Weekly Grades: Will the Pac-10 Send Six?

Pac-10 Men?s basketball: Before the season began, many experts were saying that the Pac-10 would not be as strong as it had been in the years past. But two-thirds of the way through the season, the Pac-10 looks surprisingly deep.

Arizona State (20-5), Washington, California, and UCLA (all 19-6), will likely receive berths. Barring any late-season collapses (and UCLA is a possibility, on a three game losing streak), these teams should easily qualify.
Arizona, who had earlier looked unlikely to make the tourney, has won seven straight. They have an RPI of only 43, but are quickly on the rise. And after beating both UW and UCLA, they stand at 18-8 and 8-5 Pac-10 and are also likely to qualify.
Next comes the toughest case: USC. The Trojans hold a record of 15-9 but have lost three straight. Their RPI stands at 44, but Southern Cal is struggling immensely and with a record of 2-8, they cannot win on the road. But four of their final six games are at home, and if they snap out of their slump they may be able to sneak in.
With four near-locks and a pair of bubble teams, the Pac-10 should send a solid amount of teams to the March Madness NCAA Tournament. And though five is a good number, come Selection Sunday, I think that the Pac-10 should be able to send six to the tourney. Grade: A

Ken Griffey Junior: News came in earlier this week that Griffey was set to return to the Mariners. And stats aside, I was happy to see my childhood hero return to Seattle to finish his final seasons there. No matter what kind of numbers he put up, I was ready to root for The Kid all the way.
Then came the shocking news that Griffey was also being pursued by the Atlanta Braves. Junior had said earlier that he wanted to come back to the city in which he first reached stardom. Now, I view the Braves? offer as a test to his loyalty. He can go to Atlanta, where he can earn more money and play for a competitive team. Or he can return to the Mariners, where he will be out of place in the middle of a rebuilding effort but can remind the city once more what baseball was like when The Kid was in town.
Please, Griffey, come back. I don?t care how well you play: I just want to see you close out your career in the jersey you began it in. Grade: C
UW Women?s basketball: The men?s team, first in the Pac-10, are looking like the haven?t looked since 2006. The women?s team, however, are their polar opposites. They have lost 12 games straight and sit in last place in the Pac-10 at 1-12 and are 5-18 overall.
This team is just embarrassing. They are not even in the same league as the teams they play. Unless the Huskies make a miraculous turnaround, head coach Tia Jackson deserves to be fired. Grade: F


Photo Source: NBC Sports