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Maybe it's in the spirit of the new year.

You know, new beginnings, new paths, etc.

Somebody must have mentioned the idea of "new" to the Pacific-10 Conference, because a new order seems to be taking shape.

For the first time in a long time, the conference is truly up for grabs. For both the men and the women.

Is that stretching it?

Yeah, probably.

But hey, anything is possible.

And if the Washington Huskies or the Oregon women's victories over No. 9 LSU and No. 10 Stanford last year is any indication of that, I don't know what is.

In addition, for the first time in a few years, no team or teams are powerful favorites to run away with the title. There are some contenders, e.g., Washington and Arizona for the men and perennial power Stanford for the women.

I think there is a real chance that each champion could have four or five losses in conference play.

So why can't the Ducks, men or women, make their way into the upper echelon of the conference?

I know it's early, but look at the way the Pac-10 stands right now.

On the men's side, conference doormat Washington State has a better record than last year's champion Stanford.

Speaking of Stanford, this could be the year when Oregon State could resemble Stanford of the past decade and the Cardinal could resemble Oregon State of, well, the...past...15...years.

Anything is possible.

The Southern California men's basketball team is an orphan looking for a parent/coach. If Arizona State's Ike Diogu was getting any help from his team, the conference title might reside in Tempe, not Tucson.

A.I.P. (Anything is possible).

The Oregon men this year could be the Washington of last year. They have the athleticism. On any given night, they can make scoring 100 points look easy.

But be patient, with the youth that takes the floor every Thursday and Saturday, they will suffer fits of inconsistency.

As fans, we can't have a short leash on them. After all, they already have the distinction of being the best recruiting class Oregon has ever had.

They don't need anymore pressure.

Arizona could, for only the second time since Lute Olson took over as head coach, finish lower than third in the conference.

Hey, the Red Sox won the World Series. A.I.P.

This could be the year where I-5 will take you through the top three teams in the men's conference and the Northwest will put more teams in the NCAA tournament than the Southwest and California combined.

As for the Duck women, a tournament berth down the road truly exists on the road. If they can win five conference games away from Mac Court, Cathrine Kraayeveld and Co. could be on the verge of a magical season.

Remember, A.I.P.

The only problem with anything is that everything (Murphy's Law) has the potential of happening and for some reason, the situation the Ducks are in, everything (Murphy's Law) seems to happen with greater frequency.

So Duck fans, prepare.

Prepare for gray hairs (I would just shave mine off anyway), premature wrinkles and age lines. Keep track of how many years you have on this earth because you might possibly lose a few by March.

Get a squeeze ball.

Try not to punch anything too solid (unless you want to pull an Aaron Brooks).

Try not to throw full beverage containers either in your own house or at the television in the bar. Have pre-determined, sacrificial objects that will suffice.

Finally, have passion but please, also have patience.

So with that in mind, take your seat in your favorite recliner (or your friend's, whichever works for you), bar or sports bar (Rennie's), bleacher (Mac Court) and get ready for one of the more unpredictable Pac-10 seasons in recent memory.

After all, it should be a blast.

No matter how maddening it could be.

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briansmith@dailyemerald.com

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