Hawaiian Mission Academy Knight's "vs" Island Pacific Academy 26-29

Tonight's game with the Hawaiian Mission Academy Lady Knight's and the Island Pacific Academy opened up some eyes and questions about these two teams and which division they belong to. I was very curious myself and found out from head coach, Mark Kinimaka that the Lady Knight's have only 7 players. This is their first year in the ILH Division III with a team record of 9-0 coming into this game. Island Pacific Academy has 13 players with a 5-4 record for the season so far. Head coach Tommy Reyes of IPA says his team has really improved this second year considering their first year record of 0-10.

Talk about motivation and nothing to lose, the Island Pacific Academy took the lead at the half, 14-10 and it was back and forth scoring all night. Both teams played their hearts out and HMA showed no signs of giving up, especially when they fell behind in the fourth period, 22-16 with 7:37 minutes left. HMA came back with #23 Janae Wong shooting from the outside to tie the game 26-26 with 1:17 seconds left on the clock, but penalties against them allowed IPA to take the lead with several free shots. IPA took the win with a final score of 29-26 over HMA ending their season with a 6-4 record. HMA ends their winning season with a 9-1 record. The high scorers for HMA are #14 Kamalei Lene with 8 points, and #23 Janae Wong with 8 points. The high scorer for IPA was # 23 Jalen (photo above) Payongayong with 12 points.

Special thanks to HMA Leal Robert (AD), Mark Kinimaka (HC/AD), Nelson Katada, Sharolyn Rodrigues, Joseph Lene and Raquel Gonzales, assistant coaches; and to IPA Tommy Reyes (HC) and Kihau Debono (assistant HC) for the opportunity to attend this event and for sharing information on tonight's game. "Congratulations" to both teams. More photos click here.

Mid Pacific Girls Junior Varsity "vs" (#3 Seed) Kamehameha Blue 48-27.

The Mid Pacific Girls Junior Varsity Basketball team sprinted past the #3 seeded Kamehameha (Blue) Warriors Girls Junior Varsity Basketball team tonight. From the get go, I thought I was at a track meet or a football game because I've never seen so much speed, team work and most of all, the constant "hustle" by #14 Nicole Sato (photo bottom right) for the ball and the "steals" they piled up. During the first half, MPI took the lead and ended the half with a score of 18-11. MPI continued on to win it 48-27 over the Warriors.

Thank goodness for my telephoto lens. I don't think I would have had enough stamina to keep running up and down the court tonight alongside both teams. The Warriors also had a fast running team, but could not convert on their steals, and their

penalties didn't help. Their supporters on the sidelines were chanting "go defense." I could feel the bleachers rocking and both sides were really into the game.

The high scorers from MPI were #11 Megan Kinoshita with 15 points (above) and #15 Chandler Arce with 8 points and Kamehameha #15 Reyna Ae with 11 points and #22 Jasmine Tangonan with 7 points. Congratulations to both teams and also to MPI JV Girls Basketball Head Coach, Keao Miller and Kamehameha JV Head coach Scott De Silva on tonight's game.

The earlier game with Maryknoll and Kamehameha (White) was won by Kamehameha with a final score of 29-61. The high scorers for this game, Kamehameha #12 Amanda Wasko with 15 points and #30 Pu'uwai Ah Puck with 14 points, and for Maryknoll, #33 Carly Cooper with 9 points and #50 Rocky Ostrowski with 9 points. See more photos, click here.

Kahuku Women Basketball JV "vs" Kaimuki Bulldogs (55-14) Final.

This afternoon at Kaimuki High School Gym, the Kahuku Red Raider's women JV basketball team matched up against the Kaimuki Bulldogs in a one sided game. Kahuku pounded the Kaimuki bulldogs from the start. At the end of the 2nd period, the score was 8-28. The Kahuku team not only dominated, but executed their plays to perfection and just outplayed the bulldogs one on one with their speed and size. The game ended with Kahuku winning 55-14 over the bulldogs. Congratulations to Kahuku players, #5 Pati Anae (13 points top photo), #23 Jaelynn Kaio (9 points photo right), and to Coach Folafolaga Avei and JV Coach Johnny Tapusoa, and all the players this afternoon. Click here for more photos.

"Gate Ball In Hawaii" "Say What?"

"Gate Ball?"... Who would ever think this was a sport. I too wondered myself, until I had the opportunity to observe the sport at Ala Moana Beach Park this morning. I met with Mr. Stanley Kitamura (photo below), President of the Hawaii Aloha Gate Ball Association and who is also the Hawaii Ground Golf Association Director. Mr. Kitamura related they have been playing this sport for the past 6 years and all of his players are retirees, ages ranging from 70-89 years old. They play every Sunday and Thursday between the hours of 7:30am to 11:00am just Koko Head (east) of the Ala Moana tennis courts.

This is what I learned about the game. Gate Ball is a mallet sport similar to croquette. It is a non-contact, fast-paced, highly-skilled team game, which can be played by anyone regardless of age or gender. It originated in Japan (1947) and is now played by more than 8 million people in over 15 countries worldwide.

