Pac Ten Alley

The hunt for the next Athletic Director is about to come to an end as UW has identified it's top candidates. If you listen to the media the top choice is Utah AD Chris Hill who turned down the opportunity last time the job was open. If he turned it down back then what makes people think he will take it now? It could be money, but TT wasn't exactly underpaid either.

Bob Stull from UTEP was in town to interview according to the spies put there, but the feeling is that he isn't the top target. Stull has everything you want except youth.

We still hear a buzz about Bill Moos, but the $180,000 a year buy out for almost ten years isn't really enticing.

A couple names from Florida popped up recently, but nothing from a conference known as the cradle of coaches, the MAC. Seems we picked up a couple of up and coming guys named Don James and Mike Lude from that league years ago.

Bob Condotta of the Times is your source for the latest in the AD hunt.

Pac Ten Commissioner

Expect a familair name such as Todd Turner to at least throw his hat in the ring for this job. I know you are laughing, but he has the qualifications they are looking for. Being a conference commisioner is sort of like being a Russian Czar because it is usually a lifetime appointment unless you absolutely screw things up.

UW has the nations toughest schedule

Scheduling of course is the biggest reason UW is having trouble climbing out of the basement.

Below is Phil Steele's 2008 toughest schedule. All factors are taken into account in these rankings. You will also find the article as reprinted from page 317 in "Phil Steele's College Football Preview." There is also a list on teams that will benefit and that will struggle due to the strength of their schedules.

Pac Ten Expansion

A fan blog on Pac Ten expansion in USA Today.

For the record the Pac Ten has no interest in expanding unless Colorado, and Texas are willing to join the league. The Pac Ten has no problem with the way things are now, they like the round robin the 12 game schedule gives them in football.

Many teams try to argue that strong recent performances justify a move to the PAC 10. This post will attempt to separate the wheat from the chafe. The reasons behind selecting teams for consideration are given in my introductory article. By examining the record of a team over their last 9 PAC 10 games, an estimate of how each team would fair in a full PAC 10 schedule can be made. How far back one has to go to find 9 games is given in parenthesis. Examining the number of PAC 10 games in the last five years is a good measure of PAC 10 interest in playing each team. This is amplified if the PAC 10 teams are willing to travel. Bowl records over the last 10 years give a separate measure of performance over quality teams. Home attendance measures the current fan base of each team.

Pac Ten Alley

Now it is time to take a walk down the coast to see what the neighbors are up to.

If you haven't been over to Michael Wine's Oregon blog you are missing out on the intriguing game of "What is it?" the news this week is the time change for the Labor Day weekend opener against UW. Fantastic, that gives the Oregon fans about 8 hours to get tuned up for this one.

The University of Oregon's Aug. 30 football season opener vs. the University of Washington in Autzen Stadium has been changed to a 7 p.m. kickoff to accommodate Fox Sports Net television, according to an announcement Monday by the Pacific-10 Conference."

Jon Wilner comments on the retirement of Tom Hansen, and the Pac Ten TV lineup for the Fall.

The Pac-10 released its fall lineup on Monday afternoon — about the same time commish Tom Hansen announced his retirement (I’ll be blogging about potential replacements tomorrow) — and it couldn’t come soon enough.

The Wildcats get bumped out of the Super Regionals.

It was a long and bumpy road for the University of Arizona baseball team in 2008.
The traveling stops when the Wildcats return home Monday after a 4-2 season-ending loss to No. 1 overall seed Miami on Sunday in the the final game of the best-of-three NCAA super-regional in Coral Gables, Fla.

ASU was bounced early too which was a surprise since they were one of the favorites to win the title this year.

Arizona State baseball coach Pat Murphy can't spend much time feeling the pain of his highly rated team's early ejection from the NCAA Tournament.Too much work is ahead. He is losing more than 80 percent of his offense and two-thirds of his pitching wins to pro baseball, but he also is expected to sign his five top recruits."I'm excited about next year's team," Murphy said. "We went to Omaha (College World Series) last year with one returning pitcher. What's to say we can't go to Omaha next year with one returning player? We certainly aren't going to call it a rebuilding year, and you'll see as many as seven freshmen in the lineup."

California's Jeff Teford now has his own blog.

Over the last few years, I have been teased by my players for not being up-to-date with the latest internet developments like youtube, facebook and itunes, but I realize it's a reality and want to use it productively to communicate with you, the fan. I am hoping to provide the Cal fans with glimpses of the Golden Bear football program from the inside, giving you all some of my thoughts and feelings on various subjects relating to the team. The purpose of this is to give insight, not to get caught in debates - I don't have time for debates with everyone. I know everyone is not always going to agree with everything - run/pass, pass/run, run inside or outside, throw short or deep, you get the drift. That's a fan's prerogative as interested supporters who care. I hope to give regular updates as time allows, but as you know, the season gets very hectic.

Oregon State won't be in Omaha this year to defend it's back to back titles, but Jake has a nice article reliving the experience of the past two years.

The Beavers didn't get a chance to defend their back to back titles this year, we know that. But while this year's field is battling it out in Omaha, we'll take the opportunity to look back at the incredible event that was the 2007 College World Series. Now, I realize that that 2006 trip was just as special, but the fact that I made the epic pilgrimage to Omaha for the 2007 championship made it extra special for me, and gives me the perspective to narrate this story.

What is that, twelve early commitments for USC?

It wasn't a secret that USC had wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey high on its wish list or that he had high interest in USC. Afterall, USC was the first school Jeffrey requested his film be sent to. Yesterday, Jeffrey, who received a written offer from USC last week, called Pete Carroll and verbally committed to the Trojans.

Good news for Ben Howland.

UCLA forward Josh Shipp has signed paperwork to withdraw his name from the NBA Draft and will play his senior season for the Bruins, UCLA head basketball coach Ben Howland announced today.

In June it is common for head coaches to get out, play a little golf, and stay in touch with the fan base.

A HUGE hat-tip to our own Kaddy, who had the privilege of attending the Friday night Columbia River Cougar Club dinner. Among the attendees were both head coaches, Paul Wulff and rockstar-Tony Bennett. Read on for the full deal (great job Kaddy!)

Wide Receiver and Slot Back

I have been saying all Winter that this will be prove to be one of the more athletic receiving groups that UW has had in the last decade. I have also said the WR is a place where a true freshman can come in and make an immediate impact. That is a good thing if it proves true because we will have plenty of frosh in the depth this year trying to do exactly that.

From what I saw this Spring, D'Andre Goodwin is the only guy that is ready right now to make an immediate impact. I think there is a lot of talent on the roster, and a lot coming in when camp opens, but Goodwin seems to be the guy most ready for prime time.

WR Goodwin So
WR Logan RS
WR Aguilar Fr
WR Hawkins Sr
WR Boyles Fr
WR Bruns Fr
WR Kearse Fr
WR J. Polk Fr

If you were an observer of Spring practice, or the Spring game, you had to come away with the feeling that D'Andre Goodwin will be UW's go to receiver in 2008. He isn't a big guy, but he has great speed and can go the ball. I think he may have been the most improved player on the roster this Spring. He does have a weakness that UW will need to offset, because of his size opposing defensive safeties are going to "T" off on him from the get go. UW is going to have to find a way to make a defense pay for doing that. Look for opposing teams to try to take him out of the game in the first series.

Who is lining up beside him is going to be any one's guess. Aguilar, Logan, Boyles, and Hawkins all come to mind since they were here this Spring. Logan is very a tough guy, he is going to develop into a good blocker, and he has the ability to make the catch. He brings a great potential physical presence. Aguilar and Boyles both need a lot of work this summer with Locker to get ready. I would say Aguilar is way ahead of Boyles at this point.

Bruns, and Kearse arrive this August, and they may be the most complete packages UW have to pair with Goodwin. Bruns runs incredible routes, he is disciplined, and you can definitely put him in the Paul Skansi type category. Kearse was one of UW's most honored signee's, and his body will allow him to compete for a spot immediately. Oregon sprint champ Jordan Polk had one heckuva of a highlight film, you can't count him out either.

I think Bruns and Kearse will move to the top of the lineup this Fall.

Washington wants to redshirt two WR's this year. Who gets redshirted depends of course on who is ready to play, and who stays healthy as the season starts. Based on Spring I would redshirt Boyles at this point because he needs more muscle, and less mouth. Of the kids coming in this August I really think they can all help, but maybe you let a guy like Jordan Polk beef up for a year even though he has great speed.

Slot Back

What is a slot back exactly?

A slot back is a receiver or running back that lines up between the offensive tackle on the end of the line and a wide receiver on the same end of the line. That area between the tackle and receiver is called the 'slot', so the player that lines up in that area is called the 'slot back'. The term slot back does not refer to a specific player on every play, like a halfback or fullback, but to a player that lines up in a specific area on a specific play. There may be a slot back on one play and no slot back on another.

He can be your third WR, he can be a second or third RB depending on how you line up. He can even be a TE/FB type of guy in some offenses. Washington has a couple of speed kids that fit the profile well. If UW is going to improve this year look for production from this position.

SB Chris Polk
SB Curtis Shaw

Polk was the best of the bunch as far as the new frosh go this Spring. He can play TB, SB, or WR. You just line him up to create imbalance and let his athletic ability do the rest. Shaw showed lots of promise last year as a receiver after starting off at RB. Expect both of these kids to see action at RB, and receiver this Fall.

Chris Polk is billed as the next Reggie Bush, or Napoleon Kauffman, those are pretty high standards for a kid to live up to, but he has the tools, and most importantly the mindset to do exactly that. Curtis Shaw may be the fastest kid on the squad, plus he has a year under his belt at a couple of positions. Look for him to find a place among the starting eleven.

The Monday Morning Wash

Ty Willingham stirred up a little controversy by going back to his home state of North Carolina to play in a charity golf tournament honoring injured Marines from the Iraq Conflict. The conflict comes from the fact that he missed an annual coaches tour event scheduled at the same time back in Washington State.

How important is the annual coaches tour?

I think it is extremely important because it is usually the only time you are going to get a chance during the year to mingle with the coaching staff if you live in places like Bellingham, Longview, Yakima, Vancouver, Walla Walla etc... . Fan's at Dawgman looked at it this way. They feel when the head man doesn't show up it sends another signal that boosters and fans just aren't that important to the program anymore.

This is Molly Yanity's take.

