Murakami in
Circle of Honor
Les Murakami Week continued today with the retired Hawaii baseball coach becoming the 56th member of the school's Sports Circle of Honor.Murakami was feted today at a luncheon at the main branch of the Bank of Hawaii. He will be formally inducted during a halftime ceremony at tomorrow's basketball game between the Rainbows and Texas-El Paso at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Murakami is the only inductee in the 18th class and his plaque will be unveiled on the inner concourse of the Stan Sheriff Center tomorrow night. On Wednesday, Rainbow Stadium was officially renamed for the coach, who retired last May after 31 seasons.
NFL QB Challenge set for Feb. 4 on Kauai
LIHUE >> Six active and two retired National Football League quarterbacks have indicated they will compete in the annual NFL Quarterback Challenge at Vidinha Stadium on Kauai on Feb. 14.Doug Flutie of the San Diego Chargers is the only player making his first appearance.
The remainder all have been in previous Quarterback Challenges: Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts, Kordell Stewart of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jeff Garcia of the San Francisco 49ers, Jake Plummer (a two-time event winner) of the Arizona Cardinals, Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles and retired quarterbacks Boomer Esiason and Warren Moon.
The event is a series of agility and throwing contests held annually the week after the Pro Bowl. It's free to the public, and a taped version can be seen on CBS-TV at a date to be determined this summer.
Chico State beats Hawaii Pacific twice
Chico State swept a doubleheader from Hawaii Pacific at Hans L'Orange field Wednesday, winning, 4-3 and 16-11.T.C. Everett led all HPU(7-3) batters, going 4-for-7 in the two games. Robby Poole had the big stick for Chico State (2-0) with a 6-for-10, two-game performance. He had two triples and two RBIs.
BYUH men, women sweep Chaminade
Brigham Young-Hawaii swept Chaminade in men's and women's tennis yesterday in Laie. The women's team won its season opener, 9-0, and the men earned their second straight win by the same 9-0 score.BYUH's Petra Gaspar lost just one game at No. 1 singles against the Silverswords' Kim Yamasaki, while Tagifano Taosoga, Tomoko Sukegawa and Amy Sun all shut out their opponents, 6-0, 6-0.
In doubles, the teams of Gaspar and Taosoga as well as Sukegawa and Kellie Taguchi cruised to 8-1 victories.
Andrew Makarevich of the Seasiders won the toughest men's match of the day, fighting back from a 5-6 first-set deficit for a 7-6 (1), 6-3 win over Chaminade's Kieran McCartney.
Pro football, Hawaii-style
This year in Hawaii, pro football season doesn't end with the Pro Bowl on Feb. 9.The Hawaiian Islanders, a new franchise in the arenafootball2 league, swing into action on March 30 at the Blaisdell Arena against the Fresno Frenzy.
At HawaiianIslanders.com, you can find out how to purchase season tickets, check out the team's logo and schedule and read the team's latest press releases.
You can vote on whether you think the team will make the playoffs or not, and you can download wallpaper with the Islanders' slogan: "Light the Fire."
Season-ticket prices for eight home games start at $75.
Top performers
Yuta Tabuse, Brigham Young-Hawaii basketball: The 5-foot-8 Japanese freshman point guard earned his first PacWest Player of the Week honor on Tuesday. He sealed a two-point Seasiders victory over Chaminade last Saturday by hitting six free throws in the final minute of play, and had 16 points, nine assists, two rebounds and two steals.Wade Taguchi, Hawaii Pacific baseball: The senior second baseman went 3-for-6 at the plate in doubleheader losses against Chico State on Wednesday. He hit two home runs -- one of which was a grand slam -- and added a single and four walks to his six RBIs.