FOR SOME COACHES, BYE WEEK MEANS BYE-BYE

(Sept. 30): Beware of the bye week if you are an NFL head coach skating on thin ice. It's the most logical time to make a switch, giving his successor time to make changes designed to turn around a team.

That's why, to no one's surprise -- including his own -- Scott Linehan became the first coaching casualty of the season when he was fired by the winless St. Louis Rams the day after a fourth straight lopsided loss.

And that's why the long-rumored firing of Lane Kiffin became a reality earlier today.

The Rams have been outscored 147-43 this season and have allowed at least 30 points in seven straight games dating to last year. Linehan was 11-25 in his first head coaching job, losing 17 of his last 20 after going 8-8 in his first year.

Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, who spent six seasons as a head coach in New Orleans will replace Linehan on an interim basis.

The 33-year-old Kiffin was only in his second season with the Raiders, but ran afoul with team owner Al Davis.

Oakland is off to a 1-3 start and has squandered leads of 12, 13 and 9 points over the past three games, dropping Kiffin's record in Oakland to 5-15. Offensive line coach Tom Cable is expected to take over.

All of which again proves that the bye week, for some folks, can turn into bye-bye week.

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HAWAII SELF-DESTRUCTS IN LOSS TO SPARTANS

(Sept. 29): In case you haven't noticed, the Greg McMackin era isn't off to a great start for the University of Hawaii football program.

UH has managed a single victory in four games so far this season, that coming at the expense of Division-I-AA Weber State – and Hawaii had to stage a second-half rally to claim that solitary win.

Along the way, UH had suffered earlier road losses to then fifth-ranked Florida and Oregon State, which just last week stunned top-ranked USC.

But on Saturday night, playing at home against a team it had to beat in order to be regarded as a valid contender to defend its WAC title, Hawaii instead self-destructed.

UH paid dearly for committing six turnovers – including five after intermission – as the Spartans rallied from a 17-7 halftime deficit to a 20-17 victory before a frustrated crowd of 36,766 at Aloha Stadium.

In fact, Hawaii turned the ball over in each of its first four possessions of the second half, twice on interceptions and twice on lost fumbles.

Jared Strubeck, who had made just three of his previous nine field goal attempts this season, converted a 50-yarder early in the fourth quarter to tie the game and then made a 47-yarder with 1:49 remaining for the win.

The going gets tougher for UH this week, when it pays a visit to 25th-ranked WAC rival Fresno State, which is coming off a 36-31 road win over UCLA.

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ECONOMIC WOES IMPACT PREP SPORTS

(Sept. 25): Although there will be more than a little howling from those who are interested in prep sports, the proposed $800,000 in cuts to high school athletics is small potatoes in the big financial picture.

In the wake of a 10 percent, across-the-board reduction in the Department of Education budget mandated by Gov. Lingle in the face of the economic slowdown, the DOE will be required to cut $69 million from its annual budget for 2009-10 and 2010-11.

At this point, as many as 110 DOE employees could be laid off under a proposed $31.5 million budget that still falls far short of the amount Lingle is considering pulling away from the public education system.

To their credit, the state's various public school leagues – including the MIL – have approached the DOE with proposed cuts.

An earlier DOE proposal would have essentially eliminated junior varsity sports, but that idea was subsequently rejected in August by a 7-4 vote of the Board of Education.

Although JV programs were saved, that didn't resolve the larger issue: Namely, where would the required cuts come from.

The executive directors of the four public school leagues worked together to come up with a list of potential reductions. Their proposal includes cuts in transportation, supplies and equipment.

The costs associated with transportation are of a particular concern for the MIL, which includes schools on Molokai and Lanai, as well as in the remote area of Hana.

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RAMS’ WOES RUN DEEPER THAN QUARTERBACK

(Sept. 24): So the St. Louis Rams have installed the veteran Trent Green as their starting quarterback, replacing Marc Bulger? So what? A change in QB's is not going to cure what ails the Ram.

Head coach Scott Linehan's decision will not alter the course of what promises to be a truly dismal season for St. Louis.

In fact, the move is most likely the last desperate act by a desperate man who just might be coaching his last game of the Rams, who are 0-3 and have been out-scored 29-116 this season.

This, after going 3-13 last year. St. Louis is 11-24 during Linehan's brief tenure, going steadily downhill since an 8-8 campaign in his first year at the helm.

But the Rams have steadily sunk – and stunk -- since then, and now the head coach is under fire from fans and been put on notice by owner, Chip Rosenbloom.

Granted, Bulger has not looked good this season, throwing only two touchdown passes in three games. He completed 18 of 31 for 184 yards, one TD and a pick in last week's 37-13 loss to the battered Seattle Seahawks.

