Former Husky Tim Lincecum, the 2006 Golden Spikes Award winner after his junior year, turned in what may have been his best professional performance last night in St. Louis as the Giants blanked the Cardinals.

Lincecum needed only 95 pitches in the 10-0 win that lasted only two hours and six minutes. He allowed just the two hits and no walks while striking out eight in his third complete game in his last four outings. He currently leads the Major Leagues with 132 strikeouts and his 2.37 earned run average is second-best in the National League.

The newspapers in both the Bay Area and St. Louis had plenty to say about his gem. Here's a rundown of some of the highlights:

First, mlb.com has this glowing game report, including some video.

The San Francisco Chronicle points out Lincecum's typical humility.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at it from the opponents' point of view, and has a nice photo of a fine defensive play that Lincecum made.

Finally, the San Jose Mercury News opines on the financial windfall that is certain to come to Lincecum, sooner or later.

Today the USATF posted the race footage of the men's 800-meter final from this past Sunday at the USA Track & Field Championships. Former Husky Ryan Brown squeezed in for the third spot, earning a trip to his first World Championships coming up in August in Berlin.

Watch as Brown stays patient through the first lap, and then early in the second lap has to cut behind Tyler Mulder in order to get to the outside, where he starts to move up on the pack. Down the home stretch Brown outkicks 2008 Olympian Christian Smith for third.

Brown is wearing a white jersey and knee-high socks and starts out in lane four.

The USA beat Russia 67-63 in the final tune up game before facing Finland on July 3 in the World University Games opener. Team USA was 2-1 during the exhibition stretch of the tournament.

Husky Quincy Pondexter came off the bench and scored three points on 3-for-4 from the free throw line. He played 17 minutes on Monday and averaged just over 5.3 points per game in the three exhibition games.

Monday's game versus Russia was a rugged, defensive battle. With the game even at 50-apiece heading into the fourth quarter, Russia's defense held the USA to one field goal in the first 7:30 of the final stanza and went up 61-56 at 4:24 on a Alexy Zhukanenko put-back. That bucket would be Russia's final field goal of the contest as the USA's defense turned the tables and held Russia scoreless from the field to close out the game.

Following a Evan Turner free throw at 2:39, Corey Fisher banked in a jumper at 2:30 to net the USA's first field goal since Deon Thompson hit a turn-around jumper at 9:32 and close to 61-60.

The Americans disrupted Russia on the other end as a pass went out of bounds. The U.S. pushed the ball up the court and Talo Battle threaded a pass inside to Thompson, who gave his side a 62-61 edge with 1:55 to play. Neither team was able to score on their next possession, and with a little more than minute to play Russia hit a pair of free throws to retake the lead, 63-62.

In the final minute of action, Battle drove to the hoop, but his shot was off the mark. The USA had three players under the basket and tried twice to put the ball in the hole before Thompson was fouled on an attempted tip-in with 39 seconds remaining. He missed both tries from the line. However, Robbie Hummel crashed the boards, grabbed the rebound and put the ball in the hoop for the final lead change of the game.

For more information on the game, click here.

The final Learfield Sports Director's Cup standings were announced today and the Washington athletic department finished 11th overall among the 271 Division I institutions that scored.

The UW's 1,010.25 total points is the highest for the Husky athletics program since the award begin in 1993-94 and the 11th-place finish tied for the second-best ever.  The UW finished eighth in 1997-98 and 2003-04 and 11th in 1996-97.

The Huskies finished just 5.55 points behind 10th-place Ohio State, 18.75 behind 9th-place LSU and 48.75 behind 8th-place Virginia.  Virginia and LSU each finished strong by advancing to the NCAA College World Series with the Tigers earning the full 100 points by winning the national title.

A total of 19 of Washington's 23 varsity sports participated in post-season competition.  Cross Country and Softball won NCAA national titles, while men's rowing won the IRA national championship.

Showing the might of the league, six of the top-20 schools in the final Director's Cup standings were in the Pac-10. 

In the second exhibition game for Team USA at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia, the American's lost 98-82 to host Serbia.

Quincy Pondexter came off the bench  and played 16 minutes for Team USA. He scored six points, grabbed two rebounds and dished out an assist.

Team USA held a 50-47 halftime lead before the bigger and stronger Serbian team exerted their will on the USA in the second half. Serbia outscored the Americans 29-14 in the third quarter and never looked back.

To read more about the game, click here.

Team USA will face Russia in the final warm up game on Monday.  The United States is set to open World University Games play on July 3 against Finland (11:00 a.m. PT) and faces South Korea on July 4 (11:00 a.m.).

As mentioned in the recap on GoHuskies, former Husky Brad Walker captured the U.S. pole vault title today at the USA Track Championships in Eugene. However, that was not the only national title won today by a Husky track (and in this case field) star.

Kyle Nielsen, a junior-to-be, claimed the javelin title at the Canadian National Championships in Toronto today. Nielsen threw 236-feet, 3-inches on his second attempt, just barely short of his lifetime best, and won by nearly six feet.

A native of Langley, B.C., Nielsen earned his first All-America honor two weeks ago with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Another current Husky, Ryan Vu, will compete in the pole vault finals tomorrow in Toronto.

Quincy Pondexter scored seven points, had two rebounds and a steal for the 2009 USA Men's World University Games Team on Saturday in Belgrade, Serbia. The American team had to come-from-behind for an 85-81 victory over Canada in the 2009 Serbia International Invitational. The U.S., which trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, utilized a 28-14 fourth-quarter surge to clinch the win.

Pondexter, who started the game for Team USA, sealed the win for the USA team with a dunk with just nine seconds remaining in the game. He played 15 minutes, one of 10 players to see 10 or more minutes.

To read a complete recap of the game, visit Team USA's website.

The game was a warm up for the World University Games set to begin on July 3. The U.S. continues the pre-World University Games tournament against Serbia on June 28. 

Jon Brockman's NBA career started Friday with a press conference in Sacramento.  You can read about it in the Sacramento Bee.

As expected, the NBA marketing machine is rolling, with the Kings already offering a #40 Jon Brockman Kings jersey (you can buy a Spencer Hawes jersey, too, of course) in its team shop.

Click here to order yours today!

Redshirt frosh Mel Lawrence advanced to the final of the women's steeplechase this evening at the U.S. Track Championships, while 2007 grad Ryan Brown moved into the final in the men's 800-meters.

Brown was up first in the 800 semis at Oregon's Hayward Field. A nine-time All-American out of Renton, Wash., Brown placed second in the first section in a time of 1:47.81 which was the third-fastest overall. A two-time NCAA champ, Brown will now shoot for a top-three finish and a World Championships big on Sunday. The race, set for 1:53 p.m. will air live on NBC.

Lawrence ran in the second of two steeplechase prelims. The top four from each heat advanced to the final automatically, and Lawrence sat in fourth throughout most of the race and coasted to the finish in 9:56.42 to earn the auto bid. The Pac-10 record-holder in the event will be one of 14 remaining women vying for the national title on Sunday at 1:14.

Representing the Dawgs in the discus throw were head throws coach Reedus Thurmond and volunteer assistant Will Conwell. Conwell placed 14th while Thumond was 20th.

Tomorrow's action includes 2007 World Champion Brad Walker in the pole vault, competing in the same field as junior-to-be Scott Roth, who was runner-up at NCAA's two weeks ago. 2008 grad Norris Frederick will also battle in the long jump.

Freshman phenom Kendra Schaaf showed she's in fine form despite redshirting the track season this year as the Craven, Saskatchewan native took second in the 5,000-meter run at the Canadian Track & Field Championships last night.

Schaaf lowered her PR to 15:52.74, finishing just behind Tara Quinn-Smith who won in 15:50.35. Quinn-Smith has won multiple Canada national titles in the 10k and marathon and is 10 years older than Schaaf. Third-place went to Danette Doetzel, who won the 10,000-meters at the NCAA Chamiponships earlier this month running for Providence.

Fellow Canadian Anita Campbell (Vancouver, B.C.) was sixth in the same 5k final, running 16:21.17. Campbell just earned her first track All-American at the NCAA Championships as she placed third in the 10,000-meter final won by Doetzel.

Husky pole vaulter Ryan Vu, also a Canadian native, will compete in the prelims today. The meet runs through Sunday at the Varsity Centre at the University of Toronto.

Three-time Olympian Aretha Thurmond will soon be a four-time World Championships participant as well, as the Husky legend placed second in the discus throw at the USA Track & Field Championships last night at Hayward Field in Eugene. Though Thurmond fell just short of a fifth national championship, she did secure a spot on Team USA for the 2009 World Outdoor Championships held August 15-23 in Berlin.

Thurmond placed 10th in the discus at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Last night her best throw came on her final attempt, as she tossed the disc 205-feet and 1-inch.

In other action last night, two-time NCAA 800-meter champion Ryan Brown advanced through the first round of competition with a second-place finish in the second of four heats. Brown's time of 1:48.17 was fifth-fastest in the field of 36. He will run in the semis tonight at 6:10 p.m. in a race that will be televised live on ESPN. The network will broadcast from 5-7 p.m. tonight.

Additional Huskies in action included senior-to-be Katie Follett, who ran a season-best 4:17.70 in the 1,500-meters but did not advance. She placed 16th overall. Recent grad Austin Abbott was fourth in his heat in the men's 1,500-meters, but his was the slowest overall heat and none but the two auto qualifiers moved on out of his section. Abbott was 28th overall in 3:46.82.

Former Husky Justin St. Clair was 18th in the javelin throw, while recent grad Jordan Boase was unable to advance in the 400-meter dash, and 2006 grad Mike Sayenko did not finish in the men's 10,000-meters.

Highlighting today's action is Pac-10 record-holder Mel Lawrenec in the women's steeplechase. Having just finished her redshirt freshman season, Lawrence has the sixth-fastest time this year by an American woman. She'll run at 7:20 tonight.

Washington softball star Danielle Lawrie, who has already filled her trophy case with an NCAA championship, a Women's College World Series MVP, the Honda Award and the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, has the chance to add an ESPY next month.

