|
Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Rose, Gibbs and
‘Da Big Beef’THERE are some crazy things going on in sports. That's what happens when you try to take a vacation. Craziness. But I'm back. So let's get going.
>> Pete Rose. Pete elicits strong emotions in people. One of the angriest letters I've ever received was from a Kona Realtor after I wrote that Pete should just get over it and live his life without the Hall of Fame, that if the worst thing that ever happened to him was that he wasn't inducted, Pete hadn't lived such a bad life. So stop crying for him.
Wow, was that a mistake.
People take Pete Rose personally. So it will be interesting to see the public reaction now that he's admitted (for cash, of course) that he (kind of, almost) really has been lying all these years.
I'm betting (get it?) the Realtor is still on his side.
>> Old guys in the NFL. This time it's Joe Gibbs, the guy with the funny hat and the big glasses. He's back, baby, and Washington, D.C., is walking on air. They're going to party like it's 1987.
Coaches always come back. They can't help it. Lombardi did it, Ditka did it, Parcells, too (three times and counting). Coaches are like addicts, gamblers, junkies. It's like they can't stop, can't go cold turkey. At any second they could snap, and relapse, and take another job.
Dick Vermeil stayed clean for 15 years, then caved, taking the Rams to the Super Bowl, telling himself he could quit. Where is he now? Coaching.
>> Carl English. Yes, it looks like the Hawaii alum is starting to hit his stride with the minor league Charleston Lowgators. But it has been pointed out to me that I would be remiss not to point out that he is also mentioned in a recent edition of Glamour magazine (the one with the two Julias on the cover). Now that is an accomplishment.
He is listed as one of three "manly sports dudes" who shave their armpits.
>> UH athletic director Herman Frazier once told me that one of the first things he does when he gets back from vacation is read all the newspapers. Good plan. It sounds like Rainbow basketball is exciting again, UH men's volleyball is tall and officials have taken almost two weeks to look carefully at every angle of what one reader refers to as "Da Big Beef."
>> He said I could share this: "My name is Travis Feezell and I am the Athletics Director at Whitman College, a Division III school in Walla Walla, Washington. I was in Honolulu a couple of weeks back with our basketball team and saw your column on an 'idea that's out of this gym' ... OK, I'll bite! I think it sounds like a great idea. There's a kind of purity, particularly for Division III schools, that might be of great appeal in an outdoor basketball tournament.
"So where to begin to see if this could get off the ground? I am fairly certain I could find 4-8 teams who might want to do this. ... I also think I could find a willing sponsor. But where do we play? Who do I contact? Referees? Scoreboards and shot clocks? This is where I would ask your assistance ... if you could provide some contact numbers and/or ideas of where this tournament could be played, I would appreciate it very much."
Ideas, anyone?
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com