GCCC Football Program offers 4 scholarships to local players Section Fri 01-27-17.pdf · had a...

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by T. GasuSamoa News Sports Correspondent

Last week, Amer-ican Samoa’s very own Keiki Misi-peka — a former

standout student athlete origi-nally from the rock, a graduate of Samoana High School class of 1998 visited the territory. He was on a recruiting trip, and met with Governor Lolo Mala-talasi Moliga, as well as with officials from the Department Of Education, high school football coaches, parents, and

student athletes.When asked about his

recruiting trip to the territory, Misipeka told Samoa News, “I’m a proud product of Amer-ican Samoa, we are very lim-ited in resources”.

Misipeka, who was picked up by Garden City Community College’s Football Program as one of the coaches, helped the program to their first NJCAA National Champion title.

On his championship squad were sons of Samoa who were standout prospects during their

high school years in the terri-tory, and he’s looking to open the gateway to more student athletes from the island — to be a part of the GCCC family. Misipeka said, “When I became a college coach, one of my goals was to return home and give back to where it all started for me.”

He said, “I am grateful to be in the position at Garden City Community College. Head Coach Jeff Sims, the coaching staff, and the administration

GCCC Football Program offers 4 scholarships to

local playersGCCC: #1 JR. COLLEGE PROGRAM IN THE COUNTRY, CURRENTLY

HAS 12 PLAYERS POLYS ON ITS ROSTER

The 4 student-athletes from American Samoa who were recently offered football scholarships to attend Garden City Community College – with the help of American Samoa’s very own Keiki Misipeka. [photo: courtesy]

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CLASSIFIEDS • CARTOONS • ALOHA BRIEFS & MORE

SECTION B

VISIT SAMOA NEWS ONLINE @ SAMOANEWS.COMFRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017

(Continued on page B6)

The heated game between Mizuno Boys and the Laumuatasi Mens Team from Pago Pago to vie for the top four teams to play for the championship of the Samoa Challenge Men’s Division. Laumuatasi won this slot during their game on Tuesday evening at Samoana Gymnasium. [photo: Leua Aiono Frost]

ASVB hosts the President’s Cup and the Samoa

Challenge tournamentsSee story and more photos inside.

Page B2 samoa news, Friday, January 27, 2017

ARNIE STAPLETON,AP Pro Football Writer

America’s most popular sport is in the midst of its greatest migration since the mid-1990s. In a little over a year, three NFL franchises have moved , announced a resettle-ment or filed paperwork seeking to relocate .

California is once again at the heart of this shift. That was the case in 1958 when the Giants and Dodgers brought big league baseball to the West Coast, two years later when the NBA’s Minneapolis Lakers moved to Los Angeles and again in 1995 when the Raiders and Rams abandoned L.A.

The Rams returned last year, ending the NFL’s 21-year absence from the nation’s second-largest media market. They were joined by the Char-gers this month, and the Raiders could be on the move again soon, too.

Las Vegas is no longer a pariah for pro sports leagues, and Mark Davis wants in on the action. So, the Raiders asked the league for permission to move to a new $1.9 billion domed stadium in Las Vegas, which welcomes the NHL’s expansion Golden Knights to the Strip this fall. Unlike the Chargers, who will play in a 30,000-seat soccer stadium until 2019 when Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s $2.6 bil-lion two-team stadium opens in Inglewood, the Raiders plan to play a few lame-duck seasons in Oakland while a new home rises in the desert.

Until recent years, Las Vegas was off-limits. But society’s de-stigmatization of gambling and the NFL’s embrace of daily fantasy sports companies have

combined to create an environ-ment where the city of black-jack tables is a viable option for the silver and black.

“I think the understanding that Las Vegas is a growing, booming town and an accep-tance that gambling is not much of an image deterrent as it might have been in the past” makes Nevada a desired NFL destina-tion for the first time, suggested Denver Broncos president Joe Ellis, who sits on the league’s stadium committee.

Marketplace realities have long interfered with fan loyal-ties in this country’s four major sports leagues.

“It’s very hard when teams move,” Ellis said. “It’s tough on fans. It’s tough on ownership. It’s tough on the league. It’s not anything the league advocates. They want teams to stay where they are.”

Unless they can make more money somewhere else.

St. Louis had a plan for an open-air $1.1 billion stadium along the Mississippi River north of the Gateway Arch to replace the Edward Jones Dome. But Kroenke mostly ignored the city’s overtures, saying St. Louis’ economy made it dif-ficult for an NFL franchise to thrive there.

Kroenke won owners’ approval last year to build a stadium on the sight of the old Hollywood Park racetrack about 10 miles from downtown L.A. The Raiders and Chargers had a competing proposal to share a new stadium but when Kroenke’s project prevailed, the league said those teams could also move if they couldn’t get new stadiums in their cities.

A ballot measure to replace

San Diego’s aging Qualcomm Stadium failed in November, and Chargers owner Dean Spanos announced he’ll exer-cise his option to join the Rams in Los Angeles after 56 years in San Diego.

That also meant the end of the Poinsettia Bowl because the city is considering tearing down the stadium rather than continuing with costly mainte-nance. The Holiday Bowl might have to move to baseball’s Petco Park to survive.

The Raiders have been seeking to replace their dilapi-dated home they share with baseball’s Athletics for years. The Coliseum lacks many of the modern, money-making fea-tures of new or recently refur-bished stadiums and has suf-fered from sewage backups and other infrastructure problems.

Despite Davis’ application to relocate, Oakland civic leaders and investors continue to nego-tiate with government officials, the team and the NFL to build a $1.25 billion, 55,000-seat stadium.

