The powers that be who run college football are going to be making some big decisions this summer. The biggest item currently on the agenda is the addition of a championship game after the January 1st bowl games have been concluded.

The SEC wants a formal four team seeded playoff followed by the proposed championship game. The two playoff games could be played at existing bowls or at new locations depending on how the bidding shakes off.

The Big Ten wants to exclude teams that do not win their divisional and conference championships. Under that scenario last years champion Alabama would have been excluded and the SEC doesn't like that. The ACC is also in favor of a seeded four team playoff that rewards conference champions.

Both the Pac 12 and Big Ten favor the "Plus One" concept which simply picks the best two teams that remain standing after the bowl games have been concluded. This concept protects the Rose Bowl and guarantee's that the champions of the two leagues will meet each year in Pasadena.

It also builds a lot more value into that new SEC/Big 12 venture called the "Champions Bowl". Pac 12 Commissioner Larry Scott told the Wall Street Journal that the creation of that bowl alliance was a game changer and it reopened the relevancy of the "Plus One" concept.

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive disagree's with Scott's recent salvo, "I think what's in the best interest of college football is a four-team playoff. I think it's better for everyone involved in the game. The plus-one narrows the postseason in a way that's not necessarily in the best interest of all the conferences."

The ACC is in favor of a seeded playoff that rewards conference champions and utilizes the existing bowl structure.

Happy Memorial Day Husky fans!

Start the day off with a quick shout out to the veterans for all their contributions in helping keep this country free and making it the best place on the planet to live.

History Channel

John Harbottle Passes

Renowned local golf course architect John "Jeff" Harbottle III passed away suddenly at the age of 53 while on a business trip in Southern California. He attended Seattle U and the University of Washington.

The News Tribune

Tidbits

DE Kalei Auelua has decided to grayshirt. He is recovering from knee surgery and he would have had to sit out anyway. This will give him the opportunity to play right way in the spring of 2013 and preserve a year of eligibility going forward.

If you haven't had the chance yet you need to make some time to listen to the Tosh Lopoi interview on KJR.

Even though we are entering the so called quiet part of the year for college football things are heating up out there again as the structure of the game continues to evolve into an era dominated by four super conferences.

Scheduled for possible extinction this week is the ACC which previously looked like it was going to end up being one of the survivors. A new alliance between the Big 12 and the SEC nixes that.

Rumors are floating around that as many eight schools could be on their way to the Big 12 to form one of what would be four super conferences for football.

When the SEC and Big 12 announced their new bowl agreement Friday, they changed the paradigm of college football perhaps at the most critical time in the game's history. ACC and the Big East? Done in terms of being meaningful major college football conferences in the marketplace. One has barely made a blip in the BCS era. The other just pushed out its commissioner and is hanging on for dear life.

Dennis Dodd CBS Sports

The New York Times examines the potential ripple effect of the move.

The creation of such a valuable property will further the perception that the top football conferences - the Pac-12, the SEC, the Big Ten and the Big 12 - have further distanced themselves from everyone else. And by everyone else, that means the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is known as the fifth-best conference because of its 2-13 record in Bowl Championship Series games.

Pete Thamel NY Times

Washington Golfers Advance

Chris Williams eagled the 18th hole (talk about being good in the clutch) to earn medalist honors and Washington held off a final-round charge from top-ranked Texas to take home the team title at the NCAA Southwest Regional on Saturday.

Next stop for Washington is the NCAA Championship hosted at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. May 30th thru June 5th.

Softball Team Continues To Advance

The Washington softball team has advanced to the super regional after knocking off Harvard a second time this post season. The Huskies who finished eighth in the PAC 12 during the regular season will now face off against top ranked California. The recent resurgence is nice to see from a team that lost 16 of its last 20 games during the regular season.

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.

CB Derek Babiash who committed to Washington a couple of weeks ago has backed off his commitment. Just another reason to take the news of any early out of state commitment with a huge grain of salt. UW is still in the mix but he wants take his visits.

Just another huge reason why the NCAA should have an early signing period in June each year to help take the pressure off the programs and the kids.

Alignment

I was talking to a vacationing bowl official yesterday who says more re-alignment is being discussed behind the scenes that could have major impacts on the ACC and Big 12. That same person also says that the existing bowl system is in serious trouble and is bracing for some major hits this summer.

LSU Fans Lament

I ran into a knowledgable SEC fan during my travels who feels that Washington is catching LSU at exactly the right time this season. Says he was blown away by our offense in the Alamo Bowl and feels the huskies have what it takes to puil off an upset.

I reminded him that Chris Polk and a good chunk of our offensive line needed to be replaced but he said wait and see...this is going to be a tougher than expected year for LSU.

Spring Break

Kate and I are spending our annual spring vacation in Bora Bora this year thanks to one of the insurance carriers I work with. Meeting lots of nice people here and have to tell you that the scenery is just fantastic. One observation we have all made is that most of the bell staff at our hotel could start on our offensive line next season...too bad the big sport over here is rugby rather than football.

(Sorry for my unexcused absence after the spring game. I have had a few minor health issues to deal with and have been spending some time outside the country. Thanks once again to everyone who has been chipping in during my absence.)

Crews from Argentina, Oregon State, and Virginia, will join Washington for the 2012 Windemere Cup being held on the Montlake Cut this Saturday.

Parking will be a challenge again this year due to the Sound Transit construction taking place in the UW stadium parking lot. The old gatehouse is now closed and parking will not be available at the stadium. The best bet for campus parking will be the large Montlake Lot E1.

Event parking for the day of the Windermere Cup will be $10 at the gate. There also will be "event parking" ($15.00) at some of the other parking areas around campus, including the south campus (medical center). Carpooling to this event and finding parking on the South side of the canal is probably your best bet!

This the 26th annual season that Windemere Real Estate has sponsored the opening day event which features some of the best international crews in the world facing off against the elite Washington rowing program.

Two big events happened this past weekend. The first was the annual UW Spring Game that was held at Century Link Field and the second was the NFL Draft which yielded a couple of local surprises that weren't all that pleasant.

Washington's Chris Polk went un-drafted because of health concerns. Polk had been generally projected as possibly as high as a second-round pick after rushing for 4,049 yards in his UW career, the second-most in school history.

Rumors are that teams were scared off by his shoulder, hip, and knees. Polk, who was very durable while at Washington, had shoulder surgery in the off season twice that I was aware of but the knee and hip issues were news to Steve Sarkisian who said he wasn't aware of that.

I think that any team who picks up Polk as a free agent is getting a player who has the ability to not only stick but start for a number or of NFL teams. The Seattle Times reported on Sunday that he was going to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Boise State's Kellen Moore who hails from Prosser, WA wasn't drafted by anyone either. The knock on the winningest QB in college football history is size and arm strength. I wish the Seahawks had signed him because I think he will figure out a way to get it done at the next level. Moore will reportedly sign with the Lions.

Alameda Ta'amu was drafted in the fourth round by the Steelers and Senio Kelemete was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth. I think both these guys will have success at the next level. Keep in mind that neither red-shirted and in my mind neither really peaked while at UW because of that.

