Tim Chang, Michelle Wie, the Kamehameha football team, Derrick Low, Bryan Clay and the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (clockwise from top left) were among 2004's newsmakers.
Clay, Chang grab
the spotlight
An Olympic silver-medalist in
the decathlon and a record-setting
UH quarterback made the big
headlines this year
Concrete strike halted isle business
'Idol'-mania was everywhere
If you walked down the street and asked 10 people what the top local sports story of the year was, you'd likely get 10 different answers.
To avoid such a problem, the fine lads and lasses of the sports department took an archery target, found 20-something stories of merit and then flung arrows of outrageous fortune at them to decide the Top 10.
Well, maybe it didn't go quite that way. But I didn't want to tell members of the staff that while I was nodding intently at their different suggestions the past few days, I'd already decided the order of finish. So, go along with that archery story should anyone ask.
Actually, choosing this year's top story was not easy. Unlike last December, when Michelle Wie walked off with the award without much competition, this year was a little more difficult to declare the winner, all arrows aside.
Naturally, many of you will disagree with the top story of 2004. And while I'd like to be here to take your calls and answer each one individually, I'm due on Maui this weekend for the start of the PGA Tour. But feel free to leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
1. Bryan Clay: It's not often a community this size produces an Olympic athlete, much less one who winds up on the podium, waiting to have a medal placed around his neck in the marquee event. That's what makes Clay's feat so special.
Most who follow the decathlon predicted the former Castle High athlete would be a contender in 2008, that the Olympic Games in Greece would be a prelude to better things to come. Well, if that's the case, Clay will be listening to "The Star-Spangled Banner" in Beijing, the proud owner of a gold medal.
He won the silver this past August and is a shining example of what talent and hard work can produce. Born in Austin, Texas, Clay spent most of his youth in the island chain, before pursuing his Olympic dream on the mainland and beyond.
The decathlon symbolizes what the games are supposed to be all about. Past winners from the United States include Rafer Johnson, Bill Toomey, Bruce Jenner and Dan O'Brien. Win this award, and you're considered the world's best athlete. Clay came close this year. It would be fitting if he won it all in China.
2. Tim Chang and Chad Owens: Much like what Alika Smith and Anthony Carter did for UH basketball back in the late 1990s, Owens and Chang managed the same thing for Warrior football. It's hard to say one name without the other.
Of course, most folks are familiar with what Chang and Owens accomplished this season on the football field. After a disheartening loss at Fresno State, it would have been easy for the football team to come home and settle for mediocrity. But thanks to Chang and Owens, Hawaii finished with four consecutive wins, including a Hawaii Bowl victory over UAB on Christmas Eve.
Chang set the NCAA passing record along the way with 17,072 career yards and Owens returned enough punts for touchdowns to be named second-team All-America by The Associated Press. Pretty heady stuff for a pair of local boys who played their high school ball at Saint Louis and Roosevelt.
Both will pair up next month at the East-West Shrine Game and then again at the Hula Bowl. How well they do in these two college all-star games could go a long way in determining whether their careers continue in the National Football League.
The Konawaena girls basketball team celebrated its state title in May.
"I'm not going to say we're going to lose, but it's certainly a possibility,." Shoji said to reporter Grace Wen. She noted in that quote that there was a touch of agitation in his voice.
Perhaps it was a possibility for a league breakthrough, but not a very good one. The Rainbow Wahine not only beat every opponent in the WAC, but nearly everyone they faced. It took a long and tiring trip to Green Bay, Wis., for the volleyball team to finally be vanquished in the round of 16 at the NCAA tournament.
While Hawaii was traveling back and forth to the mainland as if it were a short trip to the 7-11, Wisconsin needed only a bus ride to Green Bay to face Hawaii in the third round. Five games later, the Badgers hung onto a victory to drop Hawaii to 30-1 for the season.
