Not quite as Cal-oriented today as you might think.  Check out this story here from CNBC.  Listen to the first 30 seconds or so of the video.  Tell me if you hear anything.......different about her interest rate cuts.

And with that, let's get to some links:

VBall players earn honors:

Pacific-10 Conference Commissioner Tom Hansen announced the 2008 conference awards today (Dec. 1), naming California volleyball junior outside hitter Hana Cutura and sophomore setter Carli Lloyd to the all-conference team. The selection was Cutura's second such honor. Senior outside hitter Am'ra Solomon and junior middle hitter Mindi Wiley each received honorable mention. The Pac-10 all-freshman team featured two Golden Bears: outside hitter Tarah Murrey and middle hitter Shannon Hawari.

Cutura leads the conference in kills per set with a 4.47 kps average (11th in the country) and is second in service aces, posting a 0.32 saps mark. The Croatian native also tops the Pac-10 leaderboard for points, averaging 5.13 points per set. Earlier this season, she moved into sixth place all-time at Cal in kills with 1,333 and just last weekend, claimed the ninth overall spot for attacks with 3,116 career attempts. She also set new career marks for attacks (68 vs. UCLA) and digs (19 at UCLA) this season on her way to being named to the all-tournament team at the Cal Molten Classic, Golden Bear Invitational, Diet Coke Classic and the Crowne Plaza Volleyball Classic, at which she garnered MVP honors.

Lloyd ranks third in the nation and second in the Pac-10 in assists, recording 12.08 assists per set. She claimed a personal best seven kills in a match earlier this season and has been attacking at a .345 rate (90k, 23e, 194att). Lloyd earned Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week honors on Oct. 20 and was recognized as the Pac-10 Player of the Week twice this season (Aug. 23-30 and Oct. 12-19). The Bonsall, Calif. native also took home MVP honors at the Cal Molten Classic and the Golden Bear Invitational; and received all-tournament notice at the Diet Coke Classic and the Crowne Plaza Volleyball Classic.

VBall to host 1st and 2nd rounds of NCAAs:

BERKELEY - The California volleyball team received its school-record seventh consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament today and will host three teams in the first and second rounds of the Penn State regional. The No. 7-ranked Golden Bears (23-6, 13-5 Pac-10) will play Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament champion Siena College (20-12, 15-3 MAAC) in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship on Friday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. In the other first round match, No. 25 New Mexico State (25-8, 15-1 Western Athletic Conference) will take on St. Mary's College (20-7, 10-4 West Coast Conference) at 6 p.m. The winners of each match will advance to face each other in an 8 p.m. match on Saturday, Dec. 6 for the right to advance to the round of 16. All three matches will be played on Pete Newell Court at Haas Pavilion.

Tickets go on sale at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow (Dec. 1) and are only available through the Cal athletic ticket office website. Adult two-day packages that include admission to all three matches can be purchased for $18; $14 for seniors (65+), youth and students with valid identification.

Mens BBall hosts Depaul Wedned:

California returns to Haas Pavilion to host DePaul Wednesday at 7:30, the Golden Bears' lone home contest during a five-game stretch that began Nov. 28 and runs through Dec. 10.

Cal is coming off a split at the Global Sports Classic last weekend in Las Vegas. The Bears opened with a decisive 73-55 victory over host UNLV Friday to break the Runnin' Rebels' 19-game winning streak at the Thomas & Mack Center. In the tournament final, however, Florida State handed Cal its first loss by an 80-77 margin.

Next weekend, Cal travels to Columbia, Mo., to meet Missouri in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series before visiting Utah Dec. 10 for its last contest before fall final exams.

Led by junior G Jerome Randle, the Bears pace the nation in three-point accuracy, having connected on 53.8 percent of their long-range attempts. Randle is 18-for-28 on treys and his 64.3 percent rate is No. 6 in the country. Overall, Randle paces the squad with 20.5 ppg after matching his personal high with 26 points vs. Florida State. He is also dishing out a team-best 4.5 apg and owns a team-high eight steals.

On the defensive end, Cal is limiting its opponents to just 61.7 ppg, far fewer than the 75.1 ppg the Bears allowed last year. Against UNLV, Cal held the Rebels to only 29.7 percent field goal shooting and outrebounded them 50-34.

Ashley Walker is a GOD:

Leading the #3/3 Bears to a 3-0 week at the Paradise Jam over the Thanksgiving weekend, senior forward Ashley Walker was selected the U.S. Bank Pac-10 Women's Basketball Player of the Week, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced. Walker averaged 22.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists over three games at the holiday tournament in the Virgin Islands, also earning the event's Most Valuable Player distinction for the Reef Division.

After opening the week with six points, four rebounds and three assists in the 85-55 rout of South Florida, Walker went on to post back-to-back 30-point efforts to lead the team to the Paradise Jam championship game. Against Texas Tech, she netted 30 points on 9-for-14 shooting, including a three pointer on her only long-range attempt. She was impressive from the free throw line, as well, going 11-for-11. Walker followed with a 32-point, eight-rebound performance in the title tilt versus Iowa, which the Bears won handily, 76-43. She was 14-for-21 and perfect again from the charity stripe, knocking down all four attempts from the line.

Walker shot 60.5 percent from the floor during the week and was 15-for-15 from the foul line. She also tacked on six steals and four blocks in the tournament.

Article on Montgomery's rotation:

Coach Mike Montgomery used 11 players in the first half Saturday night against Florida State, determined to give his starters some rest in Game 2 of a back-to-back at the Global Sports Classic.

He wants to develop depth on this team, but the result of trying to do that against the Seminoles put the Bears in a hole.

“Unfortunately, at the end of the first half when we went from close to not close, it was when we had to substitute,” he said. “We didn’t play the last 3 minutes very well.”

With three starters off the floor at the end of the half — each saddled with two fouls — FSU scored the final eight points of the half, extending a 24-23 lead to 32-23. Cal fouled four times during that span — with the Seminoles hitting 5-for-7 from the line — and was 0-for-5 with three turnovers on its final eight possessions of the period. 

Cal wound up suffering its first defeat of the season, falling 80-77 after a ferocious rally in the final 2 minutes.

“We’re going to have to develop our depth, but at the same time some of these games – maybe most of them, if not all of them – we know we’ve got to have certain people on the floor for us to win,” Monty said Monday at his weekly press conference.

As a result, he said it may be time soon to tighen up his substitution pattern, likely going to an eight-man rotation.

Did she really say that?  Sounds like it to me.  Dump away.  And Go Bears!