Jermaine Kearse will sign a free agent contract with the Seahawks while Devin Aguilar is off to Tennessee to rekindle his relationship with former UW QB Jake Locker. Cort Dennison is another guy who will be signed by someone as a free agent before the end of the weekend.

Spring Game

One word describes yesterday's spring game and that word would be vanilla. The defense had its way with an offense that was intent on not showing much to the crowd or whatever scouts happened to be in attendance.

Keith Price didn't have a great day and it wasn't the offensive line's fault that he was off yesterday. Things just never really clicked and he never got in to any type of rhythm. Price of course is the least of our worries headed into the fall so while his performance was disappointing it doesn't really mean anything going forward.

Bishop Sankey is a complete big time running back. He runs, catches and blocks pretty well for a second year player. We didn't get a chance to really see what he was capable of yesterday because the defense pretty much knew what was going to happen next the entire day.

Jon Amosa has nailed down the FB job for now. He blocks well and has the ability to hold on to a catch when the QB looks in his direction.

The wide receivers continue to have a problem holding on to the ball. The best of the bunch yesterday was senior James Johnson. The return of a healthy Kevin Smith in the fall will play dividends. Kasen didn't have a great day but we all know that he is on track to break out big time next season.

The TE's were OK but they didn't stand out. Despite having one of the best trio's in the country. ASJ could probably use a long rest after jumping into spring football after his successful stint on the basketball team. All three of these guys still need to work on their blocking.

A good friend who was at the game says the offensive line played fairly well and he expects that all the reps by the second stringers this spring will pay dividends in the fall. He feels that when Kohler and Tanigawa return to full strength that the line will be solid when the season begins. That being said they did give up way too many sacks.

Defensively the Huskies looked good but keep in mind that they knew what was coming on just about every play. That won't be the case when the season starts.

The defensive line has a lot of pieces that are working well right now. The Huskies finally have put together enough talent and depth to rotate eight or more players the entire game with little drop off in performance. Keeping the bug guys fresh is huge and the addition of Tokolahi and Jamora in the fall is really going to push the unit over the top.

The linebackers are playing much better than they were at the end of last season. Obviously they have gotten bigger and matured over the off season but I think the new schemes are playing the the strengths of the personnel which wasn't always the case in previous seasons.

Moving Fellner to linebacker is a great move because it yields a player that can stuff the run and still give you some decent coverage since he is former safety. Even though Timu and Fuiamaono started out as LB's they are basically safety sized guys too so speed and agility are more valued on this defense currently than girth.

The defensive backs were impressive. They dominated play and shut down the Washington receivers for most of the day. Ducre and Peters were particularly impressive. There is a lot more ball hawking going on out there. Its obvious to me that the days of the ten yard cushion are over.

Recruiting

The Huskies held Junior Day in conjunction with the Spring Game and the early reviews indicate that it may have been one of the better recruiting weekends in the history of Sark's tenure at UW.

It seems that the coaching changes that were made in the off season combined with the excitement of playing at Century Link, the construction of the new Husky stadium, and the overall direction of the program has gotten the attention of some of the West's top players.

A lot of former players turned out this weekend and that was another huge factor in creating some positive electricity around the program. It nice to see the staff and the department as a whole continuing to rebuild that aspect of the program.

Sean Constantine from Bellevue HS committed to Sark yesterday before the game. He is a big get for a number of reasons. First of all he is a local kid and you always like to see those guys grab a spot early to get the momentum going. Secondly he is one of the better LB prospects we have seen come out of the state in some time. He is a real player and I expect him to have a great career at Washington.

Greg Biggins loves Derek Babiash. He is a big physical corner in the old USC mold of corner backs. It is still early and every school in California is going to come after him hard but he says he wants to leave the state and he loves the staff at Washington.

Santa Margarita HS Offensive lineman Dane Crane committed to Washington on Sunday night after returning from his trip to Seattle. He attended the spring game with four of his HS teammates and all are very high on the Huskies. Crane's film is awesome and he is projected to be a custom made center.

OT Riley Sorenson, QB Johnny Stanton, and S Connor O'Brien also made the trip up from Santa Margarita. O'Brien tweeted last night that he would be announcing on Monday. Just putting two and two together it looks like Washington will end up being his choice.

RB Justin Davis is one of the top recruits on UW's 2013 wish list. He is from Stockton and you know that Tosh has been all over him for a couple of years. He visited this weekend and said he would decide in May.

WR Darrell Daniels is a big time target who happens to be buddies with UW CB Marcus Peters and future S Shaq Thompson. He loved his trip but Oregon and USC are UW's main competition for his services.

DL Joe Mathis committed and de-committed to Washington last year. His older brother did the same thing before finally switching to Oregon. Washington, Michigan, Nebraska, and USC are his current favorites. This kid is big time stud and would be a great get.

The game/scrimmage isn't being televised this year but the game is being broadcast on KJR by Bob Rondeau and Damon Huard.

Join the usual suspects at the Pound before during and after the game!

2012 Spring Game Stats

Husky defensive tackle Alameda Ta'amu was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the NFL draft. Some boards had him as high as a second round pick but concerns about conditioning, work ethic, and simply not enough good film over the past four years were factors in his fall.

All that being said...you can't teach size and Alameda is a huge guy who just might be one of the steals of the draft if the right staff can get him motivated.

The first public scrimmage of the year is now on the books and observers I spoke with over the weekend had these observations.

The offense was sloppy committed ten penalties and never seemed to be in sync. Protection wasn't adequate either. Big reason for that is the lack of experience on the offensive line because of injuries. The reps these guys are getting will play dividends this fall.

The coaches are pretty confident that Tanigawa, Schaefer, and Kohler wil be healthy by fall and that should help mitigate some of the problems the offense is currently having with consistency up front.

The defense as a whole continues to dominate. Danny Shelton is having an excellent spring. Shelton has the ability to dominate the line of scrimmage no matter who he is facing off against. He is a real active big guy with a motor that won't quit...seasoned observers are telling me that he is already ahead of Ta'amu as far as development goes.

Justin Glenn has pretty much won the job opposite Sean Parker at safety. I thought he was one of the best players on the field until he was injured against Notre Dame in South Bend a couple of years ago. Now that he is 100% healthy he definitely has returned to his old form with the advantage of having four years of experience under his belt.

I like the potentially permanent move of Nate Fellner to linebacker. He has always been solid against the run and been a big hitter during his career. He isn't a great coverage guy and this move puts him in a better position to make plays. Most importantly it puts a lot of starting experience back on the field that would have been wasted as a back up safety. He reminds me a lot of Greg Carothers who made a similar move with success.

Bill Moos on the hiring of Mike Leach

Only a tight circle of confidants - "less than you can count on one hand" - knew he was on a plane to Key West, Fla., Nov. 15 to sound out free agent Mike Leach as a potential new football coach at Washington State.

"I get the envelope," Moos says, recalling that old show, "and here's where I'm going."

Bud Withers of the Seattle Times

Gary Pinkel

Gary Pinkel has a press conference to confirm the rumor that he and his wife of nearly 40 years are separating. It has been a tough year for Gary and his family and we hope everything turns out well for them once the dust settles.

Joe Paterno

This scandal continues to be handled badly on both sides at every level.

