Misc. Ramblings

I hate to see lop-sided sporting events because they just aren't very entertaining. I mean, where's the drama in a 47 to 0 football game? Or a three - love tennis match? So you may understand my disappointment in the America's Cup races going on in the land of Hawai'i's ancestors - New Zealand. While there has been some very exciting match racing, the four to nil result is nothing but a Kiwi catastrophe.

Yesterday's fourth race of the best of nine series saw the Kiwi boat again having equipment failure. As in race one, their boat took on massive amounts of water over the transom. And as in that race, the additional weight, in addition to poor sail selection, trimming of those sails, and sea conditions caused the the tip cup, a fitting that holds the end of the rod to the mast, to explode - followed almost instantaneously by the snapping of the 110-foot (~34-meters) carbon fiber mast. More dangerously, three crew members were swept overboard, although thank God, none were injured and all were rescued. It can not be emphasized enough how dangerous it is to have a mast snap while under load. Huge amounts of energy are released and anyone who is unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time can be cut in two.

It appears the Kiwis have designed and built a boat that operates well in a very narrow range of wind and sea conditions. If she sails outside of her comfort zone, either she goes very slow or things fail. But more importantly, the crew seems very inexperienced in how to sail their boat in varying conditions. You would think that this being their home court, they would have the most experience of all in every type of condition the area has to offer. But this appears not to be the case. Strange. One wonders if the emphasis was to build a technically superior boat, but not to spend the time needed to train the sailors in sailing her?

While I don't want to count out the New Zealanders, with one more win to go for the Swiss challengers, thoughts go to where the cup race would be held in the land locked Swiss alps (the first time in 152 years the cup will be back in Europe).

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

I watched the fifth and, as it turned out, deciding match of the America's Cup race held off the shores of New Zealand this past weekend. And I guess I should not be surprised that the Swiss-owned team (as fellow Daynoter John Dominik correctly points out the teams are multinational - see his post here) won going away.

And as in two of the previous races, the Kiwis had an equipment failure when, in this case, their spinnaker pole (sometimes called a spinnaker boom - the pole used to extend the bottom of the spinnaker sail beyond the edge of the boat, and to secure the corner of the sail) broke on the fourth leg of the race.

Still, the Kiwis had a strange sense of tactics. It was clear that the straight line speed of both boats was very close, although the Swiss may have been slightly faster. But the Kiwis had a distinct advantage in maneuvering. That is, they could turn faster and come out going faster than the Swiss. Given this, you would think they would attack the Swiss by tacking upwind and gybing downwind - thus taking advantage of their turning speed.

But to a great extent they did not. Even though, when they did, they made impressive gains on the Swiss boat. Only to fall back when they stopped attacking. It is really beyond me as to what they were thinking.

Happy Girls Day - Aloha!

Congratulations to local golfer Michelle Wie. The thirteen-year-old 8th-grader played in the final group of the final round of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA - see their site here) Championship yesterday. The youngster finished in 9th place overall and first for amateurs. If you saw her amazing 285-yard (~261m) drives you know how she did so well. Unfortunately, her short game needs a lot of improvement. But if she can stay focused and continue to play, without getting burned out over the coming years, she will do very well one day.

Aloha!

The Honolulu Marathon was held yesterday (link will probably expire at the end of the day) and 25,000 showed up to run/walk/crawl 26.2 miles. Congratulations to all of the finishers. As a side light, I'm waiting for Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson's yearly account of the race but I assume he's still recovering from his injuries.

Women's volleyball is very popular in OurTown. Especially when the University of Hawai'i Wahine are heading to the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association's final four in Dallas, Texas. The Wahine won their regional championship this past weekend by beating a scrappy Georgia Tech team. Just getting to the final four is an achievement but Hawai'i is trying to reach the championship. The four teams playing on Thursday are Southern Cal (33-0), Minnesota (they play volleyball in Minnesota? 26-10), Florida (35-1) and Hawai'i (36-1).

As long as I can remember, I've liked the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. Maybe it's because I went to college in southern California or maybe it's just because I like the purple and gold team colors.

In any case, I can remember the poetry in motion that was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar going up for his jump hook. Or the way Earvin "Magic" Johnson could fake out his defenders so badly he would be past them with a layup before they had the time to figure out which way he went. Or the way Jamaal "Silk" Wilkes would slice the defense up for breakfast, chew it up for lunch, and spit it out for dinner with his soft shooting touch.

So you better believe I was watching the Lakers play in the National Basketball Association championship series yesterday. After being stunned with a game one loss, the Lakers were expected to come back strong in game two. But the Detroit Pistons had other plans and almost handed my team their shorts on a stick. Win the Lakers did, but ugly was the game.