Lawrie has been nominated for an ESPY for Top Female College Athlete. The awards will be presented in L.A. on July 15 and the show will air on ESPN on July. Acclaimed actor and sports fan Samuel L. Jackson will serve as master of ceremonies again this year.

To vote for Danielle, visit www.espys.tv.

The U.S. Track & Field Championships have begun this afternoon in Eugene, Ore. at Hayward Field, the site of last year's Olympic Trials. There will be a lot of Huskies to watch today, and fans can follow all the races with a high-quality live stream available at the following link:

Live Stream

There were a couple notable changes to the start lists since yesterday's story on GoHuskies. Most importantly in the women's 1,500m run, current Huskies Katie Follett and Kailey Campbell were both added to the field and will compete in the prelims tonight at 6:45. Follett made the semis of the 1,500 last year at the Trials.

Also on tap today are Jordan Boase in the 400 dash at 6:20 and Austin Abbott in the 1,500-meters at 7:05. Austin especially faces an extremely tough challenge to make the final, as there are four heats of 12-13 athletes and only the top two in each heat plus the next four best times advance. Abbott's head includes 2008 Olympian Lopez Lomong.

Aretha Thurmond will go for her fifth national title in the discus today at 6:45. Former NCAA champ Ryan Brown will run the 800 at 5:35, and 2006 grad Mike Sayenko is slated to run the 10k at 8:30. The first Husky in action is javelin thrower Justin St. Clair at 3:30.

The King County Council is set to recognize the UW's most recent national champions Monday as they honor both the softball team and the men's crew during their meeting at 11am at the King County Courthouse.

The softball team will be introduced by Councilmember Phillips, who will invite other councilmembers and the King County Executive to make short remarks and read the proclamation.  Members of the 2009 Husky softball team will be able to speak briefly before being presented with an official recognition by the King County Council.

The men's crew will then be introduced by Councilmember Phillips, who will repeat the process with the rowers.

All athletes in attendance will have their pictures taken with the King County Council and the King County Executive.

The meeting will be broadcast live on KCTV (channel 22) and online here.  It will also be archived for later viewing at the same address.

Go Huskies!

 

Brandon Roy accepted an invitation to participate in the USA Basketball mini-camp this summer, a pre-cursor in his attempts to make the national team. Roy is one of 25 rising NBA stars to accept the invitation and will partake in practices from July 23-24 before an intra-squad game on July 25. All practices are taking place at a Las Vegas high school with the game taking place at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center.

This is Roy's first time ever participating with USA Basketball. Although this does not guarantee him a spot on the national team, it will allow him to get his foot further in the door.

Roy is the second Husky in the last week to become entrenched with the USA Basketball program. Current Husky Quincy Pondexter is currently preparing for the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia from July 1 through the 12th. Pondexter and the rest of his teammates hopped on a plane today for Serbia.

To find out more about who is participating in the USA Basketball Mini Camp, click here.

The Pac-10 lived up to its well deserved billing of "Conference of Champions" by capturing 11 NCAA titles during the 2008-09 academic year. It marked the sixth time the Conference has totaled double digits in NCAA titles, a feat no other conference has ever achieved. The Pac-10 total of 11 NCAA titles far outstripped any other conference.

This season marks the ninth time in the last 10 years that the Pac-10 has topped all conferences in NCAA championships won. In addition to the 11 championships, Pac-10 teams posted NCAA runner-up finishes nine times.

The Pac-10 men's and women's programs claimed six NCAA women's titles and five men's crowns. Seven different league schools claimed NCAA titles. Only eight institutions nationally claimed multiple NCAA titles this year, with four of them Pac-10 schools. Oregon, Stanford, USC and Washington each won two NCAA championships to join Texas A&M, Maryland, North Carolina and Penn State as multiple title winners this academic year.

Washington won titles in  women's cross country and softball.  Stanford claimed men's gymnastics and women's rowing. USC took men's tennis and men's water polo and Oregon won titles in men's cross country and men's indoor track & field.  Other NCAA crowns came from Arizona State in women's golf, California in women's swimming and UCLA in women's water polo.

Husky football fans can get a look at incoming freshman LB/DE Andru Pulu of Federal Way High School this Saturday as he takes part in the annual East-West All-Star Game at Everett Memorial Stadium.

The annual state all-star game returns to the west side of the state after having been held in Spokane last year. Game time at Everett Memorial is 1:00 p.m. Saturday.

The Everett Herald has a few stories on the game with more information on the game, as well as practices. Here are a couple of links:

East-West Football Week Is Here

East-West Game Returns To Everett

Former Washington All-American tennis player Robert Kendrick was on the grandest stage in tennis today, as he faced third-seeded Scotsman Andy Murray on Centre Court at Wimbledon in the first round. The match was televised live this afternoon on ESPN2.

Murray, the current favorite son of the British sports public, was pressured throughout by Kendrick, who played at UW from 1998-99. Murray pulled out the first set, 7-5, then the second headed into a tiebreak. From 3-3, Kendrick won four straight points to take the tiebreak and level the match, with his booming serves and forehand working well on the grass.

The third-seed stepped up in the next two sets, earning a break of serve in each set. In both instances, Kendrick had break chances late to get back on serve, but Murray held on for a 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 win.

Kendrick, currently ranked 76th in the world at 29 yearsold, was making the fourth Wimbledon main draw appearance of his career. Today's match recalled Kendrick's 2006 appearance, when he took the first two sets off of then-No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the second round before Nadal fought back to win in five drama-filled sets. Nadal went on to make his first final that year.

In other Husky tennis news, several Dawgs competed in the Seattle City Open this past week at the Amy Yee . In the men's draw, junior Derek Drabble reached the final before losing to top-seeded Angelo Niculescu, 7-6, 6-2. Skyler Tateishi, having just finished his sophomore year, also was beaten by Niculescu in the quarterfinals. In doubles, Drabble and Tateishi beat the second and third seeds to reach the final, but were denied by Niculescu and Ryan Pang, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

On the women's side, sophomore Ashley Anderson reached the final as the top seed, but fell 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 to Angela Chen. Former Husky Katherine Costain (1996-97) also made the quarterfinals. The women's doubles title was won easily by two more Husky alums. Three-time All-American Dea Sumantri (2002-05) and Peggy Wu (1997-00) lost just two games in taking the title. Though their careers never overlapped, Sumantri ranks third on UW's career doubles wins list with 83 and Wu is fourth with 74.

Seattle Pacific just announced that former Husky hoops player Grant Leep has been hired as an assistant coach. Leep spent the previous two seasons as an assistant at Eastern Washington.

Leep played for the Huskies from 1999-2002. He was a freshman on the 1999 team that played in the NCAA Tournament.

He began his coaching career in 2002-03 with a one-year stint as an assistant at North Seattle Community College and then spend two years as an assistant under former Husky assistant coach Eric Hughes at Spokane Community College.

Leep's wife is the former Allison Richardson, a standout volleyball player for the Huskies.

Welcome back to Seattle, Grant and Allison!

Husky women's soccer coach Lesle Gallimore's final missive from Rio:

Brazil Days 9 & 10:
Monday, June 22:

Another beautiful morning in Rio! The team hopped on the bus for a short ride to the end of Copacabana Beach where the team participated in a Capoeira lesson. It is a form of martial arts/dance. The instructors were outstanding and our team was great ... all inhibition on trying something new has been lifted. It was a good little work out and a tremendous experience for everyone.

Our fourth and final game of the trip was this afternoon versus Nova Iguaca FC. The facility was the best yet and as we warmed up we could also watch a boys team training for sand soccer ... it seems like they were running in the sand forever.

We played much better than the previous day, but only mustered one goal in the first half by Veronica Perez and an own goal by our opponents.

The passing was very good and we eventually wore the other team down. The second half saw goals by Kate Deines, a spectacular header of a Joswick cross, and the Waitley/Webbers hooked up for three goals, two by Webber from McKenna, one by McKenna and the a final goal from Kelli Stewart. Webbs was the woman of the match!

Our last dinner together was as good as usual but my mood was a little sour as I had learned that my long time colleague Ken Knutson and his staff would no longer be our baseball coaches at UW. I will miss you Snake, Joe and company!

Tuesday, June 23:

Departure Day. Beach, beach, beach and first-ever Beach Dawg Bowl. The winners: Kate Deines' team: The Showoffs!  Kari Davidson was woman of the match and we are headed home!

See you soon Seattle. Thanks for reading!

LG

The Huskies have concluded the best season in terms of team championships in UW history, walking away with national titles in Men's Crew, Softball and Women's Cross Country. Here is a highlight video showcasing all 23 teams from the 2008-09 school year:

Summertime is typically a time for relaxation for students, but the athletes on the men's and women's basketball teams have remained on campus to work out.

Those athletes are also taking some time to volunteer at Coach Lorenzo Romar's annual summer camps, which are held periodically from late June to early August. On hand at Bank of America Arena were Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Isaiah Thomas, Abdul Gaddy, Tyreese Breshers, Darnell Gant, Venoy Overton, Elston Turner, Regina Rogers and Molly Williams. A few of the departing seniors were also on-hand, including Artem Wallace and Heidi McNeil.

Several coaches from both teams were also in attendance to provide instruction.

On Monday, the camp's focused centered on developing the skills of players between the grades of 4-8.  

Nick Taylor shot a 5-over 75 in the final round of the U.S. Open to finish an impressive 8-over 288 for the tournament. He can lay claim as the top amatuer from the field of 18 that made the tournament, only three of which made the cut.

Taylor finished in a tie for 36th overall and would have earned over $40,000 if he was eligible for the money.

Here is a recap of Taylor's final round from GoHuskies.com and here is a link to the official website of the U.S. Open.

Congrats to Nick for making the Husky nation proud!!

UW women's soccer coach Lesle Gallimore provides this action-packed recap of the last three days of the Huskies' trip to Rio de Janiero, Brazil:

Brazil. Day 6
Friday, June19:

We had a free morning and no game on the horizon for two days, so everyone went for a good hard run when they got up. Mostly towards Copacabana Beach, which is the next beach north of where we are staying in Ipanema.

