The BYU men’s basketball team will escape the chilly Utah weather to play in sunny Honolulu against the Rainbow Warriors on Friday night.

Hawaii is 2-1 and led by point guard Dwain Williams at 17.7 points per game. Roderick Flemings averages 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Last week, Flemings was named the Verizon Wireless WAC Player of the Week.

The 2-0 Cougars are looking to give head coach Dave Rose his 100th career win. With a win, Rose will become the fastest coach to earn 100 victories in BYU history. He is in his fifth season with a 99-34 (.744) overall record.

BYU’s Jimmer Fredette is scoring 23.5 ppg and Jackson Emery is averaging 12.0 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Jonathan Tavernari needs four points to become BYU’s 23rd all-time leading scorer and two steals to become eighth all-time.

With the majority of Utah ski resorts scheduled to open this weekend, operators are beginning their white-powder fortunes with man-made snow.

While many students are eager to get their boots strapped on, some are waiting for resorts to have mountains covered in natural snow as opposed to artificial snow. But is there really a difference?

“I’ve only skied down man-made snow like once,” said Nate Munson, a chemical engineering major from Boise, Idaho. “It wasn’t as smooth.” Nate added his favorite ski resort is Sun Valley in Idaho.

“Usually the only time I can tell a difference is when the man-made snow is very first coming out of the machines, it is a little more icy,” said Deidre Edmunds, a leisure services management major from Twin Falls, Idaho. “Real snow is more powdery.”

As the season comes to a close for the Air Force Falcons, visiting Provo is their last chance at beating one of the conference’s so-called big three.

With a close 20-17 loss to conference leader TCU and a heart-breaking 23-16 overtime loss to Utah, the Falcons are finishing their season against BYU. Air Force has not beaten BYU since 2003, and has a measly 6-23 record all-time against the Cougars.

“In terms of noise, attendance, they let you know they are there,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said in a press conference about playing at LaVell Edwards Stadium in front of BYU’s fans.

“For us, we realize to be able to go play well there it requires extraordinary focus and preparation.”

SAINT-DENIS, France — France qualified for its fourth consecutive World Cup when officials missed an obvious hand ball by Thierry Henry that led to William Gallas' overtime goal in a 1-1 tie against Ireland on Wednesday night.

Les Bleus avoided a penalty-kicks shootout and won the home-and-home, total-goals playoff 2-1, boosted by its 1-0 victory at Dublin last Saturday.

The game appeared headed to penalty kicks when Florent Malouda sent a free kick to Henry at the post to the right of goalkeeper Shay Given. Henry got between defender Paul McShane and Given, stopped the ball with his left hand, then used his hand again and poked the ball with his outstretched right foot in front of the net.

"He almost caught it and walked into the net with it," said Ireland's Robbie Keane, who scored his team's goal.

VIEWPOINT

The beginning of the BYU men’s basketball season reminds me of a story my father once told me.

An Indian boy had come to the point at which it was time to be a man. Among his people, the ritual was for a boy to climb to the top of a nearby mountain, and when he returned he would return a man.

The boy started his journey up the mountain, and encountered a rattlesnake on the way. The boy was frightened at first, but was put at ease when the rattlesnake asked him for help.

“Please take me with you to the top of the mountain,” the rattlesnake pleaded.

The boy declined, saying he knew the rattlesnake would bite him. The rattlesnake assured the boy that if he was kind enough to carry him to the top of the mountain, he would not bite him.

Finally, the boy was convinced, and agreed to help the snake.