Sunday, July 31, 2011

Corey Paredes was determined to play at UH, even when UH ran out of scholarships in 2007 and he had to walk-on

About not getting a scholarship offer from UH in 2007, Corey Paredes said:
"They ran out of scholarships. They said they would call me, and I never got the call the day before signing day. It was a hard time for me." (HSA)


About being a "preferred" walk-on at UH, Paredes said:
"It means you get zero aid. It's a nice way of saying you'll be on the scout team." (HSA)


About how he was determined to play for UH, even as a walk-on, Paredes said:
"I wasn't going to change. I really wanted to play for Hawaii." (HSA)


About growing up a baseball fan but choosing to play football instead, Pardes (who is of Filipino, Hawaiian, Chinese, German, Scottish, and Irish ancestry) said:
"Football is really not a sport Filipinos play." (HSA)


About the comings and goings in the WAC, Fresno State coach Pat Hill said:
"The WAC has been a petri dish ... and we've grown tremendously as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The new schools coming in will grow tremendously. Boise State, when they first came into the WAC, everyone was going: 'Who's Boise State?' It was quite a platform for Boise State, quite a platform for Fresno State, quite a platform for Hawaii, what a platform for Nevada. It'll be a platform for growth. That's what it's all about." (HSA)


Hill said that the changing WAC membership is:
"just a part of evolution. Everyone changes. Everyone moves. To me, the WAC represents a conference that will fight, and it's a survivor." (HSA)


http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110731_Changes_are_afoot.html

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Cal Lee talks about UH being favored to win the WAC and about UH's Warriors from Maui (Kaniela Tuipulotu and Andrew Faaumu)

MN = Maui News


About UH being picked to win the WAC, Cal Lee said:
"Well, it is really exciting being picked to win the conference and it is a credit to what the kids did last year. I think it takes about a couple of days until you realize you are not going to win any games on somebody picking you to win it." (MN)

"If you are picked to win it, you have got to work extra, extra hard and I think that is what the kids are going to do." (MN)


Praising DT Kaniela Tuipulotu (an academic all-WAC selection last year who is from Lahaina), Lee said:
"Kani has really taken that leadership role that you need. He is like another coach out there because of his leadership. People kind of gravitate to him. They know he is a player, they know what he can do. That leadership out there on the field is invaluable. He makes the other kids play better because of his actions." (MN)


About how he thinks that Tuipulotu will make it to the NFL, Lee said:
"I really think he does.Again, it just  depends on what happens this year. If he has a good year, which we expect, I think the future is bright for him." (MN)


About how UH's other player from Maui, walk-on OG Andrew Faaumu, is a candidate to start, Lee said:
"Andrew is going to be good. He is going to have a great year because he is big, he is strong, he is physical. I mean, he wants to knock people down. Sometimes I think he should have been a defensive player because he just wants to mix it up." (MN)


About how Bryant Moniz shows that walk-ons can accomplish great things, Lee said:
"Him being a walk-on shows that you can do anything you want. I mean maybe he wasn't highly recruited out of high school. I will just mention Moniz, nobody recruited him and now everybody knows who he is. Andrew is the same way, he worked hard. Not only is he a good athlete, he is a good person, good grades, graduating, works hard at it and that is all you can ask from somebody." (MN)


About being part of the fundraiser by the Wailuku Hongwanji at an Obon dance selling T-shirts to raise funds for the Soma City victims (50 children were orphaned in the city of 17,000 that is located in the Fukushima Prefecture), Cal Lee said:
"Eric Texidor, who was living in Fukushima, he gave me a call when the nuclear plant opened up. He was actually checking out, he was telling me that he wasn't going to make it. You try to motivate somebody to hang in there - this wasn't a football game - this was about life. . . . I felt the horror in his voice and until today I can still remember how he sounded. Thank goodness he survived." (MN)

http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/551924/Lee-sees-bright-futures-for-Maui-s-Warriors.html?nav=11

Friday, July 29, 2011

Warrior Quotes from the WAC Football Media Preview (UH picked to win the WAC, Moniz top offensive player)

RGJ = Reno Gazette Journal

About how he's never been on a team picked to win its conference before, Bryant Moniz said:
"I think my junior year at Leilehua (High) we were up there, but not at the top." (HSA)


About the coaches and media picking them to win the WAC, Corey Paredes said:
"It's an honor to get that recognition early in the season. We have a target on our backs now." (HSA)


About being picked to win the WAC, Mack said:
"Quite honestly, preseason polls don't mean anything. You have to play your season. That's why they keep score. If you start thinking too much of yourself, you have to look back at teams that have won a championship and then did not play well the next year. They were resting on their laurels. We're not going to do that." (HSA)


About how they met on the football field in high school, Paredes (who went to Castle) said:
"I sacked him." (HSA)

"I was small then. But I did sack him." (HSA)


About Paredes saying that he sacked him in high school, Moniz said:
"I don't remember. I had a lot of concussions." (HSA)

"It was muddy. I couldn't move." (HSA)


HSA Note: "WAC coaches were in uniform agreement that the Warriors' black jerseys create problems in video scouting. The topic came to light when it was revealed that as a condition for joining the Mountain West Conference, former WAC member Boise State agreed to not wear all-blue uniforms when playing on Bronco Stadium's blue turf. Fresno State coach Pat Hill said it made it difficult to identify Bronco players on videos. But Hill also said that UH's black jerseys (with green numbers) also created problems in scouting. The Warriors wore black jerseys for home games last year. Last week, they unveiled new green jerseys for home games."


About picking Moniz to be the WAC's preseason top offensive player, La Tech coach Sonny Dykes said:
"Easy choice." (HSA)


About how Moniz walked on to UH, Dykes said:
"The thing I like best about him is his story. When a quarterback does what he does — walking onto a program, delivering pizzas to pay for school — that's a guy I want to play with. And he's a heck of a player. He's a good player in the  pocket. He's a good player out of the pocket. He has an incredibly quick release. He's accurate. He does a great job of boosting his team. He has tremendous confidence, and that carries over to those other guys." (HSA)


About how he was surprised to get the preseason honor, Moniz said:
"I didn't even know they had this (media event) until a month ago. I asked Derek (Inouchi, UH's media relations director): 'When are we going to Vegas?' I was referring to our game against UNLV. He said, 'Oh, we have to go to Vegas for media day.' I was like, 'What's that? I never heard of that.' This is awesome." (HSA)


About how his uncle, Rick White, was the pilot on his flight from Honolulu to Las Vegas, Moniz said:
"It was cool. I wish I could have gone into the cockpit, but he said they don't allow (passengers to do) that anymore. I had some other relatives on the flight." (HSA)


Praising Moniz, Fresno State coach Pat Hill said:
"I like him. I think he's a heck of a player. I thought we went hard after him last year, and he kept getting away and making plays. He's very talented." (HSA)


About how no D-I school offered him a scholarship out of high school, Moniz said:
"My mom still loved me." (HSA)


Remembering how he doubted himself backthen, Moniz said:
"Maybe I'm not that good. Maybe I'm just a high school player." (HSA)


About how his mother encouraged him to play at Fresno City College, working extra jobs to pay for his school and living expenses, Moniz said:
"She found a way to get it done. She did a lot for me. I didn't want to let her down." (HSA)


About his goals when he walked on to UH, Moniz said:
"When I first came in, I just wanted to play in a game. I didn't think about awards or any of that stuff. I just wanted to play."


About how UH is the only WAC school with a returning starter at QB, Mack said:
"I think it's a big advantage. I've never seen a guy more calm than him in a game situation." (RGJ)


About how teams cannot win in the WAC without a good starting QB, NMSU coach DeWayne Walker said:
"We played Boise a couple of years ago and the first thing Coach (Chris) Petersen told me was, 'Coach, you have to have a quarterback to win in this league.'" (RGJ)


About how there will be a lot of scoring in the WAC this season, Hill said:
"There will be a lot of scoring in this league. We play against a lot of teams in a lot of conferences and I'll tell you the Western Athletic Conference has some of the best offenses in the nation. The schemes that you see week-in, week-out in this league are very, very good. The coaching in this league is very good." (RGJ)


About how the use of spread offenses makes the QB position more important than ever, Dykes said:
"The quarterback position is going to be the X factor because the quarterback is expected to do so much nowadays." (RGJ)


About how you never know how a QB will react to actual game time instead of practice, Hill said:
"There's a big difference between sparring and actually getting in the ring." (RGJ)

http://www.rgj.com/article/20110729/SPORTS01/107290398/WAC-football-Experienced-Warriors-take-top-spot-both-league-polls-Pack-No-3?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|p

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Instead of just getting $150k over 3 years for radio rights, UH will be an equity partner with KKEA

HSA Note: "KKEA general manager Randal Ikeda said the new arrangement involves, "net income sharing" and "promises a broader partnership" between the station and UH. Under the agreement, the station said, it will give a yet-to-be-announced portion of its net income to UH after "recapturing a portion of sales costs and expenses." "


About sharing in the profits and assisting KKEA (AM 1420) with their sales efforts, JD said:
"The upside is if they make money, we make money." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Once, competition in the marketplace assured UH could be hands-off, sitting back and pocketing handsome radio rights fees. But as advertising sales have plummeted 30 percent or so in the local market from their peak and all-sports format outlets have dwindled, bottom lines and rights fees have been impacted to the point that UH might have been guaranteed only $150,000 from the new deal. That would be less than half of some recent contracts."


