SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Fabricio Werdum turned the MMA world on its ear with his stunning upset off top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko at Strikeforce/M-1 Global “Fedor vs. Werdum” on Saturday at the HP Pavilion.
“I feel very, very happy,” Werdum said. “I know my team is a strong team. I believed in this victory because of the hard training.”
In a fight that was deemed little more than a formality by many pundits and fans, it seemed like Emelianenko was well on his way to an expected victory after he deposited Werdum on his wallet with a right hand just moments into the bout.
However, the man who has ruled the heavyweight division for so long inexplicably followed the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist to the ground and soon found himself fending for his life, as Werdum transitioned through a series of submission attempts.
Emelianenko fought off an armbar but was quickly engulfed by Werdum’s legs in a triangle choke that began to squeeze the unbeatable aura from the former Pride champion. He fought to keep his wits, but it became clear he was in an inescapable position.
Werdum manipulated Emelianenko’s left arm away from his body and started to hyperextend his limb with a wrenching armbar that forced the legendary fighter to tapout for the first time in his MMA career. The end came just 69 seconds into the main event. [video]
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wall, Turner, Favors, Johnson, Cousins top 2010 NBA draftees
NEW YORK -- The Washington Wizards selected John Wall with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Thursday as they quickly began rebuilding their backcourt.
With the No. 1 pick in the draft, the Wizards selected guard John Wall -- one of three Kentucky Wildcats taken among the first 14 picks.
The SEC player of the year is the first Kentucky player ever chosen first overall.
"It's a big honor," Wall told ESPN after his selection.
He goes to a Washington team hoping to quickly bounce back after a disastrous season that included Gilbert Arenas' season-ending suspension for bringing guns into the team locker room.
Wall could replace Arenas as the Wizards' point guard, or perhaps play alongside him in a potential high-scoring backcourt. He'll try to become the third straight freshman point guard to win Rookie of the Year honors after Chicago's Derrick Rose and Sacramento's Tyreke Evans -- who like Wall also played for John Calipari.
The pick came shortly after a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press that the Chicago Bulls had agreed to trade veteran guard Kirk Hinrich and the 17th pick in the draft to the Wizards. Hinrich is a solid veteran defensive guard who could help with Wall's transition to the NBA.
After his name was announced to begin the draft, Wall hugged family members and donned a blue Wizards cap before climbing onto the stage to shake commissioner David Stern's hand.
The Philadelphia 76ers took national player of the year Evan Turner from Ohio State at No. 2. The notoriously tough Philadelphia fans at Madison Square Garden liked the choice, loudly cheering and chanting "Evan Turner! Evan Turner!"
Derrick Favors became the second freshman taken in the first three picks when the New Jersey Nets chose the Georgia Tech forward. A source told ESPN.com's Andy Katz that the Nets might make a deal Thursday night after selecting the 6-10 Favors, or wait to see if one comes in July during the free-agency period.
The Minnesota Timberwolves then grabbed Syracuse forward Wesley Johnson, whom the Nets also had considered. Stern seemed impressed by the Christmas-colored slacks worn by Johnson, who held up his leg to show them off.
Kentucky, which hoped to have a record five players taken in the first round, put its second in the top five when DeMarcus Cousins was taken by Sacramento.
Cousins, Wall's Kentucky teammate, said Wednesday he is the best player in the draft and "it's that simple."
The 6-11 Cousins has the potential to become a dominant big man in a league where there are fewer every year, and his size and skill would seem to make him a lock to be taken in the first few picks.
"I am the most dominant, and I believe I am the biggest game changer," Cousins said. "I believe I am the best talent in the draft."
With the No. 1 pick in the draft, the Wizards selected guard John Wall -- one of three Kentucky Wildcats taken among the first 14 picks.
The SEC player of the year is the first Kentucky player ever chosen first overall.
"It's a big honor," Wall told ESPN after his selection.
He goes to a Washington team hoping to quickly bounce back after a disastrous season that included Gilbert Arenas' season-ending suspension for bringing guns into the team locker room.
Wall could replace Arenas as the Wizards' point guard, or perhaps play alongside him in a potential high-scoring backcourt. He'll try to become the third straight freshman point guard to win Rookie of the Year honors after Chicago's Derrick Rose and Sacramento's Tyreke Evans -- who like Wall also played for John Calipari.
The pick came shortly after a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press that the Chicago Bulls had agreed to trade veteran guard Kirk Hinrich and the 17th pick in the draft to the Wizards. Hinrich is a solid veteran defensive guard who could help with Wall's transition to the NBA.
After his name was announced to begin the draft, Wall hugged family members and donned a blue Wizards cap before climbing onto the stage to shake commissioner David Stern's hand.
The Philadelphia 76ers took national player of the year Evan Turner from Ohio State at No. 2. The notoriously tough Philadelphia fans at Madison Square Garden liked the choice, loudly cheering and chanting "Evan Turner! Evan Turner!"
Derrick Favors became the second freshman taken in the first three picks when the New Jersey Nets chose the Georgia Tech forward. A source told ESPN.com's Andy Katz that the Nets might make a deal Thursday night after selecting the 6-10 Favors, or wait to see if one comes in July during the free-agency period.
The Minnesota Timberwolves then grabbed Syracuse forward Wesley Johnson, whom the Nets also had considered. Stern seemed impressed by the Christmas-colored slacks worn by Johnson, who held up his leg to show them off.
Kentucky, which hoped to have a record five players taken in the first round, put its second in the top five when DeMarcus Cousins was taken by Sacramento.
Cousins, Wall's Kentucky teammate, said Wednesday he is the best player in the draft and "it's that simple."
The 6-11 Cousins has the potential to become a dominant big man in a league where there are fewer every year, and his size and skill would seem to make him a lock to be taken in the first few picks.
"I am the most dominant, and I believe I am the biggest game changer," Cousins said. "I believe I am the best talent in the draft."
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
59 to 59
WIMBLEDON, England - On and on and on, and on some more, they played — longer than anyone ever had before. And still there was no winner.
John Isner of Tampa, Fla., and Nicolas Mahut of France were tied at 59-59 in the fifth set at Wimbledon after exactly 10 hours of action when play was suspended because of darkness Wednesday night. It is by far the longest match in terms of games or time in the century-plus history of tennis.
“Nothing like this will ever happen again. Ever,” Isner said.
***
WIMBLEDON, England — The top players took care of business on the big courts at Wimbledon, then found themselves immersed in the drama unfolding on little Court 18.
"Unreal," Andy Roddick tweeted.
"Absolutely amazing," Roger Federer said.
"It's longer than a marathon," Venus Williams said.
The match between John Isner of Tampa, Fla., and Nicolas Mahut of France lasted so long it was suspended because of darkness — for the second night in a row. After 10 hours of play, 881 points and 193 aces over two days, the fifth set was at 59-all.
It kept going because neither player could break the other.
"He's serving fantastic. I'm serving fantastic," Isner said. "That's really all there is to it."
The electronic scoreboard froze and then went blank, perhaps from the fatigue of trying keeping up with the longest match in the sport's history. The Wimbledon website also lost track of the score.
Following an overnight suspension, the match resumed Wednesday at the start the fifth set. More than seven hours later, there was still no winner.
"Nothing like this will ever happen again," Isner said. "Ever."
They were to resume Thursday, still tucked away on Court 18, while Queen Elizabeth II was expected in the Royal Box on Centre Court for her first visit to Wimbledon since 1977.
***
Isner finally prevails after 11 hours and 5 minutes, 70-68.
John Isner of Tampa, Fla., and Nicolas Mahut of France were tied at 59-59 in the fifth set at Wimbledon after exactly 10 hours of action when play was suspended because of darkness Wednesday night. It is by far the longest match in terms of games or time in the century-plus history of tennis.
“Nothing like this will ever happen again. Ever,” Isner said.
***
WIMBLEDON, England — The top players took care of business on the big courts at Wimbledon, then found themselves immersed in the drama unfolding on little Court 18.
"Unreal," Andy Roddick tweeted.
"Absolutely amazing," Roger Federer said.
"It's longer than a marathon," Venus Williams said.
The match between John Isner of Tampa, Fla., and Nicolas Mahut of France lasted so long it was suspended because of darkness — for the second night in a row. After 10 hours of play, 881 points and 193 aces over two days, the fifth set was at 59-all.
It kept going because neither player could break the other.
"He's serving fantastic. I'm serving fantastic," Isner said. "That's really all there is to it."
The electronic scoreboard froze and then went blank, perhaps from the fatigue of trying keeping up with the longest match in the sport's history. The Wimbledon website also lost track of the score.
Following an overnight suspension, the match resumed Wednesday at the start the fifth set. More than seven hours later, there was still no winner.
"Nothing like this will ever happen again," Isner said. "Ever."
They were to resume Thursday, still tucked away on Court 18, while Queen Elizabeth II was expected in the Royal Box on Centre Court for her first visit to Wimbledon since 1977.
***
Isner finally prevails after 11 hours and 5 minutes, 70-68.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Manute Bol
The Washington Post has learned that Manute Bol, the 7-foot-7 Sudanese giant who was a shot-blocking sensation with the Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors and other teams in the National Basketball Association, has died at 47.
He died at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville of complications from Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare skin condition contracted after a reaction to a medication he had taken in Africa. He had kidney failure, internal bleeding and other medical complications.
Mr. Bol, who, it can be safely said, was the only NBA player to have killed a lion with a spear, came to the United States in the early 1980s and joined the Washington Bullets after playing one year of college basketball. He was freakishly tall and thin, yet he had an amazing ability to block opponents' shots and twice led the NBA in that category.
During and after his NBA career, he tried to draw international attention to the humanitarian needs of his native Sudan, supporting rebel political movements and trying to bring peace to his embattled homeland.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Lakers defeat Celtics for NBA Championship
LOS ANGELES — It wasn't easy, and it certainly wasn't pretty in the battle of the NBA's most storied franchises.
But do the Los Angeles Lakers really care?
After 48 minutes of rugged, sloppy basketball, the Lakers are champions for the second season in a row after an 83-79 victory Thursday against the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
It was a measure of revenge for the Lakers, who vowed to get tougher after their six-game loss to the Celtics in the 2007-08 Finals. Their 16th franchise title, one behind Boston, was accomplished by rallying from a 13-point deficit early in the third quarter.
Kobe Bryant, who averaged 28.6 points in the Finals and came up with 15 rebounds Thursday, was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row.
But do the Los Angeles Lakers really care?
After 48 minutes of rugged, sloppy basketball, the Lakers are champions for the second season in a row after an 83-79 victory Thursday against the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
It was a measure of revenge for the Lakers, who vowed to get tougher after their six-game loss to the Celtics in the 2007-08 Finals. Their 16th franchise title, one behind Boston, was accomplished by rallying from a 13-point deficit early in the third quarter.
Kobe Bryant, who averaged 28.6 points in the Finals and came up with 15 rebounds Thursday, was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Govinda Patterson
Is it possible to teach an old dog new tricks? If the “old dog” just happens to be a certain middle-aged basketball player and MidWeek columnist, I can tell you it is very possible- especially if the teacher is Govinda Patterson, a 34-year-old former player and coach from Northern California, who now lives in Mililani.
Just 10 minutes on a local basketball court with Patterson arguably taught me more about balance and control than I had learned in five decades playing the game. I came away from the court absolutely amazed at his revolutionary ideas that combine basketball strategies with techniques learned in the martial arts. Patterson calls his system the “Better Balance Techniques.”
“It doesn’t matter how big or strong or fast you are. If you know your center of balance and you use it to control your opponent’s balance, then you have a big advantage,” he says.
If this sounds like mumbo-jumbo, trust me, it isn’t. While he was teaching me, it was as if a light bulb was going off - to actually feel balance being taken away or helping gain an advantage was an incredible feeling.
“Why would you play off-balance if you didn’t have to?” he asks rhetorically. “I think what I’m teaching can help shape the way people play the game.”
Patterson knows his stuff. He grew up playing basketball in and around Mount Shasta, Calif. He was an all-star post player in high school who grew to be 6 feet 5 1/2 inches tall, and he played junior college ball at the College of the Siskiyous before a back injury prematurely ended his career. Along the way, he also had dabbled in the martial arts, including aikido, judo and karate, and he earned a brown belt in Kung Fu San Soo.
“I didn’t realize it at first that what I was doing was combining what I had learned in (martial arts training) and applying it to basketball,” he says. “After I got hurt I couldn’t play, so I thought about the game all the time, and it just made so much more sense. The center of balance - knowing your center of gravity - was the key. The techniques help so much with post offense, post defense and rebounding.”
Patterson did some voluntary and assistant coaching in California and Utah before moving to the Islands to be with his girlfriend, Lianna. He’s lived in Mililani the past three years and is now trying to promote his idea to NBA coaching staffs. He’s talked with nine NBA teams and one WNBA team, but so far he hasn’t been able to get past an introductory stage and all the way to the head coach.
“Every team has loved what I’ve shown them, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to see any head coaches yet. It boggles my mind,” he says with some frustration. “I would think that any coach who wants to win would be willing to see me for 10 minutes. I realize that the NBA has hundreds of people calling them, and they may think this is just another crazy person calling. (But) I think this (technique) definitely creates a chance to give their players an advantage. Even if it’s only a couple of rebounds a game, it’s worth it!”
One person who has helped him in his journey is basketball legend Bill Walton. Patterson was introduced to Walton by former UCLA and Hawaii coach Larry Farmer, and they met near Walton’s San Diego home with Patterson showing him the Better Balance Techniques.
“He watched and listened so intently, and said he agreed with everything I said,” says Patterson, “and then he wrote me a great letter of recommendation. It’s opened so many doors.”
Just 10 minutes on a local basketball court with Patterson arguably taught me more about balance and control than I had learned in five decades playing the game. I came away from the court absolutely amazed at his revolutionary ideas that combine basketball strategies with techniques learned in the martial arts. Patterson calls his system the “Better Balance Techniques.”
“It doesn’t matter how big or strong or fast you are. If you know your center of balance and you use it to control your opponent’s balance, then you have a big advantage,” he says.
If this sounds like mumbo-jumbo, trust me, it isn’t. While he was teaching me, it was as if a light bulb was going off - to actually feel balance being taken away or helping gain an advantage was an incredible feeling.
“Why would you play off-balance if you didn’t have to?” he asks rhetorically. “I think what I’m teaching can help shape the way people play the game.”
Patterson knows his stuff. He grew up playing basketball in and around Mount Shasta, Calif. He was an all-star post player in high school who grew to be 6 feet 5 1/2 inches tall, and he played junior college ball at the College of the Siskiyous before a back injury prematurely ended his career. Along the way, he also had dabbled in the martial arts, including aikido, judo and karate, and he earned a brown belt in Kung Fu San Soo.
“I didn’t realize it at first that what I was doing was combining what I had learned in (martial arts training) and applying it to basketball,” he says. “After I got hurt I couldn’t play, so I thought about the game all the time, and it just made so much more sense. The center of balance - knowing your center of gravity - was the key. The techniques help so much with post offense, post defense and rebounding.”
Patterson did some voluntary and assistant coaching in California and Utah before moving to the Islands to be with his girlfriend, Lianna. He’s lived in Mililani the past three years and is now trying to promote his idea to NBA coaching staffs. He’s talked with nine NBA teams and one WNBA team, but so far he hasn’t been able to get past an introductory stage and all the way to the head coach.
“Every team has loved what I’ve shown them, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to see any head coaches yet. It boggles my mind,” he says with some frustration. “I would think that any coach who wants to win would be willing to see me for 10 minutes. I realize that the NBA has hundreds of people calling them, and they may think this is just another crazy person calling. (But) I think this (technique) definitely creates a chance to give their players an advantage. Even if it’s only a couple of rebounds a game, it’s worth it!”
One person who has helped him in his journey is basketball legend Bill Walton. Patterson was introduced to Walton by former UCLA and Hawaii coach Larry Farmer, and they met near Walton’s San Diego home with Patterson showing him the Better Balance Techniques.
“He watched and listened so intently, and said he agreed with everything I said,” says Patterson, “and then he wrote me a great letter of recommendation. It’s opened so many doors.”
Texas says no to Pac-10
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Staring at extinction, the Big 12 is once again in play.
The beleaguered conference made a rousing comeback Monday, when Texas declined an invitation to join the Pac-10 and decided to stay in the Big 12.
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M quickly followed the Longhorns by recommitting to the conference after commissioner Dan Beebe convinced his members they would make more money in television and media deals in a 10-team Big 12 then in a 16-team Pac-10.
"University of Texas president Bill Powers has informed us that the 10 remaining schools in the Big 12 Conference intend to stay together," Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. "We are excited about the future of the Pac-10 Conference and we will continue to evaluate future expansion opportunities under the guidelines previously set forth by our presidents and chancellors."
As for the Pac-10 and Scott, who was trying pull off a bold move that would have dramatically changed the landscape of college sports, they are left looking for at least one more member to get to 12 by 2012 when Colorado is set to join.
Scott's next target? Utah from the Mountain West Conference would seem a likely candidate.
Scott's plan was to add Texas (with Notre Dame the big prize in the conference expansion game) along with its main Big 12 South rivals -- Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
Because Texas is the richest and most powerful of the Big 12 schools, the Longhorns were seen as the lynchpin to the deal. Wherever Texas decided to place its cash cow football program, the rest of the schools would seemingly fall in line.
The beleaguered conference made a rousing comeback Monday, when Texas declined an invitation to join the Pac-10 and decided to stay in the Big 12.
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M quickly followed the Longhorns by recommitting to the conference after commissioner Dan Beebe convinced his members they would make more money in television and media deals in a 10-team Big 12 then in a 16-team Pac-10.