This week, the Huskies football beat writers received an e-mail from the athletic communications office revealing that coach Tyrone Willingham would be playing in the fifth annual Marine Corps Celebrity Classic in Jacksonville, N.C.

So what do you guy's think?

Jake and the Belle's

Here is Jim Moore's report from Bellingham, where Husky quarterback Jake Locker made his baseball debut with the Bellingham Bells Friday evening. Look for this to be pretty big news for the rest of the Summer. Hopefully he keeps away from the head first slide into third base.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times chips in with this one. Kudo's to Bob for keeping his blog going all year in these days of Montlake's Purple Curtain. Bob is also your source of everything Bellingham Bell's this Summer.

Rayford sticking in BC

First is this story from Vancouver on former Huskies Caesar Rayford and Brandon Ala, now playing for the B.C. Lions. Rayford is trying to make the team as a rookie free agent, and it sounds as if he's on his way, drawing raves from coaches --- a development likely drawing a few sighs of what-might-have-been from a lot of you who are well aware the Huskies could really use a fifth-year DE right about now. Rayford discusses the redshirt issue in the story, saying again that he was fully on board to play in 2004. Just think how bad that team would have been if he hadn't played. ( I don't know Bob, I don't think Rayford played much at all as a true frosh. He was too light to make an impact.)

Walker sets record

Former Husky Brad Walker seems to be peaking at about the right time as he gets ready for the Olympic Games.

There are no sure things in the wacky world of pole vault. Even so, it's not bad being Brad Walker right now. The defending world champion and former Washington Huskies standout broke an eight-year-old American record Sunday at the Prefontaine Classic, clearing 19 feet, 9 ¾ inches on the same field where he'll try to make his first U.S. Olympic team in only three weeks.

Follow up by Dan Raley on the IRA's

I didn't expect Wisconsin to beat Washington in the IRA's, in fact few anticipated the upset since the Badgers while always strong start later in the season, and can't practice all Winter on the water because of all the ice. So mark this down as a monumental win for the Badgers who were just smoking on the Cooper! Washington gets back to full strength next season as six of it's rower return from getting ready for the Olympic games.

Washington lost.

For the first time in 24 months and 19 races, the men's varsity eight crew was denied the usual gold medal and opposing racing shirt spoils.

Master of the Obvious Award

This was an interesting blip that I saw passed around last week. CFN/Scout.com's Pete Fiutak says that the Huskies will not win another national championship in our lifetime.

By the way, Washington has only won one legit national championship in all it's years of playing college football. The 1960 team is definitely an asterisk, the 1984 team also deserves an asterisk when they finished second to BYU. Both of those teams were undoubtedly the best at the end of their respective seasons, but neither wire service awarded them a title. They also won something known as the Libby National Championship back in the days of Gil Dobie.

Wisconsin Edges Washington

As you can tell these were just smoking hot times turned in by both Wisconsin, and Washington in the Grand Final today, but the undefeated Badgers were able to hang on to upset the top rated Huskies.

1. University of Wisconsin 05:31.173
2. University of Washington 05:32.894
3. University of California Berkeley 05:39.021
4. Northeastern University 05:42.399
5. Stanford University 05:43.324
6. Columbia University 05:44.565

On New Jersey's Cooper River, the Huskies' defending champion men's varsity eight crew lost for the first time in two years and 19 races, finishing four seats behind the Big Ten school Saturday in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships. The resurgent Badgers won their first national title in 18 seasons.

UW Crew Roars in Semi's

All five University of Washington crews advanced today to Saturday's finals at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships on the Cooper River. The undefeated and top-ranked UW varsity eight won its semifinal heat and undefeated Wisconsin won the other heat. The Huskies had the faster time over the 2,000-meter course, covering it in 5 minutes, 39.45 seconds. Wisconsin's time was 5:42.23.

Saturday's varsity eight final will decide the national championship and the competitors will be Washington, Wisconsin, California, Northeastern, Stanford and Columbia.

The Huskies' varsity is trying to win back-to-back national titles for the first time since 1940-41.

1. University of Washington 05:39.454
2. University of California Berkeley 05:40.088
3. Northeastern University 05:43.585
4. U.S. Naval Academy 05:47.091
5. Harvard University 05:47.333
6. Yale University 05:47.523

1. University of Wisconsin 05:42.237
2. Stanford University 05:42.991
3. Columbia University 05:43.424
4. Brown University 05:43.980
5. Princeton University 05:44.936
6. Cornell University 05:45.122

Huskies Advance in IRA's

The IRA Finals this Saturday are perhaps the most tantalizing in years; two undefeated crews, Washington and Wisconsin, a host of fast regional players and numerous other storylines will likely make this year's 106th running of the IRA one of the more memorable ones.

Washington are the defending champs, and have gone through a season of reloading and coaching change (Mike Callahan stepped in when Bob Ernst switched bays at Conibear to coach the UW women) just about unscathed; although Cal narrowed the margin to a scant 3 seats in the Grand at Pac-10s after leading for part of the race, UW had the presence to see them off. The Huskies are a legit #1 seed.

Wisconsin on the other hand, coming off a heavy, heavy winter, started their season under the radar. You had to look pretty hard through the Stanford Invitational results, but over two days, Wisconsin served notice that they were serious, handing Cal and Stanford 4 and 7 second losses, respectively. As some then suspected they might, Wisco dominated the Men's Sprints, winning the V8 by open water and capturing the Rowe Cup for the first time in 46 years.

It's been something of an IRA standard that Wisco would arrive with one of the deepest teams, represented in nearly all open weight events, but I can't remember a time when Wisco showed up with a team as loaded as this, top-to-bottom. If coach Chris Clark's crew has gotten even faster than they were at Sprints, the IRA may be a two-horse race.

The IRA seeds the top 12 eights in each event into four heats, and clearly there is intrigue there, with 3 seeded crews battling it out for two direct tickets to the semis. Top seeded Washington sees Stanford and a surprising Columbia team, while Wisco is drawn with Sprints petite-final winner Navy and Northeastern.

After that, it starts to get interesting: Sprints silver-medalist (and #3 seed) Brown faces off against Yale and 11th seeded Harvard; beyond the pure Ivy rivalries going on here, you have the Crimson with a pretty sour late season taste in their mouths from an uncharacteristically "off" performance at Sprints, where they not only missed the Grand for the first time in 44 years, getting knocked out by Yale by half a second, but then also failed to win the Petite, falling to Navy by half a seat. (On comparing times, which is hard to do, the V8 Petite and Grand at Men's Sprints were pretty close; this would seem to indicate that, behind Wisconsin, a lot of the eastern crews have good everyday speed.)

It's pure conjecture at this point, but it's unlikely that this bunch will care to be remembered as the lowest-performing Harvard crew in the last 50 years; add to this the usual fireworks that go off between Harvard and Yale (remember that Yale upset the heavily favored Harvard V8 at the Harvard-Yale race last year), and you have the makings of a pretty uncomfortable race for Brown.

The final heat also sees some heat, with Cal, who have seemed to find very good speed in the past weeks facing off against Sprints bronze medallists Princeton, who are quietly having a good year, and Cornell.

In the Men's JV, Wisconsin and Washington also occupy the top seeds, albeit in reversed positions. The Washington Huskies actually come in off a slightly more dominant performance at their championships, a near-length win over Cal, while Wisconsin lived life on the edge a bit more; down 3-4 seats to a Harvard 2V that had seen dominant performances throughout the year, Wisconsin took advantage of a Harvard miscue extremely late in the last 500 of the race to claim the win at Sprints by two-tenths of a second. Clearly, these top three crews can give each other a race on any day of the week.

Cal, Brown and Cornell round out the top six seeds in the JV. Harvard's 3V, who won their event at Sprints rowing away, is also entered in the JV event, but is not seeded. Indeed, the travails of their V8 notwithstanding, it's Harvard who, along with Wisco, field probably the deepest team at the regatta. Harvard's 4V finished second behind their 3V at Worcester, and the Harvard 2F also won at Quinsigamond, so expect to see Harvard crews make some noise in the small boats.

The frosh eight sees similar compaction at the top, with Washington, Harvard, Princeton and Cal stacked at the top; Harvard had Princeton by a second at Sprints, while Washington put six seconds on Cal at Pac-10s. Realistically, these 4 crews are probably within a length of each other. The Frosh eight also sees two entries from Yale, which could mean that Yale's Sprints-Champion Frosh lights are in the mix.

A thin field of just 10 crews will contend for the national title in the Men's Lightweight eights.

Conspicuously absent from the entries is a crew from Harvard; in a year that saw decade-long streaks snapped all over the country, Sprints saw no Harvard lightweight crews in any Grand Finals for the first time ever. "Repeat offender" Cornell, winners of the last two national titles here in Camden, comes in seeded first, with Princeton, Yale and Navy all looking for an opening to pounce. Dad Vail champs Fordham have shown good speed this year, and will certainly make things interesting. Again, with no lightweight crews coming into the weekend undefeated, this event is always good for some of the most exciting racing.

Thursday's Results

Three University of Washington crews, including the defending national-champion varsity eight, won their preliminary heats today at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships.

The varsity covered the 2,000-meter course on the Cooper River in Cherry Hills, N.J., in 5:53.29 to finish ahead of Stanford (5:55.18), Columbia, Georgetown, Syracuse and Dartmouth.

The second-varsity (JV) eight won its head in 5:59.4 and the freshman eight prevailed in 5:56.16. All three boats advance to semifinals Friday.

The other winners of varsity heats were Brown, California and Wisconsin.

Pac Ten Alley

It was only last week that I decided to throw caution to the wind and drop a few controversial, but nuggets with legs to my readers. I went over to Dawgman and found the story had taken on a life of it's own over there. I then read Bob Condotta and find that it has a life over there also.

I don't know how to feel about that since this blog was originally started to be supportive of Willingham. Even though that is the way it started, I decided that I would give him two full years without criticism. As readers like "Dadco" can tell you the wheels came off around mid season last year on that campaign.

Anyway guys I try to find the positive in Husky Football, every once in awhile I slip and tell the truth.

It's early June, so I guess timing is everything.

