Heisman, June to UCLA?, Tickets, Bess, Ikaika

Dave Reardon followed Colt Brennan and the rest of the Heisman candidates as they toured New York yesterday.

"I'm really excited to be a part of it," Brennan said, after completing a double-decker bus tour of the city and before a pizza party that would cap the evening's activities. "There's always a possibility. But considering the fact that I didn't get invited to the Johnny Unitas or the Maxwell or the Camp (award shows), watching the way the awards have gone the past week, I'm just grateful to be here. I'm not too optimistic about me winning anything tomorrow."

Stephen Tsai has some details about the fan frenzy surrounding Colt.

Several autograph seekers greeted Brennan at the Newark International Airport luggage area.

Later, fans swarmed the stretch limousine carrying Brennan when it pulled into the driveway of the Midtown Manhattan hotel. Security was summoned to help Brennan exit the limo.

"It's been crazy," said UH sports media relations director Derek Inouchi, who is on Brennan's 10-person guest list to attend today's Heisman Award show at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square.

Ferd Lewis writes about the fellowship between Colt and some former UH QBs.

"Everybody who played, whether they were a backup defensive lineman or special teams player, feels a part of this," Rolovich said. "But as a quarterback, you feel like you have a foot on that stage (today) with Colt."

Check out Dave's and Stephen's blogs for any updates leading up to the Heisman ceremony later today.

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Okay, this is not what you want to hear.

Meanwhile, Hawaii coach June Jones let UCLA know he is interested in the vacant head coaching position, and he is a candidate of interest for Bruins athletic director Dan Guerrero, sources said.

However...

But a big question for UCLA could be Jones' true interest in the job. He is paid $800,000 at Hawaii, must deal with downtrodden practice and coaching facilities, and has a recruiting budget of $50,000. There could be concern Jones would use UCLA to get a better deal at Hawaii.

There's no way UH would let June go without a fight. Of course, I would not be surprised if this one was fumbled too. But June loves Hawaii too much...

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Rosemarie Bernardo writes about the tickets UH are keeping in-house.

The University of Hawaii reserved a little more than twice the number of Allstate Sugar Bowl tickets for its team and university use than the University of Georgia.

UH set aside 3,000 tickets compared with Georgia's 1,370 tickets.

A breakdown of who will get the tickets UH slated for the team and university use was not available yesterday. "We're still working on that. We'll be able to confirm those numbers soon," said associate athletic director Carl Clapp yesterday.

The University of Georgia readily disclosed to whom its tickets are going.

That'll be an interesting list. And if they're holding so many tickets, it's another reason to ask why did they give so many back?

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Congratulations to Davone Bess, who was named a Walter Camp 2nd team All-American.

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And finally, here's a Q&A with Ikaika Alama-Francis, from the Detroit Free Press.