Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen treated Pac-10 football media day last week as though it was no different from any other media day.

It was different, of course, because it will be his last. Hansen announced earlier this summer that he will be stepping down after a 26-year reign. (Here's the story I wrote at the time.)

However, he played his final media day address prett straight, speaking briefly on the Pac-10's strong out-of-conference scheduel, its 2008 bowl lineup, its TV contracts, introducing the league's two new coaches, and taking pride in the Pac-10's NCAA-high 13 sports championships last season.

I taped his remarks (along with a minute or so of dead air at the end), and you can click here, if you'd like to listen in.

Looking forward, when Hansen first announced his decision to step down, Jon Wilner whipped up an interesting list of candidates in his Mercury News blog. First on the list is former Stanford AD Ted Leland, whose name picked up some steam this week with a New York Times blog mention that the Pac-10 is "leaning" toward him.

UW quarterback Jake Locker is among 12 Pac-10 players and 65 players overall named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list.

The award is given annual to the outstanding collegiate football player in America. Player are selected for the preseason list based on their play during the previous season.

Other Pac-10 players on the list are WR Brandon Gibson of Washington State; QB Rudy Carpenter and RB Keegan Herring of Arizona State; WR Mike Thomas and QB Willie Tuitama of Arizona; WR Jaison Williams of Oregon; WE Sammie Stroughter of Oregon State; and RB Stafon Johnson, RB Joe McKnight, QB Mark Sanchez and WR Patrick Turner of USC.

Here's the full list and news release.

Two good stories today on a couple of former Huskies ... or actually, I guess they're lifelong Huskies who no longer wear the purple and gold.

The first story comes from News Tribune Seahawks reporter Frank Hughes, who catches up with former UW coach Keith Gilbertson, now the Seahawks receivers coach. Gilbertson has plenty of interesting things to say, which is typical for him.

Gilby was the coach during my first season covering Husky football -- yes, that 1-10 season of 2004 -- but I found him easy to work with and liked him a lot. You seemed to get the genuine guy every day, and when you asked a question you usually got an answer. And, of course, he loved the Huskies.

Also, the Winnipeg Sun has a good piece on former UW linebacker Joe Lobendahn, who just made his first career start in the CFL.

Lobendahn may have been the classic guy without the kind of physical specs that get you into the NFL. But he wanted to win, and he would hit and he was always a pretty good straight-shooter with the reporters.

Good luck to them both.

We're down to less than a week until the Huskies take the practice field for the start of fall camp next Monday afternoon.

Today -- exactly one week in advance -- brought the annual UW coaches/media golf outing at Washington National in Auburn. This is a very nice addition that Tyrone Willingham brought to the job, and it's a great time to get to know the coaches a bit without sticking tape recorders in their faces.

We obviously caught a break with the dazzling weather, and I paired into an exceptionally fun foursome along with offensive coordinator Tim Lappano (who can hit the ball a mile), FOX's Aaron Levine, and KJR's Mike Gastineau.

Football coaches often say that just when their games start coming around, they know it's time to put their sticks away for another season. That may have been the case today as Lappano -- and Levine, who can really play -- did most of the heavy lifting in carrying us to a five-under 67 in best-ball play.

After the round, Willingham said a few words of greeting, setting a nice tone for the next four or five months, when we'll be seeing each other more days than not.

As mentioned, no real news came from the round, although I get the impression that Lappano is really fired up about the potential of some of those young receivers. That youth means there will be some errors and frustrations, but he seems to love their talent and potential.

Single-game tickets for the upcoming Husky football season go on sale at 8:30 a.m. Monday. Four-game plans also are available.

Here's this season's home schedule:

Sept. 6 vs. BYU, home opener vs. perhaps the best of this season's mid-majors.
Sept. 13 vs. Oklahoma, national title contender with a ton of tradition.
Sept. 27 vs. Stanford, home loss to Stanford in 2006 may have been worst of Willingham era.
Oct. 18 vs. Oregon State, only home game of this season's "Northwest championship" round robin.
Oct. 25 vs. Notre Dame, those golden helmets, that fight song and Willingham vs. Weis.
Nov. 8 vs. Arizona State, Dennis Erickson returns to the Northwest.
Nov. 15 vs. UCLA, Rick Neuheisel returns to Husky Stadium.

