DID you notice those little pillows the Hawaii High School Athletic Association placed in front of everyone at the press table during the recent state basketball tournament? Shot clock would
liven up prep basketballThe HHSAA was very considerate in doing this for us so we could nap during the stalls.
During one game in the quarterfinals, I decided to get a hot dog and cola instead of napping. It worked out nicely because when I got back, the point guard was still in the same spot on the court, the ball tucked under his arm, his eyelids looking very heavy.
I yelled over to him, "Would you wake me up when you're ready to pass off?" Good kid he was, he replied, "Sure Mr. Bigold."
I caught 40 winks and the next play.
The point of this exaggeration is that we need a shot clock in prep basketball.
I don't really care if it's a 60-second shot clock or a 35-second clock, like the NCAA men use.
And I do think the girls should have one, too.
There's no question that the absence of a shot clock lends itself to game-winning strategy.
But stalling in order to win does nothing to promote competitive character.
It's both boring and frustrating for spectators.
The result is that the players of the stalling team become objects of fans' anger.
A high school shot clock is not an original idea. Coaches like St. Louis' Darryl Gabriel have been advocating it for a long while.
But Lloyd Hisaka, who is a regional representative to the National Federation of Interscholastic Officials Association, said it's probably still a few years away.
The National Federation of High School Associations basketball rules committee members are in no hurry to change anything.
The clocks are an added expense and a lot of coaches like things the way they are right now.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Good news is, a bill to make sure every public high school athletic department has a nationally certified trainer, or "athletic medical specialist," as the position is legislatively termed, is awaiting action in the state Senate Ways and Means Committee. TRAINERS' BILL PROGRESS
It was recommended out of the Senate Education committee after a public hearing.
The bill would also make the positions permanent.
Bad news is, the House version of a proposal to put a trainer in each school was not heard before the Feb. 14 deadline and is presumably dead.
Nice going, Reps. I'm sure the next transient quadriplegic will remember your thoughtfulness.
Denying the kids the right to practice and play with a qualified trainer present is like refusing to put a stop light at a busy intersection. You're inviting accidents and plenty of lawsuits.
Sen. Rod Tam, who is backing the senate bill, said he'd rather have the trainers in place than risk future suits the state can't defend.
"The state doesn't even have good legal assistants," he said. "I wouldn't want to be represented by the AG's office."
Tam said he knows a lot of ways to cut the budget and make room for the trainers.
He said cutbacks can be made on rental of commercial space, out-of-state travel, the salaries of public relations specialists assigned to each state department, and state automobiles.
Tam said eliminating many unnecessary state cars could save about $2 million a year.
That in itself would free up plenty of dough to install the trainers.