McKnight Leaving, Hula Bowl, JJ, Etc

Dave Reardon writes that Dennis McKnight is leaving UH to join June Jones.

"It's very difficult to leave, and I'll miss every one of the players I worked with. They're all great young men," McKnight said last night, from a going-away party at Sidestreet Inn. "The fans have been great, too. Tonight's a very difficult night. I'll always have Hawaii tattoo'd to me. And like General MacArthur said when he left the Philippines, 'I shall return.' "

Here's a Hula Bowl recap from Billy Hull.

Waimea graduate Jordon Dizon had six tackles and former UH wide receiver CJ Hawthorne had three catches for 57 yards. Jason Rivers added two receptions for 27 yards and Myron Newberry intercepted a pass in the end zone.

Here's a recap from Kyle Sakamoto.

"I'm going to miss it a lot. The fans are great," said former UH defensive tackle Michael Lafaele. "They have a lot of support and a lot of love for us. I thank them for coming out. Most of them came out to see us play."

June Jones will hold a press conference in Kona today.

Today's news conference will be in Kona, where Jones is attending a previously scheduled event for the Big Island chapter of Na Koa, the Hawaii football booster club.

Jones says Kona is the ideal place for us to reflect on recently made choices and the opportunities that lay ahead.

He hopes the conversations he has will result in a deeper understanding and a broader perspective about his nine years at UH, the past season, and the future.

Dave Reardon will be there. He also shares some recruiting info from PIAA's Doris Sullivan.

Ferd Lewis takes a look at what lies ahead for UH athletics.

Perhaps not since the turmoil of NCAA sanctions and their fallout in the 1970s has UH athletics faced a more pivotal week than the one that now dawns. It is a period that will go a long way toward telling us whether the Warriors take the first confident steps toward making up ground or fall further — and, perhaps irreparably — behind.