I don't like close games. I want the door closed, the lights out, the eggs cooling, the butter getting hard, and the jello jiggling (sorry, old Chick Hearn quote - ed.) by the end of the third quarter. But while I hope the Lakers will eventually win the series, the old saying about a good defense beats a good offense may again be proven true.

Aloha!

Speaking of missing things. The Los Angeles Lakers are "guaranteeing" that they will win tonight in their US National Basketball Association game against the Detroit Pistons. This is a bold statement given Los Angels is down 1-3 in the championship series and they are playing in Detroit. Don't get me wrong, I love LA. But you don't go into your opponents home court and say to everyone you will guarantee you will win. If there is a better way of energizing your opponent and their fans I can't think of it. Sigh.

However, if they do lose, Detroit clinches the championship. So, one hopes LA will be able to win at least one more game before losing again (no team has ever come back from a 1-3 record because it requires the team to win three straight games and if they could do that, they wouldn't be down 1-3 in the first place).

In any case, GO LAKERS!

Aloha!

Speaking of more important things, congratulations to the new US National Basketball Association champions, the Detroit Pistons. They thoroughly beat the Los Angeles Lakers in yesterday's championship game. Not only did Detroit play better defense, they played better offense. Los Angeles was completely befuddled, disorganized, and ineffective. Oh well, there's always next year.

Dennis Conner, four time winner of the America's Cup yacht racing series, apparently will not be fielding a team in the next Cup regatta in 2007. Citing the extreme cost of running a competitive team, Conner indicated he would just let today's entry deadline come and go.

The America's Cup challenge is now officially the domain of billionaires who can afford the $100 million needed to race. It appears that only one or two US-based syndicates will enter the series. The first is San Francisco-based BMW Oracle Racing. This team is backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Larry Ellison and the German automaker BMW. The other, who must still secure additional financial backing, is called Sausalito Challenge. It appears unlikely that they will be able to get the needed funding by today so it's possible that the series will include just one U.S. team.

I have a meeting to get ready for so I gotta go.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

I had intended to do a post this morning about Hawai'i 15-year-old amateur golfer Michelle Wie and her second place finish this past weekend at the Ladies Professional Golfers Association Championship. Several female golfers have said Wie doesn't belong and shouldn't be playing in their tournaments.

Perhaps the reason why they say that is because they are afraid she will continue to beat them...

In any case, I have to run and work on the contract I talked about yesterday. Sometimes this job is like trying to herd cats across a raging river. Oh well, no rest for the weary.

Aloha!

It just keeps getting better. Amateur golfer Michelle Wie tied for first place yesterday in the men's US Amateur Public Links sectional tournament in Pennsylvania. She thus qualified for a spot in national tournament where the winner goes on to the mens' Professional Golfer Association's Masters tournament.

Wie is the first female to be first in a sectional tournament and, of course, should she win the national amateur mens' public links tournament, she would be the first women, as far as I know, to play in the Masters.

But, that's a big step away and even Wie would be cautious in saying playing in the Masters is a dream that may be just out of reach. For now. Still, in her short 15 years, she has done more than most men people do in their lifetimes.

15-year old amateur golfer Michelle Wie is at it again. After a rain delay, she finished the first round of the Women's US Open tied for first place (see a short article from Reuters). Obviously, you need to lead the last round if you want to win. But still, she is doing very well.

Speaking of Michelle, below is an advertisement I saw on the Internet. I don't think it's Michelle, because she is an amateur and might jeopardize her standing if she were paid for an advertisement. But my guess is that's who they were trying to imitate.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

A 15-year old Hawaii girl won the national PGA junior amateur championship over the weekend. No, her name isn't Michelle Wie, it's Stephanie Kono. Stephanie is one of several young women from Hawai'i doing well in the golf world. Although she is not getting the press of her more famous fellow Punahou High School student, she is perhaps as talented.

Kono, playing in the girls division at the Westfield Junior PGA Championship in Westfield, Ohio, shot a one over par 72 on Saturday to win the national 17 and under championship by two strokes.

She showed what she was made of by leading the tournament from beginning to end. Something that few golfers are able to do (although Tiger Woods did exactly that at the British Open this past weekend). Most golfers would rather be coming from behind on the last day than out in front and defending against everyone because, it is believed, there is less mental pressure. But some people just seem to have the nerves to keep out front and let everyone else try to match their play. Stephanie seems to be one of those. If only Michelle could take some lessons from her classmate!

The sports pages have given rise to many thoughtful treatise on the human condition. Books and movies have chronicled the exploits of those who take up a sport. Sports have even been described as a substitute for combat or a reason, in the case of the Olympics, to halt wars.

This article from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin is a reflective examination of how former US National Food Ball League coach Jerry Glanville went from Iraq to coaching the defense for the University of Hawai'i football team.

In March of 2004, Glanville and eight others went to Iraq as part of a "NFL Alumni Association trip..., traveling to three, four camps a day, all day, late into the night. Visiting thousands of young United States servicemen, seeing them operate under pressure in the field in the middle of a war."

