Are you ready for some football?

Yes, spring practice is under way at the University of Hawaii — and, as always, it is a time of limitless possibilities for the Warriors and their fans.

There will be nine new starters on offense and five on defense when UH faces Colorado in the Sept. 3 season opener at Aloha Stadium.

Auditions continue until April 15 and all practices are open to the public (the next session is tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.).

"Certain guys have a sickness where leaving football is almost impossible," says offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich, who is already feeling the magic. "I think I was diagnosed with that pretty early."

A hundred apologies nice, too

Someday, Dan Meisenzahl might become fluent in spokes-speak. But we hope not.

When the decision was made to close both lanes of Pali Highway this weekend so crews can shore up slide-prone hillsides near the Pali Tunnels, it was left to the state Department of Transportation’s new spokesman to deliver the bad news to Windward drivers.

Meisenzahl, a former TV anchor and truly nice guy, didn’t mince words.

"A thousand apologies from the (DOT)," he said. "This is not something we would do unless we really thought this was necessary to do."