Warrior Beat

Sunday ramblings: • I just noticed a quirk in the men’s volleyball schedule. The Warriors play their final regular-season home matches, against UC San Diego, Friday and Saturday. But wait. The following week, April 10, is the alumni match. So when does UH celebrate Senior Night? • With last night’s sweep of Pepperdine, Charlie Wade has to be the leading contender for Coach of the Year. Sure, the Warriors were expected to be better with the addition of Jonas Umlauft, […]

With Don Weir leaving as Na Koa’s executive director and great samaritan Don Murphy taking a break from hosting the Pigskin Pigout, the football booster club will be challenged to find revenue-raising avenues. Or not. Maybe it’s time to re-think some of the expenses. First, there are things that should not be changed. Tuition for summer school and fifth-year students are a must. The club’s most basic purpose is to help the student-athletes. In that regard, how about limiting the […]

As The Advertiser’s Dayton Morinaga reported today, Nebraska’s Walter Roese and BYUH’s Brandyn Akana are the targeted front-runners for positions on basketball coach Gib Arnold’s staff. Both, like Arnold, are skilled recruiters with global contacts. Going the international route to supplement recruiting is a practical approach for UH. It worked in the early 2000s in helping the Rainbow Warriors earn back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths. But the economic situation is different now. Will UH give Arnold the resources to recruit internationally? […]

For the first time in more than a decade, Don Murphy will not be putting on the Pigskin Pigout, a dinner/auction. Murphy is taking a much-deserved break this year. The event, held at Murphy’s downtown restaurant, earns about $100,000 annually, with proceeds going to Na Koa, the Warriors’ booster club. The money helps pay for summer school and training-table meals. In all, the Pigskin Pigout has earned more than $1.5 million. Murphy said he still will be involved in other […]

Head coach Greg McMackin promised that spring training, which begins March 31 will have “contact right off the bat.” McMackin said he wants to emphasize more physical practices to prepare the Warriors for aggressive run-oriented opponents. McMackin also said: • The Warriors will have four scrimmages during spring training. • The Warrior Bowl will be held April 30 on the UH campus. • Every practice will end with an overtime-like drill emphasize situations like fourth-and-2, etc. • Clayton Laurel, who […]

Basketball player Bill Amis is today’s guest on the Warrior Beat Show, which will begin at about noon today. Questions may be posed on this blog or the show’s Cover It Live section. * * * * * Jackson Wheeler has had a lifetime of heartbreak. Because of family circumstances, as a prep student, Wheeler lived in his high school gym for several months. His first wife was killed in a traffic accident. She was pregnant at the time. His […]

Defensive lineman Rocky Savaiigaea is conceding that he will not be available to participate in UH’s spring practice, which begins March 31. Savaiigaea is appealing the NCAA for a medical exemption that would enable him to play as a sixth-year senior in 2010. Although he has a strong case — he had early season-ending injuries in 2005 and 2008 — his appeal has not been advanced enough to receive a ruling for spring practice. Savaiigaea said he will participate in […]

Thanks again to Gib Arnold for serving as today’s guest on the Warrior Beat Show. A replay wlll be available at hawaiiwarriorbeat.com. * * * * * Avis has selected Al as the winner of four tickets to Monday’s baseball game. Unless I hear otherwise, I’ll leave the tickets in his name at Will Call. Thanks for playing.