And he's pulling the cord.  Toot!  Toot!  All Aboard The Pain Train! 

via media.knoxnews.com

If you don't know what the Pain Train is, apparently Zack Follett was mic'ed up before the ASU game.  And apparently, he was doing a lot of the jibbering and also the jabbering about bringing the PAIN TRAIN to Rudy Carp.  PRD73 has the first quarter highlights from ABC and if you listen, Zack Follett is bringing the Pain Train up in this bitch!  Please, do not confused this with the Palin Train, which is what the McCain campaign has been doing feverishly the past month.  Although, to be fair, Zack Follett will often read all newspapers placed directly in front of him, too.

There's even an article about it over at the CoCoTimes.

Follett gets payback:

ARIZONA STATE QUARTERBACK Rudy Carpenter hobbled out of Memorial Stadium on crutches Saturday with his wounded left foot in a protective boot.

Hey, at least he was alive.

An hour earlier, Carpenter got absolutely drilled into the midfield turf — and his foot got wrenched — courtesy of Cal linebacker Zack Follett's blind-side sack.

And you thought those trees in the oak grove fell hard.

That play, in essence, secured Cal's 24-14 win. That play, in general, typified how tremendous the Golden Bears defense came through in third-down situations against Carpenter and the Sun Devils' high-powered offense.

But out of all the interceptions, sacks, fumbles and perfectly defended passes Cal's defense delivered on third down, Follett's hit deserves play-of-the-game honors.

For one thing, it was long overdue. And not just because it's the most crushing blow the senior leader has delivered since last season's opening-series sack of Tennessee's Erik Ainge.

Follett was out to avenge last year's 31-20 loss at Tempe, which he recalled as, "The most disrespected I've ever been in any stadium." He claimed his parents were spit on, and that his mother reminded him of that going into Saturday's rematch.

Follett hadn't forgotten that, nor all of Carpenter's taunts toward him in that 2007 matchup.

"He would say, 'Zack, you're so close. Zack you're so close.' He called me by my first name like we were best friends," Follett said. "He's been in my mind-set for a while. Thank lord I finally got him."

Yes, thank the Lord that you got him Zack.  I know God, omnipotent as He is, was concerend about all of this.  That's why He sent his son, Coach Tedford, to help make sure it happened. 

Go Zack!  BRING THE PAIN TRAIN!  House Of Sparky has a different take on this.  He really hates Danny Sullivan.  I don't know why!  Then, at the end he gets upset saying that both of our QBs are mediocre and that they'll never win any awards.

All I know is that Longshore just won the "Guided Team To Victory Over Arizona State" award.  It might not be as exclusive as an Oscar or Emmy, but hey, yknow what, I'll take it!  And I'd like to thank the little people!

(Edit:  Now that I read that ASU post again, I see that they clarified their comments, making them seem less pissy.  I think we can all agree that Jordan's comments weren't exactly the classiest things around, but that's not gonna stop the PAIN TRAIN!)

So, due to popular demand, this shall be Pain Train Week.  I know The Maharg was hoping it'd be CougCenter week again, what with his lonliness and continuous arousal and all.  But that was then, dude.  This is now.  So, in honor of Zack Follett and the Cal D, join me in welcoming Pain Train week, Zack Follett style!

Now, lets get to some links:

Men's soccer ties UDub:

SEATTLE, Wash. - Sophomore Andrew Wiedeman scored twice for the fourth-ranked California men's soccer team, as the Golden Bears tied Washington, 2-2, Sunday afternoon in Seattle Wash. Wiedeman collected his team-leading fourth and fifth goals of the campaign.

 

Cal (6-1-3, 1-0-1) scored soon after the kickoff once again, as Wiedeman tallied his first score in the eighth minute. Junior Evan Sassano recorded the assist on the initial score. Sassano fed Wiedeman with a long pass into the box. Washington's Raphael Cox was able to get Washington (6-3-1, 1-0-1) on the board before halftime with his goal in the 36th minute.

Women's volleyball shuts out WSU:

PULLMAN, Wash. - The No. 8-ranked California volleyball team (14-1, 4-0 Pac-10) tied the second longest winning streak in school history by winning its ninth consecutive match tonight at Bohler Gym in Pullman, Wash. over Washington State (7-8, 0-4 Pac-10). The Golden Bears needed every point they could get in the third set but still managed to win their 23rd straight set without a loss, coming away with a 25-14, 25-21, 26-24 victory in the Palouse. Cal attacked at a phenomenal rate, getting 51 kills against the Cougars on 103 attacks (18e, .320). The Bear defense held fast in each set to hold Washington State to just 26 kills, forcing 21 errors on 96 attacks (.052).

Junior All-America outside hitter Hana Cutura led all players with 15 kills (3e, 32att, .375) and added six digs to her final stat line. Senior outside Am'ra Solomon had 10 kills (4e, 19att, .316) and made a rare appearance to notch three digs from the back row, serving twice. Junior defensive specialist/libero Kristen Kathan had a match-high 12 digs and sophomore setter Carli Lloyd continued her steady play, getting 43 assists on the Bears' 51 kills. The Cougars shared the attack as four players each had five kills or more, led by sophomore middle blocker Brittany Tillman, who had six (3e, 15att, .200).

As I walked out of the Cal game, I noticed a field hockey match was going on.  We won!