EJ

EJ Savannah once again proved that he isn't exactly a future Rhodes Scholar by breaking the humerus bone in his arm, allegedly arm wrestling, over the weekend. "I would like to see the other guy"...Sort of sounds like " The Dog ate my homework", if you know what I mean. EJ will likely be out for the opener for Oregon, and possibly BYU, and Oklahoma. EJ is hands down the best LB on the team, and possibly the best player on the defense, so his early season loss is quite a blow if it comes to that. It would be great to see this kid play all in one piece.

Crew

The UW Women's Crew finished 2nd in the nation on Sunday, and that is quite a feat for 1st year coach Bob Ernst who wasn't working with a full cupboard. Look for the Women's Husky Crew to be the nations best in one or two years under Ernst's tutelage.

Johri Fogerson

Incoming Husky Johri Fogerson of O'Dea was named as the Boys Star of the Year today by the Seattle Times. I have always felt that Fogerson has a chance to come in from the get go and make an impact. for some reason he was under recruited early last season, but after seeing him play I felt he was a man among boys.

"He's a great athlete and a great competitor, and when the lights are on, he's always at his best," said Monte Kohler, O'Dea football coach and athletic director. "He never gets intimidated by the moment or shies away. He prides himself on doing well in those situations."

CJ Wilcox

C.J. Wilcox, a 6-foot-5, 180-pound shooting guard from Pleasant Grove, Utah, committed Monday to sign with the Huskies next fall. Wilcox will be a senior next season at Pleasant Grove High School and becomes the first commitment for UW's Class of 2009.

Washington coaches first saw Wilcox in a tournament in Houston a few months ago and began recruiting him heavily. It was a rare AAU tournament for Wilcox, who hasn't played in a lot of them the last few years, preferring to work on his game in private sessions, something his father encouraged. Craig Wilcox said he thinks that's why his son is not rated more highly by recruiting services.

Kevin White to Duke when Todd Turner was available?

The surgical procedure, done without the benefit of privacy or anesthesia, was performed on Kevin White on Nov. 30, 2004 -- the day the school's president and board of trustees ignored White's objections and fired football coach Tyrone Willingham. Ever since then, White has been circling overhead, parachute strapped to his back, waiting for the jump light to switch from red to green.

Pac Ten Alley

Let's start off with the Oregon blog, not much going on, but Michael Wines always makes an interesting contribution. "Today in History"

1961 John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev meet in Vienna

1957 Howard Cosell's 1st TV show

1946 1st bikini bathing suit displayed, Paris

1942 Battle of Midway Island begins

1875 Alexander Graham Bell makes 1st voice transmission

Jon Wilner chimes in from the By area with the rankings from the annual prognostication magazines. I personally hate Lindy's because some guy named Lindy from Ballard has owed me $2500 bucks for over twenty years.

Scanning the magazines at a local bookstore late last week, I noticed, among all the MLB and NFL issues, a college football cover! It wasn’t even Memorial Day, and Lindy’s was already on the shelf. I assume the others will be out soon, or are already out but weren’t at my local B&N, but Lindy’s was the only one I saw. The first kickoff was more than three months away, and Lindy’s was there with its preseason top-25, its Heisman frontrunners, its Bowl Championship Series projections, its predictions for all major conferences.

It must suck to be Kevon O'Neill.

Looks like the University of Arizona and Jim Livengood are off the hook when it comes to Kevin O’Neill and the $375,000 he may have been owed for next season.According to the Memphis (Tenn.) Commercial Appeal, O’Neill, who had been in the NBA prior to coming to UA as an assistant last season, is expected to be named an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA.After being removed from his position after last season when Lute Olson returned from an undisclosed medical condition, Olson announced O’Neill would no longer be on his coaching staff.

I have no idea what this is about, but it is June in Berkeley.

Calum Wright did not go to Berkeley—that’s Berserkley, to those who remember the sixties—to be an activist. He is a law-and-order type, reared among conservatives in London, and a member of the crew team, whose tastes run to khakis and polo shirts. He likes the campus police. But, not long ago, Wright, using the latest in protest technology—Facebook—was moved to organize a rally at the base of a campus oak, near Sproul Plaza, the storied place of free-speech happenings and Joan Baez concerts. His cause: Students Against Hippies in Trees. The action: to shout down a former Berkeley student named Michael (Fresh) Schuck, who had taken up residence in the oak seventeen days earlier. The invitation, sent to some six hundred members of the SAHIT Facebook group, from “hippy hater no. 1,” read:

The Oregon State blog is still all about baseball, still waiting on the spring football report Jakey.

The NCAA Regionals are behind us, now it's time to look ahead to the 16 Super Regionals that will be contested this weekend:

Miami vs. Arizona
Georgia vs. NC State
Florida State vs. Wichita State
Cal State Fullerton vs. Stanford
Arizona State vs. Fresno State
Rice vs. Texas A&M
North Carolina vs. Coastal Carolina
LSU vs. UC Irvine

Surprise...USC opens the season on TV

Just got this from ESPN: ``Virginia will host defending Rose Bowl champion USC from the Pac-10 in the first meeting between the schools on Saturday, Aug. 30, at 3:30 p.m. on ABC and ESPN2.''If this is true, it means the game starts at 12:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

ASU a favorite to win title.

The Tempe Super Regional between Fresno State and Arizona State begins at Winkles-Packard-Brock on Saturday at 6:00 PM with game 2 scheduled for Sunday night at 7. Both games will be on the ESPN family of networks. If a game 3 is necessary, and god willing it wont be, it'll be at 4 on Monday.Despite being a four-seed, there's quite a bit of fight in the Bulldogs yet:-After beating #6 San Diego twice and #11 Long Beach State this past weekend to win the Long Beach Regional, the Bulldogs are back in the top 25 of the Baseball America poll, clocking in at #17.-With their 5-1 win over San Diego in the regional championship yesterday, the Bulldogs became only the second regional #4 seed to advance to a Super Regional.-FSU started the season as the preseason #18 team in the nation but stumbled to an 8-11 start. They then stormed through conference play and and beat Sacramento State, San Jose State, Hawai'i and Nevada to bring home their 3rd straight WAC title.-Holden Sprague and Justin Wilson anchor the Bulldogs pitching staff. Miller struck out 11 in Fresno's surprise win over Long Beach State while Sprague got the win to eliminate San Diego.-P Clayton Allison, 3B Tommy Mendonica and OF Steve Susdorf all made the all-regional team in Long Beach.-Fresno's top five everyday hitters all hit over .300 (Alan Ahmady .382, Erik Wetzel .361, Susdorf .342, Danny Muno .329 and Gavin Hedstrom .311) and have 36 home runs between them. However, none of them lead the team in dingers; that honor belongs to Mendonica and his 14.So as you can see, this team can bop and can pitch. It should be an entertaining series in Tempe.

The UCLA Blog keeps in hot pursuit of USC infractions, only if the NCAA showed as much interest.

Special agents for the FBI and IRS and members of U.S. Attorney's office have launched a joint investigation into "possible income tax evasion and fraud arising from the misuse of charitable organization funds," according to an attorney retained by Louis Johnson, a member of former USC guard O.J. Mayo's inner circle until three months ago.

If there is one blog that is doing it form in the off season it is the Cougar blog.

The NCAA preview mags are hitting the stands. Lindy's hit last week, and now Athlon's has made it. If you are scoring at home, Lindy's has us at 10th, while Athlon's sees us at 9th. I guess it isn't a real surprise, given the questions of depth and losing guys like Brink, Bumpus, Collins, etc. I still like EA Sports and the Armed Forces Bowl prediction, but we'll get into that later this summer.

Husky Poll

How Many Yards Per Game will the Husky Defense Give Up in 2008?

450 9% (10 votes)
425 4% (5 votes)
400 5% (6 votes)
375 26% (31 votes)
350 19% (22 votes)
325 14% (16 votes)
300 10% (12 votes)
275 7% (8 votes)
250 6% (7 votes)

Everyone was all over the board on this one, but the majority figured we would be at 350-375 this year.

I personally voted for 325 which isn't great, but more than a 100 yard reduction from last year which would be quite significant.

This weeks question:

How many yards per game will the Huskies gain on offense this year?

Oregon led the leagues in total offense last year with 467 yards per game. Stanford was at the bottom with 322. UW averaged 394 which was pretty much in the middle.

Quarterback

Let's get back to the glass half full, rather than the glass half empty with a positional update of the squad going into camp this August.

We start off with the quarterback position because the hopes of the offense will once again be riding on the shoulders of Jake Locker.

QB Jake Locker SO
QB Ronnie Fouch RS
QB Dominique Blackman FR
QB Luther Leonard FR

Jake had a decent Spring, but like the rest of the offense was hampered by the weather. In most scrimmages the defense was clearly ahead of the offense. We all know Jake can run the ball, and we all know he will make better decisions running the ball in 2008. The question is will his passing percentage improve?

For UW to get anywhere they need to catch the ball better in 2008, and only one player looked like a sure thing to catch the ball this spring and that was D'Andre Goodwin who emerged as Jakes favorite target this Spring. We will talk more about the WR's in a later article, but they are a huge part of the picture in Jakes improvement, and development.

For Jake to take his game to the Heisman level, and we all feel he has the ability to do that, the game has to slow down for him. Take Dennis Dixon for example, the game didn't slow down for him till he was a senior, and I don't think there was a better QB, or team in the country until he went down. When Dixon went down the Ducks went down with him. It was very easy to see how much he elevated the play of the entire team when he was in the game. Locker has the ability to do that much earlier in his career. I didn't see the light quite go on for Jake this Spring, but I am betting that sometime next season once he gets a little more experience under his belt it is going to happen. Jake is going to be phenomenal his junior season, and senior seasons if he stays on campus that long.

Looking to 2008 we are going to see a more accurate passer, and a QB with a much better command of the offense as a whole. Jake is still going to run, and don't be surprised to see him gain as much as 1000 yards on the ground this season. I would like him to use his TE's more since the enrollment of Kavario Middleton will give him a big athletic target. I would like him to dump it off more to his slot backs (Polk, Shaw) who have tremendous speed. I want to see him use the fullback over the middle more in the passing game. I think using these targets will allow the young receivers on the ends more time to get used to the speed, and toughness of Pac Ten football.

Behind Jake is Ronnie Fouch who had a very nice Spring game. I think Ronnie will start a year or two before he leaves Washington, but right now he is still a raw young guy that needs a lot more development. If Jake goes down he will get the development, but the offense will be in trouble because Jake is simply a much better player at this point. Fouch showed us a lot of improvement this Spring. He picks things up quickly, and is throwing the ball better. He isn't Jake, but he has good feet and knows how to use them.

