Dick Enberg

Dick Enberg, the Hall of Fame broadcaster whose "Oh my!" calls rang familiar with so many sports fans, has died, his wife and daughter confirmed Thursday night.

He was 82.

Enberg's daughter Nicole said the family became concerned when he didn't arrive on his flight to Boston on Thursday and that he was found dead at his home in La Jolla, a San Diego neighborhood, with his bags packed for a trip to see his third grandchild for the first time. The family said it was awaiting official word on the cause of death but believed he had a heart attack.

The family "is grateful for the kind thoughts and prayers of all of Dick's countless fans and dear friends," according to a statement released by Enberg's attorney, Dennis Coleman. "At this time we are all still processing the significant loss, and we ask for prayers and respectful privacy in the immediate aftermath of such untimely news."

Enberg was one of America's most beloved sports broadcasters, with his versatile voice spanning the world on networks such as NBC, CBS and ESPN. In all, he covered 28 Wimbledons, 10 Super Bowls and eight NCAA men's basketball title games, including the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird showdown in 1979.

His work was celebrated with a host of honors, including the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award (2015), the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Rozelle Award (1999) and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Gowdy Award (1995). He won 13 Sports Emmy Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and UCLA named its media center in Pauley Pavilion after Enberg this year.

Most recently, Enberg had served as the primary play-by-play television voice of the San Diego Padres, retiring in 2016 after seven seasons with the team.

"Baseball," he said then, "has been in my DNA from the time I was in diapers."

2017 Hawaii Rainbows Warriors football

11/27/17 - A season of problems
11/25/17 - Hawaii 20, BYU 30 (3-9) / the Kafentzis who got away
11/21/17 - No. 19 Hawaii moves a notch below no. 20 BYU
11/18/17 - Utah State embarrasses Hawaii 38-0 (3-8)
11/11/17 - Hawaii dropped by Fresno State 21-31 (3-7)
11/4/17 - UNLV holds off Hawaii 31-23 (3-6)
10/28/17 - Hawaii run over by San Diego State 7-28 (3-5)
10/17/17 - John Ursua out for season with torn ACL
10/14/17 - Hawaii manages to get by San Jose State 37-26 (3-4)
10/10/17 - Hawaii debuts in bottom 25, Nevada drops from 5 to 17, San Jose State is 6, UMass is 5
10/10/17 - San Jose State no. 3 (in the bottom 10), 128th in country (Hawaii 109th, 113th in week 6)
10/9/17 - Hawaii isn't last in penalties
10/8/17 - Nevada defeats Hawaii 35-21 for their first win of the season (2-4)
10/7/17 - Chris Naeole resigns citing philosophical differences
10/5/17 - Chris Naeole apparently no longer on staff / no comment and comments
9/30/17 - Hawaii crunched by Colorado State 21-51 (2-3)
9/23/17 - Wyoming 28, Hawaii 21 (OT) (2-2)
9/09/17 - UCLA executes Hawaii 56-23 (2-1)
9/2/17 - Hawaii 41, Western Carolina 18 (2-0)
8/26/17 - Hawaii rallies to defeat UMass 38-35 (1-0)

Rainbow Warrior Football Preview
8/23/17 - QB - Dru Brown
8/23/17 - RB - Diocemy Saint Juste
8/23/17 - WR - Keelan Ewaliko
8/23/17 - OL - Dejon Allen
8/23/17 - DL - Penitito Faalologo
8/23/17 - LB - Jahlani Tavai
8/23/17 - DB - Trayvon Henderson
8/23/17 - Special Teams - Noah Borden
8/23/17 - Coach - Nick Rolovich
8/23/17 - Ferd Lewis predicts 7-5 / Hogue 6-6 (San Jose State missing in the article)

7/23/17 - A look at the Rainbow Warriors entering training camp
7/22/17 - Khoury Bethley commits to Hawaii
2/19/17 - Warriors to open spring training
2/17/17 - Attendance increased for the first time since 2012
2/10/17 - Legi Suiaunoa promoted to defensive coordinator to replace Kevin Lempa
2/2/17 - Hawaii signs 23, none from Hawaii

2017 High School Football

12/17/17 - Cordeiro and Mauga are players of the year
12/12/17 - Cordeiro named Gatorade Hawaii player of the year
11/28/17 - Chevan Cordeiro stuck it out
11/18/17 - St. Louis pulls out the victory in battle with Kahuku 31-28
11/18/17 - Lahainaluna 75, Konawaena 69 in seven overtimes
11/10/17 - HHSAA semifinal: St. Louis runs away from Mililani 47-23
11/10/17 - HHSAA semifinal: Kahuku slips by Waianae 10-7
9/23/17 - St. Louis comes back to edge Narbonne 56-50 at Aloha Stadium
9/20/17 - Kaiser cancels the rest of the football season
7/8/17 - OIA compromise / Iolani in Division II? / a Pyrrhic victory for the OIA (Reardon)
6/18/17 - OIA counter-proposal
6/14/17 - OIA, Dave Reardon has a solution
6/9/17 - OIA won't participate in open division
6/9/17 - Three-tiered tournament passed 63-27 with all 27 OIA ADs voting against it
6/8/17 - Why not OIA-ILH for the whole season?

2/10/17 - Vavae Tata won't return as Kahuku head coach

GSP vs. Bisping

NEW YORK — So much has changed in the UFC in the last four years. The one thing that hasn’t is that Georges St-Pierre is a world champion.

Well, there is one difference: The long-time welterweight kingpin returned after a nearly four-year break and choked out Michael Bisping on Saturday in the main event of UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden to claim the middleweight title.

St-Pierre walked away from the sport in 2013 after defeating Johny Hendricks via a controversial decision in Las Vegas. He took more punishment than he was used to, the pressure he felt was about to make his head explode and he felt most of those he fought were cheating.

On Saturday, though, it was a replay to his heyday, though he was just a bit bigger and a lot more muscular. He survived several hard Bisping right hands, but finished him after cracking Bisping with a counter left.

Hawaii basketball champions

Eran Ganot talks all the time about the history of the Hawaii basketball program, and honoring it. A lot of times doing so is an intangible act, a frame of mind.

Not this time. This time it feels very tangible.

The Rainbow Warriors recently completed a Ganot project — spearheaded by assistant coach John Montgomery and SID Neal Iwamoto — to honor all 13 of UH’s past NCAA or NIT teams by giving each a unique plaque.

They went up on Wednesday in the Stan Sheriff Center tunnel leading to the Bows’ locker room (where other improvements were added in the summer). The wall has been painted green with a background photo design of UH’s second-round NCAA Tournament team of 2015-16, with the plaques laid over it halfway up the wall, spaced equidistant from each other and placed chronologically.

It’s undeniably cool.

“It’s really important to know what you represent, and the people who came before you,” Ganot said this week. “It’s turned to now feeling it, whether it’s bringing back teams, alums are coming by, players, teams, coaches. To be able to visually see that — we’ve done some work in our locker room, now in our halls leaving the locker room.”

Fabulous Five. Tom Henderson. Dynamic Duo. English and Savo. Believabows. They’re all there, with archived photos of each team and notes of season and player highlights.

“It’s a huge thing for our guys. There’s a lot of levels it touches,” Ganot said. “It starts with your current student-athletes to understand what they’re part of. They will be appreciated when they depart from here. For alums who come by here and there, it’s such a great place to show them and obviously it’s honoring them. We gotta continue to do that. And then for recruits, to see that we value the history of this program. To build it, it can’t just be talk. You gotta do some special things and (adding the plaques) was a next step in our initiative there.”

The plaques, combined with the locker room improvements, cost between $15K to $20K. That’s money well spent. Frankly, UH has lagged behind its peers in the area of visually paying respects to its past.


“It’s really cool to see all the past (teams),” said point guard Brocke Stepteau, a member of the 2015-16 team. “It’s one of the things this coaching staff’s really big on, is knowing the history and celebrating the history of the program. It’s good to see that (plaque) of the team I was on a couple years ago that made it to the tournament. To see that celebrated is good; it’s good to build the culture and keep moving that forward.”

Because the average fan visiting the Sheriff won’t have access to the lower tunnel, here’s shots of all 13 team plaques (five NCAA, eight NIT).

Bow's Best Basketball Seasons

Mid-October means a lot to those of us who love college basketball, as our favorite team is back on the court and ready for another great run.

