Justin St. Germain Staff Writer

It's been a rough few weeks for Arizona athletics. The football team has lost six in a row and undergone an embarrassing, highly publicized coaching change at midseason. The volleyball team has lost six of its last seven after entering the season ranked No. 10 in the country. The soccer team has posted four losses and a tie in its last five outings.

Then, of course, there's the negative student response to the athletics department's decision to move Midnight Madness to the afternoon ÷ not to mention grumblings over the $40 the Zona Zoo pass has cost students who wish to get basketball tickets.

Meanwhile, everybody from President Likins to your local used-car dealer is telling Jim Livengood whom he should hire as the next football coach.

And in his secret lair deep in the Tucson foothills, John Mackovic sits with fingertips together, watching the Wildcats come up short in close games as he orders cases of Cristal and browses www.bentleymotors.com in anticipation of his impending $900,000-plus payday, set for just about two weeks from now.

Through all of this hardship, the athletics department has done its best to cast a positive light on things. The folks over at media relations have even felt it necessary to write letters to the editor defending Zona Zoo and explaining the intricacies of the mysterious scheduling process known as "dovetailing," which led to the afternoon start for "Madness." Keep an eye out at www.arizonaathletics.com this weekend for its next press release: "Football team snaps losing streak."

But fear not, you brave legions toiling in McKale Center: Redemption is at hand. This weekend marks the beginning of what promises to be a turnaround for UA sports.

Whether it officially starts with madness at midnight or flutters in with the first snowbird season-ticket holder Saturday afternoon, basketball season never fails to fire up the UA faithful. With another crop of uber-hyped freshmen shedding its shrink-wrap this weekend, all eyes will no longer be focused on the football team's turmoil.

Speaking of which, this week's bye couldn't have come at a better time for the Wildcat gridders. Combine a resurgent running game with an inconsistent California team giving up an average of 423 yards of total offense, simmer for a week, and you've got yourself a pretty good recipe for Arizona's first Pacific 10 Conference win of the season.

As for the volleyball team, maybe this weekend's junket to Paradise is just what it needs. Granted, it's not exactly a vacation ÷ the Wildcats face No. 2 Hawaii ÷ but if coach Rubio and Co. can pull off the upset road win, "aloha" could mean goodbye to their misfortunes.

And the soccer team? Well, there's no better way to turn things around than by beating Arizona State. Last time out doesn't matter when those damn dirty Devils come to town, riding an 8-0 all-time rivalry record, and with a national ranking in tow. Sweet revenge Saturday night under the Murphey Stadium lights would re-ignite the Wildcats' season.

If that's not enough for success-starved Wildcat fans, Robert Cheseret, the freshman with the Olympic pedigree who is tearing up the Pac-10, lines up against the nation's best tomorrow at the NCAA pre-nationals.

Last but not least, Erica Blasberg, arguably the best women's golfer in the country and this week's Wildcat Athlete of the Week, will be on the chase for her third straight first-place finish at the Pepsi-Stanford Invitational tomorrow morning.

Admittedly, it would be nothing short of miraculous if all the Wildcat teams reversed their losing trends this weekend. But a couple big wins could well be the steppingstones for a sporting renaissance this fall.

This would be especially true if coach Hankwitz can keep improving his team's effort week to week, and Southern California beats Wazzu Nov. 1. Then, the Trojans would likely enter a packed Arizona Stadium on Nov. 15 as the first top-five opponent the Wildcats have hosted in quite a while. With a little luck, Wildcat fans could finally have their chance to second-guess another athletic department brainchild: those "permanent" neon-yellow goalposts.

At the very least, it would be refreshing to feel some sort of anticipation for a home football game again, especially with the ASU game in Tempe this year.

There are a lot of "ifs" and "coulds" in those last few ideas, and a winning season might be too much to ask out of any of the team sports currently in season. But this weekend, things could start to turn around.

And even if every UA team in action loses between now and Monday, three words alone can cure what's ailing UA sports: It's basketball season.