Hawaii

Donald Trump has been telling anyone who will listen about how he's investigating Barack Obama's birth certificate. He says he has "people" in Hawaii who "can't believe" what they're discovering. Sarah Palin and birthers around the country are praising him for his efforts.  I don't believe him.  For one, Trump has been talking about this issue for weeks (months?) now and has provided absolutely zero new information or evidence to help his case. Two, several media organizations have investigated the matter, confirmed the president was born in Hawaii and did so in less time.

The Ravens' contingent at Sunday's Pro Bowl game in Honolulu, Hawaii keeps shrinking by the day. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and safety Ed Reed have become the latest Ravens to pull out of the game, leaving them with four representatives instead of the original number of eight. Ngata has been hampered by a thigh injury that didn't force him to miss any games, but team officials believed that it significantly affected his performance down the stretch. Reed dealt with shoulder/neck issues much of the season and then hurt his ankle in the Ravens' divisional playoff victory over the Houston Texans.

Today's Navy game Navy (8-3) at Hawaii (5-6) Time: 10:30 p.m. TV: ESPNU Radio: 1090 AM, 1430 AM Line: Navy by 9 1/2 Series: Hawaii leads 1-0. Last meeting: Hawaii won, 48-41, on Nov. 20, 1999, in Honolulu. Well rested: The Midshipmen haven't played since Nov. 14, and the time off allowed them to rest and get healthy. Navy should have its top three offensive playmakers on the field at the same time for the first time since Oct. 17; QB Ricky Dobbs (knee)

SATURDAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS NASCAR Daytona Winter Testing SPEED1 Daytona Winter Testing SPEED3 W. bask. Army@Navy CBSSNNoon Colorado State@Texas Christian CBSSN4:30 NBA Philadelphia@Washington CSN7 Toronto@Chicago WGN-A8 Philadelphia@Washington (T) CSN10:30 Lakers@Clippers NBA10:30 NFL NFC Div. Playoff, N. Orleans@S.F . 45, 54:30 AFC Div. Playoff, Denver@New Eng. 13, 98 Euro.

As fellow sports writer Dewey Fox wrote, I was away from the office the first two days of this week due to a family wedding on the sands of Topsail Beach, N.C. The youngest of my brother George's three children, daughter Elizabeth, had the dream and desire of being married on a beach; and so it was, Monday at 6:30 p.m. on a beautifully sunny and slightly breezy late afternoon. Elizabeth, her groom, Aaron, and most family members from both sides made the trip from Ohio. That said, Sunday evening was the first time I ever met the husband-to-be and it still didn't hit me that my niece will now carry the name Elizabeth Taylor wherever she goes.

Under a law designed to protect the humpback whale, Hawaii is banning jet skis, parasailing and other high-speed operations west and south of Maui until May 15.The law took effect Dec. 15. The five-month winter season is when humpbacks swim more than 3,000 miles from Alaska to Maui to give birth and nurse their calves. Humpback whales have been on the endangered species list since 1966.

College football Navy adding suites to stadium, in talks with Hawaii for series The Naval Academy Athletic Association is constructing four development boxes, a television media center and camera locations on the upper east side of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The construction will be finished in time for Navy's home opener against Georgia Southern on Sept. 11. The relocation of the television production will allow CBS College Sports to better capture the Navy sideline and Brigade of Midshipmen.

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- This island paradise, where multiculturalism is a way of life and not just a slogan, could become the first state to legalize marriage between people of the same sex -- or at least to offer marital benefits for homosexuals who register as domestic partners.Whether by sanctioning gay marriage or by passing the nation's first statewide domestic partnership act, Hawaii would lead the way in this fundamental redefinition of family, which some see as a sweeping expansion of civil rights and others see as undermining traditional values.

HONOLULU -- The plans, detailed and terrifying, are for the worst-case scenario. One section of this city's bustling, tourist-filled airport could be converted into an emergency quarantine station for patients suspected of carrying avian influenza. Air filters would kick on to prevent the deadly virus from spreading. Medical personnel entering the quarantine area would wear protective suits. As avian flu continues to spread across the globe, health officials are paying close attention to Hawaii, the nation's gateway to Asia and the state where some experts believe the much-feared H5N1 virus could first be detected on American soil.

OGDEN, Utah -- Fourth-seeded Syracuse used its size jTC advantage in the backcourt to come back from a three-point halftime deficit to beat Hawaii, 92-78, yesterday and advance to tomorrow's second round in the NCAA West Regional.Lawrence Moten, a 6-foot-5 guard, scored a game-high 29 points and 6-foot-4 point guard Adrian Autry added 16 points and nine assists for the Orangemen (22-6).Autry was particularly effective in the second half when he repeatedly backed down Hawaii's 6-foot-1 guard Jarinn Akana.

