Pac Ten Alley

One of the more interesting controversies going on out there this week concerns shock jock Don Imus's distasteful comments about Rutger's championship women's basketball team. Around 55% of the country feels that Imus should be given a second chance, while the rest feel he should be fired. If you look at precedence he is pretty lucky to still be employed. Not many people have survived that type of commentary no matter what the context of the conversation was.

Do I think Imus should be fired? Well, I have never been a big fan of Imus, or anyone else of that genre, so I wouldn't miss him. However I don't think he should lose his job over it, once apologies have been made it just isn't that big of an issue as far as I am concerned. The guy knows he screwed up, and he isn't in denial about it. I also believe that given a chance he will turn the mistake into a positive. What will ultimately decide his fate will be the advertisers which sponsor his program in over 70 markets. It always comes down to the money.

Michael Harrison, editor and publisher of the talk-radio magazine Talkers, defended Imus. The real issue, he said, is a larger battle over the kind of coarse language popularized by hip-hop and rap culture. Terms such as " 'ho' are so prevalent in music, radio, television, and the movies these days that it's reached the point where white people think it's OK to say these things," Harrison said.

If you have ever listened to the lyrics of rap, or hip hop you realize that there isn't a lot of respect going on as it invades popular culture. It seems to me tbat it is the language of racism, sexism, separatism, and anarchy. The list of negatives goes on, but to me the message of rap, and hip hop is mostly a negative, and damaging one, that erodes our culture.

Sit back, and realize that the global multimedia companies such as Sony, CBS, Clearchannel, etc... are at fault in those area's too because they provide the money, promotion, and airtime for rap/hip hop, as well as a guy like Imus. To me it is one big global garbage chain that feeds upon itself.

I would never defend Imus in any context about what he said, but I do believe there is a double standard out there that needs to be adjusted.

Spring Game on the Internet

The UW has announced that the spring game will be available through its website, GoHuskies.com. The game will be video streamed live on April 28 and then available on-demand on Monday, April 30. The service is free, but you need to sign up and register. The official web site also will be doing quite a few player and coach interviews, so make sure you visit.

Spring Practice

Now that Spring practice is under way, the first impression everyone has is that Jake Locker is going to have a great career from the get go. Jake has impressed all the onlookers so far, including Bob Condotta from the Times. It will be interesting to watch him grow over the next three weeks.

Jake Locker looked like the real deal at QB, running for a 77-yard TD on a simple read option at one point (granted, there was no contact, but he wasn't whistled as down and clearly outran the defense on the play).

Molly Yanity from the PI had a slightly different take.

Jake Locker, the redshirt freshman quarterback who many Washington Huskies fans have anointed the program's savior, overthrew balls, missed targets and didn't look like an All-American-to-be in the first practice of spring Monday. "I didn't throw the ball as well as I wanted to today, kind of sporadic," Locker said. "I'd complete a pass here and then throw one, you know, overthrow by a lot."

The interior of the offensive line is another concern going into Spring. Unlike the DB's where we have to wait for the frosh arrive, all the guys who will have an impact this Fall on the OL are on campus right now trying to establish the pecking order going into the Fall.

Casey Bulyca ran with the starting unit at right guard ahead of Ryan Tolar in the race to replace Clay Walker. Jordan White-Frisbee ran as the backup left guard to Morgan Rosborough but looked more than healthy enough, not seeming limited in any way. Matt Sedillo had been somewhat surprisingly listed as the backup center on the depth chart ahead of the more experienced Ryan Bush, and he took most of the snaps at that spot Monday.

Pac Ten Alley

Let's take a walk down Pac Ten Alley to see what the neighbors are up to.

Spring practice is winding up at USC and the Trojans have looked great this Spring.

There was a time last fall when Lawrence Jackson and Sedrick Ellis did not expect to be at the Coliseum on Saturday for USC's annual spring scrimmage, not as current Trojans players anyway. USC's most experienced defensive linemen were considering turning pro at the end of the 2006 regular season but opted to return and complete their eligibility."Reality set in pretty quick when I decided to come back," said Jackson, a fifth-year defensive end who had off-season ankle surgery. "I saw spring ball as an opportunity to get better."

California has had a great Spring and once again will contend with USC for all the marbles in the conference, and nationally.

The Cal football players couldn't help but be a little stunned. They starred at each other for what seemed like an eternity before finally believing what they had just heard. Coach Jeff Tedford had pulled the ultimate oddity Friday, ending practice early. With a week left in the spring schedule, the Bears have earned a 2 1/2-minute break here and there, because everything is working its way into place.

The focus in Corvallis is baseball right now, and who can blame them when they are the defending national champs.

We've got 25 games left, if you count today's game against Portland. Obviously, with 25 games to go, anything can happen. Hopefully this year's team will follow suit of last year's team, and start to play their best baseball here pretty quick. Glancing at the schedule, our next four series' are against Cal, UNLV, Stanford, and Washington. None of the three Pac-10 teams we play are currently ahead of us in the rankings, so maybe it's time to play some catch up.

Oregon has begun Spring drills.

Spring drills began yesterday and coach Bellotti said "I think we got a lot done, it was a very energetic, very active practice."

A rash of injuries is preventing UCLA from getting much needed work done this Spring.

UCLA football coaches were hoping spring practice would bring out the best in their free safeties - starters and backups. That game plan has changed. Now they just need to field enough healthy bodies to have a rotation in practice.

Bill Doba is looking for some cornerbacks to emerge.

Pressed to identify Washington State’s most important position heading into the football season, coach Bill Doba didn’t hesitate. “Cornerback,” he said. If this were the Big Ten Conference, maybe it wouldn’t be so vital. But this is the Pacific-10 Conference, and lock-down corners are essential in controlling some of the best passing offenses in the country. “If they can play man-to-man,” Doba said, “it will open up a simple cover-4 plan.”

One of the most stupid articles of the week was TSN's, Tom Dienhart's, Pac Ten coaching rating. The only way you can fairly rank coaches is to give them an even playing field which doesn't exist, so why bother? You can rank programs, but you really can't rank coaches since they don't stay around long anymore.

Arizona coach Mike Stoops is a good offense away from moving up the charts among the best coaches in the Pac-10. Right now, the fourth-year Wildcat coach is picked seventh by a Sporting News column from Tom Dienhart. “He has lived up to his billing as a defensive mastermind. And you have to love his fire and intensity. But where’s the offense? Believe me, it’s driving Stoops nuts,” Dienhart writes. “That’s why he hired Sonny Dykes from Texas Tech to install a pass-happy spread attack. Give Stoops credit for trying. I’ll be rooting for him.”

Stanford starts it's first Spring under Jim Harbaugh.

Jim Harbaugh's first day of spring practice as Stanford's new football coach had an up-tempo feel from the first drill to last. The high-energy Harbaugh also immediately brought in legendary coach Bill Walsh on Wednesday. Minutes into the workout on the Stanford campus, Harbaugh gathered his players and said, "Men, the greatest coach in the history of the game, Bill Walsh."

We save the best for last as usual as we visit the House of Heat which is examining Sun Devil tradition.

"A" Mountain, or Hayden Butte if you're all accurate and shit, is the natural landmark at the North end of ASU's campus. This article in the AZ Republic gives a brief history of the rock and the letters that have been emblazoned on its face, which have included "N," "T," and the solid concrete "A" that sits there today.