Jason Collins opens the door

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- History? Pressure? Jason Collins would have none of it after becoming the NBA's first openly gay player.

After all, there was a game to play.

"Right now I'm focusing on trying to learn the plays, learning the coverages and the game plan and the assignments. So I didn't have time to really think about history," Collins said at a crowded press conference less than an hour before his Brooklyn Nets faced the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.

Collins signed a 10-day contract with the Nets earlier Sunday and played 10 scoreless minutes with two rebounds and five fouls in the Nets' 108-102 victory.

"I know that I can play in the NBA and it felt good to be out there tonight," he said afterward.

The 35-year-old center revealed at the end of last season he is gay, but he was a free agent and had remained unsigned.

Collins said he was aware of the magnitude of his signing, which made him the first openly gay player in the four major U.S. professional sports leagues, but repeatedly said he was most concerned with learning the Nets' schemes.

"The pressure is playing in an NBA game tonight and last time I played in an NBA game was last April," Collins said. "So I think that's enough pressure right there."

With a need for another big man, the Nets turned to the 7-foot Collins, who helped them reach two NBA Finals in the early 2000s.

"The decision to sign Jason was a basketball decision," general manager Billy King said in a statement. "We needed to increase our depth inside, and with his experience and size, we felt he was the right choice for a 10-day contract."

Collins entered the game with 10:28 left in the second quarter and the Nets leading 35-26 after Nick Young made the first of his two free throws. The crowd welcomed him with a nice ovation when public address announcer Lawrence Tanter announced his name.

Finally Hulk Hogan has come back

to the WWF (well the WWE anyway).

Hulkamania is running wild again in the WWE.

Hulk Hogan, perhaps the biggest star in the company's 50-year history, is set to bring the red-and-yellow back to the sports entertainment behemoth and will host the April 6 WrestleMania in New Orleans.

Hogan returns to the WWE after a six-year absence and will be on Monday's ''Raw'' on the USA Network. Hogan will also bring the muscle for the WWE's launch of its own network: He will appear on ''WWE Raw Backstage Pass,'' airing live on WWE Network at 11:05 p.m. on Monday night.

''I definitely want to stay here in the WWE,'' Hogan told The Associated Press on Friday. ''I just can't see myself ever being anywhere else. This is home. It always has been home. In the twilight of my career, what a great way to be part of the final hurrah for Hulk Hogan and all the Hulkamaniacs.''

The 60-year-old Hogan's return is perfectly timed for both the 30th WrestleMania and the new network, which debuts Monday as a streaming service for $9.99 per month with a six-month commitment and will include all 12 pay-per-view events.

Hogan last appeared on WWE's flagship show ''Raw'' in December 2007.

Hogan was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years in WWE's signature event, facing everyone from Andre The Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and, yes, company chairman Vince McMahon. He's in shape and could be ready to mix it up, if needed, at the Superdome.

But no WrestleMania match is scheduled.

''Right now, it's not in the plans,'' Hogan said. ''But like they say in the WWE, never say never.''

Hawaii NFL Legends 2014

For the second year, Pro Bowl in Hawaii also means the unveiling of a new class of inductees into the Hawaii NFL Legends.

They are Rockne Freitas, Olin Kreutz, Rich Miano and Chris Naeole.

They join year-one inductees Wally Yonamine, Herman Wedemeyer, Charlie Ane, Jim Nicholson, Arnold Morgado Jr., Blane Gaison, Jesse Sapolu and Leo Goeas.

Circle of Honor, Class of 2013

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i Athletics Department is proud to recognize seven outstanding individuals as the newest inductees into the UH Sports Circle of Honor. The Class of 2013 includes Reydan "Tita" Ahuna (volleyball), QiongJie (Huang) Drew (diving), Diane (Sebastian) Pestolesi (volleyball), Rose (Thomas) Jones & Rosie (Vera Cruz) Bareis (tennis), and Falaniko "Niko" Noga & Alapati "Al" Noga (football).

This year's class represents the very best of UH Athletics including one national champion and five All-Americans. Drew is the first diver inducted into the circle while Jones and Bareis are the first tennis players to enter. Ahuna and Pestolesi are the ninth and 10^th women's volleyball players and both are part of teams – 1987 and 1979, respectively, who have already been inducted. The Noga brothers are the 29^th and 30^th football players among the 116 individuals and teams who are honored in the circle.

the no. 4 in Hawaii basketball history

If you’re a numbers guy like I am, it’s amazing how much fun you can have looking through old media guides. I’ll admit I had forgotten about the significance of this year in the history of University of Hawaii basketball until I recalled a game from the 1993-94 season that led me to flipping through the UH men’s basketball media guide.

The moment happened 20 years ago at Blaisdell Arena, when Hawaii’s mercurial guard Trevor Ruffin, who was playing yet another one of his “unforgettable games of a lifetime,” dribbled up court in the final seconds under heavy pressure against archrival BYU and banked in an off-balance three-pointer from near the top of the key to win the game.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Jim Leahey was heard yelling on the TV broadcast, as the Blaisdell erupted in celebration.

That 1993-94 season was one of many memorable moments that occurred in years ending in four. In 1963-64, UH hired a lanky Hilo native by the name of Red Rocha, and then later that same year, Rocha’s team opened what would become the Blaisdell. It was known as Honolulu International Center (HIC) back then. Yes, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the building that has seen everything from Elvis Presley and great concerts to Rocha’s Fabulous Five teams and a host of spectacular high school and college contests.

Ten years later, in the 1973-74 season, the Rainbows showcased one of their greatest all-Americans ever in hot-shooting guard Tom Henderson. It was that team that set a UH record by opening the season with 11 straight wins; and then they finished the year by making it all the way to the NIT quarterfinals. After the season, Henderson was the highest UH draft pick ever – selected seventh overall by the Atlanta Hawks.

Twenty years later, the 1993-94 season was one of the most incredible roller-coaster rides in UH history. Riley Wallace’s team opened that season with three straight lopsided losses in Alaska, losing by an average of 48 points a game. By the time I caught up with the team to announce a game at the University of North Carolina, Riley wondered if he could ever turn things around. He did right there in Chapel Hill. Led by a tremendous effort by Jarrin Akana, the ‘Bows impressed even the great Tar Heel coach Dean Smith.

Then, with 7-footer Tony Maroney dominating the middle and Ruffin shooting lights out off and on throughout the year, including a 42-point outburst against Louisville, the ‘Bows raced to the WAC Tournament title and improbably into the NCAA Tournament. They lost to Syracuse in the first-round matchup, but Ruffin even got accolades from top Orangemen players after yet another dazzling shooting performance.

