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The HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN reports that Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier is saying aloha to his job:
Frazier is expected to be removed from his position within the next 24 hours. One source says that if the AD doesn’t resign by then, he will be fired.
Frazier’s dismissal comes on the heels of June Jones leaving to take the head coaching job at SMU. But Jones’ jolt was seen as the last straw in a list of Warrior worries.
The HONOLULU ADVERTISER leis downs the news that June Jones has bid aloha to Hawaii:
A close friend of Jones said that the Warriors coach resigned from his position on Saturday, apparently frustrated by “a lack of loyalty and commitment” from the school’s athletic department. June had sent out a letter to friends listing his reasons for leaving but also thanking them for his support.
KGMB-TV has also learned some details of a document sent by Jones to Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier.
The HONOLULU ADVERTISER reports that Fox sure knows how to keep those damn Hawaiians down, especially when it involves tiki bar-based investigation.
Fox is broadcasting the Hawaii-Georgia Sugar Bowl game on New Year’s day on and Fox Sports said that it “has already ‘put a stop to one’ … viewing party in Hawaii where admission was to be charged and will continue to ‘discourage’ the practice as the game approaches.”
Fox Sports VP/Communications Dan Bell said, “We want as many people as possible to watch the Sugar Bowl, it is just the instances where viewing parties are advertised using the logo and marks of the schools and admission is being charged that we want to discourage.”
And after hearing this appalling news, someone needs to sick Dog The Bounty Hunter on David Hill. Our message to Hawaii fans in the Islands: Go f’ing crazy. Enjoy it, since our Bulldogs will be ruining your party later that day anyway (hehe).
WARRIORS WINS HELPING HIKE HAWAII’S HDTV DEMAND: High Definition TV sales in Hawaii have hit the roof, thanks to the success of the Warriors’ football fortunes:
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The HONOLULU ADVERTISER tunes in news that the demand for HDTV by Hawaiians has tripled since Colt Brennan & crew started chalking up wins this season. Fans have been flooding Best Buys to bring home a big screen TV to watch their Warriors.In fact, demand has been so high, that the state’s cable provider Oceanic Time Warner has run out of HD boxes. But a Time Warner VP says not to worry, as 5,000 to 6,000 new boxes are scheduled to hit the shore this week.
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Hankerings for HDTV in Hawaii is expected to remain high up until the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day, when UH is set to face Georgia.But after January 1, what’s there to watch in Waikiki? Well, there’s always season DVDs of “Hawaii Five-0″, or Elvis Presley’s “Aloha From Hawaii” TV special.
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And who could forget that exciting two-part episode of “The Brady Bunch” when the family heads for Hawaii, and Bobby uncovers an evil Tiki doll?Now that’s good TV - made even better by HD!
DOES HAWAII COACH PINE(APPLE) FOR UCLA OPENING?: The LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS reports that Hawaii coach June Jones has expressed some interest in the UCLA job:
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According to the article, Jones “has put out feelers to gauge UCLA’s interest, and UCLA has reciprocated… although it is uncertain at what level.”Is Jones - who lead the Warriors to an undefeated season & a BCS appearance in the Sugar Bowl - really willing to give up living in paradise in order to share space in Pasadena with Pete Carroll?
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In the meantime, Bruins AD Dan Guerrero is thumbing through his list of other candidates, including former USC & current Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow, former NFL coach Steve Mariucci, and Boise State coach Chris Petersen - even though Petersen has already stated, “I’m not interested in that place.”
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Also still on the radar is ex-UCLA QB Rick Neuheisel, who’s obviously not doing much as Baltimore Ravens OC. While many ex-Bruin players favor Ricky, he does have some NCAA violation baggage to bring along from previous stints at Colorado & Washington.We hope the search isn’t distracting from the Bruins’ important preparations for the mighty Las Vegas Bowl.
NUMB AS A STATUE - HEISMAN FINALISTS NOW ANNOUNCED The official Heisman finalist list is out. Your choices are:
• Florida QB Tim Tebow:
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• Arkansas RB Darren McFadden:
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• Missouri QB Chase Daniel:
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• Hawaii QB Colt Brennan:
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If this quartet doesn’t quite do it for you, have fun haggling over HEISMAN PUNDIT’s picks for the 2008 race.
POLL NO LONGER MUM(ME) ABOUT WHO VOTED HAWAII #1: Tony Barnhart of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION found some fun tidbits in the final coaches poll of the 2007 college football regular season:
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Most interesting was a first-place vote given to Hawaii, who needed a last-minute touchdown and last-second interception to defeat a 4-8 Washington at home late Saturday night.The undefeated and Sugar Bowl-bound Warriors were at the top of the list of Hal Mumme, head coach at fellow WAC member New Mexico State.
