By Lance Tominaga, ESPN Honolulu Web Editor.
Today we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor – a day, noted President Franklin D. Roosevelt, that would live in infamy. More than 2,400 Americans lost their lives during the attack, and it’s not a stretch by any means to say that the events of that Dec. 7 changed our world forever.
But since we are a sports station, we also can look to the past and find some of the notable sports headlines from yesteryear. Today we journey back to Dec. 7, 1991, exactly 30 years ago, and examine that day’s sports happenings:
♦ BYU-Hawaii swept IUPUI in three sets – 15-5, 15-2 and 15-2 – in Hays, Kansas to capture the school’s third NAIA National championship. Seasider outside hitter Irae Utu was named the tournament MVP, and middle blocker Lei Finau was named to the All-Tournament First Team. The top-seeded Seasiders steamrolled through the tournament, sweeping six of their seven matches, finishing the season with a school-record 30-1 mark.
♦ in Champaign, Illinois, UH baseball star-turned-hoops standout Chris Walz made four free throws in the final minute of the game to help the Rainbow Warrior basketball team beat South Carolina State, 73-67, in the consolation game of the Fighting Illini Classic. Walz finished the game with 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Bert Woodard led Hawaii with 18 points, while Phil Lott contributed 14.
♦ At Klum Gym, the UH women’s basketball team cruised to a 73-53 victory over Wichita State in the title game of the UH Wahine Basketball Invitational. Four Rainbow Wahine scored in double figures, led by Amber McEwen, Donna Gentry and Kalei Namohala, who each had 11 points. Jennifer Hurt added 10 points and nine rebounds for Hawaii, who improved to 5-0 on the young season.
♦ Patrick Ewing put up 43 points and 14 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks to a double-overtime road win over the Atlanta Hawks. It was the Knicks’ seventh victory in their last eight contests. Dominique Wilkins led Atlanta with a game-high 52 points.
♦ In Tucson, Arizona, Chris Mills and Sean Rooks combined for 39 points and 17 boards to lead Arizona to a 87-67 victory over Shaquille O’Neal and the LSU Tigers.
♦ Forty-three-year-old George Foreman continued his quest to regain boxing’s heavyweight crown by scoring a third-round TKO over previously unbeaten Jimmy Ellis.
♦ Michigan receiver Desmond Howard won college football’s Maxwell Award, which is presented to the country’s top player. Howard easily beat BYU’s Ty Detmer and Florida State’s Casey Weldon in the award voting.