"University of Texas president Bill Powers has informed us that the 10 remaining schools in the Big 12 Conference intend to stay together," Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. "We are excited about the future of the Pac-10 Conference and we will continue to evaluate future expansion opportunities under the guidelines previously set forth by our presidents and chancellors."
As for the Pac-10 and Scott, who was trying pull off a bold move that would have dramatically changed the landscape of college sports, they are left looking for at least one more member to get to 12 by 2012 when Colorado is set to join.
Scott's next target? Utah from the Mountain West Conference would seem a likely candidate.
Scott's plan was to add Texas (with Notre Dame the big prize in the conference expansion game) along with its main Big 12 South rivals -- Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
Because Texas is the richest and most powerful of the Big 12 schools, the Longhorns were seen as the lynchpin to the deal. Wherever Texas decided to place its cash cow football program, the rest of the schools would seemingly fall in line.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Nebraska headed to the Big Ten
In another dizzying day that will long be remembered as part of the reshaping of college sports, two universities with brand-name football programs announced they were leaving their conferences.
As expected, Nebraska’s regents voted on Friday to join the Big Ten Conference in 2011, giving that league 12 members. The decision could be the fatal blow to the Big 12 Conference, which now has 10 members and appears on the cusp of collapse.
In a somewhat surprising move — at least in the timing — Boise State announced that it would leave the Western Athletic Conference and join the Mountain West in 2011.
Nebraska and Boise State have joined Colorado, which had announced on Thursday that it was leaving the Big 12 for Pacific-10, to form the first wave of conference realignment.
As expected, Nebraska’s regents voted on Friday to join the Big Ten Conference in 2011, giving that league 12 members. The decision could be the fatal blow to the Big 12 Conference, which now has 10 members and appears on the cusp of collapse.
In a somewhat surprising move — at least in the timing — Boise State announced that it would leave the Western Athletic Conference and join the Mountain West in 2011.
Nebraska and Boise State have joined Colorado, which had announced on Thursday that it was leaving the Big 12 for Pacific-10, to form the first wave of conference realignment.
Pac-10 now has 11 teams (so far)
Colorado joined the Pac-10 on Thursday, marking the first addition to the conference since the Arizona schools joined in 1978. Now Cal, Stanford and their West Coast colleagues are asking: Who's next?
With Nebraska perhaps poised to join the Big Ten, one possible scenario would be a 16-team Pac-10 "superconference" that would include all existing teams along with Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. That lineup would greatly strengthen the conference's leverage for new TV contracts that begin next year. The "Pac-16" could start playing football in 2012.
Much depends on what Texas and Oklahoma do once Nebraska makes its move, which could come as soon as today. Representatives from Texas and Texas A&M met Thursday to talk things over on a day full of unofficial reports. One of them had Oklahoma State deciding to join the Pac-10, which the school denied.
With Nebraska perhaps poised to join the Big Ten, one possible scenario would be a 16-team Pac-10 "superconference" that would include all existing teams along with Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. That lineup would greatly strengthen the conference's leverage for new TV contracts that begin next year. The "Pac-16" could start playing football in 2012.
Much depends on what Texas and Oklahoma do once Nebraska makes its move, which could come as soon as today. Representatives from Texas and Texas A&M met Thursday to talk things over on a day full of unofficial reports. One of them had Oklahoma State deciding to join the Pac-10, which the school denied.
Boise State joins Mountain West
Boise State has given the Mountain West Conference a 10th program.
Boise State is leaving the Western Athletic Conference, a league the Broncos have dominated for a decade in football, the MWC confirmed with a statement Friday.
"We are pleased and excited to welcome Boise State University to the Mountain West Conference," commissioner Craig Thompson said in the news release. "Since our inception just 11 short years ago, the Mountain West has experienced tremendous success, and the addition of Boise State will further enhance that strength. The MWC continues to strategize regarding potential membership scenarios and bringing Boise State into the Conference is an important part of that evolution."
Roy Kramer, who first pulled expansion levers with the SEC, sees the Big Ten dictating another shakeup of college football this time, Gene Wojciechowski writes. Story
The current landscape of college football could be greatly altered by realignment. ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach breaks down a few things you need to know. Story
Boise State becomes the second institution to join the Mountain West in the past six years, after TCU was added in 2005. The conference was founded in 1998 with eight members.
The Mountain West also includes Brigham Young, Utah, Air Force, Wyoming, UNLV, San Diego State, New Mexico and Colorado State.
Boise State is leaving the Western Athletic Conference, a league the Broncos have dominated for a decade in football, the MWC confirmed with a statement Friday.
"We are pleased and excited to welcome Boise State University to the Mountain West Conference," commissioner Craig Thompson said in the news release. "Since our inception just 11 short years ago, the Mountain West has experienced tremendous success, and the addition of Boise State will further enhance that strength. The MWC continues to strategize regarding potential membership scenarios and bringing Boise State into the Conference is an important part of that evolution."
Roy Kramer, who first pulled expansion levers with the SEC, sees the Big Ten dictating another shakeup of college football this time, Gene Wojciechowski writes. Story
The current landscape of college football could be greatly altered by realignment. ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach breaks down a few things you need to know. Story
Boise State becomes the second institution to join the Mountain West in the past six years, after TCU was added in 2005. The conference was founded in 1998 with eight members.
The Mountain West also includes Brigham Young, Utah, Air Force, Wyoming, UNLV, San Diego State, New Mexico and Colorado State.
USC hit with sanctions
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California has received a two-year bowl ban and a sharp loss of football scholarships in a report on the NCAA's four-year investigation of the school.
The NCAA cited USC for a lack of institutional control Thursday in its long-awaited report, which detailed numerous violations primarily involving Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Reggie Bush and men's basketball player O.J. Mayo.
The NCAA found that Bush, identified as a "former football student-athlete," was ineligible beginning at least by December 2004 and through Bush's Heisman-winning 2005 season, which ended with the Trojans' loss to Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl.
USC will lose 10 football scholarships annually from 2011-13. The Trojans also received four years of probation.
The NCAA cited USC for a lack of institutional control Thursday in its long-awaited report, which detailed numerous violations primarily involving Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Reggie Bush and men's basketball player O.J. Mayo.
The NCAA found that Bush, identified as a "former football student-athlete," was ineligible beginning at least by December 2004 and through Bush's Heisman-winning 2005 season, which ended with the Trojans' loss to Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl.
USC will lose 10 football scholarships annually from 2011-13. The Trojans also received four years of probation.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Strasburg debuts with record performance
Stephen Strasburg sets club record in major league debut by striking out 14 in 7 innings.
Listen to Strasburg (and the rest of the Nationals) on WNOS -1450AM). (It worked for me this time anyway.)
[7/9/10] Or try one of these
Listen to Strasburg (and the rest of the Nationals) on WNOS -1450AM). (It worked for me this time anyway.)
[7/9/10] Or try one of these
Falling for Aikido
Viewed from the outside, aikido looks more like a graceful dance than an effective way to disarm an attacker. In truth, it’s both. Favoring precise body movements over strength or carefully placed blows, the fairly recent martial art uses various joint locks and throws to redirect the motion of the attacker to either control the opponent or to ward off another attack.
Of course, this is a very simplified description of a martial art form that can have literally thousands of movement combinations.
By design, aikido training is a cooperative effort where both the nage (thrower) and the uke (attacker) move in harmony with one another to maximize the learning of both participants. As with other martial arts that emphasize throws, learning to fall is of utmost importance. It is often said, somewhat jokingly, that aikido is the art of falling down.
Aikido was developed by Morihei Ueshiba in the 1920s-30s. Born to a well-placed family in 1883 in the Wakayama Prefecture, about 30 miles south of Osaka, Ueshiba was weak as a child and spent most of his time reading about Buddhist heroes while hearing stories of his famous samurai forebears. Ueshiba improved his health as a young man through the practice of juijitsu and later came to study with Onisaburo Deguchi, a spiritual leader who taught a pacifist view of human interaction. Ueshiba came to believe that people could gain universal understanding and achieve world peace through the study of martial arts.
Or, at least, through one martial art, aikido, which translates to “The Way of Harmony.”
Of course, this is a very simplified description of a martial art form that can have literally thousands of movement combinations.
By design, aikido training is a cooperative effort where both the nage (thrower) and the uke (attacker) move in harmony with one another to maximize the learning of both participants. As with other martial arts that emphasize throws, learning to fall is of utmost importance. It is often said, somewhat jokingly, that aikido is the art of falling down.
Aikido was developed by Morihei Ueshiba in the 1920s-30s. Born to a well-placed family in 1883 in the Wakayama Prefecture, about 30 miles south of Osaka, Ueshiba was weak as a child and spent most of his time reading about Buddhist heroes while hearing stories of his famous samurai forebears. Ueshiba improved his health as a young man through the practice of juijitsu and later came to study with Onisaburo Deguchi, a spiritual leader who taught a pacifist view of human interaction. Ueshiba came to believe that people could gain universal understanding and achieve world peace through the study of martial arts.
Or, at least, through one martial art, aikido, which translates to “The Way of Harmony.”
Friday, June 04, 2010
John Wooden dies at 99
John Wooden, college basketball's gentlemanly Wizard of Westwood who built one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports at UCLA and became one of the most revered coaches ever, has died. He was 99.
The university said Wooden died Friday night of natural causes at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized since May 26.
With his signature rolled-up game program in hand, Wooden led the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships, including an unmatched streak of seven in a row from 1967 to 1973.
Over 27 years, he won 620 games, including 88 straight during one historic stretch, and coached many of the game's greatest players such as Bill Walton and Lew Alcindor -- later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
As a coach, he was groundbreaking trendsetter who demanded his players be in great condition so they could play an up-tempo style not well-known on the West Coast at the time.
But the Wizard's legacy extended well beyond that.
He was the master of the simple one- or two-sentence homily, instructive little messages best presented in his famous "Pyramid of Success," which remains must-read material, not only for fellow coaches but for anyone in a leadership position in American business.
He taught the team game and had only three hard-and-fast rules -- no profanity, tardiness or criticizing fellow teammates. Layered beneath that seeming simplicity, though, were a slew of life lessons -- primers on everything from how to put on your socks correctly to how to maintain poise: "Not being thrown off stride in how you behave or what you believe because of outside events."
"What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player," was one of Wooden's key messages.
Wooden began his career as a teacher during the Great Depression and was still teaching others long past retirement. He remained a fixture at UCLA games played on a court named after him and his late wife, Nell, and celebrated his 99th birthday with a book he co-authored on how to live life and raise children.
Asked in a 2008 interview the secret to his long life, Wooden replied: "Not being afraid of death and having peace within yourself. All of life is peaks and valleys. Don't let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low."
Asked what he would like God to say when he arrived at the pearly gates, Wooden replied, "Well done."
Even with his staggering accomplishments, he remained humble and gracious. He said he tried to live by advice from his father: "Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books -- especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day."
While he lived his father's words, many more lived his. Those lucky enough to play for him got it first hand, but there was no shortage of Wooden sayings making the rounds far away from the basketball court.
"Learn as if you were to live forever; live as if you were to die tomorrow," was one.
"Don't give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you," was another.
Born Oct. 14, 1910, near Martinsville, Ind., on a farm that didn't have electricity or indoor plumbing, Wooden's life revolved around sports from the time his father built a baseball diamond among his wheat, corn and alfalfa. Baseball was his favorite sport, but there was also a basketball hoop nailed in a hayloft. Wooden played there countless hours with his brother, Maurice, using any kind of ball they could find.
He led Martinsville High School to the Indiana state basketball championship in 1927 before heading to Purdue, where he was All-America from 1930-32. The Boilermakers were national champions his senior season, and Wooden, nicknamed "the Indiana Rubber Man" for his dives on the hardcourt, was college basketball's player of the year.
But it wasn't until he headed west to Southern California that Wooden really made his mark on the game.
Wooden guided the Bruins to seven consecutive titles from 1967 through 1973 and a record 88-game winning streak in the early 1970s. From the time of his first title following the 1963-64 season through the 10th in 1974-75, Wooden's Bruins were 330-19, including four 30-0 seasons.
The bespectacled former high school teacher ended up at UCLA almost by accident. Wooden was awaiting a call from the University of Minnesota for its head coaching job and thought he had been passed over when it didn't come. In the meantime, UCLA called, and he accepted the job in Los Angeles.
Minnesota officials called later that night, saying they couldn't get through earlier because of a snowstorm, and offered him the job. Though Wooden wanted it more than the UCLA job, he told them he already had given UCLA his word and could not break it.
The Bruins were winners right away after Wooden took over as coach at UCLA's campus in Westwood in 1949, although they were overshadowed by Bill Russell and the University of San Francisco, and later Pete Newell's teams at California.
At the time, West Coast teams tended to play a slow, plodding style. Wooden quickly exploited that with his fast-breaking, well-conditioned teams, who wore down opponents with a full-court zone press and forever changed the style of college basketball.
Still, it would be 16 seasons before Wooden won his first NCAA championship with a team featuring Walt Hazzard that went 30-0 in 1964. After that, they began arriving in bunches, and top players such as Alcindor, Walton, Sidney Wicks and Lucius Allen began arriving every year in Westwood.
Each would learn at the first practice how to properly put on socks and sneakers. Each would learn to keep his hair short and face clean-shaven, even though the fashions of the 1960s and '70s dictated otherwise.
And each would learn Wooden's "pyramid of success," a chart he used to both inspire players and sum up his personal code for life. Industriousness and enthusiasm were its cornerstones; faith, patience, loyalty and self-control were some of the building blocks. At the top of the pyramid was competitive greatness.
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are," Wooden would tell them.
"He set quite an example," Abdul-Jabbar said in a statement released by UCLA. "He was more like a parent than a coach. He really was a very selfless and giving human being, but he was a disciplinarian. We learned all about those aspects of life that most kids want to skip over. He wouldn't let us do that."
Wooden never had to worry about his reputation. He didn't drink or swear or carouse with other coaches on the road, though he did have a penchant for berating referees.
"Dadburn it, you saw him double-dribble down there!" went a typical Wooden complaint to an official. "Goodness gracious sakes alive!"
Wooden would coach 27 years at UCLA, finishing with a record of 620-147. He won 47 NCAA tournament games. His overall mark as a college coach was 885-203, an .813 winning percentage that remains unequaled.
But his legacy as a coach will always be framed by two streaks -- the seven straight national titles UCLA won beginning in 1967 and the 88-game winning streak that came to an end Jan. 19, 1974, when Notre Dame beat the Bruins 71-70.
After the loss, Wooden refused to allow his players to talk to reporters.
"Only winners talk," he said. A week later, UCLA beat the Irish at home by 19 points.
A little more than a year later, Wooden surprisingly announced his retirement after a 75-74 NCAA semifinal victory over Louisville. He then went out and coached the Bruins for the last time, winning his 10th national title with a 92-85 win over Kentucky.
After that victory, Wooden walked into the interview room at the San Diego Sports Arena to face about 200 reporters, who let their objectivity slip and applauded.
"When I think of a basketball coach the only one I ever thought of was Coach Wooden. He had a great life and helped so many coaches until well in his 90s," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told The Associated Press. "Every time I talked to him he would give me some words of advice. He's the best of all time. There will never be another like him, and you can't say that about too many people."
Long before that, though, the road to coaching greatness began after Wooden graduated with honors from Purdue and married Nell Riley, his high school sweetheart.
In a 2008 public appearance with Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully, in which the men were interviewed in front of an audience, Wooden said he still wrote his late wife -- the only girl he ever dated -- a letter on the 21st of each month. "She's still there to me," he said. "I talk to her every day."
He coached two years at Dayton (Ky.) High School, and his 6-11 losing record the first season was the only one in his 40-year coaching career.
He spent the next nine years coaching basketball, baseball and tennis at South Bend (Ind.) Central High School, where he also taught English.
"I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession," he once said. "I'm glad I was a teacher."
Wooden served in the Navy as a physical education instructor during World War II, and continued teaching when he became the basketball coach at Indiana State Teachers College, where he went 47-17 in two seasons.
In his first year at Indiana State, Wooden's team won the Indiana Collegiate Conference title and received an invitation to the NAIB tournament in Kansas City. Wooden, who had a black player on his team, refused the invitation because the NAIB had a policy banning African Americans. The rule was changed the next year, and Wooden led Indiana State to another conference title.
It was then that UCLA called, though Wooden didn't take the job to get rich. He never made more than $35,000 in a season, and early in his career he worked two jobs to make ends meet.
"My first four years at UCLA, I worked in the mornings at a dairy from six to noon then I'd come into UCLA," he told The Associated Press in 1995. "Why did I do it? Because I needed the money. I was a dispatcher of trucks in the San Fernando Valley and was a troubleshooter. After all the trucks made their deliveries and came back, I would call in the next day's orders, sweep out the place and head over the hill to UCLA."
After he enjoyed great success at UCLA, the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly offered Wooden their head coaching job at a salary 10 times what he was making, but he refused.
Nell, Wooden's wife of 53 years, died in 1985. Besides his son and daughter, Wooden is survived by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
The university said Wooden died Friday night of natural causes at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized since May 26.
With his signature rolled-up game program in hand, Wooden led the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships, including an unmatched streak of seven in a row from 1967 to 1973.
Over 27 years, he won 620 games, including 88 straight during one historic stretch, and coached many of the game's greatest players such as Bill Walton and Lew Alcindor -- later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
As a coach, he was groundbreaking trendsetter who demanded his players be in great condition so they could play an up-tempo style not well-known on the West Coast at the time.