By the end of 1994, the ‘Bows were playing their home games at the newly opened Stan Sheriff Center. Yes, 2014 marks the 20th anniversary of the building originally named simply UH Special Events Center.

Ten years ago, the 2003-04 season saw another milestone. Michael Kuebler was a coach’s dream, and he led the ‘Bows with his deft three-point accuracy. That Hawaii team, which also starred Haim Shimonovich, Jeff Blackett and Phil Martin, won 20 games and earned the ‘Bows their only road win ever against a nationally ranked team when Hawaii upset No. 25-ranked Utah State in the first round of the NIT. Kuebler and his teammates then knocked off powerful Nebraska.

May the “Fours” be with you, and the ‘Bows, too!

Don and Scott Robbs feel lucky

Don and Scott Robbs have partnered for University of Hawaii baseball broadcasts in the past, but they'll be a team on a nightly basis now.

They feel fortunate to work together -- and both feel lucky to be alive.

Since August, Don, 77, has dealt with bypass surgery, a stroke, surgery to clear blockage in a carotid artery and hernia surgery. The veteran of 37 years as the voice of UH baseball is close to fully recovered, and ready to resume duty on Friday when the Rainbow Warriors open their season against Oregon at Les Murakami Stadium.

It will help Don that Scott, who has been there with him through his recovery, will also be in the booth.

"When this first happened, he told me 'I think my baseball career is over,' " Scott said. "But that's what helps keep him going."

And today, Scott, 47, publicly reveals his own serious health challenges.

"I went through a physical thing," Don said Sunday. "He went through a mental thing."

Scott Robbs has salvaged his career, marriage and possibly his life in the past four years by taking positive steps to deal with panic disorders, severe depression and alcohol abuse. You might not know it if you didn't see him every day, because Scott was good at putting up a lighthearted front.

"I was good at masking. But I hit my bottom, I couldn't take it anymore. My life was a mess and couldn't handle it anymore," he said. "I knew if I didn't do something about it, I was in real trouble. Had I kept on going the way I was going, I don't think I'd be here. Maybe not alive."

There were work difficulties, too. Scott was the UH volleyball play-by-play broadcaster, but due to agoraphobia (anxiety in open or crowded areas) he feared flying. On one trip, a panic attack kept him in his hotel room in El Paso, Texas, and he had to reschedule his flight home to the next day.

Finally, on a day in Nov. 2010, when he was supposed to get on a plane to broadcast the WAC volleyball tournament, Scott instead checked himself into Castle Medical Center.

"It got to a point where I knew I can't keep doing this, I'm going to die and I didn't want to die. I told (Dori) I was going to Castle. She revealed that if I'd gone on that trip she was going to leave me."

Scott said he knew something was wrong from the time he was 18. But it took the sixth therapist and the third medication for effective treatment. He got both of them on the three-day visit to Castle four years ago.

Don now lives with Scott, Dori, Iliahi and Oliana, and Don credits them with helping him recover well and soon enough to return to his perch above the diamond.

Through it all, they've kept their sense of humor.

"I can hear him snoring, he can hear me snoring," said Scott.

"If you DON'T hear me snoring, come check on me," his father replied.

-- Dave Reardon, Star-Advertiser

Ralph Kiner

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) -- Ralph Kiner, who slugged his way into the baseball Hall of Fame and enjoyed a half-century career as a popular broadcaster, died Thursday. He was 91.

The Hall said Kiner died at his home in Rancho Mirage with his family at his side.

Kiner hit 369 home runs during his 10-year career, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He made his debut in 1946 and his power quickly became the talk of baseball - he won or tied for the National League lead in homers in each of his first seven seasons.

''Kiner's Korner'' was already a fixture on the New York Mets' airways when he was inducted into the Hall in 1975. He was elected with just one vote to spare in his 15th and final year on the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot.

The six-time All-Star still ranks sixth all-time with a home run every 14.1 at-bats. He averaged more than 100 RBIs per season and hit .279 with the Pirates, the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland.

Hawaii's top college football prospects

[2/6/14]  Signing Day: Tuileta goes to USC.
University of Hawaii recruiting capsules

***

It might be the so-called "off" or "sandwich" years, like this one, which, despite an absence of heralded four-star prospects or can't-miss All-Americans like Manti Te'o, still could produce 12-18 major college scholarship recipients, pending final academic results.

"That's a lot of kids," said Kapolei High coach Darren Hernandez, who figures to have three of them — defensive tackle Kalani Vakameilalo (Oregon State), defensive end Kingston Fernandez (Washington State) and offensive tackle Micah Kapoi (Wisconsin) —signing Wednesday on National Letter of Intent Day.

Vakameilalo, a 6-foot-4, 300-pounder, "looks like he might be the most college-ready of the bunch," said a coach who regularly recruits Hawaii.

UH said it snared six of the seven local players it has targeted, apparently missing out on only Lamone Williams, a Kahuku defensive end bound for Oregon State.

***

Star-Advertiser 2013 All-State football team

candidates for the 2016 Dream Team

28 players are being considered for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Marc Stein tweets:

In tweets of seven: LaMarcus Aldridge, Carmelo Anthony, Bradley Beal, Tyson Chandler, DeMarcus Cousins, Steph Curry and Anthony Davis

Another seven: Andre Drummond, Kevin Durant, Kenneth Faried, Paul George, Blake Griffin, James Harden and Gordon Hayward

Seven more: Dwight Howard, Andre Iguodala, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Kyle Korver, David Lee and Kawhi Leonard

Last seven: Damian Lillard, Kevin Love, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Klay Thompson, Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams

Four years ago, USA Basketball added four more players to its pool a few months after the initial release, and the same could happen this cycle. John Wall, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, DeAndre Jordan and Michael Carter-Williams are among the players who would make sense as late additions. (Kobe Bryant, the lone 2012 Olympian not selected, has already announced his retirement from international play.)

Those 28(-plus?) will be parsed to 12 for each international event, but of course the biggest prize is a spot on the 2016 Olympic roster.

So, who has the best chance? Ignoring possible late additions to the expanded roster, some of whom would rank highly, here’s how the 28 already selected stack up for making the 2016 Olympic Team (age at the beginning of the Rio Games is listed in parentheses):

Hint: outside of the top 12: Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyrie Irving.

Clayton Kershaw, $215 million

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw have agreed on a seven-year, $215 million deal, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

It is the richest deal for a pitcher in Major League Baseball history, eclipsing the seven-year, $180 million contract Detroit gave Justin Verlander last winter, and his average annual salary of $30.7 million is the highest ever for any baseball player. Kershaw will also have the opportunity to become a free agent again in five years, if he chooses.

The 25-year-old Kershaw has won two of the last three National League Cy Young Awards, as well as a Roberto Clemente Award for his charitable work.

