Homespun Honolulu

The University of Hawaii Warriors have an undefeated season!

When I was in high school, I went to every football game. I was lucky — that was a time when Waianae High School was THE team to beat in the OIA (Oahu Interscholastic Association). I know I’m dating myself a little with this, but that’s okay. It was fun and some of us took it very seriously. I remember one Homecoming game when Waianae played Pearl City. Pearl City almost won. I never screamed so loud in all my life. We won. I’m sure my volume must have helped carry that extra point over that goal post!

I went straight to the University of Hawaii after graduation to continue my education, but sports weren’t part of the agenda anymore. For me, with the exception of having my ear set to news about Jason Elam, I’ve lost touch with the sports at my old educational institutions… UNTIL NOW!

This year, all of the media hype and the need to keep up with reader interest got me watching again. It felt like old times… sort of. I could watch “my” team on TV, and get excited for them and mad at the refs (and ESPN sportscasters)… you know, all the good stuff! I even found myself holding my breath while watching recorded games for the second time. This Warrior team has done something for me that no other team has ever done… they’ve actually made re-runs something good to watch!

Guess what?!? Somehow… my husband got his hands on a pair of tickets! On the 50-yard line! For the game with the Senior Walk! OMG! Okay, on the wrong side of the field, but who cares?!? I was there! I saw them up close and personal. I got to scream my head off again, just like I used to! They’re so awesome, they didn’t need any help from my vocals! They got some, but, as it turned out, they didn’t need it!

… SCREECH!

The Warriors, however, did not get as much from my vocals as I wanted them to. Our seats were great, but they were too great. We were too close and the Washington players and the ESPN film truck made us have to stand up to see. That would have been fine except for the pregnant woman behind us who asked us to sit down because she was pregnant and couldn’t stand up.

We couldn’t see and we couldn’t see the replay screen either because everyone else was standing up… because they couldn’t see! We finally gave up and left. We went home.

All was not lost, they came from being behind by three touchdowns to taking us down to the last seconds of the game. With only 44 seconds left in the game I was still screaming at the TV, “No, no, no!” I ended up screaming in my living room. It would have been slightly better at Vineyard Zippy’s where at least someone would have gotten the benefit of my screaming… but, we stayed at home.

Overpriced tickets, taxi fare, because the parking was full three hours before kick off, and we watched the game from home. Auwe! (Hawaiian for “Oh my!” or “Oh dear!” or “Alas!”) Auwe to Aloha Stadium for not making arrangements for people in those seats, and auwe to ESPN for not figuring out a better way to get their footage without hampering the ability of spectators to enjoy the game that they paid so dearly to see. The only thing in their favor was that they were not on the side of the home team. There was a little girl behind me who was heart broken and screaming even more than I was.

Of course all of this whining turns this post (one that I was so looking forward to writing) into a “Honolulu Rant” and it has been tagged as such.

Okay, aside from the idiotic stadium gaffes and a double auwe for ESPN whose time was too precious to keep filming long enough for us to see the Senior Walk, the game was exciting, tense and one heck of a game! I now get to lean on our local media darlings to please, please have the Senior Walk on tape so we will be able to see it! KGMB’s news room says they will show clips of it on the June Jones show tomorrow (Sunday) and on their news at 5 and 10:00 tomorrow evening.

I was so looking forward to that part of tonight’s festivities but it was not to be for us, not this time. But, that’s okay… my alma mater won! They should be receiving an invitation to a BCS bowl game. The announcement about the BCS bowl game will be made tomorrow at 3:00 at the Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

As I’m typing this I can hear people who also must have been watching the game at home… they are setting off fireworks! Honolulu is one very happy place right now! We’re all so proud of these young men and the University so needed a generous addition to their income stream!

After All That, Sharing This Next Tidbit is Even More Gratifying!

Another thing I’ve grown to love is the personality of the Leahey and Leahey show! Jim and Kanoa Leahey are, together or apart, a lot of fun and I think they make a cute father and son team. Jim Leahey was on my wave length the other night with his “poem” at the end of their show on PBS last Wednesday and he called it a bachi poem (bachi is a Japanese word and is used kind of as a slang in this context to mean something similar to “what goes around, comes around”). He read his “Bachi Poem” where he said snickered,

It’s eleven down and one to go
Then it’s just lining up for the big show
The school receiving millions in spendable dough
While National attention continues to grow
Brennan is magic with every long throw
BCS pundits are dining on crow
Receivers remain cat quick, never slow
The defense has grown stalwart as we all know
So bring on the Huskies and any sled they tow
Let the rains come and the winds blow
Let the game have its usual ebb and flow
Chances are good, in the end, Hawaii is 12 and O.

