The Honolulu Advertiser from Honolulu, Hawaii • 36

SUNDAY, Jan. 23, 1994 NFL UH baseball C3 C4 C4 Australian Open Tennis. The Honolulu Advertiser SPORTS EDITOR: Jamie Turner, 525-8040 UH nlone ato WiC Penitani i. loses in i showdown Ruffm beats buzzer and BYU, 69-66 J. -y By Stephen Tsai Advertiser Staff Writer It was the Shot Heard 'Round the WAC.

Trevor Ruffin banked in a hard-to-believe, 28-foot jumper TOKYO Ozeki (champion) Takanohana beat, spkiwakp finninr champion) Musashimaru (Fiamalu ume expired to give the renuani of Waianae) a controversial match to win the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament Conference Overall Pet OB HAWAII i 1 Ml 10 New Mexico 6 2 .750 Vi 14 4 Bftghem Young ...5 2 .714 1 12 4 Texas-El Paso 4 4 .500 tvt 12 5 Fresno State 4 3 .570 2 9 7 Colorado State A 3 .570 2 11 5 Utah 3 4 .428 3 9 7 Wyoming ....2 5 .285 4 9 7 San Diego St. .....2 5 .285 4 7 7 Air Force 0 7 .000 6 5 9 Yesterday's Result at HAWAII 69, Brigham Young 68 Fresno State 76 at Air Force 64 at Colorado St. 74, Texas-El Paso 64 Texas-El Paso at Colorado State New Mexico 77 at Wyoming 71 at San Diego St. 76, Utah 73 3 7-. -40 f''.

i f--, I ln r. S'. yfl.f. ii-v-i r- 4' ,4 3 jff si- V-; ly University of Hawaii a pulsating 69-66 victory over i a Young University last night before a capacity crowd of 7,575 at Blaisdell deem himself for taking an ill-advised shot with 22 seconds left. With the score tied at 66, the Rainbows placed four players along the with Ruffin positioned at the top of the key.

But Ruffin's shot from 27 feet was short, and BYU rebounded. He had missed a similar shot at BYU last season. "I told him, 'Shake it off, forward Phil Handy recalled. "He said, 'No The Cougars worked for the final shot, but Robbie Reid's pass into the lane sailed beyond Kenny Roberts and out of bounds with 5.8 seconds to play. "It was a little miscommuni-cation," said Reid, who admitted his view was obstructed by Kalia McGee's waving hands.

See Rainbows, Page C4 Ruffin ft h- -v "My prayer was answered," said Ruffin, who, moments later, found himself beneath a heap of jubilant teammates. "I knew that shot was going in. I just knew it. I didn't care how it went in, I just knew it would." Ruffin said he wanted to re aunaay. Musashimaru (12-3) forced Takanohana (14-1) to the edge of the ring and attempted to push the smaller wrestler out of the ring.

Musashimaru's right foot, however, appeared to step out before Takanohana fell out of the ring. The judges around the ring met for more than three minutes and that the referee's decision was correct. In another match, yokozuna (grand champion) Akebono (Chad Rowan of Waimanalo) was pulled -down by ozeki Wakanohana to finish the tournament a disappointing 11-4. Wakanohana also wound up with an 11-4 record. Sekiwake Konishiki (Salevaa Atisanoe of Nanakuli) was slapped I down by Oginishiki in a match that lasted about two seconds.

