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Maybe a new
breeze is blowing

IT was a beautiful day yesterday around noon outside the Stan Sheriff Center. The sun was shining and the rain was drying out. The wind was blowing, just right. It was the perfect mix of blue skies and cool breeze.

And June Jones had just savored a win.

It was refreshing. It was nice. Too many times, these past two seasons, Jones has seemed more at peace after losses than wins. He would come back salty and sour and defiant after wins. It seemed like he couldn't even enjoy the moment.

Not this time. Yesterday he seemed ... happy.

Maybe a new breeze is blowing through.

Maybe this could be a fresh start.

The university needs one. This team needs one. This coach needs one.

This state needs one.

This season needs one.

So we're still going. So this team gets one more game. This team gets one more shot.

No, this bowl bid isn't any grand achievement.

But maybe it's a fresh start.

Who would have thought?

"Probably nobody in this room," Jones told the cameras and note pads.

Of course not.

Of course not!

It doesn't inspire a lot of confidence when you lose 69-3.

But now Chad Owens is making great plays. Tim Chang is approaching Rolo status, zipping out perfect pass after perfect pass. The Hawaii defense is experiencing some kind of renaissance.

Oh.

And one more thing.

They say you could call holding on every play if the officials wanted to be stringent about it.

We now know that's true.

I was joking before the game that Sheraton Hawaii Bowl executive director Jim Donovan might run onto the field to tackle any breakaway Spartans. But of course not. That's ridiculous. What an absurd notion.

I'm thinking Donovan might have thrown that last flag.

Yesterday Jones said he's sure every coach always has a few calls he might question after every game. I'm glad he said that. It was a classy thing to say.

But that's pau. Game over (whether Hawaii will now have trouble scheduling nonconference opponents is another question). Let's go bowling.

Now that Hawaii has apparently gotten its game back it's time to see if UH -- and its coach -- can get this state back.

Attendance for the Hawaii Bowl (and you will notice that with UH winning its last three to get in it this game is no longer the "Jasmine Trias concert") will be telling.

Saturday's crowd was loud and emphatic and the season's largest, which is a good sign. It's a bad sign that 36,000-plus is the season's largest.

(There were 44,429 tickets issued for the Tulsa game Oct. 2. But when a large number of the deploying military contingent left following the special opening ceremonies, the Star-Bulletin estimated the crowd at about 35,000.)

Jones needs to get the bandwagon cranking again. This is his chance.

"The crowd was really into the game," he said yesterday. "And I am very thankful and appreciative of that."

Nice. That helps. That's the kind of thing to say. That's the kind of thing he needs to say.

That's a new man.

Maybe a new breeze really is blowing through.

Maybe this could be a fresh start.

This team needs one. This coach needs one. This state needs one.

This game needs one.

This bowl game definitely needs one.

Let's see what happens on Dec. 24.

"I would say this team has a lot of character and a lot of heart," Jones said. "They responded."

Let's see who else does, now that everyone involved in this season has a second chance.