The Husky basketball team gave it their all on the road in Tucson on Saturday but fell short at the buzzer losing to the Wildcats 87-86. Arizona is now 12-2 in conference and the Huskies aren't going to catch them during the regular season. UCLA on the other hand is now catchable with the Dawgs only 1/2 a game behind the Bruins after a loss to Cal.
Up next is WSU and Seattle U followed by UCLA and USC to end the regular season. If the Huskies sweep they finish second in the conference and are reasonable assured a spot in the Big Dance provided they don't fall flat on their face in the Pac 10 tournament.
The NCAA tournament is all about seeding, hot hands, and good match-ups. I could see the Huskies reaching the Sweet Sixteen again this season but the loss of Abdul Gaddy and the lack of power up front makes it very doubtful that they will get farther than that.
Was it goal tending?
Darnell Gant's last second shot that would have given Washington the victory appears to have been goal tending. Photo's and video clearly show that the ball had reached the top of its arc and was beginning to head downward. After the block, Derrick Williams turned around and looked at the official, expecting to be called for goaltending, but the call never came. That pretty much told me the whole story. I also question why the ref's didn't look at the replay? this was a close play that decided the conference championship and they didn't bother to look?
TV Contract Talk
The Pac 12 is getting deep into negotiations with the networks in efforts to put together a new TV deal that will put the conference on a more equal footing with the other BCS conferences. The contracts will have three tiers and the first one which is being negotiated right now s the prime time national tier which is currently held by ESPN/ABC.
Jon Wilner who has been following this closely thinks FOX is in the drivers seat with Comcast/NBC second and ESPN/ABC third. We all hate FOX but weekly broadcasts on the national rather than regional cable networks wouldn't be a bad thing because that would be a completely different animal.
According to my sources, there is no indication that ESPN will be willing to pay what the Pac-12 wants or provide the exposure opportunities the Pac-12 is seeking. "ESPN has no place to put them," one analyst said.
Urban Meyer Speaks His Mind
The former Florida coach isn't going to go softly into the night during his sabbatical. He has no problem talking about what he thinks is wrong in college football and the NCAA in general.
"What I've seen the last five years is a complete turn in the integrity of the college coaching profession. It's completely turned the other way. Right now, it's not good because the risk-reward is ‘have at it, do what you've got to do get the great player, go win games and at the end of the day we'll find out what happens down the road ...
Husky Stadium Update from the Seattle Times
The Times has an article on the front page about the Husky Stadium renovation. They do a nice job looking at the positives and the potential negatives of the project as a whole.
"Because we haven't needed it, we've generally fallen behind what it costs to sit on the 50-yard line" compared to other schools, said Ron Crockett, the former owner of Emerald Downs, who is on the committee that will set pricing for the new stadium. Crockett said he believes the new prices will still constitute a Pac-10 bargain.
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