Irvine is the “class” of this Conference. They have figured out something that Hawaii and Ganot/Matlin have to yet grasp. They (UH and Irvine) are close though. I think the main (so so important) hump that UH has to cross is to make Stan Sheriff Center a more dominant home court advantage. Ganot can win on the road (better than Wallace I think) but they need to be more consistent at home. Matlin needs to figure out how to create an atmosphere here. I think it starts with a locally produced player as a contributor on the roster. I think that is the “hump”. Easy to cross if you have “trust”. Ganot will do it eventually. I really believe it. You can see it.

I really hate losing players before they use up their eligibility.

Dawson Carper had a great night; his second.

Hawaii will be reasonably solid at center next season.

I don’t think the play-by-play guy understands how men’s college basketball works, in regard to Hawaii. I thought I heard him say, “Hawaii is trying to hang on to their post-season chances.” This game does not mean anything. It’s all about the tournament. The women’s side is a different story. They’re playing for a single bye, or a double bye.

Best Album: Nebraska. The album was so uncommercial, when Springsteen turned in “Born in the U.S.A.”, the label asked Bruce to write a single. That single was “Dancing in the Dark”. It’s an outlier. So many synths. Listen closely to the synths. There is a sarcasm to it. It’s the closest Springsteen came to new wave music.

Best couplets: “Badlands, you gotta live it every day/Let the broken hearts stand/As the price you’ve got to play/We’ll keep pushin’ ’til it’s understood/And these badlands start treating us good”

Ironically, it’s the title track from “Nebraska” that actually references Terrence Malick’s “Badlands”.

And here is how I tie Bruce Springsteen to something Hawaii-related.

When The Citadel baseball team played Hawaii, I don’t think the PA guy had any clue that “Born in the USA” was an anti-Vietnam song. Played it three nights in a row. “Got in a little hometown jam/So they put a rifle in my hand/Sent me off to a foreign land/To go off and kill the yellow man”
The music video was directed by John Sayles. He made a film about unions(“Matewan”), illegals(“Lone Star”) and the Spanish-American War in the Philipines(“Amigo”). When the Honolulu Weekly film critic was helping out with “Moonglow”, he consulted with Sayles on the script.

I like Joe Callero. I would like to know what his ten favorite Bruce Springsteen songs are.

Philistines don’t like “The Boss”.