But the Wizard's legacy extended well beyond that.
He was the master of the simple one- or two-sentence homily, instructive little messages best presented in his famous "Pyramid of Success," which remains must-read material, not only for fellow coaches but for anyone in a leadership position in American business.
He taught the team game and had only three hard-and-fast rules -- no profanity, tardiness or criticizing fellow teammates. Layered beneath that seeming simplicity, though, were a slew of life lessons -- primers on everything from how to put on your socks correctly to how to maintain poise: "Not being thrown off stride in how you behave or what you believe because of outside events."
"What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player," was one of Wooden's key messages.
Wooden began his career as a teacher during the Great Depression and was still teaching others long past retirement. He remained a fixture at UCLA games played on a court named after him and his late wife, Nell, and celebrated his 99th birthday with a book he co-authored on how to live life and raise children.
Asked in a 2008 interview the secret to his long life, Wooden replied: "Not being afraid of death and having peace within yourself. All of life is peaks and valleys. Don't let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low."
Asked what he would like God to say when he arrived at the pearly gates, Wooden replied, "Well done."
Even with his staggering accomplishments, he remained humble and gracious. He said he tried to live by advice from his father: "Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books -- especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day."
While he lived his father's words, many more lived his. Those lucky enough to play for him got it first hand, but there was no shortage of Wooden sayings making the rounds far away from the basketball court.
"Learn as if you were to live forever; live as if you were to die tomorrow," was one.
"Don't give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you," was another.
Born Oct. 14, 1910, near Martinsville, Ind., on a farm that didn't have electricity or indoor plumbing, Wooden's life revolved around sports from the time his father built a baseball diamond among his wheat, corn and alfalfa. Baseball was his favorite sport, but there was also a basketball hoop nailed in a hayloft. Wooden played there countless hours with his brother, Maurice, using any kind of ball they could find.
He led Martinsville High School to the Indiana state basketball championship in 1927 before heading to Purdue, where he was All-America from 1930-32. The Boilermakers were national champions his senior season, and Wooden, nicknamed "the Indiana Rubber Man" for his dives on the hardcourt, was college basketball's player of the year.
But it wasn't until he headed west to Southern California that Wooden really made his mark on the game.
Wooden guided the Bruins to seven consecutive titles from 1967 through 1973 and a record 88-game winning streak in the early 1970s. From the time of his first title following the 1963-64 season through the 10th in 1974-75, Wooden's Bruins were 330-19, including four 30-0 seasons.
The bespectacled former high school teacher ended up at UCLA almost by accident. Wooden was awaiting a call from the University of Minnesota for its head coaching job and thought he had been passed over when it didn't come. In the meantime, UCLA called, and he accepted the job in Los Angeles.
Minnesota officials called later that night, saying they couldn't get through earlier because of a snowstorm, and offered him the job. Though Wooden wanted it more than the UCLA job, he told them he already had given UCLA his word and could not break it.
The Bruins were winners right away after Wooden took over as coach at UCLA's campus in Westwood in 1949, although they were overshadowed by Bill Russell and the University of San Francisco, and later Pete Newell's teams at California.
At the time, West Coast teams tended to play a slow, plodding style. Wooden quickly exploited that with his fast-breaking, well-conditioned teams, who wore down opponents with a full-court zone press and forever changed the style of college basketball.
Still, it would be 16 seasons before Wooden won his first NCAA championship with a team featuring Walt Hazzard that went 30-0 in 1964. After that, they began arriving in bunches, and top players such as Alcindor, Walton, Sidney Wicks and Lucius Allen began arriving every year in Westwood.
Each would learn at the first practice how to properly put on socks and sneakers. Each would learn to keep his hair short and face clean-shaven, even though the fashions of the 1960s and '70s dictated otherwise.
And each would learn Wooden's "pyramid of success," a chart he used to both inspire players and sum up his personal code for life. Industriousness and enthusiasm were its cornerstones; faith, patience, loyalty and self-control were some of the building blocks. At the top of the pyramid was competitive greatness.
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are," Wooden would tell them.
"He set quite an example," Abdul-Jabbar said in a statement released by UCLA. "He was more like a parent than a coach. He really was a very selfless and giving human being, but he was a disciplinarian. We learned all about those aspects of life that most kids want to skip over. He wouldn't let us do that."
Wooden never had to worry about his reputation. He didn't drink or swear or carouse with other coaches on the road, though he did have a penchant for berating referees.
"Dadburn it, you saw him double-dribble down there!" went a typical Wooden complaint to an official. "Goodness gracious sakes alive!"
Wooden would coach 27 years at UCLA, finishing with a record of 620-147. He won 47 NCAA tournament games. His overall mark as a college coach was 885-203, an .813 winning percentage that remains unequaled.
But his legacy as a coach will always be framed by two streaks -- the seven straight national titles UCLA won beginning in 1967 and the 88-game winning streak that came to an end Jan. 19, 1974, when Notre Dame beat the Bruins 71-70.
After the loss, Wooden refused to allow his players to talk to reporters.
"Only winners talk," he said. A week later, UCLA beat the Irish at home by 19 points.
A little more than a year later, Wooden surprisingly announced his retirement after a 75-74 NCAA semifinal victory over Louisville. He then went out and coached the Bruins for the last time, winning his 10th national title with a 92-85 win over Kentucky.
After that victory, Wooden walked into the interview room at the San Diego Sports Arena to face about 200 reporters, who let their objectivity slip and applauded.
"When I think of a basketball coach the only one I ever thought of was Coach Wooden. He had a great life and helped so many coaches until well in his 90s," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told The Associated Press. "Every time I talked to him he would give me some words of advice. He's the best of all time. There will never be another like him, and you can't say that about too many people."
Long before that, though, the road to coaching greatness began after Wooden graduated with honors from Purdue and married Nell Riley, his high school sweetheart.
In a 2008 public appearance with Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully, in which the men were interviewed in front of an audience, Wooden said he still wrote his late wife -- the only girl he ever dated -- a letter on the 21st of each month. "She's still there to me," he said. "I talk to her every day."
He coached two years at Dayton (Ky.) High School, and his 6-11 losing record the first season was the only one in his 40-year coaching career.
He spent the next nine years coaching basketball, baseball and tennis at South Bend (Ind.) Central High School, where he also taught English.
"I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession," he once said. "I'm glad I was a teacher."
Wooden served in the Navy as a physical education instructor during World War II, and continued teaching when he became the basketball coach at Indiana State Teachers College, where he went 47-17 in two seasons.
In his first year at Indiana State, Wooden's team won the Indiana Collegiate Conference title and received an invitation to the NAIB tournament in Kansas City. Wooden, who had a black player on his team, refused the invitation because the NAIB had a policy banning African Americans. The rule was changed the next year, and Wooden led Indiana State to another conference title.
It was then that UCLA called, though Wooden didn't take the job to get rich. He never made more than $35,000 in a season, and early in his career he worked two jobs to make ends meet.
"My first four years at UCLA, I worked in the mornings at a dairy from six to noon then I'd come into UCLA," he told The Associated Press in 1995. "Why did I do it? Because I needed the money. I was a dispatcher of trucks in the San Fernando Valley and was a troubleshooter. After all the trucks made their deliveries and came back, I would call in the next day's orders, sweep out the place and head over the hill to UCLA."
After he enjoyed great success at UCLA, the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly offered Wooden their head coaching job at a salary 10 times what he was making, but he refused.
Nell, Wooden's wife of 53 years, died in 1985. Besides his son and daughter, Wooden is survived by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Charlie Wedemeyer
Charlie Wedemeyer, one of Hawaii's most storied high school athletes who earned his greatest accolades for his dogged fight against Lou Gehrig's Disease, died this morning in California. He was 64.
Wedemeyer had undergone two major surgeries in recent weeks.
His inspirational life story has been well chronicled, resulting in a PBS documentary, "One More Season," a CBS movie, "Quiet Victory — The Charlie Wedemeyer Story" and a book he and his wife Lucy wrote, "Charlie's Victory."
In 1960, Wedemeyer was voted the Prep Athlete of the Decade. Last year, he was named one of the Hawai'i's top 50 sportspersons in the 50 years of statehood.
Wedemeyer, a multi-sport athlete at Punahou School, was diagnosed 33 years ago with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the degenerative nerve condition that killed baseball's "Ironman" at age 37 on June 2, 1941. ALS is usually fatal within three years of diagnosis and only 10 percent of those afflicted live beyond eight years.
Despite Charlie's illness, the Wedemeyers would make speaking engagements, with Lucy delivering his message by reading his lips and his eye movements.
In 1999, he visited O'ahu Community Correctional Center and quipped, "In a sense, I also have a life sentence."
In 2005, the Wedemeyers made speaking engagements at Central Union Church and the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Hall of Honor dinner.
In recent years, Charlie's kidney failed and last March, he was hospitalized and underwent three surgeries.
Through it all, the family remained incredibly upbeat.
"God is so good. We have been blessed," Lucy said last year.
Charlie and Lucy Dangler were high school sweethearts at Punahou, where Charlie played quarterback and halfback and was a three-time all-star in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.
In 1964, he was named ILH Player of the Year, and played in a playoff game against Kamehameha that was televised throughout the state.
At Michigan State, Charlie was a receiver for the No. 2-ranked 1966 team that played No. 1 Notre Dame to a 10-10 tie in college football's famed "Game of the Century." It also was the first game televised live to Hawai'i.
After getting married and graduating, the Wedemeyers settled in Los Gatos, a small town about 15 miles southeast of San Jose. They had two children, Carri and Kale, and Charlie began a successful career as a math teacher and football coach at Los Gatos High.
Then in 1976, he started dropping the chalk when writing math problems on the chalkboard in class. After similar difficulties with his hands, he went to see a doctor, and eventually he was diagnosed with ALS.
Lou Gehrig's Disease is an incurable neurodegenerative disorder that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord. The result is a loss of muscle control and movement.
ALS, which affects one out of every 50,000 people, accelerates quickly and many patients totally succumb within two or three years of diagnosis.
In Charlie's case, he was given one year to live.
But the Wedemeyers did not focus on what was taken away.
"In the beginning we didn't see anything positive about it, but then we renewed our faith in God and realized we are a tool that can be used to help other people," Lucy said in a 2005 interview with Advertiser sports writer Wes Nakama. "I think Charlie realized what an awesome responsibility he had been given, that there is a plan and purpose for everything."
In the early years of his illness, Wedemeyer prayed that he could get to see his two children grow up to graduate from high school and then college. They did.
Carri runs the website for the Charlie Wedemeyer Family Outreach program, which raises money for ALS research, while Kale is a doctor in private practice.
"God is so good. We have been blessed. Our two children are both happily married and live close to each other, and 4.2 minutes from us, but who's counting?" Lucy told Advertiser writer Bill Kwon last year. "We are thrilled to be grandparents. I think it is our greatest accomplishment."
One of the most versatile athletes locally, Wedemeyer, who was 5 feet 7 and weighed 164 pounds, earned nine varsity letters in high school. He was a first-team all-star with teammate Norm Chow when Punahou won the ILH basketball title in 1964, and played second base on the school's 1965 ILH championship baseball team.
Wedemeyer played in the East-West Shrine Game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, and then came back home to play in the 1969 Hula Bowl. He played two years of semi-pro football for the Lansing (Mich.) All-Stars.
Charlie's greatest accomplishment, though, came as football coach at Los Gatos High School, winning seven league championships and posting a 78-18-1 record — after he was afflicted with ALS. In 1985, his team won the Central Coast Section Championship with Lucy, on the sidelines again, reading his lips and relaying his plays to assistant coaches.
"I think it's important to remember that we will all be confronted with adversity that may seem insurmountable," Charlie said in 2005. "When it does happen, we have to remember that God has given us the freedom of choice: We can choose to feel sorry for ourselves, be bitter and angry, and cause everybody to be miserable. Or we can become a stronger and better person for it.
"Pain and suffering are inevitable — we all experience it. But misery is an option.
"We do get to make that choice."
Wedemeyer had undergone two major surgeries in recent weeks.
His inspirational life story has been well chronicled, resulting in a PBS documentary, "One More Season," a CBS movie, "Quiet Victory — The Charlie Wedemeyer Story" and a book he and his wife Lucy wrote, "Charlie's Victory."
In 1960, Wedemeyer was voted the Prep Athlete of the Decade. Last year, he was named one of the Hawai'i's top 50 sportspersons in the 50 years of statehood.
Wedemeyer, a multi-sport athlete at Punahou School, was diagnosed 33 years ago with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the degenerative nerve condition that killed baseball's "Ironman" at age 37 on June 2, 1941. ALS is usually fatal within three years of diagnosis and only 10 percent of those afflicted live beyond eight years.
Despite Charlie's illness, the Wedemeyers would make speaking engagements, with Lucy delivering his message by reading his lips and his eye movements.
In 1999, he visited O'ahu Community Correctional Center and quipped, "In a sense, I also have a life sentence."
In 2005, the Wedemeyers made speaking engagements at Central Union Church and the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Hall of Honor dinner.
In recent years, Charlie's kidney failed and last March, he was hospitalized and underwent three surgeries.
Through it all, the family remained incredibly upbeat.
"God is so good. We have been blessed," Lucy said last year.
Charlie and Lucy Dangler were high school sweethearts at Punahou, where Charlie played quarterback and halfback and was a three-time all-star in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.
In 1964, he was named ILH Player of the Year, and played in a playoff game against Kamehameha that was televised throughout the state.
At Michigan State, Charlie was a receiver for the No. 2-ranked 1966 team that played No. 1 Notre Dame to a 10-10 tie in college football's famed "Game of the Century." It also was the first game televised live to Hawai'i.
After getting married and graduating, the Wedemeyers settled in Los Gatos, a small town about 15 miles southeast of San Jose. They had two children, Carri and Kale, and Charlie began a successful career as a math teacher and football coach at Los Gatos High.
Then in 1976, he started dropping the chalk when writing math problems on the chalkboard in class. After similar difficulties with his hands, he went to see a doctor, and eventually he was diagnosed with ALS.
Lou Gehrig's Disease is an incurable neurodegenerative disorder that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord. The result is a loss of muscle control and movement.
ALS, which affects one out of every 50,000 people, accelerates quickly and many patients totally succumb within two or three years of diagnosis.
In Charlie's case, he was given one year to live.
But the Wedemeyers did not focus on what was taken away.
"In the beginning we didn't see anything positive about it, but then we renewed our faith in God and realized we are a tool that can be used to help other people," Lucy said in a 2005 interview with Advertiser sports writer Wes Nakama. "I think Charlie realized what an awesome responsibility he had been given, that there is a plan and purpose for everything."
In the early years of his illness, Wedemeyer prayed that he could get to see his two children grow up to graduate from high school and then college. They did.
Carri runs the website for the Charlie Wedemeyer Family Outreach program, which raises money for ALS research, while Kale is a doctor in private practice.
"God is so good. We have been blessed. Our two children are both happily married and live close to each other, and 4.2 minutes from us, but who's counting?" Lucy told Advertiser writer Bill Kwon last year. "We are thrilled to be grandparents. I think it is our greatest accomplishment."
One of the most versatile athletes locally, Wedemeyer, who was 5 feet 7 and weighed 164 pounds, earned nine varsity letters in high school. He was a first-team all-star with teammate Norm Chow when Punahou won the ILH basketball title in 1964, and played second base on the school's 1965 ILH championship baseball team.
Wedemeyer played in the East-West Shrine Game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, and then came back home to play in the 1969 Hula Bowl. He played two years of semi-pro football for the Lansing (Mich.) All-Stars.
Charlie's greatest accomplishment, though, came as football coach at Los Gatos High School, winning seven league championships and posting a 78-18-1 record — after he was afflicted with ALS. In 1985, his team won the Central Coast Section Championship with Lucy, on the sidelines again, reading his lips and relaying his plays to assistant coaches.
"I think it's important to remember that we will all be confronted with adversity that may seem insurmountable," Charlie said in 2005. "When it does happen, we have to remember that God has given us the freedom of choice: We can choose to feel sorry for ourselves, be bitter and angry, and cause everybody to be miserable. Or we can become a stronger and better person for it.
"Pain and suffering are inevitable — we all experience it. But misery is an option.
"We do get to make that choice."
Raiders release JaMarcus Russell
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders released former No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell on Thursday, ending a three-year tenure marked by his high salary and unproductive play on the field.
Senior executive John Herrera told The Associated Press about the move and said that "we wish him well."
The decision came less than two weeks after Oakland acquired Jason Campbell from Washington to take over at quarterback and signifies that owner Al Davis finally lost patience with the immensely talented but unproductive player he drafted first overall in 2007 against the wishes of former coach Lane Kiffin.
Russell will now likely be considered one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history, joining Ryan Leaf, Ki-Jana Carter, Akili Smith and others on that list. He will have been paid more than $39 million by the Raiders, while producing only seven wins as a starter.
Senior executive John Herrera told The Associated Press about the move and said that "we wish him well."
The decision came less than two weeks after Oakland acquired Jason Campbell from Washington to take over at quarterback and signifies that owner Al Davis finally lost patience with the immensely talented but unproductive player he drafted first overall in 2007 against the wishes of former coach Lane Kiffin.
Russell will now likely be considered one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history, joining Ryan Leaf, Ki-Jana Carter, Akili Smith and others on that list. He will have been paid more than $39 million by the Raiders, while producing only seven wins as a starter.
perfect game, imperfect umpire
DETROIT (AP) — Armando Galarraga squeezed the ball in his mitt, stepped on first base with his right foot and was ready to celebrate the first perfect game in Detroit Tigers’ history.
