Some still can’t get
over the Rainbows
It's been three years since the end of the Rainbow, but Hawaii football coach June Jones is still trying to sell the Warrior and the H logo.
Two days before the first practice of fall camp, Jones spoke at the Honolulu Quarterback Club yesterday. The club, a bastion of longtime fans, includes many members who prefer the tradition of the old Rainbow nickname and logo to the new Warrior motif.
"Everybody has a right to their opinion," Jones told the gathering. "We did it in the best interest of the school. From a financial standpoint, the revenue we've generated of these logos is unbelievable. We're 10 to 15, 20 times in one month what we did the whole year with our previous logo. That's part of it. The other part is the pride that had to be instilled back into our kids. To change and re-brand and to become who you are so the team feels some pride and stability matters in a lot of ways.
"We're Warriors. ... It benefits the school, it benefits my kids. The faster we jump on board with that, the faster you make us all better."
No signature yet: Jones still has not signed his new five-year, $4 million contract. Yesterday he said it had to do with the privacy of the deal.
"I had an agreement it would not be made public. ... There's a lot of media people trying to get access to that. To be honest, that's more the reason I haven't signed it. It's really not that big an issue. But it is an issue because I was given word (by athletic directors Hugh Yoshida and Herman Frazier) ... that that's the way it would be."
Jones also said he is still trying to get pay raises for his assistant coaches via private funding, but doesn't have a timetable set.
New contract for Leahey: Jim Leahey, the TV voice of UH sports, said he has reached an agreement on a new two-year contract with KFVE. He declined to say how much he will be paid, except that an amount that was published elsewhere is incorrect.
Also, he and his son, KITV sportscaster Kanoa Leahey, will have a radio show this fall. "Leahey & Leahey" airs Tuesday nights at 7:30 p.m. starting Aug. 26 on KKEA 1420-AM, following Jones' "Call The Coach Show" with Bobby Curran at 6:30.
Jim Leahey replaces Cal Lee, who co-hosted with Kanoa Leahey last year in a show that was devoted to high school football. Lee is now an assistant coach for the Warriors and head coach of the arenafootball2 Hawaiian Islanders.
The show will still be aired from the Saint Louis School alumni clubhouse.
"We'll start out with preps each show and go wherever," Jim Leahey said.
Better service: UH officially unveils its newly upgraded computer ticketing system today.
Frazier has said the new system will allow customers to purchase tickets to sports events at any time and more efficiently.
