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Hawaii Dave Donnelly |
Tossing around
that ol’ pigskin
crazinessTHE NFL season is underway as women we used to be able to call "football widows" go shopping to take their minds off their man's obsession with the pigskin. The big star this year was supposed to be St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, who was on the pre-season cover of both Sports Illustrated and the Sporting News, among other publications, and on his butt during much of the Rams first game with the N.Y. Giants. Ron Jacobs, the most avid Rams fan I've known, whose allegiance goes back to the season tickets he held while running KHJ in L.A., is livid. He suggested in an e-mail to his closest fiends that coach Mike Martz should be neurologically examined and not Warner as is the case. He's even canceled plans to fly to Seattle to see his beloved Rams take on the Seahawks ...
MEANWHILE, Bob Sandla, the ex-Honolulu Symphony exec now living in Florida, sends along a copy of the Florida Times Union, the paper which covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. The article mentions the five Samoans ("Hawaii Five-O") on the Jaguars' roster and how the dressing room is sometimes called "Little Hawaii." Chris Fuamalu-Ma'afala, Chris Naeole, Vince Manuwai, Mataetou MacKenzie and Joseph Tuipala are the five. Naeole, the veteran of the group, used to drive all the way to Orlando to get "local food" for his mates, but all are now celebrating the fact that Roy Yamaguchi has opened a Roy's in Jacksonville ...
Teenaged beauties
LAST year's Mrs. Hawaii, Helen Berger, was at the "Gypsy" opening at Ft. Shafter Richardson Theatre. She was third runner-up nationally in the Mrs. America competition, though I can't imagine four married women more beautiful than she is. I was telling her about former Miss Hawaii Erika Kaufman, who was 17 when she won her contest in 1997, but is perhaps even more attractive today at 24. Berger, now reaching the grand old age of 31, topped that with "I was 16 when I won the Miss Thailand contest." ...IT was a return home for Portland State women's basketball head coach George Wolfe. He reveled in snorkeling with sons Scott and Michael at Hanauma Bay where he used to camp as a youngster. If UH Wahine coach Vince Goo hangs 'em up at the conclusion of his contract's final year, there's speculation there would be a Wolfe howling at his door ... We've dealt with football and basketball, and it's still baseball season. Just ask Compadres owner Rick Enos. He continues his love affair with the S.F. Giants by hosting a party at his Palo Alto Compadres to launch the Giants' Cookbook. The Giants' Jason Christianson, Chad Zerbe and Tim Worrell were at the launch party to raise money for the Junior League ...
Second movement
THE folks at La Pietra are ready to host the Honolulu Symphony. Last year's event was a big hit and this year's is slated for Saturday. Gates opening at 5:30 p.m. for picnic lovers and the orchestra, under the baton of Stuart Chafetz, performs "A Night in Spain" -- selections from "Carmen," "Man of La Mancha" and more at 7 ...
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968. The Week That Was runs Sundays and recalls items from Dave's 30 years of columns. Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com
