Oahu Day Two - 45th Annual Rainbow Classic Opening Night

Being the total tourist I was going to the Stan Sheriff Center, I had to snap a shot of the building I was entering for the first time. The Stan Sheriff Center. I asked the ticket person to give me the best seat I could get, and she told me the lower bowl wasn't for sale, so I ended up with...



That seat assignment would get me this kind of view:


Okay, well it wasn't the greatest view in the world, and there were a lot of empty seats on the bottom, which were filled up for the Hawaii game, but it was a blessing in disguise. More on that toward the end.

George Washington was taking on the Vermont Catamounts in the first game. As I was trying to find my seat way up high, I ran into a George Washington Athletics person who was selling George Washington Gear.


I was thinking of grabbing one of those Colonials hats (same color as a cheesehead), but I don't think I have enough room in my bag to take it home. I stuffed my bag to the max with some of my new shirts, because I never like to underpack. Maybe I'll just get a shirt. Anyway, to the games.

Vermont 83, George Washington 72

Vermont controlled the game early, thanks to great play from Senior Colin McIntosh. He finished with 14 points, but the rest of the team kicked into gear, especially in the second half. Mike Timboli hit a few clutch three's, Marqus Blakely had a double-double, and Maurice Joseph led the team with 18 points. Rob Diggs led all scorers and rebounders with 25 and 14. Too bad he didn't have much help until it was too late.



Hawaii was getting ready for Colorado State in the nightcap. My seat was actually right next to a few season ticket holders. One of the guys' names was Doug. I don't remember the other. But they asked me if I knew the person that usually sits there. I said no, so she must have sold her season ticket for that game because she wasn't going to make it. Either way, they were joined by a Syracuse alum who sat behind us and his son, who is going to Syracuse right now. We chatted a lot about famous Syracuse announcing alums, like our own Mike Tirico, Marv Albert, and others.

What I didn't know is that the son once competed in the halftime challenge, where you have a rack of basketballs at half court, and you have to make as many shots as you can in a certain amount of time. He won $500 in that game years ago. So, I was fortunate to sit next to some long time season ticket holders who made the experience for me enjoyable.

Colorado State 74, Hawaii 58

The first half wasn't the most well played for Hawaii, with some sloppy point guard play from Kareem Nitoto, foul trouble from Sasha Parghalava, and Rod Flemings and Bill Amis taking a little while to get going. But some Colorado State turnovers and missed opportunities on their own end kept Hawaii in the game, and the Warriors lead by two at the break.



At halftime, they have the Jack in a Box blimp fly throughout the center and drop prizes to the loudest sections in the arena. It didn't come by us. To be honest, the people I was sitting with really didn't care. But, two rows behind us, there were these "Valley Girl" like college chicks (some were cute) who were making a bunch of noise, but they were the only ones. They also had the afore mentioned halftime contest hosted by Oahu radio personality Billy V.

The second half was all Colorado State. I was impressed with Jessie Carr, a Freshman guard out of the state of Nebraska, who I would describe as a pain in the neck to guard, and he picked apart Hawaii's defense in the second half. He only had 9 points, but his 4 assists may have been more important. Add to that Hawaii shooting 26% in the second half (6-23 from the field) and Colorado State ran away with it.

One more thing to note. During a media timeout late in the 2nd half, a UH-Hilo student was in attendance for a chance to win some big prizes ( don't remember what they were giving away). He had 45 seconds to hit a layup, free throw, three pointer, and a halfcourt shot. He struggled from the charity stripe before hitting one and then took a small while before he hit his three-pointer. In Saint Martin-esque style, he got the ball at half court with about 2 seconds left, threw it up, and banked it in! The whole crowd went nuts! Too bad the team couldn't feed off of that. Sign him up, coach!

So back to the guys I ended up sitting next to. They left with about a minute left to go in the game. Some were leaving with 6 minutes left when the media time out happened. Before they left, they asked me how long I was staying, and I told them I would be here until Monday morning. They left me with two free tickets for today's doubleheader (Buffalo/Pepperdine and Colorado/Coppin State) right in the same section, just a row higher.



Only problem is...I need to find someone who wants the other ticket or at least wants to go with me! I came on this trip on my own, so if you're reading, you're on Oahu, and you wanna go, send me an email!

Quickly, my thoughts on the rest of the sports world:

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- New England is going to put the pressure on the Miami Dolphins to win against the Jets. New England is winning in Buffalo and most likely will hold on with 3 minutes left to go. Meanwhile, the Houston Texans are spoiling the Bears chances of getting into the playoffs, and of course, I predicted that on Friday. And oh by the way, Detroit is doing their very best to get their first win of the year against Green Bay. Uh oh.

- Ben Rothleisberger is suffering from a concussion today. Luckily for Steelers fans, the Steelers have a bye in the first round of the postseason.

- Bill Parcells could go back to coaching. I'm not surprised. It all depends on whether Wayne Huizenga sells his share of his team. Part of the contract Parcells agreed to. Gotta imagine there would be a few teams interested in his services if that takes place.

