Local Football Fans Need Hugs

A more dismal Northwest football weekend we can hardly remember.

First, on Saturday afternoon--as NYC sportscaster Warner Wolf would say, "If you had Washington State and 45 points, you lost!" Oregon beat the Cougs 53-7, and the game wasn't as close as the final score indicates. The Cougs were down 40-0 at halftime. We flipped on the post-game show to hear the Cougs' radio team explaining why it's hard to recruit top athletes to Pullman. And it's so easy to get them to go to Eugene? It looks like this could be the final nail in the coffin for embattled Cougs coach Bill Doba.

Then, Saturday night, the Huskies decided to run a repeat--stay close in the first half against a top team, then shit the bed in the second half. It's happened against Ohio State, UCLA, and now Arizona State, as the Dawgs won the first half 17-13, but lost the second half to the Sun Devils 31-3. The final--in case you don't feel like doing the math--was 44-20.

The capper was Sunday night's nationally-televised Hawks game against previously winless New Orleans. The watchword here was "mistakes." A botched punt snap that the Saints recovered for a touchdown, a blocked field goal, iffy clock management by Mike Holmgren, some terrible checkoffs and passes by Matt Hasselbeck. The Hawks essentially offered New Orleans their first win, and the Saints took it, 28-17. If there's any consolation, it's that division rival Arizona also lost, and the Hawks are still tied for first place in the NFC West--which may go down in history as the worst division in NFL history.

AP Photo/Ted S. Warren