It was nearly 20 years ago when Chris Faria shared with me his dream of becoming a published author.

So I smiled upon receiving an autographed copy of “;For Real,”; his memoirs of his career as a young Honolulu beat cop during World War II.

I was saddened yesterday to learn of Chris' death. He died peacefully at home last week at 89.

I met Mr. Faria in 1987 at the Honolulu Quarterback Club. He was one of its earliest members, going all the way back to the pre-Flamingo Chuckwagon days. Already retired from HPD, he had 40 years on me, but quickly insisted I call him Chris.

He was a past president and then club secretary for many years, and also its unofficial ombudsman and its conscience (maybe it was the cop in him). Chris was a driving force behind the club's sportspersons of the month awards, too.

“;He expressed himself, and if he knew in his heart he was right, he would stick with it,”; said Tommy Kono, one of his many friends.

Chris loved underdog stories. And he loved all sports, but especially canoe paddling.

“;I think it was because of his background as a policeman in Waikiki,”; said his wife, Willie. “;That's where his heart always was.”;

We worked together on the Quarterback Club's board in the 1990s. Chris was always a kind, understanding and wise friend, even when we disagreed.

Chris' family will paddle out in canoes from the Hilton lagoon tomorrow and scatter his ashes in the ocean. The ceremony begins at 4 p.m. and ends around 6 p.m.

» The bracket sheet for our NCAA tourney office pool (amusement only, of course, but at the end much more amusing for one person than the rest) comes from Yahoo! Funny thing is the KFC Colonel's picture is on it, even though the Kentucky Wildcats aren't. All of a sudden I'm hungry for fowl.

Speaking of chicken, I'm taking the easy way out and sticking with North Carolina to win it all. No particular reason, other than the Tar Heels were my preseason pick.

Isn't it past time to scrap the directional designations for the regions? Name them after legendary coaches instead. Newell, Smith and Wooden are locks. Cindy Luis likes Iba as the fourth — any other candidates?

» My theory on why sports folks are slow, unlike the rest of the world, to join Twitter:

The name, Twitter. It sounds, well, lame.

Also, I was warned of all the great stuff on there, like immediate alerts every time your best friend's second cousin changes a diaper, and pictures of what @MCHammer had for lunch (hey, can 231,235 “;followers”; be wrong?).

I was finally convinced of Twitter's value by our restaurant critic, Nadine Kam (you should always listen to the restaurant critic).

And who do we find on Twitter? @Tadd_Fujikawa and @BrianViloria.

Fujikawa provided updates from his tournament in Puerto Rico last weekend, and Viloria's keeping his “;tweeps”; informed of his preparations for his IBF world championship fight against Ulises Solis, April 19 in the Philippines.

“;I'm glad everyone can join me behind the scenes in my quest for another world title,”; Viloria posted Sunday.

The University of Hawaii athletic department posts live updates, from games, too. So do I (@davereardon), as well as links to some of our stories. And you can “;follow”; @starbulletin for our breaking news.

The thing to remember about Twitter (and the Internet in general) is you can ignore or block whoever you want. So if you're annoyed by a continual storm of drivel, it's your own fault.

» Off to Las Vegas, and can't think of a better place to be for the first week of March Madness. Just wish my flight was Thursday morning instead of tomorrow, so I could attend Chris Faria's services and another Brigham Young-Hawaii basketball game.

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