Not bad for a coach who lost two bona fide All-Americans in Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku. He had so many young players around him last summer in practice, he needed a program when calling out their names. That won't be a problem in the coming campaigns.
4. Kamehameha Schools wins state football title: It's hard to say what was more shocking -- Kamehameha winning the state title or Kahuku losing to Leilehua along the way. Both made for big headlines in the local prep community.
Certainly, the Warriors made the most of the Red Raiders' elimination as they held off the Mules to win their first state title in 30 years. Head coach Kanani Souza doesn't have to worry about Cal Lee taking his job should Lee ever decide to return to the prep ranks. The state championship is equal to tenure.
For Kahuku, losing to the Mules was a stunner for the defending state champions. Most folks figured Kamehameha would meet Kahuku in the title game, but some feisty Mules got a kick out of getting in the way of that expected matchup.
Peyton Manning will be back for many more Pro Bowls.
In two weeks, she returns to Waialae Country Club, a sponsor's exemption in hand, trying once more to prove she can swing with the big boys. Some may wonder why she didn't have to qualify this time around to earn a coveted spot in the first full-field event of the PGA Tour campaign. But they are a small minority.
Wie went on from the Sony Open to have another stellar season that included making the cut in all six LPGA Tour events she entered and managing co-medalist amateur honors at the U.S. Open. Any other year and Wie might rule supreme once more, but she had good competition this time around.
6. UH basketball team shines: No matter what the circumstances, UH head coach Riley Wallace figures out a way to win. Over the last four years, no team in the WAC has managed a better record than the Rainbow Warriors. They came within a game of making it to the final four of the postseason NIT.
After losing four starters from that good group, many figured the Rainbows would be in a similar rebuilding mode to that of Shoji and his Rainbow Wahine. So much for cyphering. With a new-look group of primarily junior college recruits, all the team did was go out and win its first eight games.
True, a one-point loss to Fresno State in Wednesday's conference opener is disheartening, but count this team in as a possibility for postseason play in 2005. The NCAA Tournament may be a long shot in March. Then again, long shots are what Wallace is all about.
Kamehameha graduate Brian Ching made the Major League Soccer All-Star Game.
The Kamehameha and Gonzaga graduate was voted the Earthquakes' MVP. Ching made four appearances with the United States Men's National Team, scoring twice during World Cup qualifying matches, including a goal in the 89th minute at Jamaica that pulled the U.S. into a 1-1 tie.
He also signed a four-year contact with yearly increases and bonus clauses.
8. Konawaena girls win state hoops title: It's hard to measure what winning the state title in girls basketball last May meant for this Big Island community. Holding off the kahuku Red Raiders, after building a 20-point lead at the half, led to the first state girls hoops championship on the Big Island since Waiakea did it in 1986. In the end, Nancy Hoist's six late free throws made the difference.
Hoist was named the top player by the Star-Bulletin for 2003-04, prompting Wildcats head coach Bobbie Awa to say, "I was very fortunate to coach her for four years. She really learned how to handle her emotions through the years."
Count Awa as a main reason for the Wildcats' improbable run that left them unbeaten by season's end. On Oahu, state championships are a regular occurrence. On the neighbor islands, they are cherished commodities.
Low left the islands this summer to join the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-10. He suffered a setback in the preseason with a fractured foot, but has since come back to earn plenty of minutes for the Pac-10 program. The true freshman is averaging 4.8 points in four games. He has started three games at the point.
10. Pro Bowl stays in Hawaii: Some may think the Pro Bowl staying in Hawaii was a foregone conclusion, but that was not necessarily the case. The state of Hawaii was tired of paying the high fees to keep the NFL All-Star game here and the NFL wanted a new carpet at Aloha Stadium as part of a package deal.
It took more than a year before the two sides came together to sign a five-year contract, but it got done. Last February's 55-52 game was one of the more exciting matchups in recent memory. Local fans seem to have a love affair with the NFL that won't end. Five years from now, we'll see how things shake out.
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