BIG SURF in the forecast for the next few days.

The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Memorial hasn’t gone in the last two years. Last year there was big surf, but it was usually coming in choppy and junk for any rideable waves.

This year the surf has started out huge on the North Shore of Oahu with 20 foot faces on multiple occasions already.

The Big Wave Challenge needs at least 20 foot Hawaiian scale waves to be called a go for the day and although the waves are predicted to reach 20 foot faces they may be a little too small (sounds crazy), for the Eddie to go.

The day brings the best big wave surfers from around the world, by invitation only, to the North Shore of Oahu to surf at Waimea Bay. It’s strictly paddle-in waves, no tow in allowed and is some of the biggest paddle-in riding around. I was able to go 3 years ago and it was amazing.

Hopefully mother nature will cooperate this year and we’ll see some big surf pounding the north shore all season long, and one day will be big enough for the Eddie to Go!

The University of Hawaii football team won their final game of the season against Washington in dramatic fashion to finish their season 12-0, the only unbeaten team in the Nation! Although their not playing for the National Championship they are playing a team that some people (including the coach) thought should be in the BCS Championship game.

The UH Warriors will take on Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 1st, 2008 at 7:30 pm. The Bulldogs are ranked 5th in the nation and some thought had a better shot at playing Ohio State in the Championship until the Coaches Poll came out on Sunday.

Regardless, the Warriors were psyched to get into a BCS game and are psyched to play such a tough opponent. The team and a mass of fans were at the Stan Sheriff center to watch the results live on ESPN and ESPN had an analyst at the Stan Sheriff interviewing fans, Coach Jones, and Colt Brennan on their reaction to the results of the bowl bid.

The Warriors will have to stay sharp as they have a little under a month without a game to stay primed for this meeting. Colt Brennan will also be making his play for the Heisman trophy despite several injuries this season which kept him out of some games.

Yes, you read that right!  For all you David Beckham fans, he is coming with his Los Angeles Galaxy team to compete in this year’s Pan-Pacific Championships (Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin).  It will be a two day event and will be held at the Aloha Stadium on February 20th and 23rd.
Even if you aren’t a Beckham fan, you can just enjoy watching soccer and will be thrilled at this event.  Since this is a four team tournament, you will also get to see the Houston Dynamo, the Gamba Osaka, and a team from the Hyundai A-League Final Series. I’m glad professional organizations are starting to recognize Hawaii as a place to have their events.  As many of you who live here know, we don’t get many events held here.  There aren’t that many big time concerts, almost no sporting events except for the Pro Bowl…you get the picture.  But now, it seems that the tides have turned.  In fact, the UFC is planning to have one of their events in 2008 held at the Aloha Stadium.  This will finally get Hawaii out there and show that we are also a good place to have events.
If you want tickets to this event, they will go on sale next month.  Until then, go to www.PPChampionship.net for the most current information. 

If the expected crowd at Aloha Stadium is to be more than 30,000 people, we’ve got the best place for you to park.

If you’re unable to get to the game early, like 6 hours early to get a decent spot this last game, don’t fear the trek out to Ford Island. Some of you probably past the signs that said the only parking left around the stadium was Ford Island parking and you probably didn’t want to venture all the way over the Admiral Clarey Bridge. But for those of you that did you found a great little spot to park.

They take you all the way out on a huge open field, park ya, and shuffle you on a bus back across the bridge. And it doesn’t take that long, it’s a very efficient system. You come right back to Kam Hwy and Salt Lake and have an easy walk to most tailgaters that braved the crowds and started preparing your food and keeping your beer cold.

The cost is only $5 so you save $5 verses the stadium lots which can be a nightmare if you want to try and get out after the game in any reasonable time. With the Ford Island parking you can walk directly back to that intersection, hope on a bus (you may wait a few minutes for a bus but they have a ton so it’s not a long wait), and back to the lot you go.

The great thing is that they only have so many buses so there isn’t a line of cars waiting to get out. You cruise back over the bridge and have a straight shot onto Kamehameha Hwy going east bound. This can get you right back onto H1 and on your way.

We suggest this for those of you not fighting the Aloha Stadium parking crowds this Saturday vs Washington. Let you friends setup the good eats and show up casually late to take advantage of cold beer and good pupu’s.

It was a sell out crowd at Aloha Stadium as the Warriors defeated number 19 ranked Boise State to keep their BCS hopes alive.

It was a packed house, both inside the stadium and outside. People came to tailgate only, try and get a ticket, and just be around the buzz. For a work day, it didn’t look like much of the state was working at all, and rightfully so, the Warriors were making UH history and trying to creep up the BCS rankings for a shot at the Fiesta Bowl, or better!

LSU had just lost to Arkansas in triple overtime, the number 2 and number 4 teams were set to play the next night, and Hawaii was looking to be the only unbeaten team in major college football.

The team took the field to a huge roar and it was on. The student section (where we were sitting) didn’t really sit for almost the entire game. Paper was shredded and tossed. Poms were thrown backwards, and the Warriors were pumped.