Penn State officials, in an attempt to get the family of Joe Paterno to sign away its right to sue the school, offered to rename Beaver Stadium after the late coach, The Patriot-News has reported, citing a source close to the family.

But the family said no.

Dawg Pound Writers Meeting

I would appreciate if all of our writers would contact me via email today so we can pick a good time when everyone can get together via conference call. I am thinking that Tuesday or Wednesday evening would work pretty good for me...you guys may have other ideas so please chime in.

As I mentioned last week SBN would like me to pick a couple of our younger and proven writers to receive a small stipend for their work. In addition to that we are going to do a little planning for next season...it should be fun...be there or be square!

The first major scrimmage of the year is now behind us and the consensus opinion out there is that the Washington defense will be improved in 2012. The new schemes/leadership are important but the maturation of younger players on the roster seems to be the number one key to that improvement.

The number two reason seems to be the attitude produced by the new teaching technique. Nobody including me is going to rag on how the former defensive staff did things but we keep hearing that the new staff does a much better job of explaining things to the players so it seems to click better.

In other words all the yelling, grimacing, arm pumping, and what PLU's Frosty Westering used to call phoney psyche (see Jim Mora at UCLA) ran out of gas with this squad early last season. The new defensive staff seems to be more cerebral in their approach to teaching and that approach is working better with these players.

The defense has been winning most of the battles this spring but the real test doesn't start until the fall when the 2012 schedule begins. Currently this defense is running against an offense that is missing every starting offensive lineman from last season.

Colin Porter has retired, Colin Tanigawa is rehabbing his knee, Erik Kohler is rebuilding his strength after recovering from a staph infection, and Drew Schaefer is currently out for a week or two with a knee strain.

Highlights

Back up QB's Derrick Brown and Thomas Vincent have played well this spring. Brown still has work to do on his footwork which is typical for a kid at this stage of his development. Brown is still raw but he is an impressive physical specimen with a lot of potential.

S Sean Parker is back after sitting out with some dings earlier in the week. He had an impressive interception and made a number of nice plays during the scrimmage. The coaches are counting on him to take over the leadership of the secondary this season.

ASJ, Michael Hartvigson, and Even Hudson have had great springs. As I said last week all three are capable of starting at Pac 12 programs this season. ASJ is really impressive and you would be hard pressed to find a better TE in the country.

The reps that the young offensive linemen are getting as starters this spring will pay big time dividends down the road. When the media asks Sark who he is most impressed with each day he keeps mentioning kids like Dexter Charles, Micah Hatchie, James Atoe, Ben Riva, and Mike Criste.

Andrew Hudson has been playing inside quite a bit this year. That position is usually filled by one of the bigger three techniques. We haven't heard a lot about Potoa'e or Tupou this spring so obviously Hudson has proven himself more effective.

Semisi Tokolahi is on the sidelines recovering from yet another foot surgery. When healthy he can play the nose or three. The coaches are quite confident that he will come back close to 100% this fall. If that happens he will have a big impact on this defensive front.

Senior walk on Tre Watson has played himself into the rotation at cornerback. Sr Adam Long is out there practicing again while trying to work his way back into the lineup after missing last season with a torn ACL.

Things are starting to click for Jarrett Finau. He has good size for a DE and he has shown the ability to get after the QB and stand up against the run. Talia Chichton also continues to impress. When Jamora returns this is going to be one of the deepest positions on the team.

Looking Forward

This is a big week of practices which concludes with an open to the public scrimmage on Saturday in Memorial Stadium. This will be the first time this spring that the general public has had access to watch the team. The electricity of the crowd should produce a pretty entertaining practice to watch.

Raiders hire Napoleon Kaufman as team chaplain

"I'm so excited to officially be part of the Raiders organization once again," Kaufman said. "I've always considered myself a Raider and to be able to come back and serve the Silver and Black in this capacity is my privilege."

Link

Personal Note

This has been a very busy spring for Kate and I. We both have had a tremendous amount of work to do which has limited our leisure time. Things should be getting back to normal after this week which means more football coverage from me going forward.

I want to thank all of our writers for providing so much great content this winter and spring. You guys have been fantastic and one of the things I want to do next week is set up a conference call with all of you so we can figure out what we want to do moving forward.

I had a meeting last week with the management of SBN and they had some great input as far as the direction we should be going and I want to share that with you guys.

Former Washington basketball coach Tippy Dye passed away Wednesday at the ripe old age of 97. Dye coached the Huskies to their only Final Four appearance in 1952 with a team led by UW legend Bob Houbregs.

Dye's ultimate goal was to be an athletic director rather than a basketball coach. He was blocked by Jim Owens at Washington in that pursuit. He moved on to Wichita State as a first time AD in 1959.

Dye moved on to Nebraska in 1962 and hired Bob Devaney as the head football coach. Dye and Devaney built the Cornhusker football program into a national power. He also hired Joe Cipriano who was one of his former players at UW as basketball coach.

He moved on to Northwestern in 1966 at the age of 51 for an estimated salary of $20-$25,000 per year. He stayed on with the Wildcats until 1974 when he retired at the ripe old age of 59.

"He was gentle and kind," Penny Carnegie (Dye's daughter) said. "He loved people. He really taught me what living was and he taught me about dying. He and my mother really gave me my faith. They were people who gave self-esteem to other people."

Percy Allen - Seattle Times

Washington's defense performed so poorly in 2011 that the entire defensive coaching staff ended up getting dismissed or as in the case of Johnny Nansen re-assigned.

This spring gives us our first looks at the coaching styles of Justin Wilcox, Peter Sirmon, Tosh Lupoi, and Keith Hayward.

The common thread we keep hearing from the kids who are acclimating to the new coaches is that they are less animated and more into taking the time to go in depth to explain how they want things.

There is a lot to absorb and learn this spring for the defense. In addition to the changes in teaching styles the kids are also learning a different alignment/strategy complete with new terminology that reflects changes down to even the way the hand signals are performed.

Reports from practice have been positive so far and the kids seem to be enjoying the changes. We have all been asking for an attacking style defense and that is what Coach Wilcox plans to deliver. The Huskies are going to take a lot of that speed and size they have been developing at safety and begin to spread it around the field.

Washington has spent the better part of a decade using a four man front in tandem with three linebackers. The results haven't been great no matter who the coaches were. This spring the Huskies are switching to what will predominately be a three man front with four linebacker types lining up behind them.

The key to playing this defense well is to have a war daddy playing at the nose who will draw the double teams which keeps the linebackers free to make plays. So Danny Shelton is that guy for Washington. He earned starting time as a true frosh last season and has the ability to contend for all conference honors this season.

Shelton hasn't disappointed this spring. Some of the best practice battles so far have been Danny going up against Sr center Drew Schaefer. Ta'amu was pretty decent but Shelton is a more active and better constructed athlete. He has a great motor and he is ready to come into his own in 2012.

Sr DE Talia Chrichton seems to have gotten back to the level he was right before his knee was injured. He has had an impressive spring so far and has definitely taken advantage of the reps he has been getting with the absence of So Haouli Jamora who continues to rehab his knee after having ACL surgery early last season.