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Meanwhile, some coaches were staying true to their school. LSU’s Les Miles and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops each voted their own team #1, while Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer and Georgia’s Mark Richt each had their squads at #2 - with Richt putting his Bulldogs ahead of LSU.Like Mumme, Big Ten coaches also kept solidarity with their conference, as all seven that vote in the poll had Ohio State ranked #1 - even Michigan’s Lloyd Carr.
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Need some further help in deciphering the poll madness? The site POLLSPEAK attempts to rationalize some of the thinking by coaches, columnists and computers about who ranks where. They even nominate which casted ballots make the most sense & most nonsense.Such as voting Hawaii #1.
HAWAII HOPING BIG BCS BUCKS HELPS FOOTBALL FUNDS: With a win over Washington on Saturday, Hawaii hopes to land in a BCS bowl spot and get all the BCS money that comes with it - money the financially-strapped program could use:
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The HONOLULU ADVERTISER reports that of the top 12 teams in the BCS rankings, Hawaii ranks last in football revenues. While the Warriors netted $7.5 million last year, schools like Ohio State and Georgia brought in over $60 million to help fund their gridiron programs.It doesn’t help that on game days at Aloha Stadium, the only money the Warriors make is on ticket sales. As State Rep. Mark Katai points out, “None of the beer, none of the hot dogs, none of the parking revenue. Many other schools have their own facilities and generate a lot of revenue from that.”
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Lack of funds also means lack of upkeep to practice fields. During Friday’s game against Boise State, Hawaii officials were embarrassed when ESPN commentators Sean McDonough and Chris Spielman called the school’s facilities “shabby” and “shameful”.But a BCS trip can help Hawaii soothe some of their money woes. Last year, fellow WAC member Boise State earned $4.5 million for their Fiesta Bowl appearance.
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With victory against the Huskies, the green on Oahu will be more than the lush tropical vegetation.
‘COLLEGE GAMEDAY’ WON’T GIVE UP BIG TEN TO HANG TEN: Sure, ESPN College GameDay will go to Williamstown, MA, but they won’t waste their time with Waikiki:
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The HONOLULU ADVERTISER reports that the college football show won’t be setting up outside Aloha Stadium any time soon. They will, however, head for the New England town this weekend to watch Williams College and Amherst College meet for the 122nd time.GameDay host Chris Fowler notes that bringing the program to Oahu would require lots of logistical planning, while dealing with high costs and limited facilities.
But that doesn’t bother Kirk Herbstreit: “I keep telling Chris and Lee (Corso) we need to get out there for GameDays.”
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Fowler added he would love to hang in Hawaii and have a great time, “if you promise me that fans will show up at 5 in the morning.”In getting his words in, Corso kowtows to the company line, proclaiming, “It is cost prohibitive; I’d never go out there if I was running ESPN.”
Yeah, the network needs to devote that money to more important projects, like “Who’s Now”.
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It’s too bad the crew isn’t coming. Corso could’ve worked on his tan.
• Six years later, POP JOCKS remembers two men of the Los Angeles Kings organization who lost their lives on 9/11.
• In case you missed it, YARDBARKER has Chad Johnson’s first TD of the year, and, more importantly, his first TD celebration of the year:
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• Showing what a dangerous game football can be, here’s video of the hit made by the Buffalo Bills’ Kevin Everett that may lead to his permanent paralysis.• FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS is thrown for a loss, as they compile the worst-ever seasons by NFL running backs:
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• COURT TV informs us what one prospective juror thinks of Isiah Thomas’s chances in his sexual harassment suit: “Can I be honest? The team isn’t doing so well. He recruits well, but he hasn’t done well at all as a general manager.“• THE LONDON SUN reports many Brit fans can’t tell what’s coming out of their telly, as they try to follow Beckham’s exploits across the pond.
• Cue the Erin Andrews montage: Ryan Moses of the SANTA CRUZ (CA) SENTINEL tells us what five things he’d like to see from the Worldwide Leader:
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• LARRY BROWN SPORTS slides off the dance floor, as the WAC has banned the Hawaii football team from doing their pre-game haka.• ALLIE IS WIRED is also excited to see Tom Brady all wet, as he’s named one of VMAN magazine’s “15 Most Wanted”.
• The LADIES… love the college boys who play rough, as evidenced by this Tennessee lineman’s rocky-topping a QB on the loose:
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• BLOGCRITICS wonder why hiring sportswriter Terry Pluto is a racist move by the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER.• The MONROE (MI) NEWS pitches the story of a collegiate softball player changing careers from throwing curveballs to throwing crooks in jail.
