Sad Sad Loss...

Went to the UH game this past Saturday and man, was I disappointed. I can handle losing, that's to be expected given the losses we had on our offense from last year and the presence of a brand new head coach. It's just the way we lost.

The one thing that I cannot absoulutely tolerate is stupid penalties. I'm talking about the 15 yarders for unsportsmanlike conduct. We got like at least 4 of these throughout the game and it's just frickin' pathetic and idiotic. There was a time during June Jones's era where these types of penalties were common and I was livid. And it seems to be happening again. What does it stem from? A severe lack of discipline.

I have a gut feeling that former UH coach Dick Tomey, now coach of the San Jose State Spartans may have had a hand in this. After coaching here for so long, he must have a feel for the "local" short temper and the forever playing with the chip on the shoulder attitude and never back down personality of our local boys. I have a suspicion that he told his D-lineman to continually talk trash to UH O-lineman to try and trigger a reaction and if this was indeed his plan, he was successful. 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalties absolutely killed us. We just have to get rid of this kind of street mentality and just play football. The scoreboard speaks for itself, not your words or actions. And this comes down to the coaching staff. They have to have a better grip on their players.

Speaking of coaching...what was with the 55 yard FG attempt? Yeah, Kelly's proven he's got a strong leg but look at his performance this year thus far...he's been very inconsistent. Plus, the way the D was playing all game, I'd punt the ball and pin them back and try to get the ball back in good field position. The punter had already pinned 2 punts inside the 10 earlier in the game. Let him do it again! But no, Coach Mac decided to let Kelly try a FG that even pros would have a hard time committing. Bad mistake.

And I realize that Graunke was nursing a sore hand and that's why he didn't start the game and also why Funaki was left in so long despite his poor performance, but we simply need to find an answer at QB. This was our 4th game and we've had guys go from #1 to #3 or #4 and the #4 go to #1. This in all in a span of a month. This screams of desperation and no trust in the QB position.

Also, we had 2 weeks to prepare for this game with the bye last week. What the hell did they practice during those 2 weeks? We couldn't execute a single damn play. Funaki looked totally lost out there. Uhm...wasn't he taking majority of snaps in practice for the last 2 weeks? What the hell were they practiciing?

It's too bad Pilares got hurt in the 1st half. He was playing lights out. If he had stayed in, it could've made a difference. And yet, this is a guy who's supposed to play WR this year. Yup....talk about no one knowing what they're doing on the coaching staff.

I felt really terrible for the defense. They played their hearts out and were awesome. They forced so many 3 and outs and held their ground when the offense kept turning it over, 3 times on the first play of the drive. But you're gonna be fighting an uphill battle when your offense turns it over 6 times in a game, 5 times in the 2nd half alone.

I'm not ready to crucify Coach Mac yet, but I never was a fan of his hiring. I didn't like him as a DC last year and we paid way too much to a guy who has no head coaching experience. But it's still too early to give him the axe, way too early. Especially in a rebuilding year. But what the fans do need to see at the least is more discipline, better play execution, and better decision making.

We go to Fresno State next week....be afraid. Be very afraid.

Wonder Girls on Perez Hilton

I have no idea who Perez Hilton is but apparently his Hollywood celebrity blog is a big deal to people who follow that kind of tabloid stuff. The only reason I know who he is now is because the Korean girl group Wonder Girls got a shout out on his blog recently. Check out his shout out here.


It's kinda cool that they're getting recognition in the States cuz they are HUGE in Korea, especially after their last 2 catchy pop hits "Tell Me" and "So Hot". Their new song "Nobody" is pretty good too.

It's all due to uber-producer Park Jin Young. Who? Don't know who that is? You shall soon learn....

You can check out the video with English subs here...

Jang Jin Young Has Stomach Cancer

Popular Korean actress Jang Jin Young has been diagnosed with stomach cancer and will begin undergoing chemotherapy. She's one of my favorite Korean actresses. She starred in one of the best Korean romantic comedies Singles and has won several acting awards. She's truly very talented.

Aw man...this sucks...

Here's the teaser and trailer for Singles, with English subs. Excellent film and highly recommended...

