Sometimes I feel so alone.  Living in the big city, surrounded by all the big people.  But they don't understand me.  They don't know my pain.

Yknow, it's not the same for other people.  For USC fans, hey you got Bruins Nation.  And for UCLA fans, Conquest Chronicles.  Oregon and OSU fans, they got Addicted to Quack and Building the Dam.  Even CougCenter (CougCenter!) has the ever mysterious UWDawgPound. 

But us?  We have nobody.  Nothing.  Stanford students aren't bright enough to start a sports blog.  Stanford sports aren't interesting enough to be blogged about.  So, where does that leave us?  Well, there is one other Pac10 team in our predicament:  House of Sparky.  They find themselves in an endless abyss of non-hating.  Arizona fans suck as much as Stanford fans. 

So, I propose we hate House of Sparky as if they were a Stanford blog.  They too have nobody to hate.  They can hate us back!  This should work perfectly.  We don't want to be those lame-os during the slow dance walking around the dance floor, pretending like we had a dance partner, but just can't find her.  You know the move I'm talking about.

Walking around with your face scrunched in confusion and your shoulders shrugged in complacency.  Oh ya, a real life actual human female HAD agreed to dance with us, but we just can't find her.  I'm sure she's around here somewhere and she'll show up very soon.  Just like my girlfriend from camp.

So, anyway, I'm not sure how we tell House of Sparky we've decided unilaterally to invade and occupy their blog as if its a Stanford blog.  Any suggestions?

Also, here is the Big Game Spirit Event list again:

Monday: Cable Car Rally... Noon at Union Square

Tuesday: Big Sail in SF at 12:30.... Night Rally... 9pm start at Bowles

 

Wednesday: Guardsmen Luncheon at Fairmont, 11am, Rally on Union Square... 12:30pm.....at Momo's restaurant in SF.... 7:30ish

 

Thursday: Treechopping Rally on Sproul 12pm, but no band there.... spirit yes

 

Friday: Noon Rally on Sproul, Bonfire at 7..... band will also be in City at Royal Exchange/Schroeders around 8ish

Can anybody clarify where the Big Sail starts?

Sentences handed down in Tree-Sitting case:

BERKELEY (AP) ― Three of the people accused of involvement in a tree-sitting protest against a sports training center at the University of California, Berkeley are facing jail time.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Marshall Whitley sentenced Kingman Lim, Zachary RunningWolf Brown and Michael Schuck to five days in prison Monday and ordered them to pay an amount that has yet to be determined toward the university's attorney fees.

The judge sentenced six other people involved in the protest to 50 hours of community service each.

The nine people sentenced were accused of violating a court order intended to stop the protest.

Here is a complete list of tributes to Pete Newell.

VBall to take on SoCal teams:

Since stunning rival Stanford (currently ranked No. 2) on the Cardinal's home floor for the first time in 29 years (Oct. 19), the No. 7-ranked California volleyball team has won just three of its last seven matches. The Golden Bears look to right the ship with their four remaining regular season matches beginning with bouts against visiting Southern California teams, No. 9 UCLA and No. 10 USC. Cal will try to sweep the season series against the Bruins for first time in program history after claiming a 3-2 win at Pauley Pavilion Oct. 24. The Bears also have revenge on their minds as the Trojans come to Haas Pavilion on Senior Night. Cal fell in five sets to the women of Troy when they met in Los Angeles; the team's first Pac-10 loss. The Bears celebrate the career accomplishments of seniors Morgan Beck, Kat Reilly and Am'ra Solomon as they close out regular-season home matches for 2008. The volleyball matches are but a part of a big weekend on the Berkeley campus as men's and women's basketball are in action as well. On Saturday, Nov. 22, Cal's match against USC follows the 111th Big Game taking place at Memorial Stadium at 12:30 p.m. The Bears will also take on the Cardinal in men's water polo at Spieker Pool with first sprint at 10 a.m. Check CalBears.com for schedules, updates and information on all 27 of Cal's intercollegiate athletic teams.

THE FACTS: No. 7 Cal (20-5, 10-4 Pac-10) completes its regular-season home schedule by hosting No. 9 UCLA (18-8, 8-7 Pac-10) on Friday (Nov. 21) at 5 p.m. and No. 10 USC (16-8, 9-6 Pac-10) on Saturday (Nov. 22) at 5 p.m. The Golden Bears will honor their seniors during pre-match ceremonies prior to the match against USC. The Senior Night match will be broadcast live by Fox Sports Net. Paul Sunderland will call the action with Holly McPeak and Karch Kiraly providing color commentary. Live statistics through Gametracker and streaming video are also available via links at CalBears.com.

FREE FOR ALL: Both of this weekend's matches feature free admission for all youth 12th grade and below with valid student identification.

Men's soccer to take on USF:

The No. 10 California men's soccer team earned its eighth straight bid to the NCAA Championships when the 48-team field was announced Monday afternoon. The Golden Bears (10-3-5, 5-2-3) will host San Francisco in a first-round contest Friday, Nov. 21, at 1:30 p.m. at Edwards Stadium. The winner will play UC Santa Barbara in the second round on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 7 p.m. in Santa Barbara.

This is Cal's 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which is also called the College Cup. Under head coach Kevin Grimes, a four-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year (2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007), Cal has amassed a 6-7-1 record in the postseason. Overall, the Bears have a 6-14-1 record in the national tournament.

The Bears and Dons (9-9-2, 7-4-1) have already met this year. Cal beat USF, 2-0, on Sept. 26 at Edwards Stadium.

