ERUPTING VOLCANOES AND SPORTS

Did you know that as of 23December2024 there were 44 active volcanoes on Earth?  I would imagine that they're almost all still erupting today.  Except for five in Africa and Europe, all the others are in the Pacific, or close to it.

Three are linked to the U.S.:  Ahri (Marianas, Pacific Ocean), Sitkin (Aleutians, Alaska) and Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii.  Here is a live multi-cam from Haleakala Crater. As I predicted, the volcanic gases wafted over to Honolulu this weekend:

But air movement shifted, so it's okay now.  Our windows are regularly cleaned.

As I still actually golf, next, the Sentry on Maui, won by Hideki Matsuyama (always wears yellow on the final day of play) of Japan with a score of -35, which is the lowest round ever played in PGA history.  Not that the Kapalua Plantation Course is easy.  It's unique.

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  The 17th hole is a par 4 of 550 yards, the longest on the tour.
• The 18th is a 678 yard par 5, the longest on the PGA Tour.  Can be reached in two because of slope and wind conditions.  There is a 773 yard par 5, The Ascendant in Colorado, but that is for the Korn Ferry Tour.

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  The Kapalua course covers 316 acres and reaches a high point of 510 feet.  Beginning Thursday, the Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club will peak at 10 feet on a 120-acre property.
• The first 400-yard drive came on a PGA Tour course came at this Kapalua course, by Jonathan Byrd in 2003.  
• I remember when the total winnings in a PGA tournament were less than a million dollars.
• At the Sentry.
• #1  Hideki Matsuyama  $3.6 million.
• #2  Collin Morikawa  $2.2 million.
• #3  Sung-Jae Im  $1.4 million.
• Last and #58  Brian Harman  $48,500.
• Last year at the Masters, champ Scottie Scheffler won $3.6 million.  He cut his hand and had to cancel the Sentry.

Oh, you too can sign up and play the Kapalua Plantation Course.  

• Went to their site and saw $469/person as the green fee.  But it includes the cart.  No clubs?  Another $85.  
• I was there eons ago and paid much less.  Actually drove more than 300 yards on their #17th or 18th hole, can't remember for sure, for they're both all downhill and with the wind.  Pros can drive it 450 yards.  
• Last year, Max Homa, not particularly noted for his drives, hit the ball a PGA Tour record 477 yards on the 4th of the Sentry.
• In 2004, Davis Love III hit a 476 yard drive on the 18th.
• One mile away is the closest hotel to this golf course, the Ritz-Carlton.  Checked on the hotel for January 15 and saw a price of $1089/night.  Montage Kapalua Bay?  Only 1.6 miles away, for a just reduced $1,540/night.

The NFL regular season is over.  My three fantasy teams ended up first, second and fourth in their leagues.  Not bad, considering I was away on a cruise ship or in Europe for two months.  I don't do NBA, so my next fantasy effort will be ESPN Fantasy Baseball.  And, yes, there is no cost.  Well, no monetary cost, but you will waste a lot time adjusting your team roster daily and watching more games than can be justified.  Then when you win your league, you only gain pride.  I've been annually doing this now for at least three decades.  

In fact, there have been periods when I had fantasy teams in baseball, football, basketball and golf.  There are sites that will take your money, and Yahoo is known to be a good one.  Others are FanDuel, DraftKings, Fantrax and the National Fantasy Baseball Championship.  About the latter one:

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  For an overall grand prize of $200,000, it costs $1800.
• Rotowire Online, entry from $350-$1500 to win $150,000.
• Best Ball Cutline Championship, $150 to win $50,000.
• A simple one is Gladiator, entry of $50 to win $10,000.

As virtually all their games are televised live in Hawaii, the Los Angeles Dodgers have become my favorite team, and they are poised to again win the World Series.

1	Shohei Ohtani	DH	571	119	41	100	33	0.280	0.373	0.564	0.937	82	153
2	Mookie Betts	SS	587	108	29	88	15	0.279	0.371	0.496	0.867	79	94
3	Freddie Freeman	1B	589	96	24	94	11	0.287	0.369	0.477	0.846	74	113
4	Teoscar Hernandez	OF	611	81	27	90	9	0.255	0.314	0.442	0.756	49	189
5	Max Muncy	3B	468	71	25	73	3	0.216	0.336	0.423	0.759	80	151
6	Will Smith	C	432	63	19	68	2	0.252	0.340	0.442	0.782	50	88
7	Michael Conforto	OF	459	62	20	67	2	0.242	0.329	0.427	0.756	48	124
8	Tommy Edman	OF	562	71	16	67	24	0.251	0.308	0.397	0.705	42	111
9	Gavin Lux	2B	397	53	9	48	7	0.254	0.327	0.383	0.710	43	93

They just got shortstop Hyeseong Kim (stole 22 bases last year) of the San Diego Padres, and Lux was traded away, so Betts will play second base.  The pitching staff also got a lot stronger, with the addition of Blake Snell and return of Shohei Ohtani.  They are also trying to add 23-year old Roki Sasaki (left) of Japan, the hottest pitcher on the market.  Last year for the Chiba Lotte Marines he posted a 2.10 ER and struck out 32% of batters he faced with a pitch reaching 102 MPH plus a devastating splitter.  Like Ohtani, Sasaki is 6'4" tall.

1	Blake Snell	SP	179	13	9	3.52	1.22	233	77
2	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	SP	159	11	8	3.57	1.18	167	43
3	Tyler Glasnow	SP	144	11	6	3.25	1.10	178	41
4	Tony Gonsolin	SP	132	8	8	4.70	1.37	117	46
5	Dustin May	SP	122	8	6	3.76	1.25	129	42
6	Shohei Ohtani	SP	139	10	7	3.50	1.17	163	45

I'll end today with a prediction.  The University of Hawaii men's volleyball team lost most of its starters from last year, so added 10 signees.  After two games, against #20 ranked McKendree, I can with some confidence say that, barring injuries and the like, they will end up among the final four teams in the NCAA playoffs in May.  They have a tough schedule against BYU (#6), Princeton (#19), Southern California (#7), Stanford (#13), Ball State (#5), Penn State (#8) and their league, where they are picked to place third (UCLA, not in the league, is ranked nationally at #1, Long Beach #2, UC Irvin #3, UH #4, with more than half of the league teams in the top 20 nationally).  What is the evidence for excellence?

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  Two European national team members, 6'8" Kristian Titriyski (right) of Bulgaria and 6'5" Adrien Roure (above) of France.  They are amazing, and hit the ball so hard.

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  Best high school player in Hawaii last year, 6'10" Kainoa Wade, the coach's son, and another from Hawaii, 6'8" Justin Todd.
• 6'6" Ofeck Hazan on the Israel National Team, and already spent three years in their military.

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  Member of the U.S. U19 National Team, 6'5" Finn  Kearney of Arizona.
•  All the above are freshmen.
• Their sophomore setter, Tread Rosenthal, grew 3 inches to 6'11".

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  Their starting middle blocker and junior is Kurt Nusterer, 6'9"
• Libero 5'7" Eleu Choy (right), a senior, is incredible.
• Transfer 6'6" Clay Witter is a 5th year senior, and has shown signs of being the glue for the young team.

The team will not go undefeated, but should nicely come together by the end of the season.  Here are highlights of their sweep of McKendree.  Video of Roure this weekend, being named Big West offensive player and freshman of the week.  More about the Big West with Coach Wade.

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