Behind Fouch are two true frosh who will be sitting on the bench all season if we are lucky. Leonard has some good skills and a strong arm, but it will take at least a couple of years before he is ready. Leonard has decent wheels so I could see him on defense if he gets buried in depth at QB.

Blackman is big for a QB, very big, so big in fact in a lot of ways he reminds me of Jeremy Stevens who started off as a QB only to switch to TE. Dominique ran into some off field trouble last Summer, and had to sit out some time as a punishment. His star rating plumented as a result.

The Huskies have little depth at QB so both of these guys are going to spend the entire year here, but I see them as good athletes who could migrate depending on need and development.

Future Recruiting

Look for the Huskies to bring in a California HS QB this Winter. The next local phenom on the horizon is Jake Heaps from Skyline (not Eastlake) who will be one of the top QB's in the country in 2010. With his old HS head coach on the staff it isn't hard to believe that he wil be wearing purple and gold in the future.

The Monday Morning Wash

The entire Husky womens fleet remained in national championship contention as a trio of crews earned berths to the national grand finals for the first time in seven seasons. The Huskies' second varsity eight crew convincingly won its repechage Saturday and the varsity eight was a semifinal runner-up during the second day of the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships on Lake Natoma. Both boats secured spots in their respective grand final races. UW's varsity four automatically advanced to its grand final field by virtue of a heat victory on Friday.


The Washington women's varsity four won a national title and the Huskies finished second in the team standings on the final day of the NCAA women's rowing championships, Sunday at Lake Natoma. The second-place performance was Washington's best since a runner-up effort in 2002.
The Huskies also earned the bronze medal in the second varsity eight and finished fifth in the varsity eight grand final.

Golf

Washington sophomore Nick Taylor fired a final-round score of 3-over 75 to finish in a tie for runner-up honors at the NCAA Div. I Men's Golf Championships held at Purdue's Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, Saturday. Taylor, who led the Huskies to a seventh-place team finish, completed the 72-hole tournament at 1-over 289, just three shots behind NCAA champion Kevin Chappell from UCLA (2-under 286).

Washington moved up two spots on the team leaderboard during the final round, carding an 18-over 306 to finish the tournament at 56-over 1208. It marks the fourth top-10 NCAA finish for the Huskies in the last five years.

"When you consider that just a few weeks ago we were wondering whether or not we'd even get into the regional, and now we're in the top seven in the country, that's just amazing," Husky head coach Matt Thurmond said. "It was fun to play this week without many expectations. We felt great to be here and we knew could play really well and do what we did, if not more. But we didn't feel like we had pressure to do so. I'm just really proud of the guys and the way they competed, the poise they showed."

Hall of Fame

A quartet of All-Americans, a national coach of the year and a pair of national champion rowing squads are among the four individuals and two teams selected to enter the Husky Hall of Fame as its Class of 2008, the school's Big "W" Club announced today. The class is comprised of football player Blair Bush, former women's tennis coach Mary DeLay, record-setting baseball player Chris Magruder, women's soccer standout Hope Solo, football player Mark Stewart, the IRA national champion 1997 men's varsity eight crew and the NCAA team champion 1997 women's crew.

Pac Ten Alley

I am back from vacation over in the islands and I have to tell you it was a whole lot better than hanging out in Chicago. I didn't write a lot while I was over there because frankly there wasn't a lot of football stuff to write about which is typical for late May.

Here are few brief tidbits that have come up that are interesting.

First of all Juan Garcia is progressing well without surgery.

The cast on his foot has been removed and he will bear partial weight on the foot over the next four weeks. After that period, he will be able to put full weight on his foot. He will remain on crutches the next few weeks in order to keep his full weight off the injured foot."

We all know that it took a full year for Stanback to recover from this injury, but Juan's injury wasn't nearly as serious which is a very good thing. Still the odds of him being the starting center against Oregon are not in his favor. Camp should open around the first of August, and that leaves him only a month to get back into shape, and regain full mobility for the start of practice....pretty tall order.

Realistically if we get a half season out of Garcia it is a bonus for the program, and even a bigger one for the kid who has NFL aspirations. He should be more than fully recovered when combines roll around next spring.

On the recruiting front Washington hasn't signed a player yet for the 2009 class, that will change in June during camp, but don't look for UW to sign many kids early this year as it is a wait and see year for Tyrone.

As for Tyrone it is extremely doubtful he is going to get a fifth year. Ty needs to win seven games next season for that type of consideration, and while the team will continue to improve the wins aren't likely going to be there. Every publication in the country lists him as being on the hottest seat. I don't want to go into details, but I don't think the team is very united behind Ty at this point which won't help matters this Fall. Bottom line....they aren't buying what he is selling, and playing football for him isn't fun.

The new AD, Scott Woodward, and Mark Emmert will make the call on the next head coach, and don't doubt for a minute that there isn't a candidate list already being put together for 2009.

I heard an interesting name this week, and it was current Seahawk coach Mike Holmgren. Holmgren of course will retire from the Seahawks after this season, but don't think for a minute that he is done with coaching. I know it is a longshot, but I thought I would throw it out there since Holmgren wouldn't mind staying in the area long term.

Another name of course is Jeff Tedford of California. Tedford is the hardest working guy on the Pacific Coast, and you have to think the stall in facility building in Berkeley is getting old. Add Chris Petersen of Boise State to the fantasy list also.

As far as the AD search goes UW is finding out that top candidates from other schools have no interest. The AD at Georgia Tech who was probably the front runner took his name off the list. Back on the list is former Oregon AD Bill Moos, and of course current UTEP AD Bob Stull. I think one of those two guys will get the nod despite being a little long in the tooth.

Pac Ten Alley

We open with lots of good, and not so good stuff in the Cougar blog. You hate to see a kid do something like this to himself, but before you pass judgement know that Cal is a good kid who made some pretty stupid mistakes. I predict he will bounce back and finish on top.

Dang. This is too bad. Calvin Schmidtke, the QB who tore it up last year in a pass-happy offense and a guy many compared to Jason Gesser, Chase Daniel and Todd Reesing among others? The kid who looked like the perfect fit in the new Todd Sturdy offense? Well, according to today's TNT, Schmidtke is OUT. That's right, Paul Wulff and Jim Sterk made the decision to release the promising young QB before he ever set foot on campus.

Michael Wines weighs in with some commentary on Phil Knight, and the coverage that his influence on the Oregon program has gotten over the past month nationally. Nice job Michael!

Personally, I don't think anyone will deny that "Uncle Phil" has a lot of pull at the U of O athletic department. But let's get realistic, why shouldn't he? Where was Oregon Sports 15 years ago? Have they improved, are the facilities something to be proud of (and still growing)? If the answers to these questions were no, then I say we having something to complain about.

As usual Jon Wilner contributes some good info from the Bay Area.

Now that there’s a chance they could happily snag Robin Lopez at 14 and not have to agonize over Brook Lopez at 3. (Do Nelson/Mullin think B Lopez is worth the third pick? I’m not so sure.)

A little baseball commentary from the Arizona blog. Bottom line is there are too many good teams in the Pac Ten.

Favoritism exists in college baseball, that can’t be denied. Two-time defending national champion Oregon State won’t get a chance for the repeat as they were left out of the field of 64, while Oklahoma and Arkansas were admitted to NCAA baseball playoffs. The Razorbacks didn’t even qualify to play in their SEC tournament.

Tedford has some comments about DeSean Jackson.

Cal Coach Jeff Tedford told the Daily News the problem last year wasn't so much with Jackson as it was with his family. "With outside opinions and outside advice always eating at DeSean, he was in a very tough spot," Tedford said

NIT Baseball tornament for OSU, is there really such a thing?

After an intense round of analysis and debate the first super-official college baseball NIT selection committee announced half of the field last night. Baylor received top honors. The Bears (32-26), who finished sixth in the Big-12 and missed out on the NCAA tournament, will continue their season this weekend as the top regional host in the NIT tournament. The College of Charlestown (39-20) and Missouri State (40-17) presented solid alternatives but in the end Baylor’s state of the art home field and demanding schedule carried the day.

USC picked up their 11th commit of the year and it is still May.

USC received its 11th commitment from defensive tackle Hebron Fangupo of Mt. San Antonio College. Now there's a name I can't wait to write on a daily basis.How good is Fangupo? I don't know but I know he was offered by Tennessee, Oregon, Arizona State, Oregon State, Missouri and Arizona.The Trojans might not be done at Mt. SAC. They are also looking at cornerback Dominick Gaisie, who is originally from Bishop Amat.

ASU wins Pac Ten Baseball Title.

No. 2 Arizona State clinched its second consecutive Pac-10 championship with a 13-6 win over Arizona Thursday night at Kindall Field at Sancet Stadium in Tucson. The win marks the second straight year the Sun Devils have clinched the conference title against the rival Wildcats, and it improves their record to 45-9, 16-6 in the Pac-10.

The Bruin Baseball team made the regionals. Nice new look over at the Bruin Blog!

Here's a look at this weekend's Fullerton regional where the Bruins will make their third consecutive postseason appearance. I'll have an in depth look at the Bruins' opening game versus Virginia Thursday afternoon. Teams have played up to 58 games. Some have won regular season conference titles; others have won conference tournament titles. A select few have even won both. One team has a mere 16 wins, while another has a gaudy 48 wins. However, starting Friday all of that gets thrown out the window as college baseball's second season gets underway with 16 regionals nationwide. One of those regionals is in Fullerton where the Titans will host UCLA, Virginia and Rider at Goodwin Field.

Hansen Retiring

I heard today that Tom Hansen the Pac Ten commisioner was retiring and that Dan White the Notre Dame AD, and Dan Bebee the current Big Twelve Commisioner were the two top choices at this time to replace him.

I always liked the fact that Hansen was a Husky, but the glow on that Rose faded over a decade ago, he is more of a dinosaur than a Husky.

Huskies Host LSU in 2009

Those of you hoping for a let up in the schedule may have been pretty surprised today to read that the Huskies will open the 2009 season against LSU. Other non conference games that season will be Notre Dame, and Idaho.

I am all for big non conference games, but feel one per year is enough at this time when you consider the current state of the program. Even in good years playing Notre Dame who we have never beaten, and LSU is like penciling in a couple of losses in advance.