Hawai'i head coach Eran Ganot is hoping that the 2017-18 Rainbow Warriors have some of the success of other exciting UH teams of yesteryear.

Here's my personal pick for the Top 10 greatest years in Hawai'i men's basketball history.

-- Bob Hogue, Midweek, October 18, 2017, page 55

Connie Hawkins

Connie Hawkins, a high-flying basketball sensation who was molded on the playgrounds of New York and inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, but whose career was unjustly derailed when the N.B.A. barred him until his prime years had passed on suspicions of involvement in a college point-shaving scandal, died on Friday. He was 75.

The Phoenix Suns confirmed the death but did not say where he died. Hawkins, who lived in the Phoenix area, joined the team when he was 27 after starring with two lesser leagues and the Harlem Globetrotters. The Associated Press said he had been in frail health and was found to have colon cancer in 2007.

Even as a playground legend, Hawkins had the jaw-dropping flash that superstars like Elgin Baylor, Julius Erving and Michael Jordan would display, turning pro basketball into a national sports spectacular.

“He was Julius before Julius, he was Elgin before Elgin, he was Michael before Michael,” the longtime college and pro coach Larry Brown once said in an ESPN documentary on Hawkins. “He was simply the greatest individual player I have ever seen.”

Pitino put on leave amid federal investigation

Louisville has placed coach Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich on administrative leave amid a federal bribery investigation.

Interim university President Greg Postel said at a news conference Wednesday that Jurich is on paid leave, while Pitino is on unpaid leave. The coach's attorney, Steve Spence, told the Courier-Journal that Louisville has "effectively fired" Pitino.

Pitino's exit comes after the school acknowledged on Tuesday that the men's program is part of a federal investigation into alleged bribery of recruits. The 65-year-old coach was not named in the indictment that resulted in the arrest of 10 people including four assistant coaches at other schools and an Adidas executive.

it is the latest black eye for the Cardinals program. Pitino and Louisville are in the middle of appealing NCAA sanctions handed out in June following an escort scandal that unfolded nearly two years ago, which could cost the school its 2013 national title.

Jurich has supported Pitino through his transgressions during the athletic director's nearly 20-year tenure at the university.

Pitino, 65, was 416-143 over 16 years at Louisville, including that 2013 NCAA championship.

In the latest investigation, federal prosecutors say at least three top high school recruits were promised payments of as much as $150,000, using money supplied by Adidas, to attend two universities sponsored by the athletic shoe company. Court papers didn't name the schools but contained enough details to identify one of them as Louisville.

Pitino is not named in the federal documents, though the school acknowledged it is under investigation by the FBI.

"These allegations come as a complete shock to me," the coach said in a statement Tuesday night. "If true, I agree with the U.S. Attorney's Office that these third-party schemes, initiated by a few bad actors, operated to commit a fraud on the impacted universities and their basketball programs, including the University of Louisville. Our fans and supporters deserve better and I am committed to taking whatever steps are needed to ensure those responsible are held accountable."

Louisville was already reeling from the sex scandal. The program has been ordered to vacate up to 123 victories in which ineligible players received improper benefits -- a period that includes the 2013 title, its third -- along with the 2012 Final Four appearance. The NCAA also placed the school on four years' probation and ordered the return of money received through conference revenue sharing. McGee received a 10-year, show-cause penalty.

Pitino is 770-271 over a 32-year coaching career with stops at Hawaii, Boston, Providence and Kentucky, where he won the 1996 NCAA title. He has also coached in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks.

so many home runs

Giancarlo Stanton's smacks, Aaron Judge's jolts and all those dizzying long balls helped Major League Baseball move another poke closer to the inevitable.

Nearly two decades after the height of the Steroids Era, the sport is on track to break its season record for home runs on Tuesday — and not just top the old mark, but smash it like one of those upper-deck shots that have become commonplace in the Summer of the Slugger.

There were 5,677 home runs hit through Monday, 16 shy of the record set in 2000.

Juiced balls? Watered-down pitching? Stanton's renaissance? Sensational starts by Judge and Cody Bellinger?

"I don't think that we are ever going to have a single explanation for exactly why we've see so many," baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said. "But players are bigger and stronger. They're playing a little differently, in terms of the way they swing. Pitchers throw harder. The one thing I remain comfortable with: Nothing about the baseball, according to our testing, is materially different."

There were 5,610 homers last year, an average of 2.31 per game, and this year's average of 2.53 projects to 6,139. That would be up 47 percent from 4,186 in 2014.

"The game has changed," New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "From when I started, there's a lot less stolen bases, there's a lot less bunting, there's a lot less hitting-and-running. You don't give outs away, and you let guys swing the bat."

Already 108 players have hit 20 homers this year, just two shy of the record set last season — and up from 64 in 2015, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"The ball seems to soar from people that are hitting it farther than maybe they did a year ago ... and they kind of look like the same person," Minnesota manager Paul Molitor, a Hall of Famer hitter, said before Monday night's game at Yankee Stadium.

Along with sailing shots come strikeouts, which will set a record for the 10th consecutive year. There were 37,083 whiffs through Monday, an average of 8.25 per team per game that translates to 40,103 over the full season.

"The focus is hitting homers and tolerating strikeouts," Reggie Jackson said. "I don't really like all the strikeouts, and I was the king."

Baseball officials are worried about decreasing action and have been alarmed by the strikeout rise. This year's total is up from 38,982 last year and headed to an increase of nearly 8,000 from the 32,189 in 2007. The strikeout spike coincides with a rise in fastball velocity; four-seamers have averaged 93.2 mph this year, up from 91.9 mph in 2008, according to MLB data.

"These bullpens are making it extremely difficult. From basically the starter on you're going to have elite, hard-throwing guys that are looking to strike you out every single time," said Baltimore's Mark Trumbo, last year's home run champion. "The game right now is as max effort as I've seen it. Guys are throwing harder. At the plate sometimes you have no choice. It's hard to steer the ball around when it's 98 miles an hour and up in the zone."

"These bullpens are making it extremely difficult. From basically the starter on you're going to have elite, hard-throwing guys that are looking to strike you out every single time," said Baltimore's Mark Trumbo, last year's home run champion. "The game right now is as max effort as I've seen it. Guys are throwing harder. At the plate sometimes you have no choice. It's hard to steer the ball around when it's 98 miles an hour and up in the zone."

Jackson set a record with 2,597 career strikeouts, maxing at 171 in 1968. Six players already have reached 171 this year, led by the Yankees' Judge at 198. He could break Mark Reynolds' season record of 223, set in 2009.

"You'd have been on the bench," Jackson said. "But I don't know if you set a guy on the bench with 90 RBIs and 40 homers. That's Judge. You ain't going to sit that on the bench."

Steroids fueled the home run surge in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and power subsided after the start of drug testing with penalties in 2004. The home run average dropped in 2014 to its lowest level since 1992, then started rising during the second half of the 2015 season.

*** 9/29/17 ***

TORONTO — Kansas City's Alex Gordon broke Major League Baseball's season home run record with 12 days to spare, hitting the 5,694th long ball of 2017 on Tuesday night.

Gordon's home run off Toronto reliever Ryan Tepera broke a mark set in 2000 at the height of the Steroids Era. The drive, which drove in the last run in the Royals' 5-2 loss, was his eighth this season and the 159th of his 11-year big league career.

Power subsided after the start of drug testing with penalties in 2004. The home run average dropped in 2014 to its lowest level since 1992, then started rising during the second half of the 2015 season.

"My biggest take on it is that players are trying to hit more home runs," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "Their philosophy overall, a lot of these position players, is to get the ball in the air and also pull the ball and get the ball in the air and hit it as far as you can. So you're increasing the launch angle, whatever you want to call this, stay away from the groundballs. And so they're sacrificing a little bit more contact to do a little bit more damage."

*** 10/2/17 ***

In a season of record-high home runs and strikeouts along with record-low complete games, there were some constants in Major League Baseball: Houston's Jose Altuve and a Colorado Rockies player won batting titles.

There were 6,105 home runs hit in the season that ended Sunday, topping the 5,963 in 2000 at the height of the Steroids Era.

Miami's Giancarlo Stanton hit 59, the most in the majors since Barry Bonds set the record with 73 in 2001 and Sammy Sosa hit 64. Drug testing with penalties began three years later.

