Around the Pac Ten Blogs

Here we are in mid January, and there still seems to be a lot going on around the league as we start to get into the crunch time of recruiting season. Recruiting changes on an hourly basis so make sure you stay tuned to Dawgman for all the latest news.

Bob Condotta of the Times has an excellent series on what to expect next year going on in his blog. He starts off with an interview concerning QB's with Tim Lappano.

"I'm starting it off with offensive coordinator Tim Lappano breaking down, as you might expect, the offense. We'll begin today with his thoughts on the quarterback position (if some of this looks familiar it should as some of this was included in stories that ran in our paper last week, as well)."

Oregon offensive coordinator Gary Crowton is leaving the school after two seasons to take the same job at LSU. Crowton said he accepted his new position Monday and expects to be in Louisiana on Tuesday night. He replaces Jimbo Fisher, who left LSU to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State. I don't think Oregon fans are sad to see him go.

Oregon State athletic director Bob De Carolis said Monday the school's football program is "positioned to take the next step" if the Beavers' marketing department can capitalize on the 10-4 season of 2006. Part of that "next step" involves reaching agreement with coach Mike Riley on a contract extension. "We're moving in the right direction," De Carolis said in a wide-ranging interview with The Oregonian, "and I would hope we can get it done soon." Mike Riley should stick it to these jerks who wanted to run him out on a rail at mid season. Like the song say's, "You sometime's don't know what you got till its gone, they paved paradise and put up Potato Salad Stadium."

California coach Jeff Tedford has agreed to a four-year contract extension that will keep the two-time Pac-10 coach of the year with the Golden Bears through 2013. The UC Board of Regents was scheduled to discuss the deal at a closed meeting today, and athletic department spokesman John Sudsbury said approval is expected Thursday. Tedford is 43-20 in five seasons, leading the Bears' longest sustained period of excellence in a half-century. He led Cal to a 10-3 record, a Pac-10 co-championship and a victory over Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl in the just completed season. I don't expect Tedford to last at Cal for the remainder of the contract.

Former kicker Michael Braunstein has committed to finish his college career at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, he said Monday after visiting the campus over the weekend. Braunstein was one of four players not invited to return to the Huskies program despite having a fifth year of eligibility left. Braunstein said he will spend two years at Ohio U getting both an MBA and a master's in sports administration. The road to the Lou Groza award is never easy.

A team spokesman said the status of running back Michael Houston remains unchanged. Houston was suspended indefinitely in October after being arrested for allegedly stealing a taxi. I guess we wait till Spring to find out what is going to happen on that one. One thing for sure we will have more bodies at RB.

The football future of Washington Huskies quarterback Isaiah Stanback was uncertain three months ago after he sprained his foot, ending his college career. The PI say's he is ahead of schedule, and throwing with a boot on. He should be ready to go without the boot before the combine. Scouts are saying that teams are looking at him as a wide receiver, or running back. IS still wants to play QB, we will see.

Senior quarterback Carl Bonnell had surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder and will need approximately eight weeks to heal. That will likely limit him for spring football and push sophomore-to-be Jake Locker to the top of the depth chart. True frosh Ronnie Fouch will be in for Spring practice and will see plenty of time.

Pac Ten Alley

Okay, let's take a walk down Pac Ten Alley and see what our neighbors down the coast are bloffing about this week.

At Washington State they think Mixon makes up for the loss of Davenport.

Gain some, lose some, typical for this time of year. AND YES, reportedly the 5-star JC safety has committed in Mixon, but, we've still got a lot of time left for him to keep shopping around. I may sound negative, but I'm in "see-it-to-believe-it" mode right about now.

The Oregon basketball team continues to climb in the polls and have climbed inside the Top Ten.

The Ducks moved from number 15 to number 9 in the AP Polls after their successful outing in Arizona this last week.

At California it is four more years of Jeff Tedford

Jeff Tedford and the University of California have reached an agreement on a contract extension that will keep the Cal football coach in Berkeley through 2013, pending approval by the UC Board of Regents.

At Stanford basketball is back which is good because football is not.

The Stanford men's basketball team will not win the Pacific-10 Conference title this season. But Stanford is going to make trouble. A whole heap of trouble.

At USC the Trojan nations gathers for a sad and solemn occasion.

Mario Danelo was remembered Friday as an upbeat person who enjoyed life to the fullest and left an indelible impression on those around him. An estimated 2,000 mourners gathered at Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in suburban San Pedro to remember the Southern California kicker, whose body was found last weekend about 120 feet down a rocky cliff not far from his family's home.

At UCLA they speculate that Dorrell was Shanahans yes man while with the Bronco's.

Dorrell really didn't have a strength, that I saw, as someone in a leadership position. It wasn't like the Broncos were rolling out Pro Bowlers under Dorrell, and as a matter of fact, every receiver the team acquired or drafted during his time there is no longer with the team. Sure, Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey are solid, but both were good players before and after Dorrell. It's a well known fact in Bronco Nation that Shanny has a tendancy to hire "yes" men as assistants, made obvious by the fact that there isn't a "coaching tree" to speak of. Karl Dorrell is among that group, and not someone I saw then, or now, as a coach with a bright head coaching future. Some guys are just better suited to be part of a team, not in charge of it, and Dorrell wasn't even a great assistant.

At Oregon State the Beavers are wondering why nobody is hyping the 2007 team.

Now, for Oregon State. I wouldn't classify OSU as a team that gets a lot of attention, especially in the offseason. Usually it takes a few games for the nation to catch on to what's happening in Corvallis, and that is the point where the Beavers might be placed into a poll. Obviously, they lose Matt Moore and Sabby Piscitelli, which will hurt both sides of the ball. The good news is I'm sure we can all agree that Canfield will fill the shoes of Moore nicely, and Payton and Drayton will make a nice combo in the defensive secondary, along with hard hitting ball-puncher (foot-balls) Al Afalava.

At Arizona it is basketball time.

Yes, the same Mustafa Shakur that has been the subject of much criticism and verbal venom from radio show callers and bloggers alike. He came to Arizona as a highly touted point guard that had not lived up to the unbelievable expectations placed on him by fans and college basketball "experts".

At Arizona St they don't enjoy life at the bottom of the Pac Ten after a loss to Oregon State.

There are no exits on Arizona State's learning curve. There are only lessons, losses and now no company at the bottom of the Pac-10's men's basketball standings.Oregon State left ASU alone and with no immediate way out Saturday after a 67-59 victory over the Sun Devils at Wells Fargo Arena.