The Way I See It

By Pat Bigold

Tuesday, December 30, 1997

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Crass and class acts
shared ’97 sports headlines

MIKE Tyson chomping on an opponent's ear, Dennis Rodman kicking a photographer in the groin, and Latrell Sprewell squeezing his coach's wind pipe. Stories that gave Martina Hingis and Tiger Woods plenty of competition for headlines in 1997.

Upper-echelon sports certainly sank to a new low this year and it's sickening -- especially since we can expect more of the same crap in 1998 from millionaires in sneakers.

I guess I can be glad my job doesn't require me to cover psychopaths.

The stories I most enjoyed writing in 1997 involved some class acts:

Former Kahuku High offensive line star Chris Naeole became Hawaii's first NFL first-round draft pick, going to the New Orleans Saints and signing for $8 million.

Catcher Dane Sardinha, projected a first-rounder in baseball's amateur draft, was claimed in the second round (59th overall) by the Kansas City Royals. But he walked away from a $750,000 signing bonus offer to fulfill his letter of intent with Pepperdine.

For the second straight year, Moanalua High entered the state basketball tournament unseeded and won the state title. Flashy junior guard Ramsey Williams (14 3-pointers, 19-for-21 free throw shooting, 21.7-point average) was the tournament MVP. He also won the Star-Bulletin's first "Mr. Basketball" trophy.

St. Louis got as high as No. 4 in the National Prep Football Poll before being upset by Kamehameha. Suddenly facing a do-or-die ILH playoff without two-time all-state quarterback Jason Gesser (fractured arm), the Crusaders did it with underclassmen playing key roles.

Cal Lee worked himself out of one of the toughest predicaments of his head coaching career, leading St. Louis to its 12th straight league and Oahu Prep Bowl titles. It earned him the Star-Bulletin's All-State Coach of the Year award.

Kalaheo High School placekicker Jessica Kisor became the first female to be voted a first-team football all-star in Hawaii prep history. Kisor, a senior honors student, kicked 23 points to lead the OIA Blue Conference in that category.

Iolani senior Erin Stovall won four state championships and broke two state records at the HHSAA Track and Field championships. In the same spring season, she led the ILH basketball league in scoring average, earning the Star-Bulletin's first "Ms. Basketball" award. She's now the top scorer off the bench for the No. 9 University of Virginia Cavaliers.

The Hawaii Legislature authorized money to put a nationally certified athletic trainer in each and every public high school, becoming the first state in the nation to place such a strong emphasis on the safety of its prep athletes.

The Hawaii Legislature joined other states in outlawing brutal "X-treme" and "Ultimate" fighting, as well as bare-knuckle brawling for cash.

Eight men broke the 4-minute barrier at the fourth Waikiki Mile on Dec. 13. Before December 1994, no one had ever broken 4 minutes on Hawaiian soil. It has now been done 16 times -- three times by Ireland's Marcus O'Sullivan.

Stories I would like to see materialize in 1998:

Hawaii Legislature approves bill making it a felony to threaten or attack a sports official.

The Oahu AJA baseball league abandons its racially exclusive policy and allows non-Japanese players to participate in games played in public parks.

The pregame handshake is reinstated by the OIA.

Former St. Louis all-stater Olin Kreutz becomes Hawaii's second NFL first-rounder.