Oakland’s mayor supports the bid by an investment group

that includes Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, but has said public financing isn’t an option. The city and Alameda County still owe a combined $100 million for upgrades to the stadium in 1995 to lure the Raiders back to Oakland. Personal seat licenses failed to cover the cost of the $220 million renovation that added more than 10,000 seats and luxury boxes.

The Las Vegas plan calls for $750 million in hotel room tax revenue, $650 million from bil-lionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson’s company and $500 million from the Raiders and the NFL. No site has been selected for a stadium, which would likely open in 2020.

“I think we continue to offer a far superior deal,” said Scott Haggerty, president of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and a member of the board that manages the Coli-seum. “I think that Mark Davis has been very patient in trying to come up with a stadium plan and I don’t blame him for keeping his options open. But the Raiders belong in Oakland.”

League owners are expected

to vote on the proposed move in March.

Approval would mark the league’s biggest migration in such a short span since the 1990s. The Rams and Raiders abandoned L.A. in 1995. A year later, the Browns bolted Cleveland for Baltimore and the Oilers left Texas for Tennessee a year after that.

Those teams saw the benefit at the box office, at least for a while, but had mixed results on the football field.

The Rams went to two Super Bowls while in St. Louis, win-ning one before the team’s for-tunes faded and crowds dwin-dled. The Raiders went to one Super Bowl before a 15-year playoff drought that ended this month. The Browns-turned-Ravens won two titles and the Titans played in one Super Bowl.

The Browns were reincar-nated in 1999 and the NFL returned to Houston in 2002 with the expansion Texans. Those teams are two of the four franchises that have never made it to the Super Bowl, along with the Lions and Jaguars.

California once again on center stage with NFL on the move

FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2016, file photo, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, left, joins Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke, center, and Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. during groundbreaking ceremonies for the team’s new stadium in Inglewood, Calif. America’s most popular sport is in the midst of its greatest migration in a quarter century. In a little over a year, three NFL franchises have either moved, announced a resettlement or filed paperwork seeking to relocate.

(AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

The Official Corner, where scores were announced and offi-cial recordkeeping for the ASVB tournament, 2017 Samoa Volley-ball Challenge was done. These officials play a vital part in what’s going on during the whole tournament.

[photo: Leua Aiono Frost]

DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer

Skip Horween’s great-grandmother wanted nothing to do with football.

In fact, her two sons were so petrified she would find out they were messing around with the barbaric-looking game that they decided to play under assumed names. That’s how it came to be that Arnold and Ralph “McMahon,” both standouts on the Harvard football team a century ago, managed to play for the Chicago Cardinals in the early days of professional football. And in a roundabout way, it’s how their family, immigrants from the Ukraine who opened a Chicago tannery in 1905, would come to provide the leather for NFL game balls used today.

Including those used by the Patriots and Falcons in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5.

“The story is really astounding,” said Mike Halpert, whose Philadelphia Hide Bro-kerage Corp. has provided the Horween Leather Co. with raw material for years.

Not just astounding, but quintessentially American.

The story begins in earnest in the late 1930s, when the Horween brothers — whose family by that point had become well-known for producing fine leathers, including Shell Cor-dovan used in upscale shoes, gloves and wallets — got to know a local businessman named George S. Halas.

Papa Bear, as he was known, owned the rival Chicago Bears in the days when the NFL was little more than a gentleman’s fraternity. He cornered the Hor-ween boys one day and they got to discussing the balls they were using in Cardinals games. The conversation turned to how they could make the best pos-sible product for a sport that was beginning to break into the national consciousness.

“We’re talking the founda-tion of the National Football League,” explained Skip Hor-ween, whose son, Nick, will be the fifth generation to run their factory on the North Branch of the Chicago River.

About the same time, a sporting goods manufacturer with roots in meatpacking and also based in Chicago had begun to produce hand-sewn footballs. It had been renamed a few years earlier and would grow to become synonymous with every ball used by the NFL: Wilson Sporting Goods Co.

It was almost as if fate aligned the companies.

Deals were struck and in April 1940, during a meeting of NFL owners, Halas made a motion (and New York Giants owner Wellington Mara sec-onded) that Wilson become the league’s official football sup-plier. In turn, Horween would produce the leather for all future game balls and that relationship stands today.

“The Horween angle is really cool because we’ve been with them longer than the NFL,” said Kevin Murphy, general man-ager of team sports at Wilson. “Halas already had a relation-ship with Wilson, which in fact went back even further than the 1940s.

“We’ve really grown up with the sport,” Murphy said. “We’ve grown up with the NFL.”

These days, the NFL is a business that last year took in $13 billion in revenue. More than 100 million people will watch on Fox when the Patriots and Falcons square off in Houston.

Yet the process of making the ball that will be kicked off that night is still at its heart a mom-and-pop operation.

Leather brokers like Halpert acquire raw product from live-stock producers, mostly in the Midwest, and those hides — in this case heavy native steer

hide — are shipped to Chicago. There, the Horween family begins turning it into the supple leather of the NFL’s exacting specifications, a laborious pro-cess that takes place at their historic, nondescript factory on North Elston Avenue.

“We have deep roots here,” Skip Horween said with a hint of pride.

For good reason: When he started at the factory in 1978, there were about 250 tanneries in the U.S. But many of them have moved overseas, where regulations were fewer and labor cheaper. Others con-solidated and still more closed entirely. Now, there are about two dozen tanneries left.

“Lots of people aren’t around anymore,” Horween said. “We’re one of the last ones.”

