Quotes from Monday morning

About getting his degree (bachelor's in communications), Colt said:
"Of all of the accomplishments and great rewards, getting a degree takes the cake." (HA)

"Just like everything this year, it's kind of been a surreal feeling. The feeling is priceless. I just went to the Heisman Trophy (ceremony); I went 12-0 my senior year. Those feelings and the reward I got out of that doesn't seem really to compare to the gratification of just finishing school." (HSB)

"Like everything this year, it's kind of been a surreal feeling." (AP)

"The feeling is priceless. I just went to the Heisman Trophy (presentation). I just went 12-0. Those feelings and rewards ... don't really compare to the gratification of finishing school." (AP)

HA Note: "There have been hundreds of college graduation ceremonies across the nation this past week. But only the University of Hawai'i's fall ceremony featured a 2007 Heisman Trophy finalist, a commencement speaker wearing a replica of the star quarterback's jersey, and a rousing 27-second ovation for the last College of Arts and Sciences graduate announced."


About Colt graduating, Terry Brennan said:
"This is the icing on the cake. This is the best." (HA)

HA Note: "By choice, Brennan and his football teammates — defensive ends Amani Purcell and Karl Noa, defensive tackle Siave Seti, and linebacker Rustin Saole — sat in the last row of graduation candidates. There was little chance Brennan would go unnoticed. Before starting his commencement address, Barry Weinman, managing director and co-founder of Allegis Capital, said he wanted to change into "a robe." He then took off his jacket, and put on a No. 15 jersey — Brennan's number."

About the commencement speaker putting on his jersey, Colt said:
"I was laughing. Dude, that will be a great story when I get older." (HA)

HA Note: "Later, each of the graduating students was introduced. For nearly 30 minutes, Brennan and his teammates stood, waiting for their turn to join the line. Purcell, Noa, Seti and Saole each received warm applause when their names were announced. And then: "And Hawai'i's Heisman, Colt Brennan!" Brennan raised his arms, then shook hands with a row of well-wishers."

HSB Note: "At one point he mouthed to his parents, who flew in from Irvine, Calif., on Saturday, "You'd better be loud when you cheer." When the time came, his parents' cheers were drowned out by the drums of UH's band and from the nearly 6,000 people in the audience who leapt to their feet and roared their applause."

About waiting for his name to be called, Colt said:
"It feels like it took forever for me to be done. And for me, to finally accomplish it, it's a great feeling. The best thing is to get a degree from this school. This place is unique. You really feel special coming to the University of Hawai'i, especially this being the school's 100th year." (HA)

HA Note: "It has been a long academic journey for Brennan, a 2002 graduate of Mater Dei High School in California. He attended Worcester (Mass.) Prep Academy, the University of Colorado and Saddleback Community College (Mission Viejo, Calif.) before enrolling at UH as a non-scholarship player in August 2005. He was placed on scholarship in January 2006."

About being a student and an athlete, Colt said:
"It's all about balancing stuff out. Throughout my life, I had a couple of runs. When I was in seventh and eighth grade, I got straight A's. Then I got into high school, and I didn't do as well. Then I got into (junior college), and I really did well. It's all of these highs and lows. But the key is to keep pressing. Don't let the lows take you out of school. You have to keep pushing. It's definitely worth it. It's a lifelong thing nobody can take away from you." (HA)


About how hard Colt worked for football and his degree, his girlfriend Shakti Stream said:
"I've seen how hard he's worked from Day 1. He went through a lot of stress. There's football, autograph obligations, studying. Sometimes he forgets to eat because he's so busy. I'm glad he's done. It's so great to see the smile on his face. All of the stress is gone. He can focus on football — and eating, and putting on weight." (HA)


About how he's gaining weight now, Colt said:
"Man, I used to be so stressed out. I've been gaining weight like crazy these last couple of days now that I'm done with school." (HA)

About wearing a gray T-shirt and blue-and-white board shorts under his green gown, with slippers and a motarboard with "12-0 WAC champions!" written, Colt said:
"When I was in New York, I looked like a New Yorker. Now that I'm in Hawai'i, when I knew I was graduating, I wanted to look like I was in Hawai'i. I wanted to wear board shorts and a T-shirt. I'm ready to head to the beach." (HA)

About Colt, his grandmother Sharon Jefferies said:
"He's really made us proud. We're so thankful he ended up in Hawai'i. There are good people here, and they welcomed him with open arms. It's been good for him." (HA)

About his plans after leaving UH, Colt said:
"I'd like to go play football. The cool thing is, I just got a degree, so if football doesn't work out, I'm all set. I'll be just fine." (HSB)

"I'd like to go play football if I can. But the cool thing is, I've got a degree so if football doesn't work out, I'm all set. I'll be fine. I'll be just fine." (AP)


About his cheering for the Warriors while he's on the sideline, Jason Ferguson said:
"If you see me on the sidelines, I'm a maniac. The emotions I watch the game with are the same emotions I played with." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Ferguson had earned a starting job heading into the 2005 campaign, but the injury suffered on the season's opening kickoff ended his career. Still, he remained around the program even after calling off his comeback attempt last summer, and plans on being in New Orleans when the Warriors face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Thoughts of what could have been are unavoidable for Ferguson, who holds the distinction of christening the career of record-setting quarterback Colt Brennan by hauling in the Heisman finalist's first Division I pass back in 2005."