Kershaw went 16-9 with a 1.83 ERA and 232 strikeouts last season, his sixth with the Dodgers. The left-hander has a 2.60 career ERA and recorded at least 212 strikeouts in each of the past four seasons.

Kershaw had recently completed a two year, $19 million deal. He filed for arbitration on Tuesday and could have become a free agent at the end of this season if the club had elected to go through the arbitration process and signed him to a one-year deal.

Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man (and Peter Ralston)

I found this article on Bruce Lee's encounter with Wong Jack Man interesting.

Who knows what really happened?  But I see there's a entire book written about the event (and an upcoming movie?)

***

From the article, one of Wong Jack Man's students was Peter Ralston, whose book I bought years ago. Ralston has apparently transcended martial arts, but has a youtube channel.

*** [7/20/14]

OK, how about his fight with Lau Dai-Chuen?

Jameis Winston wins Heisman

In an anticlimax of a ceremony Saturday night, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston became the 79th winner of the Heisman Trophy.

In real terms, Winston claimed the most coveted individual award in sports nine days earlier. That’s when Florida State Attorney Willie Meggs announced that his office would not file charges against Winston after he was accused of a 2012 sexual assault. That decision removed the only major impediment between the quarterback and the Heisman.

Winston won the award in a landslide – receiving 668 first-place votes to end up with 2,205 points total – despite being left off 115 of the 900 ballots that were returned. It was the fifth-largest margin of victory in the modern history of the award. At 19 years old, he's also the youngest player to ever win the Heisman.

The only real drama Saturday night was seeing who would finish second in the balloting. That honor went to AJ McCarron of Alabama, who ended up with 704 points. He was followed by Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch (558), Boston College running back Andre Williams (470), 2012 Heisman winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M (421) and rounding out the ballot was Auburn running back Tre Mason (404).

In football terms, Winston was the easy choice. He leads the nation in pass efficiency, throwing for 3,820 yards with 38 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and completing 67.9 percent of his passes. And his team in undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation, with every victory by two touchdowns or more.

Winston’s star began to rise immediately. In his first college game, on Labor Day night at Pittsburgh, the redshirt freshman completed 25 of 27 passes for 356 yards and four touchdowns. It ranks among the most impressive debut games in college football history.

His 252.2 passer rating for that game was his highest of the season, but Winston’s numbers never dipped very far. In 13 starts, he has yet to have what could be considered a bad outing. The Hueytown, Ala., product has never had a college game completing less than half his passes, has thrown a touchdown pass in every game, and only against Miami did he have a game with more interceptions (two) than TDs (one).

He becomes the third Florida State quarterback to win the Heisman, following Charlie Ward in 1993 and Chris Weinke in 1999. Both of those QBs went on to win the national championship a few weeks later.

In recent years, Heisman voters have been increasingly willing to disregard old-school voting doctrine. This is the second year in a row that the award has gone to a redshirt freshman in his first season of college football competition, with Manziel in that role last year.

One trend that is alive and well is voter fixation on quarterbacks. Winston is the fourth consecutive QB to win the Heisman, and the 12th in the last 13 years.

Anthony Carter: basketball coach

CEDAR PARK, Texas » Former University of Hawaii star Anthony Carter might be a perfect basketball coach based solely on the mentors in his life.

It's not every day a well-traveled professional player suits up for the likes of Pat Riley, George Karl and Gregg Popovich in one NBA lifetime.

Recently hired as an assistant coach for the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League, the 38-year-old plans to take advantage of his lineage. Three NBA teams contacted Carter before the San Antonio Spurs, the owner of the Toros, hired him. Once he decided to enter coaching, he called Riley for advice.

"Pat Riley instilled in me that hard work pays off, never take practice or a game for granted because you never know when it's your last," Carter said. "And he taught me how to get in shape two months before training camp. I did that my whole career and that's a big reason why I stayed around for so long, because I had a great work ethic."

Carter could have landed the head coaching job in Austin, but deferred because of his lack of coaching experience. He's happy to be in one of the NBA's model organizations. His playing background with the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs will come in handy in the coaching realm. He plans to incorporate their coaching philosophies.

"Those are the top two family organizations I think, first class," he said. "He (Popovich) knows how to give guys rest and knows when to push guys, how far to push guys. I've been doing that on our team."

After two memorable seasons in Hawaii, Carter went undrafted, spending the 1998-99 campaign with Yakima of the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association (CBA). The following year things got a lot better for Carter after he landed in Miami, playing for Hall of Famer Riley.

Carter spent four seasons with the Heat, one in San Antonio, two in Minnesota, five in Denver, one in New York and one in Toronto before calling it a day. As much as Riley and Popovich hold sway over Carter's budding coaching career, he also learned a lot under the guidance of Karl.

Karl thought so much of Carter, he asked him to be an assistant coach in his waning days with the Nuggets in 2011. Carter wasn't ready to hang them up for good, but appreciated the thought.

"He is a player's coach and this is a player's league," Carter said. "I took away from him that you let the players play if they're playing the game the right way. Another thing I took from him is if you're starting practice at 10, he doesn't want you there at 10. He wants you there 30 minutes early so you're already stretched (and ready to go)."

Spending 14 seasons in the NBA while also paying his dues in the CBA and abroad gave him instant credibility with his current team.

"I tell them all the time, I didn't know I was going to get called up to the NBA," Carter conceded. "I never thought that I could make it to the NBA until I did.

"That's what I'm trying to instill into these guys, is to just go out and play and play every possession like it's your last. I was undrafted. I played in the CBA and made it to the NBA, so I know where they're all coming from and all of them can relate to me."

2013-2014 baseball deals

12/6/13 - Robinson Canoe leaves Yankees for Mariners for $240 million for 10 years
12/4/13 - Jacoby Ellsbury leaves Red Sox for Yankees for 7 years, $153 million

2013 College Football Coaching Changes

12/12/13 - Boise State hires Bryan Harsin as head coach
12/6/13 - Chris Peterson leaves Boise State for Washington
12/2/13 - Steve Sarkisian leaves Washington for USC
9/29/13 - Lane Kiffin fired by USC

Magnus Carlsen, chess superstar

Chess crowned a new superstar Friday, as Magnus Carlsen clinched his first world chess title in a victory many expect to revolutionize the game.

At 22 years old, and with enough mainstream appeal to have secured a modeling contract and various endorsement deals, Carlsen is seen as the poster boy for a new era in chess, which has long been stuck with an image that was anything but dynamic.

The Norwegian secured victory by outlasting reigning champ Viswanathan Anand in Chennai, India, with a draw in game 10 of their scheduled 12-match series, building an unassailable 6.5-3.5 lead and bringing the contest to a close.

