A wonderful weekend of sports

By Fred Guzman
MauiNow.com

Thank goodness for the invention of the DVR. Were it not for this miracle of modern technology, I wouldn’t have been able watch so many of the various games and events that made the past weekend so wonderful for sports fans.

Where do we begin?

Let’s start with Manny Pacquiao’s demolition of Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas for the WBO welterweight title, giving the pride of the Phillipines championships in record seven different weight divisions.

Pacquiao turned an interesting bout into a rout and the fight was finally and thankfully stopped in the 12th round. Pac Man clearly deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of all time.

Michelle Wie finally won her first professional golf championship, capturing the Lorena Ochoa Invitational by two strokes in Guadalajara after 65 starts on the LPGA Tour that include more than a handful of close calls.

In an NFL season during most given Sunday’s featured more blowouts than cliffhangers, Week 10 had more than its share of interesting games.

The Indianapolis Colts rallied for two late scores and capitalized on a gamble gone bad by New England head coach Bill Belichick for an unlikely 35-34 victory.

Cincinnati held Pittsburgh without a touchdown for an 18-12 road victory. Green Bay’s defense shut down Dallas for a 17-7 victory, again raising doubts whether the Cowboys are really all that.

After a 6-0 start, Denver dropped its third straight, suffering a 22-17 loss to lowly Washington. The loss dropped the Broncos into a tie for first place in the AFC West with San Diego. The two teams meet this week in the Mile High City. The Chargers beat Philadelphia 31-20.

For most local fans, the only reason to watch Monday Night Football is to catch a glimpse of linebacker Kaluka Maiava, the former Baldwin star, when his struggling Cleveland Browns face Baltimore.

In college football, Hawaii won its second straight by defeating New Mexico State 24-6 as Greg Salas set a school record with 16 receptions. UH is at SJS this week. Spartans coach Dick Tomey, who formerly coached at UH and Arizona, formally announced today tht he will retire at the end of the current season.

The biggest news in college football was Stanford’s 55-21 road demolition of USC. It was the most points ever given up by the Trojans.

In college hoops, Hawaii won its first two games of the Rainbow Classic, defeating Southern Utah on Friday and McNeese State on Sunday. The Bows play for the championship tonight against Northern Colorado in a game that begins at 11 p.m. – that’s right, 11 p.m. – to accommodate ESPN’s Tip-Off Marathon.

Finally, preparations continue this week for Baldwin and Lahainaluna, which open their state tournament bids on Friday night. The TV hook? Baldwin will host Leilehua at 6 p.m. in a game that will be televised on OC 16. The Lunas will visit Aiea at 7 p.m. Both games will be carried on PRG sister stations: Baldwin on ESPN 550 and the Lunas on FoxNews 900.