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The Way I See It
WITH Mililani's Keiko Price now facing terrific odds in Indianapolis in her bid to break Hawaii's 24-year Olympic swim drought, maybe it's time for the state to reintroduce its youngsters to the ocean that surrounds them. ‘Ocean’ state could
produce more swimmersThe only state in the middle of an ocean should be capable of producing several trials candidates of Price's caliber each Olympic year. But swim classes are not mandatory in isle schools, and statistics show that a majority of Hawaii's population does not swim.
Tell that to an unsuspecting tourist and you'll get a squinting, "Say what?"
I know local people don't want to be told to wear helmets while riding motorcycles, and they don't want to be told they can't pile their kids into the beds of their pickup trucks.
But, hey, mandatory swim classes would not only protect keiki from drowning, but such a program might eventually result in a return of bygone swimming glory for the state. That's two-for-one, folks.
But the obvious sometimes does not go over very well here.
We shorten library hours and let kids swelter in 100-degree portable classrooms while we waste millions of dollars in potential revenue every year by refusing to approve a lottery. There's hand-wringing about the evils of gambling addiction, although we all know you can find action on anything that moves locally.
SPORTS Illustrated has been known to use creatively original photographic displays for its pre-Olympic issues that border on the provocative.
But the seminude pose of five-time gold medalist Jenny Thompson in the current issue borders on the ludicrous.
Here's this modern swimming legend standing like Wonder Woman, wearing only a smile, tight stars-and-stripes nylon shorts and red boots which are dug into the sand. Her hands are loosely clenched over her bare breasts.
The dominant headline reads, "Unflagging," and the subhead reads that she plans to "undress her younger rivals."
Thompson doesn't look like an SI swimsuit model. That's not her job. She's a highly accomplished athlete whose powerful body might have been displayed in a more dignified way.
But ask Waipahu Olympic boxer Brian Viloria about how uncomfortable SI's photo play can make an athlete.
You'll see him painted head to toe in gold in a coming issue.
WHEN you see a report that ACC men's basketball teams are seeking stronger nonconference opponents to increase their chances of qualifying for the NCAA tournament, the University of Hawaii's postseason position looks even more fragile.
We already know that UH can win more than 20 games but be overlooked because of its schedule.
With strong nonconference games against Louisville (Nov. 17), at UCLA (Dec. 9) and a repeat sweep of the Rainbow Classic, UH might impress some members of the invitation committee. But with Iowa, Tennessee, George Washington and Texas A&M in the classic field, a repeat might be off the scale of reality this time. The Big Dance is going to be hard to crash.
HAVE you wondered why there haven't been any UH big men in Pete Newell's Big Man Camp the past few years?
UCLA's Dan Gadzuric (who'll be giving UH all it can handle on his home court this winter), Stanford's Collins brothers and Duke's Carlos Boozer Jr. came a long way to avail themselves of this nationally renowned one-week clinic.
But there's no plane fare for the trip from the Manoa campus to the camp at Kamehameha Schools.
Pat Bigold has covered sports for daily newspapers
in Hawaii and Massachusetts since 1978.