What happened next will be the talk of baseball for the rest of this season and likely a lot longer.
Umpire Jim Joyce emphatically called Cleveland’s Jason Donald safe and a chorus of groans and boos echoed in Comerica Park.
Then Joyce emphatically said he was wrong.
“It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the (stuff) out of it,” Joyce said, looking and sounding distraught as he paced in the umpires’ locker room. “I just cost that kid a perfect game.”
“I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay,” he said after the Tigers’ 3-0 win.
***
DETROIT — Armando Galarraga bitterly sipped a beer minutes after he almost pitched a perfect game, lashing out at first base umpire Jim Joyce for blowing a call on what would have been the final out to negate his place in baseball history.
An apology and hug changed Galarraga's attitude.
Joyce, in tears, asked for a chance to apologize after the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 3-0 Wednesday night.
"You don't see an umpire after the game come out and say, `Hey, let me tell you I'm sorry,'" Galarraga said "He felt really bad. He didn't even shower."
MLB declined comment on Joyce's call. As it stands, baseball replays can only be used for questionable home runs. There's no appealing a judgment call, either by replay or protest.
Social networking sites, meanwhile, were buzzing about it.
Galarraga, who was barely known outside of Detroit a day ago, and Joyce, whose career had flourished in relative anonymity, quickly became trending topics on Twitter. At least one anti-Joyce Facebook page was created shortly after the game ended and firejimjoyce.com was launched.
Joyce has been calling balls and strikes and deciding if runners are out or safe as a full-time major league umpire since 1989. He has been respected enough to be on the field for two World Series, 11 other playoff series and a pair of All-Star games.
A split-second decision he made will probably haunt him for the rest of his career.
Joyce emphatically signaled safe when Cleveland's Jason Donald clearly didn't beat a throw to first base for what would've been the last out in Armando Galarraga's perfect game for the Detroit Tigers, setting off a chorus of groans and boos that echoed in Comerica Park.
The instantly infamous play also will add to the argument that Major League Baseball needs to expand its use of replays.
What happened next will be the talk of baseball for the rest of this season and likely a lot longer.
Umpire Jim Joyce emphatically called Cleveland’s Jason Donald safe and a chorus of groans and boos echoed in Comerica Park.
Then Joyce emphatically said he was wrong.
“It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the (stuff) out of it,” Joyce said, looking and sounding distraught as he paced in the umpires’ locker room. “I just cost that kid a perfect game.”
“I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay,” he said after the Tigers’ 3-0 win.
***
DETROIT — Armando Galarraga bitterly sipped a beer minutes after he almost pitched a perfect game, lashing out at first base umpire Jim Joyce for blowing a call on what would have been the final out to negate his place in baseball history.
An apology and hug changed Galarraga's attitude.
Joyce, in tears, asked for a chance to apologize after the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 3-0 Wednesday night.
"You don't see an umpire after the game come out and say, `Hey, let me tell you I'm sorry,'" Galarraga said "He felt really bad. He didn't even shower."
MLB declined comment on Joyce's call. As it stands, baseball replays can only be used for questionable home runs. There's no appealing a judgment call, either by replay or protest.
Social networking sites, meanwhile, were buzzing about it.
Galarraga, who was barely known outside of Detroit a day ago, and Joyce, whose career had flourished in relative anonymity, quickly became trending topics on Twitter. At least one anti-Joyce Facebook page was created shortly after the game ended and firejimjoyce.com was launched.
Joyce has been calling balls and strikes and deciding if runners are out or safe as a full-time major league umpire since 1989. He has been respected enough to be on the field for two World Series, 11 other playoff series and a pair of All-Star games.
A split-second decision he made will probably haunt him for the rest of his career.
Joyce emphatically signaled safe when Cleveland's Jason Donald clearly didn't beat a throw to first base for what would've been the last out in Armando Galarraga's perfect game for the Detroit Tigers, setting off a chorus of groans and boos that echoed in Comerica Park.
The instantly infamous play also will add to the argument that Major League Baseball needs to expand its use of replays.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
fan tasered in Philadelphia
Philadelphia police are investigating the Tasering of a 17-year-old Phillies fan who stormed the field Monday night.
Police are reviewing the case to see if it was an appropriate use of force.
The incident occurred at the start of the eighth inning at Citizens Bank Park as the Phillies were in the field and the St. Louis Cardinals were preparing to bat.
The teen, wearing a red Phillies National League Champions T-shirt and khaki shorts, was running around the outfield waving a white towel and eluding security. A uniformed bicycle patrol officer pointed the Taser at him, fired and didn't miss, taking the boy down face-first, like the way Pete Rose used to slide, Fox 29's Steve Keeley reported.
Police are reviewing the case to see if it was an appropriate use of force.
The incident occurred at the start of the eighth inning at Citizens Bank Park as the Phillies were in the field and the St. Louis Cardinals were preparing to bat.
The teen, wearing a red Phillies National League Champions T-shirt and khaki shorts, was running around the outfield waving a white towel and eluding security. A uniformed bicycle patrol officer pointed the Taser at him, fired and didn't miss, taking the boy down face-first, like the way Pete Rose used to slide, Fox 29's Steve Keeley reported.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Ernie Harwell
From the sandy shores of Lake Michigan to the rugged streets in Flint, they listened to Ernie Harwell tell the Tigers' tales for more than 40 years.
Beloved by generations of baseball fans who grew up enraptured by his rich voice, Southern cadence and quirky phrases on the radio, Harwell died Tuesday after a monthslong battle with cancer. He was 92.
Harwell called Orioles games from 1954 to 1959, but he spent 42 of his 55 years in broadcasting with the Tigers.
He announced Detroit games on radio from 1960 to 1991, in 1993 and from 1999 to 2002. He broadcast games on television from 1960 to 1964 and 1994 to 1998.
"What a voice," said longtime Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell, the World Series MVP the last time the Tigers won it all in 1984. "He did it with class, he did it with dignity. We shed a tear tonight, that's for sure."
Harwell's big break came in unusual fashion.
Dodgers radio broadcaster Red Barber fell ill in 1948, and general manager Branch Rickey needed a replacement. After learning that the minor league Atlanta Crackers needed a catcher, Rickey sent catcher Cliff Dapper to Atlanta and Harwell joined the Dodgers.
Harwell called more than 8,300 major league games, starting with the Dodgers and continuing with the Giants and Orioles before joining the Tigers. He missed two games outside of the 1992 season: one for his brother's funeral in 1968, the other when he was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 1989.
The Baseball Hall of Fame honored Harwell in 1981 with the Ford C. Frick Award, given annually to a broadcaster for major contributions to baseball.
A life-sized statue of Harwell stands at the entrance to Comerica Park and its press box is called "The Ernie Harwell Media Center."
Beloved by generations of baseball fans who grew up enraptured by his rich voice, Southern cadence and quirky phrases on the radio, Harwell died Tuesday after a monthslong battle with cancer. He was 92.
Harwell called Orioles games from 1954 to 1959, but he spent 42 of his 55 years in broadcasting with the Tigers.
He announced Detroit games on radio from 1960 to 1991, in 1993 and from 1999 to 2002. He broadcast games on television from 1960 to 1964 and 1994 to 1998.
"What a voice," said longtime Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell, the World Series MVP the last time the Tigers won it all in 1984. "He did it with class, he did it with dignity. We shed a tear tonight, that's for sure."
Harwell's big break came in unusual fashion.
Dodgers radio broadcaster Red Barber fell ill in 1948, and general manager Branch Rickey needed a replacement. After learning that the minor league Atlanta Crackers needed a catcher, Rickey sent catcher Cliff Dapper to Atlanta and Harwell joined the Dodgers.
Harwell called more than 8,300 major league games, starting with the Dodgers and continuing with the Giants and Orioles before joining the Tigers. He missed two games outside of the 1992 season: one for his brother's funeral in 1968, the other when he was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 1989.
The Baseball Hall of Fame honored Harwell in 1981 with the Ford C. Frick Award, given annually to a broadcaster for major contributions to baseball.
A life-sized statue of Harwell stands at the entrance to Comerica Park and its press box is called "The Ernie Harwell Media Center."
Monday, May 31, 2010
HPU wins Division II softball championship
No. 3 Hawai'i Pacific used a four-run rally in the fifth inning and then escaped a tense bases-loaded predicament in the final frame to beat No. 2 Valdosta State, 4-3, today to win its first NCAA Division II Softball National Championship at Heritage Park in St. Joseph, Mo.
The Sea Warriors (50-8) went 4-0 in the in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament. The Blazers (50-9) went unbeaten in their bracket, setting up the championship.
***
Hawaii Pacific ace Sherise Musquiz trotted out for her 31st inning of Memorial Day weekend, needing to throw one more scoreless frame to seal a title.
The Sea Warriors (50-8) went 4-0 in the in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament. The Blazers (50-9) went unbeaten in their bracket, setting up the championship.
***
Hawaii Pacific ace Sherise Musquiz trotted out for her 31st inning of Memorial Day weekend, needing to throw one more scoreless frame to seal a title.
Wahine walk off to World Series
The team that lives by the home run is still alive, thanks to the most dramatic one of them all.
Jenna Rodriguez hit a walk-off, two-run blast that just stayed inside the left-field foul pole with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to punch Hawaii's ticket to the Women's College World Series.
One out from elimination at the Tuscaloosa Super Regional, 16th-seeded Hawaii defeated top-seeded Alabama 5-4 to take the best-of-three series. Hawaii will play Missouri in a first-round game Thursday at 7 a.m. Hawaii time in Oklahoma City.
The Rainbow Wahine (49-14) advanced by extending their national-record home run total by two, running it to 154. Every run UH scored yesterday came by home run, and all five runs came off the bat of Rodriguez.
The junior from Arcadia, Calif., came to the islands via Yavapai College, a two-year school in Arizona where she won a national junior college championship last season. She brought with her a mentality that came in handy when she stepped into the batter's box with the Hawaii season on the line.
The Rainbow Wahine trailed 4-3 and had struck out 16 times by the time Rodriguez came up as the last hope. With leadoff batter Kelly Majam on first after drawing a walk, Rodriguez blasted the game-winner off the first pitch from Alabama ace Kelsi Dunne.
"Going through my head, my dad has always told me you want to be that person up with two outs, and thrive on it," Rodriguez said. "I came up there knowing I was going to hit because I had been hitting her all day, and I came out on top."
Rodriguez went 3-for-4, starting with a three-run shot in the first inning that gave Hawaii early control.
Both teams held their breath while Rodriguez's game-winner sailed down the line, waiting to see if it would drift foul or stay fair.
"I knew it had a chance of going foul," she said. "I stood there and watched it, because I had to know if it was going foul or fair."
It stayed inside the foul pole, and a small, but loud, group of Hawaii supporters in the stands began their celebration.
***
The University of Hawai‘i softball team’s post-season run to the 2010 Women’s College World Series catapulted the ‘Bows to No. 7 in both the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association and the ESPN.com/USA Softball final polls. It is the highest finish for the Rainbow Wahine in school history.
Hawai‘i posted a 50-16 overall record—hitting the 50-win mark for just the third time—en route to its first ever appearance in the WCWS. The ‘Bows won both the Western Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles before sweeping through the Stanford Regional, where they defeated UC Davis, No. 15/17 Stanford and Texas Tech. Hawai‘i, the 16th seed in the NCAA tournament, then won the Tuscaloosa Super Regional, defeating the No. 1 seed Alabama. The ‘Bows lost the first game, 8-0 in five innings, but bounced back and held on to an 8-7 win in the second game of the double header that snapped the Crimson Tide’s 28-game win streak. Hawa‘i then punched their ticket to the WCWS on Jenna Rodriguez’s dramatic two-run, two-out, walk off home run to defeat Alabama, 5-4.
The Rainbow Wahine entered the postseason ranked 19th in the ESPN.com poll and 23rd in the NFCA poll. In the WCWS, UH defeated Missouri before losing to Arizona and eventual champion, UCLA, to close their season.
Hawai‘i shattered the previous NCAA single season home record of 134 set last season by Arizona with 158 homers this season. Eight Rainbow Wahine had at least 11 home runs, lead by All-American Kelly Majam’s NCAA-best, 30. Thirteen different UH players hit at least one round-tripper this season. The ‘Bows also set new single-season records in most runs scored (488), most RBI (449), most doubles (92), most walks (185), and most hits (578).
***
BRISTOL, Conn.—University of Hawai`i centerfielder, Kelly Majam, was named an ESPN.com All-American on Monday. Majam is the first Rainbow Wahine to ever be selected for the honor by ESPN.com.
Majam, one of UH’s freshman phenoms, finished as the NCAA DI home run queen with 30—a new UH and WAC record. Majam is the first Hawai`i player to ever lead the nation in home runs. She also set new school marks with 81 runs scored and 44 walks. Majam led the 'Bows this season with a .400 average (84-for-210) while hitting 15 doubles, two triples, and driving in 60 runs. On defense, she had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 79 put-outs and six assists in centerfield.
On top of leading the nation in home runs, Majam ended the 2010 season ranked fourth in the NCAA DI with 1.23 runs scored per game; fifth with a .919 slugging percentage; 27th with a .519 on-base percentage; and 42nd in batting average at .400.
Jenna Rodriguez hit a walk-off, two-run blast that just stayed inside the left-field foul pole with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to punch Hawaii's ticket to the Women's College World Series.
One out from elimination at the Tuscaloosa Super Regional, 16th-seeded Hawaii defeated top-seeded Alabama 5-4 to take the best-of-three series. Hawaii will play Missouri in a first-round game Thursday at 7 a.m. Hawaii time in Oklahoma City.
The Rainbow Wahine (49-14) advanced by extending their national-record home run total by two, running it to 154. Every run UH scored yesterday came by home run, and all five runs came off the bat of Rodriguez.
The junior from Arcadia, Calif., came to the islands via Yavapai College, a two-year school in Arizona where she won a national junior college championship last season. She brought with her a mentality that came in handy when she stepped into the batter's box with the Hawaii season on the line.
The Rainbow Wahine trailed 4-3 and had struck out 16 times by the time Rodriguez came up as the last hope. With leadoff batter Kelly Majam on first after drawing a walk, Rodriguez blasted the game-winner off the first pitch from Alabama ace Kelsi Dunne.
"Going through my head, my dad has always told me you want to be that person up with two outs, and thrive on it," Rodriguez said. "I came up there knowing I was going to hit because I had been hitting her all day, and I came out on top."
Rodriguez went 3-for-4, starting with a three-run shot in the first inning that gave Hawaii early control.
Both teams held their breath while Rodriguez's game-winner sailed down the line, waiting to see if it would drift foul or stay fair.
"I knew it had a chance of going foul," she said. "I stood there and watched it, because I had to know if it was going foul or fair."
It stayed inside the foul pole, and a small, but loud, group of Hawaii supporters in the stands began their celebration.
***
The University of Hawai‘i softball team’s post-season run to the 2010 Women’s College World Series catapulted the ‘Bows to No. 7 in both the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association and the ESPN.com/USA Softball final polls. It is the highest finish for the Rainbow Wahine in school history.
Hawai‘i posted a 50-16 overall record—hitting the 50-win mark for just the third time—en route to its first ever appearance in the WCWS. The ‘Bows won both the Western Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles before sweeping through the Stanford Regional, where they defeated UC Davis, No. 15/17 Stanford and Texas Tech. Hawai‘i, the 16th seed in the NCAA tournament, then won the Tuscaloosa Super Regional, defeating the No. 1 seed Alabama. The ‘Bows lost the first game, 8-0 in five innings, but bounced back and held on to an 8-7 win in the second game of the double header that snapped the Crimson Tide’s 28-game win streak. Hawa‘i then punched their ticket to the WCWS on Jenna Rodriguez’s dramatic two-run, two-out, walk off home run to defeat Alabama, 5-4.
The Rainbow Wahine entered the postseason ranked 19th in the ESPN.com poll and 23rd in the NFCA poll. In the WCWS, UH defeated Missouri before losing to Arizona and eventual champion, UCLA, to close their season.
Hawai‘i shattered the previous NCAA single season home record of 134 set last season by Arizona with 158 homers this season. Eight Rainbow Wahine had at least 11 home runs, lead by All-American Kelly Majam’s NCAA-best, 30. Thirteen different UH players hit at least one round-tripper this season. The ‘Bows also set new single-season records in most runs scored (488), most RBI (449), most doubles (92), most walks (185), and most hits (578).
***
BRISTOL, Conn.—University of Hawai`i centerfielder, Kelly Majam, was named an ESPN.com All-American on Monday. Majam is the first Rainbow Wahine to ever be selected for the honor by ESPN.com.
Majam, one of UH’s freshman phenoms, finished as the NCAA DI home run queen with 30—a new UH and WAC record. Majam is the first Hawai`i player to ever lead the nation in home runs. She also set new school marks with 81 runs scored and 44 walks. Majam led the 'Bows this season with a .400 average (84-for-210) while hitting 15 doubles, two triples, and driving in 60 runs. On defense, she had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 79 put-outs and six assists in centerfield.
On top of leading the nation in home runs, Majam ended the 2010 season ranked fourth in the NCAA DI with 1.23 runs scored per game; fifth with a .919 slugging percentage; 27th with a .519 on-base percentage; and 42nd in batting average at .400.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Darnell Arceneaux named St. Louis coach (again)
After a week of contemplation and soul searching, Darnell Arceneaux looked to the future.
His decision to return to coach football at Saint Louis, where he coached in 2003, had as much to do with family as anything. The increase in salary that Saint Louis offered was too much to refuse.