Tickets or more information are available at GoHuskies.com or by calling 1-206-543-2200.

At least a couple of other UW blogs have indicated incoming freshmen QB Dominique Blackman, RB Demitrius Bronson and DT Craig Noble may not be available this season, instead delaying their enrollment until January. And coach Tyrone Willingham apparently said something to Seattle Times columnist Bud Withers that was fairly unclear but generally was taken to mean that linebacker E.J. Savannah may have more to worry about beyond his arm injury before he takes the field again.

Reading all that, I went back an reviewed my recordings of what Willingham told me about personnel issues heading into the Aug. 4 start of fall practices.

Here's the direct quote (which doesn't clarify much): "Right now, as you know, some of the cases we're not able to comment on. When we start camp we'll have what our freshman class looks like. Because right now, the bridge program isn't necessarily a mandatory program, so you could have guys in, you could not have guys in. So, their status will likely be official when we open camp on the third. And then for our veteran players, we have a few guys who have questionable summer school right now. We're looking at those. Those won't know for a while till we know where they're at."

I also asked about any off-season position changes: "We haven't made any," Willingham said. "The biggest there is obviously (injured center Juan) Garcia and what happens there because it could necessitate some shift there on the offensive line. I think we're prepared to do something, but we'll wait to see what we have to do at that time."

Since guard Ryan Tolar has been mentioned among those who might switch to center if Garcia can't go, I asked about Tolar's off-season progress from his injury: "There were never concerned about Tolar," Willingham said. "None whatsoever."

Back from media day. We had three main stories in today's paper:

* Tyrone Willingham talking about the affect his job status is having on recruiting.

*An overview on the Pac-10 race, with USC once again the odds-on favorite.

*And a Pac-10 Media Day notebook, topping with Rick Neuheisel, but also talking about the new rules that will be used in college football this season.

This flurry of football news could be followed by something of a lull -- a calm before the big storm of coverage. The next expected news from UW could come Monday, when coach Tyrone Willingham hosts his annual golf outing with the coaching staff and media ... although that's more personal chit chat that a real interview-based news-gathering opportunity.

Then the daily coverage begins for real on Aug. 4, when the Huskies begin fall practice.

Pac-10 Media Day capsules with teams listed in their order of finish as predicated by the annual media poll:

1. USC
Coach Pete Carroll says that Mark Sanchez has all that it takes to become a great quarterback … if he can just win the starting job. It’s that way across the roster, where the names may be new but the talents remains high enough to contend for a BCS title.

2. Arizona
The schedule becomes tougher in coach Dennis Erickson’s second season. However, he has plenty of horses, including what may be the league’s top quarterback: senior Rudy Carpenter. Chief concern is the offensive line, which Erickson calls young and athletic.

3. Oregon
Coach Mike Bellotti said replacing quarterback Dennis Dixon is an area of “interest,” but not “a concern” due to his faith in Nate Costa and Justin Roper. Meanwhile, a solid defense appears able to buy the new guys on offense time to find their rhythm.

4. California
Jeff Tedford said he is excited about the young players and new leadership that has surfaced. He said the QB competition between Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley is “a great situation.” He sees potential for his “most explosive backfield” ever.

5. UCLA
Coach Rick Neuheisel said the Bruins’ catching up to USC is a matter of when, not if. He said he will allow coordinator Norm Chow to run the offense and call the plays. QB Ben Olson (foot) is expected to be ready for the start of fall camp.

6. Oregon State
The Beavers lost their front seven starters on defense, but coach Mike Riley said there are experienced reserves to step up. He lamented the loss of TB Yvenson Bernard, but said receiver Sammie Stroughter appears poised for a big bounce-back season.

7. Arizona
Starting his fifth season, coach Mike Stoops said he has his best offensive team yet, led by senior QB Willie Tuitama. He acknowledged that there are plenty of defensive questions, but concluded “we have better players than people think.”

8. Washington
Tyrone Willingham said the Huskies will be a blend of youth and experience, but added that he thinks “we can hit this thing just right.” He cited off-season emphasis on training so the team can turn close losses into wins with strong fourth quarters.

