Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Ob behalf of all the staff and management here at ESPN Radio, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, and hope that you have the chance to spend time with family and friends and celebrate all that we must be thankful for.

To our friends who are serving or have served in the military, I take this time to say thank you for everything you do for our country. You help to keep our country free, and allow people like me to speak freely every day. I salute your service and your dedication to our country.

Finally, I want everyone who is reading this to remember how much we must be thankful for. As I write this, I'm watching CNN and they are showing live coverage of the unfortunate and sickening events in Mumbai, India. Innocent people have lost their lives, and will not be able to spend time with their families and friends, regardless of what their nationality or ethnicity is.

You, the reader, as well as myself, are fortunate to spend this holiday with our loved ones. Unfortunately, halfway across the world, there are people who will not see another day. Please keep these families in our thoughts and prayers as we spend the next few days with the people we love.

- Posted by Josh Pacheco

First Hawaiian Bank / HHSAA State Football Tournament Information

Big thank you to Lyle Crozier, the Interim Executive Director of the BIIF, for giving me a hollar and asking me to pass along the following information:

All HHSAA State Football Games will start at 7:30 pm on Friday. The games are as follows:

Division I:

Kealakehe vs. Farrington (Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium, Oahu) - Aired on OC16 and Starcomm Sports Radio Network

Leilehua vs. Baldwin (War Memorial Stadium, Maui)

Division II:

Campbell vs. Konawaena (Julian R. Yates Field, Kealakekua) - Aired on ESPN Radio

Radford vs. Kauai (Vidinha Stadium, Kauai)

BIIF Mathematics, er, Division Championship Implications

You might as well give the first person to solve this BIIF Football Division 2 mathematical equation a state title.

Oh wait, that would be me.

On behalf of my iPhone's Calculator, newspaper archives and radio highlights, and my smart brain, I would humbly accept this prestigeous award of BIIF Football Mathematician of the Year.

Okay, all kidding aside, thats pretty much what it takes to figure out all of the tiebreakers for a possible Kamehameha win. You ready?

If Kamehameha beats Konawaena by 7 points or less, the Konawaena Wildcats are DII Overall Champions

If Kamehameha beats Konawaena by 8 points, it creates a 2nd tie between HPA and Konawaena

If Kamehameha beats Konawaena by 9-10 points, HPA is the 2nd round champion and would play Konawaena next week

If Kamehameha beats Konawaena by 11 points, it creates a 2nd tie between HPA and Kamehameha

If Kamehameha beats Konawaena by 12 points or more, Kamahemeha is the 2nd round champion and would play Kona next Friday.

Of course all of this means nothing if one thing happens:

KONAWAENA WINS

Good luck.

You can hear this matchup on Saturday beginning at 7 pm on ESPN Radio.

Hawaii was a big part of Election History

Credit: ElectiveDecisions.Wordpress.com

I was honored to sit inside of a studio, in front of a microphone, and turn on the microphone just after 6 pm on General Election Night to make the announcement that Senator Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii and played prep ball at Punahou who is the current senator of the state of Illinois, was projected to be the next president of the United States.

The last two presidents to represent this country have come from Sports backgrounds. President George W. Bush was the former owner of the Texas Rangers, and his parents often frequent Rangers Ballpark at Arlington. If Senator John McCain were to be voted in, he would've brought an athletic background as well, being a former wrestler and football player in his prep days.

As a first time presidential voter, I was excited to be one voice among millions in the history books, yet the nervousness of casting that first presidential ballot was very big as well. I was quivering as I filled out that electronic ballot machine because I knew the magnitude of what we had all gathered in many sites across the island and country to do.


Credit: KonaTimes.Blogspot.com

And of course, here on the Big Island, we would vote for the first new mayor of the County of Hawaii since Mayor Harry Kim took office two terms ago. I personally want to say a big Mahalo to both Billy Kenoi and K. Angel Pilago. Our reporter at Pilago HQ's, Claude Barnett, described this race as a "Gentelmen's Race" and that is very accurate. Supporters may have had their own things to say on blogs and in papers, but the two candidates were cordial, professional, and ran a positive, issues-oriented race. Young up-and-coming politicians (which I won't be, I'm sure) should take notes on how those campaigns operated and use that as an example.

Whether you were a first time voter, a long time voter, an off-and-oner, your voice was one of many who spoke loudly during the 2008 General Election. Thank you for being a part of the process.