Mariota wins Heisman

[12/18/14] NEW YORK >> In its 80th year, the Heisman Memorial Trophy is Hawaii-bound after Saint Louis School graduate Marcus Mariota was awarded the iconic bronze statue today on national TV.

The University of Oregon quarterback won the award, symbolic of being the nation's top college football player, over two other finalists -- Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper and Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon -- receiving 90.92 percent of the total points, second highest all-time behind Ohio State's Troy Smith.

"You dream about the Heisman, every player does, but to actually receive it is a real dream come true," Mariota said. "I feel blessed and honored."

Mariota is the first player from Hawaii, and the first for the University of Oregon, to win the award.

***

The Top Ten thoughts that went though Marcus Mariota's mind when he won the Heisman Trophy

*** [12/24/14]

Marcus Mariota had a plan

*** [12/29/14]

Star Advertiser looks back at Marcus Mariota

*** 10/24/12 (posted 2/24/15)

Leader of the Quack Attack

*** 4/25/15

Mariota ready for the next chapter

Jim Harbraugh

The San Francisco 49ers will reportedly fire head coach Jim Harbaugh "within two days" of the end of the team's season, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reports.

Harbaugh has one year remaining on the five-year, $25 million deal he signed in 2011.

Glazer also reports that Michigan has "reached out to 49ers" about the coach, and the Chicago Bears "could also show interest" if Harbaugh wants to stay in the NFL.

On Dec. 17, Michigan reportedly offered Harbaugh a six-year, $48 million contract.

The 49ers (7-8) play the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday. The team had played in three straight NFC championship games, including an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. This season, San Francisco was eliminated from the playoffs on Dec. 14.

Harbaugh was the head coach at Stanford before taking over for the 49ers, and led the Cardinal to an Orange Bowl victory in his final season.

*** 2/14/15

Harbraugh says the decision wasn't mutual

The UH model is outdated and badly broken

The UH model is outdated and badly broken and whoever UH hires as its next athletic director —whenever that might be — is going to need some help in creating a viable new one.

Fact is athletics receives less than 1 percent of the general funds bestowed upon the university. Much of that for lower campus janitorial services, landscaping and some administration.

In the leagues UH competes in, its outside support is either at the very bottom or within shouting distance of it. This while it faces higher costs due to its geography.

Athletics receives none of the proceeds from parking for athletic events on its own campus. Nor does it share in the millions in advertising signage or concessions revenue from its games at Aloha Stadium, where it is the marquee tenant. Though it is charged for stadium clean-up.

Some years it gets not a cent from the Hawaii Tourism Authority despite the TV exposure and fans from the continent its events draw.

All of this, of course, while the Pro Bowl writes its own check.

That is less the fault of Aloha Stadium than the state, which gives the facility's management and Stadium Authority its marching orders and oversees its operation.

But an accounting of the benefits UH athletics provides to the school and state needs to somehow be monetized. Be it in the form of a credit chit to be applied at fiscal year-end audit or some hard cash up front.

Continuing to wait for Santa Claus or Larry Ellison isn't the answer.

-- Ferd Lewis

Rainbows go back to Blaisdell

The history resonates on both sides.

When Hawaii takes on Chaminade at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center on Friday night, it will be a throwback to old days in local hoops lore.

UH played all its home games in the Blaisdell for 27 seasons, between 1967 to 1994, spanning the Fab Five era to Trevor Ruffin's banked top-arc 3 to beat BYU at the buzzer in '94.

Since the completion of the on-campus Special Events Arena (rebranded the Stan Sheriff Center), the Rainbow Warriors haven't been back.

On Division II Chaminade's side, it's only what's considered by many to be the greatest upset in college basketball history. Back on Dec. 23, 1982, Chaminade defeated top-ranked Virginia and Ralph Sampson at the NBC, a seminal moment that helped lead to the creation of the Maui Invitational.

"It has the sense of a lot of history to it," said Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird, gazing around the interior of the 7,500-seat venue for the first time on Thursday.

The Silverswords last played at the Blaisdell in 2011, but boast other signature wins there in the early 1980s against Louisville (twice), SMU and Hawaii.

"I'll have to bring that up to the guys," Bovaird said. "It's already been done, so go ahead and do it again."

Chaminade (4-5) is technically the home team on Friday, with the wrinkle that it counts as an exhibition for the Silverswords but a regular game for the Rainbow Warriors. This will be the fourth Division I team the 'Swords face; they went 0-3 against Pittsburgh, BYU and Missouri on Maui last month.

and the smartest athlete is...

Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Ryan Fitzpatrick might have been a decent quarterback in the last few years, but his brain should be donated to the National Football Hall of Fame when he dies because a guy this smart joins the NFL once in a millennium.

The Tennessee Titan quarterback [this article was written before the 2013 season] achieved a near flawless SAT score and studied economics at Harvard before becoming a seventh round draft pick in 2005.

More impressively, he made headlines before the 2005 draft when he was recorded to have almost aced the Wonderlic test. He scored a 48, while taking the test in just nine minutes.