9. Stanford
The Cardinal returns a league-high 16 starters, and coach Jim Harbaugh said he is especially excited about both of his lines. He said there will be true quarterback competition in camp, including last year’s starter, Tavita Pritchard of Tacoma.

10.Washington State
In his Pac-10 media day debut, coach Paul Wulff said QB Gary Rogers is the clear No. 1 but must compete to stay there. Noting the predicted 10th-place finish, Wulff said WSU has “the opportunity to surprise some people and have a very successful year.”

I started covering the Huskies in Keith Gilbertson's second season. Which means, I never got to cover Rick Neuheisel.

I got my first real time with him at media day; and he certainly seemed to say all the right things. I'll have some of that in the Friday paper. But here is some of what we heard from Neuheisel.

ON GETTING THE UCLA JOB
Where I was in 2003 and 2003 to getting this opportunity has been kind of like a climb. I’ve been trying to climb back. And when you get that call, and you’re waiting for the fax to come across that machine, it’s pretty special. You have a lot of flashbacks about stuff that went on, but now you’re excited about all that lies ahead. Maybe that’s what is the most fun: Now there is a future. We’re never guaranteed anything, but at least there is the thought that you’re going to get to do this after wondering if it’s ever going to happen.

ON IF HE FEARED HE'D NEVER COACH AGAIN
I was always confident. But there were days when there was less confidence than others. Saturdays were hard days. I couldn’t stand not watching it. I had to watch every game. … I’d watch literally from the time we left the office until it was dark. And I’d coach every game. I’d manage every game and every decision and scream at TV and so forth.

ON WHETHER THERE WAS A LOW POINT
The dealing with the dismissal and the lawsuit in such a public forum, and having things said about your publicly… As a coach you get to coach next week – win a game and stop all the talk, right? When you’re not able to do that, you don’t have that. You have to kind of weather it. And what makes it even more difficult is it’s your family and your wife and all these people who have to deal with it, and they did nothing: guilt by association. And you have to deal with that. Those things you wouldn’t wish on anybody.

ON THE CHANGES IN THE LEAGUE
In my last year, Pete Carroll was a good coach. Now he’s an icon. Mike Bellotti has now reached the status he deserves, given his longevity and his status and the things that he’s accomplished. Jeff Tedford is now a bona fide big-time coach. Dennis Erickson was already, but now has come back and rekindled the magic that everybody knew he had at Arizona State, and he’s on everybody’s who’s who list. The Pac-10 now is a legitimate hotbed for big-time coaches. I would say on par with the SEC, definitely on par with the SEC. … You can go on down the list. I think Harbaugh hit one out of the park last year when he made the big statements early and then beats SC – you’ve got to admire that. This is a great conference and I’m happy to be part of it.

On UCLA'S VISIT TO WASHINGTON
I’m still not allowing myself to be depressed about it. Just because in college football, every game’s hard. Going to Seattle will be an interesting game from a media perspective – there will be lots of storylines. But I kind of have already been through it with the Colorado-Washington game. So I’m not as leery as I might have been. … There will be a lot of emotion in the building. It should be a good football game.

ON THE RECEPTION HE EXPECTSI imagine it will be a lot of boos. Maybe that will be the nice way to put it.

For me, I had a great experience at the University of Washington. The ending was messy. I feel badly about it because there were no winners in the end. I didn’t win. They didn’t win. A lot of good people were hurt by the chain of events and it was too bad. It didn’t need to go down that way. But that’s in the past, and hopefully everybody’s learned from it. I certainly have and we move on.

Pac-10 media day is over for another year. The Huskies are zipping home on a 2:30 flight out of LAX.

I'm about to get off-line for a while and start writing, writing, writing for tomorrow's paper. But before that, I wanted to pass along three little notes that I found interesting from the one-on-one lunch session.

1.) UW quarterback Jake Locker says that he's done with baseball. He said that he enjoyed his summer with the Bellingham Bells baseball team, but that fitting in the baseball and football duties was more difficult than he expected and he doesn't plan on rejoining the Bells next season.

2.)Washington State coach Paul Wulff -- formerly coach at Eastern Washington -- says that he would like to add EWU to the Cougars' schedule within the next two or three seasons.