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees led the AL with 52, breaking the rookie record of 49 set by Oakland's Mark McGwire in 1987. There were 117 players with 20 or more, up from 111 last year, and 41 with at least 30, up from 38.

Along with the round-trippers came quick returns to the dugout. Strikeouts set a record for the 10th straight season at 40,104, topping last year's 38,982.

Boston's Chris Sale led pitchers with 308 strikeouts, the first to reach 300 since Arizona's Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in 2002. Washington's Max Scherzer topped the NL for the second straight year at 268.

In an era when analytical departments tell managers not to give away outs, sacrifice bunts dropped to 925, down from 1,025 last year and the fewest since 806 in 1900, when there were just eight teams. Kansas City's Whit Merrifield's 34 stolen bases were the fewest for an AL leader since Luis Aparicio of the Chicago White Sox had 31 in 1961. Miami's Dee Gordon led the NL with 60.

The average runs per team per game rose from 4.48 to 4.65, the highest since 2008. It had dropped to 4.28 in 2014, its lowest since 1992.

At 104-58, the Los Angeles Dodgers had the best record in the major leagues for the first time since 1974. Cleveland (102-60) and Houston (101-61) combined with the Dodgers for MLB's sixth season with three 100-win teams, the first since 2003.

Bobby Heenan

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, one of the most renowned managers and commentators in the history of professional wrestling, died on Sunday. He was 73. Although a cause of death has not yet been confirmed, Heenan had been battling throat cancer since 2002.

After early success in the World Wrestling Association (WWA) and the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Heenan was signed by the WWE in 1984. His first managerial client as part of the promotion was WWE Hall of Famer Big John Studd.

Throughout his years as a manager, Heenan formed what would come to be known as the Heenan Family, a group of superstars whom he managed. Among them were Andre the Giant, Ric Flair, Paul Orndorff, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect and Harley Race. All of those names also hold their rightful places in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Heenan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004.

The undeniable charisma and wit displayed by Heenan as a manager soon transitioned to the commentary table, where he formed an acclaimed pairing with Gorilla Monsoon. Their verbal exchanges, which included Heenan's one-liners with Monsoon's flabbergasted responses, set the standard for professional wrestling commentary.

Tim Tebow baseball player

Tim Tebow contributed to the greatest rise in minor league baseball attendance in 23 years.

That number is quite appropriate because only one man, Michael Jordan, has done more for minor league baseball crowds than Tebow did this year. And Jordan -- who wore No. 23 for the NBA's Chicago Bulls -- had the benefit of playing Double-A with bigger ballparks to fill.

Thanks to Jordan, the Birmingham Barons' 1994 season attendance of 467,868 fans, with an average of 6,884 fans per game, still stands as a franchise and league record. Although Tebow's popularity didn't fill that many seats, the impact of the former NFL quarterback is undeniable.

The Columbia Fireflies, the Class A team Tebow played for through June 28, saw their attendance increase by nearly 54,000 fans, a 21 percent rise from 2016. The second team Tebow played for, the St. Lucie Mets of advanced Class A, saw attendance rise by 35,803 fans, up 37 percent from last year.

And that's just the beginning.

On the road, Tebow's Fireflies drew a crowd, too: to be exact, 2,591 more fans than the home teams averaged against other opponents. Baseball America calculated that Tebow was worth nearly $1.6 million in additional tickets, parking, concessions and other revenue for the rest of the South Atlantic League.

For the owners of the Fireflies, Tebow was the greatest value in all of sports. The New York Mets paid his salary -- $10,000 for the season -- and the Fireflies reaped the benefits, including merchandise revenue for what figures to be one of the 20 highest-selling clubs in the minors.
At most venues, Tebow went down the line and signed every autograph opportunity until he was finished.

Although Tebow hit just .226 with eight home runs and 52 RBIs, there were highlights on the field, including a home run in his first at-bat after he moved from Columbia to St. Lucie and an unforgettable moment when Tebow reached through the netting while in the on-deck circle to shake hands with an autistic boy during a July 29 game in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tebow then walked to the plate and hit a three-run home run in front of one of the many crowds packed in to see the former Heisman-winning quarterback take his shot at baseball.

50 greatest black athletes

The Undefeated partnered with SurveyMonkey to poll the public on the 50 Greatest Black Athletes. In April, 10,350 adults were asked to rank 200 athletes on 20 different surveys.

Respondents were asked how great of an athlete each person was/is using a scale of 1 to 10 stars. The athletes were ranked in order based on their average scores to form a top 50 list. From there, the top 60 athletes (including the first 10 who didn’t make the cut to 50) were used to create a final ranking. Each athlete was ranked on four factors: overall ranking, dominance, inspiration and impact on society. Average scores were calculated from each factor to create a composite score.

Athletes were ranked in order by their composite score to determine our final list, which will be unveiled in groups of 10 per week for five weeks. We’ll have more on how the public voted – broken down by race, age, gender, education level and census region – after the final group is revealed. The Undefeated’s Justin Tinsley, Jerry Bembry and Aaron Dodson wrote the biographies of the athletes, although they didn’t agree with some of the rankings. But the people have spoken, and the results should spark some serious debate.

***

Here's a sample of how controversial (and ridiculous) the rankings are.  Here's number 60-50:

    No. 60: Floyd Mayweather Jr.
    No. 59: Randy Moss
    No. 58: Kobe Bryant
    No. 57: Scottie Pippen
    No. 56: Moses Malone
    No. 55: Dominique Wilkins
    No. 54: Russell Westbrook
    No. 53: Walt Frazier
    No. 52: Evander Holyfield
    No. 51: Kevin Durant

Kobe ranked behind Pippen and Dominique and Clyde?  Dominique wasn't even rated as a top 50 basketball player!  (Admittedly though, not by me.)

OK, let's scroll down the count-down.

50.  Tim Duncan

49.  Isaiah Thomas

48.  Earl Campbell

47.  Derek Jeter

46.  David Robinson

45.  Joe Frazier

44.  Barry Sanders

43.  Reggie Jackson

42.  Larry Fitzgerald (what?)

41.  Ernie Banks

40.  Roberto Clemente

39.  Ray Robinson

38.  Arthur Ashe

37.  Ken Griffey Jr.

36.  Bill Russell (you're kidding)

35.  George Foreman

34.  Herschel Walker (really? well he was good in college)

33.  Florence Griffith Joyner

32.  Carl Lewis

31.  Michael Johnson

30.  Jim Brown (I'd rank him in the top 5, only 23 in dominance?)

29.  LeBron James

28.  Stephen Curry (above LeBron and Bill Russell and Kobe?)

27.  Jackie Joyner-Kersee

26.  Wilt Chamberlain (I'd rank him in the top 5 too)

25.  Bo Jackson (he wouldn't be on my list)

24.  Sugar Ray Leonard

23.  Joe Louis

22.  Pele (he'd be top 10 on my list)

21.  Wilma Rudolph

20.  Gale Sayers (what's he doing here?)

19.  Emmitt Smith (ditto)

18.  Satchel Paige

17.  Julius Erving (well he was awesome in the ABA)

16.  Shaquille O'Neal (well he did star in Kazaam)

15.  Venus Williams (what?)

14.  Usain Bolt

13.  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

12.  Walter Payton

11.  Magic Johnson

10.  Jerry Rice

9.  Gabby Douglas (really? Well they did make a movie about her)

8.  Simone Biles (huh?)

7.  Hank Aaron

6.  Serena Williams

5.  Jesse Owens

4.  Willie Mays (I'm a fan, but this high?)

3.  Muhammad Ali (I'd put him no. 1)

2.  Jackie Robinson (I'd put him no. 2)

1.  Michael Jordan

No O.J.?  No Barry Bonds?  I guess I understand..  What about Mike Tyson? Tiger Woods is not black?

Rollie Massimino

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. >> Rollie Massimino, who led Villanova’s storied run to the 1985 NCAA championship and won more than 800 games in his coaching career, died today after a long battle with cancer. He was 82.

Massimino’s death was announced by Keiser University, where he was still the men’s basketball coach. He spent the final days of his life in hospice care.

Best known for that national title at Villanova, Massimino also coached at Stony Brook, UNLV and Cleveland State. He spent the last 11 years of his life at Keiser, where he started the program and turned it into an NAIA power.