Coming out of the experience, Glanville felt impelled to get involved with what he calls "the greatest generation in the history of the world." A generation of young people who are willing to go anywhere and do anything they are asked of.

Thus began his quest to start coaching again. It didn't matter to him where, just as long as he could work with this generation of young people he had gotten to know and admired so much.

Congratulations to the Ewa Beach, Hawaii World Champion Little League Baseball team. I don't have the time to give you a play-by-play but it was one heck of a championship game yesterday. Down 6-3 in the final inning they come back to tie it and send it into extra innings. Then, in the bottom of the first extra inning, a walk-off home run won the game for the plucky team from West O'ahu, Hawaii over the defending champions from Curacao.

Well done to the kids and their coach Layton Aliviado. You can read more from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin here.

Things will continue to be sparse around here while I continue to work on my project.

Aloha!

Early this past Saturday morning, SWMBO and I went walking around Kapiolani Park. This is part of our regular routine and something we enjoy because you have the beauty of the park and the calm Pacific Ocean in one short three mile loop. However, perhaps this was not the wisest thing to do on this particular Saturday morning because this is the finish line for the famed Honolulu Marathon. Of course, the race is held the next day but even on Saturday, there are hundreds of people out for a run.

People from 48 of the 50 United States and over 40 countries (especially from Japan and Canada) came to run 26.2 miles (about 42km). Twenty-eight thousand people signed up to run and about 25,000 actually arrived at the early morning start line. Of those 25,000, all except about 380 completed the run. That is a phenomenal 98 percent completion rate! That is so high I have to wonder about the accuracy of the numbers reported in the MorningPaper but that's what they have.

For trivia buffs, the Honolulu Marathon is sometimes referred to as the people's marathon because everyone is welcome and the finish line is not shut down until the last runner finishes. Even if it takes 14 hours and nineteen minutes, as it did for the last two people to finish yesterday.

For all that, what I noticed on Saturday was that one of the runners, who may have been a Japanese national although I could be wrong on that, carried a trash bag with him and was picking up rubbish as he went along. I think local people should be ashamed that it takes someone from Japan to come here to pick up our own rubbish. We live in such a beautiful state but some residents seem to think public spaces are their own private trash bin. Shame on them and arigato gozaimas to the gentleman who by his actions was doing more than his part to make things a little better.

Aloha!

Let me say up front that I think local female golfer Michelle Wie is amazing at what she does. She is only 16 years old but plays golf with the skills of women decades older than she. Michelle has used those skills to earn commercial endorsement contracts reported to be worth about $10 million a year and has done well in several women's tournaments.

That said, I think I've mentioned before that Wie may never reach the goal of making the cut in a men's tournament (the last female to do so was decades ago). Michelle is playing at the men's Sony Open here on O'ahu this week. Her score yesterday was, shall we say, less than what she is capable of.

If she has a problem, it is in having the focus and drive to win. It is not coincidental that Eldrick Woods got the nickname he has. To me, you have to look at a golf course as a piece of meat to be devoured. To be stalked and eaten with relish. You have to be the master, not the course. While I am no expert, and I certainly don't play golf, I don't see Wie as having that kind of single focused drive.

That's not to say she won't ever have whatever it takes to be a competitor like Eldrick "Tiger" Woods, just that she seems to sometimes play more like a lamb.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Someone once said; Any press, even bad press, is better than no press at all. The Ladies Professional Golfer's Association (LPGA) is in town for the Field's Open Golf Tournament and seems to disagree with this saying.

In general, many associations try to work with the press because it is in their own best interest. That is, the association gets free publicity. This publicity can turn directly into more money for the association. More money is usually seen as a GoodThing.

It is therefore very curious that the LPGA has barred the Associated Press and both of the local newspapers from stepping foot onto the golf course. It seems the LPGA is now requiring that all members of the press must sign agreements that essentially sign over all rights to any photographs or writings that the press may produce regarding the tournament.

You don't need to be a lawyer to figure out the reaction of many of the press. Namely, many have refused to sign such an agreement since any photos they take or stories they write are copyrighted and owned by their respective organizations, not the LPGA. Hence, to be bound by an agreement that signs away their copyrighted work is, as one person put it, "nuts".

One would think the LPGA will soon revise or completely retract this agreement. But as of this writing, they have not.

I guess the LPGA wants to test the saying about bad press being better than no press. The thing is, they are getting bad press and no press at the same time. Upon reflection, maybe the LPGA will realize that this is not such a good idea.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

It's Friday! Sixteen-year old Hawaii golfer Michelle Wie wowed them in South Korea yesterday when she became the second female in Korea (and the first US female since 1945) to make the cut in a men's professional golf tournament. According to the local newspaper article, Michelle is in 17th place at 5-under par for two rounds. Go Michelle!

