Brainstorm! Challenge

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Team's arrogance comes from the top

The sad truth about the fight at the end of the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Day is that this incident is symptomatic of the way Coach June Jones has developed his program at the University of Hawaii.

Count the number of personal fouls committed this season. Watch the film of last year's Cincinnati game, which also ended with a fight. Look at the tattoos and ponytails and the coaches with their painted faces. Ask yourself why Jones watched the WAC defensive player of the year fall into academic hell and yet let him play week after week without anything resembling a penalty except a slap on the wrist "can't start."

From the time I first heard Jones holding a press conference about his new contract while playing golf on another island and repeating the "it's not about the money" mantra between tee shots, I have felt that this man thinks he's bigger than the game, bigger than the school he represents.

Jones is arrogant and his team plays arrogant. It should surprise no one that the game ended the way it did.

M.E. Weaver
Kailua

Coach is responsible for team's behavior

Shame on University of Hawaii Coach June Jones. The behavior of his team is a reflection on him. This is the second time his team has embarrassed the state of Hawaii on national television.

This game was a microcosm of the entire season -- too much talk, not enough action. The Warriors seemed to believe their own media hype this year, and they could not put their collective "mouth" where the money is!

Jones has blamed the media time and time again for the problems that have surfaced in his program. It's time for him to take responsibility for everything that has gone wrong. Stop blaming the officiating. Stop blaming the media. Stop blaming the other team.

Erick Leong
Pearl City

Fight reflects badly on Honolulu

Honolulu should be ashamed of itself. It seems every year a bowl game or major football game ends in a riot at your Aloha Stadium.

After this year's Hawaii Bowl, not only a vicious fight between your team and Houston, but verifiable stories that Houston fans were treated terribly in the stands, with beer poured on them and women cursed at!

What kind of town has Honolulu become? I used to love coming there (I have visited seven times.), but no more. Not until you get your local thugs under control.

Jim Farrell
Spring, Texas

For every big winner, there are many losers

I realize it is news when a local woman wins a big casino pot like that ("Molokai woman wins $8.9 million," Star-Bulletin, Dec. 23), but the real story is the huge number of people who played and lost $100 million, so she could win $9 million. Or the $50 million a year left in Vegas by Hawaii residents. How many from Hawaii go regularly to Vegas? How much do they lose?

It is like the stories about the winners of lotteries on the mainland, when there is no mention of the millions who lost their life savings trying to win $200 million or some such thing, and one person or one small group wins the pot.

The story that affects the most people and the most money is about the losers, not the winner.

You can usually tell when it is puffery for the casinos because they call it "gaming" instead of "gambling."

Keith Haugen
Honolulu

Ferry system could be quick and enjoyable

In response to Michael Nomura's Dec. 24 letter, "Ferry idea offers false hopes to commuters," he asks if one can imagine the long line of cars waiting to board the ferry.

If one has ever observed the ferry system of Vancouver, Canada, this "long line of cars" is boarded within minutes. The system is extremely efficient and organized.

The ferry idea is an excellent one that I hope materializes. Not only is the system so mind-bogglingly organized, it's also fun.

R. Charles
Hauula

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[ BRAINSTORM! ] What should the city do with the elegant old sewage pump station? It's empty and fading, and now it's taking a beating from all the construction going on around it. The O.G. Traphagen-designed sewage pump station on Ala Moana Boulevard, more than a century old, is a monument to the glory days of municipal architecture, when city fathers took such pride in their community that even a humble sewage station became a landmark structure. Millions of tourists drive by it every year, and it's an embarrassing reminder of how poorly Honolulu treats its historic landmarks. Over the years, dozens of uses and excuses and blue-sky speculations have been suggested for the striking structure. Now we're asking you, Mr. and Mrs. Kimo Q. Publique, what should the city do with the elegant old pump building? Send your ideas and solutions by Jan. 15 to: brainstorm@starbulletin.com Or mail them to: Brainstorm! c/o Nancy Christenson Star-Bulletin 500 Ala Moana 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Fax: Brainstorm! c/o Nancy Christenson 529-4750