John L. Johnson, the most valuable player in the inaugural Hula Bowl in 1947, died Saturday in California at age 96.

The initial appearance began a life-long attachment to the game for Johnson, who was rarely without a Hula Bowl shirt or vest in his daily life and wrote a book about the game in 2009.

Johnson was an All-Coast running back at UCLA, where he later coached. He also served as athletic director at Cal Poly Pomona and at Cal State Dominguez Hills, where he also coached golf.

Johnson spent a quarter-century as an NFL scout and was a regular at Hula Bowl practices and games for decades. “It just wouldn’t be the Hula Bowl without him,” the late Ray Nagel, a former Hula Bowl executive director and UH athletic director, often said.

UH hoops public scrimmage set

The Hawaii men’s basketball Green and White intrasquad scrimmage — the first chance for the general public to view the 2017-18 team — is set for 1 p.m. Sunday at the Stan Sheriff Center. Admission is free.

The arena gates will open at noon while UH conducts regular practice drills. The controlled scrimmage will consist of various lineup combinations and periods of varying lengths. Afterward, there will be an autograph session on the concourse level.

UH, 14-16 last season, returns seven of its top eight scorers and has senior forward Mike Thomas back from an injury redshirt year.

Dugas earns Sony Open berth

Eric Dugas of Makena Golf and Beach Club fired a round of 3-under-par 69 on Tuesday to capture Aloha Section Stroke Play Championship title at Kapolei Golf Club.

Dugas weathered gusty conditions to post a two-day total of 143 and also earned a spot in the Sony Open in Hawaii. Garrett Okamura, the first-round leader, carded a 74 and finished one stroke back. Dugas will represent the Aloha Section at the 51st PGA Professional National Championship in June at Bayonet Black Horse in Seaside, Calif.

Blomfield, Fong win at Turtle Bay Pro

North Shore’s Honolua Blomfield and Honolulu’s Scotty Fong Jr. clinched their respective Longboard Pro divisions on the final day of the Turtle Bay Resort Pro on Tuesday in Haleiwa. Blomfield faced Kirra Seale, Kaitlin Maguire and Kelta O’Rourke in the women’s final and came out on top with a score of 7.17. On the men’s side Fong bested Kai Sallas, Ned Snow, and Makamae DeSoto with a 7.83.