Puppy Chow

Well that was a pretty interesting month of expansion intrigue...now we get back to our regularly scheduled program which is Husky football.

Off season conditioning has started over at Montlake as the Huskies get ready for what could very well be the last season of Pac 10 round robin play. Sark says he wants his team to be more explosive this season and that is what they are concentrating on. The coach feels that all the players who missed time this spring because of injury are on track to be back this fall but he won't be sure until practice begins. Players will officially report for fall camp on Aug. 8 with the first day of practice on Aug. 9.

LB's Chris Young and Demetrius Waters seem to be the only two frosh who may not qualify on time. OT James Atoe will not grey shirt and the "Chief" will be here for the LEAP program. Off the record we keep hearing that there will be little chance for Young to qualify but Waters still has a decent shot if he gets his work done. For those of you who asked why Washington recruited so many LB's last year this was one of the reasons.

Overall look for Washington to be in much better shape as a team this season. We saw the improvement on the field last season and you will see the same type of quantum leap in this campaign. Washington wants to finish better and that all comes down to being the more physical team in the fourth quarter. Sark thinks his team is faster and in great shape to contend this season.

More on what the team is up to from Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.

Oregon lost two WR's this week to grade issues. The Ducks were the deepest program in the Pac 10 last December but they have been taking hit after hit this off season. Even with this loss the Ducks still have plenty of firepower left on the roster.

The NCAA tossed USC and Hawaii a bone by not canceling the long scheduled opener that will be played in Hawaii. USC is not allowed to play a 13th game but because this would have cost UH over seven figures and fans who bought tickets well in advance a loss the NCAA will allow the game to be played.

Utah and Colorado will not enter the conference as immediate equals. Utah will have to wait until 2014 to get an even revenue split from the rest of the conference. Colorado will get a full revenue split starting in 2012. The Buff's may elect to join the conference with Utah in 2011 if they can to avoid Big 12 penalties.If they do join in 2011 they will have to wait a year to receive a full share.

Jim Harbaugh landed one of the best LB's in the country this past week. James Vaughters of Tucker, Ga., rated the No. 2 linebacker in the nation and No. 42 overall prospect by ESPNU, has committed to Stanford, picking the Cardinal over a host of schools, including Alabama, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Ohio State.

No word yet on whether Jake Locker has worked things out with the LA Angels or not. Conventional wisdom indicates that the he may have to put in a week or two to earn his paycheck for this season. Expect something to pop up on this in the next week or so.

HS QB Nick Sherry who was slated to attend the "Rising Stars" camp has committed to Colorado. UW continues to keep a spot open for top target Brett Hundley from Chandler, AZ.. Jessie Scroggins may not qualify at USC this fall and there is an outside chance that he could end up at Washington this winter.

The Dawgman Show on KJR will have Mason Foster, Terrence Ross, and Chuck Heater as guests on Saturday morning. Chuck who has coached at Utah in the past will be discussing how the Ute's will fit into the new Pac 12. Most people out there think they will be able to contend right off the bat.

Bud Withers of the Seattle Times was able to interview Larry Scott yesterday and picked up some good stuff.

Meanwhile, Scott disputed a report by Orangebloods.com earlier this week that Texas was wary of Scott's intentions partly because late in the negotiations, he tried to switch out Oklahoma State and replace the Cowboys with Kansas in the deal.

"That is completely untrue," Scott said. "We never had one conversation, either (assistant) Kevin Weiberg or myself, with Kansas throughout this process. That's spin coming from someone."