Things seem pretty slow around the blog this week, so instead of putting in the time for dots, I'm going to drop in a quick little poll that is sure to drive controversy and debate. Make your pick and leave some comments.

There are three things that a man should do every day. Dots are not one of them. Yet.

• Mark Schlaback has the Huskies in his top 25. Slots 19 through 24, where the Dawgs fall, are made up of a fascinating mix of teams. It's also mind boggling to think that UW is going to get a stretch of six games where they will play four of the top 12 teams on this list.
• Ted Miller assesses his conference power rankings for May. It feels as good as one could expect. I have to say, I really do not understand why everyone is placing USC ahead of Oregon. In my mind, Oregon is the class of the Pac 12 this season and I'm not sure it is even all that close. There seems to be an odd dynamic of media members sucking in each others exhaust when it comes to USC. I've also got a problem with Utah at #4. I think Cal and UW are both better/deeper. We'll see about WSU at #8. That also seems like a stretch.
• More from Ted: he calls UW's 9/27 matchup with Stanford a "measuring stick" game and one that is likely to determine the pecking order behind Oregon in the Pac 12 North.
• By the way, Keith Price is tweeting.

Everybody looks the same in the gym,but when the lights turn on and the pressure is turned up who' s gonna seperate??#iwill

— Keith Price (@17baller) May 10, 2012

• UW target Johnny Stanton talks about the Elite 11 and comparisons to Tim Tebow. The regionals were last night. No surprise that Max Browne walked away with the invite.
• After a very quiet season with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Brockness Monster has been sighted. And he's wearing purple.
• A report card on Isaiah Thomas and his freshman campaign with the Kings. I didn't realize that IT was a former "Huskie".
• It's always hard to read the tea leaves, but there seems to be some momentum brewing for Terrence Ross to the Dallas Mavericks.
• The Men's Golf team had a huge day yesterday in claiming the lead in the NCAA regionals. They came from 7 shots down to end the day 4 up going into today's final day. Good luck Dawgs!
• The Husky Ladies found a little swagger (swagga?) and pulled a first round upset of Harvard. Something about that just doesn't sound right. Their second round matchup with #23 Texas Tech, who advanced by beating Maryland, will be played today. This is group-play style elimination tournament. As such, the loser of our game can still advance by winning the "loser's bracket" game - in this case, against the winner of the Harvard/Maryland matchup. Good luck Lady Dawgs!

That's it. Now go do something good today.

The SEC and Big 12 announced a five year contract on Friday that their champions will play each year in a New Years Day evening prime time bowl game right after the the Rose Bowl is concluded.

The location of the match-up which begins in 2014 is currently undecided but you can bet that the Sugar, Fiesta, Cotton, and the city of Atlanta will all be bidding on the thing...heck I wouldn't be surprised if the recently beleaguered Orange Bowl didn't also jump into the fray.

The whole idea is to create a spectacle that can compete on an equal footing with the Rose Bowl as far as prestige and potential payout is concerned on January 1st.

The folks back at the ESPN/ABC figure that a steady diet of "Oklahoma/Texas" vs "Alabama/Florida" type match-ups could potentially beat the snot out of USC/Oregon vs Michigan/ Ohio State in the ratings on the big day.

This move consolidates more power into the top four conferences and puts the ACC, Big East, and Notre Dame into weaker positions which could result in more realignment over the next couple of years.

How this all works within the final four college football format is yet to be decided but one thing is for sure. When everything is said and done the Rose Bowl will continue to be the Granddaddy of them all.

Ten days ago I commented that we were in the calm before the storm, this week, the wind is definitely starting to pick up! The last week has provided quite a bit of visual stimulation, which you'll see below. All pictures are from the Husky Stadium webcams at http://oxblue.com/open/huskystadium, be sure to keep an eye on them, things are beginning to change quickly. As always, don't forget to click on the pictures to see the full resolution image.

Picture #1 - The foundations of the football facilities building are 99% complete, the only thing left is a rather small section of the front wall that is being used as an access point. I expect to see major changes coming very soon to this section. Today, a mammoth blue crane was delivered and is being assembled. I would be surprised if we don't see some of the structural steel being delivered and assembled as early as next week.

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The sun was breaking through as the mist rolled lightly off of the surface of the water. Dots were everywhere. All was as it should be.

• Matt Hayes has a very nice article on Keith Price. Even more compelling than the Alamo Bowl performance as an indicator of 2012 success is the leadership that this young man continues to demonstrate. I know it sounds cliche, but when you see him quoted, the nature of the comments he's made this past off-season are more frank, more accountable and more forceful than the "aw shucks" stuff we got from him last year. I'm eager to see if he can parlay that into results on the field.
  
• Coach Sark was on the Kevin Calabro show (Podcast). Biggest tidbit was his continuing stance that he's not all that concerned about the o-line. Honestly, neither am I. Not that I'm satisfied with it, but my perspective is that we did what we did last year behind a really crappy o-line. With the injuries and the youth, it didn't meet expectations. Going into this year, there is definitely uncertainty. However, I'm not sure that we were not already at our lowest point. Can we not only go up? Regardless, the entire unit - starters and backups - are all a little older, a little stronger and a little more experienced. The depth isn't ideal, but there is enough. I'm going to spend the off-season worrying more about other things. Like how good Oregon is and why Sundodger and Cassino can't seem to agree on what shade of purple is best.
  
• Bob Condotta updates us on some Huskies who made Phil Steele's pre-season All Pac 12 team. Usual suspects showed up along with a few surprises. Austin Seferian-Jenkins was our only first teamer.
• SB Nation interviews the #20 ranked LB in the nation ... and Husky commit ... Sean Constantine.
• Here is another look at the QB competition in Tennessee between Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker. I expect that I'll be linking to many of these stories over the off-season. That said, I don't anticipate Jake beating out Matt, at least to start. Neither QB is likely to drive a Super Bowl season, so why wouldn't you want to save Jake for when you know it is absolutely the time to turn the page?
• Is Washington a trap game for this national powerhouse? Given that it is in Seattle and that we'll have already been tested by similar elite competition, you can't write it off.
• PFW posits that the Eagles may have found a backup to LeSean McCoy. Because every team needs a War Daddy in their arsenal.
• A scouting report on Terrence Ross. Hint: they like his ups.
• First round of the Men's Golf tourney is over. UW sits in fourth seven shots off the lead.
• Can the Husky ladies reclaim their mojo? Up next is Harvard.

That's it Dawgs. Go have a nice day.

Today begins a culling of the Gekko File in preparation for the Pac 12 season before us. There is a lot of offseason left to endure, so these will come out at my leisure. Fear not, as they will contain all the lack of wit and originality that you've come to expect from the Gekko File.

We start with the Pac 12 South and coverage of our predicted cellar dwellar: The Colorado Buffaloes. The sophomore Pac 12 season of the Buffaloes comes at a point of evolution for this once proud program. The Buffaloes are in year #2 of a significant rebuilding process under the tutelage of first time head-coach Jon Embree. Sound familiar?

The Gekko File on projected #6 finisher in the Pac 12 South, the Colorado Buffaloes, after the jump.

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