It's that time of the week again! Time to sit down and have a nice roundtable discussion. Thanks to our fabulous troupe of Pac-10 compadres for putting this together, as always. 

On to the questions....

1. How is Monday, February 16, 2009 different from all other days? On all other days, we eat bread or matzah. Today, we don't have to go to work! On all other nights, we eat all kinds of vegetables. Today, we get great deals on automobiles! On all other nights, we do not dip our vegetables even once. Today, we wish Lincoln a Happy 200th and Washington a Happy somethingorother! On all other nights, we eat our meals sitting or reclining. BUT TODAY WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TO WORK! Unfortunately for them, I bet you that your team's basketball coach violated the great spirit of President's Day and went to work. Except for Ernie Kent, since they apparently cancelled basketball in Oregon. For your team's b-ball coach, what was his most pressing issue to focus on while we were celebrating President's Day.

Coach Robinson needs to figure out a way to stop the slow starts. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I can't remember the last time we had a decent lead at halftime, (maybe the Stanford game?) and that has hurt us. And other games, our slow starts have put us way behind and fighting back. Luckily, he has the 2nd half down to an art, but I can only imagine our record this year had we started better. We're definitely going to need to start hot this weekend against the Bay Area schools. Cal is hot. Stanford, eh. But it's going to be tough, and a sweep would be sweet.

2. Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7yfISlGLNU. Which basketball player from your team would you choose to be on your Party Yacht? Why?.

Big Roe is from the Netherlands, so you know what has been legal where he lives for years. I bet the big guy knows how to p-a-r-t-y. But I think Daniel Deane has some good, um, herbs. And really, can we invite those boys from Eugene or Berkeley? I bet their, um, herbs, are even better!

3. Lots of "minor violations" going on in College Football these days. The Pac-10 isn't immune to this issue as both Paul Wulff and Steve Sarkisian have gotten caught up in the madness. Is this just a case of stretching the rules? Is it believable for a head coach of a D1 program to be "in the dark" when it comes to the rules? More importantly than all that, do these recruiting violations even matter?

In the dark? No. But the problem is, these minor violations get reported, and that's that. Not even a slap on the wrist. I'd be very surprised if the NCAA even keeps track of these minor violations. And honestly, the NCAA needs to rethink some of these violations and decide if they are really worth keeping as violations. Who cares if a recruit runs through the tunnel with smoke and fireworks? At UW at WSU, if they run through the tunnel into an empty stadium, can it get any more real then that? ZING! What about holding a "press conference"? That seems a little silly to call that a violation. I'm frustrated with the NCAA, but what can ya do??

4. If you look at the standings as we sit today...the potential first round matchups in the Pac-10 Tournament are: Washington vs. Oregon State/Stanford, ASU vs.WSU/Oregon, UCLA/Arizona and California/USC. Play out these games and tell us who wins the automatic bid.

Oregon State with the upset. ASU over WSU. UCLA wins out however. I would be very, very surprised if anyone but the Bruins hoist the Pac10 tourney trophy in March. Arizona is the hottest team in the conference, however, and could make some noise come tourney time. But look for Oregon State, with it's slow-esque play to win a couple games in LA.

5. If you had your choice, which group of aging rock stars would you want your marching band to back up on an awards show? Who would you pair your rivals' band with for maximum embarrassment?

For our band: The Rolling Stones. Those guys can rock. No matter how old they get (it seems like they've never been younger than 60), they put on a good show. I'd love to see some Orange and Black at a Stones concert.

For Oregon's band: Elton John, with Belotti and Kent singing back up to "Candle in the Wind"

--The VD Special