...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM HST THURSDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 20 to 30 kt.
* WHERE...All surrounding coastal waters.
* WHEN...Until 6 PM HST Thursday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
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Kristen joined KITV4 in March 2021 after working for the past two decades as a newspaper reporter. Kristen's goal is to produce meaningful journalism that educates, enlightens and inspires to affect positive change in society.
There was a huge loss, Monday, for generations of University of Hawaii sports fans as legendary sportscaster Jim Leahey -- the voice of UH sports for decades -- died at the age of 80. KITV4 spoke to family and friends of the late sportscaster following his passing.
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- The voice and heart of UH sports, broadcast legend Jim Leahey passed away on Monday. For 60 years, he brought games to life for thousands of Rainbow Warrior fans.
Legendary sportscaster Jim Leahey died at the age of 80. Leahey hosted radio and TV shows and most notably "Leahey and Leahey" with his son, Kanoa, on Hawaii Public Television.
"He just was so full of love and passion for this community, for the people of Hawaii," said his sportscaster son, Kanoa.
And that passion was felt in each and every broadcast before Leahey retired in 2018.
"He took such great pride I think in supplying the soundtrack in essence for so many incredible achievements for Hawaii sports teams and athletes and just a lot of memorable moments," he said.
Over the years, Leahey mentored many of the state's celebrated broadcasters, including longtime baseball commenter Pal Eldredge. He says Leahey had ideas on just about anything from politics to religion and everything in between.
"He was very, very smart. He was so good. His vocabulary was outstanding," Eldredge said. "I used to have this little book on the air now he's using a word and I go, 'Huh? What's that word?' So I'd write it down in my notebook and I'd have to look it up later. The Jim Leahey vocabulary book, I used to call it."
But in recent years, Leahey's health took a turn for the worse.
"I'm going to miss him. It's sad that you know when you have somebody with dementia and I think that's really what Jimmy had," Eldredge said. "He was such a brilliant man that it's really, really sad for me to think about my friend that was so bright that you know, he ends up like that. That's got be his worst enemy, worst ever, if he knew he had it."
Friends are remembering the larger-than-life sportscaster who used his humor and wit to draw even non-sports fans into the games.
Basketball analyst Artie Wilson who traveled with Leahey for years says part of what made him outstanding was his drive for perfection.
"When the flight attendants would not pronunciate [sic] Honolulu, they would say Hanalulu and Jim would call them over and say, 'Come here, come here. It's Honolulu. Get it right if you're going to come to and from our islands. Say Honolulu, Hawaii.'"
Describing his father as the most brilliant man he's ever known, Kanoa Leahey says he had a front-row seat to the mind and heart of the skillful storyteller with an endless love of learning and for bringing people together.
"He loved to see maybe more than anything the community coming together. He would end every broadcast with 'Malama Pono Kekahi I Kekahi' and he was talking about take care of one another," Kanoa said. "It was a message of, 'Let's all stay in this thing together.' Life is full of challenges, let's be kind to one another. That was a message that he carried with him to the end."
Kristen joined KITV4 in March 2021 after working for the past two decades as a newspaper reporter. Kristen's goal is to produce meaningful journalism that educates, enlightens and inspires to affect positive change in society.
