Merry (?) Christmas

1st?

wow top few posts. merry xmas!

Top 10?

A nui Mele Kalikimaka to my Tsaiko ohana.

To those who gotta work today- mahalo for your sacrifice so that others may spend the time to enjoy this special day with family and friends.

Das some major good karma points, you know!

Now the season’s over I look forward to all the offseaon Tsai-ko adventures that lay ahead and the many other UH sports to support!

Get rid of Ron Lee, no more high school coaches on this staff. Mack is getting paid 1 million per year, Hawaii fans deserve better. Miano can leave too, dude should stick to speed and quickness clinics.

Hail, Hail to OUR WARRIORS!

Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah everyone.

What can I say that has already been said?

I really believed that the Warriors would do better against Notre Dame then that shown at the Swamp. UH scored more points, but was totally over matched for this game.

One thing is for sure, Greg Alexander may be a good player, but he is not the leader I expected. Hope he takes this as a motivation to work on this aspect of his “game”. However, it takes years to be a good leader, guts to “call out” his teammates, and let his performance speak volumes for his attitude or passion for Warrior football.

While some have argued that it is a “team” effort on sacks, one occurrence jumps out and it’s the inability of the OTs to fend off DEs. To many times the DEs are piling on the QB before 3 seconds. Perhaps, Alexander cannot get into the mind set that he has to deliver passes within 3 seconds because his O-line cannot keep defenders out.

Why did it seem that the O-line HELD, in nearly a straight line, the D-line allowing Funaki to make quick passes to the flats? Why can’t they do this most of the time for the quick outs?

Or is it that the “pocket” is not being set correctly to allow the QB to step forward to throw longer passes.

From my perspective, Coach Mack will have to take a very long look in the off-season to objectively review what happened, why, and what’s needed to improve the team for next season. This is for all coaches and players.

We will continue to support Coach Mack and the team!!!!!!!!

Brew:

How come you know the B-days for SteveM and Chawan? You’re GOOD!!

Therefore, I add my Happy Bifday wishes to both!!

Mr.A-House,
Funaki got better protection because the game was over.
No one should read anything into “trash time” scores.
I agree that GA should be more vocal and act like a leader, but how much leading can you do when you are getting the cr*p beaten out of you every single play?

Finally the O-Line, we know the OT’s would be over matched, thats a given, however time after time the Guards and Estes completly missed the inside blitzes and the D-Line stunts

Jim Donavan:

Please continue to schedule the best opponents possible to give the Coaches and, especially, the players the opportunity to play against the best to become the BEST.

May their experiences translate into more hard work, academically and athletically, to continue their upward journey in life to become the best!

Happy Birthday to SteveM, chawan_cut and Jesus! 😉

A-House,

I agree. The 0-line and the team effort thing. I dont really buy it the way they are making it sound. . If EVERYONE on the offense is causing these sacks then whats the sense. At some point you have to narrow down the problems to a person or few persons, in this case the OFFENSIVE LINE. Particularly the Tackles. Sure everyone wants to be positive, so do I, but i dont sugar coat things and i am the type of person to say it like it is. But it does not take a football genius to realize where you have to point the finger.

Dont get me wrong. we have a whole lot of problems.

Should we give a pass to ALL coaches this year? Yes thats reasonable. Should we close our minds off to other talented coach should they be available? especially at O-line? NO absolutely NO. If Coach Cav were to show interest in this job next year and Hawaii declined…i would assume Hawaii has lost its bearings.

I guess what I am saying is…Mr. Donovan, KEEP POSITIVE BUT KEEP ALL OPTIONS OPEN.

Winning Season and a Bowl Game. GO Warriors.

yeah I saw it. I also saw them D’s blitzing 6 guys when we have 5 blocking. What are they supposed to do? The run and shoot doesn’t work.

Ryan,

6 guys blocking 5 is one thing, but u also have farmer in there in the backfield. you also have to look at footage of Washington bring 3 and getting pressure on the qb. Just because we cant block them doesnt mean the Run and Shoot doesnt work. Have you heard of a team called Texas Tech?

Dowling = Downling

Merry Christmas Morning Tsaiko’s!

I’m all pau being nuha with the team. Time to sweep out da hale and rebuild.

1. Like I toll BHF2 last nite, discipline must be their cornerstone. No more personal foul penalties. Jerk that player out of the position and give the next guy a shot. Those who have played the game know how painful it is to ‘sit.’

2. We already know it’s all about the O-line. But what about the coaching of that crew? Do we have the patience to watch them build a more cohesive unit? I look at them separately from the other coaches because this is the weakest link.

3. It was, after all, the 1st season for the ‘new’ coaching staff. I’m for giving them all a chance to work with what they have another year and double their effort to re-group.

Just those 3 simple things to look at for now. No piling on. No heavy critical comments. Just take the small steps it takes to get ‘better’ as coach Mack likes to say.

(Thanks Stretch…Diana and I appreciate what you did!) jez had to slip that in.

ryan,

we only ran the ball once last night? sorry i was watching the wrong game then. again how do you expect to run the ball if you dont have a proper o-line to make holes for you? it comes down to that. if you watched the games this season teams were bringin in 4 sometimes even 3 and getting through to the qb.

😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈
😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈

Please don’t mind the bordering symbols…. I just wanted to get some holiday colors into the blog…. 😀

~~•~~~~•~~~~•~ ❤ ✞ ❀ 😆 Mele..Kalikimaka!!! 😆 ❀ ✞ ❦ ~•~~~~•~~~~•~~

Re: #19 – Ehhhh… brudda las vegas – No sulk! I did send you greetings brah! Not my fault if you no read your greetings, or more importantly, ALL of the Warrior Beat! Okay – the border symbols apply to brudda las vegas….. 😆 😯 😆

#232 brew808: December 24th, 2008 at 6:57 am

😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈
😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈
😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈

Ryan,

what do you specifically propose as a solution? You seem to know all that is wrong with the run and shoot.

Please share. I’m interested in your perspective.

post # 33 Ditto

btw our coaches have to play with the hand they were dealt
just have to go out and find aces and kings to replace the deuces and jokers

sorry forgot the attempts and carry

T-Tech: Pass Attempts 604, Carr 303
Hawaii Pass Attempts: 446, Carr 393

hey I think Ryan meant we should check T-Techs stats to see that the Run and Shoot works well when you SHOOT the ball a whole lot more =)

Coach McMackin,
Please huddle up the Coaches and get one thing straight with them, that the players are not your friends. You are there to coach, mold, and mentor these young guys to be the best student/athletes they can be and continuosly push them to exceed there own abilities! I love it that you have a big heart and the Aloha spirit but on the field it’s business. Get into your players when they are continuosly f-in up! It is pretty embarassing as a fan and even more as a player when we are known as a team that leads the conference and possibly the nation in penalties, personal fouls, unsportsmanlike conduct, sacks given up, turnover ratios, etc… I’m not bagging on you, but seriously Coach this years team lacked discipline big time! Maybe I can have one of my Drill Instructor buddies come down and instill some much needed discipline in the boys! Regardless, I love this Warrior Team and could care less about what people say about us…but instead of our opponents embarassing us in the last 2 bowl games our team is embarassing themselves on national TV in front of the whole nation!

Brew,
I stand chastised, in the corner.
But in my defense, did not feel like reading anything after the third quarter.

you convinced me, Oline is to blame for all the O’s problems.

Ryan,

Can you still propose a different system that would suit the current players and staff for next year.

I’m interested in your insights.

btw how rude of me,

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE! HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES!!!!!!

NEW YEAR AND NEW SEASON AHEAD.

Eo na toa, eo na toa,e!!!

