Creating Quite a Hoopla in the Land of the Hula

Aloha. Now keep out.

The University of Hawaii last week barred all reporters from its teams’ locker rooms.

The policy touched off a volcanic reaction among members of the Hawaii chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. In a letter to Hawaii Athletic Director Stan Sheriff, chapter President Floyd Takeuchi said:

“Closing the locker rooms is akin to closing a City Council meeting and allowing members to control what information is released afterward. . . . A free press is free only if it is allowed to not only print the news but gather it as well.”

According to the Associated Press, Eddie Inouye, the Hawaii sports information director, said the policy stemmed from the recent controversy over women in NFL locker rooms, not from any problem the university has had.

The ban does not extend to visiting teams’ locker rooms.

Trivia time: Which two players share the NBA record for free throws made in one game, 28?

The vote stands: From Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Evening Sun: “Ironically, it was Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman who cast the 21st and deciding vote that saved instant replay last year. Think he’d like to have his vote back after a length-of-the-field TD by the Eagles was negated because Earnest Byner of Washington didn’t fumble?”

Gonna fry now: Wallace Matthews of Newsday noted that unbeaten heavyweight Tommy Morrison, who will fight James Tillis on the undercard of tonight’s Ray Mercer-Francesco Damiani main event in Atlantic City, N.J., recently appeared in “Rocky V.”

Wednesday, Morrison called co-promoter Frank Gelb and asked for the name of a nearby tanning parlor. Gelb, a tanning parlor habitue, was happy to oblige.

Matthews wrote that Morrison credited Sylvester Stallone with teaching him the importance of a good tan.

Said Morrison: “I don’t want to go into the ring looking all white and pale. I must have gotten it from him.”

Trivia answer: Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors and Adrian Dantley of the Utah Jazz. Chamberlain’s 28 were part of his NBA-record 100-point game against the New York Knicks at Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962. Dantley tied the free-throw record against Houston at Las Vegas on Jan. 4, 1984.

Quotebook: New York Giant Coach Bill Parcells, when asked the difference between his team and the Chicago Bears, whom the Giants face in Sunday’s NFC divisional playoff game: “They are in the Central time zone and we wear white shoes.”