Carlsen's win earned him the $1.5 million winner's check, but that figure may be dwarfed by the commercial sponsorships he is able to secure on the back of his triumph.

With the "nerd dollar" one of the most powerful forces in modern marketing, Carlsen's combination of charisma and supreme strategic intelligence looks certain to pocket him some serious cash, as well as lead to a surge in popularity for his game of choice. Having secured the highest rating in chess history, his head-to-head battle with Anand over the past two weeks was all that stood between Carlsen and chess immortality.

However, he has already ventured where no chess player has gone before, with his modeling appearance for clothes brand G-STAR, a spot on Cosmopolitan magazine's sexiest men of 2013 list and a fanbase that includes even those unfamiliar with chess' complicated vagaries.

"The future belongs to him," said former world champion Garry Kasparov, one of chess' all-time greats. "He has the ability to reach an audience that has previously been shut off to chess. That is a wonderful thing for the game, to have this special talent and the character that goes with it."

Carlsen's style of play flies in the face of conventional chess logic and proved too much for Anand, a three-time defending champion.

Constantly throwing his opponent off balance with unorthodox and aggressive maneuvers, Carlsen asserted control in the championship match, which was played in a glass cage in India's sixth-largest city.

After the first four games all ended in draws, as is highly common at the top level of chess, where both players are of extremely high skill, Carlsen snatched away games five and six with ruthless attacking play. Following two more draws, he staved off a barrage of attacking moves from Anand to win game nine, putting him a mere half point from the championship. Players are awarded a full point for each game won, half for a draw.

Anand did not lie down quietly in game 10, despite his virtually impossible plight, forcing the game to 65 moves apiece before the players eventually agreed to a draw.

Carlsen is now expected to be greeted with a hero's welcome when he returns to his native Norway, before embarking on a world tour aimed at maximizing the spoils of his success.

"There is no telling how far his popularity could go," said two-time U.S. women's chess champion Jennifer Shahade. "He is a great looking guy and he has the personality and charisma to appeal to a very broad audience. This is a great time for him – and a great time for chess."

[2/16/14] - Magnus Carlsen vs. Bill Gates

2013 Rainbow Warriors Football

12/10/13 - Chow fires Kaumeyer and Tuioti

Even though Hawaii had a dismal season record-wise, they were competitive in 8 of the last 9 games.

Taking away the Utah State game, they scored 49, 56, 21, 28, 28, 37, 27, 37 points in those 8 games.  That's 283 points in 8 games for an average of 35 points per game.  I'd say that's almost June Jones like numbers.

How good was Schroeder in the last 9 games?

Opponent       Yards  TDs  Int
Fresno State    321    3    1
San Jose State  342    3    3
UNLV            325    4    0
Colorado State  349    2    1
Utah State      213    1    3
Navy            246    3    0
San Diego State 194    2    1
Wyoming         499    6    1
Army            322    3    1

totals         2811   27   11

2811 yards in 9 games is an average of 312 yards per game.  (And some are still complaining about Chow's "conservative" offense.)

11/30/13 - Army 42, Hawaii 49 [1-11]
11/30/13 - Von Appen was different
11/23/13 - Hawaii 56, Wyoming 59 (OT) [0-11]
11/16/13 - San Diego State 27, Hawaii 21 (OT) [0-10]
11/9/13 - Hawaii 28, Navy 42 [0-9]
11/5/13 - Chow says he's not going to quit
11/4/13 - Chow says "I'm too old for this"
11/2/13 - Hawaii 10, Utah State 47 [0-8]
10/26/13 - Colorado State 35, Hawaii 28 [0-7]
10/12/13 - Hawaii 37, UNLV 39 [0-6]
10/05/13 - San Jose State 37, Hawaii 27 [0-5]
9/28/13 - Fresno State 42, Hawaii 37 [0-4]
9/21/13- Hawaii 9, Nevada 31 [0-3]
9/7/13 - Hawaii 13, Oregon State 33 [0-2]
8/30/13 - USC 30, Hawaii 13 [0-1]
8/28/13 - 2013 Season Preview
8/28/13 - Bob Hogue predicts a 4-8 season
8/2/13 - Aaron Price fired for undisclosed reasons (or not fired)
7/23/13 - Warriors picked to finish last
7/21/13 - Chow making changes
12/3/12 -  Norm Chow closes the books on 2012

Red Sox win World Series

BOSTON (AP) -- The old ballpark was packed for a celebration nearly a century in the making.

Players danced around the infield with their families.

Fans remained in the stands, savoring a long-awaited moment generations of New Englanders had never been able to witness.

Turmoil to triumph. Worst to first. A clincher at Fenway Park.

David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox, baseball's bearded wonders, capped their remarkable turnaround by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in Game 6 on Wednesday night to win their third World Series championship in 10 seasons.

When it was over, Ortiz took a microphone on the field and addressed the city, just as he did a week after the marathon bombings last April.

''This is for you, Boston. You guys deserve it,'' the Series MVP said. ''We've been through a lot this year and this is for all of you and all those families who struggled.''

And the Red Sox didn't even have to fly the trophy home. For the first time since Babe Ruth's team back in 1918, Boston won the title at Fenway. The 101-year-old stadium, oldest in the majors, was packed with 38,447 singing, shouting fans anticipating a party building for more than nine decades.

a Rivera moment

And then, with the AL leading 3-0 in the eighth, skipper Jim Leyland of the Tigers decided to call Yankee closer Mariano Rivera. Rivera trotted in, but his teammates remained in the dugout, leaving Mariano alone on the mound to soak in the standing ovation from an adoring and appreciative New York crowd. You could see his emotions, with eyes welling, as both dugouts with managers, coaches and players all applauding the greatest closer who ever climbed a mound. It was a spectacular sports moment. I’ve spoken to three grizzled, jaded writers who each said it was the most fantastic moment they’ve ever witnessed at any sporting event.

Rivera then retired the side on 16 pitches, all of them cutters, his trademark pitch.

League of Denial

League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis didn’t reveal many surprises. Anyone who has been paying attention to the issue of concussions in the NFL is well aware of the dangers associated with repeated hits to the head and the league’s effort to ignore the evidence. Why the nation’s premier sports league would do such a thing also isn’t a surprise: money.

Hawaii Prep World

It is the hot topic of the fall high school sports season and, no, it isn’t a pass-happy quarterback, a high-flying outside hitter or a fleet-footed cross country runner.

It’s a website.

It’s hawaiiprepworld.com and it has fans, parents, athletes – both current and from the past – flocking to it. Since its relaunch in August, the high school sports website run by the sports staff of the Star-Advertiser has taken off.