3.) UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said that there were times when he wondered if he would be hired back into coaching. He said UCLA is his dream job, but that he noticed pretty quickly that this year's schedule sends the Bruins to Seattle. Neuheisel said that he has many good feelings about his time at UW, but that his expectation is that he will be booed.

The Pac-10 coaches speak at Media Day in reverse order of the previous sseason standings. That means things led off this morning with Washington coach Tyrone Willingham, who brought along quarterback Jake Locker.

Willingham broke no real news. He said his fourth UW team will be a blend of youth and experince and “we think we can hit this thing just right.”

He also said:

* his team again has what he considered maybe the Pac-10's toughest schedule.

* the timing issues (see post below) could be the most significant rules changes for the coming season.

* the key to turning close losses into wins is conditioning that will allow the team to be physically able to finish along with coaches making right decisions, and players handling those situations.

* he hopes center Juan Garcia will be "back at some point during the year." Without a setback he said it would be early season, but a setback at this point would likely cost him the season. He said with Garcia, the offensive line projects as an area of strentgh.

* game situations will dictate if Jake Locker runs as much this season as last. He added that his preference is that Locker doesn't run at all, which drew a laugh.

* the team is young at running back and wide receiver, but that he beleives "we have some talent and hope to bridge experience gap to make it strength not weakness."

Media day typically ends with the league coaches being briefed on officiating rules changes for the coming season.

This season brings several significant ones.

One of the most notable will bring the NCAA game into line with the NFL, as there will be 40 seconds between plays in most cases.

College football also is altering several rules to emphasize player safety.

A particular area of emphasis is player safety. New rules will penalize tacklers for hitting with the crown of their helmet or targeting defenseless players with hits above the shoulders. There also are new rules regarding horse-collar tackles and simplifying the rulings on chop blocks. This season all facemask penalties will be 15 yards, however, incidental contact won’t be called.

Also this year there will be no warning for sideline infractions – players or coaches wandering too close to the field. This season it will be a straight 5-yard delay-of-game penalty for the first and second calls, and a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty thereafter. (However, three sideline calls in the same game is rare to the point of unheard of in the Pac-10.)

The illegal-forward-pass rule was tweaked so that now the thrower’s entire body must be across the line of scrimmage for the infraction to be called.

And this season the game officials have the general power to use replay to overturn “egregious” officiating errors. This won’t allow they to overturn foul calls such as pass interference, etc., but can be used for cases where a fair catch signal is missed, the clock runs when it isn’t supposed to, or if there is question of whether a field goal attempt did or didn’t go over the crossbar or between the uprights.

Finally, there has been a tweak to that frustrating call that disallows fumble recoveries simply because the official blows his whistle. Now, if the replay shows that the fumble lost control of the ball before being officially down, the recovering team will take possession as long as the whistle doesn’t obviously cause players to pull up.

Here's the way the media that covers Pac-10 football sees the league race going this season:

1. USC (38 first-place votes)
2. Arizona State
3. Oregon
4. California (one first-place vote)
5. UCLA
6. Oregon State
7. Arizona
8. Washington
9. Stanford
10. Washington State

(This poll agrees with the ballot I sent in for places 1-4 and 9-10. However, I had Arizona at five, UW at six, UCLA at seven and OSU at eight.)

The media poll has picked the correct conference champion eight seasons in a row, but only 25 of 47 times since the poll began.

Pac-10 football media day starts bright and early at 7:30 a.m. Thursday with all of the league’s football coaches being briefed on rules changes and rules interpretations by the conference director of officials.

On its merits, that is more interesting some years than others. A couple of seasons ago -- when the NCAA made its big changes in the timing of games -- was especially interesting. But even in the seasons with little in the way of rules changes, it’s an interesting and relatively candid look at the Pac-10 coaches. It’s the only media day function when the coaches actually outnumber the media, and they treat the event almost as if we’re not around. Which is rare.

Then, after a brief break --coffee!! -- the first official media day event is the unveiling of the football prediction poll. That usually happens around 9:15 or so, and I’ll try to blog as soon as I receive it.