Mayoral Runoff

Man, how close was Mayor Mufi Hannemann to avoiding a runoff in the November general election? All he needed was 50% of the vote +1 and he ended up with something like 49.3%. I know that Mufi was campaigning hard to get his supporters to vote during the primary this past Saturday as I attended several of his functions so he must be really disappointed.

The thing is that Mufi probably has the mayoral race all sewn up but now has to spend another 2 months campaigning for an inevitable result. City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi was a distant 2nd with about 30% of the vote, which is actually pretty impressive considering she entered the race very late.

But I know Mufi really wanted to avoid the general election and just wanted to concentrate on going back to doing his job. You have to blame the low turnout for these results. Only 35% of voters went to the polls. That is so pathetic. I'm not a big political guy by any means. I don't watch CNN regularly but I do try to keep on top of the main issues whenever possible. But I definitely take advantage of my ability to vote.

I think a lot of people in this country take this privilege for granted. We have to consider ourselves very lucky to have a say in who gets to be our political leaders and that's something I appreciate a lot. People always complain about who's in the White House or who's running the State of Hawaii but you know what? Chances are these people never got out there to vote so they shouldn't say anything. I mean come on...35%? That's just plain sad and screams of the sometimes typical apathy of the people of Hawaii.

Granted, I don't think that the government did a good job of informing the public that 9/20 was the day of the primary election either. If I hadn't attended the mayoral support functions, there's a chance I wouldn't have known about it. I think if the public was better educated about the primary election, this wouldn't have happened and there would've been a bigger turnout at the polls.

Oh well....I guess we can all look forward to another 2 months of campaigning...it should be interesting as I think Ann Kobayashi (a very strong supporter of the Korean community as is Mayor Hannemann) is a great person and very qualified as well.

USA Off To Good Start

The Ryder Cup started this morning and the US team got off to a great start, winning the morning foursome matches, 3 points to 1. Ryder Cup rookie Anthony Kim was paired up with the US's best player Phil Mickelson (since Tiger's not playing) in the opening match and came back from 3 down to halve the match and earn half a point. Pretty good for a rookie, especially playing against the veteran team of Paddy Harrington (who's won 2 majors this year) and Robert Karlsson.

The US has lost I think the last 3 or 4 Ryder Cups to the European squad so they're hungry for a victory and they're off to a great start. I can't remember the last time the US won the opening foursome matches. It seems like they're always fighting from behind each time so it's refreshing to see them in the lead like this.

The fourball matches are currently under way now. Hopefully the US team can keep its momentum going.

Ai Yai Yai....

I love DeSean Jackson. I really do. He was an outstanding WR and kick returner at Cal and he's doing awesome in his rookie year in the NFL for the Eagles, gaining 100 yards receiving in his first 2 games.

But the man is a doofus. Check out this play from last night's wild Monday night game. He catches a long bomb from McNabb and then drops the ball in celebration at the 1 yard line!



And that's not the first time he's done it! Check out this clip from his high school days!



Man, this guy's got skills but he's gotta grow up!

The Amazing Race 13

Check out the cast for the new season of The Amazing Race.

It's the same old usual suspects (the estranged couple, the hotties, the family group, the outcast/weirdo group, etc.) but this show is still very entertaining. The best reality show on TV. Also, surprisingly no alpha male team this time around, unless you wanna count Andrew and Dan but they don't quite fit the young alpha male profile.

I bet you the married hippies are the first to be eliminated but I hope not cuz they look like they'll be a fun team to watch.

The Amazing Race Season 13 starts 9/28/08. Mark your calendars!

Lunch In Waipahu Part 1 - Kristen's Kitchen

I'm a big time roast pork lover. Whenver I go to a plate lunch place and it's on the menu, I'm ordering it. I've seen all types of styles with all kinds of gravys and I have to say that the roast pork plate at Kristen's Kitchen is one of the best I've had.

Check it out! Yummy!
The meat was very tender and had just the right amount of fat mixed in to it. And they give a lot! This plate cost $7.95 but for the amount of food, it's definitely worth it. The gravy is also winnahs which is why I get it on the rice too.

So if you ever find yourself driving down Farrington Hwy in Waipahu, go check it out!