About how the declining ad revenue market resulted in other stations not being interested in UH's rights and KKEA having declining revenue, JD said:
"They (KKEA) shared their sales numbers and expense numbers with us and we could see it is a very tough situation for them." (HSA)


About how KKEA can use its sister station at AM 1500 to air multiple UH events simultaneously and their all-sports format gives a good platform to promote UH sports, JD said:
"They have the sports niche from where many of our customers come,." (HSA)

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/ferdswords/20110728_UHs_radio_rights_deal_is_an_interesting_partnership.html

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The UH Athletic Department is projected to have made a $322k surplus during FY2010-2011, only the second surplus in 10 years

Abotu how they expect to have a $322k surplus in their fiscal year tha closed on June 30, JD said:
"We highly suspect that we'll be in the neighborhood of $300,000 to $400,000 (in the black), and our best estimate today is $322,104." (HSA)


HSA Note: "The surplus would be only the second finish on the plus side in 10 years. The last surplus, $295,243 in 2008, was bolstered by $4.4 million in Bowl Championship Series money from the football team's Sugar Bowl appearance."


Pleased to hear that the UH Athletic Department will end with a surplus, UH President M.R.C. Greenwood said:
"I have not seen the official figures but I am delighted to hear that the program is doing as well as it appears to be. Jim Donovan and his team have worked very hard to control costs and being 'in the black' is a validation of their efforts." (HSA)


HSA Note: "The $322,000 would be the biggest surplus since 2000 when the athletics department produced a $721,752 windfall. Since then, the department's budget has grown by more than $10 million to $28.7 million. The latest surplus will go toward paring down the $9.58 million accumulated net deficit the department had amassed since 2002, according to the last auditor's report."


Greenwood said that when JD took over the Athletic Department in 2008 he:
"obviously came into a situation where there already was a pretty significant budget deficit and we've had the very bad luck of tough financial times, which makes it really hard to (retire) the deficit." (HSA)


HSA Note: "UH's reversal of fortunes for the just-completed fiscal year was aided by $816,142 from the first installment of student-paid athletic fees, which began in January; $132,256 in Western Athletic Conference payouts Boise State forfeits by jumping to the Mountain West Conference this year; and spikes in ticket revenue for baseball, men's basketball and football; plus cost containment. In addition, UH has realized about $200,000 in savings from salary reductions, and Aloha Stadium has worked with the department to trim expenses."


JD gave credit to associate AD Carl Clapp and assistant AD-business Tiffany Kuraoka:
"for watching the budget on a daily basis for the whole year. Obviously, we could not have done it if it wasn't for the corporate culture and the coaches and staff doing everything they could to help with the budget." (HSA)


About how they didn't cut the budgets of individual sports for competitive reasons, JD said:
"In retrospect these last three years, with no budget cuts, should help us from a strategic standpoint." (HSA)


About how avoiding a deficit in the coming year will be difficult because UH is giving up over $1 mil in WAC revenue and paying Tulane $400k to come to Aloha Stadium, JD said:
"We'll enjoy this and we're real proud of this, but now the reality is we're going to work hard to put two years in a row in the black. But it is certainly going to be challenging this upcoming year because we lose over $1 million in estimated WAC revenue (plus) the cost of bringing in Tulane." (HSA)


HSA Note: "When Boise State announced its departure from the WAC for 2011, UH was left to scramble to fill an 11th-hour puka on the football schedule and will pay the Green Wave nearly $400,000 to fill the Nov. 26 vacancy. UH's own departure from the WAC in 2012 means forfeiting its share of TV and most other conference revenue in June 2012."


HSA Note: "Beginning in 2012, UH faces uncertainty with its local TV agreement and the necessity of underwriting an estimated $1.2 million annually in travel costs by its opponents in the Mountain West and Big West as a condition of conference membership."


http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20110727_uh_athletics_ends_yearin_the_black322000_in_hand.html

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Rodney Bradley, Mana Silva, and Laupepa Letuli received NFL free-agent contracts

About the hectic period for NFL teams to contact undrafted free-agent rookies, Rodney Bradley (he and Mana Silva will sign with the Ravens) said:
"It was busy. There were a lot of offers going back and forth." (WB)


About how he will start his NFL career 21 months after his serious leg injury, Bradley said:
"Everything happens for a reason." (WB)


About how Letuli will sign with the Cowboys (Letuli seemed to be set to go to the Steelers until the Steelers decided to go in another direction), Letuli's agent Leo Goeas (who is long-time friends with Cowboys OL coach Hudson Houck) said:
"It was a combination of knowing the coach and the opportunity that presented itself." (WB)

http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com/2011/07/26/3-ex-warriors-land-nfl-deals-veneri-accepts-offer/

Feature on the Warriors who are ready to start their NFL careers now that the lockout is over

About how he's been working in his father's taro patch this past week, Kealoha Pilares said:
"It's not easy. There's mud and all of that stuff." (HSA)


Looking forward to signing his contract with the Carolina Panthers now that the lockout is over, Pilares said:
"This is what we've been waiting for. I've been training every day waiting for the call." (HSA)


Excited about starting his NFL career, Pilares said:
"It's exciting. I'm not thinking about the money. I'm thinking about playing. I'm ready to start playing." (HSA)


Greg Salas' agent said that NFL teams will likely start negotiations first with undrafted rookie free agents and:
"then they'll go up the chain." (HSA)


About how he's ready to report to the Packers, Alex Green tweeted:
"Don't have many clothes to pack ... coming from Hawaii to GBay." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Three undrafted former Warriors — receiver Rodney Bradley, safety Mana Silva and offensive lineman Laupepa Letuli — are expected to accept training-camp invitations as early as today, Letuli with the Dallas Cowboys, Bradley and Silva with the Baltimore Ravens."


HSA Note: "The new CBA calls for a cap in which a team can spend no more than $75,000 in total signing bonuses to undrafted free agents this year. In return, the minimum annual salaries increased by $55,000. A rookie will earn a minimum base salary of $375,000 this year. A player with one year's experience will earn a base of $450,000; with two years of experience, the base will be $525,000."


http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110726_Former_UH_players_ready_to_get_going.html

Friday, July 22, 2011

Quotes about UH's new football uniforms

About UH's new jerseys and pants, Mack said:
"When you look good, you feel good, and you play good." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Available in black and white, the uniforms feature a kapa
design on the shoulders and the back of the legs. UH athletic director
Jim Donovan said the kapa design received "the support" from UH's
School of Hawaiian Knowledge."


About how they changed the seam of the pants, Under Armour's Brian
Calabrese said:
"Most football pants have the seam down the side. What we did was move
it to the back so it works more with your natural anatomy of running."
(HSA)


HSA Note: "There are three different cuts -- a very short sleeve for
quarterbacks; a snug fit for receivers, running backs, defensive backs
and linebackers, and a two-way-stretch fit for linemen."


About how the short sleeve helps QBs, Bryant Moniz said:
"There's more mobility for your arm." (HSA)


Praising the new uniforms, Royce Pollard said:
"The designs are nice. It'll turn your swag up." (HSA)

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110722_Warriors_unveil_new_uniforms_for_2011.html

Oceanic plans to upgrade the PPV broadcasts with expanded coverage

About how they want to improve the PPV broadcasts by expanding the coverage, Dan Schmidt (GM/executive producer) said:
"We want to make the experience of being a University of Hawaii fan that much better.We want people to understand how being there (at the gam e) is important. It is best to be there in person. If you can't, we're going to provide an opportunity for you to experience it vicariously on television and (expanded) pregame, postgame and halftime will serve to do that." (HSA)


HSA Note: "UH is guaranteed a minimum $2.3 million from its agreement with Oceanic and can earn more depending upon sales. Last year Oceanic sold slightly more than 6,000 packages and UH received $2.45 million."


