More Draft News, Honorees, UH Fans, Etc

Here's a compilation of more post-draft news from Chawan. KGMB has a report about Karl Noa trying out for the Jets, KFVE has a story about Colt Brennan going to Washington, KHON's John Veneri has a report about Colt's decision to stay last year and Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullins' decision to leave early.



Colt Brennan and softball player Kate Robinson were honored by UH last night.

University of Hawai`i softball player Kate Robinson and football player Colt Brennan were the recipients of the 2008 Jack Bonham Award winners in recognition of their outstanding performances on and off the playing field. The announcement was made Tuesday night at the annual Scholar-Athlete Dinner at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Dave Reardon writes about the honorees, and has this about Colt:

Brennan, who set or tied 31 NCAA records, returned to UH for his senior year and led the Warriors to a 12-0 regular season record and unprecedented appearance in a BCS bowl game. He also graduated with a 3.12 grade point average last December -- despite increasing time-consuming celebrity, statewide and nationally.

Ann Miller writes about the event, has a list of the other 160 student-athletes who were also honored for maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA, and has a few quotes from Greg McMackin, who accepted the award for Colt.

McMackin, who worked with Washington head coach Jim Zorn at Seattle, has no fear about the future of his former quarterback. Brennan graduated in December — an accomplishment McMackin emphasized was "a big deal to him" — after "lighting the fire" to lift the Warriors to a perfect regular season and into the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Ferd Lewis writes that the Sugar Bowl and Fox were pleased with what Hawaii and all the UH fans brought to New Orleans.

Paul J. Hoolahan, Sugar Bowl chief executive officer, said, "we were absolutely delighted with the turnout." Hoolahan said it has been difficult to tab the number of Hawai'i fans — both those from the Islands and Mainland — who attended the game but said estimates of 15,000 to 20,000 "are about right."

There had been fears entering the game that Hawai'i would have scant representation, so much that UH took 4,000 tickets less than the full 17,500 initial allotment.

Hoolahan told the 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame representative who attend the meetings that the economic impact of the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl and BCS Championship game that followed it were worth approximately $400 million to the city. It was expected the Sugar Bowl would produce about $175 million of that.

Also from that article, yet another bowl game may start up -- the Rocky Mountain Bowl in Salt Lake City, which would match up teams from the MWC and the WAC.

Kevin Klott of the Anchorage Daily News profiles former UH player George Noga, who along with fellow UH-alum Leuma Pua'auli, play for the Alaska Wild of the IFL.

"It's hard work," Noga said, pulling a full-time job and playing pro football. "But for us to be a second year franchise, it's a good feeling to be 4-2."

Erika Engle writes about the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce of Northern California, which will honor June Jones and Aloha Airlines tomorrow in San Francisco.

The chamber had long planned to honor Jones this year, and "the fact that he didn't renew his contract (at UH) didn't change our minds," said President Eric Tao, a Hilo-born real estate developer living in San Francisco.

For more info, visit HCCNC.