“We’re getting a lot of feedback. The response has been great and people are really excited about it,” says Adam Sparks, the SA staffer credited with upgrading the web design of an old site and who now helps maintain it. “A lot of people have contributed. Everybody here has had a hand in it.”

The site features current video highlights, blogs, statistics and game stories, and some in sports that don’t get as much play in the newspaper. But one of the most talked about parts of the website is its historical archives that have started with football.

Polynesian football hall of fame

The stories passed down through the generations of Polynesians have been through oral traditions and cultural practices. Whether it be song, dance or genealogy chant, the ties between the past and present have remained strong within the "many islands" — as is the translation of Polynesia — binding dots of land spread out over 70.1 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean.

Football was officially added to that connection with Wednesday's announcement of the inaugural Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013. Six players and one coach will be inducted in conjunction with January's Pro Bowl Week in Honolulu.

Selected in the player category were Waianae High graduate Kurt Gouveia; Saint Louis School products Olin Kreutz and the late Herman Wedemeyer; Kevin Mawae; the late Junior Seau; and Jack Thompson. Former Radford High and UH quarterback Ken Niumatalolo, the current head coach at Navy, was selected in the coach/contributor category.

"It was a very hard decision and it will only get harder and harder as more eligible players retire," former University of Hawaii football coach Dick Tomey, chair of the selection committee, said. "The hardest thing may have been getting from that initial 200-plus down to 20. Then we had a conference call to get it to six.

"All those nominated were deserving to be in this class and there will continue to be even more who are equally deserving. That's how tough it will be to get into the hall of fame."

Among those notably absent from the list were former UH and Farrington great Jesse Sapolu, one of only six San Francisco 49ers to win four Super Bowls, and former UH and Mililani defensive end Ma'a Tanuvasa, who won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos.

As co-founders of the hall of fame and members of the board of directors, the two asked that they not be considered for induction this year, Tomey said.

"They wanted to have the focus on the hall of fame, not on themselves and the potential of a conflict of interest," Tomey said. "That speaks volumes about their character."

The accomplishments of the seven inductees speaks volumes as well. The number of all-pro and all-America awards is as impressive as the off-field contributions to the Polynesian communities they represented.

"This is a proud moment and historic day," Sapolu said during Wednesday's press conference at the Sheraton Waikiki. "The board — June Jones, Vai Sikahema, Troy Polamalu, Reno Mahe — have been discussing this during our annual goodwill tours to Samoa. We wanted to recognize not only the greatest players, coaches and contributors but also have it serve as an inspiration for Polynesian youth to achieve their dreams and goals.

"We see this as a vehicle that can bring our Polynesian community even closer."

Although a committee in Utah has offered a permanent home for the hall of fame, discussions are ongoing with the Polynesian Cultural Center to establish it in Laie.

"We want this to have a sense of place and Hawaii does that," Tanuvasa said. "It's the stopover for those going to and from Samoa, Tahiti, Fiji and other islands. And the (Polynesian Cultural Center) with its foot traffic, the number of tourists from around the world who would see it, would be a good place."

The inaugural enshrinement ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2014, at the Hawaii Convention Center.

polynesianfootballhof.com.

KURT GOUVEIA

Gouveia, of Hawaiian ancestry, was named both the offensive and defensive player of the year when playing two ways for the Waianae Seariders. He went on win a national title with Brigham Young, and played 13 seasons in the NFL, mostly with Washington, twice winning the Super Bowl with the Redskins.

OLIN KREUTZ

Kreutz, also of Hawaiian ancestry, was a consensus All-American center at the University of Washington. He played for 14 seasons in the NFL, mostly with the Chicago Bears, and was named to the NFL all-decade team for the 2000s.

KEVIN MAWAE

Mawae, another player of Hawaiian ancestry, was the first Polynesian to serve as president of the NFL Players Association. The LSU sports hall of fame and NFL all-pro center played 16 seasons in the NFL and also was on the NFL all-decade team for the 2000s.

JUNIOR SEAU

Seau, a two-time All-American linebacker for USC, played 20 seasons in the NFL, mostly with the San Diego Chargers. Of Samoan ancestry, he was a 10-time all-pro selection, the Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner in 1994, and named to the NFL's all-decade team for the 1990s. He died in 2012.

JACK THOMPSON

Thompson, known as the "Throwin' Samoan" during his NCAA record-setting quarterbacking career at Washington State, went on to play six seasons in the NFL. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 1979 NFL Draft, third overall, which was highest ever for a player of Polynesian descent.

HERMAN WEDEMEYER

Wedemeyer, the "Flyin' Hawaiian" and consensus All-American halfback at St. Mary's in the 1940s, was the first player of Polynesian descent to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Of Hawaiian ancestry, Wedemeyer played two seasons in the All-America Football Conference — a short-lived pro league that rivaled the NFL — but later gained fame as "Det. Duke Lukela" on the original "Hawaii Five-O" series. He died in 1999.

KEN NIUMATALOLO

Niumatalolo, a former UH quarterback, was the first person of Samoan ancestry to be named a collegiate head football coach when he was hired by Navy in 2007. He also was the first service academy coach to lead his team to the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy in his first two seasons, doing so with the Midshipmen in 2007 and 2008.

***

Pride and determination are often enough to get things done in a hurry. When that doesn’t work, a swift kick in the okole can prove beneficial.

That’s pretty much how the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame got started.

Lane Kiffin fired as USC coach

Lane Kiffin is out as USC football coach.

Perhaps nothing captures the frustration of USC football, from the coaching staff, players and fans than one play in the third quarter Saturday night against Arizona State.

Trailing by 20 and facing fourth-and-2 from USC's own 41-yard line, the call was to run a play out of the Wildcat formation. OK, not too crazy, because 2 yards could be easily picked up on the ground. Nope, it was a running back pass.

Tre Maddon's pass was intercepted, USC's chances of a comeback were kaput and Lane Kiffin's USC career was cut short after the game. The school announced Sunday morning that Kiffin had been terminated as coach of the Trojans.

The 62-41 loss to Arizona State was USC's seventh loss in 11 games. After the Trojans meekly lost 10-7 at home to Washington State earlier in the year, USC fans started a "Fire Kiffin" chant that echoed through Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during the final minutes of the game.

[Dan Wetzel: USC couldn't wait until sunrise to fire coach Lane Kiffin]

Hawaii setting sights on Pac-12 (seriously?)

Saying Pac-12 membership is an achievable goal, University of Hawaii officials will ask 78 major stakeholders today to put their money behind the athletic department's ambitious dreams.

Athletic director Ben Jay told the Board of Regents Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics on Thursday that he will lay out his "Game Plan" to elevate the department's future at today's invitation-only downtown luncheon.