Factories in other coun-tries might be able to produce cheaper leather, but it would hardly be the same quality and ultimately that is why the Horween family has survived: Their leather is sought-after by shoemakers such as Alden and watchmakers such as Shinola.

Much of the production process is proprietary, but like most leather, it begins with hair removal and an initial tan-ning phase. The leather is then graded like a piece of lumber, cut and split to proper size and thickness, and goes through a re-tanning process using a blend of tree barks. Oils and waxes are then added to determine the final characteristics.

Once the leather is stamped with a unique pebble texture, it is loaded on a truck bound for

Ada, Ohio, population 5,900, about 130 of who work in the Wilson plant. Their only job there is to make footballs. Thou-sands of them.

“The people who make our footballs in Ohio, like the people who tan the leather for us at Horween, there’s been one thread of consistency in craftsmanship and attention to detail,” Murphy explained, “and knowing who your customer is and what they want. They want consistency and performance. They want the ball to perform like it did yesterday and three years ago.”

That’s why plant workers use turn-of-last-century sewing machines and other vintage equipment to make about 3,000 footballs per day, cutting, stitching and lacing each by hand. The 25-step process takes about three days to complete, but the pride in craftsmanship is evident in those who work there. The average worker at the Ada plant has been there two decades.

In the case of Super Bowl balls, the factory began working the minute the NFC and AFC title games were over, embossing balls with the logos of the Patriots and Falcons. Each team gets 108 of them in two shipments within 48 hours of making the Super Bowl, giving equipment managers and quarterbacks Tom Brady and Matt Ryan ample opportunity to break them in.

Half of those balls will be designated game balls, and one of them will end up on the tee at NRG Stadium for the kickoff. It will mark the end of a pro-cess that dates back three gen-erations and unites two historic companies in many ways at the heart of a game viewed by mil-lions around the world.

“We’re always excited, especially the folks from Ada, right before kickoff,” Murphy said. “We’re the ones holding our breath, not because we care about either team but we care about the balls. These Super Bowls are our Super Bowl, too.”

samoa news, Friday, January 27, 2017 Page B3

Long, storied history behind the footballs of the NFL

In this Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, photo an NFL Super Bowl LI football is sewn at the Wilson Sporting Goods factory in Ada, Ohio. Plant workers use turn-of-last-century sewing machines and other vintage equipment to make about 3,000 footballs per day, cutting, stitching and lacing each by hand. The 25-step process takes about three days to complete, but the pride in craftsmanship is evident in those who work there. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

The Pavaiai Boys team, who played against the Laumua o Tumua from Samoa to vie for a slot in the top four. Laumua o Tumua won the slot after a very tough game. [photo: Leua Aiono Frost]


CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James has had a rough 2017 so far.

On Thursday night, he got another trophy for making history last year. James, who made good on his promise to win a champion-ship for his home state, was named professional athlete of the year at the Greater Cleveland Sports awards after leading the Cavaliers to the city’s first title in 52 years.

The superstar ended Cleve-land’s title drought and inspired n entire region by helping the Cavs storm back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals to stun the Golden State Warriors, who won 73 games in the regular season but couldn’t com-plete their unprecedented season with a crown.

James blocked the defending champions — literally.

One of the enduring moments from ‘16 was James racing back on defense to reject Andre Iguodala’s layup attempt in the closing min-utes of Game 7 as the Cavs won at Oracle Arena to win the city’s first pro sports title since 1964.

James did not attend the star-studded event held at the Renais-sance Hotel downtown, and he

also did not accept his award via video as he’s done after winning at past events. It’s been a strange, tumultuous week for James, who publicly criticized the Cavs’ roster and questioned Cleveland man-agement’s commitment to win-ning a second title. The Cavs have dropped six of eight, including consecutive losses to New Orleans and Sacramento, two teams with sub-.500 records.

Cleveland has lost three in a row and is 5-7 in January.

The Cavs were honored for the city’s best sports moment, and general manager David Griffin accepted the award after a video montage of last year’s Finals were shown inside the ballroom.

“I needed to watch that video very badly,” Griffin said, hinting at a tough past few days.

Griffin acknowledged how Cleveland’s image has changed since the Cavs won it all, ending decades of sports frustration.

“This city believes it’s a city of champions,” he said. “We think now of why we’re supposed to win, not why we won’t. Make no mis-take, every one of us do what we do

so we can do it again.”The highlight of this year’s

event was former Indians manager Mike Hargrove receiving a lifetime achievement award. Hargrove, who guided the Indians to two World Series appearances in the 1990s, was joined on stage by Jim Thome, Sandy Alomar and Chad Ogea, three key members of those Cleveland teams that dominated the AL but didn’t win the Series.

Hargrove played for the Indians in the 1970s, traded to Cleveland from Texas. “My first experience was 10 cent beer night,” he said, recalling the night when Cleveland fans, fueled by cheap beer, stormed the field. “It wasn’t a pretty picture. We survived. We’ve been living here year around since 1994 and I think that makes me an Ohioan. I hope it does.”

Current Indians manager Terry Francona was also recognized after leading the Indians to an AL pen-nant last year and their first World Series since 1997. Members of this year’s team, including short-stop Francisco Lindor and reliever Andrew Miller, received a rousing ovation from the crowd of 1,300.

One of the early presenters was Browns side receiver Terrelle Pryor, who can become an unre-stricted free agent in March. The Browns recently signed linebacker Jamie Collins to a four-year, $50 million contract and are hoping to re-sign Pryor, who had more than 1,000 yards in his first full season since changing positions.

Pryor had surgery on his right hand following the season to repair torn a tendon.

