BOISE, Idaho >> Hawaii football coach June Jones said he's doing just fine, and he doesn't expect one from the Western Athletic Conference. WAC won’t fine
Jones for tardinessBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comJones, who arrived in Boise yesterday afternoon, missed a Humanitarian Bowl function Monday and a coaches meeting yesterday morning, fueling printed speculation that he might be fined or punished in some way by the WAC.
But Jones said he had permission from WAC commissioner Karl Benson to arrive late.
"I talked to Karl two or three times, letting him know when I'd be there," Jones said yesterday en route from Oregon, where he was with his son, June IV. "I was spending some time with the little guy, and Karl knows that. If he wants to meet with me, that's fine, and I'll be there for (the media interviews today)."
Benson confirmed there would be no fine.
"There is no fine system," he said. "We've never levied a financial penalty on a coach."
Benson said he doesn't plan to publicly reprimand Jones.
"There is an expectation of the coaches, meetings are mandatory. But this is a private matter."
Jones was replaced by assistant coach George Lumpkin at last year's meetings because Jones was recovering from an auto accident.
No pressure: You remember Brock Forsey. He's the Boise State running back who took over the game in the fourth quarter and helped the Broncos beat the Warriors 28-21 last year, ending UH's five-game winning streak and knocking UH out of the WAC title race.
But despite an 8-4 (6-2 conference) record, Boise State found itself in the same bowl situation as UH: dressed up with a nice record, but no place to go.
"It was definitely a disappointing way to end the season," Forsey said. "We thought we had a good chance of getting in a bowl game, but we sat around and it was wait, wait, wait, and then nothing."
McCown grateful: Louisiana Tech quarterback Luke McCown was pleased with being voted the conference's preseason offensive player of the year.
"It's a great honor ... especially with the amount of talent you have in this league," he said. "You have guys like Ryan Dinwiddie and Bernard Berrian to name just a few who are big-time players. ... But I still have to go out there and take care of business on the field."
Minding his own business: San Jose State appears to be one of the programs in danger of losing its Division I-A status because of lagging attendance. But offensive tackle Tim Provost won't let that spoil his senior season.
"As players we try not to get caught up in the business aspect," he said.
He doesn't view the Spartans' tough schedule of mostly road games -- including tough big-name foes like Washington, Stanford, Illinois and Ohio State -- as a death march.
"It's a challenge and a great opportunity," Provost said.
Provost is among 32 seniors who have accepted invitations to play in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 11.
Cordova eager for UH: Nevada went 3-8 last year, but enjoyed a satisfying home victory against Hawaii, beating the Warriors 28-20.
"We kind of felt a grudge from the year before," junior defensive end Jorge Cordova said. "Hawaii and us were both at the bottom of the barrel and they beat us. And with (former Waianae player) Kika Kaululaau being my roommate, he helped pump me up for that one. I know they'll be hungry for us now, especially since they'll be at home this year."
Cordova, a converted middle linebacker, was in on 59 tackles and had four sacks despite missing three games due to injury.