Then, we get the 10 Pac-10 coaches and one player per school (UW brought Jake Locker) in a Q&A press conference format until around noon. Then we head to a ballroom for lunch, which is our opportunity for one-on-one time with the coaches and players.

It’s all very compressed and busy (the Pac-10 is the only conference I know that handles this as a one-day event … and as a practical matter, it’s really only half a day), so I don’t know how much blogging I’ll be able to do until the whole thing adjourns around 2 p.m. Then I’ll try to catch you up on the highlights of the day, fitting that in around all the stories I’ll be filing for the Friday paper.

The day is very full and very informative and very fun… and an annual indication that football is back.

Dawgman.com is reporting that the Huskies have secured their first oral commitment for its next football recruiting class.

And apparently it's a good one: Keith Price, a 6-2, 180-pound runner-passer type quarterback from St. John Bosco of Bellflower, Calif.

Price received an offer from Washington last month, and others from Nevada and Utah, but decided to become a Husky.

Until he made the announcement, Washington had been the only Pacific-10 Conference school without any oral commitments. In fact, every other school has at least four.

The University of Washington has released a tentative schedule for fall football camp.

The Huskies will hit the field for the first time on Aug. 4 and will work with only Sunday's off right up until Aug. 29 when they travel to Eugene for the Aug. 30 season-opener at Oregon.

The Dawgs will continue their recent custom of splitting the squad on four of the practice days, which the coaches believe allows time for more individual work.

There is no indication that any of the practices will be open to the public or media. However, the annual UW picture day will begin at 1 p.m. on Aug. 9.

In the comments section of the BYU post below, me3rd asked about an ESPN rating system that ranks the UW basketball program tied for 124th in the nation since 1984-85.

Here is the story, which explains why they picked 1984-85 (that's when the NCAA tournament switched to a 64-team format) and their mathematical formula, which awards points for NCAA titles, tournament appearances, tournament success, etc.

Here is the section that includes UW. You'll find them behind Fairleigh Dickinson, Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas-Little Rock; but ahead of Southern California, Florida State and Nebraska.

Overall, I have no problem with their methodology. And I guess I find it interesting in a sports-radio talk topic kind of way. But I don't think it proves much. Fans base their concepts of historical success based on national championships and star players and memorable moments -- a mixture of things quantifiable and unquantifiable. George Mason fans likely wouldn't trade that Final Four run for any number of successes that might score better by this system. Few Huskies fans are likely to wish they could trade their hoops history for Louisiana-Monroe's. And if UW makes a nice tournament run this season, a No. 124 ranking over the last couple of decades isn't likely to spoil things much.

We’ve been in a list-writing mood lately, as you may have noticed.

After ranking the best Washington Husky games of the coming season in order yesterday, now it’s time to look at the best Pac-10 games not involving the Huskies. This time it’s simply a top 10, ranked in the order that the schedule will serve them up:

USC at Virginia (Aug. 30)
A team with national title hopes doesn’t want to start 0-1. But it’s no simple thing to begin your season three time zones away. (Although the Huskies managed just fine last season at Syracuse.)

Oklahoma State vs. WSU (Aug. 30)
This one won’t turn heads nationally, but the Paul Wulff era opens at Washington State with an interesting intersectional match at Qwest Field.

Tennessee at UCLA (Sept. 1)
This visit from an SEC power should provide a fascinating welcome back for Rick Neuheisel.

Oregon State at Penn State (Sept. 6)
Pac-10 prestige could rise considerably if the Beavers can rise to this early season challenge … at Beaver Stadium.

Ohio State at USC (Sept. 13)
Could be the intersectional game of the season, and a BCS title bid could hang in the balance.

Georgia at Arizona State (Sept. 20)
Georgia is a popular pick for the national championship this season. However, if Dennis Erickson’s team comes together just a bit ahead of schedule, the Bulldogs could have a devil of a time in the desert.

Arizona State at USC (Oct. 11)
These are the popular picks for No. 1 and 2 in the conference. This game should determine who’s one and who’s two.

Oregon at Arizona State (Oct. 25)
If things go as expected, this seems like a battle for the Holiday Bowl. But if USC stumbles a bit, the stakes here could rise considerably.

Arizona State at Oregon State (Nov. 1)
Dennis Erickson returns to Corvallis for the first time as opposing coach.