But I contend that no one would have looked good behind that awful St. Louis offensive line. Bulger has been sacked 11 times this season and 97 times in his past 31 starts It's hard to be an effective passer while laying flat on your back.

So now, it is the 38-year-old Green's turn to become the human tackling dummy for the sorry Rams when they host Buffalo this week. Good luck, Trent. You're going to need it.

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FAVRE ALONE, IS NOT ANSWER FOR JETS

(Sept. 23): Obviously, it's too early to tell for any of the teams involved, but could the Jets possibly have come out on the short end of the quarterback drama that resulted in Aaron Rodgers becoming the starter at Green Bay, Chad Pennington at Miami and the legendary Brett Favre at New York?

San Diego's 48-29 dismantling of the Jets last night demonstrated that the addition of Favre alone isn't enough to assure that New York will ascend to contender status in the highly-competitive AFC.

Favre's numbers were solid enough. He completed 30 of 42 passes for 271 yards and three scores. But he also tossed a pair of interceptions and probably should have had another two picked off.

At the age of 38, Brett's years are numbered, which means that for New York's decision to pay off, the Jets must win now. Last night, they appeared to be a team in flux.

Rodgers also was on the losing end this weekend, as Green Bay suffered its first loss of the season, 27-16, at the hands of the talented Cowboys. But Rodgers' play has calmed a lot of fears among Packer fans about the club's decision to let Favre walk.

But the happiest QB following Week 3 was Miami's much- and unfairly-maligned Pennington, who guided his new team to the biggest upset of the young season -- a 38-13 road rout of the New England Patriots.

Yes, it's admittedly too early to draw conclusions. But those Week 3 results at least make you wonder, don't they?

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LATE FIELD GOAL LIFTS BEARS OVER KEKAULIKE

(Sept. 22): Baldwin's unbeaten run in MIL football remained intact, but not without some high drama on Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium.

King Kekaulike capitalized on some costly Baldwin turnovers to score a pair touchdowns but then committed several equally costly penalties on the decisive drive to set up a game-winning 39-yard field by goal by Cee Jay Santos, giving the Bears a 25-22 victory.

The win improved Baldwin's record against MIL opponents to 31-0-1 since 2004 by out-gaining Na Alii 267-166 and registering a 20-9 advantage in first downs thanks, largely, to a ground game led by Kainalu Garso, who rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.

But Kekaulike hung in tough, playing to a 7-all tie after the first period and leading 14-13 halftime, taking that one-point edge into the final period.

Baldwin registered a safety about three minutes into the fourth quarter to take a 15-14 lead and expanded that edge to 22-14 on Garso's nine-yard run with 6:09 left.

But the scrappy Na Alii bounced right back as Taylor Rodrigues hooked-up with quarterback Aronne Santos on a 36-yard pass play and tied the score on a two-point conversion by Edrian dela Cruz with 3:27 remaining.

The two Division-I rivals will square off again in the regular-season finale on Nov. 8.

Division-II front-runner Lahainaluna encountered few problems on Friday night in romping to a 41-6 win over the Trojans as QB Jake Manning ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, while tailback Bryson Williams ran for a pair of scores.

Two games are on tap this week, with Kekaulike visiting Maui High in a D-I game on Friday while the Trojans host Kamehameha in a D-II matchup on Saturday. Both games will be carried on Maui's ESPN 550.

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VICTORINO DELIVERS IT WHEN COUNTS MOST

(Sept. 18): The mark of a good baseball player, some say, is to deliver when it counts most. But that measure, Shane Victorino of Maui is a very good player.

The Phillies' center-fielder again came through in a big way for his team last night, delivering his third straight multi-hit game.

By going 3-for-4, stealing a base and scoring a run, Victorino helped his team extend its season-high winning streak to six games in a key 6-1 victory over Atlanta.

The win kept the Phillies a half-game ahead of the New York Mets in the National League East and a full game up on Milwaukee for the final playoff spot.

The other two contenders also posted victories yesterday, the Mets holding off Washington 9-7 and the Brewers beating the Chicago Cubs 6-2.

Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard's power surge has deservedly received the most attention. Howard has been on tear, driving in a run again last night to give him 29 RBI in his last 21 games and increasing his major-league leading season total to 137.

But Victorino's contributions shouldn't be overlooked on a team that also features such marquee names as reigning NL MVP Jimmy Rollins and all-star second baseman Chase Utley.

After trailing New York by 3.5 games going into last Thursday's action, the Phillies have won six straight to vault past the Mets. During that span, Victorino has gone 13-for-23 – that's a .565 batting average – while scoring four runs and driving in five.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

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