In reference to The Sun's editorial ("Mixed signals," Sept. 1), it is my opinion that Maryland does not need a law about non-functioning traffic lights. Hawaii is loaded with intersections that are four-way stops with no traffic signal lights and some of these intersections are very busy. Hawaii drivers have no issues with these intersections without traffic signal lights. Visitors to Hawaii who drive catch on very quickly. Maryland's driver's handbook points out that driving has four main parts - looking and seeing, thinking and deciding, letting others know what you are going to do and doing it. As the handbook states, you look with your eyes but you see with your mind.

As fellow sports writer Dewey Fox wrote, I was away from the office the first two days of this week due to a family wedding on the sands of Topsail Beach, N.C. The youngest of my brother George's three children, daughter Elizabeth, had the dream and desire of being married on a beach; and so it was, Monday at 6:30 p.m. on a beautifully sunny and slightly breezy late afternoon. Elizabeth, her groom, Aaron, and most family members from both sides made the trip from Ohio. That said, Sunday evening was the first time I ever met the husband-to-be and it still didn't hit me that my niece will now carry the name Elizabeth Taylor wherever she goes.

Donald Trump has been telling anyone who will listen about how he's investigating Barack Obama's birth certificate. He says he has "people" in Hawaii who "can't believe" what they're discovering. Sarah Palin and birthers around the country are praising him for his efforts.  I don't believe him.  For one, Trump has been talking about this issue for weeks (months?) now and has provided absolutely zero new information or evidence to help his case. Two, several media organizations have investigated the matter, confirmed the president was born in Hawaii and did so in less time.

It's time to reset the clocks — daylight savings begins Sunday morning when 2 a.m. jumps to 3 a.m. Every second Sunday in March the clocks are set ahead one hour ahead at 2 a.m. local standard time to become 3 a.m. for daylight savings and ends the first Sunday in November. In the U.S., only Hawaii and most of Arizona do not follow daylight savings.

College basketball UMBC surprises Maine, 84-79, behind De La Rosa and Fry Chris De La Rosa scored 24 points and had a career-high 13 assists to lead visiting UMBC to an upset of Maine, 84-79, on Sunday. Justin Fry added a career-high 20 points for the Retrievers (5-19, 4-7 America East Conference), who trailed 49-35 just 55 seconds into the second half. UMBC then outscored the Black Bears (14-9, 8-3) by 18-2 over the next 5:50 for its first lead of the game, 53-51.

BIG ISLAND, HAWAII — The natives here have a charming custom that captures the bewildering geographic diversity on the Big Island, a 4,028-acre hunk of cooled lava in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. During the winters, residents make an excursion to the summit of Mauna Kea, which is nearly 14,000 feet above sea level. They fill a cooler with snow, and then drive about 90 minutes to the white sand beaches of the Kohala Coast, where the sun shines 357 days of the year and the average temperature is 78 degrees.

The Naval Academy football team has a three-fold assignment this weekend.Not only do the Midshipmen have to beat a rejuvenated Hawaii team that has recovered from a winless season to go 7-3 and earn a bowl bid, they have to beat the heat and a five-hour time change.It is a rigorous task for Navy, which has endured five narrow defeats, won its last two games and is shooting for a .500 record.This is Navy's first trip to the islands since December 1996, when it rallied to master California, 42-38, in an exciting Aloha Bowl game.

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Opening day for the PGA Tour was filled with oddities, starting with Nick Watney leading the Mercedes-Benz Championship yesterday with a 5-under-par 68 that featured no bogeys. Newcomers are supposed to be at a disadvantage on the Plantation Course at Kapalua with its mammoth greens and severe grain, but Watney kept it simple and sank enough putts to take a one-shot lead over Daniel Chopra and get his 2008 season off to a good start. Brandt Snedeker was in the lead most of the round until he hit what he must have thought was the perfect tee shot on No. 17. But the ball ended up in waist-high grass, some 100 yards behind Steve Stricker.

Five years ago, Billy Busko kept a promise to himself that changed his life. Shortly after learning his father, Bill, had been diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare form of skin cancer, Busko made the two-hour drive from his home in New York City to the Hamptons on Long Island. Busko entered a bicycle rental shop, picked out a road bike and asked for a 100-mile route. The shop attendant looked at Busko like he was crazy. And he might have been. Busko promised himself that if he could bike 100 miles and still be able to walk the next day, he would enter the Ironman triathlon to honor his father.