So now that the Pro Bowl is officially gone after February's game and will return only on a rotation basis, can fans still get some kind of live NFL fix here next season?

Mayor Mufi Hannemann hopes so, but he says it's probably too late to pull something together like a preseason game for next August. He said plans should've already been in the works for such a thing.

Jim Steeg, who used to run the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl for the NFL, made inquiries a few years ago about such a venture (which actually was done once back in the 1970s), but didn't get very far. One issue was a lack of available hotel rooms in August; that may not be a problem the next couple of years.

Obviously, there's no substitute for the best players from America's most popular sport when it comes to drawing a crowd. But how about a legends of the game event for the years when the Pro Bowl is played somewhere else? Keep the Hall of Fame introduction here, and invite the other HOFers for public appearances.

Bring in recently retired stars for a golf tournament and other events. Maybe even a flag football game, with a good chunk of proceeds going to former NFL players in dire need of medical care and an equal or bigger amount to Hawaii charities.

» The president-elect interrupted his weights and golf vacation routine yesterday with hoops at his old school, like he did last summer. At that time, Barack Obama's team of his closest high school friends and current cronies who can ball beat several of the Punahou starters from their 1979 state championship team.

This time, John Kamana's team knocked off Obama's twice before the former USC and NFL football player benched himself in favor of PGA Tour player Parker McLachlin and his brother Spencer (sons of the 1979 Buffanblu coach, Chris McLachlin).

“;I wanted them to be able to say they played basketball with the president,”; Kamana said. “;It was good to get back at him a little after last summer. He's a very good player. Barack's a better player than Barry was.”;

» A bittersweet end to the Rainbow Classic for Hawaii, which finished 2-1 in the last eight-team version of the event that used to be something special. If you have any doubt pulling the plug is past due, the championship final teams were Buffalo and Colorado State. Yikes!

Double yikes to the continued turnover problems and missed layups for UH. And Roderick Flemings was a magician yesterday - Hawaii's leading scorer disappeared. Good thing Lasha Parghalava finally performed like a legit long-range threat, the Rainbows continued their magnificent free-throw shooting ... and the opponent was Pepperdine, now 2-13.

The Rainbows enter WAC play 8-4, but with plenty of questions remaining unanswered.

» Davone Bess, from undrafted free agent to key performer in the Dolphins receiver corps as a rookie. Good long-term vision by Bess and his agent, Ken Zuckerman, who realized the money isn't always the most important consideration. They accepted the lowest signing bonus of several options to land Bess where he fit best, and now he's in the playoffs. That bodes well for Ryan Mouton and David Veikune, who both signed with Zuckerman recently.