He especially failed me.  But he ESPECIALLY failed us all.  But he E.S.P.E.C.I.A.L.L.Y failed me.  SoCal Oski writes:

At least CougCenter showed up.

Has anyone been over to the Maryland blog?  I mean, other than the dozens of colonies of crickets that seem to fill every nook and lonely post?  Pretty grim over there.  I doubt very much there's anyone over there who will want to come play with us.

I suppose it may all be for the best though.  I mean, what would we call this week?  Testudo-tickle week?  Yeah, that's about our level.

I'll look past the snide insult and realize that people miss CougCenter Week.  They miss that halcyon age of class, dignity, and segregated baseball.  They want a return to the golden age of CougCenter week.  When the trees were still up and you could get 5 bees for a quarter.  Oh, those were the days.

But, it's OK.  CougCenter Week is over.  We have to move on.  We have to move on to Turtle Week.  But we can't!  We can't, because Zoo News has failed us all.  He hasn't provided us with a showcase of his amazing Photoshop skills.

Leaving it to me (which is how he has failed me).  But I don't have Photoshop.  I don't have anything fancy like that.  So, I have to show off my MS Paint skills.  And when I say skills, well, I think you can judge for yourself.

Now, I made a couple of Turtle Week icons.  Let's vote for the one we love the most, OK?

A) We got the "Soft Shelled" turtle, even more intimidating than normal!  And notice my hilarious pun! 

B) We got the "Cute Baby" turtle!

C) We got the "Mentally Slow" turtle!  And a shoe he's violating.

D) And we got the "John McCain" Turtle.  He actually leaves that other turtle there for a richer, blonder turtle.

So, make your selection below and let's get Turtle Week (not to be confused with Trutle Week) on the road!  First item of business:  Playing Truth Or Turtle! (not to be confused with Turth And Trutle!)

So, make your choice and lets get to some links:

Some more information on Cal v. Maryland:

Cal-Maryland Connections
Cal WR Nyan Boateng and Maryland QB Josh Portis were both on the 2005 Florida Gator roster ... Cal CB Chris Conte and Maryland LB Stephen Hargett (both sophomores) attended Loyola HS in Los Angeles ... Maryland special teams/tight end coach Danny Pearman was an assistant coach with Virginia Tech in 2003 when Jeff Tedford earned his first bowl win at Cal (52-49 win over the Hokies in the Insight Bowl) ... star power will also be on display at Byrd Stadium, as Cal's Zack Follett and Alex Mack and Maryland's Dave Philistin and Edwin Williams are on the Lombardi Award Watch List ... Worrell Williams along with Follett and Philistin are all on the Butkus Award Watch List.

Cal Men's Golf kicking butt!

SAN FRANCISCO - The University of California men's golf team has set its sights high for the 2008-09 season and in Monday's opening day action at the Olympic Club Collegiate, Cal tore up the course, building an 11-stroke advantage in the 15-team field.

Seniors George Gandranata and Michael Jensen are tied for the lead after the first two rounds at 141 (-1). Both players shot opening round 71's and followed with 70's in the afternoon session. Sophomore Stephen Hale is just behind the senior Bear duo with an even-par 142. The Cal trio are the only golfers in the event not shooting over par on day one.

Cal's team score of 568 is even par and 11 strokes ahead of second-place UAB (579, +11). Xavier is in third place at 582 (+14), while Colorado (583, +15) and San Diego (584, +16) round out the top five.

 

Water polo's Frank Reynolds is a veritable god:

WOODLAND, CALIF. - University of California senior attacker Frank Reynolds has been named the Nov. 8 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Co-Molten Player of the Week, it was announced Monday by MPSF commissioner Al Beaird. Reynolds shared this season's first MPSF player of the week honor with USC freshman goalie Joel Dennerley.

A 6-2, 179-pound team captain from Santa Ana, Calif., Reynolds was a key performer last weekend as the No. 1-ranked Cal men's water polo team went 4-0 at the Navy Open in Annapolis, Md. Reynolds finished with a team-high 11 goals in the four matches, and added four assists, three steals, three ejections earned and two field blocks. He also had a team-high three goals in the No. 1-ranked Bears closest match, a 10-6 win over No. 12-ranked St. Francis. Reynolds helped Cal outscored its opponents 59-20 over the weekend - an 18-6 win over Bucknell, a 13-4 victory over No. 10-ranked and host Navy, the 10-6 defeat of St. Francis and the 18-4 win over Johns Hopkins. The Bears are now 19-0 in five seasons competing at the Navy Open.

Women's golf is doing great, too:

FORT COLLINS, CO - The University of California women's golf team is starting off its 2008 fall season on a strong note, leading the Ptarmigan Fall Classic with a 19-under 557 after 36 holes. The Golden Bears, playing at the 6,207-yard, par-72 Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins, Colo., are paced by senior Shannon Yocum, who is tied for first with Colorado State's Emily Child with a six-under 138 (71, 67). Fellow Cal standouts Allison Goodman (72, 67) and Pia Halbig (69, 70) sit tied for third with five-under 139's.

The Bears' other two competitors, freshman Angela Villela and junior Roseanne Niven, also performed well as Villela is tied for 11th with a two-under 142 (73, 69) and Niven is tied for 36th with a four-over 148 (72, 76). In fact, Cal's 557 36-hole score broke the school record by 20 shots, surpassing the Bears' 577 shot at the 2003 Stanford Invitational. Cal's second 18 holes of Monday's Ptarmigan also broke a school record as the 273 score in the afternoon broke the 282 shot by the Bears at the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

Okanes has a few notes:

So far, Maryland has a seven-point home win over Delaware and a 24-14 road loss at Middle Tennessee State. Considering this uninspired play comes against teams from non-BCS conferences, the 23rd-ranked Bears, coming off a 66-point outburst, should feel pretty good about themselves.

Maryland has been a pretty good program this decade. They’ve had a couple of double-digit win seasons and have been to bowl games in four of the past six years. But times are evidently lean right now.

Maryland is making some changes:

Considering what happened the previous night in Murfreesboro, Tenn., it wasn't surprising to hear Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen say yesterday that he is considering making some changes for Saturday's noon game against California (2-0) at Byrd Stadium.

"I'm going to have to marinate overnight on that and think about it and get some guys in the right spots maybe, getting a little more production," Friedgen said on a conference call.

Friedgen declined to be specific, but one of the changes could involve quarterback Josh Portis.

It isn't clear whether Friedgen is considering starting Portis after Chris Turner threw three interceptions in Maryland's shocking 24-14 loss to Middle Tennessee State, but Friedgen said he might get the Florida transfer into the mix more against the Golden Bears.

So, make your choice below.  Let's get Turtle Week going!  Dump Away!