“It’s out of my hands,” Pryor told the AP when asked about nego-tiations with the Browns. “I’ve told my agents to handle it and let them know that when they’ve got a deal to call me. I don’t care about the numbers. It’s not about any of that. I’ve just been going to the facility and working out and when I get this cast off, I’ll be good to go. I’m all about playing.”

LeBron honored as Cleveland’s top ath-lete for title in 2016

WASHINGTON (AP) — As John Wall goes, so go the Wash-ington Wizards.

With Wall showing no ill effects from offseason opera-tions on both knees, he is aver-aging career highs of 23.1 points and 2.2 steals, along with third-in-the-NBA 10.1 assists, and has steered his team into the playoff picture after a terrible start.

The Wizards began this season 1-5, then 3-9, but they are 25-20 heading into their game Friday night at the Atlanta Hawks. Since Dec. 1, the Wiz-ards are 19-9, the best record in the East in that span and fourth in the entire league, trailing only the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.

“This charge, the last seven or eight weeks,” coach Scott Brooks said after practice Thursday, “is because of his ability to lead us and get to the paint and give us a lot of open shots.”

Thanks in large part to a 14-game home winning streak, Washington began the day fifth in its conference — 1 1/2 games behind Atlanta for fourth and 2 1/2 games behind the second-place Toronto Raptors.

“We finally got it down pat. We’ve got the chemistry down pat, where we know where guys are going to be. ... We’re just all on one page,” Wall said. “I think we figured it out.”

He said his knees are feeling

a lot better than last season, when Washington went 41-41 and missed the playoffs. At the start of this season, Wall was under doctor’s orders to sit out the second games when the team played on consecutive nights — maybe until January rolled around.

Yeah, right.That lasted all of two

back-to-backs.With the help of treat-

ment that regularly includes stretching, a cold tub and “dry needling,” which Wall likened to acupuncture, he has been able to play a team-leading 36.4 min-utes a night while putting up 26 double-doubles.

On Thursday night, Wall found out he was among the 14 reserves chosen by the league’s coaches for the All-Star Game; it’s his fourth consecutive selection.

He’s not winning games for Washington alone, of course: Shooting guard Bradley Beal is putting up 21.9 points per game, for example, and small forward Otto Porter is averaging 14.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and an NBA-best 45.6 shooting per-centage on 3-pointers.

But there’s no question who’s leading the way.

“We trust him with the ball in his hands, 100 percent of the time,” second-year forward Kelly Oubre Jr. said. “Whenever he has the ball, we know some-thing good is going to happen.”

Feeling healthy, John Wall steers Wizards up East

standings

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, in New Orleans. The Pelicans won 124-122. (AP Photo/Jonathan Bachman)

Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) smiles at guard Bradley Beal, right, after Beal was fouled on a shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, in Washington. The Wizards won 123-108.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Action during the Sea Breeze Boys from Vaitogi vs. Laumuatasi Boys team game, during Monday night’s 2017 Samoa Volleyball Challenge Tournament. [photo: Leua Aiono Frost]


SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Gordon Hayward was all smiles late Thursday night, and for good reasons. He officially became an All-Star in the afternoon and the Utah Jazz got back in the win column hours later.

Hayward scored 24 points to help the Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers 96-88. The Jazz ended a two-game losing streak and the Lakers have now dropped eight of their last nine.

“It sounds nice,” Hayward said about being an All-Star. “Definitely just rewarding for a lot of work that I did. Definitely wouldn’t have gotten it without my teammates, without the coaches. Put in a lot of work in this summer with Johnnie Bryant and Isaiah Wright.

“We’ve been a lot more suc-cessful this year than in past years. I’ve always said, when a team’s successful the individual accolades come after that.”

Utah used a 16-0 run in the third quarter, punctuated by a Joe Ingles-to-Hayward alley-oop to give the Jazz a 68-56 lead that they never relinquished. The stretch was jump-started by Rudy Gobert’s rim protection on the defensive end as the Lakers went more than six minutes without scoring. He fin-ished with six blocks, matching his season-high. The Lakers answered with a 14-4 fourth-quarter run, but never got closer than 80-76.

“I don’t think we’re playing real well right now,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “It’s not sur-prising given the amount of games we’ve played recently and re-inte-grating certain players — every week there’s a new guy that’s able to play. What that does is, it affects your rhythm. “The beginning of the third quarter Rudy took the game over on the defensive end. That’s how we’re going to win.”

Hayward had another efficient night, shooting 7 for 14 from the field while George Hill chipped in 12. The short-handed Lakers strug-gled to find offense against the best scoring defense in the league were just 4 for 14 from 3-point

range. Lou Williams scored a team-high 20 off the bench while both Jordan Clarkson and Ivica Zubac added 16. “’’We went dry,” Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. said. “Couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn. Our offense just wasn’t clicking for us tonight.”

TIP-INSLakers: Julius Randle did not

start due to a viral infection. Lakers coach Luke Walton said he was available in case of emergency. ... Tarik Black started for the first time this season. ... D’Angelo Rus-sell missed his third consecutive game due to an MCL sprain and calf strain. ... Russell and rookie Brandon Ingram were selected to compete in the Rising Stars Chal-lenge Jazz: Rodney Hood returned to the starting lineup after missing five games with a knee hyperexten-sion and bone bruise. ... Trey Lyles and Dante Exum were selected for the Rising Stars Challenge.