About his ACL injury in his first game as a starter, Ferguson said:
"It was like three or four plays after I caught the pass I went to make a move off the line and it was just, 'Oh no. There's no way I could do this.' " I had my whole family there, I was trying to stick it out as long as possible. God just put me in a choke hold and carried me off the field." (HSB)

About how he stayed involved with the team despite his injury, Ferguson said:
"As far as being a part of this team, it's amazing. I wouldn't trade it for the world. The relationships I have with these guys kept me involved." (HSB)

About how it is hard not to be able to play, Ferguson said:
"They just looked like they were having so much fun. It's just so hard to stomach, but at the same time, this doesn't happen to everybody. I believe certain people go through things because God puts that on them. I'm handling it. I'm dealing with it. It's not the end of the world. Sometimes it feels like it is, but it isn't. At the end of the day, though, I wish I could have showed y'all ... " (HSB)

About being on the sideline and how that has affected him, Ferguson said:
"Being on the sideline not only gave me the opportunity to get back into football, but it put in perspective what I want to do with my life. I have to be involved in either music or football. The emotion I have and the desire I have are still there. I'm too passionate about it." (HSB)

About his injury ending his career, Ferguson said:
"Realistically, I can't imagine my knee getting hit again. I had to really come to grips with it. I had known for a while, I was just in denial. But I didn't want to be selfish any longer. Somebody else out there could make a contribution to the team. It just was time." (HSB)

About the Sugar Bowl, Ferguson said:
"I wouldn't want to miss this for nothin'. This is THE game. We're going to go down there and go to work. I have 1,000 percent confidence in these boys." (HSB)


Oceanic Time Warner Cable ran out of HDTV boxes, but is expecting 5,000 to 6,000 to arrive this week.
About how they ran out of HDTV boxes because of the demand from UH football, Norman Santos, Oceanic's VP of operations, said:
"We were doing 300 to 400 new HDTVs a week. It's been pretty wild." (HA)

About how requests for HDTV boxes for the week of Dec. 3 climbined to more than 1000, Santos said:
"And that was the week of the storm." (HA)

HA Note: "He can't guarantee that football fever is the driving force behind sales, but said the seasonal holiday spike usually comes later, right after Christmas. Not only are the winning Warriors fueling more business for the cable company, but stores that sell high-definition televisions and big, flat-screen sets are seeing a boom along with the morale boost across the state. Counting on customers who may be teetering on the brink of buying a new TV, retailers say they wouldn't be surprised to see the surge go right up to New Year's Day, when the Warriors take on the University of Georgia in the Sugar Bowl."

Best Buy General Manager Shawn Troup said that a big jump in demand for HDTVs is because of the Warriors:
"Everything about the Warriors is positive. Customers are in a good mood. We're winning, and everybody's in a good mood." (HA)

About how fans who couldn't get to the Washington game decided to upgrade their home TVs, Troup said:
"We did get a lot of people coming in saying that they had to get the flat-screen TV for the last two games." (HA)

HA Note: "Customers showed up the Friday night before or even the morning of the games telling salespeople: "I have to get a TV right away." "

About how the Warriors have been great for their business, Troup said:
"It has been great. It's awesome. People are buying a lot of televisions. It's good for our business." (HA)


About how the Warriors have been good for their business, Shirokiya advertising manager Anna Mae Sakaki said:
"Whenever the Warriors do well, sales are always good. A lot of our shoppers are sports fans." (HA)

About how sales have been better than previous years and previous football seasons, Sakaki said:
"They're looking to get the big screens and the HDTV." (HA)

Expecting another rush before the Sugar Bowl, Sakaki said:
"There may be a surge right before New Year's. Now it's time to 'gift' themselves." (HA)

About how Oceanic accelerated orders that it typically wouldn't have gotten until the end of March, so they might have more HDTV boxes in early January, Santos said that might not be in time for the Sugar Bowl, but:
"we'll be able to satisfy more of the needs." (HA)

About how most customers install themselves instead of wait for an installation appointment, Santos said:
"It's easy enough to do. The cables are all color-coded." (HA)

About how they are already scheduling people to work overtime on New Year's Day due to the Sugar Bowl, Santos said:
"We are preparing as if this is the Super Bowl." (HA)

About how football has been driving a lot of their growth, Santos said:
"I think it's helping to fuel a lot of things." (HA)

Since Oceanic is a corporate sponsor, Santos got to toss the coin for the BSU game and said:
"For me, it's just excitement-plus." (HA)