About taking over the production of the PPV broadcasts, Oceanic President Bob Barlow said:
"We're very excited about building a team to take this product to the next level." (HSA)


http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110722_UH_payperview_prices_hold_steady.html

Updates on Greg Salas and Wayne Hunter as the NFL lockout is (hopefully) about to end

About how it seems that the lockout will end soon, Greg Salas said:
"Every time we get closer to ending the lockout, that's great news." (HSA)


About the cancellation of the Hall of Fame preseason game, which would have been his first chance to play in a pro game, Salas said:
"Yeah, it is disappointing, but I don't know if we would have been ready as a team in time to play at a high level." (HSA)


About how he cannot wait to practice and learn from his coaches, Salas said:
"I'm anxious. I'm ready to let the coaches get their hands on me and learn as much as I can as fast as I can." (HSA)


About how he doesn't have a vote on the lockout situation since he's an incoming rookie, Salas said that he trusts the players:
"to do what's best for all of us." (HSA)


About how Wayne Hunter's situation with the Jets or any other team will be decided very quickly after the lockout ends, his agent Kenny Zuckerman said:
"If Wayne's going to re-sign with the Jets, he'll know within 72 hours of when this opens up. If he goes to another team, it will be done within another 72 hours." (HSA)

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/furtherreview/20110722_For_Salas_and_others_around_NFL_the_wait_is_almost_over.html

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Former Warriors Colt, RGM, Patek, and Ginlack with the Hartford Colonials were sent home after the UFL canceled training camp

While he was driving home after they sent the players home after postponing training camp, Jerry Glanville said:
"I'm driving home (to Georgia) in a 1996 Buick Estate station wagon, but it has an LT1 Corvette motor in it. It can move. I don't think it will be a one-way trip." (HSA)


About how the UFL suspended operations for a month while looking for a TV deal, Glanville said:
"I'm disappointed, but not discouraged. I think we'll be back in a month." (HSA)


About how they reported for physical examinations 10 days ago and training camp was supposed to have opened last month, Jacob Patek said:
"They sent us home. They told us to stay in shape." (HSA)


About how the players were not allowed to practice until training camp opened, Patek said:
"We did little jail-house workouts — situps, push-ups in our (hotel) rooms." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Former UH quarterback Colt Brennan returned to California on Wednesday. He said the quarterbacks had meetings and learned plays."


About how he hoped to use the UFL to show that he can play football, Colt said:
"All of us are hoping for the best. Life is life." (HSA)

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110721_colts_career_put_on_hold_along_with_ufl.html

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Features on Robert Kekaula getting the play-by-play job for UH football and picking his broadcast team

About how he tried out for the UH play-by-play job in 1987, Robert Kekaula said:
"I started in 1987 with News Radio 99 and Don Robbs. I had read in the paper they had gotten the UH contract, so I called up Don and tried to convince him that I should do the play-by-play for UH. That didn't work. So, I tried to convince him that I should do color. That didn't work, either. He (Robbs) convinced me I should do schlep work. That worked." (HSA)


About getting the UH football play-by-play job, Kekaula said:
If there is celebration in that, there is also relief. "I didn't know if I'd ever get the chance (at UH play-by-play) because that job doesn't come open very often.You don't see m any get the opportunity." (HSA)


About taking over for Jim Leahey, Kekaula said:
"Jim is the greatest storyteller I have ever known; I grew up watching him. When I first got in the business, I told him that." (HSA)


Robbs said that Kekaula:
"never lacked for confidence — and I mean that in a good way. Whatever he did he came well-prepared for. He always believed he could do radio and he worked to make it happen." (HSA)


About wanting Darren Hernandez and Nate Ilaoa for his broadcast team, Kekaula said:
"I specifically wanted those guys because of their personalities. In talking to them, the idea I had is that we have to constantly think we're sitting on a couch and what would we say if we were describing the play we just saw. I want us to have good fun doing it. I want to step up the entertainment value and not lose the integrity of the game." (HSA)


About entertaining PPV viewers, Kekaula said:
"People pay good money for pay-per-view and we feel obligated to give them not only the X's and O's and ABCs and have some fun along with it. For example, the first successful shovel pass we come across I want Nate to explain to us exactly how that works. I've always thought Nate had to be a special cat to be able to turn his back on the defense and make that catch." (HSA)


About how he's worked with Bobby Curran on the radio broadcasts of UH football for the past 12 years, Kekaula said:
"I have nothing but good memories of those years. After I got the job and cleared everything with my people (at KITV) and everybody was on board and official, the first thing I did was call Bobby. Then, I drove out to his house and talked to him. He understood. He knew it was something I wanted to do for a long time." (HSA)


About Kekaula approaching him about joining the TV broadcast team, Ilaoa said:
"It was out of the blue and we played some phone tag. I never really thought about doing this, but it's right up my alley. I'm anxious, and I'm nervous because I've never done (TV). One thing I know is we're going to have fun with it." (HSA)


About how Ilaoa could be excellent for their broadcasts, Kekaula said:
"It's a whole arena he's never seen before. But if we get Nate to be Nate, it will be magical." (HSA)


About the role he sees Darren Hernandez having, Kekaula said:
"I like what FOX did with Tony Siragusa, take it a step further. Not just be the person to speak when spoken to. Jump in when you have something to say. Darren can be the guy who speaks the king's English, the bad- ... biker he looks like and everything in between. And that's not putting on an act, that's him." (HSA)


About how doing TV play-by-play will be different for him, Kekaula said:
"The biggest difference will be preparation. My homework is different now. And during the play my eyes have to follow the ball. As color guy you can look at the pulling guard, how the defense sets up. Definitely, now I have to be on the ball." (HSA)


About meeting at Kekaula's house with Hernandez and Kekaula, Ilaoa said:
"Robert and Coach Darren explained the prep work that goes into it. It's sort of like getting ready to play a game in some ways. I've always been able to form an opinion about sports." (HSA)


About telling Ilaoa and Hernandez the same thing that Wally Zimmerman told him when Zimmerman hired Kekaula as a sportscaster in 1989, Kekaula said:
"I want you. If I wanted someone else, I'd hire someone else." (HSA)


About making unconventional choices for his broadcast team, Kekaula said:
"Nate's a football junky. Darren's a preparation freak. I put these three pieces together in my mind, and it works. I've been rolling the dice since the day I started. I like being different." (HSA)


http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110720_for_kekaula_uh_football_play-by-play_is_dream_job.html

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/furtherreview/20110720_kekaula_takes_bold_approach_in_assembling_dream_team.html

UH ended its recruiting of Tate Forcier

HSA Note: "People familiar with the situation said Forcier did not project to meet the requirements to join the Warriors for UH's fall semester, which begins Aug. 22. If he had chosen to attend UH and met those standards, Forcier would have been allowed to practice but not play in games in 2011, in accordance with NCAA rules."


HSA Note: "The Warriors are recruiting two other quarterbacks. Both are eligible to compete for the Warriors beginning in January."


http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110720_warriors_end_courtship_of_tate_forcier.html

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Mike Edwards is paying his living expenses to be in Hawaii early to meet the rest of the Warriors

About paying for his living expenses since he arrived in Hawaii Sunday night since he cannot get scholarship money until training camp starts, Mike Edwards said:
"It was a sacrifice I wanted to make for the team. I wanted to get out here and get an early start." (HSA)


About passing the online class that will enable him to transfer to UH, with the grade being recorded at the end of this month, Edwards said:
"I could have stayed home (in Ohio), and trained with the guys I've been working with. We got in some great work. But I wanted to get in early. I wanted to meet the other players. I didn't want to be the new face to everybody in camp." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Two years ago, Edwards was widely known as a four-star cornerback from Ohio's powerful Glenville High. He signed with Tennessee in February 2009, and played eight games as a true freshman that year. But in November 2009, he and two other teammates were arrested for attempted robbery in which a pellet gun was shown. They were dismissed from the team. Because Edwards did not handle the weapon, he received a two-year probation, which eventually was shortened. He is no longer on probation."


About being arrested for attempted robbery, Edwards said:
"I was never a bad kid. I was never in any trouble in my life until that situation. It was me being in the wrong place at the wrong time. ... Those two guys were my best friends on the Tennessee team. We were young. We all played as freshmen. ... I acted without thinking about the consequences. I made a mistake. That's part of growing up. That's part of making great decisions at all times, not taking an hour off. An hour can change your life forever. That's one of those situations that changed my life. I hope it can make me a better person. That's what I want to show in Hawaii." (HSA)


About his past achievements, Edwards said:
"I didn't want all of that to go to waste. I knew if I had another opportunity, I would take advantage of it." (HSA)


About how Tony Tuioti (who met with Edwards' family, friends and teammates) and Mack (who approved a scholarship offer to Edwards) welcomed him to UH, Edwards said:
"They made me feel I was part of the family. This is a great place to make the most of a second opportunity. Everybody kept asking me when I would go back on the field and what school I would go to. It was tough. I kept my eyes on the prize. I worked hard in school. Now I'm here. The sky's the limit." (HSA)

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110719_edwards_gets_a_jump_on_uh_football_career.html

UH is promoting Bryant Moniz for the Heisman via social media sites Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

About using social media to promote Bryant Moniz for the Heisman to the media, with fans being able to benefit from campaign also, UH media relations director Derek Inouchi said:
"This isn't only for the media." (HSA)

"Facebook is so hot right now, we thought we'd try and experiment with the power of social media." (HSA)


HSA Note: "In 2004, UH distributed DVDs promoting quarterback Tim Chang. In 2007, UH spent about $25,000 to produce and distribute DVDs promoting quarterback Colt Brennan, who finished third in the 2007 Heisman voting. With limited funds, Inouchi said, UH turned to the most popular social network."