Konishiki (2-13) faces a demotion for the next tournament. The Rainbows gained sole possession of first place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 6-1 record their best start since joining the WAC in 1979. BYU (5-2) fell to third, behind New Mexico (6-2). Advertiser photo by Bruce Asato Hawaii's Phil Handy is sky-high on this dunk. Hawaii i a ga Hf I 7 jr FINAL, RESULTS Winner Hlgonouml 8-7 Mitoizumi 8-7 Kyokudozan 8-7 OKiraiho 6-9 Kitakachidoki 8-7 Daishoyama 9-6 Kaio 8-7 Kotofuji 3-12 OKototsubaki 7-8 Musoyama 10-5 Daizen 8-7 Kenko 6-9 QTochinowaka 8-7 Terao 8-7 4-1 1 Oginishiki 7-8 13-2 14-1 11 -4 Loser Toyonoumi 6-9 Kotoinazuma 8-7 Tamakairiki 2-13 Kasugafuji 9-6 Tokitsunada 9-6 Takatoriki 6-9 Kirishima 8-7 Takamisugi 8-7 Misugisato 8-7 8-7 Kotobeppu 3-12 Akinoshima 4-11 Mainouml 8-7 Wakashoyo 6-9 Kotonowaka 6-9 Konishiki 2-13 Kotonishiki 9-6 12-3 Akebono 11-4 5 a.

,4 V.J j- 'iiiiiin i JUNIOR DIVISION MakuahKa: Sunahama (William T. Hopkins. 5-2) del. Mlneyama. Junior division wrpslters have only seven bouts.

i i-: i 1 i's 33,947 watch collegians rally for 28-15 victory By Jamie Turner Advertiser Sports Editor It wasn't a rout. It wasn't an embarrassment. It was actually pretty exciting. Against almost every expectation, Hawaii Pono'i may have done more yesterday than just provide inspired opposition to a group of College All-Stars. Their impact could go much farther than a 28-15 defeat.

Hawaii Pono'i may have saved the Hula Bowl. That won't be determined for several weeks at least, but it was a pleased Ray Nagel who wandered the Aloha Stadium turf as the post-game concert stage was being constructed. His team of former Hawaii players, residents and relatives had given the All-Stars all they had wanted and amazingly had a chance to win in the waning moments of the game. That they didn't, that Fresno State's Tommy Jones ruined the upset hopes with a late touchdown interception, didn't faze Nagel one bit. "Anytime you decide a game in the fourth quarter, anytime you have the intensity that was seen out there, anytime you have the fans involved, you have a pretty good football game," he said.

In many ways, it was a typical postseason all-star game. There were plenty of turnovers (four for Hawaii, five for the Mainland), some brilliant plays, some good hits. But it was the fervor of Hawaii Pono'i which gave the game flavor and certainly energized an announced crowd of 33,947. "We had fun, but (Hawaii) took the game seriously, they were definitely more intense," said Kansas State receiver Andre Coleman, who was named offensive player of the game with 141 receiving yards and a touchdown. "They didn't get a lot of respect from people before the game, but they got the utmost respect from me now." That respect came quickly.

Hawaii Pono'i dominated the first half, build- fi i i -i- it-i Advertiser photo by Richard Ambo Hawaii Pono'i player Dan Ahuna celebrates his touchdown in the second period. iivtmm? a (Harrah Sports Book odds in parentheses) TODAY'S GAMES AFC Championship Kansas City at Buffalo 7:30 a.m. (Buffalo favored by 3) NFC Championship San Francisco at Dallas 11 a.m. -(Dallas favored by 3) SUNDAY, JAN. 30 Super Bowl at Atlanta 1 p.m.

CS 0 ing a 13-0 lead before a late All-Stars rally gave the Mainland team a 14-13 lead at half. The dominance was fueled by a resilient defense led by defensive player of the game Chris Mau-malanga that held the All-Stars to 13 yards in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Hawaii quarterback Garrett Gabriel was running the spread offense to perfection. Gabriel hit on eight of his first nine passes, setting up Zerin Khan field goals of 29 and 42 yards. When linebacker Junior Tagoai intercepted a Glenn Foley pass in the Hawaii end zone, Gabriel responded with a seven-play, 85-yard drive that ended with a 19-yard scoring pass to Daniel Ahuna.