Back tonight or Monday with the final Oahu trip blog!

Oahu Day 1 - The Blackout on Oahu

It's kinda ironic that on the day the movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still" comes out in theaters, many parts of Oahu stood still because of a massive blackout. We went from this late in the afternoon....


To this...


Around 6:45 pm here in Waikiki, the power went off, and as I looked outside my hotel room I watched the lights go out across the canal and uphill to more residential areas. I watched people from other hotels and condos walk outside and wonder what the heck was going on. Some were outfitted with flashlights, some weren't outfitted with shirts, but all were curious of what had happened and when power would be back.

During the afternoon, we had lots of thunder and lightning in the area, to go along with good size gusts of wind, but no rain. According to Oahu media reports, some bolts struck transmission lines and knocked almost everyone out of power in Oahu.

The shot above is pretty much how things here in the heart of Waikiki were shut down. The biggest crowd was waiting outside of the ABC store. From what I saw, they were letting only a few people in at a time to shop while power was out. I would imagine they didn't want any kind of looting.


Of course in any tough situation, you need entertainment. Thanks to my iPhone, I caught Sonny playing a conga and a cowbell. Earlier, someone across the canal had popped off some fireworks!

Power was out here in Waikiki for just about 12 hours. It came back at 6:40 am on Saturday. Some businesses are still struggling to get back afloat after being out for so long.


Thats one of the seemingly millions of ABC stores in Waikiki. Many freezer or cold items could not be sold. The McDonalds and Subway locations were closed due to the outage, and anywhere that was open, it was SUPER packed because not too many things were open at 10 am because of the recovery.

So, until things start to get less hectic outside, I'm just gonna stay here, eat some food, watch some football and enjoy this view from the hotel...


Hopefully, you are staying safe back on the Big Island after the stormy weather over the past few days. Now on to some sports notes:

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- As a San Francisco Giants fan, I don't know what to think with my team signing the "Big Unit" Randy Johnson to a one year, $8 Million deal. He's not gonna make the team any better at the age of 45. But, this move is all about dollars and sense. Since San Fran privately financed the creation of AT&T Park, they are still paying off that transaction, and with Randy Johnson 5 wins away from 300, they definitely want to get more people in the stands to watch, and maybe pay it back quicker. I'm still expecting another losing season next year.

- Great Motor City Bowl last night, as Florida Atlantic beats Central Michigan at Ford Field. Can a team from Michigan get a win in that stadium this year? Michigan State lost to North Carolina in College Basketball, Detroit Lions, um, you know, winless this year, and now Central Michigan. Coach Butch Jones for the Chippewas took some gambles late, and yes, they didn't pay off, but its a bowl game, your players wanna have fun, so go out and leave everything on the field! He did, didn't work, but Central Michigan still had a good year.

- College Bowl Madness Challenge Record: 2-5. Yikes.

- I'll be at the Stan Sheriff Center for Day 1 of the Rainbow Classic. At 5 pm, Vermont takes on George Washinton, followed by Hawaii and Colorado State at 7:30 approximately. I'll try to put up some photos in the next blog, but I will write up a recap in the next Oahu installment.

Fighting Irish More Than Lucky in Hawaii Bowl Win

I guess 62% of the Big Island's SportsNation, including yours truly, were wrong in assessing the fate of the 2008 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

Meanwhile, the 38% who chose Notre Dame were right on the mark with the points of emphasis in this game, as heard on my show this morning:

- Lack of Discipline by the Warriors

- Better athletes underneath the Golden Domes of Notre Dame

- A win would not be close, whatsoever.

I did say to watch out for some kind of breakout game from QB Jimmy Clausen, didn't I? Yeah, I picked Hawaii to win, but I was afraid of the very kind of game that Clausen delivered on Christmas Eve. He set Notre Dame bowl game records for passing yards and TD's. He even got help from a Warrior secondary that must've sipped on some spiked Egg Nog before kickoff, because they were nowhere to be found all game long.

For Notre Dame, they throw the bowl game monkey off their back, breaking the streak of 9 straight postseason losses, 4 of them to Oklahoma State and LSU alone. All of the questions surrounding Charlie Weis will remain going into the 2009 regular season, but at least now for Irish fans, they will have a bright glimmer of hope for a better campaign than the one they just suffered, highlighted by a loss to the Orange of Syracuse.

And Hawaii? A winning season with a first year head coach. Sure, it wasn't pretty at times, but I think most Hawaii fans will remember the strong end to the regular season rather than the beginning and the ND game and look to games against Cincinnati and Fresno State, for example, as signs that the Warriors will improve and be better. They will have two returning QB's and a lot of promise at other skill positions. But can their defense improve, especially in the secondary? And can they stop committing stupid penalties?

All questions will be answered in 2009.

Until that point in time, I've got three shows left here in 2008 (Christmas Day, the 26th, and the 20th), so I hope you and your families have a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season, and even more so, a prosperous 2009. Our ESPN Radio family appreciates your support and we look forward to bigger and better things to come in '09!

