In today's edition of The Daily 12-PAC we check in on Husky Stadium to see how the renovation is coming, tell you why it's okay that you watched the Oscars, see how much Mike Leach has already changed things at Wazzu, attempt to assess Oregon's NCAA issues and see how OSU's James Rodgers performed at the combine.
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Husky Stadium Construction Update
The fellas over at UW Dawg Pound ran a cool little photo update showing some of the recent progress to the renovation of Husky Stadium. Man, is this thing happening quick, or what?
At PAC-12 media day last summer, I asked Sark about the facilities upgrade and what it could mean for the program and recruiting, and he spoke glowingly of the new stadium and football offices and what they'd bring to the table in terms of recruiting. The Huskies will be hosting recruits at a Junior Day this April, and no doubt will the New Husky Stadium be a major selling point.
Former Husky Ed Cunningham wins an Oscar
If you watched the Oscars last night, and are afraid to admit it to your buddies at work today, have no fear, The DTP found a sports angle for you.
Former University of Washington offensive lineman, and team captain of the 1991 National Championship team, Ed Cunningham took home the Best Documentary Oscar last night for his work as producer of the film "Undefeated". Cunningham now works for ESPN, and the post from Bob Condotta is full of links and facts about the former Dawg. Now when anyone asked if you watched the Oscars, you can answer proudly and drop some PAC-12 knowledge on them!
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Just how bad is the situation at Oregon?
Late Friday, the University of Oregon released documents relating to the ongoing NCAA inquiry into alleged violations by the Ducks football program.
Over the weekend, lots was written about the cloud over Chip Kelly's program, but no column was better than this one by George Schroeder. We know this much, Oregon seems to be admitting major infractions. But what we don't know is what four of the seven infractions are. We also don't know what Oregon's motive is here. The skeptic (or the Husky fan) would say this is Oregon's attempt at a "plea bargain" - seemingly agreeing to a Failure to Monitor charge and hoping that will close the case, in an attempt to avoid being hit with Lack of Institutional Control. Though I tend to lean towards that line of thinking, as Schroeder points out, it really is too early to make that assumption, or any assumptions for that matter.
One thing to keep close eye on is the fact that Oregon may get hit with the NCAA's "Repeat Violator" status. The possibility of getting labeled as a repeat violator, though serious, has proven to have little impact on punishments handed down by the NCAA's Committee on Infractions.
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New WSU regime, new culture in Pullman
Well, that didn't take long. Mike Leach has only been at Washington State for a few months, and he's already made huge strides in changing the football culture in Pullman.
Drawing parallels to his Texas Tech days, Bud Withers, details just how different things are at Wazzu in the short time since Leach got there, and what else the Cougars can expect.
It's cliche to say that a coach "demands the most from his players", but I have never seen anyone who does it quite like Leach. Exhibit A: Fat Little Girlfriends
Mike Leach on Fat Little Girlfriends (via rbertke)
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OSU's James Rodgers at NFL combine
Oregon State wideout James Rodgers had less-than-stellar performance at the NFL Combine over the weekend. Rodgers has still not fully regained his form after the leg injury he suffered in 2011, and it showed. The Texas native is projected to be a late round pick, if it all.
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