Maybe Name Should Be Northwest Conference

It was Pacific 10 football media day in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and a chance to celebrate the great football that is expected to be played at Washington State, Oregon and Washington this season.

UCLA Coach Bob Toledo and USC Coach Pete Carroll also showed up; free lunch was being served.

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NOW IT’S kind of a tradition that each Pac-10 coach brings along one of his top players, Mike Price at Washington State, for example, sharing the microphone with quarterback Jason Gesser and Washington Coach Rick Neuheisel sitting beside quarterback Cody Pickett.

Carroll called on safety Troy Polamalu because his first name is Troy and because quarterback Carson Palmer has been missing for some time now.

Toledo came with an offensive tackle, raising all kinds of questions: Did quarterback Cory Paus elect to go on one final bender before the start of camp? Is Paus serving time again? Is it Toledo’s plan to make everyone think the Bruins’ best player is an offensive tackle so no one has an interest in lending one of the obscure ones an SUV?

I’m sure the Bruin offensive tackle, whatever his name is, has proud parents and a lot of friends who think he blocks just great. But the key to UCLA’s season hinges on keeping Paus sober, and anyone who has sent their kid to college recently knows just how difficult that can be.

Paus, while saying the right things last season after two car-related alcohol violations, could finish as the school’s all-time passer in yardage behind Cade McNown with a solid year. He could also be the first UCLA player to park in a handicapped spot since McNown if he has another one for the road.

“He has to prove to me he can walk a straight line,” said Toledo, his choice of words seemingly no accident.

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A YEAR ago the Bruins began the season 6-0 with a Heisman candidate in DeShaun Foster, 23 seniors and national title aspirations. They never even made it to a bowl game, and the sting of that disappointment has put a new resolve in Toledo, who is probably resolved to also impressing the school’s new athletic director.

“Call it tough love if you want, but Cory and DeShaun Foster hurt me--hurt us--a lot last year,” Toledo said. “I’ve told Cory I’m not going to name a starting quarterback until a week before the season starts.... It’s more of a hammer over his head. He knows one more mistake and he’s done.”

The media have already determined the Bruins are done, placing them sixth in the Pac-10 preseason poll, with Washington State picked to win it all.

The Bruins were picked to finish sixth in 1993 and won the title.

Of course, the media also picked Washington and Oregon to win the title the last two years and were correct.

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THE TROJANS received three first-place votes, which suggests three reporters have degrees from USC. USC is picked to place fourth.

“I think we have a real good chance to win the Pac-10 title,” Carroll said, and I believe every time I buy a Lotto ticket I am going to win.

The Trojans have something going for them, however, that makes them legitimate picks to surprise: a sober quarterback, who so far has done nothing more than drive USC fans to drink--as if they needed an excuse.

“I don’t think Carson Palmer has been fairly assessed,” Carroll said. “The past two years for the most part this has been a lousy team, and that’s not all Carson. If we’re a balanced, good team, Carson will be just fine.”

I only need the Mega number to be 16, and I think I’ve really got a chance.

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THE EXPECTATION from USC insiders is that running back Justin Fargas, a transfer from Michigan, and wide receiver Keary Colbert will play huge roles in the Trojan offense and give Palmer a better chance to succeed.

Interesting, though, that after all the hype about Palmer--in this his fifth year at USC--it’s Polamalu who is featured on the cover of the Trojan media guide.

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I GOT a wave and a wink from USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett at Pac-10 media day, or maybe he was starting to close his eyes after it dawned on him whom he was waving to across the room.

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I MET UCLA’s new AD, Dan Guerrero. He smiles a lot. I’d like to see him, however, after he has sat across the table from Garrett awhile.

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PRICE, WHO along with the Cougars went to a Rose Bowl on the strength of Ryan Leaf’s arm, said he wishes Leaf had not retired, “and proved everyone wrong. He deserves better. I don’t see where he did anything really that bad.”

And some people wonder why Leaf never learned accountability.

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I RECEIVED a barrage of e-mail from upset readers who said CNN’s Larry King was mistaken in suggesting that I was mistaken about the amount of money it takes to win at the track before having to sign an IRS statement.

Apparently I was correct when I wrote that the IRS doesn’t demand a signature unless someone wins $601 or more.

“The one thing that concerns me the most about your correction,” e-mailed Robert Libby, “was that you would assume Larry King was right, and that you were wrong. The man has had 17 wives; he’s not right too often.”

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TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from Billy Sottile:

“Bill Dwyre’s recap of the Kournikova-Stevenson tennis match mentioned ‘shallow, uninformed types, some of whom write Page 2 columns for major metro sports sections and who wouldn’t know a foot fault from a foot fetish.’ I wonder who he is referring to?”

No need for me to even give it a Second Thought: Chris Dufresne.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com