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Politics and steroids
shouldn’t mix

ATTENTION legislative and executive branches of the United States:

Stop it.

Get away from the steroids in baseball issue. Nobody cares.

(Well, I care. But I am a very shallow person. That's why I became a sportswriter.)

For goodness sake, can't you find anything else to be outraged about? There are people going hungry in this country. There are people without medical care in this country.

There are people from this country who are dying every day off in another country for reasons that are at the very least disputed if not still somewhat unclear.

And you are going to spend time, energy, money and moral outrage on the crisis of pumped up millionaires wearing tights and caps?

This is where Sen. John McCain and others choose to make their stand?

Rather, their grandstand.

Oh, this should be a matter of grave concern, all right.

But only on the sports page. And not by anyone who should be thinking about real problems.

» Then again, yesterday local boy Olympic medalist Bryan Clay said President Bush should step in on the athlete-steroid problem. I disagree, but he out-Olympic medals me 1-0.

» This Rainbow Wahine volleyball team is incredible.

Win or lose today -- and unless you're boosting our circulation with the morning edition (bless you) or are looking at this on the Internet (buy a paper, it's only 50 cents!), you already know -- it's been a great year.

Nothing fazes these ladies, not even travel.

They're having a great time.

They love each other.

And you get the idea -- with what has been said and not said -- that wasn't always the case these past couple of seasons.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. And not that anyone hated each other. It just wasn't this joyous.

But it's so much better this way. It's been a great season. It's been fun for everyone. Especially them.

» The first, and often only, thing people ask you when you're in sports writing is "Do you get to vote for the Heisman?"

Uh (mumble), no. That would be boss Paul Arnett and KFVE's Jim Leahey. So we will find out very soon if they gave votes to Tim Chang. (If not, should we write them surly e-mails? I know I plan to.)

» Now, with UH in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, I no longer have to promote it as the "Jasmine Trias Concert." Hmmm. Hawaii. Alabama-Birmingham. How about the "Herman Frazier Bowl."

» All I want is a brawl-free Christmas. Oh, and no fights at the football game, either.

» There was a story in Wednesday's paper on the new Hawaiian music category for the Grammy Awards being good for all of Hawaii. Did anyone else have this reaction:

What do the Grammys have to do with the UH football program?

Nah, nah. I love the "it's good for the whole state" line. I love that even the UH football players are using it now. I've started using it. Around the house. When I want to go to Kentucky Fried Chicken.

My wife doesn't seem to buy it, though. Maybe it's all in the delivery.

» The Rainbow hoops season has started hot and we're already into "White Out" status tomorrow night. Sounds great. Unfortunately, there's no way I'm there for the second half. I have to report to the Honolulu Marathon (writing, not running; are you kidding?) at 3 a.m.

Lord, how I wish that were a typo.

» It's cool that Chad Owens is tied for the UH single-season record for touchdowns. That is a cool record. What a way to end a great career.

» Chang is playing at an "in the zone" level right now. And I would be a Tim Chang fan even if he'd never heard of the sport of football. But retiring his number? He's probably not even first in line for that honor on this year's team (that would be Owens).

I like Timmy's idea -- in his typical modest fashion -- that it would be as big an honor to see someone else out there keeping it alive, wearing No. 14. What a feel-good thing to say. Someone should grow up to wear Tim Chang's number. I like that very much.