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.

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.