To be fair, Favre grew up in Mississippi. Not like we were expecting a Rhodes Scholar out of him, although I guess we weren’t expecting Susan Lucci either.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Now, I’m up at 6:30 AM with NOTHING TO DO. And I had a whole “Law of the Tanbark” thing ready to go.

Congrats, OakTown. Congrats.

OakTown, what can you tell us about the other thing Volker filed, the Motion For New Trial regarding the shoring. What is that all about?

Well, I guess I can still offer links.

You had the SFGate article, but here’s Cal’s article. Cal picked 4th by media.

Berkeley – The University of California football team was picked to finish fourth according to the 2008 Pacific-10 Conference preseason media poll released on Thursday.

Five-time defending conference champion USC was a near-unanimous choice to win the league title. The Trojans were listed in the top spot by 38 of the 39 voters participating in the poll. It marks the sixth consecutive year the Trojans have been the choice to win the title.

Cal’s Blake Smith is doing well with the USA baseball team.

BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC – University of California right fielder/right-handed pitcher Blake Smith is the leading hitter for the USA Baseball National (Collegiate) Team this summer as Team USA is sporting a perfect 22-0 record during its 2008 summer tour. Smith, who will be a junior next spring for the Golden Bears, has helped the USA National Team (which is not the USA Beijing Olympic baseball team) go 6-0 in pool play and advance to the semifinals of the IV FISU World Collegiate Baseball Championship in the Czech Republic by hitting .362 (17-for-47) overall with four doubles, a triple, three home runs and 12 RBI in 18 games.

Here is the BDP article on the meeting last night and is just chock a block FULL of goodness.

Mayor Tom Bates told the public that the council could still appeal within 58 days. Worthington commented that getting five votes –especially without Dona Spring’s vote – would be difficult. Councilmember Spring, who died recently, was a strong supporter of the movement to save the grove.

Oh, Becky:

Planet Executive Editor Becky O’Malley said that it did not make economic sense to stop the lawsuit now. "It would be frivolous to undertake a lawsuit and not carry it to the appeal level," she said.

You know what else is frivolous? THIS LAWSUIT!

Mayor Shirley Dean wants fat children:

Former Mayor Shirley Dean, opposing Mayor Tom Bates in November, said the university should "stop holding sports camps for young children in the stadium."

For anybody wondering why everybody is all up in arms over this, here is the basic reason why:

A number of people spoke to the issue of filing the lawsuit in order to right the power imbalance between the city and university.

Yvonne Knebel urged the council not "to rubberstamp what the regents tell you to do." If you do, she said, "You are a puppet government."

"This is about normalizing power relationships between the city and university," Sharon Hudson said.

The appeal "is the only leverage you have," Dean said.

It is not about trees. It is about seismic safety. It’s about power. Plain and simple.

Bates and Worthington bickered:

This led to Councilmember Kriss Worthington’s attempt to question Kelly, but Bates quickly cut Worthington off, despite’s Worthington’s assertions that Bates was acting contrary to council rules.

More stories.

CoCoTimes on the non-appeal. Let’s check in with our dear old friend, Bucky.

“I think the city seriously miscalculated the reaction that will come from the community about this issue,” said Doug Buckwald, a spokesman for Save the Oaks at the Stadium. “I have never seen such a broad coalition of people from all across Berkeley, different neighborhoods, different social groups, different economic groups, nonprofit groups, city workers, students. It’s the kind of coalition that can actually impact city policy and election in the future, and I think they will learn the consequences of this very short-sighted decision.”

Scot Smith is transferring. :(!

Okanes on Media Day. Part I and Part II. And a blurb on the council meeting.

LA Times article on Media Day:

t would have taken a brain cramp to pick anyone else other than USC, which received 38 out of 39 first-place votes. One voter in the media poll, though, gave California a first-place nod.

The same Cal that closed last year by losing six of its final eight games. The same Cal that is 1-5 against USC in the Jeff Tedford era. The same Cal whose coach, Tedford, said of last year’s collapse: “I’m not sure we’ll ever know exactly what happened.”