UH’s defense which hasn’t always been the best in the league played outstanding, and Colt Brennan played like he truly was a Heisman candidate. He was 40 for 53 with 495 yards passing, 5 touchdown passes and 1 rushing touchdown.

In the end, Hawaii came out victorious, 39-27, the students rushed the field and the Warriors kept their BCS hopes alive while winning their first ever WAC Title.

Next week the Warriors look to round out the season with a home game on Saturday night against Washington.

The UH Warrior football team continues to gain in the AP and USA Today Polls with each win. Their most recent victory came this weekend against Fresno State where the Warriors scored 37 to Fresno’s 30.

UH fans were silent late in the game when star quarterback Colt Brennan was literally knocked out as he scrambled left on a pass play. The quarterback left the game with a concussion and is making a quick recovery, hopefully in time for the game this weekend.

Although the Warriors have been able to climb in the AP and the USA Today polls they’ve been unable to make it past 16 in the BCS poll, the one poll they most likely will need to make it to 12 to get into a BCS bowl.

However, they’re last few games, Nevada, Boise State, and Washington could catapult them into a top spot if they remain unbeaten. The national credibility of the WAC conference isn’t that great, even with a team like Boise State winning their BCS bowl last year.

If the warriors are to make it up to the top 10, where some analysts believe they belong, they’re going to have to show the nation, in these last few games, that they are for real. Big wins at Nevada and at home against Boise State and Washington would do just that.

This weekend the Warriors travel to Nevada for their game on Friday.

Golfing in Hawaii can be expensive, unless of course you’re Kama’aina (resident), then you can always find deals. Weekend, weekday, and twilight deals are at almost all the golf courses  in Hawaii, especially on Oahu.

The deals I like best on Oahu are the twilight deals at the nicer courses. Of course there are the county course deals where you can play twilight for like $5 or $6 but courses like Ko’olau, Luana Hills, and Olomana all have twilight deals that should allow you to fit in between 10 and 18 holes depending on what time of year you go and how crowded it is when you go.

Ko’olau is probably my favorite out of the bunch. Although it’s got one of the highest ratings and slope in the world, and you’ll loose at least 5 balls when you go, it’s beautiful and if you don’t care how you shoot, you’ll have a great time. Plus the Kama’aina rate for twilight is $29 at 2:00 pm and $22 at 3:00 pm. (I think those are the times, they shift a little throughout the year). The crowds here vary greatly. Some days there can be 5 people on the course, and others 100. Most of the time though it’s slow.

The next course is Luana Hills. Right across the way from Ko’olau  it’s just as tough and you’ll loose just as many balls. The prices are a little higher but the times are the same. This course sees a few more people than Ko’olau but you should be able to fit at least 10 holes in.

Last is Olomana. You won’t lose as many balls here but you won’t take as many shots during twilight either. This course is usually packed and they tend to send them out quite frequently after twilight hours. The cost is actually more expensive than Ko’olau and Luana Hills if you’re riding at $36. Sometimes I’ve fit in 18 holes but the last two are always dangerous as you’ll be playing in blackness.

Overall on the southeast sides of the island of Oahu these are the best Kama’aina deals I’ve found for Twilight. Let us know if you find more.

The UH Warrior Football team, which was resting this week with a bye, moved up in all the polls including the big one, the BCS where they may have a chance at playing in the BCS Tostidos Fiesta Bowl.

The Warriors moved up one spot to 17 in the BCS poll and moved up to 14th in both the Harris Interactive Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll. They’re also now 16 in the AP poll as well.

Probably one of the more interesting comments I heard this weekend, as announcers around the nation doubt how good the Warriors really are, was a comment from Brent Musberger while calling the Michigan - Illinois game this weekend. He said, opposing Kirk Herbstreit, that the Warriors would make it to a BCS bowl, and insisted on it.

We’ll wait and see what the remainder of the Warriors season holds for them but this weekend they’ll have to make it past New Mexico State at Aloha Stadium.

It all started for Michelle Wie this week when Annika Sorenstam decided to remove herself from the Samsung World Championship. Michelle Wie, playing on a sponsors exemption was getting media pressure to back out of the tournament as well which is reserved for the top 20 money winners on the tour, Natalie Gulbis being the one bumped by Michelle’s presence.

It then continued for Michelle as she finished the first round 7-over-par, then more of same in the second round, and third round.

She finally found some sort of groove in the final round and managed to play her way out of last place but still left many wondering if she should be playing at all when she finishes 37 behind the leaders.

To top it all off, Michelle Wie lost another agent when Greg Nared resigned from the William Morris Agency. Let’s hope she’s able to regroup for next year where she’s bound to have to play some qualifying tournaments.

The UH Warrior football team stayed undefeated this weekend with a win over San Jose State in overtime. As the Warriors bounce around in the WAC they also find themselves looking for credibility with the AP where they fell to 18th and in the Coaches Poll where they fell to 17th (both from 16th).

Those are the user generated polls. Now, for the first time in the history of the BCS, the Warrior football team finds themselves needing to impress the computers. With that win they find themselves sitting in 18th place in the first BCS standings of the season that were released today. The highest ranked team from the WAC. On top of the standings sit Ohio State and South Florida.