The name Josh Shirley continues to come up after every practice because he is simply one tough hombre to block out on the end. This defense is custom made for the sophomore from the LA area. Josh was primarily a hands down player last season but this year I expect to see standing up more in 2012.

So Andrew Hudson and Rs Corey Waller have picked up a few sacks already this spring and both look like they have taken their play up a notch after a solid off season in the conditioning program. Hudson has been getting a lot of work inside lining up beside Danny Shelton.

The pecking order at linebacker has been interesting to watch so far because the coaches are simply playing everybody everywhere to get a good feel of where they fit best in the new defense. The current emphasis has been on finding the anchors at inside linebacker.

The majority of the returning backers are getting a shot at the inside. At the moment it looks like So John Timu, Jr Princeton Fuimaono are the leaders backed up by So Kearse, Jr Tutogi, Jr Gilliliand, and Jr Pelleur. Keep in mind that all these guys can play outside too if needed with the exception of Tutogi.

Timu has a great frame and by the fall he should be in the 240 lb range so he definitely looks the part of an interior linebacker. Fui isnt as big but he has played quite a bit over the last two seasons and experience counts on the inside.

The staff moved safeties Jr Taz Stevenson and RS Evan Zeger to OLB this winter. Both have been seeing plenty of times with the ones in competition with Rs Scott Lawyer and Rs Scott Lyons. Stevenson is definitely pegged to be one of the starters this fall if he can stay healthy.

The pecking order is pretty well set at corner. Sr Desmond Trufant, Jr Greg Ducre, and Rs Marcus Peters have all impressed early this spring. Peters and Ducre have really opened up some eyes with their play so far. Safe to say that when you factor in the recruits who are arriving this summer that it has been over a decade since UW has had this much talent at the corner positions.

At safety Jr Sean Parker has been limited with a strained groin muscle. The coaches are taking their time with him and are pretty comfortable about what he can do. Rs Travis Feeney has also missed some time which is a shame because this is a good opportunity for him to show what he can do.

Sr Justin Glenn has been lining up with the one's opposite of Parker. Rs James Sample and Jr Will Shaumburger have also been getting plenty of reps. Sr Nate Fellner remains an important part of the rotation. All the safeties need to make the most of their spring reps because "All World" safety Shaq Thompson arrives this summer ready to compete for a starting job.

What a difference a couple of weeks make. Two weeks ago it looked like the Huskies would return four starting offensive linemen in 2012. After a couple of weeks of spring practice that number has dwindled to as little as one because of injury.

The news that Colin Porter had to retire from the game after starting his first two seasons at Washington is a serious blow. The nagging injuries limiting Erik Kohler this spring and the recovery of Colin Tanigawa from a torn ACL are huge question marks for a team that already had plenty of questions on the offensive line.

If the season was starting today the Huskies would be starting Micah Hatchie and Ben Riva at the tackle spots. Drew Schaefer at center flanked by big James Atoe and perhaps Mike Criste at guard. The coaches like the potential of the players they have been grooming but the Huskies will lose a lot of experience if Tanigawa and Kohler don't recover in time to play in 2012.

Since this isn't the NFL meaning the coaches can't make trades for replacements they have to make do with whatever talent is currently on the roster. This is going to be a huge challenge for Sark and Cozzetto between now and the fall.

It is also a huge opportunity for a bunch of kids who are now getting their first meaningful chances to show what they can do out on the football field. Early indications are that they are responding well to the challenge. The coaches feel that Atoe and Hatchie are ready to contribute significant quality minutes in 2012.

ASJ is a super talent but Washington has two other scholarship TE's on the roster who are also capable of playing in the NFL some day. Micheal Hartvigson and Evan Hudson have been impressive this spring and I expect that Washington will use a lot more 2-3 TE sets in 2012 to take advantage of that.

At wide receiver Kasen Williams is busy assuming the role of being Washington's top receiver. Williams is bigger and stronger than he was last season. Most importantly he has a year of experience under his belt which should help him play with confidence.

James Johnson is also having a great camp so far. He isn't taking anything for granted heading into what will be his senior season as a Husky. The key for him is to simply stay healthy. That is the only thing that has held him back the past three seasons.

With Kevin Smith out healing from his torn ACL it will be interesting to see who will emerge as the third starter behind Williams and Johnson. Maybe that guy ends up being Marvin Hall who is seeing his first action this spring.

Running back looks like a three headed animal at the moment led by So Bishop Sankey, Jr James Caller, and newcomer Jr Antavius Sims. All three of these kids will play quite a bit and share time this fall. Sims is an explosive guy and they really want to see what he can do once he gets comfortable with the position.

Keith Price is bigger, stronger, and actually healthy for the first time since last August. Everyone knows what he can do and the actual emphasis is getting the understudies up to speed since Nick Montana has departed for more playing time.

I am really anxious to see what Derrick Brown can do in a game situation. Local fans will get two opportunities to see that this spring. The last two weekend scrimmages of the year will be open to the public. One is being held at Memorial Stadium and the other which is the annual Spring Game will be held downtown at Century Link Field.

Sad news out of Montlake this evening with the news that Jr OG Colin Porter will have to retire because he is suffering from degenerative arthritis in both shoulders.

Porter recently underwent operations on both shoulders during the off season which revealed the extent of the damage he had been suffering from. According to Sark the injuries date back to high school and the physicians were surprised at how extensive they were once they operated on him.

Porter when healthy had the ability to be one one of the better interior offensive linemen in the country. His loss is a crushing blow for an offensive line that is still rebuilding going into the fourth year of Sarkisian's tenure at Washington.

So James Atoe has stepped in for Porter this spring and the coaches have been pleased with his progress. Erik Kohler who started at tackle last season is another possibility but he has been slowed by nagging injuries this spring. Colin Tanigawa who is rehabbing a torn ACL won't return till this summer.

Washington begins four weeks of spring football practices this morning at 8:00 AM. The goal on the offensive side of the ball is to find a replacement for Chris Polk and call on some depth on the offensive line to fill in for the absences of Kohler, Tanigawa, and Porter this spring because of injury.

Defensively the Huskies are starting from scratch with a rebuilt coaching staff led (DC) Josh Wilcox, (DL) Tosh Lupoi, (LB) Peter Sirmon, and (DB) Keith Hayward. Cort Dennison who was the leader of last years defense needs to be replaced at linebacker.

Only two of the practices will be open this year to the public because of space limitations and safety concerns due to the ongoing construction at Husky Stadium. One of those practices will be a scrimmage held at Memorial Stadium during the third week and the other opportunity will be the spring game which concludes the spring session.

Cleaning House

Tim Tucker and Johri Fogerson aren't on the roster this spring. Tucker was dismissed from the squad for violation team rules. Fogerson still hasn't recovered fully from assorted injuries that have happened the past two seasons. Johri will have enough credits to graduate this spring and could opt to play a final season somewhere else if healthy.

Husky Rowers Coast by Brown

Defending National Champion Washington knocks off Ivy League power Brown on the Montlake Cut to open the 2012 Rowing season. The top ranked Huskies won all five races by a wide margin on a rainy and choppy day on the cut.

