Coco Talanoa — Sports / Page 48

Check out the uso Krit Faanene Schmidt in #TalkingKrit where he catches up with Hurricanes and All Black player Victor Vito! 

The usos catch up on life - from moving to France to the New Zealand flag and everything in between.

We join All Black Legend Keven Mealamu as he visits James Cook High School with Counties Manukau and a very special guest - Wiremu, the Webb Ellis Cup.

Check out retired Footballer Troy Polamalu's recent induction speech into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame and his immense role his wife played on his success.

"Lastly, and certainly not least, my wife Theodora, she is the rock and foundation of our family. The tremendous sacrifice she has made to allow me to live my dream is the example of sacrificial love. She got trained in therapy just to work on me. She would read books on nutrition so that she could cook for me. [She] even wrote papers for me that would allow me to graduate."

Check out some the amazing highlights from last weekend's thrilling Sevens Tournament over in Sydney - with New Zealand winning back to back!

Take a look at some of the uso's representing for our small island nations as they battled it out in the Sydney leg of the worldwide Sevens Tournament, the fourth of ten stops across the globe.

Image Credit: Benjamin Tapealava

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The 2016 class of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame will be inducted on Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Here’s a quick look at this year’s honorees: 

CHARLIE ANE

Charles Teetai Ane Jr. is regarded as one of the pioneers of football in Hawai‘i. Born in Honolulu in 1931, Ane was a two-way lineman for Punahou. He later played quarterback and both offensive and defensive tackle for the USC Trojans, earning All-Coast honors in the early 1950s. The Detroit Lions selected Ane in the fourth round of the 1954 NFL Draft. He played both right tackle and center for the Lions in his seven-year career. More importantly, the 6-foot-2-inch, 260-pound powerhouse was a key performer during the most successful period in the franchise’s history, leading the Lions to two NFL championships. Ane was named to the Pro Bowl in 1956 and 1958. After he retired from the league, Ane returned to the Islands and served as a head coach and assistant coach for several local high school teams.…more

What’s NFL Draft Day like for a player on the verge of making it? For Utah Utes defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, whose mother and father immigrated to the U.S. from Tonga, it means pigs on spits, hundreds of family, friends, and media, and the weight of their expectations entirely on his shoulders. 

Check out the highlights from the Rumble in Paradise between the uso Joseph Parker and Jason Bergman in Samoa!

Bergman was unable to continue the fight in the eighth round after being floored several times throughout the fight, with Parker winning by TKO.

Check out what both parties had to say in their upcoming match to be held in Apia, Samoa this Saturday night!

Christian Parker, brother of NBA superstar Jabari Parker, proposed to girlfriend Terina Oto on New Year’s Eve with the help of friends at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, Hawaii.

Oto, a lead performer in the evening show at the Polynesian Cultural Center, thought the choreographed dance was a tribute to the service missionaries at the PCC, but it was all for her. Parker enlisted the help of Oto’s uncle, a choreographer at the PCC, who came up with the idea to create a flash mob. Parker then recorded a song in a studio in Chicago, using the voices of LDS friends such as The Jets and The Moleni Brothers.

Arizona Cardinals Offensive Lineman Mike Iupati has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year Award presented by Hawaiian Airlines.

The Award recognizes the most outstanding professional football player of Polynesian ancestry.

The 6-foot-5-tall, 330-pound American Samoa native was born to Aposetola and Belinda Iupati and is of Samoan ancestry. Iupati attended the University of Idaho where he played for the vandals and earned All-American and All-WAC honors.

"As a proud Polynesian and Samoan, I am honored to be selected as the inaugural Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year," said Mike Iupati. "I would like to congratulate the other finalists, Marcus Mariota, Rey Maualuga, Koa Misi and Manti Te'o as they represent the very best of our culture and the National Football League."

Iupati, in his sixth season out of the University of Idaho, has helped lead the Arizona Cardinals to a 13-3 regular season record.…more