1 romp past Florida. A recent surge at the place has lifted Suzuki's average to .279. The A's, by the way, are second in the AL West, 4.5 games behind the Angels.

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SUPER RALLY? OR EPIC COLLAPSE?

(June 13): Depending on your perspective, it was either a classic comeback or an epic collapse.

I'll take the more positive approach and credit the Celtics for showing exceptional resiliency and determination by coming back from a 24-point road deficit to overtake and defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 97-91.

The stunning comeback pulled Boston to within one win of claiming the NBA title. Game 5 will be held on Father's Day in LA.

Things started well for the Lakers as Lamar Odom made all six of his shots, leading his team to 35-14 lead in the first quarter. And with Kobe Bryant concentrating on playmaking duties, the Lakers led by 18 at intermission although the MVP didn't make a single field goal in the first half.

The Lakers were up 70-50 midway through the third period when the Celtics locked down defensively and received major offensive contributions from Ray Allen as well as reserves James Posey and Eddie House. Allen had 19 points while playing all 48 minutes. Posey scored an unexpected 18. House hit the go-ahead basket.

And all this took place after Boston coach Doc Rivers was forced to improvise when it became evident that starting point guard Rajon Rondo was still severely hampered by a bum ankle and young center Kendrick Perkins left for good with a shoulder injury.

But Boston's biggest hero was Paul Pierce, who finished with 20 points and played exceptional individual defense after volunteering to guard Kobe after intermission. Bryant finished with 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting.

No team has ever come back to win the title after trailing 3-1 in the Finals. But, then again, no team had ever come back from a 24-point deficit, either.

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