Then there was a bit of beach time before lunch, followed by some shopping and more beach time as our departure from the hotel was delayed by a few hours.

We did eventually leave the hotel by bus to head to yet another beautiful beach, this one on a bay and called Flamenco Beach. We met up again with the coach and Amy's friend from Team Chicago, Alex Mathias. Alex spent almost two hours giving our team a Beach Soccer lesson and running a 4 versus 4 beach soccer tournament with the group. A lot of them had already taken to playing pick-up games on Ipanema, but Alex was able to give them some good instruction on lifting the ball out of the sand and dribbling (juggling ) the ball in the air to pass and shoot off the volley. It was fun to watch, and as I have grown accustomed to, our team in bathing suits playing athletics creates quite a spectacle for the locals at the beach. Just when you think nobody is watching, a goal is scored, and a roar erupts from the locals making you think you are in Maracana Stadium! It is pretty cool.

After the beach we showered, had the girls dress up and bring a warm wrap to dinner as there was a little surprise in store for them. We dined another local Brasilian buffet and charrascaria (various rotisseries cooked meats on a skewer that they bring to your plate throughout the meal and ask if you would like a slice). Tonight was fun because there is actually a class of 22 students from the UW staying in Ipanema at a youth hostel. Their professor, Jonathon Warren, teaches Latin American Studies in the Evans School at UW and is in our hotel. They coincidentally had a long table next to ours at the restaurant.  Our team and the other Huskies mingled during and after dinner and shared their different stories. It was great to be amongst fellow Dawgs all the way in Rio!

We went back to the hotel to catch the bus to head to our mystery destination. We had our guides, Jon, Antonio and Andre, convince the team that they were going to go and visit the rest of Old Rio by bus to finish the tour that had been abbreviated earlier in the trip. Andre was very good at pointing out City Hall, the Library, the Natural History Museum and other things that he said were "Old School" and looked just a little different at night. You are probably even getting a little bored reading this. To their credit, the team did not moan too much and acted just polite enough that we were happy for them when we arrived at our destination.

Earlier in the week, Antonio was able to purchase and arrange for discounted tickets (they are usually 150 Reads and he got them for 75 R...which is about $40.00 U.S.) to a festa (party) that happens once a year for two nights in Rio on the first plateau of Sugar Loaf Mountain! (There are two stops, the second being higher and smaller).
 
We arrived and were whisked away by Andre down a red carpet and through security like VIPs; we were searched and given tickets and then lead to the cable cars. These glass cable cars give you a 360-degree view on the way up and this alone was worth the price of admission, but it got better. The team slowly but surely figured out this was something special. There were probably 5,000 people there that night and we arrived at the beginning of the party at about 9:30 p.m. There were multiple dance floors and booths and a concert hall. Most of the activity was outdoors. There were food and drink vendors so we could sample all of the local goodies as the night wore on. The dancing began in one area and it was mostly current popular music, hip-hop and techno stuff played by a D.J.

Suddenly there was crowd movement at a bit after midnight and we all just let moved with the crowd into the main concert hall. A very famous Brazilian percussion band, Mono Blanco, was appearing live. Somehow, some way, our entire group of 30-plus made it to the front of the stage on the floor. The power of music is great as you didn't need to be able to understand Portuguese to enjoy this band. There were 19 male members of the band and all but three were playing some type of percussion. It was clear the locals loved these guys and they played for hours! We all danced, sang, and enjoyed being part of the local scene.  We actually almost, kind of, sort of, blended in!

I have to give kudos to Mike, Rose, Jim, Amy and Miranda for helping keep track of our team.  Just because we were having a good time we didn't want to let down our guard and have something bad happen. Everyone was very well behaved and we left Sugar Loaf Mountain in the wee hours. Off to bed we went, everyone with a story and a smile on their face. It was for sure an epic night and one to remember. The view of Rio at night from Sugar Loaf is one I'll never forget. I hope to come again.

Day 7, Saturday, June 20:

There is not really a morning to speak of, as most people didn't rise till about 11 a.m.; some were more adventurous and got up before 10 a.m. so as not to miss the breakfast buffet.  Eventually everyone congregated on the beach to relive the previous night's adventure.

The usual vendor extravaganza ensued at the beach, only the bikini shopping was wearing thin and now it was all about henna tattoos.  I will just let you know here, I have partaken in neither.  Some more beach soccer broke out as did Jim in a sunga (unsure of spelling, but it's a Speedo) in Brazil colors, he also rented a board and did some surfing. Mike Dillon did not partake in either of these two things and he, Amy and I are really hanging well together in Rio!

We left the hotel in the late afternoon to again meet one of the previous coaches, Igor from Team Chicago, for a little futsal lesson. Futsal is 5 v 5 soccer played on a type of court. This one was in a local neighborhood that was a little daunting, but like a lot of places we've been, a bit surreal. We walked from the bus up this steep hill through a neighborhood and suddenly this open-air court appears. We meet Igor and the lesson begins. This was great for the players as the game of futsal teaches you to use different surfaces of your feet and tactically your support of the ball is important. The goals are smaller and the ground harder for the goalkeepers, so hats of to Jorde and Kari who played the entire time, dove around, made a lot of great saves and basically sacrificed their bodies for the good of the cause.

Futsal was outstanding and the players worked really hard, rotating in and out and competing to win as they always do. It was really fun to watch. There was one little damper on the activity as two of the players' bags were stolen right underneath our noses. Oddly enough it was Kari and Jorde's bags which contained cameras and money. Fortunately a lot of the pictures had already been downloaded.  As much as it sucked, it was more amazing than anything as 6 of us; Jim, Jon, Amy, Mike, Rose, Makenna Brinster and I were all "guarding" the bags. Literally we thought we had the pile of them surrounded. There were a few locals who had just finished playing who stayed to watch and they kept their distance and chatted with us. The players came up for a water break and then headed back to the court. Jon did notice two guys that came and sat closer and then left. It wasn't until the session had ended that we realized Jorde and Kari's bags were missing, complete with cameras, credit cards and cash.  Jon quickly realized that their bags and probably dropped down below the large steps where we couldn't see them and these two guys slid a foot over to snag the bags and leave ... unbelievably bold and stealthy, it was actually as impressive as it was agitating. All cards canceled, money gone, most pictures had been downloaded already so that was good. Anyway, for all we have heard about Rio and its dangers I would have been surprised if we left here without incident. We are seven days in and down three cameras, two wallets ... for a group of 30 I'm guessing we're below the average with a couple days left. We are on alert and aim to keep our losses as they are and keep reminding ourselves that everyone is still healthy and safe which is of course, more important that "stuff".

Another ridiculous dinner and we eat much later here than most of us are accustomed, 10 o'clock or so. Tonight we had to tell people to take the toothpicks out of their mouths at the table as several of them were dozing off! We are worn out but the end of the trip is in sight and everyone is having anxiety about it ending. Nobody wants it to be over! Boa noite ... good night.

Day 8, Sunday, June 21st...first day of winter here and Father's Day at home:

Game day today and our third game of the trip. We left the hotel at 8:30 a.m. and drove for almost two hours. We were up in the hills somewhere still in the state of Rio de Janeiro, but in a more green, lush and mountainous area. One that you would suspect had more insects ... more on that later while I pause to scratch on of my 46 bites. Eek.

Out of nowhere popped this random grass soccer field with a few locals awaiting our arrival. Our players dress in a small cement building and watched as some younger girls in street clothes started to gather as well. This was apparently the team we would play. They were a younger team than in the other games, mainly 15-18 year olds.

It was a hot day and the level of the game would not necessarily be what we had hoped for, but the atmosphere and challenge of the environment made for a great experience, as have most things here in Brazil.  Our opponents played an extremely high, flat defense and our team did not initially adapt and we were called offside more times that I cared to note. We eventually figured it out and were able to score three goals in the first half: two by McKenna Waitley and one by Kate Deines. We changed the majority of the team at half and put restrictions on how they could score: one-touch finishes and goals from crosses were the only thing allowed. We did some decent things but the long lay-off between games did not serve us well as far as a level of play. Jane Mitchell scored a nice second half goal and it ended up 4-0 for the Huskies.

Another frenzy of jersey giveaways took place post-game and the opponents wanted jerseys for their friends and family as well. It was crazy and we had to drag the team back to the bus for the long ride back.

We had just enough time upon return to shower, eat and catch the Brazil-Italy game as well as be updated on the U.S.-Egypt score. All were happy as both teams advance to the semi-finals of the Confederation Cup. Many players skipped the game to shop at the weekly Sunday market. Money flying as usual!

It was then off to our second pro match at Maracana Stadium. We saw Andre's local favorite, Flamengo, play Internacional, which was currently in second place. Flamengo had lost their last game 5-0 and the first game we saw was a snoozer, so we weren't holding out high hopes for a great game. We were wrong! The atmosphere for Flamengo was way better than for Fluminese, and the game itself was much better. 4-0 Flamengo and a hat trick for Adriano! Great goals, great atmosphere, and many Flamengo jerseys purchased by the team!!

Another huge dinner, Jim a little under the weather, everyone nursing bug bites, but everyone with smiles, although fatigued smiles, on their faces in anticipation of another great day. Tomorrow we have our final game in the afternoon and a morning treat. Stay tuned as it promises to be a lot of fun down the stretch!

UPDATE 5:30 PM:

Taylor teed off from the 10th hole for the fourth round and was able to get in 10 holes before darkness halted action. He bogeyed three holes and hit pars on the other seven to finish the abbreviated round 3-over and is 6-over for the tournament and tied for 34th place. Play will resume on Monday at 9 a.m. ET. For a recap of today's action, click here.

AFTER THIRD ROUND:

With the third round of the 2009 U.S. Open Championship finally in the books, Husky senior-to-be Nick Taylor remains the low amateur of the tournament with a 3-over par 213 through three rounds.