USC at UCLA (Dec. 6)
The LA rivalry gains some extra voltage with Pete Carroll on one sideline and Rick Neuheisel on the other.

(And, yes, I know I didn't fit in Notre Dame at USC. What can I say? It looks like a fascinating season on its way.)

Writers who cover the Mountain West Conference have picked future UW opponent Brigham Young to win the league title this season.

BYU will be Washington's home-opening opponent this season, visiting Seattle on Sept. 6.

Here's the MWC media poll. However, the Cougars have their sights set higher than a mere conference title this season. BYU's 2008 hopes include following in the footsteps of Boise State and Hawaii as this season's mid-major making the breakthrough to a BCS bowl game.

(The Pac-10 football writers' poll will be announced Thursday morning.)

One of the fun things about football is that every game counts ... a lot. Especially for a team like UW, which figures to be a borderline bowl contender with little margin for error. Every game really will be crucial as they add together into a season with profound implications for the program.

Still, some games create more buzz than others. So, here’s my take on the season’s 12 regular-season games, from lowest preseason buzz to highest. (And oddly, the lowest and highest are both opponents once coached by Tyrone Willingham.):

12 Stanford at UW (Sept. 27)
Stanford isn't an opponent that gets the blood boiling, yet this will still be an important game for both teams because both may have it mentally marked in the win column. Another UW home loss to the Cardinal could prove fatal to the Huskies' bowl math.

11 Arizona State at UW (Nov. 8)
Dennis Erickson’s return to Puget Sound. But there’s generally good feeling toward Erickson up here, along with a general assumption that he’s got more horses than UW this season.

10 Washington at Arizona (Oct. 4)
These are the two coaches generally considered to be on the two hottest seats in the Pac-10. The number of wins needed for continued employment becomes just that much tougher for the loser.

9 Oklahoma at UW (Sept. 13)
An early season match in which the Huskies seem to have far more to gain than to lose.

8 Brigham Young at UW (Sept. 6)
The second game of a season always feels big: a chance to jump to 2-0, or the pressure of avoiding 0-2. On top of that, the Huskies never want to lose to a mid-major at home. And the visitors know this one is crucial to their BCS bowl dreams.

7 UW at Southern California (Nov. 1)
This used to be a game with Rose Bowl implications. Now it’s a chance for the Huskies to measure themselves against the best.

6 Oregon State at UW (Oct. 18)
The Huskies let one get away in Corvallis last season. They won’t want to lose to a Northwest rival at home … especially with the Beavers in what appears to be rebuilding mode.

5 UW at Washington State (Nov. 22)
You know it’s quite a season when there are four games that project as bigger than the Apple Cup. Yet, Husky Nation will grow mighty restless if Paul Wulff gets this W in his first season at Pullman.

4 UW at California (Dec. 6)
Depending on how the first 11 games play out, this season-ender could determine whether UW gets a winning record or a bowl bid … and all of the implications that accompany that.

3 UW at Oregon (Aug. 30)
The season-opener against the hated Ducks in raucous Autzen Stadium. It’s a recipe for greatness or disaster. Starting with a conference game only adds to the importance. Conventional wisdom says it might be good to catch the Ducks early this season, but this will be a testing environment for all those young Huskies, too.

2 UCLA at UW (Nov. 15)
Rick Neuheisel returns to Husky Stadium. Enough said. Although -- trust me on this -- much more will be said.

1 Notre Dame at UW (Oct. 25)
The arrival of the Irish is always an event. But the sideshow of Charlie Weis vs. Tyrone Willingham will make this not only the UW game of the season, but one of the national games of the year.

We are 40 days until the season begins.

From that opener in Eugene to the regular-season ender in California that might determine Tyrone Willingham's coaching fate, this UW football season is jammed with huge games.

Between those two fascinating bookending games, there are the super-hyped visits from Notre Dame and from Rick Neuheisel/UCLA and Dennis Erickson/Arizona State, the nation-watching tests against Oklahoma and USC, a pairing with BYU that could boost or scuttle the Cougars' BCS hopes, and of course a visit to those other Cougars in the Apple Cup.