Ha! Now I can laugh even harder! Congratulations to you, UH Warriors, and a huge mahalo to all of you for a very exciting and terrifying game! We have to thank the Washington Huskies as well for being a formidable opponent — it was they who made it terrifying!

The biggest mahalo is for our Warrior team, Coach June Jones included, for their shining example of teamwork and fraternal cohesion! I’m still touched and amazed at the degree of limelight sharing that goes on over there. I don’t know if I’m more proud of their winning record or their comradeship manner of accomplishing their wonderful season that is, “in the end, 12 and O!”

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Checking back on this one! It’s 3:20 on Sunday afternoon and the announcement has just been made. The Warriors are going, baby! They are going to a BCS bowl game! Woo hoo! The University of Hawaii Warriors are going to New Orleans to play the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 2008. What a great way to start the New Year!

The UH team members were excited and fired up for this game. You could see it in their body language and the degree of overdrive in their step! It wasn’t until the 2nd Half that they were able to put a little bit of a lid on it and get into their focused groove that we’ve all grown to love, admire and enjoy.

Davone Bess flipped, literally, into the end zone for a touch down and a rather painful un-sportsman like penalty. I guess you could call it a celebration penalty of sorts. Bess celebrated with a somersault over the goal line. There were a couple of times during the game that I was amused by the frivolousness thought that part of their practice must be for aerial gymnastics! That’s not to say that spectators don’t appreciate it. I personally think it adds to the excitement. The referees, however, disagree.

Colt broke the tie for the record of most touchdown passes that was held by Ty Detmer. With TD pass number 122, Colt surpassed the record and continued to add to it. Near the end of the game, Colt had the ESPN sportscasters singing his praises. In addition, both C.J. Hawthorne and Jason Rivers were also in great receiving form! Ryan Grice-Mullen didn’t seem to receive as much play as the others receivers but he also seemed to have a slight limp, which may have been the reason.

One of the highlights for me was listening to the ESPN sportscasters eat a little crow as the UH Warriors began to outshine Boise State. They had to do some serious CYA back peddling as the game neared its final minutes and the University of Hawaii Warriors sealed their 39 to 27 win over Boise State. For spectators like myself who were tuned into every word of these sportscasters, it was too late… the damage was done. They did try to cover up so maybe not everyone noticed the bias that went relatively unchecked during the first three quarters or so of the game.

This Warrior team has had to work very hard. They have had to work hard to remain undefeated and even harder to earn some kind of respect — respect that they really do deserve! Congratulations to the Warrior football team for a job well done!

Oh the lump in my throat a few hours ago! The radio broadcast went something like this: “This is unconfirmed,” they said during the  broadcast of the University of Hawaii Warriors football game against Fresno State,” but Colt Brennan has suffered a third degree concussion and will not be back, and will probably not play next week.” Okay, I may not have said it verbatim but it was very close to exactly that!

My husband, the eternal optimist, looks at me like I’m crazy and says, “He’ll be fine.” See, it doesn’t matter what’s wrong with you, my husband will always tell you that “you’ll be fine.” Irritating as hell! But, as it turned out, it was indeed a mild concussion, not a third-degree concussion, and Colt could even play tomorrow, if there was a game. The media spoke to Warrior Coach June Jones about Colt. “If you play football, he said, you’re going to have concussions. I just talked to him. He’s ready to play right now.”

It was near the end of the game and ESPN, who could have been showing the whole game live (grrrr!), showed the clip of the hit that knocked Brennan out of commission for the rest of the game. It was a nasty hit he took — one that “felt” like his head could have come off his shoulders! I’m sure we’ll see it several more times but it was pretty ugly so the media’s initial prognosis was an easy sell.

Anyway, Colt’s head is still attached and his neck is not broken. “He’ll be fine.” So, I give Colt an “A+” for effort and I give myself, and Brennan’s team mates, a placeboic tranquilizer. Chill! He did suffer from a concussion but he has been cleared for air travel for next week’s game. For those who think I’ve lost it, a related ESPN article reported that when Colt hit the turf, face-down and not moving, “trainers from both teams came to his aid. The near-sellout crowd drew silent and teammates prayed on one knee as the game was halted for about five minutes. Brennan eventually stood up, wincing in pain and was helped off the field into the locker room.”