Terrance Ross declares for NBA Draft

Not a lot of surprise here....thanks for the memories Terrance. Ross is a big time talent who will be missed. The spotlight now passes to Tony Wroten who just may decide to stick around another year to take his game to the next level.

Barry Bullard Passes

Barry was part of Jim Owens first recruiting class at Washington. Barry and his younger brother Tim were big time contributors at the line of scrimmage for the Rose Bowl teams of the early 1960's.

ASU's Lisa Love gets the axe

Not a lot of surprise here since the inmates have supposedly taken over the asylum in Tempe after the late season collapse and firing of Dennis Erickson. Steve Patterson who assisted her in the search and eventual hire of Todd Graham will take over as the new AD.

Ryan Leaf in jail again

Ryan Leaf was arrested for burglary in his hometown of Great Fall, Montana. This is the second time that he has been arrested for burglary. This guy is a real knucklehead.

Despite posting some of the worst defensive numbers in the history of the school in recent years the Huskies have been stockpiling some excellent young talent at the defensive back positions.

That stockpile got large enough this spring that Sark started moving players to other parts of the roster to open up some playing time.

Safeties Evan Zeger and Taz Stevenson have been moved to outside linebacker where they are expected to contribute immediately. This signals that Washington will be a predominately 3-4 team going forward on defense this fall under Coach Wilcox.

Antavius Sims will start his two year career as a Husky in the offensive backfield. The versatile athlete was originally slotted for corner but the depth at the position was solid enough that they are giving him a shot as a tailback. Sims is one of the fastest kids on the team and he has a great set of hands.

Cornerback

Sr Desmond Trufant returns for his final season flanked by either Jr Greg Ducre or Rs Marcus Peters. Trufant is a proven commodity who needs to take it up a notch to gain leverage in the 2013 draft. Ducre and Peters have been monsters according to the coaches during the off season.

Sr Anthony Gobern has provided solid depth during his career and that is expected to continue this season. Jr Adam Long won't face contact this spring but is expected to be ready to go in the fall. He sat out last season with a torn ACL.

Sr Tre Watson is a candidate to play quite a bit this fall. The walk-on from Central Washington has what it takes to play at this level and was one of the reason the coaches felt comfortable moving Sims over to offense.

Brandon Beaver, Darien Washington, and Cleveland Wallace arrive this summer. Unless there are injuries I don't expect any of the incoming three to play this fall. It would be nice to red-shirt an entire CB class which would allow these kids to build some healthy shoulders for future seasons.

• Trufant
• Ducre
• Peters
• Gobern
• Long
• Watson
• Beaver
• Wallace
• Washington

Safety

The Huskies have plenty of experience and depth at safety. Jr Sean Parker showed a lot of growth in 2011 and he is expected to come into his own this coming season after having a couple of years under his belt. Parker needs to take ownership of this secondary this fall and he has the talent to be among the best in the conference at his position.

Rs James Sample will get the first shot to line up beside Parker this fall but incoming uber-frosh Shaq Thompson will get every opportunity to also win the position when he arrives this summer. It is nice to have two HS AA type players competing for a starting job. Sounds a little like USC doesn't it?

Rs Travis Feeney is another kid I see pushing himself into the two deeps. He has good size and speed and the coaches obviously liked him enough to keep him where he was at rather than move him to OLB. Travis was on the cusp of playing right away last season and the coaches think he could be special.

Sr Nate Fellner and Sr Justin Glenn are a couple of old war horses with plenty of starting experience under their belts. Younger and better talent is pushing them down the depth chart but they will see plenty of the field in 2012. Kids like that in the depth.

Jr Will Shamburger has had his moments here and there but they have been limited by injury. Stingers kept him out of the Alamo Bowl. He needs to come back hard this spring and put himself back into contention as a starter.

• Parker
• Sample
• Thompson
• Fellner
• Shamburger
• Feeney
• Glenn
  

March Madness continues for the Huskies this week in New York as they face the Minnesota Gophers in the semi-final round of the NIT.

Even though this team fell a step short of making the NCAA Tournament I have been impressed with the way they have played so far in the post season. That being said all those games up to this point were at home and the potential final two will be in a neutral arena where the Huskies dropped two games earlier this season.

These are probably the last two games for both Ross and Wroten who have done nothing but solidify their draft status with solid play over the last couple of weeks. I would love to see both of these kids stay another year but the odds simply aren't in our favor for that to happen.

Neither one of them have announced or hinted at anything but it is tough to turn down the millions of dollars first round draft picks receive int he NBA. These guys are basketball players that happen to be students and you can't blame them if they leave early because basketball not physics is their future.

Do I think both of these kids could use another year of seasoning?

Absolutely!

Spencer Hawes left after only one season and I thought it was a mistake. I think he could have evolved into a much better NBA player if he had stayed in college another year or two. Uber-talent Martell Webster never even made it to UW and the result has been a lackluster career.

(Both of these guys have made more money than most of us will ever see in our lifetimes by the age of 25...so what do I know?) It is just my opinion...but I think these kids would serve themselves well by staying around another year under Coach Romar.

MWC/CUSA Merger

Jon Wilner comments the proposed merger which will take place in the next month. The new conference will consist of 18-24 teams. This merger could end up leaving schools like Idaho, Seattle U., and Denver without a conference once it is finished.

It could also severely impact a school like Boise State who will be parking its non-football sports in the WAC. Look for the WAC to be raided in the not too distant future by the new conference.

If ESPN says that more teams equates to more dollars, then the MWC/CUSA will almost certainly raid the WAC for Utah State and/or San Jose State and/or LaTech … and it will almost certainly raid the Sun Belt for the Florida schools (FIU/FAU) and/or North Texas and/or Middle Tennessee State.

Jon Wilner

Spring Football

UW begins spring practice on April 2 and will practice every Monday-Wednesday-Friday for four weeks, as well as three on Saturday.

We will be ramping up the coverage at that period of time even though all but two of the fifteen practices will be closed to the public due to safety concerns. There simply isn't enough room for fans to watch this year with all the construction going on in the stadium and parking lot.

UW will hold two open practices off-campus --- on April 21 at Memorial Stadium and the Spring Game on April 28 at CenturyLink Field. Both will begin at 11 a.m.

Washington suffered from some intense growing pains last season at linebacker. The loss of Mason Foster to graduation ultimately was impossible to overcome. Washington was small and lacked experience on the outside and it showed against most opponents.

A year of hard knocks experience, another winter in the weight room plus a new defensive coaching staff should yield significant improvement in 2012. Peter Sirmon was known as a guy who could elevate the play of young players while he was at Tennessee. He will get the chance to start doing that this spring at Washington.

The Huskies are going to be playing more 3-4 this season and that means there will be times when the Huskies are going to be playing with four linebackers on the field.

Thomas Tutogi is slated to take over for Cort Dennison in the middle. Tutogi is a true junior who matriculated to Montlake last year after a single season at a junior college. He has good size and he is faster than Dennison which means he might be a better coverage guy than Cort.

Garrett Gilliland is the 1-B backup. He has played quite a bit since he hit campus and is capable of filling in at all three positions. True freshman Ryan McDaniel arrives this spring and the coaching staff is going to take a long look at him to determine if he can provide immediate help. Blake Rodgers arrives this summer and can play either ILB position.

