Victory wasn’t meant to be
IT'S the old "woulda shoulda coulda" tune again. If UH's starting quarterback hadn't chosen the first play of the game to throw the worst pass in college football history, resulting in an easy Notre Dame touchdown, the outcome of the game may have been different. He was dispatched soon thereafter, probably to see an optometrist, and Tim Carey came in, nearly leading UH to an upset of the Fighting Irish that would have gone down with the all-time all-timers. I mean, has any other school ever had its basketball team beat Indiana and its football team beat Notre Dame all in the same week? Highly unlikely. Even in the same year would be a rarity. But it wasn't to be. Many of the Notre Dame rooters here for the game had congregated at Murphy's for brunch before and stiff drinks after the game, including quarterback legend Johnny Lujack. And it had been bugging me for nine years to know if it had in fact been him and his wife who visited the little country inn called Gidleigh Park in Devon, England, the week before I arrived there. He acknowledged (with help from his wife) that indeed it was ...
HOWZIT'S Sports Pub was a popular place to watch games like the above, except it wasn't showing to the public there Saturday. Add Howzit's to the list of Haleiwa joints that have closed their doors -- in this case, on Friday night ... Several blue chip high school football players who might otherwise have been home watching games on TV were guests of the Rainbows on the sidelines for the Notre Dame game, and they should have liked what they saw. Other than the outcome, a one-point loss to a 27-point favorite, the Bows actually outplayed Notre Dame ...
Year of the Geezer
MAYBE 1998 will become known as the "Year of the Geezer." We've had plenty of "Years" for others, so perhaps it's time. The Rolling Stones, here next month, kind of personify Geezer Rock, with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards playing havoc with insurance actuary tables everywhere. Tony Bennett, no youngster, will be seeing in 1998 at the Blaisdell and Paul Anka will be back-combing his hair into the Hilton Hawaiian Village New Year's Eve. Now it's announced that at the Super Bowl, the halftime entertainment will be Smokey Robinson & the Miracles plus the Four Tops. As one wag put it, "You can bet all the handicap seats will be filled for that one." But I'm forced to be a firm believer that you needn't just get older -- you can also get better ...THE doctor is in. That would be old Doc Kildare himself, Richard Chamberlain, who'll be co-hosting a China House reception Thursday after the exclusive screening of his new film, "River Made to Drown In," at the Cinerama. The film's producer, Jon Powell, is also flying in for the festivities. Chamberlain, a big supporter of Hawaii Public Radio, has made the evening a benefit for HPR and he's agreed to greet guests at the reception. Some tickets still available through HPR by calling 955-8821 ...
Book nook
NEW books traditionally hit the store just before Christmas, as they're great gifts. The staff at Hawaiian Humane Society is excited about their new book, "Poi Dogs & Popoki," a great gift for animal lovers, as it contains lots of behind the scenes peeks at animals and the people through the years who've owned them, including Queen Liliuokalani ... And if you want to know about the 5,000 most used Hawaiian words, check out the Illustrated Hawaiian Dictionary by Kahikahealani Wight ...
Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.