Week in Review: Sol, CO, Kia, Brett Leonard, Etc.

Season tickets go on sale tomorrow.

Season tickets for the 2010 University of Hawai‘i football season go on sale Monday, July 19. Fans can purchase season tickets online at HawaiiAthletics.com, visit the Stan Sheriff Center Box Office (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.) or call 944-2697 during the same hours.

In WitP news, Solomon Elimimian had 6 tackles in his first start for the BC Lions on Friday.

Chad Owens had 3 catches for 35 yards, 7 kick returns for 129 yards, and 6 punt returns for 31 yards as Toronto beat Calgary on Wednesday. He also caught a 2-point conversion near the end of the game to seal the win:



Argonauts.ca has a Q&A with Owens.

Q: What advice would you give to a young football player?
A: The best advice I could give to a young football player is never let someone tell you that you can’t do something. If you have a goal, hold on to it and strive for it no matter what. For me, it was always “he’s too small, he’s not strong enough, he’s not fast enough” and I guess that’s what motivated me. Education has got to come first and foremost but just go for it.

A couple weeks ago, Owens and special teams coordinator Mike O'Shea discussed Chad's 90-yard punt return for a TD in the first game of the season

The Star-Ledger had a Q&A with Aaron Kia of the New York Jets.

Andrew Matheson profiles UH offensive lineman Brett Leonard.

But at Hawaii, where he is currently listed as the No. 1 left guard entering the 2010 season, Leonard could prove to be more dynamic; he's expected to see some time at center after one his teammates suffered an injury during spring practice.

"I'll be starting somewhere. I may see some snaps at center in camp, but left guard is where I'll probably end up at," Leonard said.

With zero offers on the table just two years prior, Leonard now had a choice - Kansas, Cal, Marshall, Nevada, UTEP and San Diego State all pined for his services.

But it was Hawaii's locale, culture and passion that intrigued Leonard, who visited Honolulu for his very first trip, and decided not to visit anywhere else.

"You always kind of wonder what could have happened, but I definitely have no regrets with a place where I could start for two years," Leonard said. "The culture is something you don't see too much in Hollister, and the support of the fans was a big thing.

Stephen Tsai caught up with incoming linebacker Siaki Cravens.

A year ago, Siaki Cravens left Utah, which will join the Pac-10 in the near future. Now he is an outside linebacker for the Warriors.

Second thoughts?

“No regrets at all,” Cravens said. “Nothing against Utah, but it wasn’t a good fit for me. I moved on. I’m 10 times happier here than in Utah, and I’ve only been here a week Definitely no regrets. I love it here. This was one of the best decisions I made.”

The Metz Photography blog has some photos of Greg Salas that should be appearing in HawaiiAthletics.com promotional material sometime soon.

And finally, the Board of Regents passed a $50-a-semester athletic fee. Ferd Lewis asks if more students will attend UH games now that the fee has passed.

For their new mandatory $50-per-semester fee, students will receive admission to home UH athletic events by showing their ID card. The athletic department said it will make 5,000 seats available at Aloha Stadium, 515 at the Sheriff Center and 225 at Les Murakami Stadium.

Athletic director Jim Donovan said those will not be "hard" numbers and his department will consider increasing them if student interest dictates, based upon availability.

For a football game that figures to sell out, Donovan said it would be difficult for the department to allocate additional seats for students. But if a sellout isn't projected, and 6,000 or more students show up, "we'd probably wave them in and hope they enjoy themselves."

And earlier in the week, Stephen Tsai asked some of the cash-strapped UH walk-ons for their opinion on the fee.