Taylor, the UW All-American from Abbotsford, B.C., entered the third round tied for seventh place at 2-under and played in the third-to-last pairing of the day alongside American pro Sean O'Hair. The scores all across the field were higher with only eight players shooting under par in the third round (there were 23 sub-par scores in the second round).

Taylor shot a 5-over 75 today to move from a tie for seventh to a tie for 25th place among the 60 players who made the cut, trailing leader Ricky Barnes, a former Arizona Wildcat, by 11 strokes. Barnes leads the tournament with a terrific 8-under 202, just one stroke better than second-place Lucas Glover and five ahead of a two players at 3-under.

For the day, Taylor recorded seven bogeys and and two birdies. In his second round, Taylor shot a 65, tied for the lowest U.S. Open round ever by an amateur.

Only three of the 14 amateurs in the field made the cut. Virginia Tech's Drew Weaver was two strokes back of Taylor at 215 after the third round while Clemson's Kyle Stanley was another three strokes back at 218.

The fourth and final round of the rain-delayed tournament was supposed to get underway Sunday, though it will certainly not finish until Monday. You can follow the action live on NBC television or at usopen.com.

And, of course, check back here at gohuskies.com and the Dawg Blawg for more!

Related Articles:
• Abbotsford's Nick Taylor among U.S. Open leaders after dream round - The Province, June 20

UPDATE, 5:15 PM PT

Play has been officially suspended until Sunday. The field will pick up at 7:30 a.m ET tomorrow. From that, you can estimate that Nick will tee off around 7:40 a.m. ET (4:40 a.m. PT). I'm guessing a lot of father's will be planted in their couches all day for the U.S. Open on Sunday as they try to get in the final two rounds!

UPDATE, 4:05 PM PT:

A serious downpour has invaded Farmingdale, N.Y., again and play has been halted. It was less than 10 minutes before Nick's scheduled tee time. Watching on NBC you can see it is already getting dark due to the thick clouds blocking out the sun, so it may be a stretch to think Nick will be able to get out on the course today. He and the rest of those near the top of the leaderboard may have a slight advantage if the field can't get back on the course. Unlike those who have already started their third round, those who haven't teed off get a fresh start. Nothing is certain yet, but we'll post something here as soon as we know the status of play.

2:00 PM PT:

Nick Taylor is tied for seventh after two rounds and obviously comfortably made the cut of the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black.

The third round will start tonight at 5:30 ET, with Taylor teeing off at 6:58 ET. He will be paired with Sean O'Hair.

It is raining on Long Island right now, but the players should play through the weather and be able to play until about 8:30 ET.

Come back here later for more updates!

Nick Taylor wrapped up his second round and sits 2-under par 138 overall. He shot a blistering 5-under 65 in the second round, easily assuring himself a spot the final two rounds of action.

Jumping onto the course on hole 15 after action was halted due to darkness last night, Taylor bogeyed the first hole, but bounced back with a birdie on 18 to card his 5-under round. He notched seven birdies overall in his remarkable second round.

It's beginning to look like the golfers who didn't start their second round until Saturday aren't scoring nearly as well as those who played most of their rounds on Friday (like Taylor), presumably due to the conditions of the course. Which means that only a few, if any, of those players finishing up their second rounds today will catch or pass him. So, Taylor should get plenty of TV time whenever the third round begins as he'll be in one of the last four or five two-somes.

We'll be back later in the day to update fans on Nick! Go Dawgs.

UPDATE 5:35 PM PT:

The horn has sounded at Bethpage Black and Nick Taylor is done for the day. He ended his day with a bang, holing out from the sand on No. 14 to birdie the Par-3 hole. With just four holes left to play to complete his second round, Taylor is an impressive 2-under par for the tournament, including 5-under par for the second round! Barring disaster, Taylor will make the cut for the 2009 U.S. Open!  Click here to read the recap from GoHuskies.com.

REPORT FROM GARRETT CLEGG AND 5:35 UPDATE:

Men's assistant golf coach Garrett Clegg was with Nick Taylor at Bethpage Black and had to fly home from New York after Taylor's first round. Here is his report from the airport:

"Nick started a lttle shakey. It could have been nerves or the swirling wind maybe confused him, but he made a 10-foot par putt on hole No. 17 (Taylor started on the back nine) jump started his round.

He almost holed a nine iron from 140 yards on No. 18 and tapped in for a birdie. Then, on No. 2, he made a 25-foot birdie putt for his second birdie of the round and he played solidly after that.

He is in great shape and is in a great position to make the cut with a solid second round. The weather has been great today and he will play until dark. He should have an advantage since as a collegiate golfer he has played 36 holes in a day many times."

Obviously, since Taylor is 5-under for the second round, 2-under overall, Clegg's prediction proved to be spot on! Taylor holed out from the sand trap on No. 14 after the horn sounded and will find himself not only in solid position to make the cut, but in contention to fight for the U.S. Open title! Wouldn't that be something?

5:10 pm (PT)

Nick Taylor is currently 4-under par in the second round through 12 holes and 1-under for the tournament overall. That puts him currently tied for an impressive 11th place and clearly in good shape to make the cut!!

2:30 pm (PT)

Standout Husky golfer Nick Taylor made it through his first round today at the U.S. Open Championships held in Farmingdale, New York on the Bethpage Black course.

Taylor shot 3-over par through the first round which puts him in a tie for 52nd place at the time of this post. Rain washed out play on Thursday, before Taylor had even teed off, forcing him to rise early to get through round one this morning. Taylor will now begin his second round shortly, beginning from the first tee, and is expected to play until darkness sets in.

Playing 36 holes in one day is nothing new to collegiate golfers, so Taylor could have a slight edge over the pros in terms of stamina.

Check back on GoHuskies.com later tonight for a complete recap.

Brazil: Day 4:
Wednesday, June 17

This is difficult to start as I know there won't be a way to summarize the day properly or keep it to a reasonable length, but I will try.

It was a full day to be sure as we left the hotel at 8:30 a.m. and returned at 7:30 p.m. An impression of what happened in those 11 hours would depend upon which of the 30 people in our group you asked as it would be different for each one.

I'll begin with impressions and then I will tell you where we went.

Sophomore, Hannah Greig on the day: "I loved it. It was complete culture shock for me and I realized how fortunate I am. The kids today were absolutely adorable."

Sophomore, Carli Cearnal reflects: "It just made me so appreciative of my life."

Sophomore, McKenna Waitley, always a woman of few words: "Surreal."

Junior, Chelsea Bumbaugh had this to say: "It was very ... uh, eye-opening. It actually made me feel selfish for previous times in my life when I've felt like I've had it rough."

Assistant Coach, Jim Thomas' perspective: "I feel thankful towards those I met and saw today for showing me what it takes to be happy. It isn't very much. I did not see one person frowning when under the circumstances you think you would."

Trainer, Mike Dillon had this to offer: "You wish every athlete could see the amenities that the people and athletes here DON'T have but how they manage to still prepare and compete and enjoy sport. It would certainly make them more grateful for what we have at UW."

Strength and Conditioning Coach, Rose Baker's observation of our student-athletes: "I enjoyed watching the behavior and perspective of our women change before, during and after the day. It was cool."

As mentioned before, Associate Head Coach Amy Griffin was in Brazil in December of 2007 with the U-17 National Team. She gave me a great perspective on the activities we should try to schedule for the team while we were here in addition to playing matches. One thing we all spoke about as a staff was finding a way to connect with the "real" people of Rio. Through our contacts at NIKE we were able to connect with Alice Gismonti, head of Nike's Global Organization which handles all of its social outreach projects and programs. Alice made a special trip to meet us flying in from Sao Paulo. She came to escort us to one of the "favelas" or Brazilian slums, which is also home of Instituto Bola Pra Frente, a type of sport school within the favela opened by famous Brazilian soccer players, Jorginho and Bebeto. I had the opportunity to see both of the win a World Cup at the Rose Bowl in 1994. Jorginho open the institute here because this is the favela in which where he grew up. There was nothing like this for him growing up which makes it even more amazing to see what he has achieved in his life.

So we took the bus ride to the outer part of Rio and saw many other favelas along the way. We arrived at Bola Pra Frente and entered the cement confines of the institute. Here we met Ana Julia, the director of the Institute, Eduardo, another instructor in charge of outreach to the surrounding favela to get children to the institute and Anya, a visiting Norwegian working at the institute as part of her graduate study in social work. We viewed an informational video on Bola Pra Frente and got a good feel for Jorginho's passion for this place. We then toured the classrooms, met with children of the institute which range from 6-18, observed them in different environments: dance class, computer class, job training class, and playing soccer outside on their "sand turf" field.

We then left the institute to tour the surrounding favelas on foot. Eduardo is the community connector for the institute and it was cool to see the locals come to great him. To say that the conditions in the favelas are substandard wouldn't begin to describe the environment. However, with that said, it is amazing what human beings adapt to and tolerate when there isn't another choice. The people we saw and met in the favelas were happy and welcoming people. There were areas we did not see where it would not be safe for our large group because drug trafficking is so prevalent that when the police come they are indiscriminant about who they go after and we would not have been safe.

We were able to go inside a new "sport and leisure" center in the favelas where old and young alike were taking dance lessons and enjoying themselves for a few hours. A few of our players joined in the dancing.

I am not doing it justice, but the few hours our team spent walking the streets of this favela changed them forever.

We then went back to the bus, left for lunch nearby and returned to the institute for our game, our second of the trip. This time, knowing what to expect, the players were much more at ease and the students of the institute were enthusiastic and supportive of our players, as well as anxious to watch us compete. Brazilians love their futebol!!!!

We played Team Chicago, a local team sponsored by NIKE and an acquaintance of ours, Hudson Fortune, from Chicago. He was born in Brazil as his parents were missionaries living here and the time and he also visits and gives back to the people here. Very cool.

This team was comprised of 17-25 year old women and they weren't not quite at the level of the previous team, but they were Brazilian: skillful, tactical and passionate players! The game began with our own Kendyl Pele, Hannah Greig, and Chelsea Bumbaugh singing the National Anthem. This was a real treat for everyone!