Last years starters John Timu and Princeton Fuimaono return backed up by Jamaal Kearse and Cooper Pelleur. Timu and Fui really got lit up at times last season. Kearse had some moments on special teams and started a few games. Pelleur played here and there on special teams.

Matt Lyons and Scott Lawyer sat out to preserve a year of eligibility. Both are described as speed guys on the outside who needed to add some beef to contribute. Cory Littleton arrives this summer and is a candidate to red shirt.

• Tutogi Jr
• Gilliland Jr
• McDaniel Fr
• Rodgers Fr
  

• Timu So
• Kearse So
  
• Pelleur Jr
• Littleton Fr
  

• Fuimaono Jr
• Lyons Rs
• Lawyer Rs
  

The Washington basketball team will face the Oregon Ducks for the third time this season in the quarterfinal of the NIT. The game is going to held 6:00 PM Tuesday at Hec Ed which means advantage Huskies who were severely thumped in their last encounter with the Ducks in Eugene.

Will revenge be a factor on the road to figuring out who truly is the 69th best college basketball team on the planet? You can bet the house on that one. Washington wants to avenge that earlier loss to Oregon in the worst way even though it is tough to predict how well this team will play on any given night.

The prize other than the usual bragging rights is up to two more games in New York at Madison Square Garden.

Lorenzo Romar - You look at all of the games, guys will remember that one because we were beat so soundly that night. It makes for a good story line. Can't wait for revenge and all of that. Someone beats you like that you keep asking yourself why, why?"

Seattle Times

Defensive Tackle

For the past four seasons Washington had a very big man anchoring the inside of the defensive line. Alameda Ta'amu was that big man and most thought when he was recruited that he had the potential of being an all All American type of player based on just his size and strength alone.

While Ta'amu had some fine moments during his career he didn't turn into the type of guy who could dominate offensive lines and take over games even though he often warranted a double teams. Overall conditioning, health, genetic flexibility, and perhaps motivation seemed to be the missing pieces to his puzzle.

His replacement Danny Shelton is another big man who the coaches think is cut from a completely different type of cloth. The coaches and even Ta'amu feel that Danny has a much higher upside. The kid is a workout warrior and is naturally more flexible than the departed Ta'amu.

Shelton is a potential star and I truly expect that star to start shining brightly this fall if he can get some help playing beside him. Sr Semisi Tokolahi could be that guy. He can play either the nose or the three technique. He didn't play at full strength in 2011 after coming off a nasty leg/ankle injury suffered at the end of the 2010 season against WSU.

Lawrence Lagafuiana is also in the mix at the nose backing up Shelton. He got his feet wet last season and will be expected to provide more reps to the rotation in 2012.

Whenever you pick up a JC player you do that with the expectation that he will contribute immediately. Josh Banks was signed to fill a hole at the three technique. The film on him is great. He can really play and I expect him to start or at least be the first man in off the bench..

So Sione Potoa'e and Rs Taniela Tupou will also contribute to the rotation at the three spot. Potoae is a highly touted local recruit who has struggled with what has been termed as sore knees. Tupou who was also highly touted will get his first chance to contribute this season after red shirting last season..

Fr Pio Vatuvei arrives this summer and is a kid who will get the opportunity to play right away. Fr Damion Turpin who we will initially list as a DE could also move inside once the coaches have had a good chance to evaluate him.

Washington will be running more 3-4 looks this season under new DC Justin Wilcox. We won't get a real good idea of how he will run it until he has had a chance to evaluate the current players during spring practice.

• Danny Shelton So
• Semisi Tokolahi Sr
• Lawrence Lagafuiana So

• Josh Banks Jr
• Sione Potoae Jr
• Taniela Tupou Rs
• Pio Vatuvei Fr

Defensive End

The Huskies have a lot of good looking talent and youth at defensive end. A lot of talent went through a baptism of fire by playing way too much too early after second year phenom Hau'oli Jamora went down with a season ending knee injury.

Josh Shirley gained a lot of experience and quite a few sacks last season but he was still a little undersized to be categorized as an every down player. The same could be said for Andrew Hudson who also saw a lot of the field last season.

Jamora when healthy has the potential to be the teams best defensive player. If Shirley and Hudson can play more stoutly against the run this could be the foundation of a pretty good unit.

Talia Chrichton had a knee injury of his own as a sophomore and really didn't look like he came back 100% last season. UW definitely would benefit from a guy with his experience being able to supply some quality reps.

Jarret Finau, Corey Waller, and Connor Cree sat out to preserve a year of eligibility last season. Finau has a great build and is a real load at a listed 254 lbs. UW lacked size and strength outside last season and Finau provides what they were missing.

Cree is a local kid from Skyline who has a great frame and good speed. He isn't as big as Finau but also has the type of body that can develop into a player that can be tough against the run.

Waller is more of a Hybrid/Leo guy like Josh Shirley who they would set up on the outside to rush the QB on passing downs. True frosh Damion Turpin and Kalei Auelau are due to arrive this summer. Both are expected to redshirt.

• Jamora So
• Chrichton Sr
• Finau Rs
• Cree Rs
• Turpin Fr
  

• Shirley So
• Hudson So
• Cree Rs
• Waller Rs
  
• Auelau Fr
  

Washington's loss to Oregon State in the Pac 12 tournament proved fatal for the Huskies chances to advance to a fourth straight NCAA basketball tournament.

Instead the Huskies picked up the No. 1 overall seed in the National Invitation Tournament and will host Texas-Arlington Mavericks 7 p.m. Tuesday at Edmundson Pavilion in a game that will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

Coach Romar said he was not surprised at all. Just really disappointed.

He felt that if they had won one more game along the way they would have made the tournament and they just didn't get it done. So now the focus changes to one of recovery and then redemption in the NIT.

There's teams that are in the NIT and they're disappointed and it's a letdown for them because their sights were set on the NCAA tournament. They kind of have to get up to play in this tournament. And there's other that were waiting to see if they would get in the NIT like we were waiting for the NCAA tournament. The trick is that if you're one of the teams that is down and you're playing one of the ones that is so excited, they can get you. It's past us. We are in a tournament. It's another challenge. You have a chance to win a championship. It's not what we wanted. It wasn't our first choice, but we need to take a hold and seize the moment and get ready to go."

Percy Allen of the Seattle Times Quoting Coach Romar

Changes in future tournament venues

The next Pac 12 Women's basketball tournament will be played at Seattle's Key Arena after a disastrous two year stay in LA. The tournament drew pretty well when it was held in the Bay Area and the hope is there will be a rebound in attendance with the move to Seattle.

When the tournament was held in the Bay Area which just happens to be the home of super power Stanford the tournament drew extremely well. Seattle has a good history of supporting women's basketball so it will be interesting to see how this move pans out.

Nothing official yet but it looks like the men are headed to Las Vegas with the hope of putting more butts in the seats. Not sure how well it is going to work but it is certainly more interesting than keeping the tourney in LA.

I'm not a big fan of a completely neutral venue. I the the tournament should be played on a rotating basis in NBA type arena's in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Denver.