In a year with ND already schedules I would prefer to then play a WAC, and a MWC opponent to balance things out.

A Little Vacation

I am taking a little time off this week for vacation. My wife and I are kicking back over in Maui getting some beach, and pool time.

As far as Husky news goes not much going on this week so far.

The AD search has been quiet, and we don't expect word on a decision till sometime in late June.

Husky assistant Paul Fortier is under consideration for a head coaching job at Brown.

Franklin HS standout Peyton Siva is headed to Louisville rather than UW.

Aloha!

Husky Poll Question

Last week we asked this question?

Which Husky Sport is your favorite following football, and basketball?

Crew 31% (14 votes)
Baseball 27% (12 votes)
Women's Basketball 4% (2 votes)
Softball 4% (2 votes)
Track and Field 7% (3 votes)
Golf 0% (0 votes)
Gymnastics 0% (0 votes)
Swimming 0% (0 votes)
Tennis 2% (1 votes)
Cross Country 0% (0 votes)
Soccer 11% (5 votes)
Volleyball 11% (5 votes)
Other: 2% (1 votes)

Crew and Baseball were the overwhelming picks in this one, and I would have to say they are my top two with Crew getting the nod.

This weeks question is:

How many yards per game will the Husky Defense give up in 2008?

Interesting question, and probably one of the biggest keys to success in the 2008 season.

2007 TOTAL DEFENSE

1. USC - 273.22.
2. Oregon State - 306.23.
3. UCLA - 343.24.
4. Arizona State - 345.25.
5. Arizona - 372.26.
6. California - 378.8
7. Oregon - 382.08.
8. Washington State - 421.19.
9. Stanford - 435.510.
10. Washington - 446.4

Pac Ten Alley

We start off with a new article from Seattle PI Husky Football Beat Writer Molly Yanity. She reviews the QB's the Huskies will face in 2008.

While the Washington spring football game might have revealed an improved -- but untested -- defense, the images of last year's second-half defensive meltdowns still haunt the Huskies.
How did Todd Boeckman hit Brian Robiskie for a 68-yard touchdown pass to change the tenor of the Huskies' dogfight with Ohio State? How did Oregon's Dennis Dixon mess up the Huskies so much they allowed 465 yards on the ground? How did Arizona's Willie Tuitama transform into a Heisman Trophy contender? And how did Colt Brennan of Hawaii erase a 21-point Huskies lead in the season finale?

I think most of us think Washington will average 30-35 points per game next season on offense even though the Huskies will have a green receiving corps, and a trio of young running backs. That is asking a lot, and once again seems to put a lot of the burden of success squarely on the shoulders of sophomore QB Jake Locker.

Defensively everyone expects the performance to improve because Ed Donatell has taken over at DC. We saw glimpses this Spring that we are going to enjoy the way he uses his schemes in 2008. We are finally going to mix it up, and dump the ten yard cushion as our basic defensive backfield alignment.

I saw a lot of improvement in the defensive backfield this Spring, but the big question mark for me is at the line of scrimmage. Will they be able to get improved interior line play out of Elisara, Matthews, Kirton, or any of the newcomers?

Washington needs to lop off around 125 or more yards per game in total defense before they can hope to contend, or stay around late in the fourth quarter. You do that by playing physical, and getting a good rush on the passer. The best pass defense is an opposing QB on his back clutching the ball, and hearing the phone ring in his head.

If a team is scoring 30-35 points per game they can win some football games with an average defense. I don't expect our defense to be great, but if we were rated in the middle of the league which is very doable, we should win enough games to become bowl eligible. Can we hold opposing teams under 30 points, and 400 yards per game?

Shouldn't we be able to do that?

If you start taking away those big plays from 2007, and start creating some of your own you should be able to do that.

Marcel Reese

Marcel impressed the Raiders enough at their Mini Camp to get offered a contract which is a bit of a surprise. Good going Marcel! A guy that big, and that fast should be able to find a place in the NFL.

Pac Ten Alley

Let's take a walk down the coast to see what the neighbors are up to.

Oregon's Patrick Chung is up for honors in 2008.

The Football Writers Association of America named Oregon seniors Nick Reed and Patrick Chung to the watch list for the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy. It is awarded to the best defensive player in college football and sponsored by the Charlotte Touchdown Club.

We all know there is no real Stanford Blog, but Jon Wilner always has news about the Bay Area Pac Ten Teams.

It’s sure to be the most-anticipated Bay Area college basketball game of the 2008-09 season, maybe the most-anticipated Bay Area college basketball game in many seasons:
Mike Montgomery, back in Maples Pavilion as the enemy coach — as the Cal coach.

The Wildcats pick up a good looking LB.

Four-star linebacker Trevor Erno left Tucson last night for a flight back to the Los Angeles area, but not before committing to the University of Arizona football team. “He liked what he saw there and he seemed really excited when he called,” said Tina Erno, Trevor’s mom who confirmed his pledge to the Wildcats.

the Bears and Tedford looking for a better year in 2008.

UC Berkeley football coach Jeff Tedford had a good year in 2007 — a very good year. Sure, the Bears finished the regular season with a dismal 6-6 record and an invitation to the insignificant Armed Forces Bowl, where they barely beat Air Force, 42-36. But Tedford collected as much money in that one year as many of us will earn in a lifetime — $2.8 million.

Jake at the Oregon State Blog has done a wonderful job as usual this year covering Pac Ten baseball.

Here's where the Beavers stand after the series with UCLA. It should be noted that the Beavers already have more conference wins (11) than they did all of last season (10). But last year, the non-conference record was much more impressive.

Jon Wilner has this take on USC's OJ Mayo.

For the purposes of this Hotline item, let’s assume the allegations on “Outside the Lines” are true and O.J. Mayo did indeed take ten of thousands of dollars from a “promoter” while in high school and during his freshman year at USC.

ASU is playing Notre Dame in Dallas for some strange reason in 2013.

In case you haven't heard by now, we're playing against Notre Dame at the Cowboys new facility, in 2013 .The good news is, Brock Osweiler could be our starting quarterback at the time. I just hope Dennis Erickson isn't on the Notre Dame sidelines by that time.

UCLA picks up a basketball recruit.

Sources told FOXSports.com that new LSU coach Trent Johnson plans to honor signee J'Mison Morgan's request and will release the senior big man from his letter-of-intent on Tuesday afternoon, effectively paving the way for Morgan to land at UCLA.The 6-foot-10, 270-pound Morgan signed with former LSU coach John Brady and appeared to stick with his decision even after Trent Johnson was announced as the Tigers new coach on April 10. However, the family had a change of heart last week and asked for his release.

The Cougar Blog examines Oklahoma State, the first team that WSU will lose to this year.

As the opener is a mere 110 days away(!), what better time than to start looking ahead? Today we'll examine our first opponent, Oklahoma State, in their post-spring state, to get an idea of what we're in for August 30th.Last year - The 'Boys finished 7-6, culminating with a big 49-33 win over Indiana in the Insight Bowl. QB Zac Robinson capped his breakthrough season with 5 TD's as the Okies rolled up over 500 yards of total offense in the blowout win.

The Monday Morning Wash

I was looking at the conceptual plans for the new Oregon baseball stadium that is going to cost in the neighborhood of $15 million. Pretty nice digs for a school that hasn't had a baseball team since 1981. The new stadium is the latest development for a department that is undergoing a tremendous growth spurt: It's added two sports, renovated Hayward Field, pushed forward the plans to build a new basketball arena, and intends to build a stadium for its new baseball team.

While most of us aren't Duck fans it is pretty hard not to be impressed with what continues to happen at both Oregon, and Oregon State. This isn't all about Bill Knight, this is about a state coming together over the last 15 years and supporting intercollegiate sports. While Knight has spent a lot of his own money, he has also been the catalyst at both schools for other alumni and boosters to start contributing.

I remember going to Eugene in the 60's, 70's, and 80's to see games and it seemed like a hopeless proposition as far as turning around those overall programs go. They didn't have the population base, they didn't have the attendance, and both schools lacked support from the state of Oregon legislature.

Washington has all of that, and we will always have as many, and as more resources available as any school in the conference. What we lack at this point is passion, and the unifying presence to pull it all together.

The Husky Baseball team is enjoying a good season and is currently third in the conference playing in the worst facility in the Pac Ten. The Huskies new baseball facility remains 1/3 built stalled by a lack of donations. The actual diamond, and outfield are fine, but permanent stands, locker rooms, dugouts etc... were never built.

Washington has been falling behind for almost a decade despite the Olympic sports facility improvements made under Barbara Hedges. A lack of leadership, winning, and the general lethargy created by a lack of stability at the school need to be reversed immediately by the new athletic director.

The question of course is who that new AD is going to be. The two most discussed names out there are Bob Stull from UTEP, and Bill Moos formerly of Oregon. Both have considerable interest in the job, both have Washington roots, and both have the ability to get the job done.

Both Moos, and Stull are older than you would like which means if they are picked they will probably have tenures of around five years which may not be enough to get it all turned around. Make no mistake, this is a major reconstruction job similar to when Washington hired Mike Lude. A tenure of ten years seems to be the ideal they are looking for. Todd Turner of course fell under that type of guideline, so maybe possible length of tenure is not the most important thing.

Look for UW to have a new AD hired in time for the start of football season. Look for the new AD to have a background in football, and building new facilities.

UW needs to hire a charismatic leader with the right type of experience to pull it all together.

Reece Gets Another Shot

Former UW receiver Marcel Reece, cut earlier this week by the Dolphins, is now in mini-camp with the Oakland Raiders. Reece won a shiny new helmet as the offensive MVP of the Raiders three-day rookie mini camp Sunday. At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Reece was second in receiving at the University of Washington with 39 receptions for 761 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 19.5 yards per reception. Reece had a big gainer during practice Sunday when quarterback Jeff Otis play-faked to Michael Bush and hit him in stride with a reverse roll.

Ex Huskies looking for Gold

World champion Brad Walker, a former Washington Huskies standout, won the pole vault at the Osaka Grand Prix meet Saturday in Japan. Walker cleared 17 feet, 8 ½ inches in the rain and cold while fellow American Russ Buller was second at 17-4 ½. "In an Olympic year, you want to jump as high as possible to give yourself confidence," the 26-year-old Walker said. "But with the conditions today, I decided it was best not to push things." Another ex-Husky, Aretha Thurmond, 31, was third in the discus at 196-10. Song Aimin of China won the event with a throw of 198-1.