There’s just something about this young man that has endeared him to the hearts of many! In the final minutes of the game, the Warriors were clearly shaken. Through it all, the Warriors came away with a 37-30 win, their 9th win of the season. When asked about the incident, Ryan Grice-Mullen, who has now surpassed 1,000 yards receiving, said that, “He showed a lot of heart by getting to his feet because we all knew he was out of it.”

Last night Colt tied records, currently held by Ty Detmer since 1991, and would most certainly have broken them if he had not had the wind knocked out of him! Of course, if you wanted to dissect things, it has only taken Brennan 34 games to reach this mark. It took 46 games for the current record holder to set this long-standing record. This is definitely a candidate for many things! So, go ahead and vote for all the awards you can get your hands on!

In addition, ESPN has a place to vote for the Heisman candidate of your choice! If you haven’t been there yet, you really should go! I think our voices will be hard to ignore if we’re “loud” enough. I have to admit to being continuously frustrated by the lack of attention and media coverage the sports “experts” are giving to Brennan compared to what they give the other Heisman candidates. Colt’s stats may be better but he’s got more than just stats to lift him above the rest. He’s “real,” he has a lot of heart and he’s a model for overcoming adversity.

Congratulations to the University of Hawaii Warriors on their win this past Saturday evening! Homecoming is always better when you win!  We’ve got another bye next week and after that we’ve got four games left.

• November 10, 2007 - Fresno State (at home)
• November 16, 2007 - Nevada (at Nevada) ESPN2
• November 26, 2007 - Boise State (at home) ESPN2
• December 1, 2007 - Washington (at home) ESPN or ESPN2

I’m excited about their winning streak and I really believe they can make a clean sweep of this season. They are still extremely supportive of each other out there and the stats are piling up for several of the players. Many of the stats that Colt Brennan is carrying have become the numbers to beat, or they soon will be! This season has already become a remarkable one worth celebrating!

So what’s the correction? I have to send out huge apologies to Ryan Grice-Mullen for mis-spelling his name recently on my post about the bye last week. The worst part? I checked it and double-checked it. The Star-Bulletin would know the correct spelling. There’s no way they would spell it wrong! Right? Wrong. Sorry Ryan. The correction has been made.

Going forward, I will take all spellings of athletes’ names directly from the UH website, I promise. Ryan, I cannot apologize enough! I think I’ll do a post about you just to make up for it. Besides, you’re a junior and I get to talk about you all of next year! Hooray! Um, don’t transfer anywhere, okay?!?

I don’t remember a UH team being so… appealing to its fans. There’s just something above and beyond their athletic talent. I think the viscidity of this team is probably the one thing that endears them the most! They’ve got this whole mutual-support and admiration thing going on.

While Colt has certainly developed a little fan club at my house, as well as across the State of Hawaii, I have recently brought more of the Warriors into my own little admiration radar. See, most normal people and sports fans look at stats, I look at off-the-wall things and who the people are that stand behind those stats. (I never said I was normal.) I have to give June Jones credit for doing a little bit of the same… in a way. I think the Coach is looking for talent, heart and real people.

In addition to Colt, I need to add the following to my list of admired team members (for a variety of reasons):

• Ryan Grice-Mullins Grice-Mullen
• Davone Bess
• Dan Kelly
• Jason Rivers
• C.J. Hawthorne

I know I need to add to this list but I can’t always remember the names of the ones that cause a blip on my internal radar. This is my on-going project. I’m working on it!

The game last weekend was a scary one! It was rainy and muddy but they still managed to pull it off with a 42 to 35 win over San Jose State! Coach Jones commented on a news interview after the game that it was surprising to see a field like that at a Division 1 school. Apparently the San Jose State players were used to it because their uniforms were nowhere near as slopped up as those of the Warriors.

Little tidbits I found interesting:

• Colt has now achieved 125 touchdowns and has officially broken Ty Detmer’s record

• The 7 - 0 record the Warriors now hold is theirs for the first time since 1981

• Colt passed the ball 75 times in the game and this was a school record

One of the ESPN News casters said, “Even when he’s down, this Colt is kicking.” Nice analogy. I’ll just call him the comeback quarterback. Sloppy mud is hard to run in, never mind trying to hold on to a football! That had to be difficult for both the quarterback and his receivers! Sheesh! It was a good game with an exciting finish! Nice job guys!

Make good use of the weekend off — you’ve earned it but you’ve still got a ways to go! Next week is Home Coming! The last alert I saw was that there were less than 4,000 seats left. Woo hoo! This is gonna be a good one with a lot of fan support! Count on it! You can count on us all to keep talking too!

Let’s Go “Catch the Dream!”