ALL-STAR DEBUTHayward was named a reserve

on the Western Conference All-Star team Thursday, his first time making the team. The seven-year veteran is the first Jazz player to reach the All-Star team since Deron Williams in 2010-11. He entered Thursday averaging a career-high

21.8 points and 5.7 rebounds to go along with 3.5 assists and 1.0 steals.

OUTSIDE LOOKING INGobert did not make the All-

Star team. The 7-foot-1 Frenchman leads the league in blocks (118), defensive rating (97.8), true shooting percentage (.682) and points per shot (1.88) and is second in field goal percentage (.664) and offensive rebounds (176) and third in total rebounds (591).

“I’m frustrated, but it’s not what I play for,” Gobert said. “I play to win games. I try to keep improving every day. You know, that’s how it is. There’s some things you can’t control sometimes and I make sure I control what I can control.

“I thought I had a chance, but I already knew how it works in this league. I thought I had a chance, but I wasn’t counting on it.”

Gobert smirked when asked if it’s motivation for the future and said, “That’s a dumb question.”

QUOTABLE“For whatever reason, in the

second half we kept trying to chal-lenge him,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said about Gobert. “He’s probably the best shot blocker in the league and he showed us why tonight.”

Utulei Youth team with the FFAS National Cup. [FFAS MEDIA/Brian Vitolio]

Hayward scores 24, Jazz defeat Lakers 96-88

By FFAS MEDIA/Brian VitolioUtulei Youth is in Tonga to

represent American Samoa at the OFC Champions League qualifiers from Jan. 28-Feb. 3, 2017.

The 22-man team, headed by Rev. Elder Ioane Evagelia and coach Travis ‘Pita’ Sinapati, departed American Samoa on Sunday, Jan. 22 and arrived in Tonga on Jan. 24, local time.

The competition pitches the four club champions from American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga against one another with the top two qualifiers advancing to the OFC Champions League scheduled between Feb. 25-Mar. 17.

Two teams qualifying for the second stage is a new wrinkle in the preliminary tournament added by OFC, along with a total of 16 teams competing in this latter stage.

Utulei Youth is par-ticipating by way of being crowned FFAS National League champion in 2015, and they will face off against Puai-kura of Cook Islands, Lupe ole Soaga from Samoa and Ton-ga’s Veitongo FC.

Evagelia expressed his con-fidence in his team before they departed and thanked his vil-lage church of Utulei, village leaders, church leaders and FFAS for their support and well wishes for the team.

“We wish them the best of luck and hope they make

American Samoa, and our association proud,” said FFAS President, Senator Faiivae Iuli Alex Godinet.

Below is the schedule of Utulei Youth’s games for the OFC Champions League qualifiers.

GAME 11/28/17 (1/27/17 local

date) Utulei Youth vs. Lupe ole

Soaga, 12:00 PM GAME 2

1/31/17 (1/30/17 local date)

Veitongo FC vs. Utulei Youth, 3:00 PM

GAME 3(2/3/17 (2/2/17 local date) Puaikura FC vs. Utulei

Youth, 12:00 PM UTULEI YOUTH TEAM

GOALKEEPERJP Fa’avae, Peter Har-

rington, Moimoi Tualaulelei DEFENDERS

Toko Vaieli, BJ Fiaali’i, Ryan Samuelu, Pesamino Victor Harvey, Manu Joe Koroiadi, Sione Moeaki

MIDFIELDERSNeemia Kaleopa, Tea

Siatu’u, Iopu Kaleopa, Austin Kaleopa, Rajendra Singh, Kenneth Kerewi

FORWARDSPaulo Bourne, Elama

Fa’atonu, Kome Tomasi TEAM OFFICIALS

Rev. Elder Ioane Evagelia (Manager), Travis ‘Pita’ Sinapati (Coach), Malu Fa’avae (Trainer)

Utulei Youth off to OFC Cham-pions League Prelim 2017

Los Angeles Lakers’ Lou Williams (23) drives the basket as Utah Jazz’s Joe Ingles (2) defends in the first half of an NBA bas-ketball game Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017, in Salt Lake City.

(AP Photo/Kim Raff)


and community have been very supportive of our Polynesian ath-letes. GCCC is the number one Junior College program in the country – 2016 NJCAA National Champions and the only unde-feated team from last season.”

According to Misipeka, they “currently have about 12 Polyne-sian athletes from American Samoa and Hawaii in our program — we live to add more athletes to that number.

“We’ve offered four scholarships to athletes from American Samoa,”he told Samoa News.

The four athletes from American Samoa that have been offered scholarships to GCCC are: Middle Linebacker Vimoto Mageo of Samoana High School, Henry Sakalia of Leone High School, Josepha Siatini of Samoana High School, and Defensive Lineman Tui Ah Chong from Faga’itua High School.

According to Misipeka, they are still evaluating other student athletes from the territory, Hawai’i, and other Polynesian pros-pects that are making a name for themselves.

Samoa News spoke to one of the parents, Solova’a Mageo, the father of Samoana’s middle linebacker, Vimoto Mageo, on his thoughts about the scholarship opportunity his son has been offered.

Mageo said, “For us, as parents, me and my wife Nora Mageo are very grateful and thankful to our Heavenly Father for this opportunity, to help us as parents financially in sending our son to college, not only us, the the parents and families of the other players from Leone and Faga’itua. This has certainly lightened the burden for us as parents, I know the other parents feel the same relief as well.”

Vimoto is the 4th of six children – four boys, and two girls, and all four boys actively play football.

The oldest, Anthony, is a graduate of Samoana, who also rep-resented the Sharks on the gridiron – and Vimoto is the second to represent out of the Mageo clan in the Sharks football program.