Mens XC going to NCAA Championships:

BERKELEY - For the second time in school history, and for the second consecutive year, the California men's cross country team will compete as a team in the NCAA Championships. The No. 20 Golden Bears received an at-large bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships Monday, Nov. 24, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind.

The majority of Cal's success this season can be attributed to the strong performances of seniors Yosef Ghebray and Mark Matusak. Ghebray paced the Bears at last Saturday's NCAA West Regional, taking seventh overall. Junior Michael Coe and sophomore Kari Karlsson have also been valuable contributors in the lineup.

Montgomery quotes:

On the passing of Pete Newell:
I knew Pete fairly well. Pete was a great ambassador for basketball in general, a very gracious man. He was good to everybody, had time for everybody and has had a tremendous influence on the game of basketball, so basically I think the game of basketball has lost a great friend. The '59 team (NCAA champions), all those guys are still very active and have stuck together, which you tend to do when you win. That's a great catalyst for a university.

On his memories of USF coach Rex Walters as a young player:
I recruited Rex out of high school, really liked him, but it didn't work out, which was really unfortunate because Rex was a very good player.

On the Dons' style under Rex Walters:
They're playing well. They've chosen a style that's a bit unorthodox and it's been paying dividends for them. They're very active. Walters has got pretty good athletes and pretty good numbers, so he's picked a style that's disruptive, trying to get you out of flow. It's kind of a matchup - first they'll pester-press after made [baskets] or dead balls, and go back to some kind of a match-up zone, switching man-to-man, however you want to characterize it, with the theory that you won't be able to run your stuff, that you'll get out of sorts and that you'll break down, which they've had some success with. They're looking to turn you over, get you confused and run out of that.

Former Cal golfer going to PGA Tour:

BERKELEY - Peter Tomasulo, who finished his California career as a two-time All-American and two-time All-America Scholar following the Golden Bears' 2004 NCAA National Championship, secured his 2009 PGA TOUR card after finishing the 2008 Nationwide Tour at No. 11 on the money list.

Tomasulo ended his season with a fifth-place finish Sunday, November 9, at the Nationwide Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch in Dallas, Texas. The top-25 money winners on the Nationwide Tour received PGA cards.

Peter now joins former Cal great Charlie Wi as the second Golden Bear to compete on the PGA TOUR.

Womens gymnastics gets new recruits:

BERKELEY - The California women's gymnastics team has signed six recruits for next season, as announced by head coach Cari DuBois. The signees will join the Golden Bears in the fall of 2009. Five of the six signees are from California, while the other comes to Berkeley from Illinois.

DuBois' six newcomers are Nicolette Lew (Chino Hills, Calif.), Stina Olivere (Naperville, Ill.), Arla Rosenzweig (Los Altos, Calif.), Chelsea Spomer (Forestville, Calif.), Madisyn O'Brien (Sebastopol, Calif.) and Mariesah Pierce (Aptos, Calif.).

"We have had our eye on these ladies for quite some time," DuBois said. "All six of these ladies are strong all-arounders. Not only are they talented, but they are also brillant and have great personalities. Their energy and their passion for the sport are contagious. This is definitely my largest scholarship recruiting class ever and we are looking forward to having a couple more walk-ons to help build this program.

Lew was a Level 10 national and regional qualifier in 2008 and 2007. As a national qualifier, she took sixth on vault in 2008 and placed 19th in the all-around in 2007. As a regional qualifier she finished fourth in the all-around in 2007, including second on vault and floor and third on beam. Lew was also a two-time state champion on bars and in the all-around and also won the championship on bars in 2008 and floor in 2007.

Olivere was a four-time Level 10 state/regional qualifier and a three-time Level 9 state/regional qualifier, including a championship on bars at nationals.

Rosenzweig won the state championship on floor last year and was a regional qualifier. In 2006, she was the all-around state champion and the regional bars champion.

Spomer was a three-time level 10 regional qualifier and a 2008 first alternate for nationals. She placed third in the all around at the state championships in 2008. Spomer was also the Level 8 regional vault champion.

Football bowl tidbits from Okanes:

I talked on the phone today with Bruce Binkowski, the executive director of the Holiday Bowl. He clarified that if there is a two-way tie in the spot his bowl picks, the berth would go to the team that won the head-to-head matchup.

That could be good news for the Bears if everything shakes down in their favor. If Oregon State wins out and goes to the Rose Bowl and USC doesn’t hiccup against Notre Dame and UCLA, both teams should be in BCS games. The Trojans surely will be selected for another BCS game if they win out.

If that happens and Cal wins out, the Bears would finish in a tie with Oregon for the Holiday Bowl slot. That means the Bears would get the berth by virtue of their regular season win over the Ducks.

Big Game Week festivities:

Big Game week got going in earnest this morning with the annual luncheon featuring both coaches and players from each school. Coach Jeff Tedford was there at Perry’s in San Francisco, along with linebacker Worrell Williams and right guard Noris Malele (Linebacker Zack Follett also was supposed to appear but had to beg out because of treatment).

Obviously, one of the major storylines for the Bears is they are in the position of trying to get the axe back, something that hasn’t happened since Tedford’s first year. Tedford and the players said you don’t really realize the magnitude of the rivalry until you’re on the losing side of it.

“Now that we lost the game, now it’s big,” Williams said. “(Stanford) is not just some team that we beat up on all the time. They beat up on us. Now it’s really a big game, especially for me. That was my first time losing to them. Now it’s really back as a rivalry.