Old pros pass
life lessons
to WarriorsFormer NFL QBs
Thompson, Bartkowski
address UH football team
Hawaii football coach June Jones is fond of saying you can never have enough quarterbacks.
There were two more than usual at the Warriors' rainy practice yesterday morning, but they were there to throw advice, not passes.
Hawaii vs. Army
When: Saturday, 6:05 p.m.
Where: Aloha Stadium
TV: KFVE (Channel 5), delay at 10 p.m., with rebroadcast Sunday at 9 a.m. Also available live on Pay-Per-View. Call 625-8100 on Oahu or (866) 566-7784 on neighbor islands to subscribe.
Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM.
Tickets: $25 sideline, $22 south end zone, $17 north end zone (adult), $12 north end zone (students/ seniors, age 4-high school), UH students free (super rooter only). Available at Aloha Stadium, Stan Sheriff Center, UH Campus Center and Windward Community College's OCET Office. Or call 800-944-2697 or etickethawaii.com on the Internet.
Parking: Gates open at 2:30 p.m. Parking is $5. Alternate parking at Leeward Community College, Kam Drive-In and Radford High School.
Traffic advisory: 1420-AM is the official traffic advisory station and provides updates before each home game.
Steve Bartkowski and Jack "The Throwin' Samoan" Thompson -- both first-round NFL draft picks in the 1970s, before the UH players were born -- addressed the team after its workout.
They didn't talk about football, but about life.
"I told them these years can get away from you without you realizing how important they are," said Bartkowski, who was the first pick of the 1975 draft. "At some point in time you have to transition. These (college) years really mold you."
Thompson set records at Washington State before being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals with the third pick in 1979.
"Wins and losses, I don't focus on that," said Thompson, who is now a mortgage banker in Bellevue, Wash. "I tried to pass on the philosophy that my father did to me: get your education, your degree. Take advantage of this time."
Thompson has to return to the mainland before Saturday's game against Army (0-11), but Bartkowski will be at Aloha Stadium to see if UH (6-4) can earn its second consecutive Hawaii Bowl bid. Also, Bartkowski will be curious to see if this is the game that Jones' team manages to go the entire way without running the ball, as he promised his old roommate he would do some day.
"That would be something to see in person," Bartkowski said with a laugh.
Bartkowski and Jones were teammates with the Atlanta Falcons in the 1970s.
"June taught me more about the game than any coach, and he was younger than me," said Bartkowski, who now works in construction contracting. "He had 'head coach' written all over him, even then."
UH quarterback Tim Chang doesn't remember the playing days of Thompson and Bartkowski, but he said he benefited from talking with both.
"They're quarterbacks, so they come from a quarterback's perspective," Chang said. "But most important, they're two very respectable guys. They told me to keep my head up and plug away. Jack said his son is a big fan, and that's nice to hear."
Tall order: Hawaii cornerbacks Kelvin Millhouse and Abraham Elimimian have played good man-to-man pass defense for most of the past two seasons. But they will have a unique challenge Saturday: Army starts two 6-foot-6 wide receivers in Aaron Alexander and Clint Woody.
"That's tall," said Elimimian, who is 5-feet-10. "They can outjump any corners. You're not going to find any cornerbacks 6-5 or 6-6."
Alexander leads the Black Knights with 52 catches for 707 yards and six touchdowns. Woody has 21 grabs for 259 yards and no touchdowns.
Army ties: Maj. Greg Gadson of the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks started at defensive end and played in two bowl games for Army in the 1980s. ... Lt. Col. Jeanette McMahon of the U.S. Army Pacific Staff at Ft. Shafter was a cheerleader and lacrosse player at West Point in the same decade. ... UH junior receiver Britton Komine, an Army ROTC cadet who wants to fly Black Hawk helicopters, will find himself on the same "team" as his Saturday opponents when he's commissioned after college graduation. ... The Black Knights arrived last night and practiced at Aloha Stadium.