Inouchi said that once people "like" Moniz's Facebook page:
"you can push content to your followers." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Inouchi said "e-mail blasts" of Moniz updates also will be sent to reporters across the country during the season."


About how he never imagined being part of a Heisman campaign when he was growing up in Wahiawa, Moniz said:
"Of course not. It's something we used to joke about, I guess. We used to strike Heisman poses when we were running around in the yard. I don't know if it's something you really believe will happen." (HSA)


About how his recognition is a reflection of their team, Moniz said:
"In football, you need the O-linemen, the receivers and running backs, the defense to get us the ball. A quarterback can't do it alone. It takes a whole team. This is a reflection of our whole team." (HSA)


FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/BryantMonizForHeisman

TWITTER
www.twitter.com/MonizForHeisman

YOUTUBE
www.youtube.com/HawaiiAthletics

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110719_heisman_networking.html

Monday, July 18, 2011

Kevin Spain's shoulder has improved significantly, he says he was 50% in the spring and 90+% now

About how his right shoulder was 90+% recovered from its surgery last summer during this summer's workouts, Kevin Spain said:
"I'm getting to the point where I can lift more weights. I was so weak before. I couldn't lift enough to get any improvements. It was just stagnant type of stuff." (WB)


About how he thinks that his shoulder injury was due to playing safety in high school, lifting weights in Hawaii and the "wear and tear" of throwing passes, Spain said:
"When I came out here, I started lifting a bunch, doing hang snatch (lifts). That's when I think I really tore it. I was doing that and throwing a lot. That killed me a little bit." (WB)


About how he threw during passing drills (with no defenders) during spring training but did not play in the Warrior Bowl, Spain said:
"I don't want to say  it was 50 percent (back then), but I threw a little more in the spring than I should have." (WB)


Looking forward to the start of training camp, Spain said:
"I just want to play football again. I feel I've been a student for a year. This was the first year without football in my life." (WB)


http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com/2011/07/17/qb-spain-conquering-injury/

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Feature articles on Alex Green in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MJS = Milwaukee Journal Sentinel


MJS Note: "Alex Green knew he had these mattress-soft dreadlocks for a reason. In the backseat of his car - for two straight months - Green rested his head against the door and fell asleep at night. His grades were slumping. His wallet was empty. His football future was fading. But the future Green Bay Packers running back had no choice. For nearly an entire semester at Butte Community College (Calif.), Green lived inside his 1998 tan Chevy Lumina at a Wal-Mart parking lot. No blankets. No pillows. Only his gear in the trunk and a Butte sweatshirt covering his legs at night."


About living in his car in a Wal-Mart parking lot while he went to Butte Community College, Alex Green said:
"It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. But it wasn't the most uncomfortable thing either." (MJS)


MJS Note: "Green grew up without his biological dad around, was shoved through grade school, lived in his car, lost his best friend in college and fathered two children along the way."


About how he never knew that he had dyslexia until he went to UH 2 years ago, Green said
"People always ask if I'm comfortable talking about dyslexia. I'm happy that I know. There are people that still don't know they have it that are still in school. I was blessed to find out." (MJS)


About how he has gotten through so many hard times in his life, Green said:
"There were so many points in my life when there didn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel." (MJS)


About having to read in front of the whole class during his 10th grade English class at Benson Ploytechnic High School in Oregon, Green said that he told himself:
"Just get through the words. Just read what you see and get it over with." (MJS)


When the teacher asked him to explain what he had just read, Green said:
"I have no idea." (MJS)


MJS Note: "Laughter ricocheted throughout the room. Kids called Green "dumb" out loud."


When the teacher said to him "What do you mean you don't know what you read?  You just read it.", Green replied:
"I know. But I don't understand what it's saying." (MJS)


About how he attended summer school every year as a kid (unlike his 7 brothers), did all his homework and read every night, Green said:
"And every time the test scores came back to me, it was 40 percent, 50 percent. If I'm lucky, 70 percent. I'm like, 'Man, I just cannot get a solid grade.' I thought it was me. I thought I wasn't doing something right." (MJS)


MJS Note: "Green applied four times just to get into Benson Polytechnic and eventually clawed his way to Butte, Aaron Rodgers' old junior-college training ground. Success on the football field continued. In the same backfield as Aaron's younger brother, Jordan, he led the Roadrunners to a national championship in 2008. Then, he conceived a daughter. Then, everything changed. If his grades didn't improve, Green wouldn't be able to provide for his little girl, Harlym."


MJS Note: "Green worked harder, taking 26 credits one semester at Butte. The plan was to graduate early and get into a NCAA Division I school's spring camp. He spent hours one night trying to interpret Shakespeare for one assignment only to receive an "F." Schoolwork remained a treadmill for Green. He was going nowhere. One more semester at Butte became a necessity. Rock bottom could be found at the local Wal-Mart."


About his first few nights in his car in the Wal-Mart parking lot and his worry that someone would bang on his window and wake him up (he is an insomniac), Green said:
"And it never happened. I have tinted windows, so they probably never saw me in there." (MJS)


MJS Note: "Child-support payments gutted Green's income. He didn't have enough money for a place that final semester. At first, Green slept on various teammates' floors and couches, but he knew this mooching couldn't continue. So one day, Green pulled into a Wal-Mart parking lot and called it home. Mom had no clue."


About how her son Alex didn't tell people that he was sleeping in his car and kept mailing child support payments to his daughter's mother, Phyllis Smith said:
"Alex doesn't like to bother people if he's having problems. He likes to work them out himself." (MJS)


About how he decided one day to quit the football team and get a job back in Oregon, Green remembers how hometown friend and Butte teammate Lametrius Davis called him and changed his mind by saying:
"Stay. Do it for your daughter. You can't go. You'll come home, work and that'll be it. Think long term." (MJS)


About how he turned off his car, took a deep breath, and repeated the words "long term" in his head repeatedly, Green said:
"I had a daughter and two months left to finish school. I said, 'I'm not going to go back home. I'm going to stay here and finish it by any means necessary.' " (MJS)


MJS Note: "Green kept showering and brushing his teeth in the team locker room, keeping it a secret from everybody. He gutted out his final courses and finally earned his degree. Several Division I schools, including the University of Washington, bailed at the sight of his transcript, but Hawaii gave him a chance."


MJS Note: "Up to this point, no teacher could pick the lock to Green's mind. That is, until Michelle Nixon came around. An academic advisor and learning specialist at Hawaii, she put Green through IQ tests and discovered he was dyslexic. Many athletes process 3-D images at an advanced level, she said, but struggle with 2-D images. Green couldn't see what he was reading, so he never fully understood it. His whole life, he'd jot down everything his teacher said and try to memorize it. Nothing stuck. Further, Nixon learned that Green missed an entire half of school at a young age. His school in Portland shut down due to radon poisoning. From there, Green was "just kind of passed along," she said."


About how one teacher had told Green that he would never graduate from high school, Nixon said:
"Our public school system, which should catch learning disabilities and reading difficulties, missed him. He didn't get the support he needed . . . A lot of times with athletes, the assumption is, 'Oh, they're just not smart. They just can't do it so we'll just pass them along to the next grade so they can continue to play athletics." (MJS)


MJS Note: "Audio books replaced textbooks. Green closed his eyes when he learned, he "made movies" in his mind. Instead of scribbling for 60 minutes straight, he listened and made bullet points of key dates and landmarks. F's turned to B's. D's turned to A's. Phyllis received personal letters from professors raving about Green's progress."


About how he learned visually,Green (who majored in sociology) said:
"I started to imagine what I was reading. Like a picture. I learned visually. I saw it in my mind, and it became a story. I could understand." (MJS)


About how Green heard that Jarnell Taylor (a close friend from home) had died in a car accident and thought about quitting UH and going home to his daughter in the February before his senior season, UH RB coach Brian Smith said:
"He was a Pacific Ocean away, 2,500 miles away. That was hard on him. He was worried about her." (MJS)


About how Green dealt with his friend's death, Nixon said:
"He needed to persevere when nothing seemed to make sense." (MJS)


MJS Note: "Hawaii's zone-blocking scheme, predicted on anticipation and flow, was suddenly tailor-made for him. The 6-foot, 225-pound back knifed into rushing lanes a split-second before defenders had a chance to hit him. His whopping 8.2 yards per carry ranked best in the nation. No longer did play diagrams look like a foreign language. Green made movies in his head and became a top-flight NFL prospect."


