An ear-to-ear grin on Mindy Cowles’ face should be proof enough for Arizona State softball fans that all is well in the universe again. With three errors and a couple of strikeouts on Friday, the senior second baseman unintentionally became the poster woman for the struggles the Sun Devils endured during a tighter-than-expected win over Stony Brook in the opener of the NCAA regional.

LAS VEGAS - Miss Hawaii Pilialoha Gaison and Miss Nebraska Molly McGrath were the winners Friday in the second night of preliminary competition for the 2007 Miss America Pageant. The televised finals and crowning of Miss America will be Monday at the Aladdin Resort & Casino.

HONOLULU - University of Hawaii receivers coach Ron Lee says slotback Mitch Farney died in Arizona after collapsing while playing basketball.

Jordan Swagerty allowed just one run in his first career start on the mound and the No. 1 Arizona State University baseball team had back-to-back seven-run innings in a 17-2 win over No. 20 Hawaii on Tuesday in front of 2,824 fans at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. The Sun Devils improved to 29-8 on the season with the victory.

HONOLULU - A former Arizona State football player who moved on to much more important battles addressed the Sun Devils before their Thursday practice at Aloha Stadium.

OCEAN VIEW, Hawaii - For eight years, Tony and Sam Bayaoa have grown thousands of bright red, yellow and pink protea flowers on their farm. Then in March, Kilauea volcano opened a new vent and began spewing double the usual amount of toxic gas.

SALT LAKE CITY - Lost in the vast desert of Skull Valley, 65 miles west of Salt Lake City, is a small cemetery where headstones from the turn of the 20th century bear Hawaiian names.

Unsung as they often are despite an amount of practice and preparation that rivals that of the athletic teams at whose games they perform, members of the Arizona State University Sun Devil Marching Band rightfully are disappointed.

HONOLULU - Among the Arizona State football players, Brandon Rodd has been a oneman Hawaii chamber of commerce, informing teammates about the food, sights and other unique aspects of this postseason destination.

Looks like we have another Jimmy Carter President in the White House. Barack Hussein Obama has been kissing up to the Muslim world since he became president. Could it be from his Muslim childhood in Indonesia? He hardly had a “Yankee Doodle Dandy” childhood. His parents met at a Russian language class in the 1960s at the University of Hawaii (now who studied Russian back in those days, Marxists maybe?). On one of his first overseas trips as president he meets the King of Saudi Arabia (Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques) and gives him a full bow from the waist. No other president has bowed down to any head of state in our history. Then Obama apologizes to the Muslim world for America’s past “transgressions” at the University of Cairo. Yes, Cairo, where our U.S. Embassy was overrun. What does the Obama Administration do? It issues another “apology.” “The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts of misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims...”

Former Arizona State University and Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer backed out of his wedding this past weekend on the day it was to take place, multiple sources confirmed Wednesday.

ASU’s decision to leave its marching band behind when the football team goes to Hawaii has struck a sour note with some Sun Devil Band Alumni.

SURPRISE - Northern Illinois University's baseball team is a last-minute addition to the field for the 6th Annual Coca-Cola Baseball Classic in Surprise, Ariz.

HONOLULU - Legendary crooner Don Ho, who entertained tourists for decades wearing raspberry-tinted sunglasses and singing the catchy signature tune "Tiny Bubbles," has died. He was 76.

HOUSTON - Enron shareholders and investors will split about $7 billion from financial institutions accused of participating in the fraud that caused the once-mighty energy company to collapse.

Coronado, Calif. • Like a Hollywood star, Coronado’s 1.5 mile-long beach literally sparkles, thanks to the mineral mica glinting in its sand.

Coronado, Calif. • Like a Hollywood star, Coronado’s 1.5 mile-long beach literally sparkles, thanks to the mineral mica glinting in its sand.

Coronado, Calif. • Like a Hollywood star, Coronado’s 1.5 mile-long beach literally sparkles, thanks to the mineral mica glinting in its sand.

HONOLULU - Another actor on the hit TV series "Lost" was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving early Thursday by Honolulu police - the fourth actor on the ABC series to run into trouble with the law while filming in Hawaii.

The Arizona State swimming and diving teams swept their meets Saturday at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.

Former Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter will become the new offensive coordinator at the University of Miami (Fla.), ESPN reported during its broadcast of the Hurricanes’ victory against Nevada in the MPC Computers Bowl on Sunday.