The Bowl Championship Series Got it Right - MOSTLY

The matchups are set for all 34 bowl games, but everyone's eyes are looking at the Bowl Championship Series today as all 10 berths have been announced.

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi (January 1, 2009 - 11 am ESPN Radio) - USC vs. Penn State

Penn State will have a LONG layoff before they play this game. They didn't play this past weekend, unlike USC, who beat UCLA on Saturday. Penn State also has to worry about the deepest team in the country. USC right now is the better team in this game.

FedEx Orange Bowl (January 1, 2009 - 3 pm ESPN Radio) - Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech

This will probably be the game that no one really cares about, as both these teams come from the mediocre BCS conferences. Virginia Tech has peaked at the right time under head coach Frank Beamer, especially after their one-sided win in the ACC Championship against Boston College. Cincinnati rallied to beat Hawaii on Saturday in an umimpressive showing.

AllState Sugar Bowl (January 2, 2009 - 2:35 pm ESPN Radio) - Utah vs. Alabama

Alabama's fate rested in the SEC championship game, and they could not pull off a win over favored Florida, so the Crimson Tide get to play in New Orleans in the Sugar Bowl. You have to wonder if there will be a letdown by Alabama since their National Championship hopes have been dashed.

Utah makes it in with an undefeated record and another chance to shock the world, so to speak, by beating a SEC team. Utah has played the role of a BCS buster before, but I believe everyone will remember what happened in that very building one year ago between the Warriors and Georgia.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (January 5, 2009 - 2:35 pm ESPN Radio) - Ohio State vs. Texas

This is where the BCS got it wrong. Ohio State does NOT belong in the BCS. They are the only at-large in the BCS with two losses, and they get a berth over one-loss Texas Tech (already two teams in the Big XII making the BCS) and unbeaten Boise State (only one non-BCS school can be a part of the BCS). Granted, their two losses come to both opponents in the Rose Bowl game, but either way, I don't think they should be in.

Contrary to what Longhorns fans believe, Texas is right where they should be. Forget the talk about a split national championship (I'm hearing it, and I don't like the idea of it). The Longhorns in the week-by-week beauty pageant of College Football are not as pretty as the Sooners. Time to get over it and play football.

FedEx BCS National Championship Game (January 8, 2009 - 2:35 pm) - #1 Oklahoma vs. #2 Florida

I was a bit worried that the computers would keep us from this matchup, but we indeed get the two hottest offenses in the country. The Gators had a great 2nd half in the SEC Title game over Alabama to come from behind with the win, and the Sooners right now are the HOTTEST team in the country, as they practically wrapped up the Big XII Title in the 1st quarter over Missouri.

Jerry Palm of CollegeBCS.com will join me tomorrow to break down the BCS here on ESPN Radio!

Notre Dame / Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl?

Sources tell the Honolulu Advertiser this morning that a Fighting Irish / Warriors Hawaii Bowl matchup is close to being a done deal.

Now, let's be honest. Notre Dame at 6-6 definitely doesn't deserve a bowl berth. Heck, their coach should be lucky that he has a job for next season.

And, as I have stated for the past few weeks on my show, Hawaii is not a deserving bowl team? Although they had a very good performance for about three quarters against Cincinnati, they didn't have the juice to finish off the upset. Their body of work, however, over the course of the year, has shown only one good win, and multiple bad losses.

But, we all know what the bowl season is really all about....

$$$KA-CHING$$$

Notre Dame has a nice Hawaii following. After all, all of their home games were on NBC for everyone to see, kinda similar to the Braves having their games on TBS not too long ago before TBS decided to carry the national Sunday package. The Fighting Irish have had an honorable past history on the gridiron, no matter how bad this decade has been in the eyes of the Irish Faithful.

More over, Notre Dame will want to play in Hawaii because they want to woo Punahou senior and Butkus Award winner Manti Te'o their way. There's been no secret that the Irish want him. Coach Charlie Weis made a visit after the USC game, and Te'o has made a visit to South Bend. A impressive win in Hawaii would go a long way for them.

Certainly, to be fair to Hawaii, this season has exceeded a lot of people's expectations, considering the players that moved on and a first-year head coach. Seven wins is considered a great year, in my opinion. But having a great year and deserving to play in the postseason are two different things. Heck, next year, a great year for Washington Huskies fans will be winning at least three games. Won't get them into a bowl. Even more so, a great year for Miami Dolphins fans this year would've been more than 4 wins. Right now, they may go to the playoffs. We must put it in perspective.

More importantly for ESPN Regional and Sheraton (the organizer and sponsor of the Hawaii Bowl), this would be a given for a solid Aloha Stadium Crowd. Heck, I may even decide to fly up and watch! Big crowds, especially if a lot of South Bend faithful decide to fly over, equals tourism and dollars.

We'll see if this gets finalized today. My thoughts on the BCS pairings coming up tomorrow.

UPDATE: It indeed has been confirmed, as Notre Dame and Hawaii will meet in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. ESPN Radio will have coverage of the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl at 2:35 pm on Christmas Eve.