Erik's Reader Feedback: "I Hope Hawaii Demolishes Washington on Saturday"

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Hey Ed remember me? I responded to your article earlier in the season. I have to hand it to you…you are a semi-good writer who gets people stirred up and you speak your mind …and I understand that is your job.

I would also like you to know that UH feeds off of people like you…they play with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove because the majority of sports analysts and writers will never give Hawaii the benefit of the doubt because, like Boise State last year, we have yet to earn a quality win against a quality team.

That being said I hope UH demolishes UW (Washington) on Saturday…I will be at the game. And no I am not overlooking UW even with their losing record and performance last week against rival Washington State (5 touchdowns allowed through the air).

I also hope UH gets to a BCS Bowl Game and beats whoever we are matched up against. Why? Because it is so intriguing to me that a school on a tiny bunch of islands in the middle of the Pacific with not even $100,000 of resources can actually compete with the bigger, better funded, better recruiting classes of mainland schools.

We are the small fish in a big pond and we defy odds. We fight the uphill battle and we come out on top more times than not. Personally I think the whole conference relativity talk is bull…i.e. if UH was in the Pac-10 or SEC then we would be at the bottom…the bottom line is that we aren’t and it is all speculation anyways…well yes games would be tougher, but we would also get access to Pac-10 or SEC recruiting bases and maybe more money so how can people harp on that?

I think it is sad that people would say that UH does not deserve what they have worked so hard for…bullies like you haha! And go Derrick Low and his Cougs!!! Played with that guy in high school by the way…ISLAND PRIDE!!!

Erik

Hey Erik,

Good to hear from you. I hope you did not make your comment about my being "a semi-good writer" begrudgingly. I do stir the pot and speak my mind. If those palm trees on the Island had branches, I would probably shake those too.

A few things have become clear since last weekend. One is your case for the Hawaii Warriors being better than some of us hammerheads think. Another is that my case for the Washington Huskies being better than the Warriors gets weaker every week.

Hawaii's 39-27 win over Boise State was huge, giving the Warriors their first outright Western Athletic Conference title after tying for the championship in 1999. I thought Boise State was the better team and would prove it; they did not.

Hawaii was the better team when they played them last week and remains the better team this week. How cool was it to snap Boise State's 18 game win streak against WAC teams? I think you know who has the longest current winning streak among NCAA Division 1A teams; that's right, Hawaii.

We could have used some of your Island pride last week against the Washington State Cougars. It was bad enough losing 42-35 but it was worse to lose in Husky Stadium. Hats off to Alex Brink for his 339 yards passing and 5 touchdown passes.

I said earlier in the year that the Husky defenders in the secondary could not cover their grandmother on their best day. They have proven me right almost every game. Washington has some serious problems on defense. When their offense scores 35 points it should be enough to win.

Unfortunately, even the 3rd consecutive victory by the Cougs over the Dogs could not save Bill Doba his job as head coach. Do you think June Jones would ever leave the Island for a Pac 10 coaching job in the Palouse?

Jones took over as Hawaii head coach in 1999. He inherited a team that was winless in 12 games in 1998 and took them to a 9-4 record his first year and a share of the WAC title. Since then he has put together some great winning seasons, including 9-4, 9-3, 10-4, 11-3 and 11-0 records. Very impressive.

Jones has an extensive pro coaching career, most recently with the San Diego Chargers. He must like the hot weather since he has been planted in Hawaii for 9 seasons.

I was so happy to see Jake Locker back against Washington State. He went 12 of 35 for 224 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Not the best, but he added 103 yards rushing (7+ yards per carry).

Your guy Colt Brennan made Locker's stats look really small by passing for 495 yards and 5 touchdowns and rushing for another. Apparently Brennan broke 3 major college records that night for most career touchdowns, most touchdowns responsible for, and most points responsible for.

Both Locker and Brennan took vicious helmet-to-helmet shots recently and have survived. Let us hope that when Hawaii and Washington hook up that none of that occurs again. Brennan should get national exposure in a BCS Bowl Game and he deserves to be seen. I want Locker back for the Huskies next season, and I want him healthy from his Island vacation.

You may be interested to know that I am not discriminating by picking on Hawaii. A number of teams have come under my radar, including Kansas and its weak schedule, Wisconsin, California, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, LSU, Louisville and Nebraska to name a few. I thought every one of them was overrated.

Here are three teams I never said a word about being overrated: South Florida, Cincinnati and Missouri. You did not hear a whole lot about any of these teams on the way up. I believe that South Florida and Cincinnati were victims of the Peter Principle, they simply rose to their level of incompetence. I actually enjoyed their rise because it was so fresh in both cases.

Missouri did not even make it into the Top 25 until the 3rd week of the season and now sits at No. 1. Missouri is the real deal, at least for now. They must beat Oklahoma for the Big 12 title to have an opportunity to make their dreams come true.

Back to the Hawaii-Washington showdown on the Island. One will win and one will lose, we will see what we will see.

Editor's Note: Read my 5-Part series on Running: "Wheat Products and Sugar Can Be the 'Kiss of Death' When Trying to Lose Weight – Part 1", "How Lecterns (Proteins in Foods) Are Very Negative in O Positive Blood Types – Part 2", Gluten in Wheat Products Bind to the Small Intestine Lining and Turn to Fat – Part 3", "How Popular Running Magazines Are Constantly Giving Very Poor Diet Advice – Part 4" and "There Is an Inescapable Correlation Between Weight and Cardiovascular Efficiency – Part 5".

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