Fitzpatrick also had one of the best beards in the NFL before caving in and cutting it.

Jeremy Lin is pretty smart too.

Konawaena stuns no. 1

Goliath can't seem to keep up with the Konawaena Wildcats.

For the second time in as many nights, the defending Big Island Interscholastic Federation girls champions upset a nationally ranked team. On Friday night, Konawaena shocked No. 1-ranked Riverdale Baptist (Md.) 49-41 in the semifinal round of the ‘Iolani Classic.

Chanelle Molina, the returning All-State player of the year, scored 22 points to pace Konawaena. It was a phenomenal performance for the Wildcats, a team of players no taller than 5 feet 8 — mostly in the 5-4 to 5-6 range. They were dominated in the paint early and often by the Crusaders, who had a frontcourt of 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 and 6-1.

Gone In An Instant (Antoine Walker)

Former NBA player, Antoine Walker, 38, earned over $110 million throughout his NBA career, more than four times the average player in the league. All that money, though, didn’t stop this All-Star from going broke.

Growing up as the oldest of six, Walker helped his mother raise his siblings as she struggled to provide for her family. Once Walker made it to the league, he was set on providing for his family and it didn’t take long before he blew through his rookie salary.

“I never really thought about the severity that I put myself through after just the first year of the league, but I didn’t really worry about it because the money was constantly coming in,” said Walker. “

He quickly acquired a taste for the finer things and upgraded his entire family to live in multi-million dollar homes that he built from the ground up. His driveways were filled with four to five luxury cars -- from Bentleys and BMWs, to his prized $350,000 Maybach. And as one of the most fashionable ballers, Walker never wore the same designer suit twice.

His generosity extended beyond his family to his many friends and acquaintances. From lavish all-expenses-paid trips to luxury gifts for his friends, Walker made sure everyone in his circle enjoyed the lifestyle he led. With his fellow NBA players, Walker gambled extensively – losing $646,900 in just two years.

Even as his spending spiraled out of control, Walker had a plan to put his income to work and bought more than 140 properties along the South Side of Chicago. Whether it was land to build on or commercial and income properties, Walker had a full-range of real estate investments meant to maintain the lifestyle he had built for his family after retiring from the league.

With the housing bubble and bust, Walker found himself defaulting on loans where he was the personal guarantor, losing value on land, and failed to get a handle on the legal issues that followed.

Looking back, Walker says he regrets making significant investing decisions before retiring from the league. With his attention focused on his NBA career -- in full swing at the time -- he didn't have time to keep a close eye on his investment properties, and like many others, was caught off-guard by real estate crash.

“I think there were different ways of how I could have saved the bulk of my wealth. I could have been on top of it. I missed a lot of court dates, a lot of default judgments, there’s a lot of properties I could have kept that I thought were good investments,” Walker said.

Hitting rock bottom in 2010, Walker declared bankruptcy, citing $12.74 million in liabilities with $4.28 million in assets. The entire bankruptcy process was drawn out over two years. Stripped of his credit cards and his bank accounts frozen, it was heartbreaking for Walker to liquidate many of his priceless possessions, including his NBA championship ring his team, Miami Heat, won in 2006.

Bouncing back from bankruptcy

Discharged from his debt in 2012, Walker has since downsized every aspect of his life. He now lives in the one home that he still owns with five of his family members in downtown Chicago. And none of the cars sitting in his driveway belong to Walker himself. If he’s in need of a ride, he goes with family or uses Uber.

Now a basketball analyst for 120 Sports, a digital sports network, and regular sports signings and speaking engagements, Walker is working on building up his life again and hopes to make a difference by helping others avoid the same financial pitfalls.

Focusing on the importance of financial literacy, Walker is scheduled to release a documentary and book, Gone In An Instant, early next year in hopes that people will learn from his mistakes.

When asked what his #1 piece of advice would be to young NBA players today, Walked said, “Get the word ‘No’ in your vocabulary. You’re going to have to say no to a lot of people that are very important to you. Stick to your financial plan and don’t invest until you’re done with your career when you’re able to be hands-on.”

For himself, Walker aspires to build up his savings and one day retire. “I’m looking more now for a quality of life. Being able to take care of my kids and being able to take care of my grandkids one day,” said Walker.

UNLV to hire high school coach, Tony Sanchez

Bishop Gorman High's Tony Sanchez is in the process of finalizing an agreement to become UNLV’s new head coach, according to a source.

Sanchez, 40, won his sixth consecutive Nevada Division I state championship and capped a 15-0 season at the Las Vegas powerhouse on Saturday. He also likely clinched the program’s first mythical national title, as Bishop Gorman is ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps.com and USA Today. Sanchez’s record is 85-5 at the affluent private Catholic school.

Sanchez will be counted on to not only bring several highly touted Bishop Gorman recruits to downtrodden UNLV, which finished 2-11 in 2014, but also to help raise money to upgrade the Rebels’ outdated football facilities and antiquated off-campus stadium. He has relationships with wealthy Las Vegas businessmen, including UFC chief executive officer Lorenzo Fertitta, a Bishop Gorman alumnus. Fertitta's son, Nicco, a defensive back, has committed to Notre Dame.