Gate Ball is played on a rectangular court 20-25 meters long and 15-20 meters wide. Courts are generally grass, but can also be clay, gravel or concrete. Each court has three gates and a goal pole. The game is played by two teams (red and white) which consist of five players each. Each player has a numbered ball corresponding to their playing order. The odd-numbered balls are red and the even-numbered balls are white. Teams score one point for each ball hit through a gate and two points for hitting the goal pole. A game of Gate Ball lasts for 30 minutes. The winner is the team that has the most points at the end of the game.

The above members are left to right, #1 Stanley Sato, #2 Stanley Kitamura, #3 Kenneth Hosaka, #4 Dorothy Sato, #5 Kay Terao, #6 Masako Kozuma, #7 Margaret Fox, and #8 Yoshikane Shizuo. I would like to thank Mr. Stanley Kitamura and his members for their time, and for sharing the sport of Gate Ball with me. Much Mahalo! More photos click here

"Hawaii Ninth Island" Ski & Snowboarding" Las Vegas Style

Hawaii residents love heading to Las Vegas, which has become our ninth island as some say and many wish for that one opportunity to become a millionaire. Hawaii residents who moved to Las Vegas have found many other activities besides gambling. One activity that has been very popular during the winter months is skiing and snowboarding on Mount Charleston which is located at 6725 Lee Canyon Road. It is about an hour drive from the strip and averages 120 inches of snow annually. I had the opportunity to experience what 21 degrees (low) and 39 degrees (high) feels like. "Wow" it's cold! It's so cold that you can walk around all day and your ice cream won't melt, even though the sun is out. I had layers of clothing, gloves, snow boots and head gear and still felt cold. Some Hawaii locals who have gotten use to the cold were walking around with less clothing that I had on. In fact they said I looked overdressed. It wasn't just cold, it was "freezing".... no laugh! I was so glad there was a Big Horn Cafe that serves food and hot beverages (hot cocoa) and a Bristecone Bar.

Transportation to Mount Charleston on Monday, December 14, 2009, was awesome because Las Vegas Ski & Snowboarding started their first day of transportation pick-up from your hotel (Centennial Transportation). They transfer you to two other locations where a tour bus (Triple Tours Coach) will take you up to Mount Charleston. I was picked up at 6:30am and got to the top of Mount Charleston around 8:00am. The bus left there at 4:00 pm and I arrived back at my hotel around 6:30pm. The cost was very reasonable. For more information, email them at ridenski@lvssr.com or call them at (702) 645-2754 - www.skilasvegas.com.

"Special Thanks" to the staff at Las Vegas Ski & Snowboarding Resort, Base Operations Manager Craig Baldwin, Curt Sheffield, Accounting Manager, Host Chris Dehner who was my blocker when I was taking photos of our local Hawaii residents skiing and snowboarding. Thanks also to the Big Horn Cafe for that hot cocoa. Again, much mahalo to all. To see photos, "click here."

"DOG PULLING" Weight Pull Competitions

On Saturday, December 5, 2009, I was invited by Alan and Stacie Mahoe of Nanakuli to watch a demonstration of "Dog Pulling." Yes, dog pulling! I know you are all wondering what it is, and I too had the same question, so I just had to see what this was all about. I was told that each dog pulls a wheeled cart or a sled with weights on it and the dog must pull the wheeled cart or sled 16 feet in 60 seconds and they are judged by who can pull the most weight. The owners can not touch the dog prior to them crossing the finish line, and if they do they will be disqualified from that event. Prior to a tournament, I was told that each dog is put into a different weight class.

As for the dogs feeling pain, I can't speak for them, but I understand that dogs who have done this "enjoy" the workout and those that don't will not move an inch. As for the ages of the dogs that participate, they usually fall between one year and 12 years old. Tournaments are usually held in Hawaii around March to September and are also held on the U.S. mainland, but it depends on the sponsors. The dogs with the best times earn points, and at the end of the year these points are added up. Those with the best three pulls earn a medal placement of Gold, Silver or Bronze. So, if you're driving around the islands and see a sign "dog pulling," you'll know what it's all about. Thank you to Alan and Stacie Mahoe for the invite and information. Check Out My Photos

"2009 HHSAA Division I Championship" Kamehameha 34-21 Over the Kahuku Raiders

I've been to college, high school and Jr. pee wee football games, but never sat in any section of a HHSAA Division I championship game at Aloha Stadium. All I can tell you is, it was very "exciting." With all the "chanting," "shouting" and "stomping," I could feel the section I was sitting in, shake so much that at times it was difficult to shoot any pictures. I was hoping the Aloha Stadium, built in 1975 would hold up its steel structure. And talking about "steal," Kamehameha dominated the first, second and the fourth quarters with a display of defensive precision. At the start of the second half, Kahuku came "storming" back but that storm didn't last. Kamehameha's T.C. Campbell passed for three touchdowns, and Ryan Ho rushed for 121 yards sealing the game over the Kahuku Red Raiders for a final score of 34-21. The Warriors won their last First Hawaiian Bank HHSAA Division I Championship title back in 2004.

As for the earlier game at Aloha Stadium, Iolani and Kaua'i battled it out back and forth especially with a lot of fumbles and interceptions. In the end, Iolani prevailed just passing by Kaua'i 24-17, making it Iolani's third First Hawaiian Bank HHSAA Division II Championship title. Congratulations to all of these teams. Check Out My Photos