"I would never have left Mililani unless I could really improve the security of my family," he said. "We've got three children: Chloe is a sophomore, Cole is 10 and we just had a baby girl, El, who's five months old. Furloughs this year kind of hurt my wife and me (both teachers). We both took a pay cut. And they want us to work three extra days for free."
***
'Iolani has hired former Saint Louis football coach Delbert Tengan as its new defensive coordinator.
After weeks of speculation, Raiders coach Wendell Look confirmed the hiring yesterday afternoon.
"It's a good fit for us," Look said. "Delbert is a good guy who has his priorities straight. He is going to bring a lot to our program. Our kids are going to benefit from his knowledge and experience."
Tengan spent more than 20 years as an assistant and head coach at Saint Louis. He guided the Crusaders to a state title in 2002 during his first stint as head coach. During his second go-round, he was 22-2 in his last two seasons before being released in 2007.
Prior to that, he was a defensive backs coach, then defensive coordinator during Saint Louis' dynasty under then-coach Cal Lee, and was also the head basketball coach with current Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona as his assistant.
In recent months, Tengan applied for the Saint Louis athletic director position, but the job went to Ed Paola, a science teacher who has experience as an AD.
Tengan also was in contention for the vacant coaching position after John Hao was not retained, and was at one point offered the job. Tengan declined because by that time he had already given a commitment to 'Iolani; Look wanted him on board as a defensive coordinator.
With Joel Lane as the offensive coordinator, 'Iolani has two coaches who turned down the head coaching position at Saint Louis. Tengan replaces Nat Tan, who retired from coaching to spend more time with family.
His decision to return to coach football at Saint Louis, where he coached in 2003, had as much to do with family as anything. The increase in salary that Saint Louis offered was too much to refuse.
"I would never have left Mililani unless I could really improve the security of my family," he said. "We've got three children: Chloe is a sophomore, Cole is 10 and we just had a baby girl, El, who's five months old. Furloughs this year kind of hurt my wife and me (both teachers). We both took a pay cut. And they want us to work three extra days for free."
***
'Iolani has hired former Saint Louis football coach Delbert Tengan as its new defensive coordinator.
After weeks of speculation, Raiders coach Wendell Look confirmed the hiring yesterday afternoon.
"It's a good fit for us," Look said. "Delbert is a good guy who has his priorities straight. He is going to bring a lot to our program. Our kids are going to benefit from his knowledge and experience."
Tengan spent more than 20 years as an assistant and head coach at Saint Louis. He guided the Crusaders to a state title in 2002 during his first stint as head coach. During his second go-round, he was 22-2 in his last two seasons before being released in 2007.
Prior to that, he was a defensive backs coach, then defensive coordinator during Saint Louis' dynasty under then-coach Cal Lee, and was also the head basketball coach with current Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona as his assistant.
In recent months, Tengan applied for the Saint Louis athletic director position, but the job went to Ed Paola, a science teacher who has experience as an AD.
Tengan also was in contention for the vacant coaching position after John Hao was not retained, and was at one point offered the job. Tengan declined because by that time he had already given a commitment to 'Iolani; Look wanted him on board as a defensive coordinator.
With Joel Lane as the offensive coordinator, 'Iolani has two coaches who turned down the head coaching position at Saint Louis. Tengan replaces Nat Tan, who retired from coaching to spend more time with family.
Hawaii softball racks up miles as well as homeruns
When Hawaii landed in Birmingham, Ala., Tuesday on its way to an NCAA softball super regional against top seed Alabama, they already had traveled roughly 7,500 miles since the end of the regular season.
Now in their third week on the road, the days are beginning to run together for the No. 16 seed Rainbows (47-13) and third baseman Melissa Gonzalez. "We took a plane off the island," Gonzalez says. Since then "it's been a lot of driving from airports to hotels to fields."
From Hawaii to California to Texas to New Mexico back to Texas to California and now Alabama, the Rainbows have taken the miles in stride.
"We get a lot of rest and we make sure to get a good workout and stretch," Gonzalez says.
The physical strain hasn't been lost on coach Bob Coolen. "We really try to keep a sense of normalcy," he says. "It's something we work on diligently."
But travel isn't the only thing in excess for Hawaii.
The Rainbows have hit an NCAA Division I-record 149 home runs, eight of them as they swept three games last weekend in an NCAA regional at Stanford.
Gonzalez, who has accounted for 25 home runs, offers a simple answer for Hawaii's proficiency at the plate.
"We're seeing the ball," she says.
Five players have more than 50 RBI, six are batting better than .300 and the Rainbows lead Division I in scoring (7.8 runs a game) and slugging percentage (.661).
Now in their third week on the road, the days are beginning to run together for the No. 16 seed Rainbows (47-13) and third baseman Melissa Gonzalez. "We took a plane off the island," Gonzalez says. Since then "it's been a lot of driving from airports to hotels to fields."
From Hawaii to California to Texas to New Mexico back to Texas to California and now Alabama, the Rainbows have taken the miles in stride.
"We get a lot of rest and we make sure to get a good workout and stretch," Gonzalez says.
The physical strain hasn't been lost on coach Bob Coolen. "We really try to keep a sense of normalcy," he says. "It's something we work on diligently."
But travel isn't the only thing in excess for Hawaii.
The Rainbows have hit an NCAA Division I-record 149 home runs, eight of them as they swept three games last weekend in an NCAA regional at Stanford.
Gonzalez, who has accounted for 25 home runs, offers a simple answer for Hawaii's proficiency at the plate.
"We're seeing the ball," she says.
Five players have more than 50 RBI, six are batting better than .300 and the Rainbows lead Division I in scoring (7.8 runs a game) and slugging percentage (.661).
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Jared Spiker to play for UH
University of Hawai‘i men’s tennis coach John Nelson announced the addition of two players to the 2010-11 roster. Jonathan Brooklyn, a native of Hillingdon, England, and Jared Spiker, a two-time Hawai‘i state singles champion, both signed with UH and will join the program this fall.
Spiker is a 2010 graduate of Kalani High School who has won back-to-back state singles titles for the Falcons. The native of Honolulu played just two years of high school tennis and during that span went undefeated, winning two league and two state singles titles. In 2009 Spiker became the first O‘ahu Interscholastic Association player to win a state singles tennis title in 26 years.
The 5-9 Spiker is also a brown belt in judo and was accomplished in that sport—winning three national championships—before turning to tennis. His two older brothers both competed collegiately in wrestling after winning a combined five state high school championships.
Spiker is a 2010 graduate of Kalani High School who has won back-to-back state singles titles for the Falcons. The native of Honolulu played just two years of high school tennis and during that span went undefeated, winning two league and two state singles titles. In 2009 Spiker became the first O‘ahu Interscholastic Association player to win a state singles tennis title in 26 years.
The 5-9 Spiker is also a brown belt in judo and was accomplished in that sport—winning three national championships—before turning to tennis. His two older brothers both competed collegiately in wrestling after winning a combined five state high school championships.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Andy Ganigan suffers permanent brain damage
Police arrested a 21-year-old Waianae man yesterday for allegedly assaulting former world lightweight boxing champion Andy Ganigan, 57, leaving him with permanent brain damage.
Ganigan and a friend had just left Last Stop Bar, near the Highway Inn in Waipahu, when he was assaulted near some stairs leading to Pizza Hut about 11 p.m. March 23.
The suspect had been drinking and does not recall what the fight was about, police said.
Ganigan was hospitalized in Honolulu, and was later transported with two medical escorts to a rehabilitation hospital in Las Vegas, where his eldest daughter and two of his five sons live.
The former boxer suffered severe brain damage and needs round-the-clock care for the rest of his life, Shue said. Ganigan can sometimes recognize people, but only sporadically, she said.
Ganigan, who became the North American Boxing Federation lightweight champion in 1978, was named World Athletic Association lightweight champion in 1981 when he knocked out Sean O'Grady. Ganigan, known as the Hawaiian Punch, is in the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.
Shue said because Ganigan didn't have a regular job or medical insurance except through the state, he didn't qualify for any services. All local nursing homes denied the Medicaid patient a bed since older patients were given priority, and that's why he was taken to Las Vegas, Shue said.
The medical bills have exceeded the family's entire savings.
The family is holding a fundraiser from 4 to 9 p.m. June 8 at Ige's Restaurant in Aiea. Presale tickets are $25 or at the door. Contact Michelle at 381-4000 for advance tickets.
***
He was the B.J. Penn of our generation in some ways -- including the most important criterion for us high school junior boys: He could beat up just about anyone else in the world.
But now Andy Ganigan is down for the count following a beating he suffered in a street fight, allegedly from a 21-year-old assailant. Doctors say the 57-year-old former champ may never recover and likely has permanent brain damage.
His family should be comfortable because of the winnings from his boxing career. Instead, its savings are drained paying for his medical care. Universal health insurance is too late for Ganigan, who has none.
I want to always remember the smiling and joking world champion Andy Ganigan. But right now it's hard to shake the image and sad reality of him losing the joys of his golden years in a street scuffle, 27 years after his last fight in the ring.
A fund-raiser to help with Andy Ganigan's medical expenses will be held at Ige's Restaurant in Aiea on June 8 from 4 to 9 p.m.
Ganigan and a friend had just left Last Stop Bar, near the Highway Inn in Waipahu, when he was assaulted near some stairs leading to Pizza Hut about 11 p.m. March 23.
The suspect had been drinking and does not recall what the fight was about, police said.
Ganigan was hospitalized in Honolulu, and was later transported with two medical escorts to a rehabilitation hospital in Las Vegas, where his eldest daughter and two of his five sons live.
The former boxer suffered severe brain damage and needs round-the-clock care for the rest of his life, Shue said. Ganigan can sometimes recognize people, but only sporadically, she said.
Ganigan, who became the North American Boxing Federation lightweight champion in 1978, was named World Athletic Association lightweight champion in 1981 when he knocked out Sean O'Grady. Ganigan, known as the Hawaiian Punch, is in the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.
Shue said because Ganigan didn't have a regular job or medical insurance except through the state, he didn't qualify for any services. All local nursing homes denied the Medicaid patient a bed since older patients were given priority, and that's why he was taken to Las Vegas, Shue said.
The medical bills have exceeded the family's entire savings.
The family is holding a fundraiser from 4 to 9 p.m. June 8 at Ige's Restaurant in Aiea. Presale tickets are $25 or at the door. Contact Michelle at 381-4000 for advance tickets.
***
He was the B.J. Penn of our generation in some ways -- including the most important criterion for us high school junior boys: He could beat up just about anyone else in the world.
But now Andy Ganigan is down for the count following a beating he suffered in a street fight, allegedly from a 21-year-old assailant. Doctors say the 57-year-old former champ may never recover and likely has permanent brain damage.
His family should be comfortable because of the winnings from his boxing career. Instead, its savings are drained paying for his medical care. Universal health insurance is too late for Ganigan, who has none.
I want to always remember the smiling and joking world champion Andy Ganigan. But right now it's hard to shake the image and sad reality of him losing the joys of his golden years in a street scuffle, 27 years after his last fight in the ring.
A fund-raiser to help with Andy Ganigan's medical expenses will be held at Ige's Restaurant in Aiea on June 8 from 4 to 9 p.m.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Shogun knocks out Machida
No one is invincible: That's the belief Mauricio "Shogun" Rua carried into the Octagon last night at UFC 113 for his rematch with light heavyweight champion Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida.
After their first fight, Rua discovered a weakness in Machida's once impenetrable armor. Though he'd come up short previously, losing a disputed unanimous decision, Rua knew he would prevail this time around.
***
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua made certain there was no controversy this time around, taking the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title from Lyoto Machida with a devastating first-round knockout Saturday at the Bell Centre in the main event of UFC 113.
Machida, who won a highly controversial decision at UFC 104 in October, missed a right hand to start the closing sequence. Rua landed a grazing right and the two went down. Rua then landed a crushing right from the top that closed Machida’s eye and essentially ended the fight.
Rua landed several more blows before referee Yves Lavigne mercifully stopped the bout.
The fight was fought on even terms until the final sequence. Machida had two takedowns and Rua had landed several hard kicks.
On the undercard, Josh Koscheck outwrestled Paul Daley in a lackluster welterweight fight that was more notable for post-fight antics. Koscheck won a 30-27 decision and earned the right to fight welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre in December. The UFC had announced on Friday that the winner of the Koscheck-Daley fight would coach opposite St. Pierre in “The Ultimate Fighter 12.”
Daley, who is a power puncher, had no answer for Koscheck’s superior wrestling skills. Koscheck repeatedly took him down and while he didn’t do much damage, he easily controlled the fight and nullified Daley’s punching power.
After the fight, Daley walked over to Koscheck, who shooed him away. Daley then threw a punch at him, forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to step in. UFC president Dana White entered the cage and berated Daley for his actions.
The large and vocal crowd did not like the fight and booed lustily throughout. It frequently chanted obscenities at Koscheck, but the fighter upped the ante by ripping into the hometown Montreal Canadiens of the NHL.
Matt Mitrione scored a big victory over his much more well-known castmate from Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter” when he beat up Kimbo Slice and stopped him at 4:24 of the second round in a one-sided heavyweight fight.
The fight wasn’t the standup battle that many expected. In the first round, Mitrione and Slice were rolling around the ring. Mitrione nearly submitted Slice with a triangle choke, then later he worked for several other submissions, none of which got close.
“It was tight,” Mitrione said of the triangle. “I thought I had him, but then Kimbo put his thumb in my eye. Even the ref saw it.”
He was working Slice’s legs over in the second with leg kicks and it was clear that Slice did not appreciate the kicks and was unable to check them. He was backing away from Mitrione and trying to hide his lead leg.
Mitrione took him down and got a dominant position and pounded on him until Miragliotta stopped it.
“I feel like I softened him with those legs kicks and then when he went for that shot, I took him down,” Mitrione said.
***
UFC president Dana White laid down the challenge to Internet phenom Kimbo Slice and the street fighter accepted it. Kimbo made it through his stint on Season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter" and got two more fights with the promotion.
Slice went 1-1 in the UFC after the reality show, including a bad loss tonight at UFC 113 against Matt Mitrione. The fight was so one-sided, the UFC president decided to give Kimbo his pink slip.
"That's probably Kimbo's last fight in the UFC," said White. "Listen, Kimbo made it farther than I thought he would."
After their first fight, Rua discovered a weakness in Machida's once impenetrable armor. Though he'd come up short previously, losing a disputed unanimous decision, Rua knew he would prevail this time around.
***
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua made certain there was no controversy this time around, taking the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title from Lyoto Machida with a devastating first-round knockout Saturday at the Bell Centre in the main event of UFC 113.
Machida, who won a highly controversial decision at UFC 104 in October, missed a right hand to start the closing sequence. Rua landed a grazing right and the two went down. Rua then landed a crushing right from the top that closed Machida’s eye and essentially ended the fight.
Rua landed several more blows before referee Yves Lavigne mercifully stopped the bout.
The fight was fought on even terms until the final sequence. Machida had two takedowns and Rua had landed several hard kicks.
On the undercard, Josh Koscheck outwrestled Paul Daley in a lackluster welterweight fight that was more notable for post-fight antics. Koscheck won a 30-27 decision and earned the right to fight welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre in December. The UFC had announced on Friday that the winner of the Koscheck-Daley fight would coach opposite St. Pierre in “The Ultimate Fighter 12.”
Daley, who is a power puncher, had no answer for Koscheck’s superior wrestling skills. Koscheck repeatedly took him down and while he didn’t do much damage, he easily controlled the fight and nullified Daley’s punching power.
After the fight, Daley walked over to Koscheck, who shooed him away. Daley then threw a punch at him, forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to step in. UFC president Dana White entered the cage and berated Daley for his actions.
The large and vocal crowd did not like the fight and booed lustily throughout. It frequently chanted obscenities at Koscheck, but the fighter upped the ante by ripping into the hometown Montreal Canadiens of the NHL.
Matt Mitrione scored a big victory over his much more well-known castmate from Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter” when he beat up Kimbo Slice and stopped him at 4:24 of the second round in a one-sided heavyweight fight.
The fight wasn’t the standup battle that many expected. In the first round, Mitrione and Slice were rolling around the ring. Mitrione nearly submitted Slice with a triangle choke, then later he worked for several other submissions, none of which got close.
“It was tight,” Mitrione said of the triangle. “I thought I had him, but then Kimbo put his thumb in my eye. Even the ref saw it.”
He was working Slice’s legs over in the second with leg kicks and it was clear that Slice did not appreciate the kicks and was unable to check them. He was backing away from Mitrione and trying to hide his lead leg.
Mitrione took him down and got a dominant position and pounded on him until Miragliotta stopped it.
“I feel like I softened him with those legs kicks and then when he went for that shot, I took him down,” Mitrione said.
***
UFC president Dana White laid down the challenge to Internet phenom Kimbo Slice and the street fighter accepted it. Kimbo made it through his stint on Season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter" and got two more fights with the promotion.
Slice went 1-1 in the UFC after the reality show, including a bad loss tonight at UFC 113 against Matt Mitrione. The fight was so one-sided, the UFC president decided to give Kimbo his pink slip.
"That's probably Kimbo's last fight in the UFC," said White. "Listen, Kimbo made it farther than I thought he would."
Monday, May 03, 2010
Duke defeats Butler for NCAA championship
In a matter of seconds, Butler's Cinderella trip to the national championship ended with a heartbreaking loss.
Duke defeated Butler 61-59 to win its fourth national championship, forcing Butler's Gordon Hayward to miss with 4 seconds left to hold off the Bulldogs 61-59 and end the tiny school's run at the title one game short of the perfect ending.