“Vegas is such an amazing town,” Sanchez told SI.com recently. “You need to tell the story of Vegas. I think people need to understand there’s wonderful families, churches and great communities with Little League fields. It’s thriving. The amount of talent in this town is unbelievable. So many guys have come out of Vegas. There’s a ton of talented kids right now.”​

Sanchez will succeed Bobby Hauck, who resigned prior to UNLV’s final game this fall and compiled a 15-49 record in five seasons with the Rebels. The last UNLV coach to leave the school with a winning mark was Harvey Hyde, who went 26-19-1 from 1982-85.

“You’ve got to find the local homegrown kids and give them an opportunity and a reason to stay home,” Sanchez said. “That is huge. You talk about putting more people in the stands, getting more community support and people rallying around the program, I think it always starts in your backyard. Home is always home, but you’ve got to give them a reason to want to stay home.”

Before arriving at Bishop Gorman in the spring of 2009, the offensive-minded Sanchez was the head coach at California High in San Ramon, Calif., for five years. He led California to the playoffs three times.

Sanchez also served two stints as an assistant at Onate High in Las Cruces, N.M., and spent a year at Irvin High in El Paso, Texas. He played at Granada High in Livermore, Calif., before attending Laney College and transferring to New Mexico State, where he was a wide receiver from 1994-95. Sanchez started coaching at New Mexico State as an undergrad assistant under former coach Jim Hess.

Others considered for the position included former SMU coach June Jones.

Ben Jay resigns as U.H. athletic director

[1/25/15] The last time the University of Hawaii hired an athletic director, the search advisory committee culled two finalists to present to then-Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple.

"After the two (Ben Jay and Solomon "Solly" Fulp), we saw a definite drop-off in quality," said a member of that 2012 committee.

Less than two and a half years later, as the process to select Jay's successor proceeds, the question many have is: What quality of applicants can UH attract now?

The search that led to Jay's hiring came amid the fallout over the "Wonder Blunder," a particularly tumultuous and politically charged chapter that no doubt scared off some potential candidates.

These days Jay's departure highlights the financial crisis confronting UH, something that has not escaped notice around the rest of the country either.

Two days after Jay resigned, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, Jay's former boss and mentor, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, "I just know that if (Hawaii) is not the toughest job in college sports it is awfully close."

At the IMG Athletic Forum in New York, where Smith was among 100 collegiate athletic administrators, a panel discussion about the future of mid-major schools included references to UH's unique geographical challenges.

The combination of geography, finances, an under-performing football program and an NCAA investigation suggest "Gene Smith might be right," said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson, who has retained a UH affinity and familiarity from his WAC days. "Of the soon-to-be 129 Football Bowl Subdivision schools, I wouldn't argue that the Hawaii job might be perceived in the bottom five right now by a lot of people," Benson said.

[12/9/14] UH athletic director Ben Jay announced his resignation Tuesday at a press conference at the Wong Hospitality room in the Stan Sheriff Center, citing "personal reasons." Jay will remain as athletic director through June 30, 2015 while the school conducts a search for his replacement.

"It's very hard for me to step away from this but I do so knowing I'm doing what's best for myself and for my family and for family reasons I've chosen to resign," Jay said.

Prior to addressing his future, Jay affirmed that Norm Chow will return for his fourth season as Rainbow Warrior football coach.

"I made the decision to make a recommendation to (UH Manoa chancellor Robert Bley-Vroman) and the chancellor supported that decision that Norm Chow will be coaching the 2015 season for the Rainbow Warriors," Jay said.

"One of the things I took from our conversation is that we definitely needed to improve in some areas but there was sufficient progress being made," Jay said.

Bley-Vroman said he plans to announce the search process by January and the target is to select a new athletic director by the end of June "so we can have a smooth transition."

In the meantime, Jay will "continue to serve as athletic director and will continue to have the responsibilities of athletic director," Bley-Vroman said.

Jay's contract runs through January 2016. When Bley-Vroman was asked if Jay's departure was performance related, the chancellor reiterated that Jay was leaving for family reasons.

"Ben is resigning for personal reasons, he's not being forced out," Bley-Vroman said.

Jay's resignation comes as the athletic department braces for the arrival of a letter of allegations following an NCAA investigation into the UH men's basketball program along with continued budget challenges, linked in large part to the struggles of the football program.

The NCAA initiated the investigation in the basketball program in March. Bley-Vroman and Jay fired head coach Gib Arnold and assistant Brandyn Akana on Oct. 28.

With football ticket sales lagging, Jay told a UH Board of Regents Intercollegiate Athletics Committee last month that the department projected a $3.52 million deficit for the current fiscal year.

The UH football team went 4-9 this season, pushing Chow's three-year record to 8-29. He has two years remaining on a contract that pays $550,000 annually.

"We have a ways to go, 4-9 is not successful but it is improvement," Jay said. "It is improvement from where we came from."