“We are so truly honored to have shared this time with him and take some degree of comfort in knowing the positive impact he has had on college students for the last four decades remains immeasurable,” Keiser Chancellor Arthur Keiser said.

After one season at Penn, Massimino took over at Villanova. He spent 19 seasons there, best remembered by the 1985 NCAA title run that was anything but easy — for many reasons.

Villanova needed a last-second stop just to escape over Dayton (a game played at Dayton, no less) in the first round, went scoreless for the first eight minutes of the second half and somehow still beat top-seeded Michigan in the second round, and toppled Maryland in the regional semifinal — winning those three games by a combined nine points. And to get to the Final Four, Villanova erased a halftime deficit against North Carolina.

That game with the Tar Heels was the one where Massimino gave what those linked to that ‘85 team still call “the pasta speech” at halftime.

“He looked at all of us and threw his coat down,” Chuck Everson, who played on that team, said today. “He said, ‘If I knew it was going to come down to this, I’d rather have a bowl of pasta with clam sauce and a lot of cheese on it.’ Everybody was looking at him like, ‘What the heck does this have to do about playing?’ What he was saying was just go out and have some fun. Do something you like. Play. Everybody’s eyes exploded.”

Villanova dominated that second half. Pasta was had afterward.

The Wildcats downed Memphis State in the national semifinals. That left a Villanova vs. Georgetown showdown, an all-Big East final. The Hoyas won both regular-season matchups between the rivals, but Villanova shot a staggering 79 percent in the title game and pulled off a 66-64 upset when it mattered most.

“Even though his 1985 team beat us, I have always had nothing but great respect and admiration for him,” said Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing, who starred on the Hoyas’ 1985 team.

Villanova missed six shots from the field in the game, going 22 for 28.

“This is the greatest thing to ever happen to me,” Massimino said that night.

Michelle Wie to have appendix removed

OTTAWA, Ontario >> Michelle Wie was set to have surgery today to remove her appendix.

Wie withdrew before the final round of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and was taken to Ottawa Hospital for the surgery.


“Further details on her condition will be provided when available,” her agency, IMG, said in a statement.

The 27-year-old Wie was tied for 23rd, six strokes behind leaders Mo Martin and Nicole Broch Larsen after three rounds at Ottawa Hunt.

Wie was 1-2-0 last week in the United States’ Solheim Cup victory over Europe in Iowa. Ranked 30th in the world, she tied for third in the Women’s British Open and has seven top-10 finishes this season.

Mayweather vs. McGregor

[8/26/17] LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Floyd Mayweather Jr. put on a show in the last fight of his spectacular career.

Conor McGregor didn't do so badly, either.

Mayweather figured out a 50th opponent Saturday night, letting McGregor have the early rounds before stalking him late and leaving the mixed martial artist defenseless and exhausted on the ropes in the 10th round.

It was a smashing end to a career that earned Mayweather more money than any fighter before him -- including an estimated $200 million for his last bout.

"I think we gave the fans what they wanted to see," Mayweather said. "I owed them for the (Manny) Pacquiao fight."

Mayweather battered McGregor around the ring in the later rounds, finally stopping him at 1:05 of the 10th with a flurry of punches that forced referee Robert Byrd to stop the fight.

Before a pro-McGregor crowd that roared every time the UFC fighter landed a punch, Mayweather methodically broke him down after a slow start to score his first real stoppage in nearly a decade. He did it in what he said would be his final fight, against a man who had never been in a professional boxing match before.

McGregor boxed surprisingly well but after landing some shots in the early rounds, his punches seemed to lose their steam. Mayweather then went on the pursuit. McGregor backpedaled most of the way, stopping only to throw an occasional flurry as Mayweather wore him down.

"I turned him into a Mexican tonight," McGregor said. "He fought like a Mexican."

Though Byrd cautioned McGregor for hitting behind the head on two different occasions, there were no real fouls in the fight and McGregor never tried to revert to any MMA tactics.

McGregor had vowed to knock Mayweather out within two rounds, and he won the early rounds with movement and punches to the head. But the tide of the fight turned in the fourth round as Mayweather seemed to figure out what he had to do and began aggressively stalking McGregor.

Mayweather was credited with landing more than half his punches, as he solved McGregor's defense after a few rounds. Ringside stats showed him landing 170 of 320 punches to 111 of 430 for McGregor.

In a fight so intriguing that it cost $10,000 for ringside seats, McGregor turned in a respectable performance for someone in his first fight. He switched from southpaw to conventional at times and used his jab well, but Mayweather's experience and his ring savvy paid off as he executed his game plan to perfection.

[8/12/17] McGregor says Mayweather will be unconscious in less than four rounds.

Alexandra Buchanan is the real deal

McKinley didn’t get the win it was searching for on Saturday night, but the Tigers might have found their quarterback.

Oh, and it just happens to be a girl.

Alexandria Buchanan, summoned from the JV team, made her first varsity appearance and was 7-for-16 with 135 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. However, the Tigers fell 27-26 to Kalaheo at Skippa Diaz Stadium and are still looking for their first win since 2013.

“I just joined the varsity team this Tuesday. They moved me up after some consideration,” Buchanan said after the game. “It means a lot. This is my team; they’re like my second family, so it feels great to be able to play with them.”

The McKinley-partisan crowd was rocking on Saturday night in Kalihi, and the Tigers roster seemed to double that of Kalaheo, which had forfeited its matchup against Waipahu the previous week.  Mustangs coach Darrell Poole was inspired by the iron man performance of his team. Almost every Mustang played on both sides of the ball.

In addition to the team’s size, he knew facing Buchanan would be a challenge after previously watching her play on the JV team.

“She’s the real deal. You give her more time and she can throw with the best of them,” Poole said. “To me, it was awesome. I told my boys she’s gonna complete some passes against us. Hat’s off to her.”

*** [9/7/17]

She’s a 4.0 student, class president, assistant editor of the school newspaper and plays center on the girls basketball team.

“It’s kind of hard managing all those different activities, but they’re things I’m really interested in,” says Alexandria Buchanan, a 15-year-old sophomore at McKinley High School.

She also has a passing interest in football.

That’s not “passing” as in a casual curiosity about the game, that’s “passing” in the sense of throwing the ball. In addition to all of the above, Buchanan happens to be the varsity football team’s starting quarterback.

*** [9/16/17]

McKinley defeats Waialua to break four-year losing streak

*** [9/17/17]

Buchanan did her part

Bolt defeated in farewell race

LONDON (AP) -- One final time, Usain Bolt peered down the last 50 meters of his lane and saw sprinter upon sprinter running footsteps ahead of him.

One final time, the world-record holder furiously pumped the arms and legs on his gangly 6-foot-5 frame, desperately trying to reel in all those would-be winners as the finish line fast approached.

This time, the afterburners kicked in but not hard enough. Not one, but two overlooked and underappreciated Americans -- Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman -- held off what was once Bolt's undeniable late charge.

This time, Bolt finished third in the 100-meter dash at world championships. That's right: A bronze-medal finish Saturday night in the going-away party for one of the planet's most entertaining icons and track and field's lone shining star.

"No regrets," Bolt insisted, long after a result that stunned a pumped-up crowd into near silence. "It was always going to end, no matter what happened -- win, lose or draw. It doesn't change anything in my career."

Gatlin, who actually trailed Bolt at the halfway point, heard boos cascade loudly across the stadium when his winning time, 9.92 seconds, popped up on the scoreboard. The 35-year-old, who has served two doping bans and been widely cast as a villain to Bolt's hero, went sprawling to the ground with a huge smile. Later, he bowed down to the man he finally defeated.

"I wanted to pay homage to him," Gatlin said. "This night is still a magical night for track and field and Usain Bolt. I'm just happy to be one of his biggest competitors."

Coleman, a 21-year-old in the first major race of his life, was in shock, too: "To beat someone I looked up to when I was growing up. I was just happy to be on the line with him," he conceded.

Bolt, who finished third in a time of 9.95, accepted with class both the result, and the fact that, at 30, he probably is picking the perfect time to retire.

"I did it for the fans," he said after collecting a bronze to go with his three world golds at 100 meters. "They wanted me to go for one more season. I came out and did the best I could."

*** [8/12/17]

LONDON -- Usain Bolt was ramping into warp speed when suddenly, stunningly, the sprint turned into a somersault.