Anyway Gang,

Mele Christmas or Merry Kalikimaka

Good Morning

The Ugly Statistical Truth
Posted by Ian Ruder November 12, 2007 13:03PM
Categories: Football
The numbers from Portland State’s 2-8 season speak for themselves:

48 sacks allowed: Out of the 242 teams playing at the Division I level (FCS & FBS), only one team has allowed more sacks with 49. Guess who … your Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Talk about keeping great company …

And guess who was the OL coach for Portland State last year?

The same person that is our OL coach this year.He took over an offensive line that returned this year as a seasoned group.Sorry, but …hello…you suppose to do better than this. 59? Coupled with last year’s total of 48 makes how many in two years? Angry? Yes.

So many people make excuses. And I hate hearing excuses. In fact I have a better respect for coaches like Von Appen(sp?) because he was the type that would just say it like it is.And not sanitize the situation because the head coach wanting to be such a nice guy.I can imagine hearing Coach Von Appen laughing at this group, saying to himself…”gees I haven’t seen them execute one good screen play, shuffle pass, sweep, lateral or wide receiver screens all year long…59 sacks…led the conference in penalties..huh?.”

Part of the problem, obviously, the head coach hired what I believe is not the best available personal on his staff. I’m a firm believer if your a CEO of a company you take full responsibility for your hirings. So far what I can see this is not good. Building the foundation for a good team starts of with your coaches and assistants…and then I think the recruits will more so be attracted to your program.

For the Notre Dame fans a hardy congratulations. For the Hawaii fans I stand beside you in times of glory and grief.But I’m deeply sadden of what I saw yesterday. And I guess it’s back to the work shop for all of the coaches. I know publicly Coach Mac would never make retractions, but if he wants to go up and not down he can’t cling on to favoritisms, namely coaches that he hired that he had friendships with, because as he has been quoted as saying, “I wouldn’t trade this group for anything in the world”. Extrapolating from this last statement then, I’m thinking, we’ll never get better.

Yes it was a long game with many area of weakness on our team.All season long we have those after the whistle fouls which cost us or stop a on going drive…We need to address this for a team wfithout sound control lf their temper will in the end self destruct ASs a long time season ticket holder, it is getting harder to watch this sort of display.

This was our first year with this Tsaiko group and we had a very grand time, maybe the best in all our years of waching Warrior Football. Mahalo gang…

when the season started, UH was planning to take snaps from under center and feature the running game more in their offense. 14 games later, every snap was from shot gun formation and they only started calling designed running plays when they were 5 td’s down. why are we so insistent on passing every down? UH coaches always answer “passing is what we do.” fine. passing is what you do, but if you always get thumped by bcs teams like this, maybe you should rethink how you do things.

Aloha Kalikimaka, Tsaiko Nation!
And best wishes to all for the new year! (gObama!!)
Just want to say I appreciate the effort and spirit of the 2008 Warriors — coaches and players — over a tough schedule this season. There are issues to work on — penalties, O-line, etc. — and I’m as disappointed as anyone with the outcome of yesterday’s game, but overall I think they had a good season, and I look forward to improvement next year (a little concerned about attrition on the D side).
GO WARRIORS in 2009!!
A hui hou kakou!

Oh yeah, and happy birthday to SteveM and chawan_cut. And happy belated birthday to las vegas. And of course, let’s not forget the reason for the season — Merry Christmas everyone.

Happy Birthday to SteveM and chawan_cut, belated Happy Birthday to las vegas.

Merry Christmas to everybody! Another beautiful day in Hawaii Nei!

Happy Birthday to SteveM and chawan_cut and belated wishes to Las Vegas

Before I continue posting – Merry Christmas to all Tsaikos near and far – may you be blessed this day and every day to come!

What is it that other good BCS team defensive coaches see that makes them so effective against UH? They see the same game film as Coach Mack and his staff. To be an effective coach, one must make “attention to detail” the most important part of the team – from scouting, to off-season training, to Spring and Fall training, to techniques, to route running, etc. A coach with excellent analytical skills makes it easier to develop players and they, IMHO, should be the ones in the upstairs box. Offensive and defensive coordinators should be “upstairs”, reveiwing a list of probabilities of opponents, and relay the message to the field. Let the “technicians” relay the play into the game and discuss itsy, bitsy things with players. Players who spend time reviewing opponent film may see “tendencies” of their direct opponent which can make or break a play.

To question WHY is important, but to find the correct solutions, the WHY must continue until the “boss” is satisfied. The “boss”, on the other hand, must possess the WHY skills to know when subordinates know what they are doing and WHY.

Two things I asked of my staff – bring pencil and paper every time they come to my office and make sure that you are totally ready to brief me or else be prepared to answer many WHYs. Look at a pebble dropped into water and see the multiple rings that radiate outward, and sometimes inward, and see what it touches. When you cover ALL the possibilites, you have arrived! This holds true only if the person in charge has also arrived and is now in the “teaching mode”.

As a line coach, I would first list all the “great” linemen, gather as much film I can find on each, completely disect what they did from the time they left the huddle until the play is done – position of hands and feet, blocking techinque, etc. Then, teach the skills to players so they learn about the best and how they succeeded. Game day, continue to evaluate and make necessary changes depending on each Individual opponent.

In OCS, we were taught, “Mine is not to reason why, Mine is but to do and die”. I accepted this, but a time went on, early in my career, I began to question this phrase. Why is it not mine to question why if you are asking me to die for you. This, I’m sure will not sit will with many, however, tell me why it’s not mine to reason why?

Some one once wrote: “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand”.

Transferred over from yesterday’s blog – I was the last person to post

Mele Kalikemaka Kakou:

My general take on the situation:

First of all, there is the Rule Of Three. Every new leader who comes into an existing organization – business, academia, sports, education, ministry – has to deal with this.

Year One is essentially dealing with the Former Leader’s stuff – and trying to patch the holes, mend fences, and take care of bidness while making change. Watch how Obama handles Year One.

Year Two is the transition or the bridge year. By now, a lot of things have been changed in terms of policies, but there’s still a lot of stuff left to do and people to replace or shift around. In the case of a sports team, there is also a need to recruit to replace people who are moving on.

The Second Year is the critical year – look at the difference Bob Nash has made so far this season compared to his first.

Year Three is the litmus test year. The Boss has been on the job for two full years, the major gaps have been addressed, and lesser priorities have moved up to the top of the list. If, by the time Hawai`i football wraps up its season in December 2010, we haven’t moved along in significant & substantive ways, then it’s time to move McMackin along instead.

There is a lot to be said about studying organizational management styles so this coming transitional year is when we need to stay on course and make sure that hard decisions are made.

Turning now to yesterday’s game – this neophyte analyst was truly disappointed at the coaching as well as the playing. I was embarrassed for the fans, the sponsors, and especially for the players.

That’s it – off to work in the yard before the weather tunrs bad again. We’re recording the Celtics/Lakers game so we can take Saturn The Dog for his final Christmas hike along the Maunawili Trail this afternoon. Last year, I was still not recovered from my accident & the year before that DrDoc was visiting his family in Tennessee. I know Saturn doesn’t understand how important the tradition is for us, but for our first three Christmases together, taking the holiday hike really made us feel good.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy celebration. With only two of us, it doesn’t make any sense to put up with all the hassles of cooking and then cleaning up. Any suggestions for where to go out for dinner?

Remember to support the Rainbow Warriors baskeball team – look forward to seeing Jason and the Orange Traffic Cone.

PS Happy Birthday Orange Traffic Cone and SteveM and Las Vegas

Mele Kalikimaka to Everyone. Hope everyone stays safe and has a good one.

DPK- well said. I get nitpicky sometimes about things, but when everything is said and done, the Warriors will ALWAYS have my loyal support!

Happy Birthday chawan_cut!

Thank you for all of your videos and for all of the other great stuff that you contribute.