Article on Nets summer game. Against the Dubs! This is chock full of relevance.

And judging by this quote, boo to Yellow Fever:

As for Anderson, the first thing that stood out was the Nets’ coaching staff had him playing the small forward position, which isn’t going to work at the pro level. Any advantage Anderson has will come at the four position, where he can use his perimeter skills to better advantage.

Anderson’s just not going to be able to match up against small forwards on the defensive end and he’s not likely to have much of an advantage against them offensively, either.

He also looked uncomfortable shooting the 3, and it almost seemed like he’s struggling to adjust to the extra distance at the pro level.

I’m not making the case Lopez and/or Anderson are going to struggle or fail or anything like that at the pro level. But what I am saying is that if you’re talking athleticism and talent and star potential, neither of those two are in the same league as Anthony Randolph.

Can I also say that the plaintiffs whining about the timing of the Judge’s ruling being “prejudicial” is beyond annoying.

Because the timing of the Judge’s ruling is prejudicial to Cal. It happened like a year after it should have! That’s frigging prejudicial!

From EDSBS,

CORRECTIONS, 7/25/2008

Monday’s Getting to Know U: Pac-10 profile of Cal quarterback Nate Longshore contained the following inaccurate paragraph: "Nate Longshore is a British Overseas Territory, 16 miles long, and 3 miles at her widest point. Boasting 33 white sand beaches with crystal clear waters, a contemporary international style, extraordinary vistas, world-class accommodations and mouth-watering cuisine, he is the culmination of your search for the idyllic tropical escape". The passage actually describes the island of Anguilla, and should have read, "Nate Longshore ranks fourth all-time at Cal in passing efficiency (133.1), sixth in passing touchdowns (62) and seventh in passing yardage (5,732). He has 18 victories as a starting quarterback, second in Cal history, and also owns the top bench press of all-time by a Cal quarterback at 370 pounds." We regret the error.

Yeah, remember that he totally won the AF Bowl and without him, Sac State would have been a disaster.

I know it is an old clip, but get those tissues ready, boys!

Tedford is my hero!

This is definitely appropriate for work as the boss and coworkers will see a whole new side of you.

As far as the hillbilly with the “Get a Brain…. Morans” sign, is it possible he is questioning the intelligence of ABC’s Terry Moran and his family?

Is it possible to get non cal students into the student section for games?

Patrick Chung was quoted in the LA Times as saying he had “unfinished business” when asked why he didn’t go on to the NFL. Isn’t Chung some kind of legend around here?

My signed ball just DOUBLED in value!

Oops. I mean LET’S GO, GI-ANTS!!!

I wanted to see memorial on TV (err… tv broadcast)

Exact Tedford quotes from Pac 10 Media Day:
http://www.pac-10.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/072408aaf.html

California Head Coach Jeff Tedford

Opening Remarks: “Great to see you all here. I’m really excited this time of year to get started and get with the players. I’m very happy to have Alex [Mack] with us. I always joke that he is our number one recruit because he chose to come back to school for his senior season. He is a great player and a great leader, we very fortunate to have him. The guys have been working very hard, the chemistry that we are able to build in the spring will help us. We had some talented guys who have departed, but we also have guys eager to fill in. I’m looking forward to camp on August 3 when players report.”
On the quarterback competition: “We feel like we are in a great situation with a our quarterbacks. Nate [Longshore] has played in a lot of games and won a lot of games for us. Kevin Riley had a couple of opportunities last season and played well. It’s going to be very competitive going into Fall camp. We will pick a starter the first week of the season and it might take both of them. To clarify, they are both going to get game time.”
On Jahvid Best: “Jahvid’s health is very good. We held him out of spring drills with a hip injury that he suffered in the USC game. He rehabbed through spring, but has been through the summer program and is 100% healthy.”

California C Alex Mack

On the Conference race: “I think it’s really competitive. I think everyone in the Pac-10 is really great, we have to come out and play each week. We had close games last season that we could have won, but lost in the last second, so we have to be ready.”

Jahvid on the header of the official Pac 10 website: