COUGARS

There must be a hundred little birds in the tree outside my window, all there to eat from the small pods that have turned our sidewalk and street a light brown. It's the world's tallest bird feeder and it's even shaped like an out-of-kilter bell. Anyhow, you're starting the Apple Cup workweek today, when less gets done in offices and schools as everyone argues over their favorite team. Remember two years ago? Now that was fun. Read on for more.
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• Washington State: We had a quick summary in today's paper of the Huskies' up-and-down season that has a good chance – they are 7-point favorites – of finishing on a real up note. All they have to do is travel across the mountains, brave the icy roads, and beat a rested and resurgent WSU team on its home field. How hard could that be? ... I missed passing this John Blanchette column along yesterday and for that I am sorry. ... Finally, we have two varying views on the AC, Paul Wulff and Bill Moos. Here is CougCenter's analysis and the piece from the WSU Football Blog. I've been talking a lot to folks recently, using Ernie Kent as an example of Moos' decision-making process. If Moos believes you are the right guy to lead a program it doesn't matter if a Phil Knight-like booster or a bunch of people on the Net aren't happy. Moos will stick with you. ...

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• Around the Pac-10: The only rivalry game not played this week is The Big Game, and we all know why that is (thanks Stanford for 11 consecutive weeks of football). But because the Cardinal got it out of the way a couple weeks ago, they are in great position to end up in a BCS bowl, though probably not the Rose Bowl. The rest of the conference is not holding up its end. ... ESPN.com's Ted Miller has his power rankings and looks at the bowl situation. ... Washington: The Huskies' win Saturday adds a little spice to the Apple Cup. ... Oregon State: Though the Beavers have lost three of their last four, coach Mike Riley promises they will fight in the Civil War. ... Oregon: Though they won handily while Auburn had to rally to win, the Ducks fell behind the Tigers in the BCS standings. Heck, if Auburn loses to South Carolina, maybe the BCS will have the two play again in the title game. Seems only fair. The SEC must be that good. ... There has never been a more important Civil War game for Oregon. ... Cal: Nothing here. ... Stanford: We covered the Cardinal bowl prospects above, but we wanted to pass along this piece of basketball information. It looks like guard Jeremy Green will be OK. ... USC: The Trojans are reeling a bit and UCLA looms. ... UCLA: This weekend will be the Bruins' bowl game. ... Arizona State: The final seven players from the Dirk Koetter era will finish their careers this Thursday. ... Arizona: The Wildcats' bowl destination is still undecided. The outcome of Thursday's game could play a part in the decision.

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• That's what we have this morning. We will be doing a lot of Apple Cup interviews today and will have a quick look at the Apple Cup here this evening. Until then ...

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