UH confirms that All-State running back Gabe Tuata will not join the Warriors in January.
Instead, Tuata will play for Pasadena City College this fall.
UH will keep open his scholarship, even though Tuata won't be able to join UH until 2009, at the earliest.
UH had wanted Tuata to grayshirt this season.
The Hawai‘i Tribune Herald was first to report this story.
* * *
Francis Maka, Keenan Jones and Ray Hisatake have met the academic requirements to play for the Warriors this season.
* * *
Afternoon practice report (this morning's practice was canceled because of the wet ground):
• Defensive end Nate Russell has joined the team, and is practicing. He was not expected to join until Monday.
• Ryan Mouton is practicing today. He just showed his quickness on a kick return.
• Jacob Patek just knocked into Rick Taylor, ejecting Taylor's helmet.
• Markus Owens said CSTV is doing a feature on graduate assistant Brian Kajiyama today and the haka tomorrow.
• The Warriors are working on trick plays. Dennis McKnight is not pleased with the execution.
And so they're doing it again .
And again.
• With the three starting linebackers still out, Micah Lau, Timo Paepule and R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane are the linebackers during the scrimmages.
• Roxanne and Fred Kalilimoku notice that an ice pack is being applied to their son Brad's knee.
* * *
Here's the link to Princess Leila's excellent video on the defensive linemen embracing UH past.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070815/VIDEO02/70814007
* * *
Offensive lineman Aaron Kia was our chat guest today. HIs comments can be found in, well, the comments section.
* * *
Today we bid farewell to our friend, Lois Manin, who has been at UH since she wore Reggie Jackson's glasses.
Tomorrow we welcome her as Aloha Stadium's deputy manager (there's a media meeting there tomorrow, so she doesn't waste much time with this reunion thing).
* * *
By the way, since Jones called in the announcement of today's postponed practice, is he the leading candidate to be his own media relations director?
* * *
Victor Clore became the first to blink.
Clore and Blaze Soares — teammates at Castle High and now at UH — bleached their crew cuts and then stenciled in green stars for training camp.
But the stars started to fade, turning a weirdly gray, and Clore shaved his head.
"It was time for a change," Clore said.
* * *
George Lumpkin, who coaches the defensive ends, told the defensive linemen about former UH nose tackle Ma‘a Tanuvasa.
Lumpkin said there used to be a players' room on the first floor of the athletic department complex. UH put in a TV, and the next day it was gone. Another TV was installed, the following day that TV was stolen. The coaches were fed up, saying the athletic department would not pay for another TV. Lumpkin said Tanuvasa then brought in his own TV. That TV was never stolen.
Tanuvasa was a key player in the Warriors' 1992 Holiday Bowl championship team.
His name translates to "the rock."
"He was a rock," Lumpkin said.
* * *
To those who asked, Adam Leonard is having problems with his hamstring and not with his surgically repaired right knee. It is hoped Leonard will resume practicing soon.
* * *
In Hawai‘i, where family is not limited to blood line, SteveM is our hanai son.
He first visited us out of curiosity, a scientist observing this newspaper's experiment. Over the next few months, the observer became the participant. He introduced us to Peaches and their extraordinary artist friend Louise. His description of our gang became a T-shirt design and giant poster — it also served as a warning not to do a crime around SteveM, because he can positively ID you.
SteveM is an intelligent man of few words, but each word is thoughfully typed.
We're glad he decided to stay.
Please meet SteveM:
"I'm a nobody. A lurker...OK, a not so quiet lurker at times, but one
strongly influenced by the sea. My father loved to fish, making tin
roofing canoes to go out from Pier 2. I won a trip to Asia aboard
American President Line ships in high school (sneaky english teacher). A
first-class trip for one. So at 17 I went alone to Japan, Hong Kong and
Manila...21 days at sea. Adventure. Fabulous venue. Lonely. Alone. Vow:
if ever married, take bride on cruise.
"After graduating UH (Education) in 1971 (and attending every UH home
game in the Termite Palace), I joined the U.S. Coast Guard reserve.
Prolonged stints of special active duty punctuated my life until my
medical retirement in 1995. On active duty, I instructed trainees 17 to
55 years old in Yorktown, sat on the grass of The Mall in D.C. during
the July 4, 1976 bicentennial celebration and supervised munition ship
loading in Guam during Desert Shield/Storm. Along the way I became a
Search & Rescue small boat (41' or less) coxswain. I remember the
frustration of not being able to get any news of the UH football team on
the East Coast during numerous seasons.
"Back at home, I bought a outboard motorboat and became a part-time
commercial night fisherman. Later served as corporate VP, travel agent,
and outboard sales manager. Returned to UH in 1988 to work toward an
Educational Technology degree and "learn all about computers and video".
"After Desert Storm, I taught computer applications and concepts to
Kindergartners up to senior citizens (Matsuda Technology Center, HCC),
and workshops for teachers. Later wired that school for ethernet and
wireless. Eventually became an independent consultant working with a
few schools. Winding down now and I'm thinking of firing myself. No
boat now. Mega-cruise ships beckon.
"As for The Warrior Beat blog--I had only a clinical interest in internet
applications, but noticed this blog morph into a national "community
center" and defy all the conventional wisdom that says it can’t exist.
I was drawn in by the great people here. I meddle a bit, being a
Myers-Brigg profile INTJ. Nothing is impossible and there are so many
resources and resourceful people gathered here. Now with the internet,
nobody away from Hawai‘i need be without news of their favorite football
team and without their mostly unseen but very real blog friends."
* * *
The lineup:
Thursday; JoJo
Friday: HawaiianBod
Saturday: Warrior Mojo
Sunday: A-House
Monday: Lava
Hawai'i's Newspaper Online 
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