Web Cams and Recruiting

A look at some major colleges football programs' takes on the new technique of head coaches using Web cams to talk to recruits, which is allowed by the NCAA: -LSU's Les Miles, Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer and Alabama's Nick Saban have begun using Web cams following a new NCAA rule that keeps head coaches from visiting high school campuses during the spring.

USC Keeps Giving Back to It's Athletes

Former USC basketball player O.J. Mayo, a projected lottery pick in this year's NBA draft, received thousands of dollars in cash, clothes and other benefits in apparent violation of NCAA rules while he was still in high school and during his one year in college, a former Mayo associate told ESPN's "Outside the Lines."

WSU's Roof Caves In

Pullman police have recommended that one second-degree assault charge and five fourth-degree assault charges be filed against Washington State defensive tackle Andy Roof. Bill Druffel, senior deputy prosecutor in the Whitman County prosecutor's office, said Thursday that the decision on what charges will be filed will be made next week after a review of the evidence. Roof didn't play last season because his three alcohol-related arrests resulted in suspension from the team. Roof returned to WSU for spring semester and was moved from offensive line to defensive line for spring drills.

Baseball

Jayson Miller fell one strike short of pitching a shutout as Washington State stopped No. 30 Washington's five-game win streak 5-1 Saturday in a Pac-10 baseball game at Husky Ballpark.
The Huskies (30-17 overall, 9-8 Pac-10) dropped to fourth place with the loss to WSU (27-21, 6-11).

Nick Haughian struck out 11 in a complete-game victory, and Kyle Conley hit a pair of two-run homers as the Washington baseball team defeated Washington State 5-1 Sunday at Husky Ballpark. The victory gave the Huskies (31-17, 10-8 Pac-10) a 2-1 win in the Apple Cup series and, coupled with a California loss to Stanford, put them back in third place in the conference.

Softball

Senior Cambria Miranda hit her 10th home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh, leading Oregon State to a 3-2 win over No. 24 Washington Thursday in Corvallis, Ore.
Washington (26-22-1, 5-13 in the Pac-10) got seven hits, including two singles by sophomore Amanda Fleischman.

The University of Washington softball team was selected on Sunday night for their 15th-straight postseason appearance and will head to the Houston, Texas regional where they will face Texas this Friday. Washington and Texas are joined by Delaware State and host Houston. Games will be played May 16-18 at Cougar Softball Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston.
The Huskies, ranked 24th in the last USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll, finished tied for fifth in the Pac-10 this season with a 7-14 record, and finished 28-23-1 overall. This is their 15th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, which is tied with Oklahoma for the fifth-most consecutive appearances.

Tennis

The Washington men's tennis team had its season come to a close today as the 32nd-ranked Huskies fell to No. 33 Wisconsin, 4-1, in the first round of the NCAA Championships. The loss followed a familiar and painful script for the Huskies, who lost to the Badgers in the first round last year as well, despite winning the doubles point in each match. Wisconsin moves on to face UCLA in the second round tomorrow at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The match came down to the third and fourth singles positions, which Wisconsin pulled out in tight third sets. Had the match continued, UW was on the verge of winning at No. 5 singles, and was early in a third set at No. 2 singles as well.

Golf

Washington women's golf shot a second-round score of 22-over 310 to remain in 18th place at the NCAA Central Regional Championship at the University of Texas Golf Club, Friday.
The Huskies improved upon their first round score by two strokes and will enter Saturday's final round at 46-over 622. Washington is two shots behind 25th-ranked Notre Dame and six shots behind Texas State. Top-seeded UCLA remains the team leader at even-par 576. For the second-straight day, sophomore Molly Aronsson and freshman Karinn Dickinson fired the low rounds for the Huskies. Both carded second-round scores of 4-over 76. After turning in scores of 3-over 75 in the first round, the UW duo is tied for 37th on the individual leaderboard at 7-over 151.

The NCAA West Regional will be one of three regional tournaments conducted to determine the 30 teams and six individuals not on a qualifying team that will compete in the 2008 NCAA Div. I Men's Golf Championship, May 28-31 at Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind.

Track

Senior Carl Moe authored a rousing end to the 2008 Washington track and field home season this evening, flying around Husky Stadium in 4:01.53 to win the mile run in his last appearance in front of the Husky faithful.

The Dardanelles

The University of Washington is offering $1,000 and a place in history to someone who can come up with a new school anthem.

The alma mater, or anthem is different of course than the fight song which also has a few oblique references that many people have trouble referring to today.

"I think most people know the very beginning, 'Bow Down to Washington,' but after that it becomes a lot of 'Watermelon, watermelon, watermelon,' " McDavid said. "Most students today don't know what the Dardanelles are."

I can understand what McDavid is saying, but why adjust it every twenty years so it is more relative with the times? Why not take the time to explain the nature of the fight song and the history behind it to incoming students each year?

As for the Alma Mater a catchy new tune by Bill Conti is just fine since the old Alma Mater or Anthem really never has caught on.

Whatever you do, don't ever touch Bow Down to Washington!

As my wife who went to Boston College says....Bow Down to Washington sound sounds like this.

We're coming to kick your ass......we're coming to kick your ass!

I like the ring of that.

A friend of mine who went to Michigan said that Bow Down to Washington was the most condescending fight song he had ever heard.

I like that too, because we're coming to kick you ass, or at least we did till 2001.

Bow Down To Washington

Bow down to Washington,
Bow down to Washington,
Mighty are the men
Who wear the purple and the gold,
Joyfully we welcome them
Within the victors fold.
We will carve their names (names!)
In the Hall of Fame (fame!)
To preserve the memory of our devotion.
So heaven help the foes of Washington;
They're trembling at the feet
Of mighty Washington,
Our boys are there with bells (bells!),
Their fighting blood excels (excels!),
It's harder to push them over the line
Than pass the Dardanelles.
So victory's the cry of Washington
Our leather lungs together
With a Rah! Rah! Rah!
And o'er the land
The loyal band
Will sing the glory
Of Washington forever.

In recent years, some fans have been heard replacing "with a rah! rah! rah!" with "with a 'F*ck Wazzu!'"--a jab at UW's biggest rival, Washington State University. It is also common to replace the line "It's harder to push them over the line than pass the Dardanelles" with "If you don't go to Washington, then you can go to hell."

The original words to Bow Down to Washington included "Dobie, Dobie, pride of Washington! They’re trembling at the feet of mighty Washington!” in respect of the football head coach Gil Dobie.

Pac Ten Alley

I did a pretty thorough wrap up on Monday of what has been going on in Huskyland. One new piece of information is that are sports programs are doing well academically and will not face sanctions like WSU, and Idaho.

Just like any NCAA rule this one is beating up on the have nots, and not the haves. Taking scholarships away from WSU, and Idaho solves nothing at all. Do you really think athletes at Tennessee, and Georgia are taking academics more seriously than athletes at WSU and Idaho?

Pac Ten Alley

It is tough to be a Cougar fan today because they are losing eight football scholarships because of NCAA academic sanctions. This isn't exactly what Paul Wulff needs to start rebuilding the program.

Afternoon update - We're now out EIGHT scholarships. 22 for next year's signing class, 77 total. That makes us the worst in the BCS. Good thing we have so much outstanding depth, isn't it?? Looks like Idaho took stupid pills too, as they are also out eight scholies. WONDERFUL.

Ivan Maisel takes a look at the Bruins new coaching staff.

All Chow brought upstairs was a mechanical pencil and a handful of play sheets. He grabbed a Diet Coke from the little refrigerator in the booth when he arrived. In the two chairs to the left of Chow sat coaching interns Jake Peetz and Pat Girardi. To his right sat David Raih, who charted the play calls. Peetz and Raih are former walk-ons at Nebraska and Iowa, respectively. Girardi is a former co-captain at Columbia.The logistics of a new staff working in a new press box illustrate all the moving parts in a football team's engine. Coaches take for granted that the communication will go smoothly from press box to sideline. It's spring practice for the headsets, too. UCLA has new audio equipment. Chow couldn't hear the sideline. Then Girardi informed Chow that he and offensive line coach Bob Palcic were on different channels. Chow didn't take it well.

Washington has pulled ahead of Oregon State and is now nationally ranked and in the Pac Ten top three.

Recapping the Spring Game is still on the to-do list, but that will have to wait for now. After all, the countdown to football season is still in three figures. We'll have plenty of time to talk about the pigskin between Omaha and August 2. Heading into Pullman, the Beavers knew that the Cougars were a sweepable team. In other words, if OSU won series' against Arizona State and Arizona, a sweep against WSU couldn't be so hard. But that's when the game of baseball caught up to the back to back National Champions. After the Beavers dropped two games to Gonzaga earlier in the week, they dropped two straight to the Cougs- in blowout fashion. The Beavs lost 10-3 on Saturday, and 11-4 on Sunday. They salvaged a win on Monday, bombarding the Cougars with 19 runs on 17 hits for a final score of 19-9.

Nate Longshore is pencilled in as Cal's starting QB....but.... .

Nate Long-Shot? ... While Jeff Tedford continues to stress that incumbent Nate Longshore is his quarterback, a pec injury that curtailed his spring hasn't helped in his fight to hold off Kevin Riley. Riley moves better than Longshore and was flawless in his last game, a comeback win over Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. Don't buy Tedford's smokescreen. Riley is closing the gap on Longshore all the time and might be ready to surpass him in August.

Jon Wilner takes a look at Stanford and the rest of the Pac Ten after Spring football.

If I could take one sentences to state the ridiculously obvious: The Pac-10 is a quarterback’s conference — always has been and always will be. When it has a first-rate array of quarterbacks, as it did in ‘07, the Pac-10 is one of the top conferences in the country. When it doesn’t have a first-rate array of quarterbacks, well, it’s a second-rate league (within the BCS grouping). And based on winter/spring developments from Tucson to Pullman, that very well might be the case in ‘08.

Scott Wolf inside USC.

USC lost four starters on its offensive line, but that's really not quite as dramatic as it sounds. Center Kris O'Dowd started the first three games as a true freshman until he injured his knee. Tackle Butch Lewis started in place of All-American Sam Baker and played respectable. Guard Zack Heberer started two games and tackle Charles Brown started one.