According to his contract, Chow is guaranteed at least $750,000 of the remaining $1.1 million owed. The contract also includes a clause that he can be bought out of the fifth-year for $200,000.

***

In the first years of the 21st century, the position of University of Hawaii athletic director was considered one of relative stability. But as Ben Jay's resignation from the post underscored on Tuesday, the AD position in recent years has come under fire and has been a revolving door of administrators.

Sometime in 2015, UH will have its fourth athletic director in eight years.

Recent challenges of helming the wayward department include rapidly increasing debt and decreasing attendance; political pressure from both the Capitol and upper campus; a shifting balance of power across the national landscape; travel subsidies to the Mountain West and Big West conferences; and new financial burden for student-athlete meals as well as the possibility of future stipends.

Bottom line: It's not an easy job.

Here's a look at UH's five most recent athletic directors:

***

[12/9/14] The coaches don't know who is really making the decisions either.

[12/11/14] Reardon for Blangiardi and Amemiya

[12/12/14] NEW YORK » If Ben Jay had known the depth of the task confronting him at the University of Hawaii, he said Thursday, he might not have taken the job as its athletic director.

Jay, who announced his resignation Tuesday, two years after accepting the job, said, "I thought I knew what I knew, but it wasn't until I really got there and went through some of it that I got more of an idea of some of the underlying issues about why we are in the position we're in."

Jay said, "Honestly, if I knew more I may not have taken it."

Jay cited mounting frustration with fundraising at UH; the firing of his boss, Tom Apple, as Manoa chancellor; and the toll speculation about his job status was taking on his family for the decision to resign.

Jay's first extensive comments since the resignation came while he was attending the IMG Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in New York City with more than 100 fellow ADs and athletic administrators. Jay, in a suit and tie, was a panelist on issues confronting non-Power Five conference schools, an appearance scheduled before his announced departure.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, Jay's former boss and mentor, who was in attendance, said, "I just know that if (Hawaii) is not the toughest job in college sports it is awfully close."

"Especially for those of us who come from big programs, you figure there is a certain minimum amount of support and infrastructure," Jay said. "But as I got into it from a business perspective, you realize that even some of the minimal stuff is just not there. All the things that we have at the tip of our (fingers) at other places, we didn't have here so you have to build it. Which is what we were trying to do here."

Following Jay's appearance at the IMG Forum Thursday, several peers and past colleagues caught up with him, offering hugs and pats on the shoulder to express condolences and support over his decision to resign from UH.

Smith, of Ohio State, said, "Hawaii has got some problems, so to expect that you are going to hire somebody and they are going to walk in and all of a sudden your $3 million deficit is going to go away when, frankly, you have some systemic problems in your model, well, that's just not going to happen.

[12/13/14] Ben Jay can be nice. He can be well-meaning. He can have good intentions.

But he can’t be the UH AD.

Not today. Not for the next six months. Not ever again.

When he opened his feelings about the UH athletic department that he oversees, he opened the door to his exit.

His comments in today’s Star-Advertiser were not about honesty or honor. They did not read like explanations on his inability to get the job done; they read like excuses.

[No not Dave Reardon, Stephen Tsai]

[12/13/14, OK, here's Reardon]

People are in a panic because they think the athletic director who was pushed into resigning and dares to say publicly how hard a job it is is staying at the University of Hawaii until June.

Some crazy things happen at UH, but I seriously doubt that will. Ben Jay is outta here as quickly as he can find another job.

Now, some of you are blind in your contempt for this guy and/or think he’s so incompetent that he won’t find new employment anywhere. But just because he couldn’t do a job that appears to be close to impossible doesn’t mean he can’t succeed elsewhere. He has lots of friends elsewhere and has succeeded at many other jobs. He might not be an athletic director of a Division I program again, but he will find something, probably by March at the latest if I were to guess.

Jay is working on a paper that he will leave with the next AD and others who will be tasked with trying to pull the department out of the financial abyss it has fallen into the past decade or more.

As for his candidness in today’s interview with Ferd Lewis, Jay once again said things people don’t want to hear. I find the candidness refreshing; I’d rather hear truth than more helpings of the incredible amount of BS that comes out of UH. But apparently a lot of folks can’t handle the truth.

[1/28/15] Bob Hogue on Keith Amemiya

C.M. Punk joins UFC

LAS VEGAS -- The UFC has signed former WWE professional wrestler CM Punk to fight in the Octagon.

The promotion announced the signing during its UFC 181 pay-per-view broadcast Saturday night. CM Punk, birth name Phil Brooks, has never fought professional mixed martial arts.

"This is my new career, 100 percent," CM Punk said in a statement. "I'm going to go full steam ahead, all systems go after today, and it's going to be fun."

UFC president Dana White said CM Punk intends to fight at middleweight (185 pounds), but said he'd be open to 170 pounds.

The UFC took to Twitter to announce that CM Punk is expected to make his Octagon debut in 2015.

