My first memories of an AED — Automated External Defibrillator — machine was as a kid watching that old TV show “Emergency!”

The paramedics/firemen John and Roy would once in a while take out their AED, attach the suction cup thingies to the patient’s chest, one guy would yell “Clear!” and the other would grab hold of the suction cup handles as the patient was shocked back to life.

My friends and I thought it was pretty cool.

Now, I am learning about real-life examples of how these portable machines have come to the rescue, with two examples just in the past two years in the realm of high school sports.

In May 2006, Castle assistant baseball coach Brent Taniguchi suffered a heart attack on the field during a state tournament baseball game on Maui. Thankfully, the Maui High athletic trainer brought the school’s AED with him to the game and it was used to revive Taniguchi.

Thankfully, Maui High had an AED machine to begin with.

HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya realized this, but also learned that most schools did not have one. So, he approached HMSA to see if they could donate to the cause. HMSA eventually responded with a tremendous offer: 95 AEDs, one for every high school in the state.

Dese buggahs cost about $1,500 each, so this was no small donation. HMSA also provided training on how to use the machines, so the total donation came out to about $160,000, Amemiya said.

But as we have seen again, these machines really are priceless.

Kamehameha-Hawai’i already had its own AED, but accepted HMSA’s offer and added a second machine. Athletic director Bob Wagner said that second one was not the one used to revive freshman golfer Stephen Winchester on Dec. 10, but it probably helped that they had one located nearby to where he collapsed.

I have read that in the case of a cardiac arrest, a brain can lose up to 10 percent of its function for every minute that goes by before revival. So having an AED available within seconds can be crucial.

I hope no school ever needs to use its AED again, but at the same time, it’s good to know it’s there if needed.

Dunn Muramaru has coached many great teams in his 32 years at Kalani and Mid-Pacific, so when he says this year’s group is special, well, that’s saying something.

But that’s exactly what he said after Saturday’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Punahou.

“If you want to talk about a ‘team,’ this is it right here,” Muramaru said. “Nothing against the other teams we’ve had in the past, but this is one of the best ‘teams’ I’ve had. There’s nobody pouting if they don’t get to start. Everybody helps each other out. It’s just been enjoyable to coach them.”

I’ve only seen this team play twice, both times in a victory over Punahou, but I already noticed what Muramaru was talking about. The first thing I notice is the focus and intensity, and that includes outward visible support. You can’t help but notice the players picking each other up, cheering good plays, exchanging handshakes and high fives.

The positive vibes and body language never seem to fade, even after somebody strikes out, or pops up, or grounds out, or an inning ends without a run scored.

Even after Jeeter Ishida put Punahou up 2-1 with a leadoff home run in the top of the seventh inning, and the next batter was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, there was no sense of panic detected.

Instead, reliever Matt McDaniel and the Owls promptly got the next two outs to keep the damage minimal, then they rolled up their sleeves and got right back to work in the bottom of the frame.

A hit batter to lead off, a sacrifice bunt to move him up, a base hit to score the tying run, a slap opposite single to left, and then a liner into the gap to the right side to bring the winning run home.

Basic, typical execution by a Mid-Pac team. They made it look easy, but it wasn’t.

Punahou starter Reece Kiriu was sharp, and the Owls had to earn everything.

“Talk about being tough and not giving in, that’s Kiriu,” Muramaru said. “He must have gotten out of three or four jams.”

MPI left 11 men on base, including bases-loaded situations in the third and fifth innings.

But Owls starter Dane Kinoshita, McDaniel and the Mid-Pac defense (no errors) did a fantastic job as well, especially holding the Buffanblu scoreless for five innings and and to two runs overall despite the cozy confines of Damon Field.

And as usual, Muramaru let catcher Aaron Fujiki call the pitches.

“Aaron called one of the greatest games,” Muramaru said. “We’ve got a lot of leaders on this team.”

Emphasis on “team.”

A little over a month ago, I wrote on this blog about how this year’s crop of girls basketball seniors will be missed, and they will be.

But after watching a little bit of the ‘Team Aloha” practice at Blaisdell Arena on Friday, I am already looking forward to next season. No doubt, there still are a lot of talented players coming back for 2008-2009.

This Team Aloha will have a hard time repeating the success of the 2006 Team Aloha, which featured the Kuehu twins, plus Keisha Kanekoa and Jamie Smith.

Vicky Tagalicod, who played on the 2006 Team Aloha, is still recovering from an injury and will not make this trip.