Fifteen steps into the final homestretch of his final race, something gave in Bolt's left hamstring. The World's Fastest Man skittered to a stop, hopping, skipping, jumping and finally dropping to the ground and tumbling forward before coming to a rest.

While the winning team from Britain crossed the finish line, Bolt was writhing on the track, where he wound up chest down with his face pressed into Lane 5. He was certainly every bit as stunned as any of the 60,000-plus who packed the stadium Saturday or the millions watching one of the world's most entertaining showmen make his final curtain call in the 4x100-meter relay at world championships.

There was no celebration -- no gold, no silver, not even a consolation bronze, which Bolt received a week earlier in his final 100-meter race.

Jamaica closed the night with "DNF" by its name: Did Not Finish. Bolt was helped into a wheelchair but eventually got to his feet and, assisted by his teammates, limped gingerly across the finish line. He gave a few waves to the crowd, then left for the trainer's room and, with that, presumably left track and field forever.

Ara Parseghian

Ara Parseghian, a Presbyterian of Armenian descent who might have seemed an unlikely savior of Notre Dame football but became just that, coaching the Fighting Irish out of the wilderness and back to greatness in the 1960s and ’70s, died early Wednesday morning at his home in Granger, Ind. He was 94.

Parseghian ranks with Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy in the pantheon of Notre Dame football coaches. In his 11 seasons (1964 through 1974), his teams won 95 games, lost 17 and tied four, for a .836 winning percentage. His 1966 and 1973 teams were voted national champions.

When Parseghian arrived at Notre Dame, the university’s football program had been in decline for years. The collapse started in 1956, when Notre Dame won only two games and lost eight. Though there were some victories, Notre Dame never won more than five games in a season from 1959 to 1963. Twice it won only two games.

Meanwhile, Parseghian was gaining a reputation. After five highly successful seasons at his alma mater, Miami of Ohio, where he was a protégé of Woody Hayes, he moved to Northwestern for the 1956 season. He barely broke even in his eight years there, but he was credited with doing a lot at an academically rigorous institution with no trace of a football factory image.

By the early 1960s, Notre Dame’s administrators were all too familiar with Parseghian; his Northwestern teams had beaten Notre Dame four years in a row.

At the time, Notre Dame had an interim coach, Hugh Devore, and Parseghian’s relationship with the Northwestern athletic director, Stu Holcomb, had become strained. Parseghian contacted the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, Notre Dame’s vice president and its chairman of athletics, and soon it was announced that he was headed to Notre Dame.

In the spring of 1964, student servers in Notre Dame’s main dining hall noticed that football players were forsaking gravy and ice cream. The new coach had told them that they were going to be leaner and faster.

“He told us we were good; he’d give each of us a chance to show what we could do in practice,” Jack Snow, who was switched from running back to wide receiver, told The New York Times in 1964. “And he’d be in there with us, doing exercises, snapping the ball from center, showing us how to block and run. He made us believe in ourselves.”

Parseghian had a keen eye for talent that had been misused or overlooked. Besides shifting the sure-handed Snow to receiver in 1964, he converted three big but rather slow running backs (“the elephant backfield,” he later called them) into linemen, where they thrived. Most important, Parseghian decided his starting quarterback would be the senior John Huarte, who had spent far more time on the bench than on the field his sophomore and junior years.

Snow was Huarte’s favorite receiver as the Fighting Irish won nine straight games in 1964, with many of the same players from the squad that had lost seven games the year before. Southern California spoiled a perfect season with a 20-17 victory in Los Angeles, but Huarte, who had not even won a varsity letter until 1964, was awarded the Heisman Trophy. Parseghian was acclaimed coach of the year.

But for all his success, Parseghian was saddled for a time with the reputation of a coach who “couldn’t win the big ones.” That image was reinforced on Nov. 19, 1966, when unbeaten Notre Dame met unbeaten Michigan State at East Lansing in the most eagerly awaited college game in 20 years.

Notre Dame fell behind, 10-0, then rallied to tie the score. But late in the game and in its own end of the field, Notre Dame played conservatively rather than risk a turnover, and the game ended in a 10-10 tie. Although Notre Dame was voted the national champion by the wire services, there were many who thought the game had taken some luster from the team’s image.

Parseghian’s year of total redemption was 1973. The team won all 10 regular-season games, then defeated Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, 24-23. The clincher was a daring pass from the Irish end zone for a first down that enabled Notre Dame to run out the clock and silenced those who said the coach lacked nerve when it really counted.

Parseghian announced in December 1974 that he was retiring, saying that a quarter-century in coaching had left him “physically exhausted and emotionally drained.” Another New Year’s victory over Alabama, this time in the Orange Bowl, enabled him to go out a winner.

Parseghian was only 51 when he left Notre Dame. Initially, there were rumors that he was weighing offers to coach in the N.F.L., but they remained rumors. As for the possibility that he might one day coach college football again, he would say, “After Notre Dame, what is there?”

UFC 214: Jones defeats Cormier to (re)take title

Jones reclaimed his UFC light heavyweight title by stopping Daniel Cormier in the third round with a vicious head kick and a finish on the ground at UFC 214, completing his rocky journey back to the top after 2 1/2 years of drama with his 14th consecutive victory.

He fended off a stiff challenge from Cormier (19-2), who held the belt for most of the past two years while Jones (23-1) dealt with self-inflicted setbacks outside the cage. His title belt has been stripped twice, and he endured a yearlong suspension for a doping test failure before returning to beat Cormier for the second time.

After 2 1/2 rounds of even, high-level striking, Jones landed a left head kick that caught Cormier leaning in. The champion staggered backward and then around the cage with Jones in pursuit, and Jones finished the fight on the ground with a series of merciless strikes.

Jones’ next opponent for the 205-pound belt could be Swiss sensation Volkan Oezdemir, who kicked off the pay-per-view show with a sensational 22-second knockout of Britain’s Jimi Manuwa.

Earlier, Cris “Cyborg” Justino became a UFC champion for the first time at Honda Center, stopping Tonya Evinger in the third round to win the vacant featherweight belt. Tyron Woodley also defended his welterweight title with a clear decision over Demian Maia, thoroughly frustrating the Brazilian jiu-jitsu master in a fight that drew loud boos from the Honda Center crowd.

Former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler squeaked out a unanimous decision victory over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in another compelling matchup on the UFC’s most stacked card of the summer.

After Oezdemir got the Anaheim fans on their feet with a vicious first-round stoppage for his fifth consecutive victory, Lawler (28-11) and Cerrone kept them up with an entertaining three-round striking exhibition between two of the toughest veterans in the sport. Cerrone (32-9) shrugged after the judges favored Lawler in two of the three rounds.

Jones’ victory thrilled a crowd that was deflated after Woodley defended his welterweight belt with a strong technical performance against the 39-year-old Maia, a vaunted jiu-jitsu specialist from Brazil. Maia couldn’t get the fight to the ground thanks to the wrestling acumen of Woodley, who patiently stuffed takedowns and grinded out a victory that bored UFC President Dana White.

Afterward, White said Georges St. Pierre will fight middleweight champion Michael Bisping next instead of Woodley. White claimed that “nobody wants to watch Tyron Woodley fight.”

Jones also called out former UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar for what would almost certainly be the highest-profile fight in MMA history.

fans showed up to see Tomey's teams / Rise of the Rainbow Warriors

It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years since a UCLA assistant started his decade-long tenure at Manoa that changed UH football forever.

The confluence of Tomey’s hiring, a new stadium and football conference membership for the first time — all within the space of a couple of years — spurred unprecedented statewide popularity for the program. Attendance gradually climbed, as did the Rainbows’ talent level, quality of play and overall relevance.

After Tomey’s first year, the ’Bows posted five winning seasons in a row, peaking with the 1981 team that won its first seven games and finished 9-2.

Sometimes fans complained about what they saw as a bland offense in those years. But they showed up anyway, often filling the stadium to see UH’s trademark hard-hitting defense.

The biggest Aloha Stadium crowd in 1976 was for the last game with Larry Price as coach, when 33,737 saw a 68-3 loss to Nebraska.

Every home game drew more than 40,000 in 1987, when UH went 7-5 in Tomey’s last season.

*** [8/8/17]

“Rise of the Rainbow Warriors,” a new book from Watermark Publishing, will be released in early October. Authored by former University of Hawaii head football coach Dick Tomey, the book chronicles and celebrates the Tomey era of Rainbow Warrior football, which lasted from 1977 through 1986.