I'm mentally cooking up my own list of UW's least-to-most eagerly anticipated games of the coming season. But until I get decide on my order, give it some thought of your own about which game you're looking forward to most this season. And as always, please feel free to share any of those thoughts.

I'll blog my list -- from No. 12 counting up to No. 1 -- on Monday.

My deadline has arrived for sending in my ballot in the annual Pac-10 football media poll.

I floated my early thoughts on this blog about a month ago, and have made only one change since then: sliding Stanford ahead of Washington State. Both teams have their flaws, but Stanford has a one-season head start in the rebuilding. Plus, when the Cardinal and Cougars go head to head, it will be at Stanford.

Here's what I ended up sending:

1. USC
(I hate being so obvious, but I just don't see a way around it.)
2. Arizona State
(An inexperienced offensive line is just too significant a problem for a team looking to end USC's six-season reign.)
3. Oregon
(The Ducks lost a lot. But the defense looks solid, and it's hard to imagine that spread won't produce points.)
4. California
(The Bears project as the best of the Pac-10's large middle class ... thanks mostly to my enduring faith in Jeff Tedford.)
5. Arizona
(This still seems high. But as long as Willie Tuitama is healthy, these Wildcats should score enough points to compensate for what appears to be a shaky defense.)
6. Washington
(This seems high, too, considering how unproven the Huskies are at the offensive skill positions and along the defensive line. But I suspect they'll score enough points where any significant improvement by Ed Donatell's defense could turn a couple of L's into W's. Plus, there are lots of flawed teams in the league this season, and three of the ones that I have ranked below UW -- UCLA, Oregon State and Stanford -- have to visit Seattle.)
7. UCLA
(When a team has a reputation for playing soft, Rick Neuheisel isn't necessarily the first coach you think of to fix the problem. Still, I don't have any doubt that Neuheisel, Norm Chow and DeWayne Walker will get it done at UCLA. It's just hard to imagine it happening this season.)
8. Oregon State
(Almost everyone I've seen is picking Oregon State higher than this despite the fact that they have no proven quarterback, holes on the offensive line and have to replace their entire defensive front seven. I can only read that as an indication of the tremendous respect a lot of folks have for Mike Riley. I respect him, too; but I still think they rebuild, not reload, in Corvallis. And this looks like a rebuilding year.)
9. Stanford
(The talent gap remains, but the veteran defense looks solid enough to keep the Cardinal out of the basement.)
10. Washington State
(There are enough problems here to challenge any staff. It's hard to imagine a first-year staff installing a brand new system not having to take a step back before moving forward.)

The overall media poll results will be made public Thursday, which is Pac-10 Media Day in LA.

UW quarterback Jake Locker was named today among 31 Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks on the initial Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award watch list.

The award is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback, as judged by "accomplishments both on and off the field." (The Selection Committee is asked to evaluate all candidates on their quarterback skills and athletic ability, academics, reputation as a team player, character, leadership and sportsmanship.)

Here's the list:

Todd Boeckman, Ohio State
Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
Tom Brandstater, Fresno State
Hunter Cantwell, Louisville
Rudy Carpenter, Arizona State
Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame
Chase Clement, Rice
Chase Daniel, Missouri
Sean Glennon, Virginia Tech
Matt Grothe, South Florida
Max Hall, BYU
Cullen Harper, Clemson
Graham Harrell, Texas Tech
Chase Holbrook, New Mexico State
Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, Navy
Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan
Jake Locker, Washington
Colt McCoy, Texas
Curtis Painter, Purdue
Todd Reesing, Kansas
Mark Sanchez, USC
Riley Skinner, Wake Forest
Rusty Smith, Florida Atlantic
Matthew Stafford, Georgia
Tim Tebow, Florida
Mike Teel, Rutgers
Willie Tuitama, Arizona
Drew Weatherford, Florida State
Pat White, West Virginia
Juice Williams, Illinois
John Parker Wilson, Alabama

The winner will be announced Dec. 11 during The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN.

My column in the Thursday paper makes passing mention of UW finishing 22nd in this year's Director's Cup, which measures on-field success across all of a university's athletic teams.

However, Sports Illustrated does something similar by a different formula, and the Huskies fare far less well in that one.

Seven of the Pac-10 schools rank in SI's top 25, while Washington, Washington State and Oregon State don't register in the top 50.

