Pisa Tinoisamoa Update / Herman Herman Herman

Bill Coats of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has an update on former UH linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa as he rehabs and recovers from the multiple injuries he suffered in 2006.

The 6-foot-1, 235-pound Tinoisamoa was a second-round draft choice in 2003 from Hawaii who earned a starting spot as a rookie in training camp and led the team in tackles each of his first three seasons. A former teammate once marveled at Tinoisamoa's ability to "get to the ball with a bad attitude."

Tinoisamoa didn't miss a game during than span, but his luck ran out last year. It started with a dislocated elbow in Week 2 at San Francisco that sidelined him for two outings. Subsequently, he injured his shoulder and broke both hands.

...

Adversity's part of my life, something that I've always had to deal with," he said. "So this is just one of those things I've got to face head-on and defeat. ... I'm slowly integrating different drills and regimens. Hopefully, it keeps getting better and better. It feels good."

Although the Rams won their last three games with Dexter Coakley filling in on the weak side, coach Scott Linehan said Tinoisamoa's absence was felt.

"When Pisa was in there ... things seemed to be running much more smoothly," Linehan said. "Once he was out of there, I wouldn't say we were scrambling, but we were having to try different lineups."

Let's hope 5-0 fully recovers and gets back layin some hat!

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And lots of Herman Frazier related articles. He's talking more and more to the press, as he puts on the full court... press. Dave Reardon talks to Frazier about the upcoming Monday briefing.

Chang, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, said he's received "20 and still coming in" complaints about Frazier since announcing the briefing last week, and some cite travel issues.

"I'm hearing a lot about how dissatisfied people are," Chang said.

Yesterday afternoon Frazier said he had not yet been asked by Chang to bring the travel records.

"I'm not sure what travel information you mean, because I haven't talked to Rep. Chang about that. But all the travel I do on behalf of the university is paid for by the university. All the jobs I do for other (organizations) is paid by them. Whatever anyone wants to ask us about that, we'll make that available," Frazier said.

Frazier said many of the meetings he attends on the mainland are mandatory, and it is common practice for athletic directors to spend as much as half of their working time on the road.

"Every athletic director in America travels extensively as part of their job," said Frazier, who also spent a lot of time away from Hawaii with work related to the 2004 Olympics. "But I haven't been to an Olympic meeting since '04. I'm not sure where the travel issue comes from.

Good points by Herman. As long as the records back it up.

Stephen Tsai writes that Herman is still looking for a 13th game.

"We're on the phone every day on that 13th," Frazier said. "When we have exhausted every avenue then we will announce that we've exhausted our avenues. But we're not there yet."

Despite an incomplete schedule, UH began selling season-ticket renewals and accepting down payments for season tickets in March. Those packages were based on a seven-game home schedule.

Frazier said he would like the 13th game to be played at Aloha Stadium. If he were to secure that eighth home game, season-ticket holders would be charged for seven games.

The potential eighth home game would be "a bonus for our season-ticket holders, those people who stepped up to help us," Frazier said.

I don't want to get my hopes up regarding the schedule because we've been shot down too many times, but here's "hoping" for the best.

And Ferd Lewis laments the two D-1AA teams on the schedule, with the confirmation of Northern Colorado yesterday.

It isn't just that UNC is a I-AA member along with Charleston Southern, UH's Sept. 22 foe in Halawa. It is that the Bears are by far the weaker of the two. They were 1-10 last year and overwhelmed in stepping up from Division II. And they lose their 1,000-yard rusher.

The UNC game carries impact beyond just the opener. It means UH will not play a I-A opponent at home in the first five weeks of the season until Utah State comes to town Oct. 6. Moreover, unless a quality opponent is secured for one of the two remaining open dates, Oct. 20 or Nov. 3, the Warriors might not play a team with a winning record in Aloha Stadium until well into November.

Argh.