We won the match 3-1 and scored all four goals. Jorde LaFontaine-Kussmann saw her first action in goal as a Husky...action that she won't see on U.S. soil until 2010 as she has to sit a year based on the Pac-10 conference transfer rule. She played outstanding and it was great for her to have this opportunity. Carli Cearnal connected at 15 minutes, we had an unfortunate own goal at 36 minutes, we went back on top for good on a great strike by Nikki Murray in the 57 minute and capped it off with a beautifully built up goal by Kelli Stewart in the 79 minute. Faustine Dufka was dubbed Woman of the Match for her 90 minutes of hard work on both sides of the ball, her superb attacking that lead to the last goal, and her sacrifice of her body as she was run out of bounds on the sideline and wrapped herself around a goalpost. Yes, on the sideline. The "atmosphere" and "conditions" here were unlike anything these players have ever been a part of before. The sand turf field was enclosed in cement walls that were less than 5 feet from the sidelines, and the goals used for small sided games, 6 of them, were cemented in the ground along the sidelines and were actually a part of the sideline. We did well not to incur an injury and it forced our team to adapt, which they did very well. The kids in the stands performed and cheered for us, beat their drums and shouted out names and numbers! Kendyl PELE was popular as you can imagine.

After the game our team presented jerseys to the players and then presented Ana Julia with a PILE of surplus gear (uniforms, shoes) that we had brought from the UW. It was well received and our team felt great about making a small positive difference in the lives of the children and people of the favelas. Again, this is something that will change us all forever.

This was a top 5 day for all!

Day 5: Thursday, June 19, 2009

After yesterday and a lot of road/bus time, we were due for some down town. There was morning strolling, exercise, and beach time for everyone. At 11 a.m. many went to find TVs to watch the U.S.-Brazil men's game live from South Africa. Brazil won 3-0 handily, so the locals were happy and we were happy for them as they take their soccer very seriously and we're on their turf and wouldn't want to have to endure the ensuing depression if Brazil were to lose. They don't like to lose!

In the late afternoon we caught the bus to catch the train that would take us to Corcavado Mountain. This was spectacular. We traveled in the train straight up and the view was beyond spectacular. From here you could see all of Rio De Janeiro and got a feel for the first time how absolutely huge it is! The other attraction here is the enormous cement statue: Christ the Redeemer. This was a virtual photo session frenzy and we were all in awe of this man-made marvel. It was truly moving. We also just happened to be at the top of Corcavado during sunset which only added to the ambience. This was yet another memory that won't leave anyone from here forward. Simply awe-inspiring.

We ended our evening in a circle on the beach at Ipanema reflecting on the past days. We know there are more amazing experiences ahead in the next few days and I can't wait to share them with you all!

Obrigada! Tzchau!

Washington Men's Golf Assistant Coach Garrett Clegg is in Farmingdale, New York until Friday following Nick Taylor in his quest to conquer Bethpage Black and the rest of the U.S. Open field. Clegg will be filing reports as he follows Taylor. Here is his latest report:

As you have all seen, today was completely rained out.  It wasn't that there was an extraordinary amount of rain that fell today. It was a combination of steady rain with an already wet golf course.  The ground was saturated and there was just no place for the water to drain so it pooled up on the greens. 

Unfortunately, the forecast for the rest of the week is calling for more rain.  The USGA has said that they will play until there is a 72-hole champion, even if they have to finish the tournament on Tuesday.  Hopefully the rain will miss us and Nick will be able to tee off tomorrow.  I am not sure when he will tee off, but it should be somewhere around 10:00 am Eastern time (7:00 am PT). 

This Saturday will be very unique as the Huskies will be represented at both Cheney Stadium in Tacoma and at SAFECO Field in Seattle.

Tacoma-native Isaiah Thomas will throw out the first pitch before the Tacoma Rainiers' game at 7 pm as the Rainiers celebrate "Paint-the-Park-Purple". The team will be wearing purple uniforms to honor all-things Husky. Tickets for the game are $15, with $5 from each ticket directly benefitting scholarships for UW Tacoma students.

At the same time, north on I-5, the national championship men's crew team will be represented by the Varsity 8 boat at SAFECO. The team will be introduced and throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Mariners-Diamondbacks game at 7:10 pm.

Either way, go enjoy a professional baseball game and support the Huskies!!

 

Big news from Colorado Springs today that Husky Quincy Pondexter was one of 12 players to earn a roster spot on the USA World University Games team. Pondexter, who is still recovering from off-season hernia surgery, obviously impressed the selection committee enough to earn this huge honor.

Quincy is the lone player from the Pac-10 Conference on the roster, but there are some familiar faces that will be joining him in Belgrade, Serbia for the tournament. Oklahoma State's James Anderson, Purdue's Robbie Hummel and Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado -- opponents from last season -- all made the team too. Quincy will have all bragging rights over Anderson and Varnado, but Hummel will hold rights over Pondexter.

For the complete release and entire roster, click here.

Here are a few quotes from Quincy Pondexter and Lorenzo Romar on making the team:

 

Pondexter: 

"To have a chance to represent my country, the University of Washington, Fresno, and my family at the international level is just a great, thrilling opportunity," 

How did the repaired hernia hold up during the tryouts: "It really tested it. I didn't think I was going to make it through. But I just fought through it. The workouts were pretty tough and we played a lot of basketball. It was just a great experience."

What are your impressions of your teammates: "They're all terrific players. We'll see how good they all are this upcoming week during practice. But everyone is very excited and we can't wait to get at it."

Romar:

 What is it like to have one of your own make the team?: "It really is exciting, especially since it is Quincy. Going into his senior year, I think it is a great opportunity for him to represent his county and USA Basketball. He will have an opportunity to play with and against some very good basketball players, so I think it will be a great springboard for him as he heads into next season."

Was it even more impressive that he made the team knowing he is not playing at 100 percent?: "I was really impressed because he is obviously not in the best condition because of the surgery. He still went out and gave it his all despite all of that and was good enough to make the team."

Washington Men's Golf Assistant Coach Garrett Clegg is in Farmingdale, New York until Friday following Nick Taylor in his quest to conquer Bethpage Black and the rest of the U.S. Open field. Clegg will be filing reports the next couple of day as he follows Taylor. Here is his first report:

The Associated Press' All-State high school baseball teams have been announced today. Five of the UW's class of incoming recruits earned first-team honors.

Eric Peterson, an infielder from Liberty High in Renton, was named the 3A co-State Player of the Year, and was also listed on the first team. Also on the 3A first team were catcher Chase Anselment of Meadowdale High and infielder Jacob Lamb from Bishop Blanchet.

Two Dawgs-to-be were listed on the 4A first team: Adam Cimber, a pitcher from Puyallup High and Brian Wolfe, a pitcher from Snohomish High.

We don't have too many details on the 2009 Husky Football Picture Day yet, but we can tell you to save the date of Sunday, Aug. 16. Festivities are slated to start at 10 am at Husky Stadium. This is the fans best opportunity to meet and mingle with players & coaches as the football team prepares for their Sept. 5 opener at home against LSU.

When more details are available, they will be posted on GoHuskies.com's Events Page.

News has come in on a few former Husky baseball players who have signed professional contracts and are set to get their minor-league careers underway. Information on signings and minor-league assignments is often hard to come by, but here are a few links to stories:

From KEPR-TV in the Tri-Cities comes this story (with video) on right-handed pitcher Jorden Merry signing with the Mariners. According to the story, he'll play with the Everett Aquasox, just up the road from the UW.

Next, according to this story from Pittsburghlive.com, right-handed pitcher Jason Erickson, drafted by the Pirates, is in camp with the State College Spikes of the New York-Penn League.

Additionally, outfielder Jake Rife has signed with the Angels, but we're still waiting for confirmation on where he will play this summer.

As always, check back here for more information as it becomes available.

The UW women's soccer team is currently enjoying an off-season tour of Brazil. The Husky head coach, Lesle Gallimore reports on the UW's first game, which sounds like a thriller. Here's what the coach had to say, via email from Rio:

Brazil, Day 3
Tuesday, June 16th

It is shocking to all of us that this is only Day 3. We have crammed so much in so far that it really has seemed we have been here longer.    

Today the group strolled into the lovely breakfast at the Ipanema Plaza between 7 and 9 a.m. Word on the street is that Jim Thomas and Tess Bartlett had already been for a run. Tess isn't allowed to fully participate yet, so Jim is aiding her in her road to fitness recovery and it is a tough task to get up and run on Ipanema Beach, but someone has to do it! Ah the life of a soccer coach.

We had a little bus "snag" so our departure for our tour of Rio was delayed from 9 to almost 10, but not to worry Andre and crew had it all under control and the abbreviated tour was still spectacular! Andre is a virtual Rio encyclopedia and we were all fascinated to hear about the different areas of Rio de Janeiro. The city actually got its name, which means River of January because the Portuguese in 1502 thought Guanabara Bay was a River and it happened to be January 1st when they arrived...so Rio de Janeiro made perfect sense.

It is extremely interesting to see the melding of classes and neighborhoods. Brazilian "favelas" or slums right next to areas much like Beverly Hills. Andre says that's "just how it is" and everyone lives fairly harmoniously. There really seems to be no middle class here which makes for an interesting dynamic; it really is intriguing.

We traveled south and learned more about the politics and cultural scene in Rio and when we turned to head north back towards Ipanema we took in more of the beautiful Rio coastline stopping for a photo op at Barra Da Tijuca and praia (beach) de Barra. Rio is famous for extreme sports and we watched some hang gliders land on the beach and Kate Deines was offered a deal to go hang gliding. I declined for her as I felt Mom and Dad Deines would like to see Kate again and I wasn't up for having that on my head...standard stick in the mud Head Coach. (It's official, I am old).

Once we made it back to the hotel the players did well to cram some lunch in them as we were pressed for time to get to our game. Off we headed for the first match of the trip, anticipation and excitement was very high. So high just about everyone fell asleep on the bus.

