Warrior Beat

News item: Quarterback Sean Schroeder (Duke) and center Kapua Sai (Utah) completed their transfers to UH and will be eligible to play this season. Impact: Both will compete for starting jobs. Schroeder, who will be a walk-on, is in the mix with David Graves and Jeremy Higgins. Sai, who can play all five line positions, is the Warrior with the most experience in Norm Chow’s version of the pro-set offense. (Chow was Utah’s offensive coordinator in 2011.) Before entering talks […]

Quarterback Sean Schroeder (Duke) and center Kapua Sai have been accepted into UH’s graduate school and will be eligible to play for the Warriors this season. Each has two years of eligibility remaining. Schroeder, who arrived in town this afternoon, said he grew up as a USC fan, and marveled at  the offense when Norm Chow was the Trojans’ offensive coordinator. Sai said he wanted to return home for “family reasons.” His brother, Kiha Sai, will be a UH freshman […]

Rick Blangiardi is one of a few who can own a room. He’s smart, creative, LOUD, and brutally honest. He took a channel whose only sportscasts were day-old replays of sumo matches and turned it into the Home Team. He took a drab concept — a coach’s show — spliced and spiced it with MTV-style editing and turned it into a watchable (and somewhat profitable) program. And he boosted the Warriors’ booster club. For years, Na Koa was a boutique […]

When he played football and baseball at UH, Jason Ross was known for his cool and calm demeanor. But as the father of an Olympic hopeful, he is unabashedly excited about the path leading to his daughter Kyla’s participation in the London Games. “It’s very exciting times right now,” said Ross, whose daughter was named to the five-member U.S. gymnastics team. “Nerve-racking, but exciting.” He added: “When it’s your child, and you see all of the hard work she puts […]

In another example of these difficult economic times, the Barefoot League will be closing its store this month. The Barefoot League has had a long association with Warrior alumni in signing shows and charitable enterprises. The company sponsored an annual golf tournament and football clinics. Former Warriors such as Colt Brennan, Davone Bess, Ryan Grice-Mullins, Leonard Peters and Maa Tanuvasa have been volunteers at several events. Owner Jacky Buder said he is breaking the lease early and the company will […]

Defensive back Michael Martin has been added to the Warriors’ roster as a walk-on. Martin is a 2009 Saint Louis School graduate who was at Mt. San Antonio College for two years. He spent the past semester at Kapiolani Community College finishing work on an associate’s degree. Martin is 6 feet and 185 pounds. * * * * * UH strength coach Tommy Heffernan has pushed players to the physical brink with his strenuous conditioning program. Today, once again, it […]

Assistant coach Vernon Podlewski is leaving the volleyball Warriors to take a job with a solar-panel company. It’s always sad when one of the good guys departs. But it makes sense for Podlewski, who has two young children. His son is 13 weeks old. Podlewski was the star libero for the 2002 Warriors, who defeated Pepperdine in the NCAA title match. He also was with the U.S. national team for a bit. Before joining the Warriors as a coach, he […]

Another fund-raiser, another big haul. Last night’s Na Koa dinner raised about $70,000, of which $30,000 came from the silent auction. Proceeds will benefit the UH football program. Next up: Murphy’s Pigskin Pigout on Aug. 23. * * * * * Na Koa should be targeting either the guy who bought Lanai (Larry Ellison) or the guy who received $600 million from the sale (David Murdock). Or both. * * * * * Former UH slotbacks Greg Salas (St. Louis […]