About using visualization techniques for UH's offense, Green said:
"I saw a play on paper, closed my eyes and actually thought about what I'd be doing. I opened my eyes and said, 'OK, now I got that play.' In my mind, I visualized what would happen. So when it happened, I knew how to react to it." (MJS)


About his focus on making the Green Bay Packers' roster, Green said:
"I need to make the 53-man roster. I need to make the team." (MJS)


MJS Note: "With two kids now - son, Kingston, was born in October and is a half brother to Harlym - Green took to Twitter on Tuesday night: "Is it wrong to be emotional when a mans family is on da line??" "


About how the lockout is in the way of his NFL dream, Green said:
"Just another roadblock in the road. I'm used to it." (MJS)


Asked if he sees a parallel in how Green was used at UH and how he could be used in Green Bay, Brian Smith said:
"I think there's a parallel. Absolutely. It's a great thing for him. He'll be able to be an every-down guy for them if they choose to use him like that. He can catch the ball very well. He's great in space. And he's very good at making people miss. He also is big and physical so he can play inside the tackles. He'll be someone who's very versatile for them." (MJS)


About how Green peaked late in his college career, Smith said:
"They're not getting a guy who's a three-year starter, 200-carry-per-year guy who peaked in his college career. They're getting a guy who's starting fresh." (MJS)


Praising Green's work ethic, Smith said:
"He put on 15 pounds of muscle between his junior and senior years at Hawaii. He's been a great example for the young guys in the program to go back and watch film of him at practice. Everything he did was full speed at 110 percent. He wasn't taking reps off. He went as hard as he could. That work ethic will help him at the next level." (MJS)


About how Green dealt with a pass-first offense, Rolo said:
"He never complained about his role in the offense and kept working hard. He's not overly verbal but I noticed on a few occasions, when our backs were against the wall, if he said something the whole offense showed up. He had everyone's full attention. Without him, we would have lacked that quality. He served an inspirational-type role." (MJS)


Asked if Green Bay is a good fit for Green, Rolo said:
"I think it's a great fit for him. His ability to catch the ball is spectacular for a running back. His hands are so soft. He has correct hand placement. He really feels comfortable catching the ball. I think that's what set him apart in the draft. In our offense, the running back position is the ultimate example of being unselfish." (MJS)


Asked what could help Green stand out in the crowded Green Bay RB position, Rolo said:
"I think it's his ability to catch the ball. I can't imagine many people being better than him at catching the ball. The other thing that will stand out is that he will not worry about other backs. He will not worry about anything other than himself getting better." (MJS)


Asked if Green's fumbling woes is a concern, Rolo said:
"I think he corrected that. We stressed that to our backs and receivers very hard. I don't see that being a big issue."  (MJS)


Asked how he will remember Green, Rolo said:
"You see the dreadlocks. You see a football player. You see a running back. But sometimes, I don't think people give him the credit for the person that he is. I know he's going to be a great role model, a great teammate and a great student. Deep down inside he has a good heart. The person that he is may be the most valuable asset to the Packers right now." (MJS)

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/125696638.html

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/125698868.html

Friday, July 15, 2011

The Aloha Stadium Authority might not have the money to continue fix the stadium

PBN = Pacific Business News


PBN Note: "The chairman of the Aloha Stadium Authority and the head of the state department that funds public works projects disagree on whether there will be sufficient financial support from the state to continue fixing the stadium. Authority Chairman Kevin Chong Kee said he believes only $125,000 will be available for health-and-safety repairs. But with at least another $100 million in work still on the drawing boards, he said he doesn't see how the improvements can get done."


Told that the state Legislature has appropriated $5.15 mil each for the next 2 fiscal years for stadium improvements, but nobody has told him, Authority Chairman Kevin Chong Kee said:
"Nobody has ever come to us and told us anything — we have the invitation open. We really don't know where they're at, or what their ideas are, or what they're trying to do." (PBN)


About how Gov. Abercrombie has not decided what he wants to do with Aloha stadium, state Comptroller Bruce Coppa said:
"The intent is get the committee together this year and give them some tools to start working with." (PBN)


About how the Stadium Authority has the support of his department, which asked the Legislature for more than $23 mil for the stadium but received little more than $10 mil, Coppa said:
"The stadium is being repaired to ensure that the health and safety of the stadium continues. We're not losing sight of that at all. Nothing has stopped in that regard." (PBN)


About how he doesn't feel that the Stadium Authority has the state's backing, Chong Kee said:
"We always had someone from DAGS who went out and lobbied for money, and this new administration, I don't think there's anybody there who would do that because they have different plans than what we were trying to do." (PBN)


PGB Note: "He said the authority is following a plan it adopted in 2004 to refurbish the stadium, rather than construct a new one. At the time, it was estimated that fixing the stadium would cost about $100 million, while the price tag for a new facility would be at least $250 million. Since then, the repair costs have escalated to at least $185 million and the cost to build a new stadium is estimated at a half-billion dollars.

By the end of last year, the state had spent more than $50 million to fix the stadium's crumbling roof, install hand rails and some new seats, and shore up the pedestrian walkways between the stands. But the authority had hoped to build elevator towers and additional restrooms in the stadium's four corners, as well as replace all of the seats. The towers, elevators and seats would cost about $200 million, with just the seat replacement estimated at half that amount."


About how they have no plans for further work on Aloha Stadium, Chong Kee said:
"After the next football season, I don't think anything is planned." (PBN)


About how the state has to spend the money on repairs since even if they want a new stadium it will take at least 10 years to build a new one, former Comptroller Russ Saito said:
"If they're balking at spending the money to refurbish the stadium, when they look at the price to build a new stadium, if you can't afford to refurbish it, you definitely cannot afford to build a new stadium." (PBN)


About why he refused to let PBN photograph the installation of the new artificial turf, Chong Kee said:
"We are telling all the media who have been calling that they will not be able to come in until Media Day." (PBN)

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/print-edition/2011/07/15/stadium-repair-fundings-future-matter.html?page=all

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Dennis Franchione says that he brought up the idea of scheduling UH to end the 2012 season, then recently decided Texas State should not

CC = Cats Cradle


CC Note: "Texas State head coach Dennis Franchione loves coaching against the Hawaii Warriors. In fact, Franchione is the only coach in college football history to bring three different teams to Honolulu and walk out with a win each time."


About how he was the person that suggested that Texas State play a game to end the 2012 season in Hawaii, Dennis Franchione said:
"I'm the guy that brought it up [to Texas State Director of Athletics Dr. Larry Teis]. With the postseason being up in the air in 2012, I thought it would be a treat to our players, fans and a good game for us." (CC)


About how he recently decided that their 2012 schedule was too tough to play UH, Franchione said:
"It looks pretty demanding. If we added that game, it would have been tough on our guys. Then to cut out another week of recruiting, I don't know if we should do it right now. I would like to do it in the future, but I'm not sure if 2012 was the correct time." (CC)


CC Note: "Once Franchione decided against the game, which would have begun a three-game, away-home-away series with the Warriors, Teis pulled out of talks with Hawaii AD Jim Donovan."


About how JD said that UH won't schedule Texas State while he's AD, Franchione shot back:
"That's his prerogative. There will be another AD someday." (CC)

http://smdrcatscradle.blogspot.com/2011/07/college-football-franchione-speaks-on.html

Feature on tackling and the BC Lions has a lot of quotes from Solomon Elimimian

TP = The Province


About how the larger dimensions of a CFL field plays a mental factor in tackling, Solomon Elimimian said:
"If I get isolated with the running back and he gets past me, it's nothing but green grass. You have whole field to escape." (HSA)


HSA Note: "And nobody on the Lions defence is more aggressive than Elimimian, whose jarring hits on opposing ball carriers have occasionally been the only redeeming quality about his team since he joined them last year."


About how defenders benefit from studying their opponent, Elimimian said:
"If you're running toward someone you have to know if the guy is a shaker or pounder. If he's a shaker you have to break down on him. If he's a pounder you have to get your hips [low] and run through him." (HSA)


About why he excels at tackling opponents, Elimimian said:
"Tackling is a mindset. When you tackle somebody you have to get yourself mentally prepared. Do I want to make that tackle? You're going to tackle if you want to tackle." (HSA)


http://www.theprovince.com/sports/tackling+That+drill/5100818/story.html#ixzz1S5K6Mh9e

UH will ask sponsors to help with the $1.2 mil in travel subsidies it will have starting in 2012

HSA Note: "The University of Hawaii is asking sponsors to help underwrite the estimated $1.2 million in travel subsidies it has pledged to provide for Mountain West Conference and Big West Conference opponents in 2012, President MRC Greenwood said Wednesday. Some of that assistance could apparently come from a portion of a naming rights agreement being negotiated with Hawaiian Airlines for the field at Aloha Stadium, people familiar with the plans suggested."


