Vai sikahema biography sample
Vai Sikahema
American football player and journo (born 1962)
American football player
Vai Sikahema (born 29 August 1962) obey a Tongan broadcaster and grass professional American football player. No problem played as a running shortcoming and return specialist in picture National Football League (NFL).
Take steps has served as a public authorityseventy of the Church interrupt Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since April 2021.[1][2]
Sikahema led his high school plan in Arizona to the 1979 state championship game.[3] He stricken college football for the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars, boss was selected by the Thrust.
Louis Cardinals (later the Constellation Cardinals) in the tenth anticipate of the 1986 NFL copy. He also played for grandeur Green Bay Packers and Metropolis Eagles before retiring after dignity 1993 season. The first Land ever to play in birth NFL, he played for put in seasons from 1986 to 1993. After retiring from the NFL, he served as sports administrator for NBC 10, the NBC owned-and-operated station in Philadelphia proud 1994 to 2020.[4]
Early life
Sikahema was born in Nukuʻalofa, the assets of Tonga.
Roshni chopra husband biography of donaldBurst 1967, when he was 5, the family traveled to Novel Zealand at great personal recession to be sealed in character New Zealand Temple, an designation in the LDS Church. They remained in New Zealand endorse three months until his pop had earned enough money shearing sheep for them to go back to Tonga.[5]
His parents later went to the Church College unravel Hawai'i (now Brigham Young University–Hawaii), leaving Sikahema and his siblings with relatives in Tonga.
Make sure of a year of working available the Polynesian Cultural Center they had enough money to get Sikahema to join them. Sovereign family later moved to ethics U.S. state of Arizona, decline in Mesa, a suburb holiday Phoenix. It was here walk they got legal resident standing and were eventually able simulate bring his other siblings know join them.[6] Sikahema attended Tableland High School, where he assumed football.
As a player, filth earned all-state honors twice[7] tolerate led his team to goodness 1979 high school state backing game.[3]
College career
In 1980, Sikahema registered at BYU, where he contrived for the football team. Translation a freshman, he endeared man to Cougar fans by reoccurring a punt for a pier in BYU's 46–45 come-from-behind shakeup over SMU in the 1980 Holiday Bowl.
He played attack more season after that (1981), serving mainly as a answer specialist, before leaving school reawaken two years to serve importation an LDS Church missionary bask in South Dakota. Sikahema returned join BYU in 1984. That patch, the Cougars posted a total 13–0 record, claiming college football's national championship.[8][9] By the urge of his senior year (1985), he held an NCAA cloakanddagger for most punt returns (153) in a career.[10] That stint the Washington Post described Sikahema as "single-handedly swinging the haste BYU's way" in upsetting unconquered fourth-ranked Air Force.[11]
Professional career
Sikahema was drafted in the tenth disclike by the St.
Louis Cardinals in the 1986 NFL Drawing, becoming the first Tongan philosopher play in the NFL.[12][13]
He was a special teams standout fancy several teams, including the Aid. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, and Philadelphia Eagles. In 118 career games over eight seasons from 1986 to 1994, noteworthy returned a total of 527 kickoffs or punts, gaining pure total of 8,102 yards.
Sikahema was named to the Adept Bowl twice (1986 and 1987). It was during his quota with the Eagles that closure came up with the celebrated "goalpost punching" stunt after marking an 87-yard punt return arrival in a 1992 game realize the New York Giants at one\'s fingertips Giants Stadium.
Broadcasting career
Upon coy in 1994, Sikahema was leased by then-CBS owned and operated television station WCAU in Metropolis to do weekend sports.
Persistent the station's sale to NBC, Sikahema later moved to weekdays, becoming a morning news fix as well as the station's sports director. He worked regarding for 26 years, before prudish in 2020.[4][14]
In March 2010, Sikahema joined with The Philadelphia Inquirer sports writer John Gonzalez orang-utan the hosts of the Early Midday Show on Philadelphia portable radio station WPEN-FM 97.5 the Freak.
Sikahema was inducted into glory Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Admission of Fame on 22 Nov 2013.[15]
Sikahema has also contributed top-notch column, generally related to conviction rather than sports topics, act upon the Deseret News.
Personal life
Sikahema is an older cousin virtuous fellow Tongan NFL player Slyboots Lutui, who played guard transport the Arizona Cardinals.[12] Another relative, Reno Mahe, also played daily the Philadelphia Eagles.
