We are only a week away till fall camp opens on the shores of Montlake. Expectations are high this season because the Huskies are obviously improved and the conference title is up for grabs. Parity is a keyword this year in the conference and as Rick Neuheisel so eloquently put it last week everyone has a shot at winning the conference except for Washington State.
If you missed the Dawgman show on KJR on Saturday you missed a great show. They were able to talk to three of the top uncommitted football prospects on the west coast for the class of 2011: Chandler (Ariz.) QB Brett Hundley; Sammamish (Wash.) Skyline WR Kasen Williams and Gig Harbor (Wash.) TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
Larry Scott says he would like the new Pac 12 network to offer more premium program than the Big Ten network currently does. The Big Ten Network typically takes what ABC/ESPN and FOX don't want which assures that every game will be televised.
Larry Scott, the Pacific-10 commissioner, intends to start a television channel like the one that the Big Ten started in 2007. That' is no surprise. With two major universities in each of five Western states, and the addition of Colorado and Utah in 2011 or 2012, the conference can better brand itself and create a profitable asset. But Scott wants to diverge somewhat from the strategy that the Big Ten followed when it carved out a schedule of football and basketball games for its network from the rights it sold to ESPN in a long-term extension.
Zippers
Pac-10 athletic directors met in LA last week to discuss how to divide the conference into two divisions once Colorado and Utah join in 2011. Word we are hearing is the Northwest schools prefer the zipper while the California schools prefer being grouped in one division with the Arizona schools.
If they do agree to a zipper Colorado wants to be paired with USC. Oregon would not end up being paired with Washington in a zipper scenario which would upset Duck fans. Utah is just happy that they were invited to the party. In a zipper rivals may have to move their games to mid season. Nothing will be decided till late this fall.
According to Jon Wilner this is the leading zipper model of the moment:
Washington, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, Arizona State, and Utah
Washington State, Oregon, Cal, USC, Arizona,and Colorado
Stadium
Not a lot of news coming out of Montlake regarding the bid proposals for the remodeling/rebuilding of Husky Stadium. We know that all the bids are in and they are fine tuning a couple of them for a final decision which could come as early as the end of the week. No word yet on whether construction will begin this fall or 2011 but I keep hearing 2011.
Milles
Todd Milles of the News Tribune is back with predictions that Washington will finish second in the Pac 10 this year and first in the race to land ASJ. Like we have been saying for quite some time...ASJ has been spending a lot of time at Montlake.
But if you could corner Sarkisian in the bowels of Hec Edmundson Pavilion and lay a squirt-gun to his temple, demanding him to admit who would be the one recruit he'd like to have most, based on need, my guess is he'd mutter three letters.
"A"
"S"
"J"
"The Pac-10 has a tradition of playing some really tough out-of-conference games early on," Commissioner Larry Scott said. "We love the Rose Bowl relationship."
The Pigskin Classic was played at Anaheim Stadium in late August each year through the mid-1990s. It revisited Southern California in 1998, when USC faced Purdue in the Coliseum.
"There's a lot to think through," Scott said. "I would only want to do it if it wouldn't tarnish what it means to play in the Rose Bowl. This is hallowed turf."
We finish off the morning with a musical selection from the Husky alumni band!
Get fired up because we are only seven days away from the start of camp!