Monday, July 25, 2016
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Mark Takai, the Rainbow
When it was briefly decreed that “Warriors” would thereafter be the University of Hawaii’s sole athletic nickname, striking the word “Rainbow,” K. Mark Takai flew into action to help force reconsideration.
When there was talk of cutting some UH sports due to mounting deficits, the then-state representative proposed a one-time fund to match public donations with state money.
Why, U. S. Rep. Takai was asked, did he expend so much effort and energy on UH causes when, as a legislator, he had any number of issues to deal with?
The answer always came back to what he took to be a heart-felt and long-standing debt. Receiving a swimming scholarship to UH, Takai maintained, opened so many doors for him that he felt honor-bound to pay it back whenever he could.
Takai, who died Wednesday at the too-young age of 49 following a nine-month bout with pancreatic cancer, was as relentless on UH’s behalf in public service as he had been in the pool.
A four-year member of the Rainbows’ swim team, he went on to earn two degrees from UH where he also served as ASUH President and an editor of the campus paper, Ka Leo. Later he would be an officer in the Letterwinner’s Club, serve on the Athletic Advisory Board and Alumni Association.
“UH was — and will always be — a big part of my life,” Takai often said, proudly introducing himself as, “a Rainbow through and through.”
It was easy for people who hadn’t known him to write off Takai’s zeal for UH issues as the case of just another politician trying to grab some face time in the spotlight. But Takai’s interest was both earnest and early on.
Jan Prins, one of his UH coaches, said in an email, “What I recall most with Mark as a team member was his persistence in looking for ways to work with the athletic department to better assist the swim team … always a challenge given the ‘second tier’ attention that is part of the lot of a ‘non-revenue’ sport.”
Prins wrote, “There were times when his tenacity prompted more than one call to me from (athletic director) Stan Sheriff, wondering why ‘this freshman’ was so intent on doing whatever he can to get more attention paid to the swim team.”
In time Sheriff would become a good friend and mentor, even calling upon Takai, after graduation, to help the department and ASUH mediate contentious issues over student seating and ticket prices.
Sheriff, as was the case with many who dealt with Takai in the early UH days, saw someone destined for something special.
When there was talk of cutting some UH sports due to mounting deficits, the then-state representative proposed a one-time fund to match public donations with state money.
Why, U. S. Rep. Takai was asked, did he expend so much effort and energy on UH causes when, as a legislator, he had any number of issues to deal with?
The answer always came back to what he took to be a heart-felt and long-standing debt. Receiving a swimming scholarship to UH, Takai maintained, opened so many doors for him that he felt honor-bound to pay it back whenever he could.
Takai, who died Wednesday at the too-young age of 49 following a nine-month bout with pancreatic cancer, was as relentless on UH’s behalf in public service as he had been in the pool.
A four-year member of the Rainbows’ swim team, he went on to earn two degrees from UH where he also served as ASUH President and an editor of the campus paper, Ka Leo. Later he would be an officer in the Letterwinner’s Club, serve on the Athletic Advisory Board and Alumni Association.
“UH was — and will always be — a big part of my life,” Takai often said, proudly introducing himself as, “a Rainbow through and through.”
It was easy for people who hadn’t known him to write off Takai’s zeal for UH issues as the case of just another politician trying to grab some face time in the spotlight. But Takai’s interest was both earnest and early on.
Jan Prins, one of his UH coaches, said in an email, “What I recall most with Mark as a team member was his persistence in looking for ways to work with the athletic department to better assist the swim team … always a challenge given the ‘second tier’ attention that is part of the lot of a ‘non-revenue’ sport.”
Prins wrote, “There were times when his tenacity prompted more than one call to me from (athletic director) Stan Sheriff, wondering why ‘this freshman’ was so intent on doing whatever he can to get more attention paid to the swim team.”
In time Sheriff would become a good friend and mentor, even calling upon Takai, after graduation, to help the department and ASUH mediate contentious issues over student seating and ticket prices.
Sheriff, as was the case with many who dealt with Takai in the early UH days, saw someone destined for something special.
Monday, July 11, 2016
Saturday, July 09, 2016
Friday, July 01, 2016
Coastal Carolina wins World Series
OMAHA, Neb. >> Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore often said he just wanted his team to reach the College World Series.
Until this week, he never imagined the Chanticleers would do so much more: They’re heading back to Conway, S.C., with the school’s first national championship in any sport.