Of his recent trip to the JPS Paradise Football Classic II, he said, “I was very excited, it was a great opportunity – it was a tough competition playing against the teams from the States.”

He continued, “It was tough finding a scholarship, but I had to play my heart out and become an impact player – in order for me have these scholarship gateway opportunities”.

Vimoto, said growing up as a football player, “I started playing football from the sixth grade in the AYFS – and I played defen-sive end up until I went to Samoana High School.”

According to the football player, he only recently started playing linebacker ‘permanently’ — it happened during his Junior year.

He is only the second of the Mageo boys who is about to grad-uate from Samoana High School and played football throughout all four years. Vimoto has two younger siblings – twin brothers, Georgia and Georgie “the Mageo Twinz” who are already well known in the sport, at the AYFS, JPS, and High School Junior Varsity level.

The twins were ‘the’ impact players that helped the AYFS Bears to a title shot during last year’s season, but lost against the 49ers in the 7th Championship title game for the program. They had led the JPS Vikings to their debut title in the first year of the program.

During the recent American Samoa High School Athletic Association Football Season, the Mageo twins were well known in the Vikings football program – two of the Vikings best players on both offense and defense.

Vimoto said, “First and foremost I would like to thank our Heavenly Father for His guidance, protection, and for this oppor-tunity to take my athletic talents to the next level, I know my brothers from Leone and Faga’itua feel the same way as well. I would also like to thank my parents for raising me to be the man I am today, and for supporting me throughout all the years I’ve played football.

“My acknowledgements and thanks goes out to my principal as well, the faculty and staff of Samoana High School as well as our student body”; sends out his special thanks to his spiritual parents for their prayers and thoughts, and concludes, “on behalf of my brothers who were blessed with this scholarship opportu-nity to GCCC, we would like to thank American Samoa for your prayers.”

On behalf of the parents of the four student-athletes – Vimo-to’s father said “to God be the glory for this opportunity given to our kids to attend college and further their athletic abilities within the sport of football – thanks goes out to our spiritual parents, Rev. Faatauva’a Talamoni and Mafumaiala Talamoni as well as our village of Pago Pago for their prayers and thoughts for our children growing up within the sport of football.”

Mageo said that their “heartfelt thanks” goes out to Keiki Misi-peka – “he is the main guy here on island that has ‘boldly’ opened up the … opportunity for our kids here in American Samoa, for a better future, a hopeful future — not only within the sport, but academically as well.

“Special thanks to Garden City Community College … for their thoughts and for these athletic scholarship opportunities for our Sons of Samoa here on the rock,” he said.

American Samoa

What is your name? Luciano FuatagaWhat is your school name? Matafao Elementary SchoolWhat grade are you in? Grade 8 Who is your English Teacher? Sootaga TuaauWho are your parents? Tito & Joanne FuatagaWhat village are you from? Pago PagoWhat was your winning word? COMMONWEALTH

The student at the right will represent Matafao School in the American Samoa Spelling Bee to be held February 22nd.The winner of that Bee will represent American Samoa in the 89th annual Scripps Howard Spelling Bee to be held in Washington, D.C.

Territorial Spelling Bee

BIOGRAPHY OF A 2017 SPELLING BEE FINALIST

Spelling Bee Winners, if you’ve not filled out your biography and had your picture taken, please come in to Samoa News.

Major Sponsor

Department of EDUCATION

SSABPAGO Inc.

SIMPLY THE BEST

Meet A Spelling Champ!

McDonald’sin conjunction with

Samoana High School’s middle linebacker – Vimoto Mageo. [photo: courtesy]

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➧ 4 scholarships to local …Continued from page B1

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by Leua Aiono FrostLali Freelance Reporter

The American Samoa Volley Ball Association has seen lots of action lately, finalizing two of its volleyball tournaments — the President’s Cup and the Samoa Challenge this week.

The President’s Cup Volley-ball League played its champi-onship game on Tuesday night, while the Samoa Volleyball Challenge League, which began Friday, January 20 and finished off its championship game on Wednesday, the following night.

All games for both tourna-ments took place at the Samoana High School gymnasium, in Utulei, in the evening.

For the championship title of the President’s Cup 2016- 17 Volleyball Tournament, Laumuatasi Men’s Team, who played against the Mizuno Boys’ Team, proved that the town boys were there to win, and they are the official cham-pions of that tournament.

All the trophies and prizes for both tournaments were awarded at the end of the Samoa Chal-lenge Tournament, Wednesday night, at the SHS Gymnasium

SAMOA VOLLEYBALL CHALLENGE LEAGUEThere were 14 registered

teams for the Samoa Chal-lenge Volleyball Tournament, and three of these teams sailed in from Samoa to participate. The tourney has two divisions: Men’s and Under 19.

The Samoa teams were the Laumua o Tumua- Men, All Stars Savaii Samoa 2- Men and they also brought an All Star Under 19 boys team.

By Tuesday night games, the standings of the original 14 Men’s Teams looked promising for the visiting three Samoa teams.

Laumua o Tumua, who is the champion of 2016 Samoa Flag Day and the 2016 Teuila Week tournaments, stayed on top with only one loss to the Sea Breeze of Vaitogi, who shared the top rank with our visiting brothers.

Other standings were: Lau-muatasi Men’s Team from Pago Pago tied with Pavaia’i Meth-odist Men’s Team and Mizuno Boys at 6 wins and 2 losses. Our visiting brothers from Savaii Samoa 2 had 4W to 4L and Dirty Affairs Men’s Team at 3W-5L with underdogs, All Sports God is Great Team, at 2W- 6L status.