The oil and petroleum industry is huge here in Brazil and our first match was to be played against a team sponsored by one such company, CEPE. The team Cepe-Caxias (meaning women) was our opponent and we really had no idea what to expect other than they are Brazilian so we knew the skill factor would be high. We were not disappointed! It is so fun to watch the soft touch they all have and how easily they handle the ball and move to support. These women were mostly in their 20's and primarily older than our team, 24-27. Their experience showed and we were impressed with their athletic ability as well.

With that said we held our own and we went up on the board first with a lovely goal by Veronica Perez on a fantastic assist by McKenna Waitley in the 12th minute. We played on a grass field that by standards here was great; by American standards there wouldn't be one college team we play that has a field like this, but it is so great for our players to be challenged with different elements. For you novices the officials would also qualify as an "element".

Our friend in the center didn't disappoint. As Associate Head Coach Amy Griffin, who is our most experienced International coach and player knows, you are never going to get favorable treatment from officials when you are the visitor. It is just the way it goes and you better learn to deal with it. Our man today lulled us into believing he would be kind, but that waned as the game went on and it was if he was inhaling and exhaling with his whistle. I was personally entertained by it all. We asked the team to grade themselves on how they did on not letting the officiating affect them and they were in the C-D range; we will have this challenge again and we will see if we can get to a B during this trip and be at an A+ by fall!

The opponents were awarded a PK which by the markings on the field was about 9.5 yards from the goal, and they put it away. 1-1 was the score in the 18th minute.

There was more action to be had in the first half and I have to admit that neither team was defending that great and our opponents had a bit better possession. In the 28th minute, a good hard low serve in by them and a streaking near post run by one of their forwards to meet the ball and it's 2-1.

In the 38th minute, savvy Husky freshmen Sarah Martinez gets into the box on the left side and drives to commit a defender and the defender can do nothing but take her down. PK award to the Dawgs and VP converts on her second goal of the day to make it 2-2 at half. I couldn't see from where I was if it was a 9.5-yarder, I'll have to ask V tomorrow.

At half-time we spoke of possession and supporting the ball and there was some improvement in the second half, but the Brazilians were still the superior team in possession. A couple of quick passes, a shot, a deflection and our keeper, Kari Davidson is unable to keep it from bending in at the near post, 3-2 Cepe-Caxias.

The game begins to heat up a beat and our friend in middle continues to breathe in and out on his whistle and more often awards the ball to his countrywomen. It is almost funny ... actually more to us as coaches than to the players as it is all unfolding exactly as we knew it could.

But as she has done all year Veronica Perez is clutch and finishes an outstanding pass from Kate in the 72nd minute to knot it at 3-3 and that was all she wrote. Their coach gave me a few gift jerseys and I awarded one to Veronica as woman of the match! Well deserved!

More predictions by Amy come true as our "friend" let them game run about eight minutes extra, we continued to dodge bullets and the home team alas could not capitalize during their bonus time.

We brought spare jerseys from home and gave them to our opponents. Their expressions of excitement and gratitude were worth a million bucks. I love the Brazilians!

We ate a ridiculously great dinner on site at their restaurant and topped it off with a very cool loud festive Brazilian version of Happy Birthday complete with chocolate cake to celebrate the 19th birthday of our own Faustine Dufka as well as the 40th birthday of our guide Andre! Feliz Aniversario!!

We have game two tomorrow versus Team Chicago and we're excited to see what great challenges our next opponent presents! Stay tuned and tchau!

Spencer Hawes is back home in Seattle for the summer and can be found working out in the gyms around Bank of America on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, on the day I found him for the following interview, Nick Collison was on the east court working out too. As were several Huskies, including Justin Dentmon, Isaiah Thomas and Quincy Pondexter.

Big Spence was nice enough to take a few minutes away from his workout to catch up with GoHuskies.com. Among the subjects he talked about were Jon Brockman and what he thinks his role will be in the NBA, Quincy Pondexter's progress, and general life in the NBA.

Here's a link to a presentation made today on the floor of the United States House of Representatives earlier today [note, clicking the link will download a WMV video file to your desktop]. Rep. Dicks spoke before the House on the passing of former UW head football coach Jim Owens.

Rep. Dicks (pictured at left), who has served in the House since 1977 representing Washington's sixth district, played for Owens at Washington, earning letters in 1961 and 1962.

The Husky women's soccer team is currently in Brazil on a foreign tour. The team fund-raised all spring to pay for their trip and, after a long day of travel, they've reached their destination.

Here's the first report from head coach Lesle Gallimore:

It seems as though most people took the path of staying up all evening on June 12th for fear of missing their alarms and thereby missing the 4:00am bus to SeaTac.

Extremely proud of the group as everyone was on time, well-packed and ready to go. We even had a stowaway by the name of Pete, Washington rower, beau of captain Lindsey Kasser and recent National Champion. I thought it was bold of Kass to try and smuggle her boyfriend to Rio...alas he was only going to SeaTac to catch his flight to Philly for U23 National camp!

On to the airport and our journey: five-hour flight to JFK, six-hour layover at JFK and some quality time playing cards, eating, watching movies on the computer, practice moves with tennis ball (see Jane Mitchell, pictured) throughout the terminal and finally full blown soccer tennis over a trashcan near our gate. Good times had by all. Long (8+ hour) flight to Sao Paolo and then a quick flight on to Rio after a short layover.

Arrival: 11:25 a.m on Sunday, June 14th. Customs smooth, spirits high, everyone's ankles swollen. Of particular note is Chelsea Bumbaugh's issue with inflight swelling. We are trying to think of something more severe than "cankles" but haven't come up with it yet. We will.

We were met by our guides, Jon & Antonio. The former is out of the UK and latter is our resident Brazilian. Also helping out is Andre, who is the local Rio tour guide who primarily assists with transportation arrangements and other Rio specifics. They are all terrific and we feel safe and comfortable in their care.

No rest for the weary: drop bags at Ipanema Plaza, our hotel, hit the Rio streets for quick lunch, and back on the bus to head to one of the world's largest and most famous soccer venues: Maracana Stadium in Rio. Here we attended our first professional match, local team Fluminese versus Gremio. It was a 0-0 draw, and to say that Brazilian soccer is "indirect" would be an understatement...there what looked to be a few outstanding scoring or "shooting" opportunities that were put on the back burner to a few extra touches, back heels, or feints...the Brazilians definitely have flare. Despite the long, long travel our Huskies were unbelievable in their energy and excitement toward being at the match. The weather was perfect and the setting the same. To quote our friend Jim Thomas, "Brilliant".

Post-match we were back to the hotel to get our luggage, check into our rooms and take much needed showers before dinner. We walked to our first meal at a place around the corner called "Fazendola". We were to have all you can eat pizzas. These are thin crust pizzas -- more like tortillas, insisted our own Veronica Perez, with slightly different toppings, cheese and texture than you'd find at home.

The waiters brought the pizzas one by and one and it seemed as though it was going to take forever for everyone to even have one piece. And since nobody knew what type was coming next it was hard to pass up on one even if it didn't suit your tastes exactly. Well, at least I didn't pass up on any. Suddenly the entire process reminded me of the chocolate factory conveyor belt episode of "I Love Lucy". We were all thinking we'd starve and each pizza pan was empty and head back downstairs before even 8 of our 30 people could get a slice, and then the paced was up and their were shrimp pizzas, pepperoni and onion, spinach pizzas, broccoli, four-cheese, four-cheese with turkey, and so on and so forth, they just kept coming!

Fortunately that is where the resemblance stopped, nobody was stuffing pizza in their mouth or in their clothing to keep it from dropping to the floor. Everyone was plenty full however. I say plenty, but apparently not completely, because as is well-known about our team they have a little "sweet tooth". You should have seen the eyes light up when the waiter changed out our plates so the "dessert" pizzas could be served. Oh my word. Strawberry chocolate pizzas, plain chocolate, white chocolate with nuts, peanut butter banana and chocolate, sheer decadence, I'm telling you it was ridiculous but only a little less ridiculous than the complete giddiness our team was showing towards dessert. Almost embarrassing, but admittedly, the dessert pizzas were darn good.

Finally to bed around midnight. Oh, I forgot the complimentary Caparhina the hotel supplied for the staff. Couldn't end the day without the proper night cap. Boa noite!

This was the fullest half-day I have had in a long time. Cannot believe we get to be here a lot longer. Can't wait!

The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee announced that the University of Washington will serve as host to one of six 2010 NCAA Men's Golf Regionals. The tournament will be held in May 2010, at the Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton.

For more details and the complete release, click here.

Husky All-America golfer Nick Taylor will tee off on the 10th hole at 9:41 a.m. Pacific Time Thursday at the U.S. Open golf tournament at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Taylor, a 21-year old senior-to-be from Abbotsford, B.C., will be in a group with two professionals, 32-year old Scott Gutschewski and 25-year old Gary Woodland. However, those two will be playing in their first U.S. Open while Taylor, playing as an amateur, will be making his second appearance, having played last year at Torrey Pines.

Here's a link to the first-round pairings and tee times, and you can follow along on the USGA's official site: www.usopen.com.

Husky fans who were 2008-09 season ticket holders for women's or men's basketball should be receiving their renewal notices for 2009-10 in the mail shortly. In addition, email notifications should be sent out by Tuesday, June 16.

Fans have until July 15 to renewal their season tickets for the upcoming season, so don't forget to respond!

The men have released their 2009-10 schedule, while the women are still waiting to solidify a couple of non-conference opponents.  

For more information about the season ticket renewals that have been mailed, please visit the men's basketball season ticket page, women's basketball season ticket page or call the Husky ticket office at 206-543-2200.

The Washington women's soccer team made its way to SeaTac Airport bright and early this morning as the Huskies get their foreign tour to Brazil underway.

The Huskies (with coaches Lesle Gallimore and Amy Griffin, pictured) face a long day. After a cross-country trip to New York, they'll encounter a six-hour layover before their flight to Rio de Janeiro.

Not a bad way to get the summer started! Good luck and have fun!

