By Dave Donnelly
Wednesday, February 5, 1997
Paul Tagliabue, Quentin Kawananakoa
Paul Tagliabue, Quentin Kawananakoa
BOTH Tom and Sherri Sellers say that being guests of the HNA at the Pro Bowl has spoiled them for life. The sun-worshiping adman asks, "Where else in February can you sit on the 50 while basking in the 80s?" And wife Sherri added flirtatiously that there's nothing like sitting in the seventh row for admiring the tight ends and other position players ... And Carolina Panthers head coach Dom Capers acknowledged that he owed a debt of gratitude to KSSK's Larry Price, not for entertaining him on the radio, but for giving him his first break by appointing him defensive coach for the UH Rainbows back in '75 when Price was head coach of the 'Bows ... Life seems perfect
at Pro BowlNFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue's favorite game may well be football, but while here for the Pro Bowl he was spotted playing tennis three days running at the Ilikai. Pretty good backhand, too, which can come in handy dealing with some of football's prima donnas ... Tagliabue was in San Diego Monday suggesting that next year's Super Bowl may be moved from there if the $78 million construction project is still going on at Jack Murphy Stadium. He says they won't play in the middle of a construction site ... That same renovation project may result in some Padre baseball games being played at Aloha Stadium. San Diego officials are in town today looking over the stadium, which is completing its move to baseball configuration today, and if details can be worked out, a three-game series between San Diego and the St. Louis Cardinals may take place April 18 to 20 ...
WHILE a guest on Channel 2's morning news, State Rep. Quentin Kawananakoa told anchor Leslie Wilcox that he pronounces the "w" in his last name like a "v" even though Kawananakoa School keeps the "w" sound. Then the surf reporter came on to say that while some call it "pee-pay-lee-nay," most locals call it "Pipe-Line," dissolving into giggles. It was at least 40 years ago that I first heard that gag, and it was probably ancient then. Just shows there are no old jokes - just new audiences ...
ONE of the four internationally acclaimed speakers who'll be addressing the International Symposium on Botanical Gardens locally has the world's largest flower growing in his garden. Dr. Suhirman, director of the Botanical Gardens of Indonesia, is the gardener in question and the flower has the curious name Amorphophallus titanum. The last time it bloomed, more than 50,000 people came to see it, an event shown on CNN. Indonesians call it Bunga Banki, which means "terrible smell," and has nothing to do with illegal funding in the White House where some Indonesian businessmen were accused of "bungled banking," but which also left a foul odor. Other speakers at the conference, Feb. 24 at the Hale Koa, are Richard H. Daley of the Denver Botanic Garden, international conservation official Peter S. Wyse Jackson and Katy Moss Warner, who directs the staff of 600 horticulturists maintaining over 3,500 acres of gardens at Walt Disney World ... Abso-bloomin'-lutely
GREAT timing: The Stars of the Shanghai Acrobatic Theater are appearing here Thursday through Saturday at Hawaii Theater, coinciding with Chinese New Year's celebrations. In addition to their theater appearances, the troupe will also give four performances for school kids and spend a day visiting their four schools ... Mary and Brad Thurston of San Francisco postcard that while skiing in the Bugagoos in Canada dressed in down jackets etc, their guide wore a T-shirt that said "Kamaka Ukulele." Turned out he was Brownie Barnes, formerly of Hawaii, and a friend of the Thurston's S.F. neighbors, Mike & Beth Sweetow ...
DID you know that six of the seven athletes from Hawaii representing the U.S. in the Olympics were former recipients of scholarship grants from the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation? High school seniors or current college students can apply for assistance by calling 923-1585. It's aimed at those who've participated in competitive sports, particularly water sports. And good luck ... Help from the Duke
