The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington

Talking Points

What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:

1

The optimists in Seattle say the Seahawks have a chance to be a playoff team because they compete in the weak NFC West. Looking at the schedule, Talking Points foresees a 6-10 or 7-9 record in 2010.

Seattle’s running game again appears to be marginal, or worse. Julius Jones, Justin Forsett and Leon Washington all have been unimpressive in the first three exhibition games. Then again, the running game begins with the offensive line.

Seattle’s weak defense has faced 10 possessions against an opponent’s starting quarterback so far. They have forced a punt just once, and that was Saturday in Brett Favre’s final series for Minnesota. Before that, Seattle had allowed four touchdowns to starting quarterbacks, intercepted two passes, recovered one fumble, and forced a turnover on downs. It’s possible those turnovers have helped cover up some of the real defensive deficiencies in Seattle.

2

Here’s a bit of a surprise: The current “lean’’ for splitting the future Pac-12 into divisions is the north-south alignment, according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News. Initially, the “zipper’’ plan with an east-west split was all the talk.

The north-south plan puts the California and Arizona schools together, with scheduling concessions for schools in the north and perhaps changes in TV revenue distribution. The final plan is not expected until late October, when the decision makers meet.

3

If Washington State loses to Montana State on Sept. 11 does head coach Paul Wulff get canned immediately? No way.

As bad as the Cougars will be this season, they’ll improve enough that boosters and administrators can sense an upward trajectory. In this economy, buying out a contract, even if it’s not huge, is not advisable, unless your athletic department is awash in cash. WSU’s is not.

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