Interview with Dave Reardon

SMG = Sportsmediaguide.com

Asked if he was working in paradise or if it just seemed taht way to mainland journalists, Dave said:
"The Warriors made me work hard this year: two overtime games and two victories in the final seconds of regulation. I need them to schedule six or seven I-AAs instead of just two so I can make deadline more often." (SMG)


Asked how he got his job, Dave said:
"First I thought taking any assignment and not going away would work. Then I went to Gainesville and wrote a couple of sidebars at SEC games instead of WAC games and all of a sudden I was worldly. Actually, I got my current job because everyone thought the paper was going to shut down in 2000, severely thinning the applicant pool and I was crazy enough to jump on a sinking ship. Then the guy covering UH football became sports editor and I was given the beat by default. Also, I bartended to make ends meet while freelancing, and served in an anti-tank gun platoon in the Army reserve while in college. Thank goodness the Cold War didn't get hot." (SMG)


Asked how he would describe football weather in Honolulu, Dave said:
"Make sure you bring rain gear. Really." (SMG)


Asked how competitive his beat is, Dave said:
"UH football is the biggest news story going right now in the state, bar none, and even before this year it's been the biggest deal in local sports by far for three decades. Two of the most persistent reporters in the state - sports or whatever - cover UH football for our main competitor. Some days I feel like a pinata, every now and then I'm the kid with the stick and I connect." (SMG)


Asked if UH should be in the BCS championship game, Dave said:
"No, unless it plays the only other undefeated team I can think of, the New England Patriots." (SMG)


Asked how he's handicapping the UH-Georgia game, Dave said:
"I'll be handicapping myself on Bourbon Street. The game itself will come down to Moreno and Brennan and if either defense can stop them." (SMG)


Asked who and what he read in sports journalism, Dave said:
"Does Krakauer count as sports? Lots of blogs, good columns, anything without a cliche in the lead. Scott Ostler (SF Chronicle) was my favorite before he got too serious. Now it's homeboy Mike Wise (Washington Post) - I covered him when he was all-district high school hoopster on Oahu. I'll be reading the AJC and the Athens paper a lot in the coming weeks." (SMG)


Asked his opinion of sword dancing and Haka war chants at Warriors games, Dave said:
"OK, stay with me here: When we were at Alabama last year, I thought it was pretty funny during pre-game that the 'Bama fans and players were getting pumped up by a song, Sweet Home Alabama, written by guys from Jacksonville, Fla., while the Hawaii contingent did the same with a dance from New Zealand. By the way, 'Sweet Home' is used in Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials, too. Go figure." (SMG)


Asked what it would take to get him to change places with the guy who covers University of Alaska football, Dave said:
"For starters, six months paid vacation ... and a time-share here. Aloha." (SMG)