There is a sports truism that says playing not to loose is not the same as playing to win. This is usually illustrated with examples of someone who was leading an event only to eventually lose to someone else.

I think It happens often enough that it seems to be true. Its almost painful to watch as the hapless individual self-destructs before our eyes. The thing is, it's not usually because he or she lacks the physical ability to win, it's that they seem to lack the mental toughness to be champions. They seem to lack the focus to quiet, or at least ignore, that part of their mind that whispers tales of self-doubt. So, either they become timid, and stop doing what they were doing to get the lead, or they become foolish and take risks that do not pay off.

Now compare them to "Eye of the Tiger" Woods. No matter what score he eventually ends up with, he is playing to win. Yes, so is everyone else on the golf course - or so it seems. But he is usually the one who, having scratched his way to the lead, uses both hands to keep a strangle hold on that prize. He has the ability to focus and block everything else out.

This past weekend, Hawaii's favorite 16-year-old golfer Michelle Wie was leading the tournament by two strokes with seven holes to go. In the end, she lost by one to the hard charging Australian Karrie Webb.

Although Webb has had her own problems in the past, I have to admire the pluck of this Aussie. I think she well represents the best of her country and, I hope, Michelle can learn from this experience and finally find her way to the winner's circle.

Aloha!

I switched over to the Golf channel yesterday to check on the progress of Hawaii's other teenage golfing phenom. Her name is Kimberly Kim (sometimes referred to as Kim Kim). She's age 14 and born and raised in Hilo on the Big Island. At the time I tuned in, she was four strokes back and I figured, oh well, she was the youngest to have made it to the finals of the U.S. Women's Amateur golf tournament and that, in itself, was an accomplishment. I thought, maybe next year, and turned the channel. Little did I know that not only would she make up the difference, but she would pull ahead and be the youngest person to ever win the tournament! Congratulations to Kimberly. You can read more about her win here.

The other come back kid yesterday was Kaneohe's own Dean Wilson. Okay, at age 36 he's no kid any more. But when I checked in on his progress, he was tied for seventh place. Little did I know he would storm back to be tied for first and win it in a playoff! According to the newspaper, he is the first Hawaii born golfer to win a tour event on the mainland (others have won the Hawaiian Open but, apparently, none have gone on to the mainland US and won).

Aloha!

This Sunday is the 34th annual Honolulu Marathon. At 5:00 in the morning, folks will be starting the 26.2 mile trek through the streets of Honolulu to Hawaii Kai and back.

Here for an autograph session include some of the greats of marathoning. Included are Kenya's and four time Olympic medalist Kip Keino, 1972 Olympic gold medalist Frank Shorter, and three-time New York Marathon winner Alberto Salazar.

Not that I'm in their league, but over 20 years ago, I too was up early and running my first, and only marathon. I took about six and and a half hours to finish, but I finished. Recently, my mother was going through some old pictures and found the contact print provided by the photo service hired by the marathon folks to document all the runners. It was taken just before the finish line at Kapiolani Park and reflects some of the pain I was feeling. You can click on the image for a larger version but I'm not sure why you would want to do that :)

Aloha!

For you golfers out there, you can probably skip this post because you will already know the subject. For anyone else interested in golf, but living under a rock for the last week, read on.

First, although young Hawaii golfer Michelle Wie did not make the cut at this past weekend's Sony Hawaiian Open Professional Golfers Association (PGA) tournament, she is thanked for paving the way for a new wave of young golfers, here and elsewhere. Without her pioneering efforts, we might not be seeing local golfers like Kimberly Kim or Stephanie Kono.

Another person who may have benefited from Wie's way is 16-year-old Tadd Fujikawa. The young high school student was the youngest golfer in 50 years to make the cut at a PGA event last week after shooting rounds of 71 and 66. He followed that on Saturday with another 66 but fell back on the final day to a two over par 72. Still, this tied for 20th place, overall for the tournament.

Each of these golfers is making it easier for the next generation to move a little closer to the dream of one day becoming the best at what they do. Good luck to all and thank you for all the hours of work it takes to be as good as you are.

Aloha!

It just seems wrong. I mean, having the challengers to the America's Cup racing off of Valencia. As in Spain, not California. For decades, the challenge was held off the coast of the US (either East or West). Then it went Down Under. Then it went to the land of the Kiwis. Now it's off the shores of Spain.

Perhaps doubly wrong because the last US boat got eliminated earlier this week when the BMW/Oracle team lost to the Italian Luna Rossa.

Oh well, New Zealand is on the verge of beating Spain (if it hasn't done so by the time you read this). If so, it will be the Kiwis against the Italians to see who earns the right to challenge the current cup holders - the Swiss Alinghi team.

I'm not sure if any of the races will be televised here in Hawaiʻi, but if so, I will try to watch, whenever I can.

Aloha!