2017 marks the 40th anniversary of the hiring of Coach Tomey at UH.

Although Tomey’s Hawaii teams never won a conference championship or went to a postseason bowl game, his ten seasons at UH represented a special time in UH football history. The Tomey era brought record home attendance numbers, national television exposure, and the program’s first-ever national ranking.

“Rise of the Rainbow Warriors” examines the challenges and opportunities that the program faced during Tomey’s UH coaching tenure. In riveting detail, Coach Tomey shares behind-the-scenes stories that capture the spirit of his Rainbow Warriors teams: the amazing triumphs, the bitter disappointments and the lessons that were learned. Each chapter covers a different aspect of the Tomey era, including recruiting, the big games and the storied rivalry with BYU.

In addition, the book includes contributions from many of Coach Tomey’s former players and assistant coaches, including Blane Gaison, Falaniko Noga, Jesse Sapolu, Gary Allen, David Toloumu, Dana McLemore, Rich Miano, Joe Onosai, Mark Kafentzis, Nu’u Fa’aola, Walter Murray, Jeff Duva and others. “Rise of the Rainbow Warriors” also features 40 full-color and b/w photos.

The book was co-authored by Lance Tominaga, Web Editor at ESPN 1420.

***

Bob Hogue, 10/4/17 Midweek page 75

OJ paroled

LOVELOCK, Nev. (AP) — O.J. Simpson was granted parole Thursday after more than eight years in prison for a Las Vegas hotel heist, successfully making his case in a nationally televised hearing that reflected America's enduring fascination with the former football star.

Simpson, 70, could be a free man as early as Oct. 1. By then, he will have served the minimum of his nine-to-33-year armed-robbery sentence for a bungled attempt to snatch sports memorabilia and other mementos he claimed had been stolen from him.

All four parole commissioners who conducted the hearing voted for his release after about a half-hour of deliberations. They cited his lack of a prior conviction, the low risk he might commit another crime, his community support and his release plans, which include moving to Florida.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Simpson said quietly as he buried his head on his chest with relief. As he rose from his seat to return to his prison cell, he exhaled deeply.

Then, as he was led down a hall, the former athlete raised his hands over his head in a victory gesture and said, "Oh, God, oh!"

Simpson's sister, Shirley Baker, wept and hugged Simpson's 48-year-old daughter Arnelle, who held a hand over her mouth.

During the more than hour-long hearing, Simpson forcefully insisted — as he has all along — that he was only trying to retrieve items that belonged to him and never meant to hurt anyone. He said he never pointed a gun at anyone nor made any threats during the crime.

"I'm sorry it happened, I'm sorry, Nevada," he told the board. "I thought I was glad to get my stuff back, but it just wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth it, and I'm sorry."

Pacquiuao robbed in Australia

Jeff Horn is the new WBO welterweight champion.

The good news is that it was a very entertaining fight on the big stage, which is all too rare for boxing of late.

The bad news is that it was another controversial decision, which is all to common in boxing.

The outcome is that boxing has a new name and draw in Jeff Horn. The Australian Rocky is a world champion and he won’t be teaching school again anytime soon.

round-by-round / ESPN / punch stats

***

Jeff Horn absorbed tremendous punishment throughout the fight. He took so much in the ninth round that the referee nearly stopped the fight in his corner. He was a bloody mess.

But Horn pulled a massive -- and controversial -- upset, as he was awarded a unanimous decision against Manny Pacquiao to win a welterweight world title before an adoring hometown crowd of some 55,000 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia on Saturday night (Sunday morning in Australia).

Shockingly, all three judges scored the fight for Horn (17-0-1, 11 KOs). Judge Waleska Roldan had it 117-111, and judges Chris Flores and Ramon Cerdan both had it 115-113.

ESPN.com scored it 117-111 for Pacquiao. ESPN ringside analyst Teddy Atlas also had it for Pacquiao, 116-111.

Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs) has been here before, losing a decision and a welterweight title to Timothy Bradley Jr. by split decision in 2012 in one of the most controversial decisions in boxing history. Like he was after that loss, which he avenged twice, Pacquiao was gracious.

"That's the decision of the judges," he said. "I respect that."

*** [7/10/17]

WBO review shows Pacquiao lost 5 rounds to 7.  So much for CompuBox.

Holloway defeats Aldo to be undisputed featherweight champ

Six months after winning an interim 145-pound title, the 25-year-old Waianae native unified the UFC featherweight championship with a third-round TKO of Jose Aldo in the main event of UFC 212 on Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro.

Holloway (18-3, 14-3 UFC) withstood the best from Aldo (26-3, 8-2) for two rounds before turning it up in the third and dismantling the longtime division kingpin, who lost for just the second time in 11 years. Referee John McCarthy stopped the fight at four minutes, 13 seconds to give Holloway his 11th straight win, tying Royce Gracie for the fourth-longest streak in UFC history.

Homer at the Bat

On Feb. 20, 1992, The Simpsons aired "Homer at the Bat," the heartwarming tale of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant softball team's improbable run to a championship -- with a little help from Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly, Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens and more big league ringers.

It had it all: hypnotists, extensive heckling of Darryl Strawberry, even an elaborate parody of Terry Cashman's "Talkin' Baseball" ... sung by Terry Cashman:

Almost immediately, the episode became a cultural icon. It was the first time any show had ever beaten "The Cosby Show" in its Thursday night time slot, and it's even helped save a life or two. And on Saturday morning, just over 25 years after it first aired, "Homer at the Bat" and Homer himself got the recognition they deserve: enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The big day began with an airing of the famed "Homer at the Bat" episode in its entirety, as the occasion definitely called for such an opportunity.

The induction ceremonies began on the steps outside the Hall, where a suspiciously gigantic Homer Simpson got his very own plaque:

Longtime Simpsons showrunner and writer Al Jean introduced Homer's prerecorded acceptance speech, which began with the following:

"It is with great humility that I enter the Hall of Fame. And it's about time! I'm fatter than Babe Ruth, balder than Ty Cobb and have one more finger than Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown."

The Mayor of Cooperstown, Jeff Katz, made an appearance as well, declaring May 27, 2017, "Homer J. Simpson Day" -- and did so wearing a sash that read, "MAYOR," a wonderful nod to Springfield Mayor Quimby.

Some old friends stopped by to wish Homer well -- and Ozzie Smith even managed to find his way out of the Springfield Mystery Spot.

All-NBA 2016-2017

Houston Rockets guard James Harden was unanimously voted to the 2016-17 All-NBA First Team, and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James matched an NBA record with his 11th First Team selection, the NBA announced today.

Harden (500 points) was the only player named to the First Team on all 100 ballots, earning First Team honors for the third time in the last four seasons.  James (498 points) received 99 First Team votes, joining Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone as the only players in league history to make the All-NBA First Team 11 times.

The All-NBA First Team also features three players who were each selected to the First Team for the second time: Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook, who joined James in totaling 99 First Team votes and 498 points, San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (96 First Team votes, 490 points) and New Orleans Pelicans center Anthony Davis (45 First Team votes, 343 points).  

The All-NBA Second Team includes three players making their All-NBA debuts: Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas.  They are joined by two Golden State Warriors, guard Stephen Curry (fourth All-NBA selection) and forward Kevin Durant (seventh All-NBA selection).

The All-NBA Third Team consists of forwards Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls and Draymond Green of the Warriors, guards DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors and John Wall of the Washington Wizards and center DeAndre Jordan of the LA Clippers.  Butler, DeRozan and Wall are first-time All-NBA selections.  Green was named All-NBA for the second time, while Jordan earned his third All-NBA honor.

Don Robbs remembers

Don Robbs tells stories about Les Murakami, Les Keiter, Rolly Wray, O.J. Simpson.

ESPN releases 100

ESPN is laying off about 100 employees, including former athletes-turned-broadcasters Trent Dilfer, Len Elmore and Danny Kanell, in a purge designed to focus the sports network on a more digital future.

The cuts will trim ESPN’s stable of on-air talent and writers by about 10 percent.

The 37-year-old network has been squeezed by rising fees to broadcast live events at the same time hordes of cord-cutting TV viewers have been canceling their ESPN subscriptions. ESPN has lost about 10 million subscribers during the past six years, based on estimates by Nielsen Media Research.