Ryan Katz is the man to beat at SDSU

Former Oregon State QB Ryan Katz could be the starter for the Aztecs when the Huskies play them in September. A report in the San Diego Union describes him as the guy to beat for the job. Katz started for one season at OSU before losing his job and subsequently transferring to San Diego State.

SDSU is vurrently half way through spring practice. Another high profile Pac 12 transfer is no longer on the roster. Dillon (Hot Mess) Baxter was dismissed from the team at the start of the spring for missing classes and falling asleep during meetings.

Pat Claridge Passes

Former UW WR Pat Claridge who played in two Rose Bowls and went on to star in the CFL for the BC Lions while catching passes from Joe Kapp passed away last week at 73.

He said what?

One of the saddest parts of the scandal at Penn State is how folks keep forgetting the plight of the nameless children who were irreparably harmed by the failure of the PSU administration to react responsibly to the eye witness allegations that Jerry Sandusky was sexually abusing disadvantaged children.

Nike CEO Phil Knight was a speaker at Joe Paterno's funeral and he received a one minute standing ovation for the remarks he made while speaking to the gathering during the service.

"The matter was in the hands of a world-class university and a president with an outstanding national reputation," Knight said of the child sexual assault charges facing former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky that have engulfed the institution. "Whatever the details of the investigation are, this much is clear to me: There is a villain in this tragedy that lies in that investigation, not in Joe Paterno’s response to it."

Huff Post Video

I have to hand it to Knight for having the balls to address the issue straight on but I can't agree with his take on this because it lacks any type of sensitivity for the actual victims. Joe Paterno was the most powerful person on the Penn State campus and everyone knows that. The buck always stopped with him and in this case he simply didn't get it done.

I guess when you have built a billion dollar fortune in Asian sweatshops on the backs child labor working eighteen hours per day your sensitivity chip just might be a little flawed. I think the same lack of a sensitivity chip is what did in Paterno and Penn State. No amount of rationalizing is ever going to change that.

Washington gets the number one overall seed in the tournament and will face number eight seed UT Arlington at Hec Ed in the NIT. UTA is joining the WAC next season with Seattle U. Oregon, Arizona, and Stanford were also invited while UCLA was snubbed.

Washington's offense moved the ball extremely well last season. Chris Polk had his third straight 1000 yard plus season and Keith Price looks set to break every passing record in the Husky playbook.

Those facts taken at face value should mean that the offensive line had a lot of positive things to do with that.

Examine the situation a little closer and you will notice that Chris Polk was probably one of the best "YAC" back's in the country over the past three seasons. He got a lot of yards on his own simply by keeping his feet moving and refusing to go down. That made his offensive line better than they really were.

Keith Price plays quarterback like an All American point guard. The way he moves around in the pocket creating plays takes a lot of pressure off the offense line. Jake Locker ran for his life all four years he was at Washington. Mobile QB's make offensive lines look much better than they really are.

I think we can all agree that the Husky offensive line while serviceable was closer to the middle of the pack rather than being elite (Stanford/Alabama/Wisconsin) in 2011. They probably won't reach elite status either in 2012 because of the lack of proven experience out at the tackles.

OT Senio Kelemete has moved on to a probable career in the NFL which means the Huskies are going to have to find two starters out of a group that includes, Erik Kohler, Micah Hatchie, Dexter Charles, and Ben Riva.

Kohler seems more suited to playing inside and his best moments so far as a Husky have been at guard. Hatchie played a bit last season after sitting out his first season. He still needs to add some beef to his frame and it isn't a given going into spring that he will win one of the starting jobs.

Riva had a good spring last year but faded into the background after an injury. The wildcard at tackle is Dexter Charles who plays with a nice bit of nasty. He impressed the coaches while on the scout team last season and could play himself into a starting job with a solid spring.

On the inside the Huskies are as strong as anyone in the conference when healthy. Colin Porter is coming off shoulder surgery so he won't be full go this spring. Colin Tanigawa is coming off of ACL surgery so he definitely won't be back until late this summer.

If Tanigawa can't go early this fall Kohler can always move back inside. Drew Schaefer returns for his senior season to man the center position. Drew has been a solid starter the past three seasons and it will be interesting to see if he can push it to another level during his final season.

OG James Atoe, C Mike Cristie and C Siosifa Tufunga are the primary backups inside. All three were "Plan B" under the radar type of guys when they were recruited. With Tanigawa and Porter on the shelf these guys are going to get their first legitimate chance to earn some playing time this spring.

I think the development of these three guys will give us a real good idea of where Cozzetto's rebuilding program is headed. If Coach Dan can get decent production and development out of this trio the future is bright. If they fade into obscurity than the foundation of the program still has serious problems.

The Huskies bring in five new scholarship linemen this fall. OT Nathan Dean from Juanita HS, OG Shane Brostek from the Big Island, and C Cory English from Auburn HS are all excellent looking prospects with the ability to contribute earlier than most.

OG Jake Eldrenkamp from Bellevue received a late offer from Washington after more highly touted in state athletes decided to go elsewhere. He is a talented guy who will do very well was as a Husky. I really liked his film and was surprised he had to wait so long for Pac 12 offers. In a normal year (2013) he gets offered by mid June.

OT Taylor Hindy is a bit of a wildcard who popped in to fill the class on LOI day. He has good size and his film looks impressive even though UW was his only big time offer. He is a long snapper and he could end up filling that role in addition to playing tackle from day one.

Another good get is Bellevue HS walk on Michael Kneip who passed up offers from Big Sky type schools to attend UW. The Huskies could really use a couple of guys like Kneip each year to help build depth. His film is really intriguing and he is definitely the type of guy who could earn a scholarship down the line.

Speaking of walk-ons Daniel Kanczugowski could possibly return to the team this spring. He earned scholarship in 2010 but wasn't eligible to play last season because of grades. You really can't discount how important it is to have extra big guys on the roster to practice against or even fill in holes which Daniel did admirably when he was eligible.

• Erik Kohler Jr
  
• Micah Hatchie So
  
• Colin Tanigawa So
  
• Colin Porter Jr
  
• Drew Schaefer Sr
  

• Ben Riva So
  
• Dexter Charles Rs
  
• James Atoe So
  
• Mike Criste So
  
• Siosifa Tufunga Rs
  

• Taylor Hindy Fr
  
• Nathan Dean Fr
  
• Jake Eldrenkamp Fr
  
• Shane Brostek Fr
  
• Cory English Fr
  
• Michael Kneip Fr (Walk-On)

Washington won only its second outright conference basketball championship since 1953 after splitting in LA and benefiting from a Cal loss to Stanford to end the regular season.

Even though the Huskies backed in to this championship this may be the most satisfying one yet for Coach Romar because this team was given up for dead by most of us at the start of the conference season.

Next up is the conference championship tournament at Staple Pavilion this weekend. Even though UW is the Pac 12 regular season champion they still need to win at least a game or two to qualify for the NCAA tournament. A one and done type of performance probably isn't going to do it.

The Huskies will play the winner of the Oregon State/Washington State game in the second round of the 2012 Pac-12 tournament.