Chris Cooley Fantasy Football Draft

This was a great find. Washington Redskins TE Chris Cooley has a video up of his fantasy football draft with some of his teammates, including Colt Brennan! Others featured are QB Jason Campbell, RB Mike Sellers, et al.

It's a must watch for any fantasy football fan as you see all the regular going ons of a typical draft. The guy that always drafts someone who's already been selected, the trash talking, etc. Poor Colt doesn't know what the hell he's doing. He picked LenDale White in the first round! And then one of his teammates calls it a "gay pick". ^^

Other gems...

- When someone selects Reggie Bush....the rest of them say "Meh..."

- "I select 'I'll beat you up' Steve Smith!"

- Someone selects QB Matt Ryan and Fred Smoot says "He's nothing! He's a pair of shoes!"

- Cooley and Campbell both select each other for their fantasy teams. Hmm...does this mean Cooley's gonna have a big year? LOL

It's a fun video if you're a fantasy football fan. Check it out:

You can also check out Chris Cooley's blog here. You'll see that Colt Brennan's team is called the Menehune. Fun stuff!

My Daboyz Fantasy Football Team

Had my draft on Labor Day in my main league (Daboyz league) and I'm quite pleased with the results. I got handed the #9 pick out of 10 teams so that wasn't too great but I made do with it. Our league starts 2 QBs, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 PK, and 1 DEF/ST. We also give 2 PPR.

Round 1 - Larry Fitzgerald. Yeah you read that right.

Round 2 - Reggie Bush. If he stays healthy, he will dominate in catches.

Round 3 - Plaxico Burress. Gonna have another solid year with the NYG.

Round 4 - Thomas Jones. Sleeper RB. Willie Parker and Willis McGahee were available but I went with the upside.

Round 5 - Aaron Rodgers. Gotta get someone from Cal! And he's got lots of weapons to play with.

Round 6 - Brandon Jacobs. Solid RB #3 but needs to stay on the field.

Round 7 - Lee Evans. Taking another shot with him this year. Please throw him the ball!

Round 8 - Jon Kitna. Mike Martz may be gone but Kitna's got good WRs to throw to.

Round 9 - Ray Rice. Will take carries away from McGahee and may be a consistent starter.

Round 10 - Chris Chambers. Nice to have a Charger on my team. CC will be the #1 WR probably since I don't think Vincent Jackson is quite ready to step up yet.

Round 11 - Felix Jones. I think he will do really well in Dallas cuz he's got too much talent to keep off the field and I'm not sure if MB3 can handle the full load.

Round 12 - Chad Pennington. My backup QB. Yuck.

Round 13 - Indianapolis DEF/ST. They got their injured players back and should be solid again this year.

Round 14 - DeSean Jackson. Another boy from Cal! He's looked great in the preseason and although rookie WRs don't usually make much of an impact, with McNabb in the backfield, balls will be in the air!

Round 15 - Justin Gage. Sleeper WR. I think he's got an outside shot at making some noise.

Round 16 - Josh Brown. I rarely care about kickers too much.

That's my team! The NFL starts tonight and I have Plaxico on my radar. You go Burress!

Cal Off To Good Start

1-0 baby!

Got home after volunteering at the Okinawan Festival and watched the Cal-Michigan State game on DVR. I was curious how Cal was gonna be this year, especially on offense after losing RB Justin Forsett and also WR DeSean Jackson. The QB situation was also in question as incumbent Nate Longshore was benched in favor of the sophomore Kevin Riley, the guy who may have cost Cal a shot at being #1 last year when he was tackled in an attempt to run into the end zone with no time left against Oregon State.

But I gotta say, Cal looked great! New RB Jahvid Best looked awesome in bits and pieces last year backing up Forsett and was asked to carry the load this time. He was very successful, carrying over 20 times for 111 yards. This guy is blazing fast and it will be interesting if he can handle the load. If he can, watch out. His backup FR Shane Vereen also pulled off a 81 yard TD so they look ready at RB.

QB Kevin Riley played a great steady game, and didn't turn it over like Nate Longshore did who threw picks in both of his possessions. Yeah, let's just leave him on the bench.

Cal's D was okay, but can still improve. But they did well overall.

Next up, a road game at Washington State!