Kreutz might land
Associated Press
starting job with BearsPLATTEVILLE, Wis. -- Whistles are tweeting, horns are blaring and the sound of helmets meeting pads is everywhere. Yet Olin Kreutz still catches himself looking around every once in a while to make sure he really is here.
Yes, Olin, you've made it to the NFL. Now get back to work.
With the potential for as many as 11 new starters, the Chicago Bears are counting on their rookies to fill some of the gaps from last year's dismal 4-12 team. New running backs, new linebackers, new offensive linemen -- you name it, the Bears need help there, too.
Coach Dave Wannstedt has been impressed with Kreutz, expected to challenge Casey Wiegman for the starting center spot. The two are splitting time, and Wannstedt hopes to make a decision within the next week or so.
Kreutz just shakes his head when asked about possibly starting.
"I don't even know the plays," said the former St. louis School star from Hawaii, who was a third-round pick out of Washington. "I'm doing what I can, but I'm still making a ton of mistakes on angles, techniques and blocking schemes. I've got a long way to go."
Sean Doi shot a final-round 72 to win the Army Invitational golf tournament yesterday by one stroke over Parker McLachlin. Doi overtakes
McLachlin on final holeDoi birdied the final hole at Leilehua Golf Course, while McLachlin bogeyed the final hole.
Doi finished with a three-round total of 214. McLachlin had a 74--215.
SMITH, PORTNER WIN: John Smith was the men's winner and Rachel Portner took the women's division at the Volcano Wilderness marathon yesterday on the Big Island.
Smith finished in 3 hours, 14 minutes, 50 seconds. Portner's time was 3:46:29.
John Pritchard was the men's winner of the event's 10-mile run, in 1:04:55. Mareike Ressing took the women's title in 1:14:54.
In the five-mile run, Seigo Miyano was the men's winner in 33:25, and Helen Lehman-Winters took the women's division in 37:55.
Walter Dower won the men's five-mile walk in 58:55. Marcia Kreofksy took the women's title in 59:36.
HAWAII BEATS KANSAS: At Cherokee, Iowa, Scott Hiramoto pitched 41/3 shutout innings and drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth as the Hawaii Rainbows beat Kansas, 7-6, yesterday at the Continental Amateur Baseball Association 10-and-under World Series.
Hawaii is 2-2 in pool play and takes on Missouri today. The double elimination championship starts tomorrow.
VULCANS SIGN TWO: Kapena Lum and Scott Prather have signed letters of intent to play for the University of Hawaii at Hilo basketball team.
The 6-foot-5 Lum was a second team all-ILH selection at St. Louis. He averaged 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks a game in 1997-98.
Prather, a 5-11 guard from Maui High School and the Maui Interscholastic League MVP, averaged 21 points and four assists a game last year.
MOVERS SWEEP: Derek Honma tripled in two runs, then scored the game-winner on an error in the seventh inning as the Hawaii Island Movers beat Kita Kyushu University, 5-4, in the first game of an exhibition baseball doubleheader yesterday at Rainbow Stadium.
The Movers then won the second game, 4-3, as David Battagin, the winning pitcher in the first game, picked up the save.
STROKE PLAY OPENS: Joe Root will defend his title on his home course in the 24th Aloha Section PGA Stroke Play Championship at the Mauna Kea Resort.
The tournament begins Sunday with a pro-am event. Some 50 of the state's top pros will then tee it up in championship and senior division with a 54-hole stroke play tournament starting Monday, Aug. 3.
Root, the director of golf at Mauna Kea, was the 1997 Aloha Section PGA Player of the Year.
CHESS IN KONA: Hungary's Judith Polgar, the world's top player, are among 400 entrants in the $20,000 Cardoza U.S. Open Chess Tournament that begins Saturday at the Kona Surf Resort.
In addition to the U.S. Open, the nine-day event features seminars, lectures and clinics, as well as informal competitions. Also, the top prep players from the U.S. will compete in the Denker Tournament of High School Champions.
The events are free and open to the public, with the exception of informal competitions. There are fees starting at $5 for beginner tournaments.
Information and a schedule of events can be accessed via the Internet at www.konasys.com/chess/. The U.S. Open is the featured event of the 19-day Hawaii International Chess Festival, played on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.
For information, contact John Kitchen at 326-7336 (Big Island).