But the 2008 Team Aloha has its share of talented players. Starting off with Waiakea’s Kamie Imai, who continues to impress me with her athleticism and grace considering her size (5-8) and youth (sophomore).

I think she will get the attention of a lot of college coaches in Arizona, maybe not as much as Shawna-Lei Kuehu, but still a lot.

Punahou guard Janelle Nomura opened a lot of eyes at the Tournament of Champions in Phoenix in December, and I think she will continue to impress college coaches at this tournament.

Hopefully Johnelle Kapua (Mid-Pac), Kanisha Bello (Kamehameha-Hawai’i) and Ashley Satterwhite (Punahou) will attract some Division I interest as well.

This team has shooters, like Pua Furtado (Kamehameha) and Tami Konishi (’Iolani). They have decent post players in Violet Alama (Kalani), Milika Taufa (Lahainaluna) and Taeja Afalava (Kahuku), though most of them are young and a bit raw.

One player whom I voted for was Ta Nitra Byrd (Radford), but I do not know what her situation will be next season. I’ve heard conflicting reports, first that she will play one more season at Radford and another saying she and her military family are scheduled to move out of state in November.

If the second scenario is true, then that might explain why she was not selected for Team Aloha. A main purpose, after all, is to give Hawai’i girls exposure on the Mainland; if Ta Nitra will be playing at a Mainland high school next season, she likely will get the exposure then.

Anyway, I like the fact that the Neighbor Islands are well represented, with almost half the squad (6 out of 13) not from O’ahu. It’s a nice opportunity since many of them are not even well known on this island.

It’s actually a nice opportunity for all the players, and credit should be given to HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya for getting the project funded. It’s not cheap, since the Neighbor Island kids need to be flown in for practices and for the trip from Honolulu to Phoenix.

With airfare, four nights hotel in Phoenix, ground transportation, meals, uniforms, etc., we’re talking thousands of dollars. Donors have helped, and the O’ahu parents generously offered their homes Friday night for the Neighbor Island kids to help cut costs.

Credit also should be given to Mayor Mufi Hannemann and deputy Parks and Recs director Dana Takahara-Dias for putting the team together and coaching the kids, plus promoting the venture. Some might wonder why the Mayor and a top cabinet member would devote so much time to a non-city project, but just like Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona coaching Saint Louis basketball, it’s also hard to argue against the cause of helping our young people succeed and earn college opportunities.

And they have the success of the 2006 Team Aloha to justify their cause. Not only did Team Aloha win the prestigious Nike Storrm and Swish Tournament in Santa Barbara, Calif., but every member of that team earned at least one college scholarship offer and they represented Hawai’i well on and off the court.

I think this 2008 Team Aloha has a chance to do the same.

For those who know Eric Tokunaga — and if you’ve been involved with Hawai’i high school baseball, you probably do — I’m happy to report that he hasn’t changed much despite living in the Deep South the past 15 months.

Tokunaga, a former standout shortstop at McKinley and the University of Hawai’i and most recently the local scout for the Kansas City Royals, is pretty much still the same guy we all came to know back home. Which is a good thing.

He’s based in Charlotte, N.C., but has yet to pick up a Southern accent. Tokunaga is a full-time scout for the Soft Bank Hawks of Fukuoka, Japan. His job is to find potential players from the crop playing in the Triple-A International League.

But just because he’s some 5,000 miles and six time zones away concentrating on professional baseball, doesn’t mean he’s out of the loop when it comes to what’s going on back home in Hawai’i. In fact, while at a sushi restaurant in Charlotte last Friday night, he was updating ME on some OIA and ILH news.

It was quickly obvious that he has maintained his island connections and follows the games through the internet or by talking to friends.

I don’t know anyone who loves baseball more than Tokunaga, so this job he has now is close to ideal for him. As he did back home, he works with local high school players in the offseason and when we walked into an enormous batting cage facility on the outskirts of Charlotte, it was like being with Norm walking into “Cheers.”

Everybody knew Toku, and he knew everybody.

Same thing when we went to watch a high school baseball tournament at Winthrop University.

I think the people over there quickly realized what we have known over here, that Tokunaga is one of those pure baseball guys that loves the game at its core. I know he despises changes to the game now incorporated into high school ball, like courtesy runners and re-entry and seven-inning regulation contests.

And I know he’s a product of old-school coaching, where players show respect for their elders and for the game. At the end of warmups for the high school game, a coach jogged into center field to retrieve a stray ball while the players ran in toward the dugout.

“What is that, the coach gotta go get the ball?!?” Tokunaga said, to no one in particular.

Yup, he’s still the same.

Which is a good thing.