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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Eustachy failed
‘common- sense test’THIS must have been what the party looked like.
An eerily familiar scene, the pictures from Tuesday's Larry Eustachy press conference. Once again, the Iowa State coach was the center of attention, yet utterly pathetic and oddly out of place. Babbling nonsense. Oblivious to common sense and common decency. Oblivious to the situation around him.
And again, everyone in the room uncomfortably watching this strange scene and thinking the same thing: Dude, just go.
But then, 47-year-old, married, millionaire college basketball coaches don't end up allegedly hitting on coeds and threatening fights (not to mention drinking with an opposing player and badmouthing his own team) at 4 a.m. beer bashes by "getting it."
This had to have been what that infamous Missouri soiree looked like.
Once again the party was over. But Eustachy carried on, refusing to leave.
>> Which would you rather be, sports fans: Hawaii, with three possible longtime solid pros picked relatively high in the draft to take pride in ... or Boise State, with one lowly sixth-rounder who might not even make a pro team -- and a WAC championship.
>> A reader analyzed my postdraft analysis with the tag "hindsight wonder."
Guilty.
>> Now he's done it. By surrendering so quickly on the Great Logo Controversy (some see Polynesian sails, while others see ...), UH President Evan Dobelle just opened himself up for another round of debate about the Rainbow.
And now he's shown he's willing to capitulate in the face of negative feedback and a failure of the "common-sense test."
>> Of course, the Hawaii football team will keep its new name for as long as June Jones is coach. Bet on that. And he's often said he'd like to be here for a long, long time.
>> Which brings us to a contract, still unsigned.
>> Never too early. In the Sportsline.com pre-, pre-, pre- preseason Top 25, USC is No. 17, Alabama No. 18.
No sign of Fresno State, or pesky Boise State.
>> Wow. All the baseball Rainbows needed was to not play Rice for a month or so.
You can't get too excited about simply beating the beatable teams, but this might be the beginning of something.
As long as they can make it through this season without losing Isaac Omura, Matt Inouye or Keahi Rawlins to the football team.
>> Do you think Dave Shoji is nervous?
>> Think about it. It's almost like the college hoopsters declaring early for the draft. At this point, if you're an athlete on the UH campus right now and you're not going out for football, how good can you BE?
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com