Ahuna flew the final yard, perhaps See Hawaii Pono'i, Page C2 28 15 HP 3 6 13 13 13 13 15 15 COLLEGE STARS 0 14 7 7 HAWAII PONO'I 6 7 0 2 FIRST QUARTER Time HP FG Kahn 29 8 34 HP FG Kahn 42 2:29 SECOND QUARTER HP Ahuna 19 pass from Gabriel (Kahn kick) 7:10 CS Coleman 62 pass from Kelchner (Belden kick) 3:18 CS Jackson 9 pass from Foley (Belden kick) 0:56 THIRD QUARTER CS Mundy 22 pass from Foley (Belden kick) 13:25 FOURTH QUARTER HP Safety, Fortay tackle in end zone 6:04 CS Jones 36 interception return (Belden kick) 2:12 Attendance 33,947 tickets distributed 0 7 14 21 21 28 Broadcast channels in black, cable in white U-denotes a.m., denotes p.m. SUNDAY TV 7:00 Lillehammer '94 0 7:30 NFL: Chiefs-Bills (X) 8:00 Basketball: (5 9:30 Soccer: U.S.-Norway PTN 11:00 Golf: Northern Telecom ESPN Oldies diss 0OO Hawaii's seniors go where action is 11:00 NFL: 49ers-Cowboys (B 11:30 Basketball: Temple-Rutgers PTN 2:00 Basketball: PTN 3:00 Football: NFL Films '93 4:00 Top Rank Boxing ESPN 7:00 Grand Slam of Boxing PTN 7:30 Football: Hula Bowl Cable-31 10:00 Riley Wallace Show rj) 10:30 Hawaii Sports Final (D 10:30 Sumo: Tokyo Day 14 SUNDAY RADIO 7:15 NFL: Chiefs-Bills 760 10:45 NFL: 49ers-Cowboys 760 12:30 Baseball: Hawaii-UH Hilo 1420 MONDAY TV 9:00 a Tennis: Australian Open ESPN .2:30 Basketball: Georgetown-Pitt ESPN 4:30 Basketball: Missouri-Nebraska ESPN 7:00 Basketball: UCSB-UNLV ESPN 7:00 Boxing: Haugen-Castro PTN 10:001 Sumo: Tokyo Day 15 0 S3 1 Want to write us? Letters, which appear Sundays, should be 200 words or less, be typewritten, include a signature, address and phone number and arrive by Friday of every week. Write us at: The Sports Mail Bag Honolulu Advertiser P.O. Box 3110 Honolulu, HI, 96802 Or fax us at 525-8037. Sports hotline 1-900-773-6000 Press 3 Scores, computer predictions, auto racing.

954 per minute. Touch-tone calls only. grandparents and aunts and uncles running and walking. Preparing coolers and musubi for the tennis courts and golf courses and softball fields. Bearing down on the ocean, slowly stretching.

The city's Parks and Recreation department, which provides only a small percentage of the organized sports available to senior citizens, has trouble keeping up with the demand in softball, bowling and especially golf. Is Hawaii conducive to a longer, healthier lifestyle? "There's no doubt about it," says Rowdy Gaines, who won three gold medals in swimming at the 1984 Olympics and has been general manager of The Oahu By Ann Miller Advertiser Staff Writer IN Hawaii, where staying indoors is often considered a crime against nature and staying active is an unspoken creed, there might be more "seasoned athletes" those 55 and older per capita than anywhere in the world. There is no hard data to prove it. But it is a fact that Hawaii residents live an average of two years longer (74 to 72) than our Mainland neighbors, which is an athletic advantage even if the weather wasn't extraordinary. Every weekday, before the sun even thinks of peeking in, they're out there.

Parents and Club since 1989. "First of all there's the weather. I'm only 34 and I think the recovery rate is much faster because of the weather. I've lived in cold weather before, in Chicago, Atlanta, New York. Winters make it much more difficult to recover from strenuous exercise.

And more so, it's tougher mentally. "When I lived in New York, I had no desire to exercise. I just wanted to stay in and stay warm. I can imagine what it must be like for a 70-year-old." Not only do Hawaii's athletes seem to play longer, they seem to play better. Makule softball teams, on See Oldies, Page C4 Advertiser photo by Bruce Asato Sonny Ronolo, 70, has an iron will when it comes to pumping up.

He is one of many Hawaii senior citizens still going strong..