Meet Major Mynah! He’s actually a vintage bird but I couldn’t resist getting his picture. This is an old logo dating back a decade or so ago to when Hawaii Winter Baseball first started making the rounds.

Currently, home base seems to be Hans L’Orange Park in Waipahu. There are games on Maui (at Iron Maehara Stadium and in Hilo on the Big Island (at Francis Wong Stadium). For a full schedule of games, times and locations, go here.

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Now, now, right now!

The University of Hawaii Warriors are in Idaho and Colt Brennan is on the field with the team and throwing passes as the team completes more touchdowns. The more I listen the more I realize this game is going to wrap up before I can get this posted! Yep, I was right. Final score: Hawaii 48, Idaho 20.

Hawaii Winter Baseball: The City and County of Honolulu’s Public Communications Division shared the news that Honolulu’s “Mayor Mufi Hannemann announced that the City and County of Honolulu will co-sponsor a Sunset at the Ballpark event, “Catch the Dream, Waipahu” this coming Saturday and Sunday at Hans L’Orange Field during the Opening Day weekend of the 2007 Hawaii Winter Baseball season.” Sounds like fun! Here’s the link for all of the information. It’s going on now and will continue tomorrow! Some of the players are names you will recognize, players who play for some of the big boys, like the New York Yankees, etc.

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University of Hawaii Warriors Football

Did he or didn’t he?  He didn’t.  Wiser and more cautious minds prevailed and Colt Brennan opted not to play last night and to give his ankle a break.  The Warriors won in spite of it all with a final score of 66 to 10.

Aloha Festivals

O’ahu will say aloha to the Aloha Festivals for this year.  With the exception of the 13th Annual Falsetto Contest next Saturday, September 28th in Waikiki, the focus of the Aloha Festivals in October will be on Maui and Moloka’i.

Anyone interested in attending the Falsetto Contest will find it at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel in the Hawai’i Ballroom.  That’s at 7 pm this coming Saturday, doors open at 6 pm.  For more information, call 808-589-1771. 

Hawaii Superferry and Kaua’i

After all of the drama and emotion displayed during the Governor’s visit to Kaua’i to talk about the Superferry and its resumption of service to Maunawili harbor, the Superferry was the one who said, in a nutshell, “Uh, never mind.”  They have decided to suspend service to Kaua’i indefinitely, much to the relief of Kaua’i residents.  Perhaps once the environmental impact study is complete, cooler heads will prevail.

Portuguese Festival

The festival, presented by the Hawaii Council on Portuguese Heritage, continues today at McCoy Pavillion.  Hurry before the malasadas sell out, again!  We’ll talk more about this festival this coming week!

That’s the question of the week and everybody wants to know the answer!  How is that ankle?!?  The Honolulu Advertiser reports this morning that  June Jones, coach of the UH Warriors, says that Colt will start this evening. But, how long will he play and how safe will it be to do so? We can only speculate and keep our fingers crossed.

We all want to see him play and watch him add to his already impressive stats, but we also want to see him stay healthy. We’ll just have to wait until 6pm HST this evening to see what really happens. Keep it together, Colt, only you know what and how you’re feeling!

The Aloha Festivals are under way and just as promised the Oahu Royal Court was present for the Opening Ceremonies at Iolani Palace yesterday. They were hosted by the Royal Hawaiian Band and traditional Hawaiian chant and hula.

What a busy day this Saturday was! The Aloha Week Parade went as scheduled this morning and the Thunderbirds of the US Air Force graced us with their presence and showmanship in the early afternoon.

The Air Force is celebrating its 60th “Heritage to Horizons” anniversary during their Air Force Week. Honolulu is actually one of the six cities that was selected to have Air Force Week festivities and they’re doing it in conjunction with the Aloha Festivals!

This evening was certainly not without activity! The Kapolei Mele went on this evening and the first performance of The Lion King was also this evening at Blaisdell Center.

It actually worked out nicely for us that the Oahu program of the Aloha Festivals started on the 14th. The University of Hawaii Warriors played “away” at the University of Las Vegas this evening so there was no football traffic to collide with the traffic for the Kapolei Mele. People attending the Kapolei Mele must have been walking around with their radios!

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Colt Brennan took yet another step toward that Heisman Trophy as he led the Warriors to a 49-14 win over UNLV!

Mahalo to TheHeismanWinners.com for this picture!

That’s a lot for one Saturday! The weekend’s not done yet!

The Royal Court will also be present at Central Union Church tomorrow (Sunday) morning. Central Union is on the corner of Punahou and Beretania Streets. Whew! Enjoy the rest of the weekend!