The downturn prompted an even bigger round of layoffs affecting about 300 workers in 2015, but on-air talent was mostly spared from those cuts.

ESPN chief John Skipper said today the company wants to provide distinctive content all the time on multiple screens, with more personality-oriented “SportsCenter” broadcasts, and is keeping people best suited to the new strategy.

ESPN isn’t saying who has been fired. Many are releasing the news on social media, including Dilfer, NFL reporter Ed Werder, baseball reporter Jayson Stark and college basketball reporter Dana O’Neil.

Former morning host Jay Crawford, football columnist Jane McManus, ESPNU host Brendan Fitzgerald, hockey reporter Pierre LeBrun, soccer reporter Mike Goodman, baseball analyst Jim Bowden and baseball reporter Mark Saxon were among the others to announce their departures.

“Our goal continues to be to maximize our unparalleled scale in every medium with storytelling that stands out and makes a difference,” Skipper said in a memo to employees. “We are well-equipped to thrive going forward by embracing those themes.”

Aloha Stadium

Entering its 43rd year, Aloha Stadium has, “… served its useful life and is now a liability to fan experiences, a potential danger to public health and safety and a financial burden for maintenance and operations,” a consultant’s report warns.

The report notes “… inspections have identified pieces of the building that have actually fallen into public areas of the facility (fortunately the stadium was vacant at the time) bringing to reality the venue’s immediate and long-term risks to fans, the Stadium Authority and the State of Hawaii.”

The 180-page “Aloha Stadium Conceptual Redevelopment Report” and an accompanying 312-page structural review, which were accepted today by the Aloha Stadium Authority, were cited by a consultant who is recommending the building of a new stadium adjacent to the rusting Halawa facility as part of a redevelopment master plan.

Dave Reardon's biggest upset

Listening to the car radio on the way home late Friday (or was it early Saturday?), I heard sports talk radio guys talking about Mississippi State’s win over Connecticut possibly being the greatest sports upset of all-time.

What? They had to be joking, right? If they were just trolling for callers, it worked. Their lines lit up with plenty of dissenting opinions.

The Bulldogs’ 66-64 halting of UConn’s 111-game winning streak in the national semifinals is certainly huge. But all sports? All-time?

Not even close.

I do see it, though, as very significant and perhaps groundbreaking. In women’s basketball the best players and the best programs have been so much better than the have-less-talent competitors and programs. Big upsets are less common than in other sports and the men’s game.

So, when UConn goes down like that, it gives at least some hope that something a little closer to competitive balance can develop. And that would make women’s basketball more interesting to many fans.

After listening to the radio a bit longer, I realized where the radio dudes were coming from. I don’t mean philosophically, I mean geographically. Their broadcast was from Bristol, Conn., less than 50 miles from the UConn campus in Storrs. ESPN has always seemed more excited about UConn than most of the rest of the country.

For the same reason, some of us in Hawaii are a little biased toward Chaminade over Virginia as the gold standard for sports upsets.

Richard Haenisch has even more of an excuse, since he played for the Silverswords in their 77-72 win over the No. 1-ranked Cavaliers, who featured two-time NCAA Division I player of the year Ralph Sampson.

“Considering the 111-game winning streak and the fact UConn beat them by 60 last year and that it’s the Final Four, that makes (Mississippi State’s win) spectacular. But … one Division I school beating another should NEVER be considered as big an upset as an NAIA school with a tiny budget for athletics beating a No. 1 rated NCAA Division I team,” Haenisch said in a text. “EVER!”

That’s why one caller put Appalachian State’s football win at Michigan in 2007 as his pick (and no, he’s not an Ohio State or Michigan State guy).

Here’s what one guy with no dog in the fight thinks about the ’Swords:

“I tweeted right away (after the UConn loss) the biggest upset in all of sports is Chaminade over Virginia and it will never be topped,” said Scott Strasemeier, who is senior associate athletic director in charge of sports information at Navy.

Like we talked about with greatest players of all-time a few weeks ago, this is all tricky, subjective stuff that you can measure in so many different ways.

For example, in 1974, Notre Dame beat UCLA 71-70, in men’s basketball, ending an 88-game winning streak for the Bruins. We never hear that game mentioned as an all-time upset, do we?

Sometimes we’re prisoners of the moment, sometimes we’re victims of foggy memories that remember a smaller world when we knew little and cared even less about the world beyond our favorite team’s stadium.

The largeness of the stage can factor in. So can the impact on the sport … or, like when the United States Olympic team beat the Russians in hockey, an unexpected victory can affect an entire nation.

With all of that in mind and sometimes ignored, here’s one person’s list of biggest sports upsets of all-time. I know yours will be different.

Honorable mentions: Milan (Ind.) High School (enrollment: 161) beats big-school Muncie in Indiana state basketball championship (1954); Giants beat undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl (2008); Miracle Mets take down Orioles in World Series (1969); NC State knocks off Houston in NCAA men’s basketball championship (1983); Boise State beats Oklahoma in Fiesta Bowl (2007); Waimea over perennial power Kailua in state softball championship (1990).

10. Holly Holm crushes previously unbeaten Ronda Rousey in MMA fight (2016)

9. Mississippi State over UConn in women’s basketball (2017)

8. Red Sox win four after losing three to beat Yankees in ALCS, go on to capture their first World Series in 76 years (2004)

7. Jets 16, Colts 7, Super Bowl III, the Joe Namath “guarantee” game helped legitimize the AFL and form the current NFL (1969)

6. Buster Douglas, a 42-1 underdog, knocks out undefeated, undisputed heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson (1990)

5. Villanova over Patrick Ewing and Georgetown in NCAA hoops championship (1985)

4. Chaminade over Virginia (1982)

3. The Miracle on Ice (1980)

2. Bad News Bears over Yankees. Yeah, it’s a fictional movie. But (see No. 1) many of us can relate (1976)

1. Park Forest South Dodgers, the real-life Bad News Bears, beat the Reds, the real-life Yankees, in one of many real-life versions of the movie. Before the season even started we lost our only experienced player when he found a bullet, pounded it with a hammer and nearly lost an eye. But we somehow beat the Reds in the championship game. Remember, sports upsets are subjective (1972)

Rainbow Warrior basketball penalties reduced

The Hawaii basketball team has been cleared by the NCAA to play in the postseason, the collegiate governing body announced this morning.

UH had waited nervously as the Big West tournament crept closer — but now the Rainbow Warriors (14-14, 8-7 BWC) will be playing in Anaheim, Calif., next week.

In its release, the NCAA stated:

“The University of Hawaii, Manoa, will not have to serve a men’s basketball postseason ban, according to a reconsidered decision issued by the Division I Committee on Infractions. The university’s probationary period was also reduced from three years to two, and the men’s basketball scholarship penalty was changed from two scholarship reductions to one over each of the two years.”

Per a UH spokesperson, the basketball team will have its full allotment of 13 scholarships restored for 2017-18 because of the scholarships it’s withheld between this season and last season.

