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Vai Sikahema

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Vai Sikahema
No. 36, 45, 22
Position:Running back
Return specialist
Personal information
Born:(1962-08-29)August 29, 1962(age 62)
Nuku'alofa,Tonga
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:181 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school:Mesa(Mesa, Arizona)
College:BYU
NFL draft:1986/ Round: 10 / Pick: 254
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:217
Rushing average:3.7
Receptions:53
Receiving yards:537
Return yards:8,102
Totaltouchdowns:5
Player stats atPFR
General Authority Seventy
April 3, 2021(2021-04-03)
Called byRussell M. Nelson
Personal details
Children4

Vai Sikahema(born 29 August 1962) is a Tongan broadcaster and former professionalAmerican footballplayer. He played as arunning backandreturn specialistin theNational Football League(NFL). He has served as ageneral authorityseventyofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints(LDS Church) since April 2021.[1][2]

Sikahema led his high school team inArizonato the 1979 state championship game.[3]He playedcollege footballfor theBrigham Young University(BYU)Cougars,and was selected by theSt. Louis Cardinals(later thePhoenix Cardinals) in the tenth round of the1986 NFL draft.He also played for theGreen Bay PackersandPhiladelphia Eaglesbefore retiring after the 1993 season. The first Tongan ever to play in the NFL, he played for eight seasons from 1986 to 1993. After retiring from the NFL, he served as sports director forNBC 10,the NBCowned-and-operated stationinPhiladelphiafrom 1994 to 2020.[4]

Early life

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Sikahema was born inNukuʻalofa,the capital ofTonga.In 1967, when he was 5, the family traveled to New Zealand at great personal expense to besealedin theNew Zealand Temple,anordinancein the LDS Church. They remained in New Zealand for three months until his father had earned enough money shearing sheep for them to return to Tonga.[5]

His parents later went to the Church College of Hawai'i (nowBrigham Young University–Hawaii), leaving Sikahema and his siblings with relatives in Tonga. After a year of working at thePolynesian Cultural Centerthey had enough money to bring Sikahema to join them. His family later moved to the U.S. state ofArizona,settling inMesa,a suburb ofPhoenix.It was here that they got legal resident status and were eventually able to bring his other siblings to join them.[6]Sikahema attendedMesa High School,where he playedfootball.As a player, he earned all-state honors twice[7]and led his team to the 1979 high school state championship game.[3]

College career

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In 1980, Sikahema enrolled at BYU, where he played for the football team. As a freshman, he endeared himself to Cougar fans by returning a punt for a touchdown in BYU's 46–45 come-from-behind victory overSMUin the1980 Holiday Bowl.He played one more season after that (1981), serving mainly as a return specialist, before leaving school for two years to serve as an LDS ChurchmissionaryinSouth Dakota.Sikahema returned to BYU in 1984. That season, the Cougars posted a perfect 13–0 record, claiming college football's national championship.[8][9]By the end of his senior year (1985), he held an NCAA record for most punt returns (153) in a career.[10]That season theWashington Postdescribed Sikahema as "single-handedly swinging the momentum BYU's way" in upsetting undefeated fourth-rankedAir Force.[11]

Professional career

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Sikahema was drafted in the tenth round by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1986 NFL Draft, becoming the first Tongan to play in the NFL.[12][13]

He was aspecial teamsstandout for several teams, including the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, and Philadelphia Eagles. In 118 career games over eight seasons from 1986 to 1994, he returned a total of 527 kickoffs or punts, gaining a total of 8,102 yards. Sikahema was named to thePro Bowltwice (1986 and 1987). It was during his stint with the Eagles that he came up with the famous "goalpost punching" stunt after scoring an 87-yard punt return touchdown in a 1992 game against theNew York GiantsatGiants Stadium.

Broadcasting career

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Upon retiring in 1994, Sikahema was hired by then-CBSowned and operated television station WCAU in Philadelphia to do weekend sports. Surviving the station's sale to NBC, Sikahema later moved to weekdays, becoming a morning news anchor as well as the station's sports director. He worked there for 26 years, before retiring in 2020.[4][14]

In March 2010, Sikahema joined withThe Philadelphia Inquirersports writer John Gonzalez as the hosts of theEarly Midday Showon Philadelphia radio stationWPEN-FM97.5 the Fanatic.

Sikahema was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame on 22 November 2013.[15]

Sikahema has also contributed a column, generally related to religion rather than sports topics, to theDeseret News.

