Article on ESPN about Cal swimmer Milorad Cavic’s criticism of Michael Phelps for essentially being too good.

BEIJING — Just in time to pour cold water on the coronation, we go to Serbian swimmer Milorad Cavic at the Water Cube:

“It would be good for the sport if he lost.”

You know who “he” is. Michael Phelps, the man who has cornered the market on Beijing bling. The owner of six gold medals and six world records in these Olympics. The guy who is striving to make it a great eight this weekend, then presumably will walk across the pool surface to the final medal ceremony.

This was not a quote that was bollixed in translation. Cavic is from California, born to Serbian parents who immigrated to the U.S. in 1982. He didn’t simply say it once, he said it twice.

“I think it would be good for the sport and good for him,” Cavic said.

I’m going to take a wild guess that Phelps might disagree with that line of thinking. And that roughly 30 million Americans who have been glued to their TVs this past week might not see it that way, either.

It certainly would be good for Milorad Cavic if Michael Phelps lost to him Saturday morning in the 100-meter butterfly final. And good for Serbia, which has never won a swimming medal. Cavic has qualified fastest for the final, .05 seconds ahead of Phelps, who clearly was not going to kill himself to win a semifinal.

The SFGate is reporting:

Senior incumbent Nate Longshore and sophomore Kevin Riley took equal series with the first and second teams and had similar stats. Longshore was 8 of 17 for 78 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Riley was 10 of 16 for 70 yards and two scores.

That sure sounds like a tie. About even. Hard to tell the difference. Probably should go with experience.

Is that a reference to Driving Miss Daisy… or have you actually seen a Piggly-Wiggly?

In the Contra Costa Times:

Kevin Riley slightly outplayed Nate Longshore at quarterback, and has been coming on lately. The past 4 or 5 days, Riley seems to be improving his accuracy, cutting down on mistakes and playing with more confidence. Riley was 10-for-16 for 70 yards and two touchdowns while Longshore was 8-for-17 for 78 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Does anyone know why the synchronized divers always immediately shower off following their dives? I never see swimmers showering instantly.

I too have found NBC’s Olympic coverage, at best, confusing. I would have thought that given all the advances in streaming video, OnDemand TV, etc etc, that I should have no problem catching the events that interest me. This just hasn’t been the case. I feel like I’ve seen enough swimming prelims to last me for the rest of my life.

I really want gas station fried chicken now. mmmmmmmm.

At 3 AM instead of writing articles for my site I’m watching badminton, table tennis and archery live online. Team table tennis is the SHITZ. And tonight an 8 hour basketball marathon! Who needs to get work done? Not me!

NBCOlympics.com rocks my world. So…much…to watch.

Things of note… Anger 45.5yrd punt avg… guy is a monster.

Riley owned the day… even when running he 2nd team offense.

Marv Jones looks like the real deal and Young is making his case.

Seawright is equal if not better than Kay… Is anyone ready for 1000+ word posts about our kicker controversy?

CAL SCRIMMAGE LEADERS:
Rushing: Vereen 11-72, Slocum 11-64, Tyndall 4-30, DeBoskie 6-13 TD.
Passing: Riley 10-17, 70 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT; Longshore 8-17, 76 yds, TD, INT; Mansion 4-8, 92 yds, 0 TD, INT.
Receiving: Young 4-35 TD, Jones 3-72 TD, Smith 2-37, Vereen 3-5, Calvin, 1-15, Cunningham 1-3 TD.
Punting: Anger 4-182.
Field Goals: Seawright 6-6, Kay 5-6.
Defense: Follett 5 tkls QS; Mohamed 5 tkls; Kendricks 4 tkls, Cattouse 3 tkls, Hagan 3 tkls, Campbell 3 tkls, Aigamaua 3 tkls, Jordan 2 tckls 2 QS; Davis 2 tkls TFL

Anyone watching the Titans game? It took them a while to start throwing to him, but Mr. The Hawk just picked up a lovely 51 yard TD for his second NFL catch.

had 77 yards on 3 carries for the Raiders tonight. I didn’t even realize he was playing in the NFL.

Cory Smits and Tom Schneider have written a book about the 2007 season. From CoCoTimes:

The former Cal quarterback and kicker missed all last season with injuries. While their teammates were taking reps at practice, Smits and Schneider were taking pictures.

Smits had shoulder surgery before the season, and Schneider suggested that he spend the year chronicling the 2007 version of Cal football. Schneider then joined him on the sidelines after suffering a season-ending leg injury while warming up for the season-opener against Tennessee.

The duo thought snapping photos would be a fun way to pass the time at practice while giving players some memories of the season. But after taking what Smits estimates was about 5,000 pictures, it turns out there were some pretty good ones in the memory card.

Mr. Hook can get it for Mrs. Hook here.

Anyone else not know who the fuck to root for tonight? It’s the Green Bay Aaron Rodgerses vs. the 9ers… I want the 9ers to win 48-45, but AR to throw for 400 yards and 5 TDs in one half.

As Okanes sez:

Kevin Riley continues to come on at quarterback. After a rough first week, Riley seems to have found his groove. During a 6-on-8 drill Saturday morning where the offense tries to score against the linebackers and secondary, Riley threw a beautiful 40-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Ross, which landed sofly on Ross’ fingertips in the end zone. Riley also threw a touchdown pass to tight end Garry Graffort on a goal-line drill.

Nate Longshore struggled during the early portions of the morning practice but came on later. He was intercepted early by Darian Hagan on a pass intended for Sean Young, but then followed Riley’s 40-yard strike to Ross with a 40-yard scoring pass of his own to Nyan Boateng.

Longshore also had one strong 11-on-11 series, twice throwing passes that prompted fiery offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti to exclaim: "Nice shot!" and give Longshore a high-five. Longshore also connected with tight end Cameron Morrah on for a touchdown on third down during the goal-line drill.

Just like itchy25 said above, I think NBC just assumes people will watch their broadcasts time-shifted.

It makes it SO much better are more bearable.

Okanes sayeth:

The highlight of Sunday’s practice was the red zone work at the end. Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley took turns throwing touchdown passes. First, Longshore connected with LaReylle Cunningham, who caught the pass short of the end zone and reached his arm over the goal line for the score. There was some dispute if Cunningham actually scored or not, but recruiting assistant Kevin Parker, standing on the goal line, gave the touchdown signal, much to the delight of the offense.

On the very next rep, Kevin Riley found a wide-open Nyan Boateng in the back of the end zone. Longshore came back to throw a touchdown pass to Sean Young, and what followed may have been the play of training camp.

Riley was pressured out of the pocket, bought some time, then zipped a pass through traffic that hit freshman tight end Anthony MIller perfectly in stride for another score. That was the final play of practice, and it sent the team off for conditioning drills hooting and hollering.