Happy Birthday las vegas!

I wished you a Happy Birthday a blog or two ago, but wanted to make sure you saw it here. Thank you for organizing the Cattle Call and transportation to the UNLV game, that really took the Tsaiko group to another level.

Merry Christmas everyone! We had a really fun and tiring day so far…kids are napping soundly now. It is raining here so we spent the entire morning home together as a family, which is what we had planned. Great day so far…helps me forget what I watched last night.

Merry Christmas to all and if I forget, have a safe and happy new year.

With that out of the way…..in regard to the o-line coach. I think we were sold a lemon on purpose. When smith was about to/just hired, didn’t our lovely and FORMER o-line coach, “Uncle fester” say that Smith was a good coach, yada yada. Ya know why he said that?? So he can recruit the o-line here easier@!!

I don’t trust Uncle Fester….no matter how “Local” he acts….that right…”Acts”

Now that I got that out of the way, the boys had a good year but ended it on a pilau note.

No matter how much credit Notre Dame is given, the FACT is that they are still not a “great” team nor are they the kind of team that should have beaten us so badly.

There is no excuse at all for what happened yesterday.

I firmly believe this is the worst loss of the year. Worse than San Jose State and the Utah State losses. There are 35 seniors on the team, they were hungry for redemption after almost beating the #13 team in the country, they had MORE time to prepare for the bowl than Notre Dame had, and they didn’t have to travel long distances for this game.

We had MORE things to build on in the intangibles, but still nothing. We looked like the ones who were distracted. I’m sorry but there seemed like there was no effective game plan in the works at all. What the hell did they do all this time from the Cincy game to Sunday?

I think we all know how talented this team is and this just makes it more frustrating. For the first time since 2005 did I leave a game before the final whistle blew.

It was embarrassing. It was like watching a family member being mugged while you can’t do anything about it.

2009 spring camp is not too far away and it’s back to square one for Coach Mack and Co.

Still it will take a lot more for my “fandom” to waiver… a lot more.

In terms of pass protection, ST says it best, “there will be no excuses if this happens again next season”.

LizK,
Thanks. I’ll keep practicing to improve. Hopefully the UH football
team will do the same.

A-House,

It was a pleasure conversing with you. We both agree, it is
unfair. The BCS was never formed to be fair but out of greed and to
have a larger separation between the haves(they) and havenots(us).

It was great to meet more Tsaikos at this T-gate and reacquaint with
others. Had an incredible time. THANKS!

MERRY X-MAS TO ALL!!!!!!!!!

This Fantasy Football site thinks that Bess will have a big game against the Jets this week.

Davone Bess is a fine option against the Jets. He’s developed a tremendous rapport with Chad Pennington over the second half of the season, and the Jets have had tons of difficulty filling the CB spot opposite Darrelle Revis. Revis, by the way, usually covers the opponent’s No. 1 receiver and can be counted on to shut down Ted Ginn Jr.

Agree w/garret #83. Alexander was holding the ball too long and not checking off his receivers…., BUT if you get hit as often as he does/did, then you too would not be thinking quickly….imho

Garret:
December 25th, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Happy Birthday las vegas!

I wished you a Happy Birthday a blog or two ago, but wanted to make sure you saw it here. Thank you for organizing the Cattle Call and transportation to the UNLV game, that really took the Tsaiko group to another level.

Bravo! I am looking forward to September 2009 when las vegas and Rich2176 take us up yet another level with the largest gathering(s) in Tsai-ko history!!!

I am still Wishin & Hopin’ for the largest Friday night Cattle Call yet in Vegas — in addition to the largest Tsaiko-gate (which still has not been beaten in numbers). Stuff to look forward to next season, along with the UH Warriors team! 🙂

SteveM:

You’re the computer tech – is there some way to do video conferencing for the T-Gate for a half an hour for those of us who cannot afford to travel to Las Vegas or who have family or work commitments which preclude our attending? I’ll be glad to coordinate the Honolulu end with a location and facilities.

WassupDoc,

Last year’s tailgate was at Makino’s in Vegas and I don’t think there was WiFi available there. Plus, we were all spread out so I don’t think that a single camera at anywhere in the restaurant would give a real feel for what was going on.

100 merry christmas

here’s last night’s news coverage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXmC1TvSLlM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQBfFUOpMb8

the world’s not over. the sun rose again today. so the team lost, but one team has to. unfortunately we did. what’s important is we thank the team for all their hard work this year. wish the seniors the best of luck in whatever they do, and hope that we’ve learned and grown this season to make us a better team next year.

Mele Christmas to all !!

wow, how’d so many people know it was my birthday?

Happy Birthday to SteveM as well.

and mahalos to all for the well wishes.

i used to get double presents as a kid, which was cool, but now only one. its not really my day, its everyone else’s as well. hope everyone has a great one with your friends, family and loved ones.

thanks garret for your answer. do you think we could have done anything differently to put pressure on clausen, seemed like he had all day to throw the football? this game is one of few times where the warriors defense did not seem to attack the qb or were unable to, and that surprised me very much.

roysan16 posted this above, and it is worth repeating because it is extremely telling at this point, year 3.

The Ugly Statistical Truth
Posted by Ian Ruder November 12, 2007 13:03PM
Categories: Football
The numbers from Portland State’s 2-8 season speak for themselves:

48 sacks allowed: Out of the 242 teams playing at the Division I level (FCS & FBS), only one team has allowed more sacks with 49. Guess who … your Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Talk about keeping great company …

And guess who was the OL coach for Portland State last year?

The same person that is our OL coach this year.He took over an offensive line that returned this year as a seasoned group.Sorry, but …hello…you suppose to do better than this. 59? Coupled with last year’s total of 48 makes how many in two years? Angry? Yes.

if roysan16’s stats are accurate, then … no amount of bluffing and hype will make me feel hope for a better oline. i wanna feel attitude. i wanna feel confident… i wanna feel we have a winnah. i don’t feel dat way, sorry.

bighilofan2,

Check out this article about Portland State’s final game of last season. roysan16’s stats were correct.

The numbers from Portland State’s 2-8 season speak for themselves:

48 sacks allowed: Out of the 242 teams playing at the Division I level (FCS & FBS), only one team has allowed more sacks with 49. Guess who … your Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

still a merry christmas….

this game, quite frankly, i never expected us to beat the irish given the incentives that lay in front of them: play for the coach, play for a winning season, play to break their dismal bowl streak, play to establish the foundation for next year, play in front of a national audience.

the irish are one of the top 5 programs in terms of talent, money, and faciities. on paper as well as on the field you could see the difference between a national elite program versus an upstart program on the rise like ours.

the irish was bigger, faster, and stronger. there is no denying that and they came to play. and play they did nearly flawless football for four quarters.

i am proud of our team and what they accomplished and endured this year. they battled. as stephen mentions there are things to fix and it may take several years just by looking at what we have. but, i like what we are doing and i do believe in three years we will be competitive with anyone we strap it on against.

go warriors!

I love Hawaii football. I love the fact that we have on our roster a talent that is much like the action we saw with Jimmy Clausen during the Hawaii Bowl game. Shane Austin played in the same area that Jimmy did…Shane set high school records during his senior year and drew many favorable comparisons to Jimmy who was the #1 rated QB in the country the year they graduated. Shane has the quickest release of any of our QB’s, the quickest feet of any of our QB’s, and the eyes of a champion. I love the future of Hawaii football…because we have a secret weapon ready to be unleashed…and I can’t wait to see what Shane will do during spring camp and hope to see him in action during the upcoming warrior season!

