Sometimes you get more out of a news conference by noting who is not there than from those in attendance.

Hawaii Tourism Authority president Mike McCartney was conspicuously absent Wednesday when Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona unveiled his proposal for a state sports commission. If anyone from the agency charged with promoting sports tourism in Hawaii was there, he or she didn't speak.

I didn't get a lot of clear answers from the LG about how much power such a commission would yield, and how it would work in conjunction with other players already in place, including the HTA's sports arm and existing city and county sports commissions.

The “;powers and duties”; spelled out in House Bill 2590 sound an awful lot like what the HTA is supposed to be doing (basically, developing and enhancing sports events and strategic planning for them). If this piece of legislation is to advance, I'm thinking it's going to look a lot different than it does now.

Aiona stopped short of saying a commission would replace the HTA's sports arm, but the vibe was there.

Maybe whoever was supposed to invite the HTA forgot to do so while out at the movies watching “;The Blind Side.”;

McCartney said he and his staff were never consulted about the proposed commission, or invited to speak at the news conference.

Politics, of course.

What self-respecting GOP candidate for governor wouldn't take an opportunity to marginalize an agency run by the former state chair of the Democratic party?

And such a ripe target.

When it comes to sports, the HTA hasn't had the greatest track record ... or football record, or golf record. Maybe it's not the sole reason the Pro Bowl is being played in Miami today and not here, but a late start on negotiations (as well as the governor's apparent disinterest, we mustn't forget) gave the NFL a big hole to run through. Commissioner Roger Goodell does seem to have gotten flattened for a loss in his experimental exodus, but you know the NFL will find a way to spin it as a successful venture.

Failure in Miami doesn't necessarily mean Honolulu becomes a permanent home for the NFL's all-star game; and don't forget, the new contract says the Pro Bowl is in Hawaii in 2011 and 2012—if there is a Pro Bowl. Who knows? Goodell's next experiment might be not to stage the game at all.

We also should remember the Pro Bowl, LPGA and some PGA events slipped away before McCartney took over at HTA last year. The previous director, Rex Johnson, left amid allegations of misusing his state laptop ... apparently more e-mails and downloads included objectionable personal material than back-and-forth about improving tourism.

So, on the surface at least, there's been a lot to dislike about the HTA. But is it bad enough to throw it under the tour bus, at least when it comes to sports?

One of the people I asked about that knocked the pinch-hit homer to secure the new Pro Bowl contract. Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann basically did the governor's job last year in making sure the HTA board voted for the contract.

“;There should've been more consultation with the HTA, a very strong collaborative effort. That's where the money is. You don't want to re-invent the wheel,”; says Hannemann, who started an existing Honolulu sports commission. “;Don't just be a task force that gets thrown together and not do anything. What is the role of the HTA?”;

McCartney chuckles when I mention how similar the proposed commission's duties sound compared to those of the HTA sports arm.

“;We've been doing what we've been charged to do,”; he says.

That includes negotiations with the PGA and LPGA to resurrect the Hawaii leg of both tours. But it's not the tours as much as securing title sponsors that is the problem.

McCartney also says the HTA's role is important because of its relations with the hotel and travel industries. I can buy that; whenever someone talks to me about a new sports venture, my first questions are about hookups with housing and airlines. Can't do it without them.

“;The common thread is the visitor industry,”; he says. “;And creating synergy.”;

HTA vice president David Uchiyama points to the state's contract with ESPN as a recent success.

“;It's a big win to support intrinsic events. It goes much further than bringing us the basketball tournament,”; Uchiyama says.

While that was mostly about UH athletic director Jim Donovan's relationship with ESPN's Pete Derzis (Donovan's former boss at the Hawaii Bowl), Uchiyama and HTA definitely had a role, as well as Sheraton Hawaii Bowl director David Matlin.

The state received $600,000 worth of advertising, and coverage of other events such as The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave event.

“;We like to connect the dots and show what Hawaii is all about. ESPN is helping UH and us do that,”; McCartney says.

HTA sports manager Michael Story says the agency provides funding and support for smaller events that don't get the publicity of football and golf. He says one focus is marrying cultural festivals around the state with sports events to create synergy.

The HTA leaders say they're doing their job, but they don't put out a press release every time they help a sports event in Hawaii.

“;Local style, you don't toot your own horn,”; Uchiyama says.

True, but the “;quiet but effective”; days are long gone. In the current age of information saturation, if the public only sees your failures and not your successes, it assumes you're always failing. Even in Hawaii.

Last year's problems with the Pro Bowl stemmed from confusion over who was actually calling the shots, resulting in the mayor stepping in.

An ineffectual state sports commission would just add to the muddle.

One with true expertise and teeth could be very helpful. But does it replace the HTA's sports division? Oversee it? Advise it?

Until that is clearly defined all we really have is a case of too many players on the field.