About how they are asking an airlines (Hawaiian Airlines) to help with their travel subsidies to the MWC and Big West, UH President MRC Greenwood said:
"We've made a commitment to be in the Mountain West and to do that we have to be there. Does that mean we're going to work with every vendor that we can to get the best possible options? Yes. Does that mean we might be asking our (sponsors) to give us miles? Yeah, we might be doing that. We might be doing anything we can to reduce the cost of travel." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Since UH is the marquee tenant for the facility and the major lure for a naming rights deal, the stadium authority has been pushing for the school to share in any agreement in some form."


About how they are seeing what other organizations such as the Hawaii Tourism Authority can do for UH, Greenwood said:
"We've been talking to the (Hawaii Tourism Authority) and have been talking to other organizations to see what they can do to help our teams. Every time somebody tells me that they are a big fan, I say, 'How are you proving that?'" (HSA)


About getting help for the travel subsidies from the state, Greenwood said:
"I know there has been interest at many levels of the state to try and help us with that. (The travel burden) is obviously something we have to face. We're 2,500 miles from the nearest land mass and as much as we like to sell paradise, they still have to buy the tickets." (HSA)


About the concern over travel budgets she heard during her first meetings with the MWC Board of Directors, Greenwood said:
"All the rest of the presidents are saying the same thing, 'My travel budget is...' " (HSA)


When it was suggested that UH's travel subsidies will be a big help for those MWC schools, Greenwood said:
"I guess they see it that way. After we beat them they may think of it (differently). They may wish they didn't make that deal, you know." (HSA)


http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110714_greenwood_says_uh_will_ask_for_help_in_travel_subsidies.html

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Colt Brennan says that Tate Forcier should choose UH

About Tate Forcier looking for a fresh start, Colt Brennan said that UH:
"really could be a great fit." (HSA)


About how players with second chances have done well at UH, Colt said:
"Me, Davone (Bess) and Pisa (Tinoisamoa), we all got second chances at Hawaii, and we made the most of them. I can thoroughly understand why (Forcier) would want to come to Hawaii if he wants a second chance." (HSA)


About how he had planned to get a new trial, which could have extended his case another 2 years, before accepting an offer to plead guilty to trespassing, Colt said:
"At first, I wanted to keep fighting ... but I wanted to really move on with my life. People said, 'If he were (innocent), he would never have accepted a deal.' But at some point, you can't put your family in that position financially and emotionally. I had to think about people other than myself. ... I talked to my family and friends and legal counsel, and they said (accepting the plea) would be the best thing for me." (HSA)


About the false reports of his case that were around when he joined UH in 2005, Colt said:
"One thing that happened is Hawaii is a place that is very welcoming and has a big heart. And when I got there, I was able to discredit what people had heard, and that's when people really started to get behind my back, and want to see me have a second chance, or want to see me succeed." (HSA)


About how he often would pick up Jason Forcier (Tate's brother who was his teammate at Mater Dei High School, Jason was a freshman when Colt was a senior) at the train station on the way to school, Colt said:
"I knew Jason really well. I remember (Tate and another brother) would come to practice, and throw the rock around. They were young, but we were like, 'These kids are going to be pretty good when they get older.' ... Sure enough, I went on and lived my life. Then years later, I turn on the TV and watch Tate playing for Michigan. I said, 'I knew he would show up somewhere.' " (HSA)


About how Tate would be able to learn the offense and get acclimated to the team, school, and community, Colt said:
"I watched him do a lot of good things at Michigan. If he's coming to Hawaii to help win football games and keep Hawaii on the map, I think it's a move that will be successful for both him and the university. ... Hopefully, it all works out. Right now we have to wait and see. We don't even know if he's going to (transfer) to Hawaii." (HSA)

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110713_Colt_Tate_should_pick_UH.html

Aloha Stadium will take advantage of the unused baseball dugouts to offer 38 VIP seats this season

HSA Note: "Aloha Stadium is talking with its marketing partner, Aloha Sports Properties, and UH about offering 38 so-called VIP seats this season, officials said. The seating will be on raised platforms fronting the baseball dugouts, which will be enclosed and air conditioned with large-screen TV monitors. The platform is cushioned for player protection, officials said."


About how using the baseball dugouts for VIP seats was the idea of Aloha Stadium manager Scott Chan, Aloha Stadium spokeswoman Lois Manin said:
"Since we are locked into the football configuration and no longer need the dugouts for baseball, he decided to try and turn it into a VIP area and create some additional revenue for us and our clients." (HSA)


About how UH corporate partners used the mauka dugout for 3 games last year as an experiment, UH associate AD John McNamara said:
"The pilot program worked out well and we were glad to be able to utilize it." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Since it was a late addition, McNamara said users made a donation to UH and paid for the catering. Chan said he is talking to UH about the mauka side again and will offer a new area on the makai side to Aloha Sports Properties. Each side would have 19 seats. The stadium receives a share of catering revenue from its food and beverage partner, Centerplate, and revenue from its marketing agent, Aloha Sports Properties. UH pays the stadium for game-day use."


HSA Note: "In other stadium news, the new $1.76 million turf is scheduled to be displayed at the facility's annual media day, Aug. 11. "It is pretty close to being finished," Manin said.:

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110713_Stadium_to_turn_dugouts_into_VIP_seating.html

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

UH blames Dennis Franchione for Texas State pulling out of a planned 2012 game at Aloha Stadium

About how they won't schedule Texas State as long as he's AD at UH, JD said:
"We won't be working with Texas State anytime in my tenure." (HSA)


HSA Note: "After "five or six months" of talking, UH said an agreement was worked out to bring the Bobcats here, only to have Franchione scuttle it when contracts were to be sent out. When Texas State asked for a better financial package, UH said it complied, upping the terms. When the Bobcats requested a home game, UH said it offered a two-for-one deal and would make a later appearance in San Marcos."


Texas State AD Lawrence Teis said that they were interested in UH when they found out that they couldn't play in a bowl game in 2012 and couldn't win the WAC title, but:
"we also had not completed (scheduling) our other 12 games yet. When that started coming together, we noticed a tough schedule (Houston, Texas Tech, Nevada, New Mexico, Navy, Stephen F. Austin, UT-San Antonio, New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech, Idaho, San Jose State and Utah State) and were trying to decide whether to add another game. Ideally, if Hawaii would have been in September or October, we probably could have made this work." (HSA)


About why they didn't want to play in Hawaii in December, Teis said:
"Coach Fran was concerned that (date) would cut into recruiting, which we desperately need to do moving to (the FBS) level." (HSA)

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/ferdswords/20110712_Franchione_knows_how_to_put_the_hurt_on_Warriors.html

Miah Ostrowski is a football starter for the first time since 2006

About how he hasn't been a starter in football since he was at Punahou in November 2006, Miah Ostrowski said it was:
"a long, long time ago." (HSA)


About being their #1 right slotback when training camp opens, Ostrowski said:
"It's different expectations for me. (The job is) mine to lose right now. ... I feel I'm ready physically — hands, quickness — it's just about not being nervous. We'll see when the time comes. I think I'll be fine. I used to get nervous before every basketball game. I guess that's natural." (HSA)


About starting for the UH basketball game last season, Ostrowski said:
"To me, basketball is pretty much second nature. Football is getting there. Right now, basketball is more comfortable. But once I play more football, I'll be more comfortable." (HSA)


About how he plays basketball in his free time, Ostrowski said:
"I still go into the basketball gym and work on things myself, just to keep up the quickness. Just working up for basketball — running up and down the court — is good, I think, for hand-eye coordination, change of speed, and change of direction. There are some things you can't get out of just running for cardio. I don't play five-on-five, but I work on hand-eye coordination." (HSA)


About how weightlifting hasn't hurt his jump shot, Ostrowski (who weighed 167 when playing basketball last season and wants to be no more than 175 for the football season) said:
"I've been lifting for football for quite a while. My body got used to it." (HSA)


About how he runs pass routes every weekday and is looking forward to training camp, Ostrowski said:
"I've been putting in a lot of work. I can't wait." (HSA)


http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110712_Finally_Ostrowski_can_say_hes_a_starter.html

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Feature on how Scott Harding got the idea to play college football since he felt he could play in the NFL

SM = Sunday Mail

Asked if he's nervous to have 50,000 people watch him at Aloha Stadium, Scott Harding said:
"I'm going over to make a statement and get people to watch me. The more eyes that watch me, the better chance I've got to make the pros." (SM)


Asked how he got the idea to play American football when he watched NFL games and saw his heroes Larry Fitzgerald and Desean Jackson, Harding said:
"I used to watch it all the time and constantly be thinking, 'I can do that'. I'd watch it on TV and think, 'I don't see how he runs any faster than me, or catches any better'. I've always had good hands. That was one of my strengths in the midfield. I was always pretty clean and a one-touch player. I'm not saying I'm going to be a Terrell Owens but I'm certainly not going to rest on my heels and wait to see what happens." (SM)


About how Harding approached him when he visited Brisbane to look for kickers, former Green Bay Packers punter Nathan Chapman, who has been running Prokick (which has only sent punters to the NFL), said:
"My first message to him was if you want to try and play positions in college or the NFL it will come down to numbers. You have to be that much faster, that much stronger or kick it that much higher and longer for them to even consider you. Why would they bother teaching someone the game if they can get someone of equal ability over there?" (SM)


SM Note: "Harding considered making the code swap when he was delisted by Brisbane at the end of the 2009 season. Considered one of the unluckiest players to be cut that year, he decided to throw his name back in the draft and he was picked up by the Power."


