Univ Hawaii notes....

[aldabra]

Aloha....been in Honolulu on vacation since July 28th....after much
beaching and devouring pounds of Mahi Mahi decided to look a little closer at Hawaii Warriors in daily paper..here are few mental notes I made....There has been dispute with stadium re-modelers
and as far as I can see...team has yet to practice at Aloha Stadium and its new turf.....tried to attend a couple practices out there and no one seemed to know anything...they are practicing on campus. No media...

June Jones was pissed that his contract was made public, it was printed in its entirety in local paper...he is highest paid state employee and the non-football public is miffed....he is getting new contract of 5 yrs 800K per plus perks...

The football people here are fanatical....while punching channels
I ran across a replay of last years San Diego State game....
The Hawaii people consider Las Vegas one of there islands....all the papers have news stories on Vegas, travel deals, it is there number one travel destination....as a matter of fact they are having high school reunions there!!

From what I read in the paper. there is a very large contingent
scarfing up tickets for the UNLV game coming Sept I believe you will see 20-30 thousand in attendance...

The team.....have not seen practice...paper reports constant concern about offensive line....Tomy Chang is a stud at QB with the receivers to score a ton, he is Heisman candidate....running game is not a big part of this offense...they have a couple avg backs...defense looks to be pretty solid

I think the first game against App State will be a blowout as this Hawaii team will put on an air show for the rabid fans....Jones will not be afraid to run it up...there are only 4 or 5 home games, the fans will expect it..

I do not have a schedule handy, but think they travel to UCLA
second week? That is when offensive line problems will show up
big time...that defense will cause Chang a lot of problems with Hawaii average at best running game....

Well hope this helps...I am heading out to luau lunch,Dole plantation tour and later swim with turtles .....been a wonderful time here.....except gas is 2.00 and a gallon of milk will set you back 5-6 dollars...

 

[Scott4USC]

Correction, your not playing UCLA, your playing USC on Sept. 13th. IF you think the UCLA defense might cause you problems, watch out for the USC defense. You said Hawaii is having concerns with there OL, i hope you get that fixed before Sept. 13th, otherwise Timmy Chang will be knocked out of the game by the 2nd quarter.

Your team does scare me in the sense you have a good passing attack (i don't say great because of level of Hawaii competition) and USC strength on defense is the DL. But i am curious to what might happen when the USC DL can just tea off on Timmy Chang. Could get ugly, or Hawaii could do quick passes. "If" USC does not come ready to play, i do think Hawaii has chance to upset USC, but unfortunately i don't think you have a great defense to pull off an upset on an off day for USC. Meaning USC can turn it on at any time during the game.

FIGHT ON!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Scott4USC]

Sorry, clicked post twice.

 

[gridman]

First, let me set Aldabra straight about Hawaii. Since I'm a "fierce" backer, I believe I know a lot more info than a tourist.

Yes, Jones was pissed about divulging the source of his salary. Since UH is a state university, they can only afford to pay him about $200K with the difference being made up from contributions from various backers (individual and corporations, etc.). In this respect Jones had in all probability given his word not to divulge the various contributors. Unfortunately Hawaii state laws considers the salary of its state workers to be public record. Jones did not argue about the state's law but he felt that that contributions did not apply.

UH practices has been open to the public. I, myself, have frequented their practices. I do not think Timmy Chang is a "stud" and have always doubted his intestinal fortitude. However, this year, he looks a lot better and I may just have to eat my words. He has a good corps of receivers and has very underrated running backs simply because Hawaii passes so much. On offense, their weakest link will be the offensive line as they only return two starters. But, they do have several experienced players who saw a lot of action last year, although it looks life the "key" Left Tackle slot will be manned by a redshirt Freshman. Have to take a wait and see position on the O-Line but one thing for sure is that Coach Jones has an excellent line coach in Mike Cavanaugh. He is something special and is some kind of miracle worker.

Hawaii's defense is shaping up to be one of their best in years. A lot of people are making comparison to the defense of the Tomey years. In short, Hawaii is loaded in practically every defensive position. Remember the name Isaac Sopoaga (DT) - if he doesn't get hurt, he will have a terrific year and probably be a 1st round pick. He is something special! Another special player is Travis LaBoy who is one heck of a DE.

Talk is all about Hawaii looking forward to USC. Well, I disagree because if they take Appalachian State lightly, they will get their asses handed to them. Appalachian State plays good ball.

Scott4USC - Good luck with Auburn as I believe they will give your beloved Trojans one heck of a battle. Then you get BYU, who I suspect will cause some problems. Maybe, just maybe, those two teams will "soften" up USC for Hawaii. Right now, I'd say that USC will have an awesome defense - I understand they have some super speedy guys and they have the size. ??? would have to be their offense as they will probably go with lightly tested Leinhart. If he does ok, USC should be fine. My friend, Norm Chow has his work cut out for him.

We'll see come Sept. 13th. Good luck to the both of us and lets just hope it is a good game. I don't want to see Hawaii blown away.

Hawaii people love to travel to Las Vegas and gamble. You just can't believe the number of people that visit LV every year. Now add the Hawaii-UNLV game and you got the makings of a huge huge crowd. A conservative estimate is that there will be about 25,000+ Hawaii fans attending the game at Sam Boyd Stadium, which by the way seats 37,000.

Didn't mean to be too wordy but wanted to get the facts straight and give the forum a firsthand insight to the Hawaii Warriors.

GM

 

[Scott4USC]

Nice post and don't forget to post prior to the USC vs Hawaii game. I am thinking the under in that game will be a winning ticket.

 

[gridman]

Will do. Will be interesting to see the line on that game. Inclined to agree with you and would love to see a total in the 50's.

GM

 

[aldabra]

Thanx Gridman

Thanx Gridman

Was posting on fly...thanks for correction....did go to aloha stadium twice and reported practice info I was given by security..guess they knew less than a tourist...keep us updated...:shrug: USC it is....knew it was one of those pesky
pac ten teams......GO SOONERS....

 

[gridman]

Aldabra-No problem at all. Did you enjoy your stay in Paradise? So you're a Sooner diehard. Well, I, too, like your team and have always been a fan of Stoops. What's your feeling on next week's game? Is the 33 too high for the Sooners' first game of the year? I understand N. Texas supposedly has a tough "D". Also, who will be your QB? White? Keep me posted.

Aloha!
GM

 

[gridman]

Breaking news. Hawaii's QB, Timmy Chang, has been given a one game suspension (vs. Appalachian St). This is the result of last years Bowl Game. Hawaii did not meet the WAC's six-credit rule which required its football players to earn at least six credits during the fall semester to be eligible to play in a postseason bowl game. Hawaii did not certify any of its players, claiming there was not enough time between the end of the 2002 fall semester which ended on 12/20 and the 12/25 game. As a result, Hawaii was fined $5,000 by the WAC and issued a public reprimand.

Eventually, the final grades of all the players were submitted on 12/28 and Chang was found to have not attained the minimum of six credits by the day of the game. UH reported the violation to the NCAA which determined Chang was ineligible for the Hawaii Bowl. Coach Jones said he should have been found eligible as Chang did receive extensions from his professors for unfinished work. Chang did complete his outstanding projects although not before 12/25 and earned passing grades on all of his fall semester classes.

No biggie here as this game does not have a line. Also, Hawaii does have a capable backup QB and should be OK.

GM