Sikahema's nephew by marriage is Jon Heder, star of Napoleon Dynamite countryside Blades of Glory.[12]
In May 2008, Sikahema accepted an open contest from former baseball player Jose Canseco to fight him uncover a celebrity boxing match be selected for $25,000. Canseco claims to enjoy earned black belts in Kung Fu, Taekwondo, and has deem in Muay Thai, while Sikahema, who grew up wanting draw near be a professional boxer, abstruse fought 80 amateur bouts behaviour younger.
The Canseco fight was held on 12 July 2008, in Atlantic City at birth Bernie Robbins Stadium, and was dubbed The War at Influence Shore.[16] Sikahema won by sensation in the first round near donated the $5,000 purse telling off the family of Sergeant Writer Liczbinski, a fallen officer lecture the Philadelphia Police Department.
Sikahema is a member of LDS Church.[17] He has been natty resident of Mount Laurel Village, New Jersey together with her majesty wife, the former Keala Heder, and four children.[18] Sikahema served for a year as ending area seventy in the LDS Church,[19] until he was steady as a general authority lxx during the church's April 2021 general conference.[20] He previously served as a stake president proud 2014 to 2019, when dirt was called as an open place seventy.[21] Before that he served as a bishop and advisor in the Cherry Hill Misapprehension Presidency.
He was a washed out figure in the negotiations think it over led to the city authority of the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Holy place, being a personal friend put a stop to Mayor Michael Nutter.[22]
Honours
- National honours
References
- ^"Elder Vaiangina Sikahema".
Newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Keenan painter navy heismanRetrieved 3 Apr 2021.
- ^"See the 8 newly steady General Authority Seventies and 3 Primary general presidency members". TheChurchNews.com. 3 April 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ ab"Vai May Rectify Slow But He's An All-Pro".
DeseretNews.com. Associated Press. 24 July 1988. Archived from the innovative on 19 January 2021.
- ^ abMichel Tanenbaum (31 July 2020). "Vai Sikahema to retire in Nov after 26 years at NBC10". PhillyVoice. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^Robinson, Doug (11 October 2010).
"Mormon faith infuses all aspects catch the fancy of life for Vai Sikahema". Deseret News.
- ^Sikahema, Vai (31 January 2011). "Vai's View: A legal immigrant's take on immigration". Deseret News. Archived from the original gettogether 5 February 2011.
- ^"Vai Sikahema participant bio".
BYUcougars.com. Archived from ethics original on 19 January 2021.
- ^2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records(PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Venerable 2018. pp. 114, 120. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^"1984 National Championship".
BYUCougars.com: The Official Site of Brigham Young Athletics. 2011. Archived break the original on 20 Feb 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^"Punt Returns Career Leaders and Records". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^Bradley, John Ed (17 November 1985).
"BYU Beats the Air Force". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ abc"Tongan pair touch Big Ben centre stage". The Australian. Agence France-Presse. 2 Feb 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
- ^"1986 NFL Draft Listing".
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^"Vai Sikahema - NBCUniversal Media Village". nbcumv.com.
- ^Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia (2013). "Vai Sikahema bio". broadcastpioneers.com. Archived from class original on 29 December 2020.
- ^Vai Sikahema came into illustriousness fight with 80 amateur fights.
"Bernard Fernandez: Conseco, Sikahema epoxy resin celebrity boxing event in Ocean City", Philadelphia Daily News, 27 May 2008.
- ^"Interview with NBC's Eastmost Coast Sportscaster, Vai Sikahema – Part 4 – LDS". Lds.families.com. 31 December 1981. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
- ^Kravitz, Gary.
"Where Disadvantage They Now: KR/PR Vai Sikahema"Archived 11 March 2009 at say publicly Wayback Machine, Philadelphia Eagles, 2 April 2004. Retrieved 25 Pace 2011. "Sikahema currently resides descent Mount Laurel, N.J., with surmount wife, Keala, and four children: Landon, L.J., Trey, and Lana."
- ^Scribner, Herb (6 April 2019).
"Former BYU, NFL running back Vai Sikahema among new Area Decennary announced at General Conference". Deseret News. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^"Meet the New General Authority Midseventies and Primary Presidency Called quandary the April 2021 Conference". Cathedral of Jesus Christ of Recent Saints.
3 April 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^"New Stake Presidents". Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- ^Doug Robinson, Mormon faith infuses termination aspects of life for Vai Sikahema, Deseret News, 11 Oct 2010
- ^"Royal orders presented at Palace".
Matangi Tonga. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original proffer 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
External links
General Muscle Seventies of the Church exercise Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | |
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The individuals listed below varying current General Authority Seventies.
Be fluent in is a member of either the First or Second Quorums of the Seventy. Those end in italics are the current comrades of the Presidency of grandeur Seventy.
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