"He wanted to fight here," White told ESPN.com. "He wanted to give it a shot, so we gave him an opportunity. It's not like Brock Lesnar. We're not going to throw the kitchen sink at him. Lesnar had a wrestling background. [CM Punk] is going to fight a guy who is 1-0, 1-1, 2-1 -- something like that."

White did not have a firm 2015 date for CM Punk's debut, saying it could take some time, perhaps six to seven months. The UFC head noted that Brooks has been training jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts for an extended period of time.

"He's been coming to fights for a long time and after his WWE contract was up, he called me and said he wanted to give it a shot. I said, 'All right. We'll give you a shot.' "

At 36, CM Punk acknowledges that time is not on his side.

"My professional wrestling days are over, it's awesome to be here," he said. "This is something I've wanted to do for a long time.

"I felt like it was now or never. I have a limited window most fighters don't have. I'm either here to win or get my ass kicked."

In addition to Lesnar, who went 5-3 over his MMA career, other WWE stars have tried their hands in mixed martial arts, including Dave Bautista (1-0) and Bobby Lashley (12-2).

2015 NFL Draft

Brad predicts Mariota as the clear cut no. 1 pick.  Followed by Leonard Williams, DT/DE, USC.  Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama.  Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska.  Jameis Winston is no. 14.

College Football Playoff

Alabama will meet Ohio State and Oregon will face Florida State in the inaugural College Football Playoff.
The top four seeds, announced Sunday afternoon, will play in the Sugar and Rose Bowls on Jan. 1, with No. 1 Alabama playing No. 4 Ohio State in New Orleans and No. 2 Oregon playing No. 3 Florida State in Pasadena, Calif.

The winners of fhose games will meet for the national championship on Jan. 12 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

As expected, the fourth spot of the four-team field was the most contentious. Three teams — Ohio State, TCU and Baylor — all made compelling cases for securing the spot.

Baylor finished No. 5 in the Playoff rankings, and TCU was sixth. TCU had been No. 3 in the rankings entering Sunday's final decision by the Playoff selection committee.

"It was really about Ohio State's moving up, their performance on the field that made the difference to the committee to move them up," committee chair Jeff Long said on ESPN.

All three won convincingly this weekend, with the Horned Frogs thrashing Iowa State, 55-3, Baylor beating Kansas State, 38-27, and Ohio State cruising to a 59-0 win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game.

2014 Rainbow Warriors football

[8/22/14] Reardon predicts four wins, nine losses

[8/27/14] Bob Hogue predicts 3 wins, 10 losses

[8/29/14] Stephen Tsai predicts 5-8 after a 1-6 start.  [10/26/14 - Actually it was Ferd Lewis and it wasn't a 1-6 start, the games are listed out of order.  Lewis predicted a Hawaii win over Nevada.  Previously Reardon, Hogue and Lewis were 7-7]

[8/30/14] Washington 17, Hawaii 16 [0-1]

[9/3/14] A late surge of fans

[9/6/14] Oregon State 38, Hawaii 30 [0-2]

[9/8/14] Joey Iosefa out 4 to 6 weeks with fractured ankle

[9/13/14] Northern Iowa 24, Hawaii 27 [1-2] (replay)

[9/20/14] Hawaii 12, Colorado 21 [1-3]

[9/23/14] Jeremy Higgins career ended with fractured hand

[10/4/14] Hawaii 14, Rice 28 [1-4]

What's Hawaii's power ranking?  Before the game, Hawaii was ranked 93 by covers.com (surprisingly high), Rice was ranked 116.  SMU was last at 128.  Oregon was no. 1 (lost).  Alabama was no. 2 (lost).  Oklahoma was no. 3 (lost).  Texas A&M was no. 4 (lost).  Teamrankings.com had Hawaii at 119, Rice at 93, SMU at 125, and UNLV last at 128.

[10/6/14] Norm Chow's wife, Diane, suffers brain aneurism

[10/10/14] I'm getting the sense that people think Hawaii has a good chance to beat Wyoming tomorrow.  I wonder what the point spread is?  According to epsn's survey, Hawaii is favored by 6 by all five services it covers.  Team Rankings has Hawaii rated 97 (-11.9)  and Wyoming at 112 (-15.1).  So I presume that means Hawaii would be favored by 3.2 points on a neutral field.  Covers.com now has Hawaii ranked 93 (unchanged from last week) with Wyoming ranked right behind at 94 (down from 84 last week).  Despite last week's win over Hawaii, Rice moved up to only 112 from 116.

At the start of the season, Hawaii was ranked all the way up at 59.  And Wyoming was 128.  But actually after no. 27, the teams were ranked in alphabetical order.  Hawaii then went to 100.  Then 94.  Then 95.  Then 94.  Then 93 and 93.

[10/11/14] Wyoming 28, Hawaii 38 [2-4]

[10/13/14] Iosefa facing suspension on suspected DUI

[10/15/14] Iosefa suspended 3 games

[10/17/14]  What's the spread this week?  San Diego State favored by 8.  Despite their win, Hawaii is now ranked 98.  San Diego State is ranked 80.