"The pitch we are going to make is, I feel, Manoa has now done its part taking a step forward (for athletics) and now we are asking the community and government," Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple told regents.

According to a fund-raising plan presented to the regents, UH seeks to raise $7.1 million in donations for the current fiscal year and $44.4 million over the next five years.

The department has averaged $6.2 million annually in donations over the past five years and wants to raise its annual budget from $32 million to $40 million within five years.

"We have pretty high hopes," Apple told the regents, saying, "I want to be playing Stanford, USC and Berkeley all the time so that we are thought of in the same vein."

Apple said, "I'd like to give (Jay) three years to build this public commitment and at the end of three years, if we can follow the plan that Ben has laid out, I'll also say this: particularly with the outreach we have been making to China and Asia that, I believe, if we get this kind of commitment, that we will be in a position, because of our academics, because of then our new stances in athletics, that we could be considered for admission to the Pac-12, the Pac-whatever, the Pac-16 at that point. That is certainly a goal. It is not going to be easy and not everyone agrees that we can do it, but I think it is where we need to go."

In materials presented to the board, Jay said, "This community is going to be called to action like never before. We will rely upon our community — all who call themselves avid supporters of Hawaii athletics — to decide with their financial resources the quality and level of competitive success they want from this athletic program."

[maybe they should try first for a winning football program]

the upset 30 years later

Chaminade’s Tony Randolph and Virginia’s Ralph Sampson sat court-side last month at Lahaina Civic Center, laughing and joking and having a great time watching Chaminade play the Giant Killer role again as the Division 2 Silverswords beat D-I powerhouse Texas in the Maui Invitational.

Randolph and Sampson are good friends these days, nearly 30 years since they battled head-to-head in the game often dubbed “The Biggest College Sports Upset of All Time.”

It was Dec. 23, 1982, when tiny Chaminade stunned No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Virginia at what was then called the HIC (now the Blaisdell) in Honolulu.

“What do I remember? I remember losing,” Sampson tells a national television interviewer, laughing. “They played well. You have to give them credit.”

“We had beaten crosstown rival Hawaii (a couple of games prior to the Virginia upset),” Randolph says. “That gave us confidence.”

Randolph, at 6-foot-7, and Sampson, at an imposing 7-foot-4, are both native Virginians and had played together many times in what Randolph called “street ball” back in their hometown. “I knew I could play him,” he says. “I just had to be quick and shoot from the outside. Sometimes you have those games when you feel like it’s going to be your night. The rim was like an ocean, and everything was falling in.”

Randolph scored 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting in Chaminade’s 77-72 victory for the ages. “The game has a life of its own,” he says now. “People still talk about it. They never forget.”

Over the years, Randolph says he has heard from people as far away as New Zealand, Germany, Japan and many small towns around the United States.

After playing some pro ball overseas and spending 21 years working with troubled youths in the Hawaii Family Court system in Honolulu, Randolph has a new home at Saint Francis School in Manoa. He’s in his second year as the dean of discipline there, and also assistant boys varsity basketball coach.

“The kids here are wonderful. It’s such a good place,” he says. “The job enables me to work with kids, which I love. There are some good athletes here, and we were successful last year (winning the ILH D-2 championship). This year, we’ve already beaten some D-I teams, so we’re excited.”

Time rarely goes by when someone doesn’t again bring up Ralph Sampson or The Upset.

“They come up and say ‘How did you guys do it?’” he says. “It’s so important to so many people. There’s a movie in the process about the game – it’s affected so many lives.”

The Upset is a part of Tony Randolph, and so are the Islands.

“I came to Hawaii, fell in love with it, met my wife here and we’ve lived here the rest of our lives. I feel truly blessed and humbled to have been a part of it.”

Yes, 30 years later – and forever – Chaminade has still beaten Virginia. The Giant Killers live on.

Ken Norton

Ken Norton, who had three memorable fights with Muhammad Ali, breaking Ali’s jaw in winning their first bout, then losing twice, and who went on to become the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, died Wednesday in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, Nev. He was 70.

His death was confirmed by his son Ken Jr., an assistant coach with the Seattle Seahawks of the N.F.L. and a pro linebacker for 13 seasons, The Associated Press said. Norton had been in poor health for several years after sustaining a series of strokes, The A.P. reported.

Norton defeated Ali on a 12-round split decision in 1973 to capture the North American Boxing Federation heavyweight title. Norton was an exceptionally muscular 6 feet 2 inches and 220 pounds, but he was a decided underdog in the first Ali fight.

“Ali thought it would be an easy fight,” Norton’s former manager, Gene Kilroy, was quoted by The A.P. as saying. “But Norton was unorthodox. Instead of jabbing from above like most fighters, he would put his hand down and jab up at Ali.”

Kilroy said that after the fight, Norton visited Ali at the hospital where he was getting his broken jaw wired, and Ali told him he never wanted to fight him again.

But the second bout in their trilogy came six months later, when Ali rallied to win a narrow split decision. In their final bout, Ali retained his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association titles when he defeated Norton on a decision that was unanimous but booed by many in the crowd of more than 30,000 at Yankee Stadium in September 1976.

Kenneth Howard Norton was born Aug. 9, 1943, in Jacksonville, Ill., and starred in high school football, basketball and track. He attended Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University) on a football scholarship but was hampered by a shoulder injury in his first two seasons and enlisted in the Marine Corps. Norton started boxing while he was in the Marines, compiling an amateur record of 24-2 and winning the All-Marine Heavyweight Championship three times.

He turned pro in 1967 and won 16 straight bouts before being knocked out by Jose Luis Garcia. Soon afterward, he read Napoleon Hill’s motivational book “Think and Grow Rich.”

“I must have read that book 100 times while in training, and I became a stronger person for it,” the Web site BoxRec.com quoted him as saying. He said he believed in the book’s philosophy that a person could do the unexpected if he put his mind to it.

“So I train for my fights mentally as well as physically,” he said. “One thing I do is only watch films of the fights in which I’ve done well or in which my opponent has done poorly.”        

Norton fought the undefeated George Foreman for the W.B.C. and W.B.A. heavyweight championships in 1974 and was knocked out in the second round. He stopped Jerry Quarry in five rounds in 1975 to regain the N.A.B.F. crown. In his next fight, Norton avenged his 1970 loss to Garcia with a fifth-round knockout.   

In 1977, Norton knocked out the previously unbeaten Duane Bobick in the first round and defeated Jimmy Young in a 15-round split decision in a W.B.C. title elimination series. He became the mandatory challenger for the winner of the coming fight between Ali and Leon Spinks. Spinks defeated Ali for the championship but shunned Norton for his first defense in favor of a rematch with Ali. The W.B.C. stripped Spinks of the title and awarded it to Norton.

