The Monday Morning Wash

Happy March everyone, Spring is just around the corner, and that means March Madness. The state will be likely represented by Gonzaga, and WSU in the NCAA Tournament while the Huskies should squeek into the CBI, or NIT. What that means if you are a Husky fan is a month long wait till Spring football begins. Expect practices to be more open this Spring if Interim AD Scott Woodward gets his way.

Husky Basketball

The Husky basketball team split in the Bay Area this weekend to guarantee themselves a winning record for the season. Like I said last week they are playing their best ball of the year so far even though that is a very subjective statement. Center Joe Wolfinger was the catalyst this past weekend and it was nice to see him finally putting it all together. It is a little too late to for the NCAA tournament unless they put together three in a row in LA, but if they beat WSU this coming weekend in Pullman it should assure a slot in either the NIT, or CBI.

Jim Moore

You are probably already aware that Jim Moore is going to be filling the gap left by Ted Miller who left the PI to work for ESPN. It should be a challenge for Jim to achieve impartiality because he really enjoyed the former gig of being the Go-2-Guy. We should see some of Jim's new work this week in the PI, but it won't be until later this Spring when he starts covering college football.

Locker playing Baseball

Jake Locker is going to play a little baseball this Summer to keep his stroke from getting too rusty. Jake will not be playing fulltime, and for the most part they are going to be putting him in situations where the risk of injury is pretty slight. Locker is the type of kid that makes MLB Scouts drool when they look at his potential, and I think it is a wise thing for him to keep his hand in the game to keep his options open after college. Jake won't be missing anything football related this summer, and Willingham who also played baseball in college supports the decision.

AD Search

The UW has named an AD search committee to come up with some candidates to take over the job full time in the Fall. Most insiders think that the person they come up with may already be behind the desk in the person on interim AD Scott Woodward. Scott has the political savvy needed to get the stadium renovation done, and he has the advantage of already being involved in the process. Woodward has already dropped plenty of hints that he is enjoying the job. I would put my money on Woodward.

Stadium News

Since we are bringing up the stadium the latest word is funding is dead for this seassion which makes sense since the state is preparing for an economic downturn. There is also the matter of the NBA stepping back in line to secure those funds since three local ownership groups have emerged to either buy the Sonics, or purchase another team and move them to Seattle. The economic reality is whoever purchases the Sonics is going to need either a remodeled facility, or a completely new building to make a go of it. What makes it all different than Clay Bennett is the local ownership groups are willing to pay half, or more of the construction either way they go. Bennett never wanted to pay a dime, he only wanted to chip in funding provided by naming rights.

As far as Husky Stadium goes everyone in State Goverment understands it is a problem that will not go away, and has to be dealt with one way or another. Like anything in the state of Washington it takes time, and usually only an emergency can spure them to action. UW needs to start developing a plan b of some sort to help get this thing going before construction starts on the light rail.

Endowments

The UW is one of 76 universities that reported endowments totaling more than $1 billion in 2007, a trend some members of Congress have labeled disturbing in the face of constant tuition increases. Now Washington, D.C., lawmakers are toying with the idea of requiring universities to spend 5 percent of the burgeoning endowments each year.

The UW has an endowment (money given to it for the purpose of investment) of more than $2 billion, bolstered by a long fundraising campaign, and has kept raising tuition. The cost of an undergraduate year at the UW last year would have paid for three years 20 years earlier."

Congress wants school in the financial position of UW to start spending 5% of those endowments each year to help keep tuitions in line.

Emmert

President Mark Emmert has become a hot commodity in the higher educational field. He recently turned down almost $2 million a year to become the president of Vanderbilt. The Vandy job is the highest paying college President job in the country. Emmert also has been a apprached byt he prestigous UC system. the draw seems to be he is succesful at raing funds, is a fine administrator that gets a long with people, and most importatly he is only 55 years old which means he has at least a decade of service left to perform. Most insiders are pretty confident that Washington will be his last stop sinc ehe is an alumnus, and Puget Sound is home for him.

Softball

Ashlyn Watson hit a grand slam and Aleah Macon struck out 11 to lead No. 25 Washington past No. 1 Alabama at the Husky Softball Classic on Saturday afternoon. Washington improves to 8-5-1 on the season, while handing the Crimson Tide (17-1) their first loss of the season.

Womens Basketball

The womens team is also saving it's best basketball of the season for the end as they knocked off league leading California at home this past weekend. Sami Whitcomb scored 24 points, and hit four 3-pointers during a decisive 18-7 second-half run as Washington stunned No. 9 California 74-66 on Sunday, ruining the Golden Bears' chance at their first Pac-10 title. Laura McLellan added 13 points and 5-foot-5 guard Emily Florence had 11 points.

Husky Crew

Mike Callahan begins his first season as head coach of the legendary Washington Crew. Callahan took over for Rowing Director Bob Ernst who opted to head the Womens program to bring it back to prominence. The Husky men are coming off a National Championship season and are expected to be one of the favorites to win it once again despite many team members taking a year off to compete for national teams.

03/29/08 Class Day Montlake Cut
04/05/08 San Diego Crew Classic San Diego, Calif. (Mission Bay)
04/06/08 San Diego Crew Classic San Diego, Calif. (Mission Bay)
04/12/08 Washington State Montlake Cut
04/19/08 Oregon State Montlake Cut
04/26/08 California Belmont, Calif. (Redwood Shores)
05/03/08 Windermere Cup/Opening Day
05/18/08 Pac-10 Championships Rancho Cordova, Calif. (Lake Natoma)

05/30/08NCAA Women's Championships (Day 1) Rancho Cordova, Calif. (Lake Natoma)
05/31/08 NCAA Women's Championships (Day 2) Rancho Cordova, Calif. (Lake Natoma)
06/01/08 NCAA Women's Championships (Day 3) Rancho Cordova, Calif. (Lake Natoma)

06/05/08 IRA Men's Championships (Day 1) Cherry Hill, N.J. (Cooper River)
06/06/08 IRA Men's Championships (Day 2) Cherry Hill, N.J. (Cooper River)
06/07/08 IRA Men's Championships (Day 3) Cherry Hill, N.J. (Cooper River)