[10/18/14] Hawaii 10, San Diego State 20 (16th straight road loss) [2-5]

[10/25/14]  What's the spread this week?  Nevada by (only 3).  After their loss, Hawaii is ranked 97 (up 1).  After their big win again BYU, Nevada is ranked 61 (up from 69).  Next week's opponent, Utah State is ranked 65, but has already handily defeated UNLV (ranked 122) today.  Hawaii will play UNLV on November 22, the second to the last game of the season.  After tonight, Hawaii has two more home games, Utah State and UNLV.  So far Hawaii is 2-2 at home.  In the last three games at home, Hawaii has scored 38, 27, 30.  In their last three games on the road, Hawaii has scored 10, 14, 12.

[10/25/14] Nevada 26, Hawaii 18 [2-6]  So far Reardon and Hogue are 8 for 8.  Lewis missed this one.

[10/29/14] Coach Wagner has been traveling to football games

[11/1/14]  Maybe Hawaii got a chance with Utah State down to its fourth string quarterback?  What's the spread?  Utah State by 3.  Hawaii is still ranked 98.  Utah State is ranked 68.

[11/1/14]  Not so.  Hawaii looks badly overmatched losing 35-14, dropping their record to 2-7.  Their fourth string quarterback went 14-15 for 186 yards and 3 TDs.  Woolsey did pass for over 300 yards, though was sacked numerous times.

Reardon and Hogue are now both 9 for 9.  However Reardon predicted an upset victory for Hawaii over Colorado State on the road, while Hogue predicted a blowout victory for Colorado State.  Hogue's pick is looking good at this point.  But if Hawaii wins, Reardon will look like a genius.

[11/3/14] Reardon: Unless Hawaii rallies for a miracle stretch run it will be time for a coaching change — and this is regardless of claims that UH doesn't have the money to do it. It will lose more in the long run if it does NOT find the funds to buy out Norm Chow after three years of averaging less than three wins per season.  [stating the obvious line of thinking]

[11/4/14] Salanoa-Alo Wily stuck with the Rainbow Warriors

[11/8/14] Ben Clarke keeps the faith

[11/8/14] Hawaii (2-7) at Colorado State (8-1). Hawaii has lost 16 times in a row on the road and 19 times in a row on nationally televised games.  (Today's game is on ESPNU.) What's the spread?  Colorado State by 20.5 or 21.  Well I guess that's not as bad as Presbyterian against Mississippi (50.5 point spread).  Hawaii rank is now down to 101.  Colorado State is at 55.  By the way, Utah State is up 11 spots to 57.

Reardon not a genius.  Hawaii (2-8) outmatched 22-49 by Colorado State (9-1) [video].  Well looking at the records...  So that's 17 road losses in a row.  Woolsey takes responsibility.  Hogue 10 for 10.

[11/9/14] Up next?  San Jose State.  They're ranked 89 with a record of 3-6.  Hawaii is down to 107, which means they're supposed to be better than 21 teams in the country.  UNLV is the 123 with the same records as Hawaii.  SMU is up to 125 even though they haven't won a game yet.  Wyoming (Hawaii's only D1 victory) is 98 with a record of 4-6.  Fresno State is 91 with a record of 4-6.  The next three games would all be winnable (if they were playing at home).  Hey you never know.  Buy low, sell high. Time to bet Hawaii.

SMU plays South Florida this week, maybe their first win?  San Jose State lost 24-38 at Fresno State yesterday.  Their three wins are against North Dakota, @Wyoming, UNLV.  This sounds like a fairly even matchup on a neutral field.  But they only lost 38-31 to Colorado State at home.

[11/10/14] Reardon: it almost never ends well
[11/11/14]  UH athletic projected deficit soars to $3.5 million.
[11/12/14] Jordan Wynn isn't cutting it..
[11/13/14] Pereese Joas was the guest who wouldn't leave.

What's the spread this week?  San Jose State by 10.5.  Hawaii is ranked 105 which is actually 2 spots up from last week.  San Jose State is ranked 89.  A winnable game for Hawaii if they were playing at home.  I don't care, I'll take the points.

[11/15/14] San Jose State coach calls Norm Chow a mastermind

[11/15/14] San Jose State plays more like Hawaii than Hawaii.  And Hawaii shuts them out 13-0 ending their 17 game road losing streak.  San Jose State outgained Hawaii 462 yards to 240 and out-first downed them 24-11.  The difference was they missed three field goals (two blocked) and fumbled four times, losing two.  Hawaii kicked two field goals and didn't fumble.  Bob Hogue's streak comes to an end as he picked San Jose State to win handily.

[11/17/14] Maybe Chow should be gone ... but not if his team wins out. -- says Reardon
[11/19/14] Nine transferred home
[11/20/14] Tyler Hadden: in search of a tree
[11/20/14] Everybody knows Beau Yap
[11/21/14] Bobby Hauck too (Norm Chow is not the only one)
[11/20/14] Scott Harding: the most interesting man in college football
[11/20/14] Numerous attempts by the Review-Journal to interview Jay were unsuccessful.
[11/20/14] Three reasons why UNLV will beat Hawaii

[11/21/14] Hawaii favored by 10.5.  After their road victory, Hawaii has zoomed up to 98.  San Jose State is down to 95.  UNLV is 122.

