It’s that time of the season when college football and men’s basketball begin overlapping.

There’s evidence in today’s paper:

Here’s my football story from today’s paper, in which USC coach Pete Carroll weighs in on what the coaching change could mean to UW … and a couple of recommendations for potential coaches with USC ties.

Meanwhile, here is TNT reporterDoug Pacey’s interview with Abdul Gaddy about his decision to join Lorenzo Romar and the Dawgs next season.

This blog will contain more of both sports throughout this day. First, it’s Pac-10 basketball media day,

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1 USC (1) 6-1, 4-1. Survived challenge at Arizona; now the rest of their regular season will be spent in California … starting with Washington’s visit on Saturday.

2 Oregon (2) 6-2, 4-1. Four games over 40 points and three over 50.

3 Arizona (3) 5-3, 3-1. No win, but went toe-to-toe with Trojans.

4 Oregon State (4) 4-3, 3-1. Won four of last five to nudge above .500… but the best news for the Beavers is that coach Mike Riley is staying put.

5 California (5) 5-2, 3-1. Golden Bears lead Pac-10 in turnover

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I’ve just arrived in LA for the Pac-10 basketball media day tomorrow and then, of course, for the UW-USC football game on Saturday.

I arrived to a story in the LA Times saying that USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian admits he would discuss taking over the head job at Washington if UW officials contacted him.

Sarkisian is only 34 — older than Tripper Johnson, but still pretty young for head coaching material. There’s something about being an SC coordinator, I guess. Sarkisian apparently was considered for the Oakland Raiders job, but is holding out to become a

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Bellarmine Prep point guard Abdul Gaddy, one of the nation’s top basketball recruits, on Tuesday gave his oral commitment to play at the University of Washington.

Gaddy, 6-foot-3, 170 pounds, originally commited to Arizona. However, he withdrew that commitment this week when longtime Wildcats coach Lute Olson announced his retirement.

UW and UCLA were considered frontrunners for Gaddy once Arizona fell out of the picture.

Gaddy is about to play his senior season at Bellarmine and will become the fourth announced member of UW’s freshman class of 2009. The

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Missouri coach Gary Pinkel and Boise State coach Chris Petersen both sort of just changed the subject today when asked about their potential interest in taking over when Tyrone Willingham’s job comes open at the end of this season.

Both coaches just sort of said they were concentrating on their next games and don’t need the distraction of the UW questions … while, of course, the best way to eliminate that distraction would be to say, “I’m not interested.”

So, the reading of tea leaves begins.

Two of the top contributors from UW’s freshman class — receiver Jermaine Kearse and tight end Kavario Middleton — said they committed to the university while knowing coach Tyrone Willingham’s job status was uncertain.

Therefore, both said they don’t regret their decision to become Huskies, even after Monday’s news that Willingham will leave at the end of the season.

When I commited to come here I commit to the school and not moreso the coach,” Kearse said. “Coach, he recruited me, which I was thankful for, but I came to play at the University of Washington and that’s

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Coach Tyrone Willingham’s dismissal as coach of the Washington Huskies was the No. 1 topic today in the Pac-10 football coaches’ conference call.

Everyone asked spoke well of Willingham, as might be expected.

Beyond the compliments, a few pieces of news dribbled out.

First, Oregon State coach Mike Riley made it clear that he has no interest in leaving Corvallis for Seattle.

And second, Willingham himself said he met with his staff yesterday morning, but that he did not formally offer them the same decision that he was offered: whether to leave immediately or coach the

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Neither athletic director Scott Woodward nor president Mark Emmert would name any names under consideration to replace Tyrone Willingham as head football coach after this season.

But they suggested that the media would probably step in to fill that void, and they were right.

When these kinds of jobs pop open, names seem to come from four primary ares: Guys with ties to the area, successful major college coaches who might be lured from their current jobs, assistants who might be ready to step up, and successful guys from mid-major programs who might be ready to step

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