About being delisted by Brisbane at the end of the 2009 season and being picked up by the Power, Harding said:
"My manager at the time still thought I had some more AFL left in me. I thought I did, too. I was a bit stiff to get let go by Brisbane at that point and I thought I'd get picked up somewhere else." (SM)


About how he only played 2 more games in the AFL the following year, finishing the season with the SANFL reserves, and then was delisted again, Harding said:
"I was pretty disappointed to hear the news but I took it on the chin and when one door closes another one opens. I was excited about what was going to happen next and it all happened pretty quickly after that." (SM)


SM Note: "Harding will have history on his side in his bid to make the big time. Hawaii is the college where former rugby union and league player Colin Scotts learned his trade before becoming the only Australian to play an outfield position in the NFL."

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/scotts-punt-requires-a-lion-heart/story-e6frepf6-1226091460229

Warrior 2012 commit Dustin Adams lost his home due to the flooding in North Dakota

About how he's focused on football to in the middle of the disruption in his life, Dustin Adams said:
"I'm focused on football. That's the only normalcy I get around here nowadays." (HSA)


Dustin said that the overflowing Souris River flooded parts of Minot, North Dakota, where more than 4,000 homes "took in water" when:
"the dikes that were built a long time ago were over-topped. A lot of houses flooded. Most of them are going to be gone." (HSA)


About how he was told that the waters reached the roof of his family's home, Adams said:
"They have to pump water back over the dikes. It's going to take some time." (HSA)


About how his family where one of the estimated 90% of Minot homeowners without flood insurance, where the Souris hadn't overflowed into Minot in 42 years, Adams said:
"It was one of those things where people were led to believe this could never happen again. Once it happens, you can't buy last-minute insurance." (HSA)


About how a plan for the government to buy the damaged properties will not happen, Adams said:
"There isn't that kind of money sitting around Washington, I suppose." (HSA)


About how his stepfather, mother, younger brother, and he are living at his girlfriend's home, Adams said:
"We might be here for a while." (HSA)


HSA Note: "His stepfather works in a hospital. His mother works in a bank. Their jobs were not affected."


About how several middle schools were severely damaged but his high school was spared by the flooding, Adams said:
"Our football season will go on as normal. Hopefully, that is one thing that will stay normal in this whole thing." (HSA)


http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110709_warriors_recruit_loses_home.html

Friday, July 8, 2011

Tate Forcier will take an official recruiting visit to UH next week

HSA Note: "He said he was offered the trip Thursday during an hourlong conversation with UH coach Greg McMackin."


About the delay in his recruiting visit, Forcier said he was told that Rolo is on vacation and:
"won't be in until next week, otherwise I would be there tomorrow." (HSA)


HSA Note: "One of the nation's top high school prospects in 2009, Forcier started every game for the Wolverines as a true freshman. He ceded the job to Denard Robinson last season. He was academically ineligible for the Insight Bowl in December, and left the Wolverines shortly after that. Forcier became a "free agent" after deciding not to transfer to Miami, citing "trust" issues."


About his interest in Hawaii (he says that UH, SJSU, and Nevada are his final choices), Forcier said:
"I want to go to (Hawaii) and make sure I meet all of the coaches. If that's the school I want to go to, I want to make sure it's the right fit. ... Hawaii will be my first official visit. It might be my last. I have to go with how things go. If it feels right, I'm going to make my decision." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Forcier said he is completing online classes to meet NCAA requirements. He said he wants to make a decision this month. UH's training camp begins Aug. 4."


About how a former high school coach and one of his uncles live on Oahu, Forcier said:
"To have that kind of support down there makes it so much more interesting to me. I didn't have that support in Miami. I didn't know anybody down there." (HSA)


About how Colt is a family friend, Forcier said:
"Colt turned a negative into a positive by going to Hawaii and making a name for himself. Colt has nothing but good things to say about Hawaii and the coaching staff. ... I want to go to a school where I can trust the coach. McMackin seems like a player's coach to me." (HSA)


About the criticism he received after leaving Michigan, Forcier said:
"As much as the media can bring you up, they can bring you down. I want to be a comeback story. ... There aren't too many times you can get a second chance. I want to take advantage of that. Hawaii is a great place to get a second chance. ... The (UH) coaches told me the people (of Hawaii) accept you for who you are. If you're humble and work hard, they won't say anything negative about you." (HSA)


About how he can learn under UH's senior QBs and then have a chance to play, Forcier said:
"Hawaii has two senior quarterbacks. I can go there, sit out for a year, learn the offense, get acclimated to the area, learn from the two seniors. I can take in everything, and try to be as good as I possibly can be." (HSA)

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110708_Ex_Michigan_QB_will_visit_UH_next_week.html

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Kealoha Pilares and Greg Salas are working out together again in Hawaii

About working out once again with Kealoha Pilares, Greg Salas said:
"We worked out, and he destroyed my legs. Kealoha's legs are very strong. It's hard to keep up." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Last year's starting slotbacks for the Hawaii football team were reunited when California-raised Salas returned to Hawaii on Tuesday afternoon for a working vacation. Pilares, who was raised in Wahiawa, has been training in Hawaii the past three weeks after completing a workout program in Arizona."


About wanting to continue to train while on vacation in Hawaii, Salas said:
"I had a little business to take care of out here. I wanted to take a little time to relax, but I wanted to stay in shape. I'll be out here five days, and I don't really have time to take five days off from working out. I didn't want to slack off." (HSA)


About how Pilares invited him to work out yesterday morning at the Tactical Strength & Conditioning facility on Kapiolani Blvd, with Salas focusing on leg-strengthening drills while recovering from a tweaked hamstring, Salas said:
"He killed my legs, but it was a good workout." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Pilares will take the workouts to another level today. The plan is run up Koko Crater Trail, which often is referred to as "nature's stair-master." "


About getting to the top in about 15 minutes before, Pilares said:
"It's a killer. If you walk up there, it's kind of easy. I try to push myself to see how fast I can do it. I really hate it. It's not fun at all. But it's a good workout." (HSA)


About how he bought a JUGS football-throwing machine to keep his pass-catching skills sharp, Pilares said:
"It's a great investment. I leave it there so the other receivers can use it." (HSA)


About using the JUGS machine with the walls covered with mirrors at Tactical, Pilares said:
"That's why you have to trust your hands. You can't go in there quivering." (HSA)


About how he is preparing for the lockout to end, Pilares said:
"It's inevitable that we'll have football. I have to be ready for it." (HSA)

"I'm waiting for the call when they decide the lockout is over. I just want to play football. That's the main point. Whatever has to be done, has to be done. That's why I want to get into (training) camp." (HSA)


About how he'll be ready for the lockout to end, Salas said:
"I'll be ready to go. There's nothing that's going to be stopping me. Whenever this thing is ready to be settled, I'll be there." (HSA)


http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110707_salas_pilares_still_workout_warriors.html

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Feature on Adrian Klemm

DO = Dallas Observer

Praising Adrian Klemm, who has done a great job at SMU, JJ said:
"He's a winner, plain and simple. We gave him a chance and he's obviously paying big dividends already. He's got that special knack of connecting with kids, and we're going to be a better football team because of it." (DO)


DO Note: "In 2008, after playing on three Super Bowl-winning Patriot teams, Klemm, a University of Hawaii alum, was back in college at his alma mater, finishing his degree but fumbling for a future. That's when Jones, who coached Klemm at Hawaii, called with an offer to be a volunteer on his SMU staff. In the three years since, Klemm's landed a full-time job as the Mustangs' offensive line coach and, later, a promotion to SMU's recruiting coordinator. Rivals.com, the Internet recruiting bible, now ranks him as the top non-BCS recruiter in the nation, and Fox Sports named him the 2010 Conference USA Recruiter of the Year."


About getting the offer to work for free for JJ, Klemm said:
"I was just hanging out with nothing better to do when June called. I'm fortunate and blessed. He rolled the dice on me and I'm determined to help him win, and win big." (DO)


About how he grew up in Inglewood (South-Central LA), Klemm said:
"It's a rough area, no way around that. I never got involved in drugs or gangs, but I probably hung out with some people I shouldn't have hung out with. It wasn't until I left and looked back that I realized what a dangerous culture it was." (DO)


About how his recruiting visit to Hawaii was his first trip outside of LA County, Klemm said:
"It was a whole new world." (DO)


DO Note: "He arrived to find a program in disarray. After red-shirting his freshman year, he played linebacker and tight end for three head coaches and five offensive coordinators in four years. When Jones arrived in Honolulu before his senior season, talking about a position change, Klemm's eyes rolled."