Kyle Singler had 19 for the Blue Devils and Brian Zoubek rebounded Hayward's miss and hit one free throw with 3.6 seconds left to give Duke a two-point lead.
Hayward rebounded Zoubek's intentional miss and threw up a desperation heave at the buzzer, that hit glass, bounced off the rim and out.
The win gave Mike Krzyzewski his first national title since 2001 and fourth overall, tying him with Adolph Rupp for second on the all-time list.
Duke defeated Butler 61-59 to win its fourth national championship, forcing Butler's Gordon Hayward to miss with 4 seconds left to hold off the Bulldogs 61-59 and end the tiny school's run at the title one game short of the perfect ending.
Kyle Singler had 19 for the Blue Devils and Brian Zoubek rebounded Hayward's miss and hit one free throw with 3.6 seconds left to give Duke a two-point lead.
Hayward rebounded Zoubek's intentional miss and threw up a desperation heave at the buzzer, that hit glass, bounced off the rim and out.
The win gave Mike Krzyzewski his first national title since 2001 and fourth overall, tying him with Adolph Rupp for second on the all-time list.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
A Better Way To Coach Kids
Taking in my first youth baseball game involving my own boys the other day, I realized times have truly changed. Granted, this is the Shetland level, featuring almost 5 through 6-year-olds. Expectations are not terribly high and neither are the performances, but you’d never know it to listen to the coaches, who are constantly encouraging and endlessly supportive.
The result seems to be happy players who look forward to practices and games.
So sitting at Koko Head District Park and watching the next generation of aspiring baseball players, I was grateful that the Hawaii Kai League has adopted the strategies of the Stanford University-based Positive Coaching Alliance, where positive reinforcement is emphasized and negative juju is discouraged.
The result seems to be happy players who look forward to practices and games.
So sitting at Koko Head District Park and watching the next generation of aspiring baseball players, I was grateful that the Hawaii Kai League has adopted the strategies of the Stanford University-based Positive Coaching Alliance, where positive reinforcement is emphasized and negative juju is discouraged.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Sam Bradford, Ndamukong Suh top 2010 NFL draft
Starting with quarterback Sam Bradford going to the St. Louis Rams, the first NFL draft in prime time was a showcase for the Big 12.
The Oklahoma junior became the eighth quarterback since 2001 taken atop the draft. He was immediately followed Thursday night by defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska, the AP player of the year; and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and offensive tackle Trent Williams, Bradford's teammates with the Sooners.
Tennessee safety Eric Berry, also an All-American, went fifth to Kansas City, breaking the Big 12 stranglehold. Berry, noted for his versatility, also has the potential to play cornerback.
Then it was back to the Big 12 for Oklahoma State offensive tackle Russell Okung, who went to Seattle, where perennial Pro Bowl blocker Walter Jones is expected to announce his retirement on Thursday.
Florida cornerback Joe Haden was chosen by Cleveland, followed by Alabama inside linebacker Rolando McClain to Oakland. Both were All-Americans last season.
That also gave the Southeastern Conference three picks in the first eight, showing how highly the NFL regarded those two conferences.
Clemson's C.J. Spiller went to the Buffalo Bills with the ninth pick, becoming the first running back taken in the draft and prompting plenty of "Oh, no" responses from Giants fans in the packed theater. McClain and Spiller were considered main targets for the Giants.
Jacksonville took California defensive tackle Tyson Alualu, projected as a second-rounder by many, Jaguars with the 10th pick, a surprising move for a franchise that desperately needed a big-name player to boost sagging ticket sales. The Jaguars blacked out nine of 10 home games last season because they could not sell out the games.
The Chargers moved up from 28th overall to 12th in a trade with Miami to select Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews. Mathews, the nation's leading rusher at 150.7 yards a game, is expected to replace LaDainian Tomlinson, who was released in February after nine brilliant seasons in which he became one of the greatest running backs in NFL history.
After trading down twice, the Denver Broncos traded up in the draft to take Tim Tebow with the Ravens' 25th pick.
The selection of the Florida quarterback drew the loudest reaction -- a mix of cheers and boos -- from the audience. Denver gave up picks in the second, third and fourth rounds.
The Oklahoma junior became the eighth quarterback since 2001 taken atop the draft. He was immediately followed Thursday night by defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska, the AP player of the year; and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and offensive tackle Trent Williams, Bradford's teammates with the Sooners.
Tennessee safety Eric Berry, also an All-American, went fifth to Kansas City, breaking the Big 12 stranglehold. Berry, noted for his versatility, also has the potential to play cornerback.
Then it was back to the Big 12 for Oklahoma State offensive tackle Russell Okung, who went to Seattle, where perennial Pro Bowl blocker Walter Jones is expected to announce his retirement on Thursday.
Florida cornerback Joe Haden was chosen by Cleveland, followed by Alabama inside linebacker Rolando McClain to Oakland. Both were All-Americans last season.
That also gave the Southeastern Conference three picks in the first eight, showing how highly the NFL regarded those two conferences.
Clemson's C.J. Spiller went to the Buffalo Bills with the ninth pick, becoming the first running back taken in the draft and prompting plenty of "Oh, no" responses from Giants fans in the packed theater. McClain and Spiller were considered main targets for the Giants.
Jacksonville took California defensive tackle Tyson Alualu, projected as a second-rounder by many, Jaguars with the 10th pick, a surprising move for a franchise that desperately needed a big-name player to boost sagging ticket sales. The Jaguars blacked out nine of 10 home games last season because they could not sell out the games.
The Chargers moved up from 28th overall to 12th in a trade with Miami to select Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews. Mathews, the nation's leading rusher at 150.7 yards a game, is expected to replace LaDainian Tomlinson, who was released in February after nine brilliant seasons in which he became one of the greatest running backs in NFL history.
After trading down twice, the Denver Broncos traded up in the draft to take Tim Tebow with the Ravens' 25th pick.
The selection of the Florida quarterback drew the loudest reaction -- a mix of cheers and boos -- from the audience. Denver gave up picks in the second, third and fourth rounds.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Lorena Ochoa is retiring
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Lorena Ochoa is retiring, just as Annika Sorenstam did two years ago, leaving the struggling LPGA Tour without its No. 1 player again and depriving the sport of one of its great ambassadors.
Ochoa, probably the best-known athlete in Mexico who is not a soccer player, announced her surprise decision Tuesday and will discuss her plans Friday.
The 28-year-old Mexican got married last year, setting off speculation she might be putting golf aside to raise a family. She has been No. 1 in the world the last three years and won 27 times over the last six.
Ochoa, probably the best-known athlete in Mexico who is not a soccer player, announced her surprise decision Tuesday and will discuss her plans Friday.
The 28-year-old Mexican got married last year, setting off speculation she might be putting golf aside to raise a family. She has been No. 1 in the world the last three years and won 27 times over the last six.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Majam hits it in the parking lot
After her previous 21 home runs, Kelly Majam made a point to maintain her game face as she crossed the plate.
When No. 22 flew out of the park yesterday, the Hawaii freshman allowed herself to enjoy it a little bit more.
"I definitely was smiling and pretty happy about it," Majam said after breaking the Rainbow Wahine softball program's single-season home run record.
Majam, the nation's home run leader, helped ignite No. 25 Hawaii's 15-1 five-inning rout of Boise State at Mountain Cove Field in Idaho by passing the mark set by Kate Robinson in 2008.
Majam said she turned on a pitch high and inside and pulled it down the right-field line for three-run shot to move within one homer of the Western Athletic Conference record set by Fresno State's Christina Clark in 2004.
"It hit a car in the parking lot," UH head coach Bob Coolen said. "The first fence is 220 feet, the second is 230. It hit a car in the second row of parking, so it was a good 240, 250 feet easy."
***
[5/15/10] Hawaii's season of outrageous offense turned surreal yesterday.
The 21st-ranked Rainbow Wahine broke the NCAA record for home runs in a season during a 14-run third inning in their 16-1 win over rival Fresno State and moved within a win of the program's first Western Athletic Conference softball tournament title.
Hawaii sent 20 batters to the plate in the third and scored seven runs before the first out was recorded in Las Cruces, N.M. By the time Fresno State finally got out of the interminable half inning, the Wahine produced 13 hits in a series of line drives and bloopers and two blasts.
"In the dugout, it was just really loud," UH shortstop Jessica Iwata said. "Everyone was upbeat and excited. Some of us came around (to hit) three times, it was crazy."
Hawaii tied the previous single-season home run record of 134, set by Arizona last year, in Thursday's 16-8 win over San Jose State. Iwata gave Hawaii sole possession of the mark with No. 135, a three-run homer to left field in the third. Fellow freshman Kelly Majam added a grand slam later in the inning.
"It felt great. We were looking forward to breaking that record for a while," Iwata said.
When No. 22 flew out of the park yesterday, the Hawaii freshman allowed herself to enjoy it a little bit more.
"I definitely was smiling and pretty happy about it," Majam said after breaking the Rainbow Wahine softball program's single-season home run record.
Majam, the nation's home run leader, helped ignite No. 25 Hawaii's 15-1 five-inning rout of Boise State at Mountain Cove Field in Idaho by passing the mark set by Kate Robinson in 2008.
Majam said she turned on a pitch high and inside and pulled it down the right-field line for three-run shot to move within one homer of the Western Athletic Conference record set by Fresno State's Christina Clark in 2004.
"It hit a car in the parking lot," UH head coach Bob Coolen said. "The first fence is 220 feet, the second is 230. It hit a car in the second row of parking, so it was a good 240, 250 feet easy."
***
[5/15/10] Hawaii's season of outrageous offense turned surreal yesterday.
The 21st-ranked Rainbow Wahine broke the NCAA record for home runs in a season during a 14-run third inning in their 16-1 win over rival Fresno State and moved within a win of the program's first Western Athletic Conference softball tournament title.
Hawaii sent 20 batters to the plate in the third and scored seven runs before the first out was recorded in Las Cruces, N.M. By the time Fresno State finally got out of the interminable half inning, the Wahine produced 13 hits in a series of line drives and bloopers and two blasts.
"In the dugout, it was just really loud," UH shortstop Jessica Iwata said. "Everyone was upbeat and excited. Some of us came around (to hit) three times, it was crazy."
Hawaii tied the previous single-season home run record of 134, set by Arizona last year, in Thursday's 16-8 win over San Jose State. Iwata gave Hawaii sole possession of the mark with No. 135, a three-run homer to left field in the third. Fellow freshman Kelly Majam added a grand slam later in the inning.
"It felt great. We were looking forward to breaking that record for a while," Iwata said.
BJ Penn beaten by Edgar
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates >> In the UFC’s first show in the Middle East and its first outdoors, heavy underdog Frankie Edgar won a unanimous decision over BJ Penn on Saturday night to claim the lightweight title at UFC 112.
Anderson Silva also successfully defended his middleweight title with a unanimous decision over fellow Brazilian Demian Maia, and Matt Hughes stopped veteran Renzo Gracie with 20 seconds left in the third round.
The bouts were held in a temporary arena next to a theme park outside the city center of the United Arab Emirates’ capital, with the humidity and heat making takedowns particularly difficult.
Penn (15-6-1) had been the UFC’s lightweight champion since January 2008, but Edgar (12-1) picked him apart with energy and movement. Although Penn and Edgar spent nearly the entire fight on their feet trading strikes, the 8-1 underdog from Toms River, N.J., even took down Penn twice, the first time Penn had been taken down in six years at lightweight.
Edgar won all five rounds on one judge’s scorecard and four rounds on another. He collapsed to his knees when the decision was announced.
“I just hope I can be half the champion he was,” said Edgar, who has been an assistant coach for the Rutgers wrestling team.
Silva (26-4) has been the middleweight champion since October 2006. He put on a strange performance in the main event, teasing and taunting his overmatched opponent early on. Silva even stood with his hands on his hips during the second round before bloodying Maia’s face in the third.
But the champion slowed in the late rounds, twice forcing the referee to order him to fight. Maia finished with his nose badly injured and his left eye swollen shut, but kept attacking while the crowd chanted his name.
“I apologize to everybody,” Silva said through a translator. “I don’t know what got into me tonight. I wasn’t as humble as I should have been. I can guarantee you next time it won’t happen.”
After cleaning out the middleweight division, Silva’s next fight could be against welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, who attended the show. The Abu Dhabi crowd chanted “G-S-P!” during a dull part of Silva’s fight.
Hughes (45-7), the UFC’s former welterweight champion, appeared to be toying with the 43-year-old Gracie until the final minute of the third round, repeatedly backing off after staggering the veteran with relentless right leg kicks and punches. Hughes finally finished with a flurry of punches, leaving Gracie (13-7-1) defenseless.
“Renzo came out throwing wide, looping, strong punches, so I tried to stay in tight, move away and just do things real simple,” Hughes said. “I’m fighting a Gracie, somebody like Renzo, I’ve got to put the odds on my side.”
Gracie is a familiar face in Abu Dhabi, where he travels about 10 times every year as an MMA coach. Although he has won championships in several MMA promotions, the fight was Gracie’s UFC debut.
“It was very hard,” Gracie said. “It was two years and a half without training at all, and then I got six months to train for a guy like that. It wasn’t an easy task. I’ll be back for sure.”
Anderson Silva also successfully defended his middleweight title with a unanimous decision over fellow Brazilian Demian Maia, and Matt Hughes stopped veteran Renzo Gracie with 20 seconds left in the third round.
The bouts were held in a temporary arena next to a theme park outside the city center of the United Arab Emirates’ capital, with the humidity and heat making takedowns particularly difficult.
Penn (15-6-1) had been the UFC’s lightweight champion since January 2008, but Edgar (12-1) picked him apart with energy and movement. Although Penn and Edgar spent nearly the entire fight on their feet trading strikes, the 8-1 underdog from Toms River, N.J., even took down Penn twice, the first time Penn had been taken down in six years at lightweight.
Edgar won all five rounds on one judge’s scorecard and four rounds on another. He collapsed to his knees when the decision was announced.
“I just hope I can be half the champion he was,” said Edgar, who has been an assistant coach for the Rutgers wrestling team.
Silva (26-4) has been the middleweight champion since October 2006. He put on a strange performance in the main event, teasing and taunting his overmatched opponent early on. Silva even stood with his hands on his hips during the second round before bloodying Maia’s face in the third.
But the champion slowed in the late rounds, twice forcing the referee to order him to fight. Maia finished with his nose badly injured and his left eye swollen shut, but kept attacking while the crowd chanted his name.
“I apologize to everybody,” Silva said through a translator. “I don’t know what got into me tonight. I wasn’t as humble as I should have been. I can guarantee you next time it won’t happen.”
After cleaning out the middleweight division, Silva’s next fight could be against welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, who attended the show. The Abu Dhabi crowd chanted “G-S-P!” during a dull part of Silva’s fight.
Hughes (45-7), the UFC’s former welterweight champion, appeared to be toying with the 43-year-old Gracie until the final minute of the third round, repeatedly backing off after staggering the veteran with relentless right leg kicks and punches. Hughes finally finished with a flurry of punches, leaving Gracie (13-7-1) defenseless.
“Renzo came out throwing wide, looping, strong punches, so I tried to stay in tight, move away and just do things real simple,” Hughes said. “I’m fighting a Gracie, somebody like Renzo, I’ve got to put the odds on my side.”
Gracie is a familiar face in Abu Dhabi, where he travels about 10 times every year as an MMA coach. Although he has won championships in several MMA promotions, the fight was Gracie’s UFC debut.
“It was very hard,” Gracie said. “It was two years and a half without training at all, and then I got six months to train for a guy like that. It wasn’t an easy task. I’ll be back for sure.”
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Don Nelson sets career wins record
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—Don Nelson, one of the NBA’s true mavericks, is now the league’s winningest coach.
Nelson set the career record for victories in the Golden State Warriors’ 116-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, notching win No. 1,333 to surpass Lenny Wilkens.
Stephen Curry had 27 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and a career-high seven steals and Anthony Tolliver(notes) scored a career-high 34 points to get Nelson over the hump.
He is 1,333-1,061 in 31 seasons on the bench.
Kevin Love had 17 points and 18 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who cut a 27-point deficit 108-104 with 43.6 seconds left.
But the Warriors closed the game out at the free throw line and Ronny Turiaf(notes) poured a cup of Gatorade onto Nelson’s gray head of hair as the team engulfed their 69-year-old coach to celebrate.
It was extra special for Nelson to do it in Minnesota. He has a daughter who lives in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka and had 20 family and friends at the game, including his wife.
He wasn’t in the reflecting mood before the game, but said he has been in contact with Wilkens as he has approached the record.
“Lenny’s been an idol of mine for a long time,” he said.
***
Nelson still has a little ways to go to catch Wilkens in career losses. Wilkens coaching career record was 1,332 wins and 1,155 losses. But, if he sticks to his plan of retiring after next season, he won't get there.
Nelson set the career record for victories in the Golden State Warriors’ 116-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, notching win No. 1,333 to surpass Lenny Wilkens.
Stephen Curry had 27 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and a career-high seven steals and Anthony Tolliver(notes) scored a career-high 34 points to get Nelson over the hump.
He is 1,333-1,061 in 31 seasons on the bench.
Kevin Love had 17 points and 18 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who cut a 27-point deficit 108-104 with 43.6 seconds left.
But the Warriors closed the game out at the free throw line and Ronny Turiaf(notes) poured a cup of Gatorade onto Nelson’s gray head of hair as the team engulfed their 69-year-old coach to celebrate.
It was extra special for Nelson to do it in Minnesota. He has a daughter who lives in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka and had 20 family and friends at the game, including his wife.
