Neuheisel's `coach speak' sounds a lot like lying.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

COACHING SEARCHES ALWAYS TEST the bounds of credibility, for everybody involved. College coaches seldom want it known they're pursuing another job, because it's a blow to the ego if they don't get the job and too many public pursuits can burn the bridges back home.

A couple of days before he took the 49ers job, Dennis Erickson told two different members of the media who ran into him in the San Francisco Airport that he absolutely wasn't there to interview with the NFL team. Uh, huh.

It also takes a dictionary of `coach speak' to interpret nuances. `I haven't officially been contacted by anybody' usually means somebody has talked to my lawyer or agent, however. `How should I know if I'm interested' can be another way of saying `I'd like to be, but are they?'

That said, Washington's Rick Neuheisel went way overboard and is lucky the Huskies didn't jerk away the life preserver last week when he was caught not only telling a lie to reporters, but having the university put out a false statement on its Web page after he'd also misled his boss about his interest in becoming the head coach of the 49ers.

Neuheisel tried to couch his acts as protecting the 49ers, except then the 49ers came out and stated the obvious: Keeping Neuheisel's name confidential was in the interests of the coach, and not the NFL team.

`Neuheisel's situation was Nixonian,' said Joe Linta, an agent for one of the NFL assistants who interviewed with the 49ers. `The cover-up was worse than the lie.'

Skip Bayless, a columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, wrote that after all of Neuheisel's attempts to explain his visit to San Francisco, `we were almost up to aliens took him to the Bay Area.'

Good thing Washington is forgiving.

`The important thing is that Rick has apologized,' UW director of athletics Barbara Hedges said. `We at the university have accepted his apology and want to move on.'

Yeah, she wishes.

Even interim UW president Lee Huntsman spoke with Neuheisel about the matter, and it sounded like a one-way conversation. While Huntsman didn't reveal particulars of the session, it was rather telling when Huntsman told the Seattle Times he was `not prepared to talk about' whether the school had considered firing Neuheisel.

Not exactly a vote of confidence, that comment. And it hasn't helped that in the past year Neuheisel has been reprimanded by the Pac-10, penalized by the NCAA and censured by his peers.

`These are all fairly minor but there's a lot of them,' said Ed Cunningham, a former UW offensive lineman who is now an analyst for ABC.

`It makes you wonder what's going on.'

Cunningham accurately contends all will be forgiven `if the Huskies win 10, 11 or 12 games next year like they should. Let's be honest, that's what his job is. I just wish he could do it without this much drama.'

Remember, too, that Neuheisel did apologize, though so many times that Seattle P-I columnist Jim Moore wrote `I'm expecting him to call a media outlet to say he's really, really sorry, with a cherry on top.'

Concluded Moore, a frequent Neuheisel critic: `Here's to hoping he's full of remorse - and not something else.'

Waiting for Arizona

California needs to kick it back in gear on its trip to Los Angeles this week, or that Feb. 27 visit by No. 1 Arizona isn't going to have quite the impact it should have on the Pac-10 race.

What the Bears did last week was win, allowing both Washington and Washington State only 53 points each, and holding both without a field goal in the last two minutes with the outcome on the line.

`They're one of those teams where you're not overwhelmed when you watch them on tape,' UW coach Lorenzo Romar said of the Bears. `But you can't find any weaknesses. They defend, they share the ball, they're rarely out of position.'

Oh, those Bruins

In contrast, there is Cal's sister institution, UCLA. That would be weak sister, actually.

The Los Angeles Daily News recently interviewed former Bruins about the plight of their alma matter, and Bill Sweek, a forward on three national title teams in the late '60s seemed to sum up the view of lettermen by saying, `I was really almost nauseous when I saw them' play in the Bay Area.

Kenny Fields, a three-time all-league player for UCLA two decades ago, said, `I refuse to watch. There's Bruins flipping in their graves right now.'

One who does watch is Don MacLean, the school's all-time leading scorer and current radio analyst.

He said, `I'd love to be on the radio praising them ... but I've got to call 'em like I see 'em, and frankly what I've seen is a lot of bad basketball.'

No doubt left

Defeat by defeat, Steve Lavin seems more candid in acknowledging he's done as the UCLA coach, despite those six 20-win seasons before this one.

`Let's put it this way,' Lavin said. `I think I'm out of the running for national and Pac-10 coach of the year.'

After UCLA's drubbing at Arizona, Lavin was handed a soda but joked he'd asked for `beer, whiskey or strychnine.'

Gallows humor rules. `I don't get defensive or paranoid or play the victim role,' Lavin said.

`It's not life or death. It's not 9-11. It's not Columbia.'

RATING THE PAC-10

MEN'S BASKETBALL

1. Arizona: Oh, oh: Gardner made 8-of-16 threes last weekend.

2. ASU: Diogu finally honored as league's player of week.

3. California: Shipp 5th Bear in decade to lead league scorers.

4. Oregon: Kent (at 111) one UO win behind his coach Harter.

5. Stanford: Seeking sixth straight win at Pauley on Saturday.

6. USC: The 108 given up to ASU approached school-worst 111.

7. Washington: Just in: Rick denies he ever coached at Colorado.

8. OSU: Win in Seattle might wrap up (Pac-10) tourney berth.

9. UCLA: Four losses from 20 with at least six games remaining.

10. WSU: Both Sagarin, RPI say there are 200 teams better.