Murakami, Rowan, Gouveia
selected for Hawaii hall

A hall of fame coach. A grand champion sumotori. A world champion surfer. A two-time Super Bowl winner. A karate pioneer.

These are the backgrounds of the five individuals who were voted yesterday into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.

To be inducted at a Feb. 12 dinner at the Stan Sheriff Center are:

>> Retired University of Hawaii baseball coach Les Murakami, one of 22 college baseball coaches with more than 1,000 career victories. Murakami, who led the Rainbows to six conference titles, was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2000;

>> Chad "Akebono" Rowan, retired Yokozuna, was the first foreigner to hold the sport's top rank of grand champion. The 1987 Kaiser High School graduate had a 566-198 record in a 13-year career, winning 11 tournament titles;

>> Margo Godfrey Oberg, a women's world surfing champion. The Kauai resident also won the 1983 World Cup, was named to Sports Illustrated's Top 100 Women Sports Figures of the Century as the first female big-wave surfer, and was inducted into the Huntington Beach (Calif.) Surfing Walk of Fame;

>> Kurt Gouveia, who had a 13-year NFL career and played on two Super Bowl championship teams with the Washington Redskins. He helped Waianae High School to three consecutive Prep Bowl titles as a quarterback and defensive end;

>> The late Edmund Kealoha Parker, known to many as the father of American karate. The Kamehameha Schools graduate established martial arts schools around the world, and founded the International Karate Championships. He was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame as both its Man of the Year and Instructor of the Year.

For more information about the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame, call 484-2882. The Web site is www.alohafame.org.

Purse increases for MasterCard tournament

The purse for the 2002 MasterCard Championship has increased to $1.5 million, $100,000 more than for the 2001 tournament.

Prize money has steadily increased for the PGA Senior Tour stop since the first time it was played in 1984. The inaugural tournament's purse was $100,000.

The MasterCard Championship is scheduled for Hualalai Golf Club on the Big Island from Jan. 15 to 21, and it will feature 33 players, including defending champion Larry Nelson.

For tickets, call Ticketmaster at (800) 417-2770.

Youth basketball sign-ups, tryouts

The NJB Youth Basketball League is holding registration and tryouts for ages 7-17 on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Kaimuki Recreation Center at 3521 Waialae Avenue.

For more information, call Matt Tsukazaki at 523-5326.

Lincoln knocks off Brigham Young-Hawaii

Brigham Young-Hawaii fell just short against Lincoln (Mo.) 105-104 in Laie on Monday night.

The Seasiders trailed the entire second half and could only get within a point as Kelii Naihe hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Lincoln's Mario Davis led all scorers with 30 points, hitting six 3-pointers and 11 of 12 shots from the field.

Alexus Foyle paced the Seasiders with 29 points and Scott Salisbury added 27.

BYUH and Lincoln both shot over 55 percent for the game, but the Seasiders hit only 26 percent from 3-point range.

BYUH plays Columbia tomorrow in the first round of the Yahoo! Sports Invitational.

Legends women capture fourth straight game

The Hawaii Legends women's professional football team beat the Oakland Banshees 35-8 for their fourth win of the season Sunday night at Kaiser High.

Regina Berry, Nicole Wylie, and Delories Houchens all had touchdown catches from quarterback Rae Fabrao, while Hilary Okumura and Mary Ann Reed scored rushing touchdowns.

The Legends (4-0) travel to Seattle on Dec. 29 to play three games in nine days.

The next home game is Jan. 13 against the San Diego Sunfire at a site to be determined.

Clay target shooting tourney on Lanai

Lanai Sporting Clays will host the Hawaii Pacific Open Clay Target Shoot on Jan. 25-27.

The annual event, with $20,000 in prize money, is a fundraiser for Ducks Unlimited, a wetlands conservation organization.

The three-day competition is open to all levels, from beginner to expert.

For more information, call Dennis Rapp at (808) 559-4600.