He wasn’t in the reflecting mood before the game, but said he has been in contact with Wilkens as he has approached the record.
“Lenny’s been an idol of mine for a long time,” he said.
***
Nelson still has a little ways to go to catch Wilkens in career losses. Wilkens coaching career record was 1,332 wins and 1,155 losses. But, if he sticks to his plan of retiring after next season, he won't get there.
Friday, April 02, 2010
The $184 Million Mauer
March 22 (Bloomberg) -- Joe Mauer received a $184 million contract from the Minnesota Twins that’s the fourth largest in Major League Baseball history and may keep the All-Star catcher with his hometown team through 2018.
Mauer, 26, was voted the American League Most Valuable Player last season after hitting .365 in 138 games for the Twins with 28 home runs and 96 runs batted in. He made the All-Star team for a third time and won a second Gold Glove Award as the best defensive catcher in the league.
Mauer’s contract will pay him an average of $23 million over eight seasons from 2011-18 and includes a full no-trade clause, the Twins said yesterday in a news release.
“I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money,’” Twins center fielder Denard Span said in comments on the team’s Web site. “That was my first initial reaction, and my second reaction was, if anybody is worth it, it’s him.”
The total value trails only two contracts signed by Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter’s $189 million deal with the New York Yankees. Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers in 2001 and a 10-year, $275 million accord with the Yankees in 2008.
Mauer’s contract almost equals the $185 million the Twins contributed to construction of their new stadium, Target Field, which opens this season.
Mauer, 26, was voted the American League Most Valuable Player last season after hitting .365 in 138 games for the Twins with 28 home runs and 96 runs batted in. He made the All-Star team for a third time and won a second Gold Glove Award as the best defensive catcher in the league.
Mauer’s contract will pay him an average of $23 million over eight seasons from 2011-18 and includes a full no-trade clause, the Twins said yesterday in a news release.
“I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money,’” Twins center fielder Denard Span said in comments on the team’s Web site. “That was my first initial reaction, and my second reaction was, if anybody is worth it, it’s him.”
The total value trails only two contracts signed by Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter’s $189 million deal with the New York Yankees. Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers in 2001 and a 10-year, $275 million accord with the Yankees in 2008.
Mauer’s contract almost equals the $185 million the Twins contributed to construction of their new stadium, Target Field, which opens this season.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Kentucky freshmen All-Americans
Having a couple of freshmen on The Associated Press' All-America team is nothing new. This year, however, they are from the same school.
Kentucky's John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins were on the All-America team announced Monday. Joining them were Ohio State junior Evan Turner, who received all but one first-team vote, Syracuse junior Wes Johnson and Villanova senior Scottie Reynolds.
In the age of one-and-done players, the All-America team has become a home for freshmen.
Kevin Durant of Texas and Greg Oden of Ohio State were on the 2007 team, while Michael Beasley of Kansas State and Kevin Love of UCLA were on it the next year.
After a year without any freshmen being honored, Wall and Cousins moved in as the ninth set of teammates to be selected and the first since Duke's J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams in 2006.
Turner, the 6-7 point guard considered one of the best all-around players in recent years, received all but one first-team vote from the 65-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25.
Wall received 62 votes, while Johnson had 45, Reynolds 32 and Cousins 26 in voting conducted before the NCAA tournament.
Kentucky's John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins were on the All-America team announced Monday. Joining them were Ohio State junior Evan Turner, who received all but one first-team vote, Syracuse junior Wes Johnson and Villanova senior Scottie Reynolds.
In the age of one-and-done players, the All-America team has become a home for freshmen.
Kevin Durant of Texas and Greg Oden of Ohio State were on the 2007 team, while Michael Beasley of Kansas State and Kevin Love of UCLA were on it the next year.
After a year without any freshmen being honored, Wall and Cousins moved in as the ninth set of teammates to be selected and the first since Duke's J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams in 2006.
Turner, the 6-7 point guard considered one of the best all-around players in recent years, received all but one first-team vote from the 65-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25.
Wall received 62 votes, while Johnson had 45, Reynolds 32 and Cousins 26 in voting conducted before the NCAA tournament.
Merlin Olsen
Merlin Olsen, a Hall of Fame defensive lineman and member of the Los Angeles Rams' "Fearsome Foursome" who followed up football with a successful television career in "Little House on the Prairie," NFL broadcasts and commercials, has died. He was 69.
Utah State, Olsen's alma mater, said he died outside of Los Angeles early Thursday after battling cancer. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung lining, last year.
Olsen was a consensus All-American at Utah State and a first-round draft pick of the Los Angles Rams in 1962.
The giant from northern Utah joined Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier on the Rams' storied "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line known for either stopping or knocking backward whatever offenses it faced. The Rams set an NFL record for the fewest yards allowed during a 14-game season in 1968.
Olsen was rookie of the year for the Rams in 1962 and is still the Rams' all-time leader in career tackles with 915. He was named to 14 consecutive Pro Bowls, a string that started his rookie year.
Olsen was also an established television actor with a role on "Little House on the Prairie," then starring in his own series, "Father Murphy," from 1981 to 1983 and the short-lived "Aaron's Way" in 1988.
As a Utah State senior, Olsen won the 1961 Outland Trophy as the nation's best interior lineman. The Rams drafted him third overall in 1962 and he spent the next 15 years with the team before retiring in 1976.
He was voted NFC defensive lineman of the year in 1973 and the NFL MVP in 1974, and was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.
After his football career, he analyzed football games for NBC and CBS and sought acting advice from actor-producer Michael Landon, who cast him as Jonathan Garvey in NBC's "Little House on the Prairie" from 1977 to 1981. In the early 1980s, Mr. Olsen starred in NBC's "Father Murphy," as an Old West frontiersman who disguises himself as a priest to help orphans.
Utah State, Olsen's alma mater, said he died outside of Los Angeles early Thursday after battling cancer. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung lining, last year.
Olsen was a consensus All-American at Utah State and a first-round draft pick of the Los Angles Rams in 1962.
The giant from northern Utah joined Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier on the Rams' storied "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line known for either stopping or knocking backward whatever offenses it faced. The Rams set an NFL record for the fewest yards allowed during a 14-game season in 1968.
Olsen was rookie of the year for the Rams in 1962 and is still the Rams' all-time leader in career tackles with 915. He was named to 14 consecutive Pro Bowls, a string that started his rookie year.
Olsen was also an established television actor with a role on "Little House on the Prairie," then starring in his own series, "Father Murphy," from 1981 to 1983 and the short-lived "Aaron's Way" in 1988.
As a Utah State senior, Olsen won the 1961 Outland Trophy as the nation's best interior lineman. The Rams drafted him third overall in 1962 and he spent the next 15 years with the team before retiring in 1976.
He was voted NFC defensive lineman of the year in 1973 and the NFL MVP in 1974, and was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.
After his football career, he analyzed football games for NBC and CBS and sought acting advice from actor-producer Michael Landon, who cast him as Jonathan Garvey in NBC's "Little House on the Prairie" from 1977 to 1981. In the early 1980s, Mr. Olsen starred in NBC's "Father Murphy," as an Old West frontiersman who disguises himself as a priest to help orphans.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Gib Arnold to be new Hawaii basketball coach
Punahou School graduate Gib Arnold is expected to be introduced as the University of Hawai'i's new head men's basketball coach as soon as this afternoon.
The 40-year-old Arnold would take over the state's only NCAA Division I men's program 23 years after his father, Frank Arnold, stepped down as the 'Bows' head coach.
Gib Arnold, who had been an assistant at Southern California until this month, was a finalist for the position along with Saint Mary's associate head coach Kyle Smith, whose team plays Villanova today in the NCAA South Regional in Providence, R.I.
This will be his first Division I head coaching position. He was the head coach at the College of Southern Idaho (a junior college) and assisted at Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Vanderbilt, Utah Valley State College and Provo (Utah) High School.
Arnold is the son of former UH head coach Frank Arnold, who went 11-45 in two seasons at Manoa prior to the hiring of 20-year coach Riley Wallace. Gib Arnold played his junior and senior years of high school basketball at Punahou, where he earned Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
***
Gib Arnold embarked on two quests yesterday.
Restore the names of Hawaii basketball nationally, and his family locally.
The new UH men's basketball coach realizes neither will be easy in his first Division I head coaching gig. But the former USC assistant is also wasting no time getting started.
When UH athletic director Jim Donovan turned the podium at the Stan Sheriff Center over to Arnold, it was fast apparent how he earned his reputation as a top-notch recruiter. He spoke passionately about the future of the program and was forthright in acknowledging the struggles of his father, Frank Arnold, as UH head hoops coach in the mid 1980s.
"The thing I'm most grateful for is a chance to build something special," said Arnold, 41, a Punahou graduate who lived in Hawaii for two years. "We all know we've got a lot of work ahead of us. It's not going to be easy, but it's going to be worth it. I hope that we can build the spirit of this great university and support this team as we continue to grow and develop.
"Be patient with us. There are going to be some growing pains. But I'm confident that together, we can build this program up.
The 40-year-old Arnold would take over the state's only NCAA Division I men's program 23 years after his father, Frank Arnold, stepped down as the 'Bows' head coach.
Gib Arnold, who had been an assistant at Southern California until this month, was a finalist for the position along with Saint Mary's associate head coach Kyle Smith, whose team plays Villanova today in the NCAA South Regional in Providence, R.I.
This will be his first Division I head coaching position. He was the head coach at the College of Southern Idaho (a junior college) and assisted at Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Vanderbilt, Utah Valley State College and Provo (Utah) High School.
Arnold is the son of former UH head coach Frank Arnold, who went 11-45 in two seasons at Manoa prior to the hiring of 20-year coach Riley Wallace. Gib Arnold played his junior and senior years of high school basketball at Punahou, where he earned Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
***
Gib Arnold embarked on two quests yesterday.
Restore the names of Hawaii basketball nationally, and his family locally.
The new UH men's basketball coach realizes neither will be easy in his first Division I head coaching gig. But the former USC assistant is also wasting no time getting started.
When UH athletic director Jim Donovan turned the podium at the Stan Sheriff Center over to Arnold, it was fast apparent how he earned his reputation as a top-notch recruiter. He spoke passionately about the future of the program and was forthright in acknowledging the struggles of his father, Frank Arnold, as UH head hoops coach in the mid 1980s.
"The thing I'm most grateful for is a chance to build something special," said Arnold, 41, a Punahou graduate who lived in Hawaii for two years. "We all know we've got a lot of work ahead of us. It's not going to be easy, but it's going to be worth it. I hope that we can build the spirit of this great university and support this team as we continue to grow and develop.
"Be patient with us. There are going to be some growing pains. But I'm confident that together, we can build this program up.
Monday, March 08, 2010
Bob Nash fired
University of Hawai'I men's basketball head coach Bob Nash, who spent 31 years at UH as a player, assistant and head coach, was fired today, following three consecutive losing seasons and a last-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference.
"It's probably one of the toughest days of my career," said UH Athletic Director Jim Donovan said to open today's press conference at Stan Sheriff Center. "Bob Nash is a tremendous man. I have the utmost respect for him, what he's done for this university as a player, as assistant coach and where his heart is for this program, but I'm announcing this morning that he will not retained next year as head coach."
Donovan said he and Nash had discussions over the past 10 days, but "ultimately, didn't make the decision until this morning."
Donovan said a national search for a new coach will begin immediately.
During the press conference, Donovan said he asks his coaches to do six things — focus on the academics, comply with NCAA and state regulations, interact with community with public relations focus and help fund raise, recruit players with good character, be part of the UH team,and (have a good) won-lost record.
Donovan said Nash met five of the six standards, except the won-lost record,
"That's the only category that hasn't met our standards."
In his three years as coach, Nash never had a winning record. He was 11-19 in the 2007-08 season, 13-17 in 2008-09 and 10-20 this past season.
"I could not foresee a 10-win season with the schedule (21 home games) that we went into this year," Donovan said, "and that's why we're making a change."
Donovan said he did offer Nash a position to help fund raise involving the expansion and refurbishment of Stan Sheriff Center.
"He (Nash) appreciated the offer and understood the decision and he said would move on," Donovan said.
Donovan said a buyout will be involved in Nash's final year of a $240,000 annual contract. Donovan said he would "try to mitigate all costs to UH for the buyout."
Donovan emphasized that Nash is "a class act."
"We are grateful for the way he represented the school and for the example he has set for our student athletes," Donovan said in a prepared statement.
"He may no longer be our coach, but he will forever be a Rainbow Warrior."
***
Riley Wallace comments.
***
Interview with Bob Nash
"It's probably one of the toughest days of my career," said UH Athletic Director Jim Donovan said to open today's press conference at Stan Sheriff Center. "Bob Nash is a tremendous man. I have the utmost respect for him, what he's done for this university as a player, as assistant coach and where his heart is for this program, but I'm announcing this morning that he will not retained next year as head coach."
Donovan said he and Nash had discussions over the past 10 days, but "ultimately, didn't make the decision until this morning."
Donovan said a national search for a new coach will begin immediately.
During the press conference, Donovan said he asks his coaches to do six things — focus on the academics, comply with NCAA and state regulations, interact with community with public relations focus and help fund raise, recruit players with good character, be part of the UH team,and (have a good) won-lost record.
Donovan said Nash met five of the six standards, except the won-lost record,
"That's the only category that hasn't met our standards."
In his three years as coach, Nash never had a winning record. He was 11-19 in the 2007-08 season, 13-17 in 2008-09 and 10-20 this past season.
"I could not foresee a 10-win season with the schedule (21 home games) that we went into this year," Donovan said, "and that's why we're making a change."
Donovan said he did offer Nash a position to help fund raise involving the expansion and refurbishment of Stan Sheriff Center.
"He (Nash) appreciated the offer and understood the decision and he said would move on," Donovan said.
Donovan said a buyout will be involved in Nash's final year of a $240,000 annual contract. Donovan said he would "try to mitigate all costs to UH for the buyout."
Donovan emphasized that Nash is "a class act."
"We are grateful for the way he represented the school and for the example he has set for our student athletes," Donovan said in a prepared statement.
"He may no longer be our coach, but he will forever be a Rainbow Warrior."
***
Riley Wallace comments.
***
Interview with Bob Nash
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Three and out for Bob Nash?
Three years ago, almost to the day, the Stan Sheriff Center broke out in a booming, Danny Kaleikini-led chorus of: "We Want Nash! ...We Want Nash! ..."
The occasion was the postgame tribute to then-University of Hawai'i men's basketball head coach Riley Wallace, who had coached his last game at the school. And Bob Nash, his long-time assistant, was a popular choice for successor.
But as Nash's third season ended yesterday at 10-20 with 11 losses in the final 12 games and a last-place (3-13) finish in the Western Athletic Conference standings, several signs point to the cash-strapped school attempting to buy out the final year of his extended contract and hiring a replacement.
Nash has not achieved a winning record in three seasons and has an overall record of 34-56 (15-33 WAC), the lowest point of which was not making the WAC Tournament this season.
Wallace said Nash "was put in a hole" from the start of his head coaching tenure in 2007.
Wallace announced his resignation as Hawai'i head coach on Dec. 29, 2006. Nash was named his successor on April 13, 2007.
At the time, then-athletic director Frazier said "a national search" made the process lengthy.
"I made it known to Herman Frazier from the start of that year that I was going to step down and so he should name Bob as the next coach right away," Wallace said. "If (Frazier) did that from the start, the transition would have been smooth and recruiting would have been in place."
Instead, Nash and his assistant coaches scrambled to sign six recruits before the start of the 2007-08 season. Several other higher-rated recruits signed with other programs while the Hawai'i coaching search endured.
A dark cloud has seemingly followed Nash and the 'Bows ever since.
During the 2007-08 season, starting center Stephen Verwers suffered a season-ending broken leg during a Christmas Day practice, and the 'Bows' defense struggled the rest of the way.
During the 2008-09 season, the team — which did not have any seniors on the roster — made significant strides on defense, but struggled offensively. Four players from that team left the program after the season.
This season, the team has been riddled with injuries and suspensions. The 'Bows started the season with 11 scholarship players available.
Amazingly, all 11 missed either practice or game time due to injury or suspension. Most significant, forward Bill Amis — the leading rebounder in 2008-09 — did not play a single game due to a foot injury.
Guards Dwain Williams (indefinite suspension) and Jeremy Lay (hernia surgery) — the key recruits prior to the season — missed the entire stretch run of this season. That left Nash with only one scholarship guard (Hiram Thompson) available for the final seven games.
"You have to make your luck sometimes, because every team goes through that," Wallace said. "But I've never seen a team that had so many injuries and problems develop in one year."
Utah State head coach Stew Morrill has followed the debate about whether Nash should be retained and said three years isn't long enough to evaluate the tenure.
"Three years, are you kidding me?" Morrill said. "It just amazes me in college basketball how impatient anybody is any more. Bob is a good coach and, hopefully, the powers to be know that."
Last month Donovan commended Nash, saying, "Bob Nash is an outstanding man; you can't find someone out there that has better character than he does ... a lot of things outside of win/loss Bob has done a very good job on. But win/loss is also a very important component of the success of a coach."
As a player, assistant coach and, most recently, head coach, Nash, with time out for a pro career, has had a 31-year stay at UH, the longest, hands-on association with the basketball program in school history.
The occasion was the postgame tribute to then-University of Hawai'i men's basketball head coach Riley Wallace, who had coached his last game at the school. And Bob Nash, his long-time assistant, was a popular choice for successor.
But as Nash's third season ended yesterday at 10-20 with 11 losses in the final 12 games and a last-place (3-13) finish in the Western Athletic Conference standings, several signs point to the cash-strapped school attempting to buy out the final year of his extended contract and hiring a replacement.
