Memories Of Waikiki

As the shovel met the snow for the first time this morning, there was only this thought:
TigerBlog was in Hawaii 12 years ago today.

Back when TB was the men's basketball contact, the in-season tournament was a staple of the schedule. Usually twice a season, in mid-December and then again between Christmas and New Year's, Princeton would travel somewhere and play two games in two nights at events with "classic" names like the Spartan Classic, the Illini Classic, the Carrier Classic, the Oneida Nation Classic, the First Bank Classic, the First Merchants Classic, the Otis Spunkmeyer Classic, the Sun Classic and others.

TigerBlog saw some great games through the years, though it usually came with a trade-off.

For instance, there was the time Princeton beat Marquette in a championship game that ended when current head coach Sydney Johnson played center after Steve Goodrich and Jesse Rosenfeld fouled out. Except it was in Milwaukee, where the sun didn't come out the entire time Princeton was there.

The same was true with the tournament in Green Bay (Oneida Nation Classic), where a guy named Jeff Nordgaard lit up the Tigers for 28 points and 15 rebound (or something like that; TB is doing this from memory) and where, again, the sun never came out. The best part of that event might have been that the hotel, the arena and Lambeau Field all shared the same parking lot.

TB's travels took him to Iowa twice, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin twice. Even when the team played in California, it was in Fresno, at the Coors Light Classic.

Oh sure, there were tournaments in Texas and North Carolina and even New Orleans, but never to anything that could be considered tropical - until Bill Carmody said that Princeton would be playing in the 1998 Rainbow Classic, sponsored by Outrigger Hotels and played at the University of Hawaii.

Princeton's first game would be on ESPN, against Florida State, at 7 local time, which was 1 a.m. in Honolulu. After that, the schedule would depend on whether or not Princeton kept winning.

TB and then-radio voice Tom McCarthy traveled separately from the team, which had left on Christmas Day. Instead, TB and TM left from Newark at 3 in the afternoon, on an American Airlines flight to San Francisco, with a connection to Honolulu.

TB and TM sat in the back on the plane to San Fran, with TB in the middle, TM on the aisle and a student from the University of Wisconsin whose ultimate destination was the Rose Bowl at the window.

The plane was completely jammed, and it was also late getting out. By the time it arrived in California, it was already past when the flight to Hawaii was supposed to leave, but the people on the plane insisted that the flight was being held.

When TB and TM got off in San Francisco, they walked one gate over and immediately onto the 747 headed for Honolulu, just in time to hear the pilot as he said "we apologize for the delay, but we're holding the plane for two passengers from Newark." This, in turn, was returned by boos and such, as TB and TM made their way to row 54, where their seats were.

As McCarthy walked down the long aisle, he apologized to each person for holding them up saying things like "I apologize" and "Hi, I'm Tom" and "Hey, nice to see you" and, to one passenger who looked like Jesse Ventura, "Do you shave that every day?"

By the time the two got to Hawaii, it was around 11 at night local time, which was 4 a.m. Eastern time. After walking off the plane, TB was given a shot of rejuvenation when the tropical breeze hit him in the face, as it was an open air gate.

The same was true at the hotel where TB and TM stayed. When they arrived late at night, it was really dark; it wasn't until the morning that TB realized that the lobby was open air as well, giving a clear view of the ocean - and Diamond Head.

McCarthy immediately figured out that this hotel was right next to the one where the Brady Bunch stayed. It was right in the heart of Waikiki, with a path that led directly to the beach.

The Rainbow Classic was an eight-team tournament, with two games on Day 1 (the 27th) and then two more on Day 2, before having four on the 29th and four on the 30th, including the championship game. The last game of each day would televised by ESPN.

In other words, if you kept winning, you kept playing the last game, on TV no less, and that would mean you could go to the beach during the day instead of playing in consolation games.

Among TB's memories:

* Princeton defeated Florida State, Texas and then UNC Charlotte to win the tournament
* TB would get up each morning and go to the athletic communications office at the University of Hawaii to update his notes and then come back to go to the beach. After that, it'd be lunch at Duke's (the macaroni salad and fish of the day each time) before heading to the arena
* C.J. Chapman had a huge game against Charlotte in the final
* TB was walking on the beach and ran into former manager Miles Clark, who had made the trip for the games
* Gabe Lewullis scored his 1,000th career point in one of the games and received a prolonged standing ovation from the crowd when it was announced
* Chris Young outplayed Texas' Chris Mihm, who had a long NBA career
* TB took a picture of the team on the beach and used it on the cover of the next game program
* TB took a great picture of McCarthy and the Rainbow Warrior
* The championship trophy was awarded to Princeton by Hawaii's athletic director, who wore shorts, a flowered shirt and a lei

After the final, TB and McCarthy went straight to the airport and took an overnight flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles, along with the Texas team. From there, it was onto a flight to Newark - and back to the reality of the cold weather.

Of course, the weather that day in Newark was balmy compared to what's going on today.

Snow everywhere, winds blowing it into drifts, a reminder that winter is really just getting warmed up.

And a great chance to think to a place 5,000 miles and 12 years away.

The 1998 Rainbow Classic. Good times, indeed.