BERKELEY - Carolina Bistue scored her third game-winning goal of the season and Natalie Nurnberg added two goals to give No. 15 California 3-0 victory over visiting Pacific on Saturday afternoon at Maxwell Family Field. Bistue, a senior defender, scored in a close first half, while Nurnberg, a sophomore forward, scored both her goals in the second half against the Golden Bears' NorPac Conference opponent. Cal improved its record to 8-2 (4-0 NorPac), while the Tigers fell to 1-9 (0-1).

Today's result gives Cal a pair of 3-0 wins over Pacific this season; the Bears beat Pacific in a non-conference game on Aug. 30 in Stockton, Calif.

Women's tennis suffers a setback:

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - No. 7-ranked California women's tennis sophomore Marina Cossou had her run at the All-American Championship singles title cut short today as she fell in three sets to No. 9 Fani Chifchieva of Auburn in the semifinal of the Riviera/ITA Women's Tennis All-American Championship in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Cossou was able to capture three wins over ranked opponents during the weekend, each of which will go towards her first regular season ranking in January, 2009.

"I think this was a great tournament for Marina," said head coach Amanda Augustus, "She didn't play a lot of matches over the summer so this was the perfect test to see where she's at. It's always great to have Cal playing in the final rounds at this prestigious tournament. Of course, we were hoping for a more positive outcome but she is only a sophomore and I believe this will serve as great motivation to work even harder in order to get back to this level. She'll be back this time next year with a vengeance."

Women's volleyball also nails UDub:

SEATTLE, Wash. - The No. 8-ranked California volleyball team (13-1, 3-0 Pac-10) won its eighth consecutive match in a 3-0 sweep (28-26, 25-22, 25-23) of No. 9 Washington (11-2, 2-1 Pac-10) tonight at Bank of America Arena in Seattle, Wash. The three-set home loss was the first for the Huskies since they were swept by 2003 NCAA champion USC nearly five years ago, Oct. 4, 2003. The Golden Bears have now won their last 20 sets in a row dating back to a 3-1 win over Cal Poly on Sept. 14th.

Cal junior All-America outside hitter Hana Cutura logged her fourth double-double of the season with 17 kills and 13 digs, leading the Bears in each category. Cutura hit .361 with just four errors on her 36 attacks. The Huskies were led by junior outside hitter Jill Collymore's 15 kills (5e, 36att, .278) and junior defensive specialist/libero Tamari Miyashiro's match-high 26 digs. Cal's middle hitters didn't commit a single error getting 17 kills on 31 combined attacks. Junior middle hitter Mindi Wiley got 10 kills on 15 attacks (.667) and freshman Shannon Hawari put down seven kills on her 16 attacks (.438).

Longshore will prolly keep his job:

Some quick hits from the press room:

–Jeff Tedford said Nate Longshore will "probably" play in the next game at Arizona. Longshore was 17-for-28 for 198 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

Okanes has a big article on the D:

When is the last time you saw Cal’s defense that dominant? That had to have been one of the best performances by Cal’s defense in a while. Yes, Arizona State clearly was overrated to begin the season, but the Sun Devils still are probably an upper echelon Pac-10 tea, and their offense was simply no match for the Bears’ defense.

The 3-4 base scheme has turned out to be a great fit for Cal. The Bears are doing many good things out of it, notably stopping the run and putting pressure on the quarterback. Cal’s active defensive line isn’t just eating up space against the run — it’s making plays. Defensive end Cameron Jordan tied for the team lead with eight tackles Saturday.

Speaking of Jordan, Saturday demonstrated why this guy could be an absolute star someday. In addition to his eight tackles, he had two sacks and a forced fumble. Not only does it appear there will be no dropoff with Rulon Davis sidelined, Jordan might actually provide an upgrade.

Men's tennis does well:

FRESNO, Calif. - The California men's tennis team completed play today at the 15th annual Fresno State Bulldog Classic on the courts of the Wathen Tennis Center in Fresno, Calif. The Golden Bears had not just one, but two doubles teams capture the titles in their individual draws. In the A Draw, the top-seeded tandem of sophomore Pedro Zerbini and senior Geoff Chizever put an 8-5 win on Matthews and Stege of UC Irvine in the semifinal round before taking out the third-seeded team of Boutillier and DeVilliers of host, Fresno State in an 8-4 decision.

In the B Draw doubles bracket, Cal's team of sophomores Andy Chirita and Zach Gilbert got an 8-4 win in the semifinal against Washington's Bator and Rosinski; then came out and took an 8-5 win against Henderson and Vaidyanthan of UC Irvine.

Men's water polo beats up on Pacific:

BERKELEY, CALIF. - Led by three goals apiece by junior All-American Spencer Warden and freshman standout Luka Saponjic, the No. 5 Cal men's water polo team (7-3) snapped a three-match losing streak with a convincing 16-4 victory over visiting Pacific (8-7) Saturday, Oct. 4 at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

Pacific's Will Milcovich scored the first goal of the day with 6:24 in the first period, but it was all Cal after that point as Saponjic scored a goal at 6:09 in the opening period, followed by Warden's goal at 5:51 and freshman Ivan Rackov's score at 4:56 in the first quarter. Milcovich did notched his second goal of the match at 4:36 in the first period to get the Tigers within 3-2, only to see Rackov and senior captain Trent Calder score at the end of the quarter to give the Bears a 5-2 lead after eight minutes. Calder scored his goal on an impressive one-on-one spin move at two-meters as time expired.

ALL WEEK LONG WE ARE BRINGING THE PAIN TRAIN!  NEVER STOP DON'T NOT BRINGING THE PAIN TRAIN!  Go Bears!