[11/21/14] Calen Friel loves football and the Hawaii seniors

[11/22/14] SMU nearly won last week, but fell 14-13 to South Florida in the final seconds.  That puts them at the top(?) of the Bottom Ten rankings. UNLV is no. 9, but play Hawaii today.  Surprisingly (to Hawaii "fans"), Hawaii never made it to the Bottom Ten this season.

Wow what a game!  UNLV takes a quick 14-0 lead victimizing the Hawaii secondary.  Hawaii comes back with a long catch by Ewaliko, the running of Iosefa and a long run by Sainte Juste and takes the lead 21-14.  UNLV brings in their starting QB, Decker, who hasn't practiced all week and retakes the lead 28-24.  Then Iosefa scores with 2 minutes left and Hawaii takes the lead 31-28.  Then Dekker throws a TD with 15 seconds left to apparently win 35-31.  However two personal foul penalties on the play gives Hawaii good field position after the kickoff.  Woolsey completes a pass to take it to 20 with 5 seconds left.  An incomplete pass took it down to 1 second. Then make-or-break pass to Kemp is complete and Hawaii pulls out a miracle victory.

Iosefa wound up with 219 yards rushing on 35 carries.  Sainte Juste had 11 carries for 88 yards.  Pareese Joas had 2 carries for 33 yards.  Hawaii finished with 348 yards rushing.  UNLV finished with 423 yards passing.

After Hawaii's Aloha Game for the 23 seniors like Beau Yap, the Star-Advertiser runs a story on players who spurned UH and went to UNLV.  (Actually I don't know how many of them were recruited by UH.  Good thing this is an anonymous comment.  Apparently Tau Lotuleilei wasn't recruited.)

The win saves Chow's job for at least a week.  It'll come down to Fresno State on the road which isn't going to be easy.  They defeated Nevada handily on the road.

[11/24/14] Chow detractors remain steadfast

[11/26/14] Marcus Kemp appreciates the support

[11/26/14] Despite the near-victory, UNLV is up (down?) to no. 3 on The Bottom Ten.  SMU remains on top (bottom?).  UNLV is no. 4 on ESPN's Bottom Ten

Hawaii has slipped to an even 100 in the rankings.  Fresno State is up to no. 86.  Hawaii is an 11-point underdog.

[11/28/14] Bobby Hauck resigns as UNLV head coach.

[11/29/14] Fresno State off to quick 21-0 lead.  Goodbye Norm Chow.
28-0.  Goodbye Norm Chow.
28-7.  Still goodbye Norm Chow
28-14.  Hmm.
28-21.  Hmm.  Maybe not?
Time runs out.

Hawaii finishes 4-9.  Reardon wins after all.

Follow the flow of the game in the "fans" comments (lol).

Rainbow Warriors rally, but lose again
Hawaii stumbled at the start
Hawaii falls for prank calls
Harding demonstrated his style 86 times

[12/1/14] Chad Morris to be next head coach of SMU
Chow looking forward to next year
Time for a change?
What will Ige do?

[12/3/14]  Hawaii finishes the season ranked #100.  SMU finishes their season no. 1 in ESPN's Bottom 10.  Not sure if there's going to be another poll.  UNLV is no. 3.  No. 5 is UCLA after their loss to Stanford (their record is 9-3).  Steve Harvey's list should be out today or tomorrow.

[12/3/14] Scott Harding named All-MWC punter, but not the special teams player of the year which went to Will Conant, the kicker for Air Force.  Garrett Grayson of Colorado State is the offensive player of the year.  Zach Vigil of Utah State is the defensive player of the year.  Jim McElwain of Colorado State is the coach of the year (on the way to Florida?)  Harding was also honorable mention as a PR.  Three of Hawaii's offensive linemen made honorable mention: Kody Afusia, Ben Clarke, Sean Shigematsu.  The other Hawaii players to make honorable mention are Tyler Hadden, Taz Stevenson, Beau Yap.  All are seniors except for Clarke.

[12/5/14] Reardon: At UH things don't happen because of leadership

[12/18/14] Scott Harding named second-team All-American

[12/19/14] 24 Rainbow Warriors to graduate Saturday

Florida hires Jim McElwain

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley wanted a coach with an offensive track record of success.

Foley even agreed to pay extra to get him.

After working though a sticky buyout issue, Jim McElwain left Colorado State on Thursday to become Florida's next head coach.

McElwain agreed to a six-year deal at Florida that will average $3.5 million annually. He made $1.5 million this season at Colorado State.

McElwain accepted the job after working with Colorado State to reduce his $7.5 million buyout. Florida will pay the Rams $3 million over six years. McElwain will pay $2 million over time. The Gators also guaranteed Colorado State $2 million for a game in Gainesville between 2017 and 2020.

