Suddenly Mizzou fans are interested in the University of Washington football scenario, since Tigers coach Gary Pinkel once coached there under the legendary Don James.

Surely Huskies Nation will want to see if Pinkel cares to return home. But that situation has become quite a mess. The demise of the football program earlier cost athletic director Todd Turner – a Tye Willingham booster – his job.

Here is how some columnists summed things up:

Steve Kelley, Seattle  Times: “Ten months later than it should have happened, Washington finally did what it had to do. Ten months after it became painfully clear that Tyrone Willingham wasn’t the right man to lead Huskies football back to national prominence, the university finally forced him to resign. New athletic director Scott Woodward had no choice. Every week was looking worse than the week before. Players were quitting on the field, and the simplest mistakes were getting repeated possession after possession.  Washington football, a program that has been sinking for years, hit bottom, hit 0-7, and Willingham had to go.”

Jerry Brewer, Seattle Times: “Ten months ago the perfect replacement was coaching just across the lake. Seahawks assistant head coach Jim Mora, a former Huskies player and former Atlanta Falcons head coach, wanted the job.  If he had been hired, the turnaround already would have begun. He would have breathed energy into the program. He would have lit a fire under boosters. He would have been in the same living rooms as USC’s Pete Carroll and Oregon’s Mike Belotti and scoring points with blue-chip recruits. But Turner wouldn’t, or couldn’t, do the right thing. It cost him his job, and ultimately it didn’t save Willingham’s.”

Art Thiel, Seattle Post-Intellingencer: “What we have at Montlake regarding the football program is one ‘Yakety Sax’ theme song short of the full Benny Hill. As with the British comedian, it hasn’t been especially funny. Even James in his prime could not have parachuted into the 2008 season and made it a winner. Too much bad has happened at Washington to fix in one year, or four years. The new guy, who will lose this recruiting season and probably most of the next one, will need at least five years. He will probably get three.”

Lane Kiffin, on the rebound from his Raiders fiasco, has expressed interest into stepping into this mess. But why would Pinkel.

TV COMMERCIAL OF WEEK

Who knew Kobe Bryant had this in him?

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while Chris Mason tries to scrape off his rust:

• Any chance the Rams will actually throw to one of their tight ends Sunday? Or get Torry Holt open more than 5 yards down the field?
• If Kurt Warner sustains his statistical assault for another year or two, will he become a candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
• Will he add to those credentials Sunday at The Ed?
• What, exactly, is going on with that alleged drug overdose cover-up?

EVERYBODY’S A COMIC

The MLive.com web site had this update on the wacky Lions:

Former Detroit receiver Roy Williams, who was traded to the Dallas Cowboys two weeks ago, attended the Lions players’ Halloween party this evening. Williams showed up in support of former teammate Mike Furrey, who puts on the party to raise money for his charities.

Williams came dressed as former Lions running back Tatum Bell, who made national headlines two months ago when he was accused of pilfering the travel bags of Detroit running back Rudi Johnson. Williams was wearing a bellhop uniform with a big name tag that said “T. Bell.”

Williams was also wearing boxer shorts on the outside of his pants and it said “Rudi” on the front and “Johnson 32” on the back. Williams said he informed Bell what he was going to do, via text message, and got the running back’s approval.

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Jeff Schultz, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “I know. It’s not baseball’s fault it’s raining in Philadelphia. But it is the owners’ fault for so completely selling out to television for the short-term bucks that it starts World Series games at 8:30 p.m. in the East. It is baseball’s fault for starting Game 3 after a 90-minute rain delay, which caused a 1:45 a.m. finish - and won’t that be great for ratings. Baseball has lost a generation. When this deal with Fox is over, it’ll be a wonder if any major network touches this product.”

Will Leitch, Deadspin: “As a general rule, if Bud Selig is giving a press conference live on ‘SportsCenter,’ it’s never a good sign. What was so strange about Selig’s explanation of the rainout last night — which, all told, was handled about as well as could have been expected, save for not calling the game in the third inning like they probably should have — was how truly depressed Selig looked. He looked like he’d just made the decision to let Pete Rose sit in the Phillies’ dugout, and Pete had ended up shooting Ryan Howard in the face. This is baseball’s best spokesperson? From now on, Bud, let Bob DuPuy talk. His interview in the dugout during the delay was straightforward, honest and blunt. And we knew exactly what was going on and didn’t feel like something horrible was happening. Come on, Bud! It’s a rain delay! It happens! Cheer up!”

Mark Kreigel, FoxSports.com: “Saturday’s game wasn’t just an embarrassment, but a warning that had to be heeded. This is what happens when you play a summer game in winter conditions. Selig might want to think about that, what with next year’s World Series scheduled to go into November.”

MEGAPHONE

“Any time we in this business have a peer go through what Tyrone is going through right now it’s difficult. We all understand the stakes when we get into this racket.”

Former Washington coach Rick Neuheisel, commiserating with Willingham.