Both of the Street Boys Teams, one for each division, were eliminated from the tour-nament due to unforeseen cir-cumstances after their registra-tion, and did not play.

For the U-19 division, cham-pionship game was played on Monday night.

The games showcased Mizuno Boys U19 Team defeating the Laumuatasi Boys Teams for the Samoa Volley-ball Challenge U19 Division

Championship title. It was a real showcase of stamina; skills and strategic game play for the two teams. They have been rivals from the beginning but slight mistakes in handling the ball, lifts and off spikes cost the Lau-muatasi the championship title this time round.

Other games played on Monday included matches between Savaii Samoa 2 and Laumua o Tumua where Laumua o Tumua took both their 2 sets; Laumuatasi Men’s Team from Pago Pago played strongly against the mighty Mizuno Boys team where they snatched both games to stamp the win; and Savaii Samoa 2 bat-tled against the Pava’ia’i Men’s, Pavaiai took the two sets; Savaii Samoa 2 vs. Laumuatasi say the Pago team take both sets; while Vaitogi’s best, Sea Breeze, then matched against the veterans of volleyball “All Sports- God is Great”, lead by Savaliga Afu, with the Breeze Boys taking both games for the win.

The only match to go to three sets was Pavaiai Boys vs. Sea Breeze from Vaitogi. Pavaiai won the first game with very close points, and Sea Breeze came back to get the second. The deciding third set game went to Sea Breeze after hard fought action from both teams.

The highlight of Monday’s action games however hap-pened between Dirty Busi-ness from Aoloau and “little” Mizuno Boys team. Talk about Giants against Ants, with the Mizuno Boys stealing the show with two straight wins.

And, since the Street Boys of Fagatogo did not show up for their games, Laumuatasi claimed the win by default.

The fourth day of the Samoa Volleyball Challenge Tourna-ment — Tuesday night — high-lighted the high level of skills, physique and competition among the young men of both Samoas. It was harder to defeat each other in a game and points were not so far apart in each set.

However, the weather did not play fair with the tourna-ment, as the SHS gymnasium, while covered, is still open to the wind and rain. The court was soaked and the games were delayed for three hours awaiting ‘clear’ skies.

Games then resumed all the way up to midnight, but were officially stopped by the acting director for the Department of Education Mrs. Ruth Matagi Tofiga, due to complaints from Utulei residents.

“I am really in full support of your games and the sport on the whole, but my dear youth, it is nearly midnight and the gymna-sium shouldn’t be opened at this kind of hours, we are formerly closing for tonight, but will resume tomorrow night. Let us handle it with ASVBA officials, so we can alleviate these kinds of timing problems. We have to

consider our families nearby.” She was sorry especially for

the fact that games were still in progress between the Sea Breeze and Dirty Affairs Men’s teams — but had to end.

One of the youth just said, “We were trying to dry out the court for our games to proceed,

the gym had nothing to prevent the rainwater from getting into it. Otherwise our games would have been over by 10 as pro-gramed usually.”

Wednesday night was slated for the championship games for the Men’s Division in the tourney, as was also the night

to present awards and trophies for both ASVBA tournaments — the 2017 President’s Cup and the Samoa Volleyball Challenge.

Samoa News will report on Wednesday night’s results and presentations for both tourna-ments next week.

ASVB hosts the President’s Cup and the Samoa Challenge tournaments

So far this is one of the favorite in the 2017 Samoa Volleyball Challenge Tournament, with their supporters always there to wish them good luck during their games. [photo: Leua Aiono Frost]


DEAR ABBY: I work in customer service and was helping a guest. During my eight- to 10-minute chat with her, she showed me her phone. The wallpaper on her phone was a picture of the guest and her boyfriend in Times Square. Without mentioning it to the guest, I recognized her boyfriend as the husband of a friend of mine I’ll call Julie.

Julie and her husband have two young children. Part of me wants to confront him, but part of me says this would destroy a family. I have resolved to remain quiet unless I hear of marital difficulties, but would that be a disservice to my friend and her children? I feel like I’m carrying a grenade that may devastate many innocents. -- WANTS TO CONFRONT HIM

DEAR WANTS TO CONFRONT: Unless you are 100 percent certain that the man you saw on the phone was who you think he was, and not someone with a strong resemblance to Julie’s husband, do NOT involve yourself.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •DEAR ABBY: My mom told me that when I get engaged, she is going to hire a PI to investigate my

fiance! I know that parents can be concerned, but this seems to me like total paranoia. She told me a story she saw in the news about a seemingly normal man who ended up killing

people to steal their money to pay for his wedding. That’s scary, but I don’t think it warrants hiring a PI to follow my future fiance around. I think my mom is going beyond being overprotective. What do you think? -- FEELING CONFLICTED

DEAR FEELING CONFLICTED: I agree with you. What your mother is proposing is the definition of helicopter parenting. If your boyfriend were to find out, it would be the end of your romance. Per-haps you should ask your mother how she would feel if your fiance’s family hired a detective to shake your family tree. I’ll bet she wouldn’t like it one bit.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •DEAR ABBY: I would like to see how other wives would handle this. I have a “friend” who con-

stantly calls my husband her “boyfriend.” She’s married, and I’m sure this irks her spouse too. Every time they come over, she has to give my husband a really big hug (she has a large chest).

I feel what she’s doing is inappropriate and want to know what you recommend to put a stop to this. It has reached the point I wish they would quit coming here. My husband and I are both polite people, but I would like for this to cease. -- POLITE PAT IN THE SOUTH

DEAR POLITE PAT: I’m a wife and here’s how I’d handle it. I would have your husband tell your friend privately that her effusiveness is embarrassing and to please stop doing it. If he doesn’t feel comfortable doing this, talk to the woman yourself and tell her that when she calls your husband her boyfriend, it offends you, and that HER husband should be her boyfriend.

