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Kalani Simpson

Sidelines

By Kalani Simpson


Last 3 games could
be most exciting


IT is the most boring of times, the most exciting of times.

Hawaii's football season is already over. Yes, there are games left, but the Hawaii Bowl berth is guaranteed for Christmas Day, no matter what happens next. Win, lose. Doesn't matter. That's what happens when you have a guaranteed home bowl.

And UH's spot in the WAC standings is fixed -- even if Boise State were to stumble and fall and hand Hawaii a gift, there's nothing UH can do about it now, either way. It's out of their hands. Nothing they do now really matters.

The people who are supposed to be playing well, for the most part, are. Timmy Chang has found himself. The offense is clicking. The coaching is working. The defense has even stopped the option. There are no controversies left.

What is there for a fan to get worked up about?

Well, there's this -- these might be the season's three best, most exciting games.

Go. Go to the Cincinnati game. Even if you've already paid for the pay-per-view.

June Jones has said that this game reminds him of last season's outing with Miami (Ohio) and I say he's right. This one has the feel of a game that could get the rafters rocking, the way every game did during last season's stretch run.

The storylines are over, but here come these games, big games, played with the freedom of two teams that just want to win. Here comes the ride.

>> If it can, and there is a chance this could happen, Boise State should play in the Seattle Bowl.

This would be good for Boise State and good for the WAC.

It might, however, be bad for Boise's hometown Humanitarian Bowl, which, very much like the Hawaii Bowl, is eternally tied to the home team.

If Boise State stays home, it is still just Boise State -- no matter the score. But should the Broncos play in a "real" bowl (forgive me, WAC boosters) against, say, Washington, then the rest of the country will look at the names "Boise State" and "Western Athletic Conference" in a whole new light.

And this Boise State team has earned that chance, rather than simply filling a reserved spot in a backyard game that Idaho Statesman sports editor Mike Prater wrote this week comes with, "an asterisk for winning in your own stadium."

Of course, there is risk. Few fans may travel. The hometown bowl may suffer greatly at the gate. And nobody but the good old reliable H-Bowl would give a 7-win Boise State team a shot at the postseason.

Sounds familiar.

But Boise State should play in the Seattle Bowl if it can. And even though you can't beat the ESPN exposure that comes with the Hawaii Bowl, it would be nice if UH were someday in the position to do the same.

>> Last year's pre-emptive strike by Fresno State and the Silicon Valley Classic screwed up everything, leaving either UH or Boise State (depending on your allegiance) out in the cold. But this year, if things work out, we may be giving WAC commissioner Karl Benson a lot of credit for how he's handled the bowl game shuffle.

>> Years ago, there was a brash, skinny freshman who we would occasionally give a good-natured hard time. Mostly, I remember this because he had a name that was tough to forget. And even more so because a few years later I got a shock when I saw that name in a mainland newspaper, underneath the picture of a 250-pound Utah defensive end. Was that really him?

Chad Kauhaahaa had transferred to Baldwin High School after that freshman year, become an all-star football player, and then a standout for the Utes. And tomorrow night he coaches his alma mater in the HHSAA state playoffs, as his Bears host McKinley.

Good for him.

>> And speaking of tomorrow night, which is bigger -- UH's basketball season opener or the high school state football playoffs?

>> Let the countdown begin to Monday's historic rematch at the Maui Invitational, the 20th anniversary of Chaminade-Virginia. 

>> We've gotten some nice responses to the story of 100-year-old Erwin Jaskulski setting the world record in the 100 meters with a time of 36.49 seconds. That's pretty good, but hey -- we have some guys here in the sports department who could do it in at least 30 seconds.



Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com



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