The Chanticleers defeated Arizona 4-3 in the deciding Game 3 of the College World Series final on Thursday, capitalizing on two errors on the same play to score four unearned runs in the sixth inning of a game delayed a day by bad weather.
It was worth the wait.
“Whenever I die, I’ll know this group of guys here, they willed themselves to be the national champion,” Gilmore said. “It was just meant to be, no doubt. If there is such a thing as a team of destiny, this group is it.”
Coastal Carolina (55-18) became the first team since Minnesota in 1956 to win the title in its first CWS appearance. Arizona (49-24) was trying for its second national title since 2012, but came up just short in a season in which it was picked to finish ninth in the Pac-12.
“Amazing season, and they’re a deserving champion,” first-year Arizona coach Jay Johnson said of the Chanticleers. “We played as good as we possibly could this year, and they’re the best team we’ve played, in my opinion.”
Andrew Beckwith (15-1), the national leader in wins, went 52⁄3 innings after pitching two complete games and picked up his third victory of the CWS. He was named the most outstanding player.
“He’s been coaching for 21 years, and he deserves every bit of it,” Beckwith said of Gilmore. “We got him to Omaha and we got him a national championship. The senior class, the hard work in the fall, the dedication of the guys who don’t play much. It doesn’t go unnoticed. It was a full team effort the whole College World Series, and we got it done.”
Alex Cunningham earned his first save, striking out Ryan Haug with a full-count fastball to end the game after Arizona had pulled within one in the bottom of the ninth. When Haug swung and missed, Cunningham turned to his dugout, beat his chest with his fist three times and saluted before flipping his glove away to start the celebration.
“The running joke is that in high school I lost the state championship three times in a row. I was not going to lose this one, I promise you that,” Cunningham said.
The championship was the first in a team sport in the 33-year history of the Big South Conference. The Big South could savor the accomplishment for only about eight hours. The Chanticleers become members of the Sun Belt Conference today.
“This program has been a lot better than people give it credit for,” Gilmore said. “They thought we played in a small conference and couldn’t get this done. This bunch wanted to prove everybody wrong.”
Until this week, he never imagined the Chanticleers would do so much more: They’re heading back to Conway, S.C., with the school’s first national championship in any sport.
The Chanticleers defeated Arizona 4-3 in the deciding Game 3 of the College World Series final on Thursday, capitalizing on two errors on the same play to score four unearned runs in the sixth inning of a game delayed a day by bad weather.
It was worth the wait.
“Whenever I die, I’ll know this group of guys here, they willed themselves to be the national champion,” Gilmore said. “It was just meant to be, no doubt. If there is such a thing as a team of destiny, this group is it.”
Coastal Carolina (55-18) became the first team since Minnesota in 1956 to win the title in its first CWS appearance. Arizona (49-24) was trying for its second national title since 2012, but came up just short in a season in which it was picked to finish ninth in the Pac-12.
“Amazing season, and they’re a deserving champion,” first-year Arizona coach Jay Johnson said of the Chanticleers. “We played as good as we possibly could this year, and they’re the best team we’ve played, in my opinion.”
Andrew Beckwith (15-1), the national leader in wins, went 52⁄3 innings after pitching two complete games and picked up his third victory of the CWS. He was named the most outstanding player.
“He’s been coaching for 21 years, and he deserves every bit of it,” Beckwith said of Gilmore. “We got him to Omaha and we got him a national championship. The senior class, the hard work in the fall, the dedication of the guys who don’t play much. It doesn’t go unnoticed. It was a full team effort the whole College World Series, and we got it done.”
Alex Cunningham earned his first save, striking out Ryan Haug with a full-count fastball to end the game after Arizona had pulled within one in the bottom of the ninth. When Haug swung and missed, Cunningham turned to his dugout, beat his chest with his fist three times and saluted before flipping his glove away to start the celebration.
“The running joke is that in high school I lost the state championship three times in a row. I was not going to lose this one, I promise you that,” Cunningham said.
The championship was the first in a team sport in the 33-year history of the Big South Conference. The Big South could savor the accomplishment for only about eight hours. The Chanticleers become members of the Sun Belt Conference today.
“This program has been a lot better than people give it credit for,” Gilmore said. “They thought we played in a small conference and couldn’t get this done. This bunch wanted to prove everybody wrong.”
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