Real men wear skirts
TENNESSEE’S Albert Toeaina is one of the most recognizable players on the football team, and that’s before he puts on a skirt.
Not just any skirt but an “ie lavalava,” a rectangular cloth Polynesian men wrap around their waists like a sarong.
The offensive tackle isn’t alone with his traditional attire from the South Pacific islands.
His roommate, Tennessee defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona, has some Hawaiian lavalavas in his closet, but so far Mahelona hasn’t worn one to class.
“Albert was man enough,” Mahelona said. “He wrapped one of those things around him and walked to class. I was like, ‘whoa.’ “
Toeaina, one of the biggest players on the team at 6-foot-6 and 350 pounds, wore his ie lavalava to class once in chilly January soon after both players transferred from junior college.
“Just to represent my culture,” Toeaina gave as his reason for wearing it.
Toeaina (pronounced TOE-ee-nah) is from Antioch, Calif., and graduated from City College of San Francisco before enrolling here. He and his parents were born in the United States, but his grandparents are from American Samoa.
Mahelona (MAH’ hah loe nah) is from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and he came to Tennessee after graduating from Orange Coast (Calif.) College.
Besides the size difference of about 4 inches and 50 pounds, Mahelona is talkative while Toeaina is soft spoken.
The players’ lavalavas — the garb is called ie lavalava in Samoan, but there’s no ie in the Hawaiian word — have been a big hit with teammates. The parents of both plan to bring some of the waist cloths to give to other players when they visit this season.
Strong and vocal, to say the least
Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown will serve as a weekly commentator for Sirius NFL Radio, the first 24-hour radio network devoted to the NFL.
One of the NFL’s greatest players, Brown was selected to nine Pro Bowls and was league MVP in 1957 and 1965. Brown finished his career with 12,312 yards — an NFL record at the time — and 126 touchdowns.
Dallas wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson will host a one-hour talk show every Thursday night, beginning Sept. 9 when Indianapolis opens at New England.
“Jim Brown and Keyshawn Johnson are known for giving their strong, vocal opinions on NFL issues and we welcome the open and frank discussion that their insights will generate,” said Steve Cohen, director of NFL programming for Sirius, a satellite radio service.
Uplifting experience
Jim Armstrong of America Online says the success of women athletes at the Olympics is attributable to Title IX.
“It empowered little girls, daring them to dream about things once reserved for little boys. They don’t want to marry the quarterback; they want to bench press him.”
New and improved Olympics
The Late Show with David Letterman invited medal-winning athletes to deliver the top-10 list Friday night. The subject: “Ways to make the Olympics more fun.”
“Replace pommel horse with real horse,” wrestler Rulon Gardner said.
“Require Dutch track and field team to wear wooden shoes,” said swimmer Lindsay Benko.
And swimmer Gary Hall Jr., with the No. 1 way: “Two words: Nude fencing.”
How about beach volleyball, all day, all the time?