Norm Dicks announces plans to retire

Congressman Norm Dicks who played in the 60 and 61 Rose Bowls has decided to retire from the US Congress after a long and distinguished career. Norm is famous for bringing home the bacon in his district which includes the US Navy Yard in Bremerton and the nuclear submarine base in Bangor.

"I'm going to see more Husky games, basketball and football, and do a little bit more fishing."

Good for you Norm!

Spring Game

it looks like the annual Husky Spring game will be played April 28 at 11 a.m. at CenturyLink Field. The game will serve as a pseudo warm up for next season when Washington plays all its home games there. When they do arrive they will be playing on new Field Turf.

The spring coaches clinic is April 13-14.

Greg Lewis headed to the Hall of Fame?

Former Husky great Greg Lewis is on the ballot as a nominee for the College Football Hall of Fame. Lewis won the Doak Walker Award in 1990 which is given annually to the best running back in the country.

UW has 11 players and four coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Oregon and the NCAA

I have read quite a bit about the Ducks pending probation over the past few weeks. Some say they will go down hard while others say that it will amount to be nothing more than a slap on the hand. A friend of mine with national connections thinks that the punishment will be similar to what was handed out to USC once everything is all said and done.

Winter Activities in Eugene

Duck wide receiver Josh Huff was charged with a DUI early Saturday morning. Huff caught 31 passes for 430 yards and two touchdowns last season as a sophomore.

Ed Cunningham wins an Oscar

Ed has always impressed me. When he was a student at Washington he always had a pretty clear dea of what he wanted to do and he went out and did it. He is one of the best commentators in college football and now he has won an Oscar for helping produce the documentary "Undefeated".

Construction progress at Cal

Construction is on schedule at historic Memorial Stadium at the Cal campus in Berkeley. Here is a link to a series of slides detailing where they are at this point. I probably wouldn't have recycled the aluminum seating.

BCS Playoff

The Pac 12 and the Big Ten are reportedly in favor of a four team mini playoff once the bowl season has concluded. A decision is expected to come before July 4, with five to seven meetings over the next few months set to determine the sport’s postseason future.

Softball team kicking it

Washington's softball team looks like it is good enough to make another run at a national championship. The Huskies are 19-1 so far this season and had no problem winning the Louisville Slugger Tournament in Stockton, Ca. this past weekend.

NCAA kick off rule changes

The NCAA changed the rules regarding kick offs again to help prevent injuries. Kickoffs have been moved up to the 35 yard line to create more touch back. When there is a touch back the ball will be now be placed at the 25 rather than the 20 yard line.

NORM!

Usually when you lose a couple of guys who rank statistically among your top ten all time wide receivers you would expect a drop off but that might not be the case in 2012 for the Huskies.

Jermaine Kearse and Devin Aguilar were solid and sometime spectacular starters over the past four seasons. They were also hampered by too many drops and not enough strength at the line of scrimmage. The team will miss their experience but not the inconsistent streaks.

The guys that are replacing them are bigger, faster, more physical, and thought to be even more talented. Kasen Williams is a potential first round draft choice a couple of years down the road. He has the type of skill set that will allow him to start taking over games.

Flanking him will be James Johnson and possibly Kevin Smith if he can come back strong from the ACL surgery he had in December. Johnson has been a part time starter over the past three years. Injuries have slowed him down at times but this is his year to shine for the scouts.

Cody Bruns returns after taking the year off to handle personal problems and preserve a year of eligibility. The importance of Bruns is magnified if Smith isn't able to go this fall. He has good hands, runs good routes, and like Johnson this is his chance to end his career on a high note.

DiAndre Campbell got an early shot to play last season but his chances diminished quickly after he dropped a few passes that should have gone all the way. He has good size and speed.

Marvin Hall who enrolled over the winter is a guy who is going to get his number called early and often this spring. He is a big time talent who is fast and runs really well.

Josh Perkins and Jamaal Jones spent last year on the scout team. The coaches think highly of both of them and they will get their first chance to compete for playing time this spring.

Jayden Mickens, Kendyl Taylor and Dwayne Washington who arrive this summer are all kids who have the talent to play right away if needed. Taylor could end up moving to running back if there is a need.

• Kasen Williams So
• James Johnson Sr
  
• Kevin Smith Jr
  
• Cody Bruns Sr
  
• DiAndre Campbell So
  
• Josh Perkins Rs
  
• Jamaal Jones Rs
  
• Marvin Hall Fr
  
• Jayden Mickens Fr
  
• Kendyl Taylor Fr
  
• Dwayne Washington Fr

Tight End

The tight end position is back at Washington. We are talking about three big kids who can catch passes and block. It seems like such a simple concept but that part of the game plan was absent for almost a decade.

ASJ is a tremendous talent who only gave us a hint last season of what he is capable of doing. He will be moving into the realm of taking over games with his buddy Kasen Williams this season. Hartvigson and Hudson will continue to see plenty of time.

• Austin Seferian Jenkins So
  
• Michael Hartvigson So
  
• Evan Hudson So
  

Washington graduated one of the most productive running backs in the history of the program this past season.

Chris Polk put together three consecutive 1000 yard seasons and was one of the main reasons that Husky football qualified for bowl appearances the past two seasons.

Even though Chris has moved on to ply his trade in the NFL the Huskies still look pretty solid on paper at the position headed into spring football if everyone can stay healthy.

The heir apparent appears to be sophomore Bishop Sankey (187 yards on 28 carries) from Gonzaga Prep in Spokane. Sankey played sparingly last season but when he did he consistently showed some flashes of greatness.

Splitting time with him will be last years back up Jessie Callier (260 yards on 47 carries) who has shown plenty of flashes of greatness himself over the past couple of seasons.

Johri Fogerson returns for his senior year after being injured most of the past two seasons with hip and knee injuries. The talented Deontae Cooper who just may be the best RB on the roster when healthy is coming off two consecutive ACL surgeries.

I expect all four of these guys to play important roles on the team this season. Sankey is built to be a feature back while Callier is an excellent change-up. When healthy Fogerson was used as a receiver out of the backfield on third down situations and I expect that to continue in 2012.

I expect them to baby Cooper all the way through camp with the goal of keeping him healthy. He can be a home run hitter if they can get him back near 100%.

Wilson arrives later this summer and is a candidate to play early if Fogerson and Cooper can't stay healthy.

• Bishop Sankey So
• Jessie Callier Jr
• Johri Fogerson Sr
• Deontae Cooper So
• Erich Wilson Fr
• Cole Sager Sr (Walk On)
  
• Willis Wilson So (Walk On)

Jr Tim Tucker moved over to FB from LB last season and beat out Sr Jonathan Amosa for the starting job by mid season. Neither are the type of multi threat player that Steve Sarkisian envisions manning the position in the future but both proved to be serviceable blockers last season.

RS Dezden Petty and true frosh Psalm Wooching are the future at the position. Petty labored with the scout team all last season so we didn't get a good idea of what he is capable of doing. Wooching seems to have all the tools that Sark wants at the position and is a candidate to play early.

• Tim Tucker Jr
• Jonathan Amosa Sr (Walk On)
  
• Dezden Petty Rs
• Psalm Wooching Fr