One thing is for sure…we won’t be seeing so many sacks anymore 🙂

talkin about coachin…

last nite i saw GA get clocked, and when he stood up he looked at the sidelines..

there are different ways to look at the sidelines.

look #1 is like you’re in control, and looking for the next play.

look #2 is the look like you’re looking for help…

from where I sat in the South end zone, looking 6t0 yards down the field, i saw GA give the body languate look #2. he looked like he just got clocked….

coaches left him in….

at that moment, my mind reconfirmed what i already kinew,

the man/men in charge was not paying attention to what was happening on on the field and not making the necessary adjustments in the real time. i wuz so disappointed….

Eh, what’s wrong wit you guys?

How can you blame Brian Smith?

He is not the one on the field.
He is the one who inherited and already, rather, porous oline from last year.
He is not the one who recruited these guys.
He is not the one who jumps off the line of scrimmage, time and time and again.
He is not the one who loses his head after missing a block and getting a fifteen yard penalty.

And by the way, isn’t there another coach involved with the oline? oh yah, forgot about all this stuff huh?

Give him a break.

Oh, and same thing at Portland State.

Know the facts first before you insert your size 12’s in to your mouth.

Nope, what’s wrong?

GA as does all of the qb’s was looking for the next play that the coach was signaling in.

C’mon now, what’s in your coffee this morning?

Know the facts first.

so this is my Christmas present to myself.

Mr. San Cho Lee, gimme a present fo next year. Gimme a coach or 2 or 3 or 4. gimme somebody who like fight fo Hawaii. I no like him be my fren. I like him be my hero! My grand kids’ hero. My friends’ kids’ hero. Our State’s hero. Na Koa’s hero.

Agree with Garret re: our DB’s. Too big of a mismatch…”physical superiority cancels all theory”

If the QB can simply play pitch and catch with a WR irrespective of coverage, it’s over.
Safety help? Forget it. They were too busy getting beat by the 6’6″ athletic TE….
If your Safety is running 270 degrees around the TE searching for the ball and comes up empty, it’s over.
If their DE’s can beat our OT’s (both of ’em) around the edge at will, it’s over.

All that said, with so much superior talent, I can see what all the ND fan complaints are about. How are they coming into yesterday’s game 6 and 6? 🙄

Maybe more proof that, “you’re never as bad as your last bad defeat or as good as your last big victory.”

…time for a nap!

i still hold firmly to the belief that we need to raise the level of talent before we can do anything with it.

i am not sure if we will ever see the likes of the offense of 06 and 07. we had become spoiled with the oline of 06. also, gone are an nfl quarterback, a starting wr for the dolphins, a wr who got looks at nfl camps(inspite of injury) and later a place on the a cfl team, a wr on a practice nfl team, and a fourth wr who also got an invitation.

we are paying for the fact that several recruiting years went awry and was soft.

you can’t coach up how big, fast, or strong a football player is.

I think that ND knew, from game tapes, that our Safeties were suspect so they lured UH into thinking that they would run more often, as other teams have on us. That would bring the S’s closer to LOS and then BOOM, drop the bombs deep.

Very easy game plan and against a coaching staff that does not do IN-GAME adjustments very well at all, the best one.

if you still think it is all on the coaching then you got it wrong.

would a kalani hs (sorry greg) ever, ever have a chance to beat kahuku or st louis or punahou?

no way.

…”physical superiority cancels all theory”…l. price

ps don’t know if greg taguchi is still the kalani hs coach. but, he is an excellent coach with no numbers nor football players.

what’s wrong,

you know, my cuz said dat da Iolani oline coach could give Brian tips on runnin da o line scheme and yet, we’re supposed to be at the next level.

i know i know. the oline is only part of the offense. but there were soo many discipline infractions on the offense. the buck stops at the top.

and most imortant, no cry babies allowed.

The coaching can get better. The coaching NEEDS to get better. There are things I’d like to see, like better grouping on the sideline (for example, get all the QBs together with Rolo — I saw Tyler one place, Rausch one place, Austin one place, Inoke one place). Makes for more effective communication when they are all together; after all, one of them is just one snap away from being in the game. And that’s just one example of how we can get better coaching. But they are growing into it.

Of course, discipline needs to get better. That goes without saying. I was very disappointed in that last night. I can deal with losses, but I don’t deal well with undisciplined play.

But don’t forget that we are limited by the talent that we have. It’s not to say the guys we have now are bad, cause they aren’t. And it’s not to say that they don’t work hard, cause they do. But we don’t have Nate Ilaoa in the backfield, Bess/Rivers/Grice-Mullins catching passes, Tala/Herc/Samson/Estes/Uperesa blocking, Leonard Peters playing safety. Players with that kind of talent have gotten or will get into NFL camps. The players we have now aren’t of that caliber.

I have, for a long time, strongly subscribed to the three year schedule that WassupDoc mentioned earlier. Give Mack his three years to recruit, establish his system and his coaching staff. Everyone is growing into this. It even happened with June Jones — he won in his first year because of talented players he inherited, and because nobody had seen the R&S for a while. (Parallel that to this year, but consider we played a much tougher schedule, and we still could have arguably have had ten wins.) I call this the “overachieving year.”

Second year is the year everyone leaves, and you need to start building from the ground up; at the same time, everyone starts getting wise to what you do, and they adjust accordingly. That meant three wins for Jones; I wouldn’t be surprised if we struggle next year in a similar manner. The easier schedule will help, but we’re still replacing both slots, both guards, looking at new tackles (and I believe we should look hard at Rausch), and totally revamping our defense and kicking game. I call this the “rebuilding year.” This is the year that will define Mack’s tenure. See also the 2005 season, which was the catalyst for 2006 and 2007.

Third year is the year I have hope for. The JC guys Mack brought in this year that redshirted will be seniors. The guys he’s bringing in now will be a year into the system. Schedule will be tougher, with games at Fresno, Boise, and Colorado, and hosting USC, but I think they can do well. I call this the “referendum year.” Either we do well, or it’s time to start considering change. Not every great coordinator is a great head coach. I like Mack personally and I think he can be a good head coach, but he has to show it, too. Same as how we all like Colt and think he can be a star, but he’s got to show he can play at the pro level or he may be out of the league in a few years.

Even Fred von Appen got three years. I’m tired of what we see nowadays, getting rid of coaches after one year. Lane Kiffin, Art Shell; every other coach in the NBA this year, it seems. It seems like everything nowadays is about instant gratification. Well, the world doesn’t work that way.

whats wrong,

to a degree you cant blame coaches for everything. a good coach does not a good player make, but a bad coach can sometimes make a good player bad.

we just played a team that kicked our a$$…ironically their recruiting class is consistently top 10 in the nation and from what i remember may even have been #1 a couple years ago. Yet they didnt do toooo well the past couple of years.

re: Brian Smith, you can either blame lack of talent in the player or lack of developmental coaching from the coach. Maybe in our case its both. You cannot teach size, 6’4-6’7 would be desirable, but from a technique perspective there is a lot coaching helps improve.

maybe Smith is a superb coach…but maybe a lot of things in life could have, should have and would have. we can only base his performance on what we see and what we know i.e. portland. sometimes its fun to take risks on people and it works out, other times it plain stupid cuz itll blow up in ur face. Bottom line, the coaches are the captains, they make the money and they have to step up to earn their paychecks.

Maybe it sucks, but blaming the coaches for the problems is fair game IMHO.

I look it this way…given a choice who would i rather have Brian Smith a maybe great coach or Coach Cav a proven o-line coach?

being paid so much money*….having to much x-mas juice.

I think for all intense and purposes, it would be safe to say that Alexander does well against sub-par and mediocre defenses, but does terribly against teams beyond mediocre.

Maybe there was wisdom involved in JJ taking (x-said) coaches with him and leaving the rest behind????…hmmmmmm??

I’ll try to take a positive spins on things with the UH program. A 7-7 record after losing most of their offense, a new coaching staff, not a bad performance, in fact commendable considering the schedule.

