Is mid-July too early to talk about quarterbacks?

Apparently not, judging by the local air waves lately. Plenty of chatter this week contrasting and comparing and reminiscing with University of Hawaii QBs of seasons past.

Blame us and our continuing series, “;The Centurions,”; ranking the UH football greats and sparking discussion of Rainbows and Warriors QBs of recent and not-so-recent vintage. This has been a big week for the signal callers, with Raphel Cherry, Timmy Chang and Michael Carter checking in at Nos. 18, 16 and 15.

This isn't really a hint, since it should be pretty obvious to anyone who follows UH football there are some QBs still to be revealed as the countdown continues. I mean, after listening to a couple of those Memorial Day weekend top-song-of-all-time marathons, you knew “;Stairway to Heaven”; and “;American Pie”; and a couple of Beatles songs were still coming up near or at the top, right? (Well, maybe only if you're as old as I am.)

On Tuesday, Rob and Russ interviewed Garrett Gabriel. (Sidenote: We'll miss DeMello on the radio.) Colt Brennan has been around the town, making benefit appearances for Na Koa and Meals on Wheels. Plenty of talk about whether Chang should be higher or lower on the list.

My Mount Rushmore of UH quarterbacks: Carter, Cherry and two spots to be determined.

Calm down, I've got a Mount Passmore, too: Brennan, Chang, Gabriel, Rolovich. Alphabetical order intended.

» Maybe skill still does matter at the World Series of Poker's main event. Phil Ivey, the best player, made it through the minefields to the final table. He's shortstacked, but don't count him out.

>>Advance apologies for rolling my eyes at the next person who forces me to say this: No, that wasn't a “;win”; for UH at Alabama in 2006 because the NCAA forced the Tide to vacate the victory. Same as when UH was forced to vacate its men's volleyball title. Pepperdine did not get the championship by default.

» Slow down. Yes, I'll go along with anointing Albert Pujols the best current baseball player in the world. But nine seasons of consistent excellence and dominance doesn't put him up there with Ruth, Williams, Gehrig, Mays, da Vinci, Gandhi and Christ. Not yet. He's not even the greatest Cardinal ever—that's still Stan the Man, with Bob “;Hell, yeah, I'd use 'roids”; Gibson right behind him.

Let's give it a few more years of the same, and I'll gladly jump aboard. And this has nothing to do with any doubts about Pujols and performance enhancers.

» Mr. President: You throw like a basketball player (one who never played baseball). Next time, before you take the mound, get some pointers on tossing the hardball from Kahi Villa, the man on your White House secret service detail who played pro baseball.

» With Michael Phelps taking the ESPY for best male Olympian over Bryan Clay, this becomes more evident than ever: It doesn't matter if you win and don't make mistakes and stay out of trouble. If someone wins with a certain style, that person can get caught breaking the law and still ace you out.

» It's OK to admit to Lance Armstrong fatigue. It doesn't make you anti-American or anti-anti-cancer if you find him a bit smug, as I do.

Reach Star-Bulletin sports columnist Dave Reardon at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), his “;Quick Reads”; blog at starbulletin.com, and twitter.com/davereardon.