Redshirt freshman Mel Lawrence looked like the future of the women's steeplechase tonight, placing third in the final behind two seniors and running a massive lifetime best of 9:40.98.

Lawrence, a Reno, Nev. native, adds her first track All-American honor to the one she earned in cross country in the fall. She was the only woman in the field to set a PR.

A full recap will come later tonight.

With the University of Washington's 134th Commencement Ceremony taking place Saturday at Husky Stadium, a number of graduating student-athletes took part in a special reception at Conibear Shellhouse Friday afternoon.  UW Husky coaches , staff and administrators took a final opportunity to say "Thank You" to the student-athletes who make UW athletics special.

We wish everyone the best as they move forward with their post-graduate lives!

Visit the official University of Washington website for more information on commencement.

UW men's soccer coach Dean Wurzberger announced a couple of days ago that former Husky and long-time Major League Soccer defender Brandon Prideaux is retiring from his career in professional soccer and will return to Montlake as an assistant coach.  Prideaux, a native of nearby Renton, will return to campus on Jan. 1, 2010 - following the conclusion of the current MLS season and a little extra time to relocate his family.

Here are a few links to stories around the net regarding his retirement.  He has some interesting things to say about his decision to return to the UW.

Coaching Job Lured Fire's Prideaux Into Retirement

Back to School For Fire's Prideaux

Fire's Prideaux To Quit After Season

UPDATE: All running events have been pushed back about one hour, and the CBS College Sports TV window has been moved back as well. The show will now air from 7-10 p.m. Central time. All field events have also been moved to tonight, but the weather looks like it should hold for the rest of the day.

For the third time in the four days that the Huskies have been in Fayetteville, a large thunderstorm passed over the area, dropping rain in sheets and prompting tornado warnings. Morning action at NCAA's was delayed once again, and while the worst of the storm seems to have passed, conditions are still very wet and gray. It remains to be seen if the start times for any of the Huskies will be affected. Washington's first participants today were to be Jared O'Connor and Scott Roth in the men's pole vault final, beginning at 3:45 p.m. Central.

Today is the first day of action that will be televised live, as the CBS College Sports channel broadcasts from 6-9 p.m. Central time. That window covers all running events today, so there are still several hours for the weather to clear and the meet to be televised as planned. Huskies competing on the track this evening will include Mel Lawrence in the steeple final at 6:25 Central, Jordan Boase in the 400m semis at 7:25, and Katie Follett in the final of the 5,000-meters at 8:15. For Comcast subscribers in the Seattle area, CBS College Sports is channel 412.

Looking back at yesterday's action, the following photo gallery has been updated, and a post-race interview with Anita Campbell following her third-place finish in the 10,000-meters will be up shortly

Updated Photo Gallery

Here is the video interview with Anita Campbell after last night's 10,000-meters run:

School mile record-holder and five-time All-American Austin Abbott had one of the best races of his already storied career this evening at the NCAA Championships, as he broke the 22-year-old school record in the 1,500-meter run.

Running in the first of three semifinal heats, Abbott placed second in 3:39.63, which was the second-best time among all 27 prelim runners. That time eclipsed Bruce Stirling's 1987 school record of 3:39.89. Abbott had been shooting for that record for much of the year, and thought his best chance might have passed at the Mt. SAC Relays. He had been held in check in tactical, crowded races at Pac-10's and Regionals, but found room to run today.

In a nine-man field, Abbott was in the back of the pack early, but continually moved up and positioned himself at the back of the lead pack that included about five athletes. Around the final turn, Abbott continued to pick off runners, and kicked to the finish on the outside to finish just behind Wisconsin's Craig Miller. After seeing his time, Abbott raised his arms in triumph. Abbott's previous PR was 3:41.62 set in a win at the Stanford Invite this season.

Just a few minutes earlier, freshman Christine Babcock also advanced to the final of the women's 1,500-meters, running a PR of 4:16.10.

We'll have a post-race video interview with Abbott later tonight.

USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and Honda Softball Award winner Danielle Lawrie will co-host the "Brock and Salk Show" Friday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. on 710 ESPN Seattle. For more information on the show, which features former Husky and Seahawks quarterback Brock Huard, click here. UW quarterback Jake Locker will also make an appearance on the show at 12:10.

Also, check out this photo gallery of the Huskies recent appearance at Safeco Field where they were honored for their National Championship and Lawrie threw out the first pitch.

So far, one current Husky and one likely future Husky have been drafted on the third and final day of the Major League Baseball Draft.

Jacob Lamb, a high school senior at Seattle's Bishop Blanchet, was taken by the Pirates in the 38th round. If he doesn't sign with the Bucs, he'll enroll at the UW this fall and play as a freshman on the 2010 Husky team.

Senior right-handed pitcher Jorden Merry was also drafted today, taken by the hometown Seattle Mariners in the 40th round. His likely first stop in the minor leagues would be with the Everett Aquasox, just up I-5.

UPDATE: Moments ago, senior outfielder Jake Rife became the fifth Husky baseball player drafted when the L.A. Angels selected him with their 48th-round selection.

SECOND UPDATE: The draft has now completed, so in all, five members of the 2009 Husky team were selected: Kyle Conley, Brian Pearl, Jason Erickson, Jorden Merry and Jake Rife. Also drafted were Jake Locker (quarterback on football team, but not a UW baseball player) and two incoming freshmen: Eric Peterson and Jacob Lamb. Check gohuskies.com later this afternoon for more on the Huskies and the 2009 MLB draft.

In other baseball news, here's a (belated) link to a piece in the Kitsap Sun, listing the All-Olympic League baseball team for 2009. Husky signee Andy Smith was named the league MVP and former Husky catcher Jeff Weible (1992-93), his coach at North Kitsap, was named Coach of the Year. Additionally, fellow signee Tyler Sullivan, from Kingston High, was named a first-team all-league pitcher.

***UPDATE: While the rain continues and lightning can still be seen as of 8:45 Central time, the sky turned a dazzling shade of orange as the storm gave way to a reflected sunset.  Check out the new photo below.  A decision is coming soon on whether tonight's events will resume.***

The NCAA Track Championships have been put on hold as a major thunder and lightning storm rolled over Fayetteville at around 7 p.m. Competitors retreated to the nearby Bud Walton Arena, the home of the Razorbacks basketball teams, for cover.

Before the rains hit, Husky vaulters Scott Roth and Jared O'Connor made it through qualifying with clearances of 17-6 1/2. Two runways were set up, and Roth and O'Connor were split between the two, so coach Pat Licari was hustling back and forth along the grandstand to advise both athletes, and also try to keep track of the dwindling number of entrants. Only five vaulters cleared that bar (Roth and O'Connor included), and nine more from a lower height advanced on a tiebreaker, bringing the number of finalists to 14 from the original field of 27. Washington is the only school with two vaulters left, and O'Connor was the only vaulter in the field to clear each height on his first attempt.

Andrea Peterson had been warming up for the women's vault when the meet was halted. Also still left to compete this evening are senior Jordan Boase and Gudaitis in the 400-meters, junior Katie Follett in the 5,000m, and redshirt freshman Mel Lawrence in a wetter than usual steeplechase. Sophomore Kyle Nielsen was also slated to compete in the men's javelin qualifying tonight. Brooke Pighin finished up her throws in the women's javelin, but is still waiting for the event to finish to see if she qualifies.

The first track events are about an hour away at the NCAA Track Championships this afternoon at the University of Arkansas. Hammer throw qualifying was the first event up this morning, and although junior Zack Midles barely missed out on the final, he did earn his first career All-American honor in his first trip to nationals.

Midles placed 13th in the qualifying rounds, and was eighth-best among Americans. Unfortunately, Midles' best throw of an even 210-feet was three inches shy of the last spot in Friday's final.

Midles will be UW's first All-American in the hammer, and first in any men's throws event, since Martin Bingisser in 2007. The Olympia native was seeded just 21st coming into the event, so even coming so close to the final was a bit of an upset. Midles joins his older brother Adam as All-American hammer specialists. Adam earned the honor three times at USC, with a best finish of fifth.

Live video and results are available on the NCAA's site. Seven more Huskies and one more relay are scheduled to compete this evening.

Washington quarterback Jake Locker met with the media via teleconference this afternoon to talk his 10th round selection in the Major League Baseball Draft.  He confirmed that his number one priority was Washington Husky football.  If he does sign a contract with the Angels, the club would hold his rights for six years.

UPDATE: Here's a link to the transcript of a teleconference that Locker held with reporters today: transcript link.

Before the teleconference began, Husky head football coach Steve Sarkisian had this to say about Locker being drafted: "Obviously, being draft that high by a big-league baseball team shows the athletic ability that Jake Locker has. Jake has reassured us that he's committed to playing football for the Huskies, and I know that he's anxious for the upcoming season."

Check out this hilarious story/video of ESPN.com's Jim Caple taking on National Softball Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie during the media challenge.

"Swing, miss, repeat when facing Lawrie"

 

Also, here is our video of the Seattle media's attempts to hit off of Danielle:

We had a good turnout for the men's crew IRA national championship celebration last night.  A couple hundred Husky fans came out to show their support and watch the race footage from the varsity eight championship.

Watching the footage again was emotional... It was such a powerful and incredible win.  Tough to put into words, but it touched a lot of people in that boathouse.  I saw lots of tears, from rowers to parents, alumni to administrators.  It was great to feel the Husky pride in the Conibear Shellhouse last night.

Congratulations, again, to the 2009 IRA National Champion Washington Huskies!  GO DAWGS!!!

Washington right fielder Kyle Conley was the first Husky selected in the 2009 MLB Draft, going to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 7th round (219th overall).

Shortly thereafter, Husky right-handed pitcher Brian Pearl was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 9th round (269th overall).

UW quarterback Jake Locker was chosen by the Los Angeles Angels with the final pick of the 10th round. Locker has never played baseball in college, but did play summer ball for the Bellingham Bells last summer and was a top prospect out of Ferndale High School.

Most recently, senior right-handed pitcher Jason Erickson was taken by the Pirates in the 24th round. Erickson, from White River High, was a 45th-round selection out of high school (2006) draft, so he moved up considerably as well.