McElwain went 22-16 in three seasons at Colorado State. He was Alabama's offensive coordinator for four years, helping the Tide win two national titles, before moving to Fort Collins, Colorado.

Not only has the 52-year-old McElwain been a head coach - something Foley wanted after failing with former defensive coordinators Ron Zook and Muschamp - he also has NFL experience, Southeastern Conference ties and familiarity with the state of Florida. Most important is his offensive resume. The Rams rank 13th nationally, averaging 498 yards a game.

McElwain took over a program that went 3-9 for three consecutive seasons (2009-11), but has enjoyed a quick turnaround since his arrival. The Rams went 4-8 in 2012 and 8-6 last year before this season's breakthrough performance. They have wins against rival Colorado and Boston College in 2014.

The Gators are looking for an offensive renaissance after four years of futility. Florida fans were spoiled watching Steve Spurrier's ''Fun 'n' Gun'' in the 1990s and then Urban Meyer's high-scoring spread scheme in the late 2000s.

Fotu Leiato II

Fotu Leiato II plays at Steilacoom High in Steilacoom, Washington. He was just offered a scholarship by WSU. Never mind that it's 2A, and the dudes he's playing against are probably going pro in something other than sports. Or that he's "undersized" for a linebacker at 6-foot and 200 pounds. Never mind that too. Or that his other offers are Wyoming, Idaho, Eastern and the Montana schools. That doesn't matter either.

This is one of the most violent, aggressive, borderline reckless, awesome highlight reels I have ever seen.

You can't help but think of a young Troy Polamalu watching him - maybe it's a little bit the hair - and maybe it's watching him reduce a backfield to utter chaos right at the snap, run dudes down that had 10 yard head starts, de-cleat multiple players on a single play, and generally play at 150 mph.

Fotu gets full-tilt and just runs straight through every opponent unlucky enough to have decided to play football this season and foolish enough to not deploy evasive maneuvers immediately when he has his sights set.

[via facebook]

Bo Pelini fired by Nebraska

[12/1/14] LINCOLN, Neb. -- Bo Pelini was fired on Sunday, ending the seven-year run of the polarizing figure as Nebraska's football coach.

Pelini is owed $7.65 million by Nebraska on his contract, extended after last season through February 2019. Nebraska's assistants are under contract through January 2016.

The former defensive coordinator at LSU and Oklahoma, Pelini, in his first head-coaching job, produced notable consistency but little evidence that Nebraska was set to take the next step as a program. It lost 59-24 at Wisconsin on Nov. 15, surrendering a then-FBS record 408 rushing yards to Melvin Gordon in the latest embarrassing defeat for the program.

Pelini improved to 67-27 [9-3 this season] as Nebraska's coach on Friday with a 37-34 overtime win at Iowa. The victory pushed Pelini's win total past Tom Osborne for the most ever at the school in a coach's first seven years.

In fact, no coach in the history of a Power 5 program had been fired for on-field performance after winning as many games in his first seven years. Only Alabama and Oregon -- first and second this week in the College Football Playoff rankings -- can match the Huskers in winning nine games each year since 2008.

[12/4/14] Nebraska hires Mike Riley away from Oregon State as their new head coach.  Interesting because Oregon State was 5-7 this season and 2-7 in conference.

Josh Rosen no. 1 (or is it Josh Sweat?)

Being ranked as the No. 1 player in the country by Rivals.com is a big deal, plain and simple. It's an opportunity to go down in history with the likes of Vince Young, Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin and Jadeveon Clowney, some of the best to ever suit up in a high school football game. In the class of 2015, we've already had one change at the top and now, in our second-to-last release, we have another as UCLA quarterback commitment Josh Rosen takes over the top spot while three other prospects earned a coveted fifth star.

Rosen, a 6-foot-4, 207-pound signal-caller from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, has been ranked No. 2 in the Rivals100 Presented By Under Armour since our first numerical release over a year ago for the class of 2015. While defensive tackle Trenton Thompson started off at No. 1 and was replaced by defensive end Byron Cowart after the spring, Rosen lurked and remained amazingly consistent. Now the honor is his, but he needs to defend it as we head into all-star season and the final ranking in mid-January.

This isn't as much about Cowart falling as it is about Rosen simply continuing to play at an elite level at the most important position on the field. Rosen has always had that 'it' factor, the confidence bordering on cockiness, the intangibles, leadership and all the physical skills to be special. It's ridiculous to say, I know it, but he reminds me of Tom Brady out there. He's intense, confident and you always have the feeling that he'll make a play regardless of the talent level around him. He's the kind of quarterback that will win games because that's what he expects to do and nothing else is acceptable. It's hard to describe.

Cowart, a defensive end from Seffner (Fla.) Armwood, drops to No. 3 as Haines City, Fla. Florida State safety commitment Derwin James jumps ahead of him in the state and nationally to No. 2.

[12/10/14] So why is this story saying that Josh Sweat is no. 1?  Looking at the Rivals list, Sweat is ranked no. 31.