Personal life

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Sikahema is an older cousin of fellow Tongan NFL playerDeuce Lutui,who playedguardfor the Arizona Cardinals.[12]Another cousin,Reno Mahe,also played for the Philadelphia Eagles. Sikahema's nephew by marriage isJon Heder,star ofNapoleon DynamiteandBlades of Glory.[12]

In May 2008, Sikahema accepted an open challenge from former baseball playerJose Cansecoto fight him in a celebrity boxing match for $25,000. Canseco claims to have earned black belts inKung Fu,Taekwondo,and has experience inMuay Thai,while Sikahema, who grew up wanting to be a professional boxer, had fought 80 amateur bouts while younger. The Canseco fight was held on 12 July 2008, inAtlantic Cityat theBernie Robbins Stadium,and was dubbedThe War at The Shore.[16]Sikahema won by knockout in the first round and donated the $5,000 purse to the family of Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski, a fallen officer of thePhiladelphia Police Department.

Sikahema is a member of LDS Church.[17]He has been a resident ofMount Laurel Township, New Jerseytogether with his wife, the former Keala Heder, and four children.[18]Sikahema served for a year as anarea seventyin the LDS Church,[19]until he was sustained as a general authority seventy during the church's April 2021general conference.[20]He previously served as astake presidentfrom 2014 to 2019, when he was called as an area seventy.[21]Before that he served as a bishop and counselor in the Cherry Hill Stake Presidency. He was a key figure in the negotiations that led to the city approval of thePhiladelphia Pennsylvania Temple,being a personal friend of MayorMichael Nutter.[22]

Honours

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National honours

References

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  1. ^"Elder Vaiangina Sikahema".Newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.Retrieved3 April2021.
  2. ^"See the 8 newly sustained General Authority Seventies and 3 Primary general presidency members".TheChurchNews.com.3 April 2021.Retrieved3 April2021.
  3. ^ab"Vai May Be Slow But He's An All-Pro".DeseretNews.com.Associated Press. 24 July 1988. Archived fromthe originalon 19 January 2021.
  4. ^abMichel Tanenbaum (31 July 2020)."Vai Sikahema to retire in November after 26 years at NBC10".PhillyVoice.Retrieved19 January2021.
  5. ^Robinson, Doug (11 October 2010). "Mormon faith infuses all aspects of life for Vai Sikahema".Deseret News.
  6. ^Sikahema, Vai (31 January 2011)."Vai's View: A legal immigrant's take on immigration".Deseret News.
  7. ^"Vai Sikahema player bio".BYUcougars.com.Archived fromthe originalon 19 January 2021.
  8. ^2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records(PDF).National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. pp. 114, 120.Retrieved12 December2018.
  9. ^"1984 National Championship".BYUCougars.com: The Official Site of Brigham Young Athletics. 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 20 February 2016.Retrieved5 May2015.
  10. ^"Punt Returns Career Leaders and Records".sports-reference.com.Retrieved19 January2021.
  11. ^Bradley, John Ed (17 November 1985)."BYU Beats the Air Force".Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.Retrieved18 October2023.
  12. ^abc"Tongan pair join Big Ben centre stage".The Australian.Agence France-Presse.2 February 2009.Retrieved23 November2010.
  13. ^"1986 NFL Draft Listing".Pro-Football-Reference.com.Retrieved3 October2023.
  14. ^"Vai Sikahema - NBCUniversal Media Village".nbcumv.com.
  15. ^Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia (2013)."Vai Sikahema bio".broadcastpioneers.com.Archived fromthe originalon 29 December 2020.On Friday evening, November 22, 2013, Vai Sikahema was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia's 'Hall of Fame.'
  16. ^Vai Sikahema came into the fight with 80 amateur fights."Bernard Fernandez: Conseco, Sikahema in celebrity boxing event in Atlantic City",Philadelphia Daily News,27 May 2008.
  17. ^"Interview with NBC's East Coast Sportscaster, Vai Sikahema – Part 4 – LDS".Lds.families.com. 31 December 1981.Retrieved24 December2010.
  18. ^Kravitz, Gary."Where Are They Now: KR/PR Vai Sikahema"Archived11 March 2009 at theWayback Machine,Philadelphia Eagles,2 April 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2011. "Sikahema currently resides in Mount Laurel, N.J., with his wife, Keala, and four children: Landon, L.J., Trey, and Lana."
  19. ^Scribner, Herb (6 April 2019)."Former BYU, NFL running back Vai Sikahema among new Area Seventies announced at General Conference".Deseret News.Retrieved12 September2020.
  20. ^"Meet the New General Authority Seventies and Primary Presidency Called at the April 2021 Conference".Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 3 April 2021.Retrieved3 April2021.
  21. ^"New Stake Presidents".Retrieved25 January2014.Sikahema currently resides in Mount Laurel, N.J., with his wife Keala and four children: Landon, L.J., Trey, and Lana. President – Vai Sikahema, 51, news anchor for NBC;
  22. ^Doug Robinson,Mormon faith infuses all aspects of life for Vai Sikahema,Deseret News,11 October 2010
  23. ^"Royal orders presented at Palace".Matangi Tonga. 1 August 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 21 January 2021.Retrieved2 January2022.
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