Things that need to be done in the offseason:

Need to drastically improve the physical strength, speed, and quickness of the team. Team speed will be addressed with the influx of JUCOs.

Offensive line play MUST improve next season. O-Line looked slow, physically weak, out of shape, and undisciplined (game 14 and still having offsides penalties). Why not move Alex Gerke to offensive line since that’s all he’s coached during his career. Maybe move Brian Smith to RB’s coach.

The Lee brothers need to step it up next season. Perhaps visit some of the more successful programs in the offseason and pick the brains of the OCs and DCs at those schools. Offensive play calling needs to be much better. This isn’t the ILH. Same goes for defensive calls and coverage, (although Coach Mac is there to oversee things).

Team intensity needs to injected. This year’s team seemed to play without a feeling of urgency and almost lackadaisical at times, IMHO.

Enough with the personal fouls and unsportmanlike play. That falls on the coaching staff and lack of senior leadership.

Lastly, it’s apparent that the team’s offseason strength and conditioning program needs to be turned up in terms of intensity and players doing what’s asked of them in the offseason.

“Oh oh, plastic garbage cans conveniently located at conditioning drills. This is gonna get ugly.”

re: QB Shane Austin

ST has made comments about Shane Austin, since 2008 spring drills.

1. You readers should have taken note of what ST said.

2. ST – will you give your impression of SA, now, while some of us are on the topic?

Thanks.

dom : Austin deserves a shot. I was watching him warm up yesterday during the game, and he’s definitely got a live arm, but the mechanics could be tightened up a bit (and I’d like him to magically grow three inches, too). Same with Alexander, I’ve never liked his side arm and his footwork, and that was really apparent against Cincinnati (although the knee had something to do with that too). Rausch looks the most natural in terms of release, but his long legs complicate things.

If I’m Mack, Ron, and Rolo, I let those three compete in the spring. They all bring something good and something that needs work on. It’s important that they not only know the offense, but that they work on their physical problems as well. Colt was natural at that, which is why he made things work despite his wacky arm angles. These three, however, need to actually work on it in order to get better; it won’t come magically.

Jason
“…son, rememba da wurds ah da mastah”

808ike:

December 25th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
A-House #70

Capitol -ist/WassupDoc #72

Very wise individuals.

One more year may be needed. UH did not put it’s best foot forward by
recruiting from video tapes in JJ’s last 2 years. In Coach Mac’s first year, only 3 weeks to recruit. That is 3/4 of the class next year.

Looking for improvements in decision making by the coaches. Nothing
will matter if coaches can’t make good decisions. In business or
athletics, one cannot have:

“THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND”

When good/right decisions are made, then all the other situations discussed in the past and present can be rectified.

Dare you go. Now da coaches know that WE KNOW what they’re working with. DIS WE KNOW: WE GET PEDIGREE RECRUITS, like da LOFTONs, an da Coaches are NOT making OVA-ACHIEVAHZ of a sizeable number of deze recruits on da team. NOTRE DAME must have done a lot of deep pass patterns in practice, because their timing was down pat in da long pass routes. We do dat?

and i know this is also the truth. the penalties are the result of the fact that these players were frustrated alot of times. and why were they frustrated?

ahhhhh the answer is not really rocket science stuff…

an So so Jason my son my son, i ask you dis in da most sincerest of meaningss…

“and what is wrong with instant gratification?”

Nothing wrong with instant gratification; there is, however, a problem with demanding it and always expecting it. If it comes, then it comes. If not, it’s how you deal with the problem that dictates how things will be in times to come. If we win the WAC next year and win 10+ games, that would be great. If we struggle to 5-8 or 6-7, then the question becomes, How do the Warriors respond to that? The 2005 team responded well, establishing the nucleus of the 2006 and 2007 teams …

Jason no wonder you are a 49’er fan, you don’t demand or expect a win, no instant gratification, just the pure joy watching your team even as they go down in flames….

you wanna know what really gets my gawwls 2day?

da idea dat get one kuku pile buncha pale rydahz whoopin it up in Waikiki while pooah me an sum frenz get da Christmas bluez 🙁

SCROOGED! CHRISTMAS BEATING doze wurds like 1 keawe thorn deep between the knuckle joint.. dat bugga sore!!!! makes me super irritated!!! and i no more one household to abuse… 👿

nah nah nah 😀
keep talking lie dat, i no mo anybody fo blame but myself. 😀

Pride. had a great post a couple of weeks ago on his assessment of the O-Line. He is one of the few here who actually played at that level, so just maybe he knows more about the subject than the rest of us.

Merry Christmas Everybody 🙂

HEY ST ! This is what my dad does on Christmas Morning 2008.

http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp19/briebabesx3/Christmas%202008%20Hunt/DSC08562.jpg

^ 5 Birds. (1 Pheasant, 1 Ring neck pheasant, 2 Gray Francolins, & 1 Black Francolin.) * Two grays actually look brown. 2 Dogs. (Hana- left. Pomaika’i- right.) & My dad.

http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp19/briebabesx3/Christmas%202008%20Hunt/DSC08576.jpg

^ The edible parts P:

Had a few hours to cool down after that embrassment last night. In hindsight a few good things and some bad things. First of all with all the indecision on the coaching staff with the QB situation(too bad Tyler didnt get another chance after proving himself last year) and two awful games against two very beatable teams(SJST and Utah St.), to still go 5-3 in the WAC, tied for second, and get to a bowl game was pretty impressive.

But I am still not sold on GA, to much indecision, seems to not read defenses very well, takes too many sacks. Too many things have got to change for this to improve. There is plenty of blame to go around, especially on the offensive line. Say what you want, they were not well coached at all. A well coached unit doesnt make the same mistakes over and over again and what was worse there seemed to be no punishment for continued screwups. Having two returning starters, your most experienced guys, constantly being called for illegal procedure and blatant late hits (which just are inexcusable, yet Mac or Smith didnt do anything to discourage it) left us in some too many bad positions this year. You dont change the head coach, but you can change assistants and Smith needs to go.
Keep the overall system in place, we throw the ball, that is what has gotten us where we are, but Ron Lee is over his head and play calling in crucial times this year has been awful. Hopefully Mac will take a look at his staff and make some needed changes, there is ABSOLUTELY no reason why we cannot be 6-2 in the WAC every year and making a run at the title if we catch some breaks. There is way to much talent on the islands and coming in from the mainland. I hope this disaster leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth over the next 8 months so they can know what they are working for in the weight room and on the practice field. Merry Christmas to all of you in the islands and GO WARRIORS.

bighilofan2 #159,
BINGO! DITTO! Right on! 1 area of decision making.
Many more right decisions must follow to step in the direction towards
success on the football field.

LizK #139,
Can’t believe it, just set personal record for posting in a day
(3). Previous record (1). HAHA.

Somewhere on the internet I found this item:

But there’s a new trend for wide splits, and that’s with air-it-out passing teams like Texas Tech. Traditionally passing teams took very narrow splits to stop inside penetration, Texas Tech takes exceptionally large splits. Their rationale is a few-fold: (a) make the pass rushers come from farther away and enlarge the pocket, (b) open up throwing lanes for the quarterback, and (c) because they throw so much, all they need is a block or two to have an effective draw play — the defensive ends aren’t even really a factor.

Hawaii as I see it this year having such narrow splits. Having wider splits wouldn’t this have helped Alexander with the passing lanes being wider open, and having less of his passes blocked. Plus opening up lanes where he can take off and run. Wouldn’t this also take some pressure off the offensive line? The Texas Tech coach, Leach saying,”the wide splits were necessary to take those extra rushers out of the play”…. To me this makes sense. And I would defer to the experts, but wouldn’t having a little variation in your offensive package keep the other team on their heels by having the OL mix it up w/both wide and narrow splits? And cut down on the sacks and making the OL so vulnerable to all out blitzes? As I see it we’re one brand which leaves us exposed to excellent defensive coordinators who know how to counter a team with little variation in their offense. And that is, obviously, to blitz all the time.