NBA 2016-2017 transactions

2/23/17 - Chicago trades Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott to Oklahoma City for Cameron Payne, Joffrey Lauvergne, and Anthony Morrow
2/23/17 - P.J. Tucker traded from Phoenix to Toronto for Jared Sullinger and two second-round pickks
2/23/17 - Nerlens Noel to be traded from Philadelphia to Dallas for Andrew Bogut, Justin Anderson, protected 2017 first-round pick
2/22/17 - Ilyasova traded from Philadelphia to Atlanta for Splitter and a second-round pick
2/22/17 - Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCoullough traded from Brooklyn to Washington for Marcus Thornton, Andrew Nicholson, and protected first-round pick
2/21/17 - Lou Williams traded from Lakers to Houston for Corey Brewer and first round pick
2/2/1/17 - Jeannie Buss ousts Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak from front office, putting Magic Johnson in charge of basketball operations
2/19/17 - DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Caspi traded from Sacramento to New Orleans for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, 2017 first round pick (top three protected), 2017 second round pick.
2/14/17 - Serge Ibaka traded from Orlando to Toronto for Terrence Ross and 2017 first round pick
2/12/17 - Mason Plumlee and 2018 second-round traded from Portland to Denver for Jusuf Nurkic and 2017 first round pick
2/2/17 - Bucks trade Miles Plumlee to Hornets for Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes
1/5/17 - Kyle Korver traded to Cleveland from Atlanta for Mike Dunleavy, Mo Williams, first-round pick
11/1/16 - Jerami Grant traded from Philadelphia to Oklahoma City for Ersan Ilyasova and a protected 2020 first-round pick
11/1/16 - Ray Allen retires
9/23/16 - Kevin Garnett retires after 21 seasons
9/23/16 - Chris Bosh fails physical, future unclear
8/17/16 - Yi Jianlian to sign with Lakers for 1 year, $8 million
8/12/16 - LeBron re-signs with Cleveland for three years, $100 million
8/3/16 - Russell Westbrook agrees to three-year $86 million renegotiation
8/3/16 - Jimmer to reportedly play in China for Yao Ming's team
8/2/16 - David Lee signs with Spurs
7/26/16 - Amare Stoudemire retires / will play in Israel
7/26/16 - CJ McCollum signs max extension, four years, $106 million
7/11/16 - Tim Duncan retires after 19 seasons
7/11/16 - Draymond Green arrested for assault
7/11/16 - Portland matches Nets offer sheet for Allen Crabbe
7/11/16 - Heat match offer sheet for Tyler Johnson, re-sign Haslem, sign Wayne Ellington, sign James Johnson, acquire Luke Babbitt from New Orleans
7/10/16 - Meyers Leonard signs four-year, $41 million extension with Portfland
7/9/16 - James Harden agrees to $118 million, 4 year renegotiation
7/9/16 - Warriors sign David West for veteran's minimum
7/8/16 - Derrick Williams signs with Miami for 1 year, $5 million
7/8/16 - Marreese Speights agrees to join Clippers
7/7/16 - Nets offer Allen Crabbe $75 million for four years
7/7/16 - Festus Ezeli headed to Portland for two years, $15 million
7/6/16 - Nets offer Tyler Johnson $50 million for four years (matched by Miami 7/11)
7/6/16 - Dwyane Wade leaving Miami for Chicago for two years, $47.5 million, Bulls trade Jose Calderon to Lakers and Mike Dunleavy to Cleveland
7/6/16 - Barbosa to return to Phoenix for two years, $8 million
7/6/16 - Nene heads to Houston for one year, $2.9 million
7/5/16 - San Antonio trades Boris Diaw to Utah for rights to Olivier Hanlan (i.e. salary cap space)
7/5/16 - Dirk Nowitzki to re-sign with Dallas for two years, $40 million
7/5/16 - Gerald Henderson head to Philiadelphia for two years, $18 million
7/5/16 - Ramon Sessions signs with Charlotte for two years, $12.3 million
7/4/16 - Roy Hibbert signs with Charlotte for one year, $5 million
7/4/16 - Brandon Jennings to play for Knicks for one year, $5 million
7/4/16 - Andew Bogut traded from Golden State to Dallas
7/4/16 - Pau Gasol signs with San Antonio for two years, $30 million
7/4/16 - which means Harrison Barnes will be headed to Dallas
7/4/16 - Warriors are now heavy favorites to win
7/6/16 - Charles Barkley comments on Durant's move

7/4/16 - Kevin Durant will be taking his talents to Golden State for two years, $54 million

7/4/16 - Tarik Black returns to Lakers for two years, $12.85 million
7/3/16 - Trey Burke traded from Utah to Washington for 2021 second round pick
7/3/16  - Dallas bringing back Deron Williams for one year, $10 million and Dwight Powell for four years, $37 million
7/3/16 - Cole Aldridge will go to Minnesota for 3 years, $22 million
7/3/16 - Rondo going to Chicago for two years, $30 million
7/3/16 - Garrett Temple going to Sacramento for three years, $24 million
7/3/16 - Nets to sign Tyler Johnson to four-year, $50 million offer sheet
7/3/16 - Ginobili to return to Spurs for 15th season
7/2/16 - Wesley Johnson to return to Clippers for three years, $18 million
7/2/16 - Eric Gordon to join Rockets for four years, $53 million
7/2/16 - Ian Mahinmi signs with Wizards for four years, $64 million (Mozgov money)
7/2/16 - Austin Rivers to re-sign with Clippers for three years, $35 million
7/2/16 - Dallas to make max offer to Harrison Barnes
7/2/16 - Courtney Lee agrees to join Knicks for four years, $50 million
7/2/16 - Celtics signs Al Hoford to max deal, four years, $113 million
7/2/16 - Ryan Anderson headed to Houston for four years, $80 million
7/2/16 - Arron Affalo headed to Sacrament for two years, $25 million
7/2/16 - Bismack Biyombo to leave Toronto for Orlando for four years, $70 million
7/2/16 - Marvin Williams to return to Charlotte for four years, $54.5 million
7/2/16 - Jon Leuer heads to Detroit for four years, $42 million
7/2/16 - Luol Deng agrees to join Lakers for four years, $72 million
7/2/16 - Joe Johnson signs with Utah for two years, $22 million
7/2/16 - Kent Bazemore to return to Hawks for four years, $70 million
7/1/16 - Jared Dudley returning to Phoenix for three years, $30 million
7/1/16 - Jeff Green to join Orlando for 1 year, $15 million
7/1/16 - Mike Conley Jr. re-signs with Memphis for 5 years and a record $153 million
7/1/16 - Dwight Howard signs with Atlanta for three years, $70.5 million
            [more from the 7/1/16 feed]
7/1/16 - Solomon Hill to New Orlenas for four years, $48 million
7/1/16 - Matthew Dellavdeova agrees to Milwaukee offer sheet for four years, $38.4 million
7/1/16 - Evan Fournier to stay with Orlando for five years, $85 million
7/1/16 - Mirza Telotovic agree with Bucks for three years, $30 million
7/1/16 - Jerryd Bayless agrees to go to Philadelphia for three years, $27 million
7/1/16 - DJ Augustin to sign with Orlando for four years, $29 million
7/1/16 - OJ Mayo banned by NBA for at least two years
7/1/16 - Chandler Parsons signs max deal with Memphis for four years, $94 million
7/1/16 - Evan Turner headed to Portland for four years, $70 million
7/1/16 - Al Jefferson signs with Indiana for three years, $30 million
7/1/16 - Detroit signs Ish Smith for three years, $18 million
7/1/16 - Andre Drummond agrees to stay with Detroit for five year max of $130 million
7/1/16 - Jeremy Lin heads to Brooklyn for three years, $36 million
7/1/16 - Hassan Whiteside to stay with Heat for max deal of four years, 98.6 milllion
7/1/16 - Nicolas Batum to re-sign with Charlotte for five years, $120 million
7/1/16 - Bradley Beal agrees to stay with Wizards for five years, $128 million
7/1/16 - DeMar DeRozan to stay with Raptors for five years, $139 million
7/1/16 - Lakers resign Jordan Clarkson for four years, $50 million
7/1/16 - Joakim Noah and Knicks nearing agreement on deal for four years $72 million
7/1/16 - Lakers to pay Timofey Mozgov $64 million for four years

6/30/16 - Nets release Jarrett Jack
6/23/16 - Brooklyn trades Thaddeus Young to Indiana for first round pick (no. 20)
6/22/16 - Hawks send Jeff Teague to Pacers who send George Hill to Utah who send first round pick (no. 12) to Atlanta
6/22/16 - Knicks acquire Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday, 2017 second-round pick from Bulls for Robin Lopez, Jose Calderon, Jerian Grant
6/3/16 - Knicks hire Jeff Hornacek as head coach
5/30/16 - Memphis hires David Fizdale as head coach
5/28/16 - Houston to hire Mike D'Antoni as head coach
5/27/16 - the smartest coaching move of the off-season
5/19/16 - Orlando to hire Frank Vogel as head coach
5/16/16 - Pacers name Nate McMillan as head coach
5/12/16 - Scott Skiles resigns as Orlando coach
5/10/16 - Sacramento hires Joerger (to replace the fired George Karl)
5/7/16 - Memphis fires Dave Joerger
5/5/16 - Pacers part ways with Frank Vogel
4/29/16 - Luke Walton agrees to become new head coach of the Lakers
4/25/16 - Byron Scott won't return as Lakers coach
4/21/16 - Tom Thibodeaux to become coach and president of operations for Timberwolves
4/21/16 - Wizards hire Scott Brooks as head coach to replace Randy Wittman
4/17/16 - Kenny Atkinson named Brooklyn head coach