About JJ moving him to the OL, Klemm said:
"He told me I should move to offensive line and I was like 'Whatever.'  We had just gone 0-12 and I was just doing my time, waiting to get out of there. Marcellus (who played at Columbia) made it to the NFL, so I guess it was a dream, but it didn't feel realistic because we were losing and we were in Hawaii. Everything we did felt so far removed. But Coach Jones worked magic. With our team, and with me." (DO)


About being drafted by the Patriots before Tom  Brady, Klemm said:
"Each year he wins another Super Bowl or MVP, people always dig up my name." (DO)


DO Note: "When Jones called in 2008, it was only with an offer for Klemm to be an unpaid graduate assistant. Now 34, Klemm has evolved into Dallas' one-man, hard-streets-to-the-Hilltop welcome wagon. He goes to L.A. as one of the city's own, and always seems to haul back a player who will soon be one of SMU's own."


About recruiting players to leave LA, Klemm said:
"I know what it's like to leave L.A., and to be both excited and scared at the same time." (DO)


DO Note: "Klemm was directly responsible for eight of SMU's 27 commitments in 2010, including six three-star recruits and one four-star blue chip. Lubbock receiver Arrius Holleman turned down a scholarship from his beloved Texas Tech to play at SMU. Offensive lineman Dontae Levingston, a California kid who had nine total offers from national powers such as Florida and Oregon, signed. So did Conner Preston, a California quarterback who frustrated West Coast recruiters by committing to SMU before his senior season. And Klemm's grand prize, a monster defensive end from Los Angeles named Davon Moreland, will arrive in Dallas as SMU's biggest post-death penalty recruit."


About how he helped Moreland choose SMU, Conner Preston said:
"I think my choosing SMU helped Davon along and that feels good. I think that we have not even hit the surface of what SMU is capable of doing out here. If Coach Klemm keeps recruiting California like he has, there are a lot of kids they could get." (DO)


About how he can relate to the kids in LA, Klemm said:
"I can relate to them because I was them. Like me back then, they've never been anywhere. Some of them have no idea where Dallas is. They think it's all horses and cows. And there are schools that negatively recruit against us by telling them that our classes are too hard or that Dallas doesn't like black people. But once I get them here to SMU, the area and Coach Jones sells itself. I tell them that they're not making a four-year decision, but a 40-year decision. Football will end. But when they get their degree from SMU, the sky will always be the limit." (DO)


DO Note: "Also in Klemm's recruiting tool box are his childhood friends, several of whom are now prominent L.A.-area high school coaches. They serve as liaisons between him and their prized prospects. His tattoos form a bond. He's even—amazingly—turned an embarrassing liability into a fruitful asset. That's right: Pony Excess."


About how the Pony Excess documentary helps him in recruiting, Klemm said:
"I mention SMU at first and they get this bewildered look. Some of these kids thought SMU was some little Division II school. But that show opened a lot of young eyes. The feedback is much more positive than negative. Kids are like, 'Wow, Coach, SMU used to win big time.' And I tell them we're going to do it again. But this time we're going to do it the right way." (DO)

http://www.dallasobserver.com/2011-07-07/news/for-smu-football-adrian-klemm-s-l-a-story-is-paying-off-but-not-like-that/

New Warriors went through freshman orientation yesterday

About how he shouldn't be called Promise anymore, Chinedu Promise Amadi said:
"I don't go by 'Promise' anymore. I use my first name." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Yesterday also was the first day of UH's bridge session. The summer-school classes run up to the opening of the Warriors' training camp next month. Because players are on full scholarship while enrolled in summer school, incoming freshman players prefer to take bridge-session classes."


About how he likes being in Hawaii, RB Jared Leaf said:
"I got in last Thursday. It's going good. I like it here." (HSA)


JSA Mpte"
There are a few excused absences. Offensive lineman Blake Muir is training in his native Australia. Muir goes on scholarship next month. He paid for his tuition and living expenses during the spring semester. To pay back that loan, he is working for an airline this summer.

Slotback Scott Harding and linebacker Penitito Faalologo, a graduate of a high school in American Samoa, will report at the end of this month. Harding played six years of professional Australian Rules Football. Because Australian football is considered a different sport from American football, Harding's amateur status is not impacted."


CB Mike Edwards said that he will report:
"no later than July 17th." (HSA)


About how he's been preparing for the season, both working out hard and watching videos of UH's defensive schemes, Edwards said:
"I've been training to get better." (HSA)


About the high expectations for him, Edwards said:
"I'd rather have it on the football field than the pressure of being on the streets not knowing what my next move is going to be. Football always came easy to me if I worked hard at it. I'm going to work hard." (HSA)


About how in May each of the new players got a manual from Tommy Heffernan with suggested daily workouts, DE Craig Cofer said:
"It's a great program. It really helped me a lot." (HSA)


About going to UH, Cofer said:
"This is my third school." (HSA)


About how he packed light for Hawaii, Cofer said:
"Hawaii is a big difference from Oregon. I didn't have to take any heavy coats. I took a lot of tank tops and shorts." (HSA)


About how the new Warriors went to Waikiki for the 4th of July, Amadi said:
"We saw the fireworks. It was a lot of fun. Now we're getting ready for work." (HSA)

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110706_First_year_Warriors_go_through_orientation.html

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Three UH recruits won't play this season

HSA Note: "Safety Marcus Umu, a 2010 Saint Louis School graduate who joined the Warriors in January, is no longer on the UH roster, head coach Greg McMackin confirmed. Umu will focus on academics. Kakuhu High's Tigi Hill and Ben Mamea signed letters of intent with the Warriors in February. But neither met the full NCAA requirements to play for the Warriors this season."


About how he's going to grayshirt and sit out this season to recover from a procedure to repair a chipped bone in his right shoulder, slotback Ellis Henderson said:
"I'm going to be a part-time student (at UH) in the fall semester. I'm going to pay my way for that. The scholarship starts in January." (HSA)

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110702_3_recruits_wont_play_this_season.html

UH Athletics might turn a profit this year

About how they may have turned a profit this year, JD told the Aloha Stadium Authority this week that:
"my staff is reporting to me that we have a very good chance to be in the black, although we won't have the exact numbers for two or three weeks and the (independent) audit for another four months." (HSA)

"in my experience, the audit and the internal numbers are usually pretty close." (HSA)


HSA Note: "The 2007 Sugar Bowl year and the resulting $4.4 million Bowl Championship Series payment gave the athletic department its only year out of the red since 2001."


JD credited the good financial performance on better-than-projected revenue from:
"baseball, men's basketball and football and some other sources." (HSA)


About how they have cut costs in their Athletic Department, JD said:
"We've really tried hard to hold the line on costs." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Baseball attendance reached a 15-year high and crowds were up an average of 38 percent for men's basketball. Revenue improved an average of $11,000 per game in men's basketball, UH said. Football attendance was up an average of more than 1,300 per game in a 10-4 season. In addition, UH received its first installment on the student athletic fees, expected to be approximately $740,000, and earned its second-highest Western Athletic Conference revenue check, $1.7 million, of which $137,256 was from money Boise State left on the table with its departure from the conference."


About UHAD's $10 mil deficit, an independent auditor told the UH Board of Regents that:
"the athletic department is, in effect, borrowing cash from other university units." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Donovan said if UH ends in the black, proceeds will go toward beginning to pay down the accumulated net deficit, which the department has been paying interest on."

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110702_UH_might_turn_profit_this_year.html

Friday, July 1, 2011

Aloha Stadium will soon announce a multimillion-dollar naming rights deal

Asked when they will announced a naming rights deal for Aloha Stadium, Garrick Dorn of CBS Collegiate sports Properties said that:
"the timetable is for a launch late (this month)." (HSA)


HSA Note: "He said, "a major rollout" is planned for the announcement, which could coincide with the unveiling of the new artificial turf field that is being installed.

Dorn declined to reveal details of the pending naming agreement, which would be the first in the stadium's 37-year history, except to say that such deals typically run from five to 10 years," "


About the financial terms, Dorn said:
"It is safe to say it involves a significant investment." (HSA)


About how they have sought a naming deal since last year and required that a local company get the rights, Dorn said that:
"the timing was right this year and we're very excited about it." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Dorn told the stadium authority at Thursday's meeting that 30 clients will be part of the Aloha Stadium signage this year. The stadium has received an average of $142,500 in rights fees from Aloha Sports Properties through the first two years of a 10-year agreement."


About how Gov. Abercrombie asked all of the Stadium Authority members to resign, Vice chair Kenneth Marcus said that he wrote to the Gov. and:
"asked for an explanation as to what it was he sought to achieve that he felt this board stood in the path of achieving." (HSA)


http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110701_Naming-rights_deal_for_Aloha_Stadium_field.html