Paul Yee / DevilsDigest.com

Scroll down for a preview of today’s game against Arizona.

Got back this weekend from two wonderful weeks with Mrs. Madness in Europe. Thanks to a wicked bout of jet lag (and the life-saving device that is the DVR box), I’m all caught up on Husky basketball. I figured 3-1 in the four games I missed was a conservative prediction. Of course, I was hoping for 4-0. Ugh. . .

But first, the good: Thanks to Pops Madness and Gant’s Moustache, I have that nervous, regular-teacher-coming-back-to-class feeling after a really dynamic, terrific substitute has been in charge for a couple of weeks. What you saw (Gant’s hilarious and insightful post-game pieces), and what you didn’t (major mistakes or gaps in content because Pops Madness owned it behind-the-scenes), was every bit (and more) the quality I strive for with the site. Can’t thank those guys enough.

I’ve left Gant’s Moustache with an open invitation to post his thoughts on Husky basketball whenever we’re lucky enough to have him. He’s a new dad, and travels for work a bunch, but fingers-crossed that he’ll get a chance to write something every couple of weeks. Your response to his work has been overwhelmingly positive, and he exceeded even my high expectations for what he’d put out there.

And, now the bad: You’ll hear plenty from me this week about the team, particularly after I get a chance to see whether they can bounce back today against Arizona. But, reading through what I posted about a month ago — right after the Georgetown game — I think we’re still very much in the same place we were then.

Fan expectations for our 2009/2010 Huskies should be adjusted by now to pre-last-season hopes and expectations: an NCAA Tournament berth is the goal. Anything more is icing. This way, we can enjoy the wins and not want to gouge (Malcolm Armstead) our (Rihards Kuksiks) eyes (Derek Glasser) out over every loss.

One more note: I’ve gotten a lot of notes on my habit of occasionally linking you over to paid content. Generally when I have, it’s been in error. I’ll keep a better eye out, but I assure you that the post-game stories I write and link to on UDubSports.com are free content (and have always been). Other content on their site isn’t free, and I’ll be more careful about making sure I’m not sending you to something you’d need to pay for.

Montlake Madness will, of course, continue to be a 100% free fan site.

Thanks for coming!

But, you’ll still have something new nearly every day while I’m gone thanks to Pops Madness, who’s going to moderate the site and make sure everything gets posted when it’s supposed to. And my buddy, Gant’s Moustache, will be providing excellent post-game analysis for the next four games.

Some of you will recognize Gant’s Moustache from our comment section. He’s another non-native who fell under the Husky hypnosis when he moved here several years ago. He’s my number one commiserator for Husky hoops, and the dude I will undoubtedly be watching games with during the Dawgs improbable run to the Final Four next spring.

Anyhow, you’ll be in good hands until about January 10th when I’m back in the saddle. Please join me in thanking Pops Madness and Gant’s Moustache for keeping the Husky love alive on Montlake Madness while Mrs. Madness and I live it up for a couple of weeks overseas.

Happy holidays and happy new year! Thank you for a great 2009. See you in 2010!

All my Best,

Josh