"Is it the Shoes? Is it the Shoes? Is it the Shoes? ... it's gotta be the SHOES!"

-- Mars Blackmon

If you're old enough (okay, like ME), to remember Spike Lee's memorable character of Mars Blackmon (in Lee's 1996 film "She's Gotta Have It" and a Nike commercial with Michael Jordan), you remember the line.

"It's gotta be the shoes."

The same phrase crossed my mind down here at the Pac-10 tournament when I saw the new shoes the Huskies were sporting for the postseason.

Nike annually releases a shoe around this time that many colleges wear on television during the post-season (a couple of years ago it was the Air Huarache or something like that).

Anyway, what better advertising than televised games, right?

What crossed my mind wasn't just the new shoes, it was the COLOR of the damned things.

They're not purple. They're like, LAVENDER.

Seriously. Look at the color of this shoe.

Am I wrong? Is that the softest, palest, cute shade of purple you're ever seen?

Look, Nike managed to get the Cougars' colors right, right?

Are the Huskies supposed to feel tough and strong in these pastel hoop shoes?

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for color. But this color really doesn't feel very athletic at all, and more importantly, it's doesn't even match any of the colors of the school.

This color feels like Easter Brunch, not March Madness.

So why am I going on and on about the color of a shoe?

Am I tired and punchy? (yes, I didn't finish working until midnight).

Am I a Husky alum searching for a reason why the Cougs have beaten them so many times in a row?

Full disclosure — I am a Husky alum, but that's not the reason I'm consumed by this.

I'm interested in this odd color choice because (drum roll please, along with the "dum, da-dum dum DUM" mystery music) I think it's all a plot by...Oregon.

That's right Dawg fans, I think your hated rivals to the south have punked your school and your basketball team.

Nike created the shoe. They got every team's color right except yours.

And who owns Nike?

That's right. Oregon alum and owner Phil Knight.

(Whoops. Did I just say "owner"? I mean "superfan"! I so hate when my outside voice verbalizes my innermost thoughts).

Conspiracy theorists of the Husky Nation, feel free to start your engines.

The Great Duck himself, Phil Knight, gave your basketball team lavender shoes.

He clowned your entire school.

Oh, and I'm sorry. I just researched what Crayola crayon color best matches this shade of purple.

Believe it or not, it's called "Wisteria".

Isn't that the name of the street on "Desperate Housewives"?

(Should a sports photographer even KNOW that?!)

One can easily argue Washington is getting pretty desperate. They haven't beaten the Cougs in basketball in the past five outings.

As for this last beating, it may just have been the shoes.

Comments, as always, are welcomed.