A Bill Walsh quote:

If you have built a tendency (like running inside whenever you go wide splits), you simply self-scout, figure that out, and then confuse the defense by breaking your own tendency. Some of his biggest plays came when he broke his own tendencies.

How often does Hawaii go away from it’s own tendencies, when it hasn’t even adopted a sound philosophy? The bread and butter plays which require a lot of technique and practice we haven’t done well. When I hear the ESPN announcer tell the story of how Florida practiced a fake punt play 78 times in spring practices tells me that the good teams and coaches don’t stop until they do it right. The bottom line is how many times do we practice a play until we do it right? Judging by not seeing that many new wrinkles in the offense and seeing simple screens and counters not working I’d say not too many. The lack of continuity is so agonizing to watch in all phases of the game this year that as season opened at the power houses Florida, Oregon State, Boise, and ending with Cincinnati and Notre Dame the lack of any ingenuity and variation in our offense and how the OL is so vulnerable(by the play calling-not being deceptive and keeping the opponent on their heels so the oppossing defenses come with all out blitz to the QB) made these losses a lot bigger than they should have IMO. I agree that all the coaches have three years. And I agree with my own thoughts that if the offensive package can execute a few screens, draws, counters, traps and sweeps then it would surely take the pressure off the OL. If this can be accomplished then you’ll see the sack total respectfully back in the twenties. As agreed the coaches have their work cut out for them. And it will be interesting how Coach Mack handles these problem areas.

A House you got to wait another 50 years for a 49’er awakening-Tittle, Wilson, john Henry Johnson, Nomellini, Joe Perry, McElhenney, Arenas, Moegle, or more recently, Montana and a very good coach with a new offense. The WCO doesn’t work for every coach, ask Wafan and Dimitcho about the seahawks…

As has been discussed throughout here, the O-Line is a definite weakness. Go back to last season and you’ll see BCS teams constantly putting pressure with limited personnel, Georgia was able to sack with 3…that’s ridiculous same with ND too. It’s obvious how weak Hawaii is when the line can’t block a sole especially on the corners or when the DB’s give up on a play and plain out get smoked off the line. Aside from coaches being over their heads the payers too are just not up to par with true football programs with the athletes to make big impacts with limited personnel against mediocre non-BCS teams, sorry to say, ’07 was a fluke.

Teams such as Hawaii have to be better at player development than these other schools since they have to make due with less. Hawaii is a program unclear of its future. Will it become the next powerhouse non-BCS team capable of rivaling the consistency of Utah, Boise St., BYU, TCU… or will it sink down to this level of play. Hawaii needs a huge overhaul, especially practice wise. How can you have players giving up on a play to result in a TD or have 4 missed tackle in which you got a hand on the opposing player…it is obvious practice is lacking. Practice smarter not harder.

#175 ~ Friggen Spamers! ST get the spam knife out and cut deep and long!

h Mahalos to D-1 & A-Joe for effort to make da “Vanna White” Letters. We had several individuals that were dyslexic, blind, and hard of hearing. Oh?…what side da lettah goin’ be hah?). We gotta hole ’em la’dis oh wat?

We got a LOT of work to do before the Vegas game! Omigoodness, had couple pukas and even wrong lettahs inside da sentence! Afraid to show the photos taken by a World Class Photo-journalist from field level.

Forgot to thank all the Tsaikos for making our trip to the big city a most enjoyable one. Thanks al and #2 son for being our chauffeur. Thanks to Ralph and Stretch for thinking about our trip home. There might have been a problem at Kahului Airport, but it was due to an unknown craft carrying one fat guy in red suit and powered by 8 reindeers that was landing.

waaal…
oh, hiya.

so I fas-forwarded through the SHB with hopes of seeing a familiar face or two. Didn’t see much more than BarryM in the corner when a ND TD happened.

Shore did look nice in HD tho… nice bright colors and such.

I guess it’s a football tradition but it struck me that the guys sometimes spent a little too much energy on self-congratulations.
I think a big group congratulations at the end of the game might be more in order.
Keep head down, nose to the grindstone, take each play as it comes, get the job done and then offer thanks.

Jason, sorry buddy, but I will not be cheering for the 49ers on Sunday. Nuttin personal, yu unnerstand…

quotes from chicago-tribune-“They’re still talking about: Hawaii’s horrendous pass defense, especially playing the ball in the air. On at least three first-half plays, two of them Irish touchdown catches, the Warriors defenders were agonizingly out of position when there was a play to be made. Cornerback Jameel Dowling, in fact, complained about a push-off while Irish receiver David Grimes was still in the process of making a touchdown catch.”

The best thing about yesterday – besides the Tsai-ko fellowship, of course- was the huge turnout for the SHB.
Mahalo to everyone who showed up- especially those who came from distant lands.

Mahalo to Sheraton Corp. for sponsoring a very important event…and congratulations to Dave Maitlin and his crew for putting it all together!

LizK,

Wish had someone to type the last post for me. Took 5 Hrs to type.

UH bball team sings Jingle Bell rock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuM3aFNgJNc

more post hawaii-bowl game news
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIP1O01UdVs

Jason, Bwahahaha. OMG. 😈

I’m uploading pix to Picasa.

Now Jason…mind your manners when addressing your senile citizens. They can’t remember how long it’s been since they had a decent owner…oh try wait…NEVER! Hehehehe.

Ralph, we know there are other long suffering Oakland Traitor fans on the blog, so don’t mind us. We’re just funin’ wit cha! As far as having to deal with the Coltster coming to the gay bay…well, he will just have to wait his turn.

yah, i didn’t even see batman nor did he even greet those relegated to the ahouse tent. then, i find out he was dea? hey, i wasn’t in the restroom that long was i?

oh well, the #2 son wanted to meet him.

OK- So I gotta also recognize Mr. A-House’s bro Ed and his wife. What a fun couple! We covered the 6th F topic pretty thoroughly afterhours (Fishing).

AND! Mahalo to Momo! I am getting pretty jazzed about a hydroponics project. My #2 son even spent a bunch of hours in the back yard today making it look like a place Momo might like 😉

T-Gate pix and a few videos are up:
http://picasaweb.google.com/LizKauai/2008SheratonHawaiiBowl#

I happen to sit next to a Notre Dame fan at the game. He flew in from the mainland Tuesday for the game, and was returning on the red eye flight after the game to get home for Christmas. Before the game, we had a great conversation comparing our teams. We agreed it was going to be a good game.

After our first defensive and offensive series, it was obvious we were losing the battle of the lines. We have complained about our O-line, but our defensive line was pushed into the ground. Their blockers were literally blowing the linebackers out of the way. I told my Notre Dame fan it does not look good for the Warriors. Without strong line plays, everything else suffers.

At the half, I told the Irish fan that we make good half time defensive adjustments, but not so for our offense. After a few minutes, it was obvious nothing was going to change. It was downright embarrasing. The Notre Dame fan felt sorry, and even offered to buy me a beer.

I’m glad I sat next to that supporter. He gave me insights to the Irish team. His presence probably calmed me from becoming a negative lunatic. We agreed that Notre Dame has lots to look forward next season while our future looks grim.

Coach Mac has his work cut out for him. It’s not like he brought in a new offensive and defensive scheme. It’s still the run and shoot. And it is still his defense from last year. The learning curve should not have been that great. This team has come a long way from it’s first game with Floriday, but they still did not improve on some major points.

I remember our last outing with Notre Dame during the Von What Happen days. That gave was more exciting. And the Notre Dame fans were respectful and a joy to be with.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

Liz ~ I forget my real name sometimes myself, and have to refer to my Ceded Lands Passport issued from the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Calling Big Hilo Fan numero dos!

Check your email for photos from the SHB and your “Bannah” as seen from the un-forgiving lens of the world reknown photo journalist we all know and love!

Kekoa-

Listen to me carefully. Your name is Kekoa! And you’re a Warrior Beat Blogger! A damn good one too! 😆

Sweety sez to tell you that she’ll be giving you a call soon. Things have been kinda hectic round here lately…

Sooooooo um… Does anybody think that Notre Dame is going to have a good team next year? I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching them “turn the corner” as a team. Granted, UH made it look easy for them, but they did seem to have some talent and it showed.

*listens to the crickets for a while…*

Good night everybody.

Mad Dog- since you brought it up…
I was very disappointed that Notre Dame’s band did not come. One of the highlights of the Sugar Bowl for me was the “battle of the Bands”. I was counting 22 Sousaphones for the amazing UGA Band!

But I must say that the UH Band is one of the best ever. They represented to the MAX.

Mr. Maitlin, please encourage next year’s teams to Bring their Bands for a good old-fashioned college half-time blastoff!

DPK- love to Sweety and yourself! Hope all your projects find great success!

Da Punchbowl Kid,

Thanks. I’m venting.

Good night to all!

New record(10)

I think the O-Line issue has been beaten to death.
I have joined the chorus complaining about them, but truthfully we start five guards every game.
These young men try their best, but are SLOW and non-intuitive blockers playing out of position.

The biggest reason for UH’s downturn this year is Tyler Graunke’s screwing around.
Class room difficulties and whatever other unmentioned issues he had, kept the obvious starting QB off the field.
TG knows the offense inside and out, has great mobility, and has proved that he can be a winner and a leader.
GA and the other QB’s could have sat on the bench learning the system instead of getting his bell rung weekly.

Has next year’s schedule been finalized? If so, where can I see/download it.

All I know are the dates for the two away games in September – Washington State and UNLV. What other non-conference games are scheduled? Any other BCSers in 2009 who might have a slight chance of finishing over .500?

It’s been interesting to read the comments & analyses here; however, in the words of our late unlamented Athletic Director, at the end of the day, we will have zippodezero impact on what the coaching staff will or won’t do.

Sorry, I should have said former unlamented Athletic Director unless he’s shuffed off this mortal coil without saying anything.

Niteall

kekoa

my addy is gleeloy at gmail dot com. no mo pix yet.

on XMas eve, on national tv, our secondary got torched. our d got torched. our o got torched. our special team got torched.

so I say to all da football coaches:

don’t be afraid to fail, if you can learn from the experience. so go learn from the experience. don’t blame the players. blame yourselves.
go ask others besides yourselves, what they see is the problem with your teaching method.

you are great people, coaches. us Tsaikos want you to succeed. we want you to be our heroes. i’m looking for heroes on my football team’s coaching staff. I’m not looking for yes men, I’m looking for scrappers who’ve got each other’s back.

But first of all, I would thank all the coaches for giving 101% to UH and each other and the State this past season.

Go Warriors!

sleep is good

ahem, bring da lips closa 😀

coaching young people…it starts with the mind!

Coach Mack,

We wish you a Happy New Year! reminder: with the same 6 people in a canoe, moving them around you can go from last to first place. no fooling. but you gotta move em around once you’ve had a chance to evaluate each person. their strengths. and weaknesses.

Coach,

you got flexibility besides retirement option to improve your coaching staff. the money angle is the least of your problem with the coaches, the ego is the biggest problem. even the mightiest lions retire or grow out of their domain. timing isn’t everything, but on the other hand it is everything. timing for an improvement is now, January 09. giving notice is an honorable thing. don’t be wishy washy about this one.

coach,

maybe you go Jamaica man! cool runnings. 2 ahda fastest buggaz at China Olumpics. tell em we got Bob Marley wannabeez here, sollyz wit ovastufft pantz, talk funnee kine. 😀

Good Morning Tsaikos!!

Almost pau the 48 hours so need to move on to next year already. Enough talking about the Hawaii Bowl. I am sure Mack knows what needs to be done to improve the team and he will do what he can to take care of them.

It’s going to be a little slow period right now until the LOI day. I wonder what ST will be talking about??

Time for me to get ready for another busy day of marketing. I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Howzit Stretch. So where’s marketing today? Wessai?

Good Morning Stretch!

Much mahalos again my friend. Very unique, very clever and most memorable are only a few words we use to describe that special offering. Have a great *last* day of work for the week.

BHF2 ~ Try check your email again! Get limo ‘ele’ele hangin’ all ovah da buggah cuz you wen holoholo wale wit da *Ho-Ho man* da pass couple dayz.

Has next year’s schedule been finalized? If so, where can I see/download it.

All I know are the dates for the two away games in September – Washington State and UNLV. What other non-conference games are scheduled? Any other BCSers in 2009 who might have a slight chance of finishing over .500?

WassupDoc,

The WAC hasn’t finalized their 2009 schedule yet–they are always late, probably because WAC teams (especially UH under HF) are normally late in finalizing their non-conference schedules. However, the non-conference games are set.

09/04 Central Arkansas
09/12 @ Washington State (in Seattle, not Pullman)
09/19 @ UNLV
11/21 Navy
12/05 Wisconsin

I don’t think that Washington State will finish over .500, but Big 10 Wisconsin quite likely will end up over .500. None of the other schools are in BCS Conferences, but Navy will probably be going to a bowl game (they actually already have their bowl tie-in set).

Navy is probably my #1 wish for each year for UH’s home schedule, given that they are a good team, get great media attention, have a natural tie-in with Hawaii, and they aren’t as worried about losing money due to travel costs. It is too bad that Navy likes to end their regular season with Army (I understand that tradition, it is a great one), as playing Navy during the first week in December would be great since their team could be at Pearl on 12/7 to pay their respect.

For the WAC schedule, BSU and Fresno State will be at Aloha Stadium and SJSU/Nevada will be road games for UH.

This is really, really bad news for the Hawaii Bowl, especially because a team like Notre Dame is highly unlikely to be available next year. Until the Hawaii Bowl pay-out is increased, teams will continue to lose money on the bowl game and conferences will be reluctant to give the Hawaii Bowl a top choice of teams.

The Hawai’i Bowl is scheduled to get the seventh pick of bowl-eligible Pac-10 teams, if the conference qualifies that many for the postseason.

Had Matlin not been able to land the Fighting Irish, UH would have likely been matched against a team from the Mid-American Conference or Conference USA.

Good morning Kekoa and Garret. Braddah Kekoa, i may have had plenty biru, but my letter card neva have any letters. was blank on both sides.

Garret. was nice to meet your mom and dad. they were kind of shocked because i told them i knew your uncle kaname from a long time ago. thanks for the travel schedule. will try to make the 9/19 game at UNLV.

whitey,

I’m glad that you got to meet my parents and mentioned that you knew Uncle Kaname!

Good Morning

Congratulations to Rick Ellerson

I just heard on the radio that Rick Ellerson was named the next Army head coach. A ’77 grad of UH/ a 4 yr. player at LB. Is that now 5 head coaches with ties from Hawaii that are now head coaches in D-1?

One of the highlights I remember seeing this year is his Cal Poly team almost upsetting Wisconsin. The Navy-Army game will be interesting, with the Navy coach also from Hawaii. It’s even good that some of the boys from islands might end up playing for Army. This is good all around.