UA baseball is in contention

The University of Arizona baseball team is hoping to not only make a late push for a Pac-10 title, but to host a regional. The Wildcats could do both still. It will take a lot more wins down the stretch, and a few more fans coming out to the ballpark for a team that has won 12 straight to accomplish both.

The Ducks pick up a JC QB late which tells you that they are having a problem replacing Dixon.

Prize JC quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was snagged by the Ducks yesterday. He played for City College of San Francisco last year and led them to the junior college national title.

Pitchfork Nation has a nice lineup of everything going on Sun Devil this week.

Baseball dropped a game on the road to a mediocre Kansas State team last night. They try to rebound against a very formidable Wichita State team, who is looking for a big win to secure a spot hosting a regional.

Spring Round Up for BYU

BYU starting spring practice on March 17th and the Cougars who had consecutive 11-2 seasons and back to back Mountain West Conference titles, and now the Cougars are looking to make it to the BCS in 2008. The Cougars do not lose much offensively with frosh All-American Harvey Unga and QB Max Hall, plus multiple other key positions. The things that BYU needs to figure out in this spring ball is to find replacements for Bryan Kehl and Kelly Popinga at the linebacker position and also they need to find more depth and improve the secondary overall. The should be fine, because of the amazing job the coaching staff did when injuries really hurt that position with the Cougars playing 2nd and 3rd string players and still able to defeat Utah and UCLA.

Oklahoma fans are looking ahead to UW game.

Television and the kick-off time has been set for Oklahoma's trip to Seattle to play the Washington Huskies on September 13th. The game will air on ESPN and will kick-off, in prime time, at 6:45 PM. It will be the Sooners third game of the season and barring tragedy they should go into that game with a 2-0 record and ranked in the Top 10. An impressive performance on national television against the Pac 10 and the ESPN Hype Machine will be rolling in the Sooners' favor.

Recap of the Notre Dame Spring Game

You’ll notice we didn’t have a lot of (any) coverage of spring practices this year, including limited mention of Saturday’s Blue-Gold game. The main reason for this is that there was a lot of other stuff going on (March Madness, Frozen Four, weather getting nicer) and a ton of other sites covering the twenty minutes of practice that were open each day. If you’d like me to try and prognosticate on the upcoming season due to how well someone there said Duval Kamara was stretching, I can try, but it would be a waste of everyone’s time. As Pat at BGS said, there were just an obscene amount of outlets covering the goings-on that there was a very limited amount of what we could have added to the conversation.

Husky Poll Question

Before Spring practice began I asked "Who is the most improved player on the Husky roster this Spring?"

One kid I left off the list was Quinton Richardson, and if he had been on there he would have ended up as one of the top three vote getters. Richardson came out of Spring as the #1 CB on the entire roster which is saying quite a bit for someone they just moved over from Safety.

QB Jake Locker 17% (15 votes)

I think everyone was impressed with the way Jake was throwing the ball. His backup Ronnie Fouch cam on quite a bit too.

RB Brandon Johnson 2% (2 votes)

Brandon was dinged up so he didn't show what he could do over the last 5-6 practices.

S Nate Williams 6% (5 votes)

Nate looks real solid to me at Safety and it is going to take a lot of work by Wells to dislodge him in the fall. Like Aieyewa below he may end up being one of the better all time safeties at UW.

S Victor Aieywa 33% (30 votes)

Tough not to notice this kid patrolling the Safety position in a way we haven't seen since the days of Akbar, and Williams. this kid is big and raw, and has the potential to be one of the best before he goes.

DT Tyrone Duncan 3% (3 votes)

Tyrone finished the Spring out at DE after an initial burst at tackle. Like fellow RS Nick Wood he needs more time

CB Matt Mosley 0% (0 votes)

Nobody voted for Matt, but he is firmly entrenched in the rotation at corner.

LB Mason Foster 4% (4 votes)

Mason had about as good a Spring as anyone at UW.

WR Goodwin 31% (28 votes)

This kid had a breakthrough Spring

TE Izbicki 1% (1 votes)

Other: 2% (2 votes)

This weeks question is :

"Which Husky Sport is your favorite following Football and Men's Basketball?"

The Monday Morning Wash

The Washington Crew swept the annual Opening Day Windemere Cup races on the Montlake Cut on Saturday. Patrons of the the Worlds largest attended rowing event were treated to victories by both the Men's and Women's Crews who rowed against intercollegiate, and international competition.

The undefeated Huskies covered the 2,000-meter, yacht-lined gauntlet leading from Lake Washington into the Montlake Cut in 5 minutes, 49.31 seconds. The Polish crew was second in 5:56.48 and Navy was third in 6:00.59.

The Huskies women's varsity also prevailed on the drizzly, overcast morning, winning for the first time in four weeks. The UW women were clocked in 6:35.17, easily defeating Navy (6:50.17) and the University of Melbourne (6:52.38).

Men's Windermere Cup (Varsity Eight)

1. Washington, 5:49.31. 2. Poland, 5:56.48. 3. Navy, 6:00.59

Women's Windermere Cup (Varsity Eight)

1. Washington. 6:35.17. 2. Navy, 6:50.17. 3. Melbourne University (Australia), 6:52.38

The Original Dawgblawg

Nathan Ware bids us adieu till Fall camp opens up in August.

As I wrap up my season on the Blawg, I wanted to have one more good conversation with my friend and fellow blogger, John Berkowitz. Our conversations have become a staple on the Blawg during football season and I figured it was a proper way to conclude the spring football discussion. We talk UW football every Monday during the season.

Steve Kelley on the Women's Basketball Program

On the cover of last season's UW women's basketball media guide, new coach Tia Jackson held a basketball that glowed, white hot. The theme: "Turning Up The Heat." But for some players, that first season got too hot. For others, it was tropically lush.

Instant Impact

We all know that Chris Polk, Devin Aguilar, and Anthony Boyles will make some instant impact in 2008, but here are a few guys arriving in the Fall who are being considered for immediate playing time.

1. TE - Kavario Middleton....The top prospect of the 2008 recruiting class is being counted on to add an instant threat where non exited last year. Kavario is the most eagerly awaited TE at UW since Aberdeen's Mark Breuner. The kid can do acrobatic things going for the ball and gain yards after the catch.


2. CB - Adam Long....The coaches love his speed, and he just may be the fastest kid on the squad in 2008. The Huskies have plenty of depth at corner, so they must like this kid a lot. The move of Forrester over to CB could keep him on the bench unless they envision using his speed on special teams.


3. DT - Ta'amu Alameda.....The undersized UW DL held its own this Spring, but it needs a run stopping giant if possible. This kid is very big, and very strong. The question will he be able to adapt to the speed and footwork of the college game.


4. WR - Jermain Kearse....If you took a good look at the WR's this Spring you noticed that they were talented and green. Kearse can come in and steal a spot.


5. WR - Cody Bruns....Remember guys like Paul Skansi, Chris Juergens, maybe even Steve Largent? Cody is a guy that coaches love because he runs precise routes, gets open, and catches the ball.


6. DE -Senio Kelemente....This guy has the motor and strength to play right away. In most years he would have been the highest rated recruit in the state. If I had to pick one DL who was the most ready to play it would be Senio.


7. DT - Craig Noble....He came up here from California to play early. He will get every chance to compete for a rotation spot in an undersized defensive line.


8. S - Johri Fogerson....I have high hopes for this kid, and I predict he will move over from RB to get a better chance for playing time at safety. He has a nasty streak and can lay a lick.


9. DE - Everette Thompson....He is probably going to RS, but he will get a long look this Fall if he can rush the passer.


10. LB - Kurt Mangum got a step up on the competition by attending his first Spring practice before his HS class graduated. Like any freshman he was swimming out there, but he has great size.

Television

Two of Washington's three non-conference home football games this fall will be televised by ESPN and/or ABC, according to a schedule of the network's Pacific-10 Conference appearances released today.

The Huskies' September 13 contest against the University of Oklahoma will kickoff at 4:45 p.m. (Pacific) and will be televised nationally on ESPN. Washington's October 25 game against the University of Notre Dame will begin at 5 p.m. and will be televised by either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.

In addition, Washington was notified that it's Dec. 6 contest at California will be televised by either ESPN, ESPN2 or FSN. Both networks (ESPN and FSN) have selections that day and there are two games on the Pac-10 schedule - with Arizona State at Arizona being the other.

Free Agents

Five players from last year's University of Washington football team have signed free agent contracts with teams in the National Football League following last weekend's NFL Draft, according to league and team reports.

Bay Area natives defensive end Greyson Gunheim (Sebastopol, Calif.) and running back Louis Rankin (Stockton, Calif.) signed with the Oakland Raiders. Cornerback Roy Lewis (Los Angeles, Calif.) and defensive tackle Jordan Reffett (Moses Lake, Wash.) signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. And, Seattle-area receiver Anthony Russo (Lakewood, Wash.) signed with the hometown Seattle Seahawks. Offensive lineman Chad Macklin (Visalia, Calif.) signed with the Minnesota Vikings and receiver Marcel Reece (Hesperia, Calif.) inked a deal with the Miami Dolphins.

Basketball

Lorenzo Romar and his basletball team got a big break today when Isaiah Thomas passed his ACT which means the sparkplug guard will be able to enroll at UW in the Fall. thomas is exactly the type of player Washington needs on the perimeter to compete for a conference championship. There has been a changing of the guard due to graduation and coaching changes in the PAc Ten this off season. What that means is Washington will return a veteran team that should be ready to compete with the addition of some fine frosh pieces in 2008.

Baseball

Andy Lentz went 5-for-5 and Kyle Conley capped a big weekend with two hits and four RBI as the Washington completed a three-game sweep of USC with a 11-4 win Sunday at Dedeaux Field. The sweep was the Huskies' first-ever over USC in Los Angeles and their first Pac-10 sweep since the first weekend of Pac-10 play last year at Washington State.

Washington (28-16 overall and 8-7 in the Pac-10) took a quick lead, scoring three runs with two outs in the first inning. With the bases loaded on a single, a walk and a hit batter, Brian Pearl was hit by a pitch to force in one run. First baseman Troy Scott, who went 3-for-5, followed with a two-run single up the middle and the UW lead, 3-0.