Here's the SI list with an explanation of its methodology.

I'm not sure one method is any better than any other. But I know a lot of UW fans judge the program's success almost exclusively by the income-producing sports of football and men's basketball. And those folks won't take much consolation in any overall rankings until the Huskies end this ongoing two-year run as the only Pac-10 school with neither a bowl or NCAA tournament invitation.

The Washington Huskies have released their 2008-09 men's basketball schedule. Here's our story from today's paper.

The Huskies' first appearance of the new season will be a Nov. 6 home exhibition game against Western Washington.

The regular season will begin on the road: at Portland on Nov. 15 (which unfortunately will conflict with the football team's home game against Rick Neuheisel and UCLA).

Pac-10 play again is bookended with games against Washington State: the first meeting is Jan 3 at Pullman, and the regular-season ended is March 7 at Hec Ed.

Regular-season highlights will include a Dec. 4 visit by Oklahoma State as part of the Big 12-Pac-10 challege series, and an appearance in the College Basketball Experience Classic.

The CBE is a two-part tournament which will include two games at UW followed by two games at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. While the CBE field hasn't yet been officially announced, it is believed that the other teams advancing to Kansas City will be defending national champion Kansas, previous two-time nation champion Florida, and Syracuse. The host teams -- including UW -- advance to Kansas City regardless of the results of the opening rounds. And the current plans are believed to have UW and Kansas paired in the semifinals on Nov. 24.

This season's Pac-10 tournament will run March 11-14, once again in Staples Center in LA.

Start times and television plans will be announced later.

Here is the full schedule from the UW Web site.

The Pac-10 Web site has begun a 10-day countdown preview of its football teams, which started Monday with a look at the Arizona Wildcats.

The preview with proceed alphabetically and is timed to conclude July 23, the day before Pac-10 media day, when the media's annual prediction poll will be released.

UW quarterback Jake Locker played his final game of the season with the Bellingham Bells baseball team Sunday, going 3-for-4 for a double and a stolen base in a 4-3 win over Corvallis.

It was the 10th and final game Locker will play this summer, as he will now turn his attention to the coming UW football season. Fall camp begins Aug. 4, and the season starts Aug. 30 at Oregon.

Locker hit .272 (nine of 33) with the Bells, with one home run. Here's a link to his full final stats.

The Bleacher Report blog projects the Huskies among the five most surprising teams for the coming season, and foresees a bowl for the Huskies.

Here's the full entry.

UW quarterback Jake Locker will play his final three games as a member of the Bellingham Bells this weekend in Bellingham.

After Sunday, Locker will return his full attentions to the coming UW football season. Fall practice begins Aug. 4.

Here's the Bells' release of this weekend's festivities:

The Bellingham Bells will host the Corvallis Knights starting Friday in a weekend full of great promotions, but it will also be Bellingham’s last chance to see Jake Locker play for the Bells in 2008.

Due to the upcoming preparation for his University of Washington football duties, Locker will play for the Bells this weekend, beginning Friday, July 11 and ending Sunday, July 13.

“Jake is going to take a couple of weeks to rest and recharge his batteries before he starts camp with the Huskies,” commented head coach Brandon Newell. “He has been a tremendous addition to this team, and a great teammate as well. He is always welcome on any team I coach.”

Locker’s play on the field has been as impressive as the fanfare following signing with the Bells. After two years away from competitive baseball, Locker has been impressive at the plate, on the basepaths, and in the outfield.

The Bells also have a great promotional lineup for fans this weekend: Friday, July 11 Praise 106.5 Family Feast Night Fans will enjoy $1.00 hot dogs, soda, ice cream and coffee. Discounted tickets are also available at local Haggen Food and Pharmacy locations. Saturday, July 12 Fireworks Extravaganza Come for the action, stay for the fireworks, as the Bells will have another great fireworks display following the game. Sunday, July 13 Beach DayWear your best beach attire and enjoy the paradise-themed festivities. Soles4Souls will also be on hand collected new and gently worn shoes for worldwide charity distribution. All fans will also be invited onto the field following each game this weekend for the Boston’s Run the Bases. For tickets, please call (360) 746-0409.