Check gohuskies.com later in the day for more on the Huskies in the draft. Today (Wed.), is the second of three days of the draft.

The 20 Husky track & field student-athletes on hand in Fayetteville, Arkansas are currently resting up before the NCAA Outdoor Championships kick off tomorrow morning. Junior Zack Midles and sophomore Elisa Bryant will be the first Huskies in action tomorrow, each competing in the hammer throw qualifying rounds, with Midles starting at 10:30 a.m. (Central) and Bryant beginning at 1 p.m. The first track event for UW is the semifinal of the men's 4x100m relay.

The Huskies flew to Dallas then hustled over to their connecting flight to Tulsa, before driving on to Fayetteville, arriving around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. The Dawgs got in about an hour-long workout at the track this afternoon, highlights of which can be viewed in the video below. A steady breeze helped ward off the humidity, but temperatures are expected to be in the 90s on Wednesday.

Many of the Huskies are still coping with final exams. Junior Katie Follett, running in the 5,000-meter prelims tomorrow, got back from practice and headed straight to take a Nutrition 405 exam, while senior sprinter Kenjamine Jackson sat in the lobby before dinner poring over an unidentified multiple-choice exam proctored by Academic Coordinator Rod Jones. 1,500-meter entrants Christine Babcock and Kailey Campbell have sociology and psychology finals to manage over the next couple days, and will try to create additional finals for themselves by advancing through the prelims on Thursday.

GoHuskies.com will have photos and videos from each day of the championships in addition to a full recap. Live results should be available tomorrow on the NCAA's website

Thanks largely due to the incredible amount of national exposure of the UW softball team during its NCAA championship run, computer users were checking out GoHuskies.com in record numbers last week - according to a report from Nielsen Online.

The website, which is managed by the UW athletic department in partnership with ISP Sports and CBS College Sports, registered more than 850,000 page views during a seven-day period that ended on Sunday (June 7).  The total number of page views completely obliterates the estimated previous best of 520,000 that was recorded during the week of football signing day in 2008. 

Nearly 105,000 unique visitors were attracted to GoHuskies.com last week, which also eclipsed the 103,000 previous best during the week of the Boise State football game in 2007.

Husky junior golfer Nick Taylor shot a 66 in the first round and a 70 in the second to qualify for the U.S. Open in a 36-hole sectional qualifier at the Suncadia resort east of Seattle.

Canada.com has a great story about Nick qualifying for the Open, then rushing back to campus for a final exam.  As the story says, he will be playing in the field alongside the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson at the 109th U.S. Open from June 18-21 at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Taylor, a two-time All-America from Abbotsford, British Columbia, led the Huskies to a fifth-place tie at the recent NCAA Championships.

The local sports press corps came out to Husky Softball Stadium today to see exactly how difficult it is to hit a pitch off National Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie.

It appeared at first that some members of the press thought it wouldn't be too tough.  But, after getting an up-close and personal look at Danielle's arsenal of pitches that changed pretty quickly.

KJR's Dave "Softy" Mahler fouled a pitch off to the first base side of the field and KING-5's Lisa Gangel fouled a ball back into the stands.  ESPN.com's Jim Caple grounded one to second base.  Other than that, nobody even got a sniff of the ball.   Danielle's victims included:  KING-5's Chris Egan, KOMO's Eric Johnson, James Sido and Mike Ferreri, Seattle PI.com's Jim Moore (wearing a WSU Cougar shirt - prompting a little extra oomph from Lawrie), Seattle Times' Jerry Brewer (pictured), Comcast SportsNet's Dianna Russini, The Daily's Christian Caple and KCPQ's Aaron Levine.

All-in-all, everyone came away amazed with how anyone could ever get a hit off the incredible Husky pitcher!

With Saturday's passing of former UW football coach and athletic director Jim Owens, there have been several columns that looked back at his time at the UW.  Most followers of Husky football describe Owens as the second-most prominent figure in UW football history - behind Don James.  In leading the Huskies to the 1960 Helms Foundation national title, he certainly cemented himself into legendary status in the UW program.

In addition to Tom Porter's book that was published a copule of years ago - A Football Band of Brothers, a few local columnists have written columns reflecting on Owens' life.

Seattle Times - Jim Owens cut a big swath through Seattle

SeattlePI.com - Owens wanted something more for his legacy

Seattle Times - Bob Condotta's Football Blog

Also, here is the story from GoHuskies.com.  Memorial information should be available today.

The Everett Herald ran two prominent stories today with ties to Husky baseball.

First was this story about former Husky Sean White collecting his first big-league save Sunday vs. the Twins.

The second is on future Dawg Chase Anselment, who has signed a Letter of Intent to join the Huskies next year. He was named the Herald's area player of the year. Check it out.

The Major League draft gets started tomorrow (Tuesday, June 9) and continues through Thursday. Make sure to check gohuskies.com for all the news.

A couple of stories to pass along on former UW baseball pitchers Sean White and Nick Hagadone.

This Seattle Times story on White details his off-season work on his mechanics. White is off to a terrific start to 2009, boasting a 1.59 ERA over 21 appearances for the hometown Mariners.

In other news, Nick Hagadone, the Boston Red Sox' top draft pick a few years back, is set to make his first appearance in more than a year today. Hagadone, who developed into an All-Pac-10 first-teamer at the UW, underwent Tommy John elbow surgery and has been re-habbing for a year. Here's a story on his return to the mound. Good luck, Nick!

The University of Washington women's softball team will be honored before tonight's game between the Mariners and Twins at Safeco Field. Star player Danielle Lawrie will throw out the first pitch. Sports commentator Art Thiel tells KPLU's Kirsten Kendrick the team is worthy of all the praise it's receiving since winning its first national title this week.

Take a Listen.

Also, check out this great YouTube video produced by GoHuskies.com that features the Dawgs' return home a couple of days ago.

 

The preliminary schedule for the fall, 2009 football practice season has been posted at gohuskies.com. The Dawgs open practice on Monday, Aug. 10 and go every day other than Sundays up to the season-opener Sept. 5 vs. LSU. Check out the story here.

The Washington Husky men's basketball team announced its 2009-10 schedule today.

Click here to see the release and the full schedule.

Last March the college basketball world learned what Husky fans have known all along - that UW guard Venoy Overton just might be one of the best defensive guards around.

Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News, in the magazine's daily online edition today, said of the rising UW junior: "There is nobody better in college at defending against the ball." He went on to say that Overton is "a one-man shot clock violation."

DeCourcy listed Overton as one of his top five top stories in his weekly college hoops column.

His incredible defensive performances against Mississippi State and Purdue in the NCAA Tournament have apparently opened a few eyes!

Also, take a look at the college football section.  TSN columnist Dave Curtis listed Washington as his pick to be one of the most improved teams in the nation.

With the return of the national champion Washington Husky softball team yesterday came a ton of media attention.  In addition to the estimated 300 or so that came out to greet the team when it arrived on campus, most of the local television, sports radio and newspaper outlets in the area showed up.  Among the stories online today:

Jerry Brewer from the Seattle Times wrote a great column that suggests that Danielle Lawrie might just be the most dominant athlete in Seattle history.

Art Thiel from SeattlePI.com took a look at head coach Heather Tarr and how her plans for success have translated into, well... success.

Scott Johnson with the Everett Herald had a nice piece on the team's return.  And, Dave Boling of the Tacoma News Tribune says that pride is spelled with a purple W.

Also, U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell introduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate congratulating the Huskies for their NCAA Women's College World Series win.

 

The NCAA national champion UW women's softball team (has a nice ring to it, eh?) returned campus today to a large crowd of loud and proud Dawg fans.  As the team exited the bus, the Husky band played Bow Down to Washington, fans cheered and waved pom-poms and the team proudly displayed the national championship trophy.

Afterwards, the team marched to the Conibear Shellhouse, pulled-off their shoes and jumped off the pier into the cold waters of Lake Washington - nearly taking a few members of the local media with them!

Check out this great Photo Gallery of the team's triumphant return to Montlake!

Also, check out these video interviews and highlights from the team's return. There is this Heather Tarr interview and then this interview with players, including Danielle Lawrie, Bailey Stenson, Kimi Pohlman and Marnie Koziol. Towards the end of the clip, there is video of the team heading to the water. As the team was about to jump in, the cameraman was swamped with water up to his waist and had to bail from his attempts to get video footage!

 

Also, the UW is on track to have an excellent finish, perhaps the best-ever, in the annual Director's Cup standings.  Here is a year-by-year look at the UW's finish in the Director's Cup.

Crosscut.com has a great piece on how Washington Husky athletes conduct themselves in the classroom and represent the UW with class.  Check it out.

 

After the UW men's basketball team clinched the Pac-10 title at home against Washington State, Jon Brockman stepped to the top of the ladder under the west basket in Bank of America Arena, cut down the net and said - "Can You Dig It?"

Well, after the Husky softball team's performance over the last few weeks and last night's unforgettable NCAA softball championship game that same quote rings true today.  

UW won its second national team championship of the year yesterday (women's cross country is the other) with a thrilling 3-2 win over top-seeded Florida at the Women's College World Series.

Greg Johns of SeattlePI.com has a nice rundown of the various Internet coverage of the game.  Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times has a nice column on the gritty Huskies.  And, you can check out some of the ongoing coverage right here on GoHuskies.com.

The team finally returns home to Seattle today and will be recognized at Friday night's Seattle Mariners game!  It's been a long road, but the Huskies are bringing home the title!

Can You Dig It?

 

The new FieldTurf surface in Husky Stadium is now installed and some of the final touches, such as painting the numbers and such, are being finalized.  The gold end zones are expected to be painted later this summer, after the athletic department facilities folks are able to find a suitable gold color.  Interestingly, the intial color they selected looked great in the sunlight, but didn't display so well in the shade or at night.  So, it was back to the drawing board in order to get it right!

A photo gallery of the turf replacement, complete with new photos from this morning is now online by clicking here