Norton made his first defense of the W.B.C. title in 1978 against Larry Holmes and lost by a 15-round split decision in one of boxing’s most exciting fights.

After retiring for a time, Norton returned in 1980 and defeated the previously unbeaten Tex Cobb on a decision. The next year, Gerry Cooney, ranked No. 1 by the W.B.A. and the W.B.C., knocked Norton out in the first round in what became his final fight.

Norton won 42 fights (33 by knockout), lost seven times and fought one draw.

Tim Tebow, wanted

Earlier this week, the owner of the Russian football team, the Moscow Black Storm, offered Tim Tebow $1 million to appear in two games later this month.

“I talked with him personally and he wanted to go,” owner Mikhail Zaltsman told Russia Beyond The Headlines. “[His agents are] thinking of using him as a motivational speaker. They don't want him to play football.”

And that, we figured, was that.

Nope, at least not according to ITAR-TASS. Here's the headline from a story dated Sept. 18, 2013, 7:49 pm local time: "Tim Tebow may sign contract with Russian football team."

Here we go.

According to the English translation of the story, Dmitry Popkov, the president of the Black Storm, told ITAR-TASS that the team is "not 100 percent sure whether Tim [will] visit Russia. Negotiations are still underway. First we offered him a certain amount, then this amount increased. It will be clear after September 20 whether Tebow will come here. Our owner is in talks with managers and agents of this player. The funds have already been transferred -- the ball is in Tim Tebow's court now."

We have no idea what to make of this, but the Black Storm sound serious about acquiring Tebow and winning the American Football Championship of Russia, which takes place on Sept. 28.

There's no way this happens, right? Tebow has reportedly turned down offers from other professional leagues much closer to home and it's not like he'll have trouble finding work in a life outside football.

Except ... if you're into conspiracy theories (or just want something to distract you from your mind-numbing job, if only for a few minutes), there's this headline from an ITAR-TASS story dated Sept. 18, 2013, 2:36 pm local time -- some five hours before the story we linked to above: "Tim Tebow signs contract with Russian football team."

Oddly, the news was buried in the fourth paragraph: "The contract has been signed for just two games. The offered sum is pretty impressive," Popkov said before adding that the current Black Storm players are “pleasantly shocked. Even our adversaries are thrilled about Tebow visiting Russia. Everyone expects these two games to be very festive.”

Popkov had us going right up till the moment he referred to Tebow as the Michael Jordan of American Football. We can only assume something was lost in translation.

[well maybe Michael Jordan, the baseball player..]

***

OK, maybe not Jordan, but Johnny Unitas..

***

So what gives? It's not as if Tebow is hurting for cash; being selected in the first round in 2010 allowed him to sign a deal worth over $11 million, including $8.7 million guaranteed.

What Tebow and his camp need to understand is an NFL future may still be in the cards. Obviously, this isn't happening right away, but crazier things happen in the NFL. Tebow went unclaimed on waivers after being released, but injuries occur and Tebow could end up in the league again as a backup at the very least.

***

Tebow to Jacksonville?  Why the heck not?

***

Well, if not Russia or Jacksonville, how about the LA Kiss?

Judy Mosley

Judy Mosley-McAfee, the most decorated player to wear a University of Hawaii women's basketball uniform, died Monday after a three-year battle with cancer. She was 45.

Mosley-McAfee (just Mosley in her UH career from 1986-90), was a two-time District VII All-American and UH Circle of Honor inductee who led the Rainbow Wahine in career scoring (2,479 points), scoring average (21.7 ppg) and rebounding (1,441) among her dozen program records. She is the only player in UH hoops history -- men's or women's -- to eclipse 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, and only player ever to lead the team in scoring and rebounding four straight years.

Mosley-McAfee, a 6-1 forward who hailed from La Puente (Calif.) High School, still owns the UH record for points in a game with 46 at Pacific on Feb. 20, 1989.

She was part of UH NCAA tournament teams under Vince Goo in 1989 (20-10) and 1990 (26-4) out of the Big West Conference.

"This is a sad day for the University of Hawaii ohana," the former coach Goo said in a UH release. "Judy Mosley was the most dominating basketball player -- male or female -- that ever played for UH. No one has come close to equaling her record in scoring and rebounding. She was a great student who graduated in four years and was someone who was very proud to be a Rainbow Wahine. Judy was an All-American in every sense of the word and we have lost one of the school's all-time greats."

Current UH head coach Laura Beeman said her team would play in memory of Mosley in the upcoming season.

"To have somebody who set such a wonderful example for all student-athletes taken from us much too early adds to the gravity of the loss," Beeman said.

Mosley-McAfee earned UH's Jack Bonham award for the school's most prestigious women's athlete in 1990, the same year she was Big West Co-MVP, carried the team to its first NCAA women's tournament victory at Montana, and won gold at the World University Games.

As a junior, she averaged a still-school record of 26.7 points per game.

She played in European leagues for seven years after her UH career, when was taken sixth by the Sacramento Monarchs in the WNBA's 1997 "Elite" draft. Mosley played 12 WNBA games that year and would play internationally for two more years through 1999. To date she is one of two UH alumnae to play in the WNBA.

Mosley-McAfee is survived by her husband Marvin McAfee and her four children. Services are pending.

Jim Hackleman

When the Honolulu Star-Bulletin went shopping for a new sports editor in the mid-1960s, columnist Jim Becker telephoned an acquaintance at the Associated Press sports desk in New York for recommendation of a suitable candidate.

"Do you know a bright youngster who might want to come out here and be sports editor?" Becker asked Jim Hackleman.

The 40-year-old Hackleman barked, " ‘bright youngster, hell, I'll take it!'" Becker recalled.

He got the job, and for more than 20 years, Hackleman was a brash, eclectic and colorful figure on the Hawaii sports scene.

Hackleman died last Tuesday in Grover Beach, Calif., at 86, according to family.

He served as sports editor of the Bulletin, where he also wrote a popular column, "Hack Stand," and later worked in radio, television and public relations in Honolulu.

Hackleman did sports on radio with Hal "Aku" Lewis, was a weekend sports anchor on KHON and co-hosted "Sports Page" on KHET with Don Robbs. He provided color of UH baseball radio broadcasts from 1977 to 1981, often doing the Sunday Crossword Puzzle during play, and worked for the Hawaii Islanders and Communications Pacific.

He had a raspy voice hardly made for broadcasting but was respected for his knowledge, attention to detail and calling it as he saw it.

"Never," recalls Robbs, "did you have to wonder about how Hack felt about something. He always told you."

Son John recalls, "He could be gruff and grumpy, which is why they called him, ‘Sunny Jim' sometimes, but he was a great father and grandfather."

