• Crazy, but festive weekend of sports Crazy, but festive weekend of sports By Duane Shimogawa Jr. – The Garden Island So many sports, so little time! This past weekend was a great example of a sports fanatic’s greatest weekend
• Crazy, but festive weekend of sports
Crazy, but festive weekend of sports
By Duane Shimogawa Jr. – The Garden Island
So many sports, so little time! This past weekend was a great example of a sports fanatic’s greatest weekend ever.
On the national and local levels, the competitions were fierce and strange.
First off, on Friday, the KIF’s biggest football game of the season couldn’t be decided in the final moments, so it ended in a 7-7 tie.
I know it’s a longstanding rule, but I would’ve liked to see the Red Raiders and Menehune duke it out until someone came away with the victory.
I like the college football system, in which both teams get four downs to score from the 25 yard line. It keeps the excitement level to a feverish pitch and fans on both sides of the stands don’t leave with the exact same feeling.
Speaking of feeling, how many of you were watching the Notre Dame/USC game on Saturday? If you weren’t, you missed one of the best college football games ever played.
If you did, then you were very lucky, except if you are a Notre Dame fan. I thought the game was over when USC quarterback Matt Leinart jumped about a yard short of the end-zone, with the clock running out, but at a closer glance, the ball was popped out of his arms and out of bounds, by a Notre Dame defender.
As a result, seven seconds were added to the clock and the rest is history, with Fightin’ Irish fans going home with Irish Eyes “Frowning.”
The first-ever Macy’s E-Series event on Kaua’i surfed its way to Pine Trees on Saturday and Kaua’i was well-represented. Check out the complete results, story, and photos of the event on the Surf’s Up! page (B3).
KIF cross-country also found a new winner, well, it still remains in the family, as Nathan Martin, upstaged his brother Scott, in the boys race. Scott, who normally dominates the scene, might’ve let his brother get the taste of the finish line tape, but I don’t think it’ll be that way this Saturday at KCC (brotherly love only goes so far). And just when you thought the Warrior girls would cruise away with the KIF bowling title, the Red Raiders woke up and kept Kapa’a from the title, but the half point (for the championship) shouldn’t be a problem for the girls in green to attain on Saturday.
Then on Saturday evening, 35 years of anguish were erased, as the Kapa’a girls volleyball squad claimed the KIF title for the first time in three decades.
But as always, head coach Kaipo Kealalio III, his coaching staff, and his team celebrated with great humility. The Warrior boys have their title shot tonight against the Red Raiders. Congratulations to Kealalio III, his assistants, the team, and the entire school. I hope it doesn’t take another 35 years for another title!
And lastly, how many of you were glued to your television sets on Sunday, trying to catch the Michelle Wie “buzz?” I was happy with the way she played, until I heard that she was disqualified. A Sports Illustrated reporter pointed out the so called “mishap,” which was a low blow to Wie and her many fans. I know she’s under the microscope, but how pathetic was it on the reporter’s behalf to grab the spotlight and turn it on to himself?
As a journalist, your job is to let others be the story, not yourself!