Nash has not achieved a winning record in three seasons and has an overall record of 34-56 (15-33 WAC), the lowest point of which was not making the WAC Tournament this season.
Wallace said Nash "was put in a hole" from the start of his head coaching tenure in 2007.
Wallace announced his resignation as Hawai'i head coach on Dec. 29, 2006. Nash was named his successor on April 13, 2007.
At the time, then-athletic director Frazier said "a national search" made the process lengthy.
"I made it known to Herman Frazier from the start of that year that I was going to step down and so he should name Bob as the next coach right away," Wallace said. "If (Frazier) did that from the start, the transition would have been smooth and recruiting would have been in place."
Instead, Nash and his assistant coaches scrambled to sign six recruits before the start of the 2007-08 season. Several other higher-rated recruits signed with other programs while the Hawai'i coaching search endured.
A dark cloud has seemingly followed Nash and the 'Bows ever since.
During the 2007-08 season, starting center Stephen Verwers suffered a season-ending broken leg during a Christmas Day practice, and the 'Bows' defense struggled the rest of the way.
During the 2008-09 season, the team — which did not have any seniors on the roster — made significant strides on defense, but struggled offensively. Four players from that team left the program after the season.
This season, the team has been riddled with injuries and suspensions. The 'Bows started the season with 11 scholarship players available.
Amazingly, all 11 missed either practice or game time due to injury or suspension. Most significant, forward Bill Amis — the leading rebounder in 2008-09 — did not play a single game due to a foot injury.
Guards Dwain Williams (indefinite suspension) and Jeremy Lay (hernia surgery) — the key recruits prior to the season — missed the entire stretch run of this season. That left Nash with only one scholarship guard (Hiram Thompson) available for the final seven games.
"You have to make your luck sometimes, because every team goes through that," Wallace said. "But I've never seen a team that had so many injuries and problems develop in one year."
Utah State head coach Stew Morrill has followed the debate about whether Nash should be retained and said three years isn't long enough to evaluate the tenure.
"Three years, are you kidding me?" Morrill said. "It just amazes me in college basketball how impatient anybody is any more. Bob is a good coach and, hopefully, the powers to be know that."
Last month Donovan commended Nash, saying, "Bob Nash is an outstanding man; you can't find someone out there that has better character than he does ... a lot of things outside of win/loss Bob has done a very good job on. But win/loss is also a very important component of the success of a coach."
As a player, assistant coach and, most recently, head coach, Nash, with time out for a pro career, has had a 31-year stay at UH, the longest, hands-on association with the basketball program in school history.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Rice and Smith head Hall of Fame class
Weeping tears of joy, Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith led a class of seven inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Rice was a wide receiver primarily for the San Francisco 49ers and Smith was a running back primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. They were elected in their first year of eligibility.
“I never took anything for granted,” said Rice, who owns receiving marks for receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895) and total touchdowns (208). “I love this game. It was everything to me.”
Smith, who is the N.F.L.’s career leading rusher with 18,355 yards, appeared much calmer until he spoke of his father, whose football career was cut short because his mother became ill and he was not able to go to college. “He said, ‘You’re living my dream,’ ” Smith said, choking up.
The other three inducted among the modern-era finalists were Russ Grimm, part of the Washington Redskins’ offensive line of the 1980s that was known as the Hogs; Rickey Jackson, a linebacker primarily with the New Orleans Saints who played 15 seasons in the N.F.L.; and John Randle, a defensive tackle who spent most of his 14-year career with the Minnesota Vikings.
Also inducted were two senior nominees, Floyd Little, a running back who played nine seasons for the Denver Broncos, and Dick LeBeau, a cornerback with the Detroit Lions.
Rice was a wide receiver primarily for the San Francisco 49ers and Smith was a running back primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. They were elected in their first year of eligibility.
“I never took anything for granted,” said Rice, who owns receiving marks for receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895) and total touchdowns (208). “I love this game. It was everything to me.”
Smith, who is the N.F.L.’s career leading rusher with 18,355 yards, appeared much calmer until he spoke of his father, whose football career was cut short because his mother became ill and he was not able to go to college. “He said, ‘You’re living my dream,’ ” Smith said, choking up.
The other three inducted among the modern-era finalists were Russ Grimm, part of the Washington Redskins’ offensive line of the 1980s that was known as the Hogs; Rickey Jackson, a linebacker primarily with the New Orleans Saints who played 15 seasons in the N.F.L.; and John Randle, a defensive tackle who spent most of his 14-year career with the Minnesota Vikings.
Also inducted were two senior nominees, Floyd Little, a running back who played nine seasons for the Denver Broncos, and Dick LeBeau, a cornerback with the Detroit Lions.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Mosi Tatupu
BOSTON (AP) — Mosi Tatupu, one of the most popular players in New England Patriots history known for his inspired special teams play, has died.
Tatupu died Tuesday at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, hospital spokeswoman Ashley O’Brien said. He was 54. The hospital could not disclose a cause of death.
The Plainville Fire Department responded to Tatupu’s home on Tuesday and took him to the hospital, Lt. Richard Ball said.
“I know that I share a heavy heart today with Patriots fans everywhere who have learned of Mosi Tatupu’s passing,” team owner Robert Kraft said in a statement.
“He was a dominant special teams player and a punishing rusher who loved the Patriots as much as the fans did,” he said.
Tatupu was chosen by the Patriots in the eighth round of the 1978 draft out of Southern California and played 13 of his 14 NFL seasons with the team, wrapping up his career with the Los Angeles Rams in 1991.
The bruising 227-pound fullback rushed for 2,415 yards and 18 touchdowns, including a career best 578 yards in 1983. He thrived on snowy and icy fields, running for 128 yards on a snow-covered field in a win over New Orleans that season.
While never a superstar, Tatupu was beloved by Patriots fans for his play on kickoff and punt teams and even had his own cheering section known as “Mosi’s Mooses.” He was selected to the 1986 Pro Bowl as a special teams player.
“As a teammate, he was one of the best,” former Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan said. “He was one of those guys that made life fun whether it was in the locker room or on the practice fields. He had a smile that radiated.”
Tatupu was selected to New England’s 50th anniversary team last season.
After his retirement as a player, Tatupu was the head coach at King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham, where he coached his son Lofa, now a linebacker with the Seattle Seahawks.
He also served as an assistant at Curry College in Milton from 2002-2007, coaching running backs and special teams.
“Mosi was a vital part of the success of our program,” said Vinnie Eruzione, athletic director at the Division III school. “There was no better guy.”
Tatupu was born in Pago Pago, American Samoa, and was a high school football star in Hawaii. His Hawaii high school career rushing record of 3,367 yards stood for 17 years, according to the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame Web site.
***
That first glimpse of Mosi Tatupu striding through the Punahou campus remains vivid in Jack Wright's memory.
"He comes up to me and asks where the science class is and I told him, 'Well, the high school is over there on that side,' " Wright recalled of that morning in intermediate school. "He said, 'No, I'm in eighth grade,' and I said, 'Oh my gosh, I'm going to have to make this guy my best friend.' "
Tatupu died Tuesday at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, hospital spokeswoman Ashley O’Brien said. He was 54. The hospital could not disclose a cause of death.
The Plainville Fire Department responded to Tatupu’s home on Tuesday and took him to the hospital, Lt. Richard Ball said.
“I know that I share a heavy heart today with Patriots fans everywhere who have learned of Mosi Tatupu’s passing,” team owner Robert Kraft said in a statement.
“He was a dominant special teams player and a punishing rusher who loved the Patriots as much as the fans did,” he said.
Tatupu was chosen by the Patriots in the eighth round of the 1978 draft out of Southern California and played 13 of his 14 NFL seasons with the team, wrapping up his career with the Los Angeles Rams in 1991.
The bruising 227-pound fullback rushed for 2,415 yards and 18 touchdowns, including a career best 578 yards in 1983. He thrived on snowy and icy fields, running for 128 yards on a snow-covered field in a win over New Orleans that season.
While never a superstar, Tatupu was beloved by Patriots fans for his play on kickoff and punt teams and even had his own cheering section known as “Mosi’s Mooses.” He was selected to the 1986 Pro Bowl as a special teams player.
“As a teammate, he was one of the best,” former Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan said. “He was one of those guys that made life fun whether it was in the locker room or on the practice fields. He had a smile that radiated.”
Tatupu was selected to New England’s 50th anniversary team last season.
After his retirement as a player, Tatupu was the head coach at King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham, where he coached his son Lofa, now a linebacker with the Seattle Seahawks.
He also served as an assistant at Curry College in Milton from 2002-2007, coaching running backs and special teams.
“Mosi was a vital part of the success of our program,” said Vinnie Eruzione, athletic director at the Division III school. “There was no better guy.”
Tatupu was born in Pago Pago, American Samoa, and was a high school football star in Hawaii. His Hawaii high school career rushing record of 3,367 yards stood for 17 years, according to the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame Web site.
***
That first glimpse of Mosi Tatupu striding through the Punahou campus remains vivid in Jack Wright's memory.
"He comes up to me and asks where the science class is and I told him, 'Well, the high school is over there on that side,' " Wright recalled of that morning in intermediate school. "He said, 'No, I'm in eighth grade,' and I said, 'Oh my gosh, I'm going to have to make this guy my best friend.' "
Friday, February 19, 2010
NFL All-Decade Team
MIAMI (AP) — Quarterbacks Peyton Manning (FSY) and Tom Brady (FSY) joined two-time selections Willie Roaf (FSY), Larry Allen (FSY) and Warren Sapp (FSY) among the 53 players announced Sunday as members of the NFL's All-Decade team.
Bill Belichick and Tony Dungy were selected as the best coaches of the decade, and Dante Hall (FSY) made it as both a kick and punt returner.
Manning and Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney (FSY), along with New Orleans safety Darren Sharper (FSY), were part of the team and will be playing in the Super Bowl. A dozen players on the 2000s squad also were playing in Sunday's Pro Bowl.
Shaun Alexander (FSY), Jamal Lewis (FSY), Edgerrin James (FSY) and LaDainian Tomlinson (FSY) were the running backs, with Lorenzo Neal (FSY) at fullback. Marvin Harrison (FSY), Torry Holt (FSY), Randy Moss (FSY) and Terrell Owens (FSY) were the wide receivers, and the tight ends picked by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee were Antonio Gates (FSY) and Tony Gonzalez (FSY).
Completing the offense were linemen Walter Jones (FSY), Jonathan Ogden (FSY), Orlando Pace (FSY), Alan Faneca (FSY), Steve Hutchinson (FSY), Will Shields (FSY), Olin Kreutz (FSY) and Kevin Mawae (FSY), Roaf and Allen.
On defense, Ray Lewis (FSY), Derrick Brooks (FSY), Joey Porter (FSY), Zach Thomas (FSY), Brian Urlacher (FSY) and DeMarcus Ware (FSY) were the linebackers, Julius Peppers (FSY), Michael Strahan (FSY), Jason Taylor (FSY) and Freeney were the ends, with La'Roi Glover (FSY), Richard Seymour (FSY), Kevin Williams (FSY) and Sapp at tackle.
The secondary included Ronde Barber (FSY), Champ Bailey (FSY), Ty Law (FSY), Charles Woodson, Brian Dawkins (FSY), Troy Polamalu (FSY), Ed Reed (FSY) and Sharper.
Specialists were kickers David Akers (FSY) and Adam Vinatieri (FSY), and punters Shane Lechler (FSY) and Brian Moorman (FSY). Devin Hester (FSY) and Joshua Cribbs (FSY), the NFL's career leader with eight kick return touchdowns, joined Hall as returners.
NFL 2000s All-Decade Team:
Offense:
Quarterback —Tom Brady (FSY), Peyton Manning (FSY).
Running Backs —Shaun Alexander (FSY), Jamal Lewis, Edgerrin James (FSY), LaDainian Tomlinson (FSY).
Offensive Tackles — Walter Jones (FSY), Jonathan Ogden (FSY), Orlando Pace (FSY), William Roaf.
Guards —Larry Allen (FSY), p-Alan Faneca (FSY), p-Steve Hutchinson (FSY), Will Shields (FSY).
Fullback —Lorenzo Neal (FSY).
Tight Ends — p-Antonio Gates (FSY), Tony Gonzalez (FSY).
Wide Receivers —Marvin Harrison (FSY), Torry Holt (FSY), Randy Moss (FSY), Terrell Owens (FSY).
Centers — Olin Kreutz (FSY), p-Kevin Mawae (FSY).
Head Coaches —Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy.
Defense:
Ends — Dwight Freeney (FSY), p-Julius Peppers (FSY), Michael Strahan (FSY), Jason Taylor (FSY).
Cornerbacks —Ronde Barber, p-Champ Bailey (FSY), Ty Law (FSY), Charles Woodson (FSY).
Linebackers_ Derrick Brooks (FSY), p-Ray Lewis (FSY), Joey Porter (FSY), Zach Thomas (FSY), Brian Urlacher (FSY), p-DeMarcus Ware (FSY).
Tackles — La Roi Glover, Warren Sapp (FSY), Richard Seymour (FSY), Kevin Williams (FSY).
Safeties — p-Brian Dawkins (FSY), Troy Polamalu (FSY), Ed Reed (FSY), Darren Sharper (FSY).
Specialists:
Punters — p-Shane Lechler (FSY), Brian Moorman (FSY).
Kickers — p-David Akers (FSY), Adam Vinatieri (FSY).
Punt Returners —Dante Hall (FSY), Devin Hester (FSY).
Kick Returners — p-Joshua Cribbs (FSY), Dante Hall.
Bill Belichick and Tony Dungy were selected as the best coaches of the decade, and Dante Hall (FSY) made it as both a kick and punt returner.
Manning and Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney (FSY), along with New Orleans safety Darren Sharper (FSY), were part of the team and will be playing in the Super Bowl. A dozen players on the 2000s squad also were playing in Sunday's Pro Bowl.
Shaun Alexander (FSY), Jamal Lewis (FSY), Edgerrin James (FSY) and LaDainian Tomlinson (FSY) were the running backs, with Lorenzo Neal (FSY) at fullback. Marvin Harrison (FSY), Torry Holt (FSY), Randy Moss (FSY) and Terrell Owens (FSY) were the wide receivers, and the tight ends picked by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee were Antonio Gates (FSY) and Tony Gonzalez (FSY).
Completing the offense were linemen Walter Jones (FSY), Jonathan Ogden (FSY), Orlando Pace (FSY), Alan Faneca (FSY), Steve Hutchinson (FSY), Will Shields (FSY), Olin Kreutz (FSY) and Kevin Mawae (FSY), Roaf and Allen.
On defense, Ray Lewis (FSY), Derrick Brooks (FSY), Joey Porter (FSY), Zach Thomas (FSY), Brian Urlacher (FSY) and DeMarcus Ware (FSY) were the linebackers, Julius Peppers (FSY), Michael Strahan (FSY), Jason Taylor (FSY) and Freeney were the ends, with La'Roi Glover (FSY), Richard Seymour (FSY), Kevin Williams (FSY) and Sapp at tackle.
The secondary included Ronde Barber (FSY), Champ Bailey (FSY), Ty Law (FSY), Charles Woodson, Brian Dawkins (FSY), Troy Polamalu (FSY), Ed Reed (FSY) and Sharper.
Specialists were kickers David Akers (FSY) and Adam Vinatieri (FSY), and punters Shane Lechler (FSY) and Brian Moorman (FSY). Devin Hester (FSY) and Joshua Cribbs (FSY), the NFL's career leader with eight kick return touchdowns, joined Hall as returners.
NFL 2000s All-Decade Team:
Offense:
Quarterback —Tom Brady (FSY), Peyton Manning (FSY).
Running Backs —Shaun Alexander (FSY), Jamal Lewis, Edgerrin James (FSY), LaDainian Tomlinson (FSY).
Offensive Tackles — Walter Jones (FSY), Jonathan Ogden (FSY), Orlando Pace (FSY), William Roaf.
Guards —Larry Allen (FSY), p-Alan Faneca (FSY), p-Steve Hutchinson (FSY), Will Shields (FSY).
Fullback —Lorenzo Neal (FSY).
Tight Ends — p-Antonio Gates (FSY), Tony Gonzalez (FSY).
Wide Receivers —Marvin Harrison (FSY), Torry Holt (FSY), Randy Moss (FSY), Terrell Owens (FSY).
Centers — Olin Kreutz (FSY), p-Kevin Mawae (FSY).
Head Coaches —Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy.
Defense:
Ends — Dwight Freeney (FSY), p-Julius Peppers (FSY), Michael Strahan (FSY), Jason Taylor (FSY).
Cornerbacks —Ronde Barber, p-Champ Bailey (FSY), Ty Law (FSY), Charles Woodson (FSY).
Linebackers_ Derrick Brooks (FSY), p-Ray Lewis (FSY), Joey Porter (FSY), Zach Thomas (FSY), Brian Urlacher (FSY), p-DeMarcus Ware (FSY).
Tackles — La Roi Glover, Warren Sapp (FSY), Richard Seymour (FSY), Kevin Williams (FSY).
Safeties — p-Brian Dawkins (FSY), Troy Polamalu (FSY), Ed Reed (FSY), Darren Sharper (FSY).
Specialists:
Punters — p-Shane Lechler (FSY), Brian Moorman (FSY).
Kickers — p-David Akers (FSY), Adam Vinatieri (FSY).
Punt Returners —Dante Hall (FSY), Devin Hester (FSY).
Kick Returners — p-Joshua Cribbs (FSY), Dante Hall.
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