Hackleman attended West Point, where he boxed; served in the Army and graduated from Columbia University.

Once, while working on a report about skydiving for "Sports Page" Hackleman decided on the spur of the moment to jump, too. "He was already long in the tooth, in his 60s, hadn't done it since his Army days but still went up and did it," Robbs said.

John, who runs an MMA training center known as "The Pit" in Arroyo Grande, Calif., said, "until the last couple of years, he was working out right alongside some of my fighters. Chuck Liddell, the other guys, they loved him."

He is survived by John; a daughter, Susan; and five grandchildren.

Mayweather defeats Alvarez

LAS VEGAS >> Canelo Alvarez proved nothing more than easy money for Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mayweather turned one of the richest fights ever into just another $41.5 million payday Saturday, dominating Alvarez from the opening bell and winning a majority decision in a masterful performance that left no doubt who is the best fighter of his era.

Fighting off his shortest layoff in years, Mayweather was sharp, efficient and sometimes brutal in dismantling an unbeaten fighter who was bigger and was supposed to punch harder. He frustrated Alvarez early, pounded him with big right hands in the middle rounds, and made him look just like he said he would -- like any other opponent.

Mayweather was favored 117-111 and 116-112 on two ringside scorecards while a third inexplicably had the fight 114-114. The Associated Press scored it 119-109 for Mayweather.

Mayweather remained unbeaten in 45 fights and added another piece of the junior middleweight title to his collection in a fight that was fought at a 152-pound limit. Alvarez weighed in at that weight, but was an unofficial 165 pounds when he got into the ring while Mayweather, who weighed in at 1501/2 pounds, was an even 150.

The extra weight did Alvarez no good and the punching power that brought him 30 knockouts in 43 fights wasn't a help either. The Mexican star was seldom able to land a solid punch, with most of his punches either missing or glancing off Mayweather.

"No doubt he's a great fighter, a very intelligent fighter," said Alvarez, who fell to 42-1-1. "There was no solution for him."

Mayweather said he actually had to put on weight during the day to even get close to what he weighed the day before.

"When I woke up this morning, I was 146 pounds, so I had to call my chef and get something in my system," he said.

Mayweather's speed was the difference all night as he was able to land straight rights and left jabs, then get out of the way before Alvarez was able to respond. But while Mayweather used great defense, he wasn't afraid to attack often and at different angles, finding Alvarez with punches he couldn't anticipate.

top 10 pro wrestler quotes

Here's some from the list.

Hey yo.

Oh, yeah!

Can you smell...

And that's the bottom line...

To be the man..

drafting positions for fantasy football

Over on CBS Sports (watched on Roku), I notice the fantasy football drafts are top heavy in running backs.

That's largely due to how they have the starters setup: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, Flex (which could be a RB, WR, TE), DEF, K.

To me that's totally unrealistic (not that fantasy football is realistic...).  Most people would use the Flex for a RB which would mean they would have three RBs in the starting lineup.  When's the last time you saw an NFL team with three RBs in the starting lineup?  This ain't the Oklahoma wishbone folks.

The most common setup I see in the NFL would have QB, RB, WR, WR, TE, Flex where flex is either a WR or a blocking back.  But the blocking back rarely touches the ball, so the most common lineup would be QB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE.

In my league, I used to have QB, RB, WR, WR, flex (RB or WR), TE.  Which still skewed it in favor of the RB.  The last season I went to QB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, flex (RB or WR).  Which kind of evened it out more since most teams would have 2 RB and 3 WR.  (This season I changed one of the WR spots to a second flex which could be WR or TE.)

Anyway, with so many running backs in "standard" leagues, drafts go nuts in running backs.  One guy had like 8 running backs on his roster.  Which I find kind of dumb, not because it's a dumb strategy for their league, but it's so unrealistic.  When's the last time an NFL team had so many RBs on their roster?

[Yeah I know fantasy football is not real, but...]  Defense also has totally unrealistic importance for fantasy football.  Even more so than RB.

Anyway, with my scoring system and position setup, I wonder which are actually the most important and least important positions.

My thinking would be to look at the fantasy points scored last season and compare the top starter to the bottom starter at each position.  And the position with the most difference between the top and bottom would be the starter.  We have a ten team league, so let's compare the top QB with the 10th rated QB.  For RBs, it would be the top RB and the 20th rated RB.  For WR, it would be the 30th rated WR.  For TE, K, DEF: 10.

QB:  Drew Brees (343), Andrew Luck (219), difference 124
RB: Adrian Peterson (295), Benjarvus Green-Ellis (138), difference 157
WR: Calvin Johnson (211), Brandon Lloyd (114), difference 97
TE: Jimmy Graham (144), Brandon Myers (97), difference 47
DEF: Seattle (316), San Diego (217), difference 99
K: Stephen Gostkowski (153), Dan Bailey 124, difference 29

So indeed in my league, RB is still the most "important" position, followed by QB, DEF, WR, TE, K.  (I weigh the defense in my league more heavily than in standard scoring leagues, so it's actually one of the more important "positions" in my league.)

How about the best player in the league?  Here I compare the top player in the league with the second best player in the league.  This would show how much better the top player is compared to the next best.

QB: Tom Brady 330, difference 13
RB: Doug Martin 247, difference 48
WR: Brandon Marshall 210, difference 1
TE: Rob Gronkowski 138, difference 6
DEF: Chicago 291, difference 25
K: Lawrence Tynes 145, difference 8

So again RB was at the top, followed by DEF, QB, K, TE, WR

Then again, what do I know?  I finished 8th in the league last season. And that's my own league with my own rules! 8)

Tommy Morrison

Former WBO heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison died in an Omaha, Neb., hospital late Sunday night. He was 44.

Morrison's longtime promoter, Tony Holden, said Morrison died at 11:50 p.m. with his wife, Trisha, beside him.

Morrison tested positive for HIV in 1996 before a fight with Arthur Weathers, effectively ending his boxing career. In the years that followed, he denied having HIV and also challenged the existence of the virus.

Trisha Morrison, who married Morrison in 2011, picked up that fight, and in a recent interview with ESPN.com insisted that Morrison had Guillain-Barre Syndrome, not HIV.

In 1993, Morrison beat George Foreman to win the World Boxing Organization heavyweight title. He lost to Lennox Lewis in 1995.

He also gained fame for his role in the 1990 movie "Rocky V," in which he portrayed "Tommy Gunn," a rookie boxer who is trained by Rocky Balboa, portrayed by star Sylvester Stallone. Morrison, as Gunn, goes on to win the heavyweight title in the movie and then later fights and loses to his mentor.

Morrison was born in Arkansas and grew up in Oklahoma.