It was an afternoon when I wasn’t looking for anything other than a cold beer and a few innings of baseball to pass the time. What I got was Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr., hitting back-to-back homers for the Seattle Mariners. So simple, yet so profound. Made my day.

I still think about that sometimes when watching the outstanding weekly local sports show, "Leahey & Leahey," which just started its fourth year on PBS Hawaii.

Father and son sit around the kitchen table talking about sports; something to which many of us can relate. We can only imagine what it’d be like to do something like the Griffeys. But the Leaheys? That resonates for all who grew up in homes fighting over the sports section (after Dad was done, of course).

WHAT CAN make a dream sports career even better? Ken Griffey and Jim Leahey are two of the few people in the world with a first-hand idea. The difference is that you can conceivably share the mic with your son longer than you can be in the same major-league lineup with him.

As was reported in Star-Advertiser stories Sunday, Oceanic Time Warner Cable takes over production of University of Hawaii TV sports from KFVE in 2011-12. This could also signal a changing of the guard from father to son, and the question seems more "when" than "if."

Jim, 67, has been the voice of televised UH sports since Kanoa was born 32 years ago. Kanoa, a rising force in the Hawaii market and heir apparent to his father’s position, is KHON-2 sports director and works high school games for Oceanic. Chuck, their late father and grandfather, is a Hawaii sports legend and was the UH voice before Jim. Hence the "3 GENS" personalized license plate on Kanoa’s truck.

Interviewed separately yesterday, both said they’re in no rush — father to retire, son to ascend.

"In my opinion, my dad is still the best play-by-play sportscaster that Hawaii has to offer," Kanoa said. "His legacy as the voice of the Rainbows on television is something that has taken shape over several decades. He’s intertwined with University of Hawaii sports as much as the nickname or the team colors."

Jim now works on a contract basis that allows him to pick and choose events, but it still adds up to around 100 a year. He has no retirement plans yet.

"I feel strong and feel I can do it," said Jim, who shows no ill-effects after beating back leukemia in 1997. "There is that time frame where I’ll finally have to give it to him, but I don’t feel like retiring now. You have to ask me after this year."

YOU MAY find it presumptuous or even arrogant that there seems to be an assumption Kanoa will immediately succeed Jim. I’m certainly no fan of nepotism, especially in a field where jobs are rare and coveted.

But I’ve often had a front-row seat to Kanoa’s development as a sports journalist the past decade-and-half, and anyone else who has would agree the guy has paid his dues (and continues to do so, the great ones never stop). Did a door or two early in his career open because of his surname? Possibly. But without talent and preparation, those opportunities dry up. And programs like Les Keiter’s Stadium Stars have democratized things for aspiring sportscasters; if you’re good and willing to work hard, you’ll get noticed, whatever your name.

With that being said, there’s just one sports TV job in Hawaii that is what Kanoa calls "the Holy Grail."

"When you talk about this industry in Hawaii, being the voice of the Rainbows is the top of the line."

Jim is rightfully proud of his son, and was impressed like many others with his work alongside ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb on some Diamond Head Classic basketball games last December.

"Almost a passing of the torch. But I put the torch out. Stamped on it and said, ‘Not yet,’" Jim said. "The thing is I feel healthy. I feel like I can do it for at least another … week."

Reach Star-Advertiser sports columnist Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com, his "Quick Reads" blog at staradvertiser.com and twitter.com/davereardon.