His coaching resume is impressive.
Army, Dec. 26, 2008-Present
Head Coach

Cal Poly, 2001-Dec. 25, 2008
Head Coach (56-34)
Seven winning seasons
2005 FCS Playoffs
2005 Eddie Robinson Award Finalist
2008 FCS Playoffs (No. 8 final national ranking)
2008 Eddie Robinson Award Runnerup

University of Arizona, 1997-2000
Defensive Coordinator
1997 Insight.com Bowl Champions
1998 Holiday Bowl Champions

Southern Utah University, 1996
Head Coach (4-7)

University of Arizona, 1992-1995
Assistant Head Coach
Defensive Line/Special Teams
1992 John Hancock Bowl
1993 Fiesta Bowl Champions
1994 Freedom Bowl

University of Hawai’i, 1987-1991
Defensive Coordinator

Calgary Stampeders (CFL), 1986
Defensive Coordinator

British Columbia Lions (CFL), 1984-1985
Defensive Line
1985 Gray Cup Champions

University of Hawai’i, 1981-1983
Defensive Line , Outside Linebackers, Special Teams

Cal State Fullerton, 1980
Defensive Line, Special Teams

University of Idaho, 1979
Linebackers, Special Teams

Arizona Western College, 1978
Defensive Secondary

University of Hawai’i, 1977
Defensive Line (Graduate Assistant)

First, Edward was spot on with his comment. We do not chastise players they are ther doing the coaches bidding.

Great article by Ferd. He must not be too happy. Good to see raw commentary. Hope someone is listening and not shoot the messenger.

I see where Coach Mac is stating that GA is his #1 going to camp. Reasonable. That being stated, someone better sit with this young man and have a crash course on Leadership 101. Final exam question: When you’re getting you a$$ kicked, fans screaming at you, team out of sync, what do you do? !). Make monku face when walking to the huddle to let your teammate know that you’re with them and just want it over. 2). Start watching out for yourself to avoid being hit again by one of those oncoming d-line guys and not adjusting to a quicker read? 3). Suck it up, do the Peyton Manning and WILL the team to out perform?

If this leadership stuff does not happen, no strong arm, “Some good things done” in winnable games will help GA make that next step up such that when things start slipping as we saw in the Cincy game and recent ND disaster when he is on the big stage in a bigger game. Real leadership happens when stress goes way beyond what is normal. Haven’t seen that.

So as all seem to be saying, let’s give the coaches another chance for 2 more years (3 years to show, right?). I’m okay with that, but be aware that real, noticable improvement is expected.

Howzit BHF2!

I saw you wakin up da chikkins again dis morning. Hows yous doin today? Did you read Da “Ferd’s” column?

DPK

good morning, belated merry XMas and happy holidays from da hale my friend! hope and wishing all is well with you and your family.

Kekoa,

did you read Ferd dis am? i’m telling you, da bradda is reading da blog.
one mississippi, 2 mississi… check out #167 above.

jason,

ferd has it right. instant gratification

and I wore my IRELAND shirt to da game too. 🙁

Good morning

the real problem is we got a late start last year. we had to get rid of HF. check. we had to choose a head coach. check. he had to recruit players AND coaches. check he had to hold his head high, give us hope. check.

and now the real problem sets in. Hawaii, we have a problem!

“Come together, all Hawaii, now and forever
let the banners flly

HIGH”

we can gix this. we CAN!

Hilo, mebbe you should print up official T-shirts for the team during the off season. Print a big bold message on the shirt; “Nui ka Hana”. That means “Big is the Work”, as in the Warriors and their staff have lots o’ work to do in the off season.

Ye Gods & Little Fishes – the greenwaste guys woke us up at 6:15 am – are they crazy? By the time we got through peeling the cats off the ceiling, making coffee and calming down Saturn The Dog, the sun was up and my hands had stopped shaking.

Garret: Mahalo for the information re the non-conference games. The away games in 2009 will also include LaTech and Idaho while the home games will be Utah State & New Mexico State.

Re your comment yesterday about the Las Vegas Cattle Call. Why not plan to get a private room at one of the kazillion hotels or restaurants there so that people can be in one private area. With nearly 10 months’ notice in a really shaky economy, I bet some good deals could be made with respect to both facilities and costs.

I know that there were some bad feelings after the last Cattle Call held at the Makino’s here sometime last summer because the manager wanted to have the group vacate the tables. I didn’t observe it but only heard references to it here on the blog.

The trouble with having to sit in a public location with people spread out over a large area with other guests is that it’s very difficult to do any circulating to meet`n`greet without disturbing other folks.

Anyhow, we won’t be going so there’s no sense in trying to shape the event. I was just responding to SteveM’s comment about the size of the event and how much fun there will be.

BACK TO SPORTS: Jim Donovan is really committed to customer service in its broadest definition. Perhaps it is time for rational, reasoned and signed letters to be sent to him expressing both concerns as well as compliments about the various sports programs as well as the facilities. Perhaps he might be willing to set up an evening get-together to talk about these issues.

I definitely share BHF2’s concern about Jim Bolla. I realize that many of you do not have much interest in NCAA sports outside of football, but two of the three women’s power sports – volleyball and softball – perch on the edge of being great. Basketball could be, but until the coaching staff is changed, that is not going to happen. In addition to his failings as a coach, Bolla lacks the innate skills to work with young adults.

Anyhow, got a kazillion items on my List Of Things To Do so I am out of here for awhile.

its not like the fire all pew.

we getting some good players coming, and we got some great players already. but dare has to be a record of who is doing what. and sprinting from sideline, groups of o and d, and watching who is in front at the halfway point is a good indicator of speed.

and asking the players what they think would help the team, that would be a big plus. i would love to be a fly on that wall.

okay den, gotta work! have a nice day all.

…actually…. This should be considered a new beginning! Spring comes early to Manoa! 😀 😯 😆

~~•~~~~•~~~~•~ ★ ★ ★ Go WARRIORS!!! ★ ★ ★ ~•~~~~•~~~~•~~

~~•~~~~•~Good..Morning..Tsaikos..and..Warrior..Nation!!!~•~~~~•~~

Dear Jim Donovan,

the Irish were losing big time for along time, and Michigan was coming. and Lou Holtz stepped up. and gave an Irish speech.

let me hear your irish speach, Jimmy D. Start it off with “dear Mr. Bolla.”
😆 You’ve had a year to look things over. remember the Alamo. remember the SSC last monday nite. 75. 75 . 75. the place wuz empty.

Brian…I agree with some of your comments…UH needs to stop the personal foul business. I don’t know what is going on with some of those guys but they need to just shake it off, no matter what may be said or what may be instigated….realize that it is just baiting and if you react, you will get caught….so don’t do it, you only hurt the team….

Notre Dame also had some instances of not showing respect. I understand that it was a “monkey off their back” type win and they were excited…but when UH (or any team for that matter) is playing their alma mater…you don’t run around the field with your school’s flag and cheer…I mean, ND is not the first school to do this at Aloha Stadium….but just thought I’d mention it….and I am an ND fan on any other game unless they play Hawaii….

Just some thoughts….

Hang on pahtna! I’m on my way down to the Cabana now to get you home. Jez remembah, da season all pau. We gotta let go! Move on…

Brian ~ I goin’ tell you what Coach Mack sez about all us wannabee coaches. “When you get your own team, then you can do what you want!”

He’s reading all these comments and evaluating them I’m sure, but mark my words. It’s food for thought, and I’m sure he knows we all have the best intentions.

wow! NCAA record for most sacks. I find that not too surprising. Good news is that there is a quarterback on the roster who has very quick feet and his high school stats show very few sacks in in his senior and junior season season. Under 10, i think and the quarter back before him averaged 6 sacks a game and they had the same line. next year looks hopeful if the right decisions are made. He’s been here 2 years so he knows the offense. I’m reserving my # 10 jersey now. GO WARRIORS