Good riddance, 2008.

Despite some teams’ successful campaigns, the average Seattle sports fan will try hard to forget the past year — an understandable goal to say the least.

But it isn’t an impossible one.

The skies are clearing in Seattle and all signs show that its sports programs will do nothing but improve in 2009.

At the college level, the Husky football squad earned the title of worst team in the nation with a historically low record of 0-12 in 2008. The season appeared doomed once quarterback Jake Locker broke his throwing thumb in a game against Stanford in September, a game the Dawgs lost 35-28.

Tyrone Willingham, already on the hot seat entering the season, was forced to resign at the conclusion of the season by the UW’s newly-named athletic director, Scott Woodward.

Enter Steve Sarkisian.

“Sark,” who played quarterback at BYU and was most recently the offensive coordinator at USC, was selected by Woodward and UW President Mark Emmert as the best candidate for the head coaching position.

His pro-style offensive attack simply embarrassed Penn State in the Rose Bowl, as the Trojans cruised into halftime up 31-7, ultimately winning 38-24.

Sarkisian, known for his infectious passion for the game, will give the Huskies a strong chance to return to dominance during his era at the UW. He brings a winning resume and attitude to campus not unlike that of Don James.

The men’s basketball team continued to regress in 2008, posting a regular season record of 16-15, while going 7-11 in the Pac-10. The team was eliminated in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament in March.

After an outstanding recruiting class and an offseason of hard work, however, the Dawgs are off to a quick start this season.

Despite early losses to reigning champion Kansas and powerhouse Florida, the Huskies rode a 9-3 record and a seven-game winning streak into Pac-10 play, and then beat rival Washington State in convincing fashion Saturday 68-48.

UW sports news wasn’t only filled with bad news last year, though. In fact, the UW was able to add a few items to its national championship trophy case.

Both the crew and cross country programs earned national titles in 2008. What is most amazing about these feats, however, is that neither of the two displays any signs of slowing down. Expect great things from both this year.

At the professional level, Seattle was an absolute mess in 2008.

Beginning with baseball, the Mariners could not have played worse considering their $117 million payroll. Quite simply, if a team’s total salary eclipses $100 million, one expects a bit fewer than 101 losses.

With new GM Jack Zduriencik on board, the team is in a complete rebuilding mode at this point.

With that in mind, the M’s should be a very young and exciting team to watch for many years to come. Keep your expectations reasonable and the team shouldn’t disappoint.

As for basketball, well, we don’t have a team anymore, but let’s indulge in some schadenfreude for a bit.

The Oklahoma City Thunder — formerly the Seattle SuperSonics — is the worst team in the NBA with a 4-30 record and is arguably the worst team in history. Hey, Clay Bennett, they’re not even filling seats.

Even the Seahawks suffered through 2008. They ended their streak of five consecutive NFC West titles, as a season plagued with injuries limited them to a record of just 4-12.

What is amazing, though, is how differently things could have been. Having lost five games by three points or less, the ‘Hawks could have easily returned to the playoffs this year.

Come back healthy with the fourth overall pick in the NFL draft and the ‘Hawks will easily regain supremacy in the lowly NFC West in 2009.

Cheer up, Seattle. The skies are clearing.

Reach columnist Ben Foutz at sports@dailyuw.com.