Happy Birthday: Get whatever is bothering you out of your system so that you can take full advantage of new opportunities. A change will rejuvenate you and get you back on track where important goals are concerned. Don’t settle for less when you have so much more to offer. A walk down memory lane will expedite what you want to see happen. Your numbers are 3, 14, 24, 29, 32, 43, 46.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Your concern for others will take you on an interesting journey. Find out all you can. The information you retrieve will help you assist others. You can bring about changes if you offer alternatives. ✸✸✸✸

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Emotions will swell up over financial concerns. A problem at work or with a relationship can be expected if you aren’t willing to go along with the majority opinion. Work quietly on perfecting your plan. ✸✸

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Keep anyone giving you a difficult time at arm’s length. Don’t give in to demands or pressure when you should be focused on gathering information and turning what you want into a reality. Embrace change and don’t look back. ✸✸✸✸✸

CANCER (June 21-July 22): A joint venture will have strings attached. Go over details and ques-tion anything that is too costly or unnecessary. A physical response will grab attention and ensure that everyone you are dealing with is aware of your ultimate goal. ✸✸✸

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Consider what you can do to make your domestic life better. Consider clearing a space that will encourage you to develop a new skill or start a small home base business. Nurture important partnerships to avoid emotional tension. ✸✸✸

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Check into an investment that will influence the way you do business in the future. Taking on something that can turn into additional work looks promising. Aim to build your assets and you will ease stress and improve your health. ✸✸✸

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Branch out and look for something you can do that will use your skills and bring in extra cash. Starting a small sideline business will ease financial stress and lead to new opportunities. Trust and believe in yourself and your abilities. ✸✸✸✸✸

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Make love and romance a priority. Make personal decisions that will improve your life and the way you live. A physical change will make you feel good about the way you look. Greater confidence will lead to success. ✸✸✸✸

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You’ll be tempted to get involved in something due to boredom and the desire for change. Before you take a leap of faith, consider the cost involved. Show interest in what others do and think but don’t feel the need to participate. ✸✸✸

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Consider different ways you can earn a living. If there is some-thing you enjoy doing, turn it into a lucrative project. Combining talent, intellect and passion will give you a chance to live life your way. Romance is in the stars. ✸✸✸

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Let your emotions lead the way. Don’t be afraid to express your feelings. Finding out exactly where you stand will help you head in a direction that will bring positive results. Don’t waffle when you should be forging ahead. ✸✸✸

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The less you share with others, the easier it will be to get what you want to do over and done with. Don’t limit your plans because of what others are doing. Take action based on facts and common sense. ✸✸✸

Birthday Baby: You are dedicated, loyal and pioneering. You are farsighted and goal-oriented.

ACROSS 1 Soul ___

(facial hair feature)

6 Sources of some new governments

11 Dr. of Beats headphones fame

14 “Nixon in China,” for one

15 When major league baseball gets real

16 Dodge heavyweight

17 Rebirth at the castle?

19 Org. for paid tennis players

20 It’s what you tell the judge

21 One not mistaken for an Einstein

23 Start a moun-taineering trek

26 Tall chest of drawers with two sections

27 Plant reproducers

28 Closer to being a billionaire

29 Simple promissory note

30 Voice in 14-Across

32 Three of a kind

35 Village, hamlet or the like

37 Is much too adoring

39 Business part of a blade

40 Walk inside 42 Pepsi and

Coke, for two

44 React to a horrific smell

45 Heckler, essentially

47 Former Spanish currency

49 Tried to avoid an accident, in a way

51 Selling features

52 Made the grade

53 White as a sheet

55 Have a moving part

56 Most powerful members in the castle?

61 Likable prez of years ago

62 It provides bank security?

63 It supports food and homework

64 Link on the negative side

65 Proof of a good workout

66 Aleppo’s country

DOWN 1 “___ favor”

(please) 2 Animal

known for impressions

3 Command-ment number

4 The moon’s Copernicus

5 What a food service worker might wear

6 What you might see at a movie premiere

7 Aquarium attraction

8 Large coffeepot

9 Meal spread on a blanket

10 ___ of hand (magician’s trickery)

11 What artists at the castle do?

12 Million-to-one, e.g.

13 Totally drained

18 Made soapy 22 Remark made

with a point? 23 Thespian’s

whisper 24 It can create

quite a stir 25 Provider of

a one-man show at the castle?

26 Newly employed

28 Whirling part of a whirlybird

31 Hard-___ (tough or un-sentimental)

33 5 1/2-point type size

34 Ballerina painter Edgar

36 People sharing equal status

38 Greek lyric poet

41 Makes known

43 Chooses 46 Picked a

new card 48 Tanning unit? 49 Barcelona’s

country 50 Eccentric and

then some 53 Drifting in

the Pacific 54 Editor’s

“on second thought”

57 “So ___ heard!”

58 Not in so many wds.?

59 151, in ancient Rome

60 Voice voting choice

Universal CrosswordEdited by Timothy Parker January 27, 2017

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

© 2017 Andrews McMeel Syndicationwww.upuzzles.com

KING OF THE CASTLE By Timothy E. Parker1/27

1/26

STRANGER’S BOYFRIEND LOOKS A LOT LIKE FRIEND’S HUSBAND

Dear AbbyDear Abbyby Abigail Van Buren

Friday, January 27,

2017

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