Softball

Arizona's Taryne Mowatt threw a complete-game no-hitter to lead the 12th-ranked Wildcats past No. 23 Washington, 3-0, on Sunday in Pac-10 softball action. Arizona improved its record to 33-16 and 10-8 in the Pac-10, while the Huskies lost their third straight and fell to 26-21-1 and 5-12 in the conference.

Track

Another NCAA-leading run by junior sprinter Jordan Boase was certainly the performance of the day, but the Washington State track and field teams prevailed over Washington in the yearly dual meet at Mooberry Field.

Golf

The Washington women's golf team received a berth in the 2008 NCAA Central Regional and as the No. 16 seed will compete at the University of Texas in Austin, May 8-10, the NCAA announced Monday.

Washington shot a final-round score of 10-over 365 to finish seventh at the Pac-10 Men's Golf Championships which wrapped up at the Meadow Club, Wednesday.

Mariner's Off Topic

One of the more intriguing deals of the Winter was the trade that sent Mariner offensive prodigy CF Adam Jones, LHP's George Sherrill and Tony Butler, and RHP's Chris Tillman and Kam Mickolio for Baltimore's Erik Bedard.

That is quite a lot of players to give up for one player that doesn't set your table.

Bedard is a pretty good pitcher, in fact he is a possible Cy Young winner under the right circumstances, but the Mariner's gave up quite a bit to get him, and problems in the bullpen, and in the starting offensive lineup illustrate that problem in the early going of the 2008 season.

The M's starting pitching staff has been dinged up to start the year, but they have done well enough only to be done in by the lack of offense the team has produced. That has been coupled with a slow start by Putz, and the rest of the bullpen.

For that trade to work this M's this season they needed a few things to happen:

1. Richie Sexson needs to rebound
2. Put needed to repeat his 2007 performance.
3. Someone needed to step up to fill in for the loss of George Sherrill.
4. Somebody need to make up for the lost offense and defense the Jones would have provided.
5. Jose Vidro needed to reproduce the last half of the 2007 season.
6. Aging regulars such as Johjima, and Ibanez needed to keep up their past performance.

None of the above has happened, so the Mariners have called up Clement and Balentien to provide some momentum. In the bull pen they are looking for one more unlikely good year out of Arthur Rhodes to fill the void for Sherrill.

It isn't enough, and John McLaren went off on the them tonight which is a foreshadow of him being fired in June along with Bavasi if he cannot get the team kick started.

It's obvious, the M's pitching will be fine over time in the starting rotation, and in the bullpen, but they need some more offense.

I say bring back Ken Griffey Jr for the last two to three years of his career, do it now, do it while the Reds have a surplus of outfielders and would love to jettison some salary. Griffey at DH would add quite a bit to this team, and it would help balance the lineup.

Scott Woodward Bows Out

Scott Woodward is pulling out of consideration for the AD job at Washington choosing to concentrate on his job as VP of External Affairs.

Bob Condotta of the Times is following the story and he found the comment below interesting. If you have been following the UW athletic department for the last decade the comments sure ring true.

An interesting comment Scott Woodward made today in his announcement that he would not pursue the AD job permanently is that he worried there was maybe an "acceptance of mediocrity'' in the department.

I guess the question everyone is asking is what kind of AD will UW eventually hire? Will it be Todd Turner II with better PR skills, or will it be someone driven to win?

Gordon Hungar Passes

The Seattle P-I dubbed him "the Last Minute Kid," supplying Gordon Hungar with a nickname created from sportswriter exasperation as much as admiration.

In 1945, Hungar, a freshman running back for Washington, came off the bench and surprised everyone by slipping free for a 38-yard touchdown run with three minutes left to play at Husky Stadium to beat Washington State 6-0 in the first post-World War II meeting between the rival schools.

Hungar was an unknown, a third-team player from Lake Stevens without a scholarship, someone whose name was neither listed in the game program nor familiar to anyone covering the team.

While reporters frantically scrambled to come up with any information they could find on this instant hero, P-I sports editor Royal Brougham sat down and reflexively typed what he knew, labeling the running back the Last Minute Kid.

On Tuesday, Hungar died at Northwest Hospital and Medical Center from a sudden illness brought on by complications from asbestos exposure. He was 81. No one had to ask who he was now.

Pac Ten Alley

May is almost upon us and that means things will seriously step up on the recruiting front. This is the time of year when coaches hit the road, and the combines begin. It is also the time when you expect to see a few local commitments.

Washington, and Washington State are the only Pac Ten schools who have not received a single commitment for the 2009 class. One reason for that is it will be a comparative down year in Washington State talent and numbers wise. Another reason is WSU has a new head coach, and Washington has a coach who is about to jump out of the frying pan, and into the fire.

There are some nuggets out there in state, but expect Washington to win out in most cases even though Paul Wulff at WSU is going to make a strong early run for the available in state talent.

Here is a quick look at the top talent in Washington which will be supplying the 2009 recruiting class in no particular order.

1. De'Andre Coleman DT Garfield (UW Offer)
2. Desmond Trufant CB Wilson (UW Offer)
3. Tony Heard LB Edmonds-Woodway (UW Offer)
4. Alex Ferguson RB Kentridge
5. Gino Simone WR Eastlake (UW Offer)
6. Allen Mooney LB O'Dea
7. Kirby Moore WR Prosser
8. Travis Long TE Gonzaga
9. Danny Kistler OL O'Dea
10. Anthony Luna OL Gonzaga
11. Marcel Sealey LB Kamiak
12. Tre Watson CB Kennedy
13. Nolan Washington CB Kennedy
14. Lucas Schindelle QB Bellarmine

I would expect that the Huskies will offer another 4-5 in state players once the evaulation process is completed in June. UW likes to see the majority of the players at their camp before making offers.

Pac Ten Alley

Now its time to take a walk down the coast to see what the neighbors have been up to.

I don't think Oregon will miss Jonathan Stewart that much in 2008. They are loaded and at least three deep at running back.

Watching LeGarrette Blount run over and around flailing Oregon defenders during spring practices -- thereby easing concerns over the departure of first-round NFL draft pick Jonathan Stewart -- it's impossible not to wonder how this elusive, 6-foot-2, 230-pound running back got away from the southern regional powers that coveted him, such as Alabama and Florida State, which were far closer to his hometown of Perry, Fla."

Paul Wulff is rebuilding the culture at WSU, but don't expect "Cow Tipping" to be a casualty.

“There's improvement, but we're not where we need to be," he said. "We still have players that don't fully understand the responsibility you have of being a college student-athlete, and that it's different than being a college student. They need to be held to a higher standard – whether they like it or not they're going to be – so they might as well accept it. There's a lot of success so far, we're just not where our culture's gonna be yet. We're working on that.”

News from the gridiron at OSU.

OSU ran 25-odd plays in a full 11 on 11 scrimmage with no restrictions on hitting (except YOU CANNOT BELT THE QB) ... then the Beavers did some red zone stuff. "There were some good parts, but nothing altogether looked very good,'' was Riley's quote about the scrimmage. ... I think he was trying to say it was nothing special.

California is trying to reclaim some attitude.

The in-house word last season was that Cal was missing Desmond Bishop and Marshawn Lynch, guys who were vocal enough to gain their teammates' attention throughout the practice week and athletic enough to demand it for Saturday game days. Though injuries stood in the way of the development of some of the sexier stories during spring, the leadership problem, which was mostly blamed for the fall from No. 2 in the nation to a 7-6 record, might have been answered.

Johnny Dawkins takes over down on the Farm.

Johnny Dawkins was officially ushered in as the new head coach of the men’s basketball team during a 4 p.m. press conference held by the athletic department yesterday. Introduced by Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby, Dawkins seemed cool throughout the conference, although he continually emphasized his excitement at the opportunity to be at the helm of the Stanford program.

The Trojans had ten players drafted this weekend.

More than a week before the NFL draft, USC quarterback John David Booty ignored convention and said on a national television broadcast that he hoped to be selected by the Minnesota Vikings. The admission was a bold break from potential draftees' usual statements about not caring whether a particular team selected them.On Sunday, Booty got his wish when the Vikings traded up in the fifth round to choose the quarterback who led the Trojans to two consecutive Pacific 10 Conference titles and Rose Bowl victories.Booty, the sixth quarterback chosen in the draft, would have preferred to be selected higher than the 137th overall pick, but the result suited him fine because he joins a Vikings team that is without a truly established starting quarterback.

UCLA wraps up the spring with Olson in command at QB.

Olson, who started the last two seasons but was Cowan's backup this spring, moves way into the forefront of a quarterback derby.However, before he gets on the field, the broken bone in his right foot must heal. He will meet with doctors Monday to decide whether or not to have surgery to implant a screw to aid in the healing. "Everybody I talked to with this type of fracture said the screw is probably the way to go, but I haven't made any decisions yet," Olson said. "I want to do the thing that is best for my body and get back as fast as I can. The screw sounds like the way to go." Olson should be back in June, which gives him plenty of time to get ready for August training camp and the Sept. 1 opener against Tennessee. But after being relegated to second-string just a third of the way through spring practice, he wasn't taking for the starting position for granted."It's not my call," Olson said. "It never has been, and never will be. All I can do is just try to keep a positive attitude and just keep working. It's not a good thing to be out six to eight weeks, but luckily it's toward the end of spring ball and I'll be back for fall camp, but it's tough because you're missing time you can be (practicing) what we learned (in spring ball)."

Most people expected a lot more out of the UA defensive ends including me. I thought the Wildcats had hit the mother lode with these two kids, but they sputtered.

University of Arizona defensive ends Jason Parker and Louis Holmes have found themselves a place in the NFL as free agents. Parker is heading to Kansas City, while Holmes has been picked up by the San Francico 49ers. "I think this is a perfect fit for me," Parker said. "I've really beenworking out hard since pro timing day, and I'm ready. I am going to a mini camp on Thursday and I'm going there to stick out and not just be one of the guys."

ASU looks like the team to beat in Omaha this year.

No. 16-ranked California played like Little Leaguers on Sunday right down to their early bailout from an 18-2 embarrassment against No. 4 Arizona State. Cal coach Dave Esquer called no mas after the top of the seventh inning at Packard Stadium, using travel curfew as an explanation for a game then at 3 hours, 22 minutes, not especially long by Pac-10 finale standards. ASU coach Pat Murphy naturally agreed to the mercy killing since his team got in extra at-bats by sending 16 to the plate in a 10-run second and 11 in a five-run fifth.