The games blared from car radios in traffic, TV sets in shops and computers in offices, their sounds omnipresent.

Accompanying cheers — and groans — in chorus heralded the full-on return of March Madness to Hawaii.

For what seemed like the first time in ages, the University of Hawaii was back in the NCAA basketball postseason.

For the men, it marked the end of a 14-year drought and, for the Rainbow Wahine, the return after 17 years.

Each got there by winning their Big West Conference Tournament, the first time they’d cut down the nets in tandem since 1993-94.

The Rainbows Warriors went a school-record 28-6 (13-3 in conference), including a breakthrough first-round NCAA victory over California in Spokane, Wash.

The Rainbow Wahine went 21-11 (12-4 in conference), losing at UCLA.

Rolovich turns it around

Nick Rolovich had a pidgin interpreter by his side at his Hawaii Bowl press conference, but no translation was needed to call his inaugural season as UH’s head football coach a success.

The ’Bows, who hadn’t avoided a losing record or seen the postseason since 2010, finished 7-7 with the bowl victory over Middle Tennessee State.

This after they had started the season 1-3 en route to becoming the most traveled (46,000 miles) football team in school history.

The ’Bows, who were picked to be at the bottom of the six-team West Division of the MWC, won three divisional road games and finished second to conference overall champion San Diego State.

“The bowl was one small step for Hawaii football, one giant leap for Pride Rock,” Rolovich said.

Florence rules the waves

The first Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational in six years served up monster waves in February and John John Florence gave a performance to match.

Florence caught four huge waves to win the prestigious event, kicking off what would become a breakthrough year for him.

The North Shore native also won the Rio Pro and Rip Curl Pro to nail down his first World Surf League Championship and then took the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing title.

“It’s been my dream to win the world title ever since watching Kelly (Slater) and Andy (Irons),” Florence said after winning the WSL.

Crusaders take state

One of the largest high school or college football crowds of the year at Aloha Stadium, 20,447, saw Saint Louis defeat Kahuku 30-14 in the inaugural Open Division final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships.

The Crusaders’ three previous state football titles were delivered in eras when the format was one (1999-2002) or two (2003-15) tiers. But the fourth championship marked the debut of a three-tiered structure that was designed to more equitably balance the levels of play for the 45 schools across the five leagues.

The open playoff was a late compromise on a plan that called for a season-long restructuring along Open Division, Division I and Division II lines.

Pro Bowl leaves quietly

Four months after the Pro Bowl was played at Aloha Stadium the NFL announced it was moving its annual all-star game to Orlando, Fla., for the foreseeable future.

“For us, Orlando is the new home of the Pro Bowl,” said Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s senior vice president of events.

After holding the event at Aloha Stadium for all but two years since 1980, the NFL signed a three-year deal in Orlando.

If it was Hawaii’s last Pro Bowl, it was more memorable for the hours of traffic gridlock that surrounded it than for the game itself.