Cal Men’s Hoops Routs Jacksonville 79-47

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -Patrick Christopher scored a season-high 23 points, Omondi Amoke added 15 points and eight rebounds and California beat Jacksonville 79-47 on Tuesday night.

Coming off back-to-back losses to Syracuse and then-No. 15 Ohio State in last week’s Coaches vs. Cancer tournament that dropped the Golden Bears (3-2) out of the Associated Press Top 25, California had no problem handling the smaller, slower Dolphins (0-2) despite being without second-leading scorer Theo Robertson for a third consecutive game, who has a foot injury.

The Golden Bears led by 30 points or more over the final 10 minutes and took advantage of 17 Jacksonville turnovers to win in the first meeting between the schools.

Lehmon Colbert had 10 points and six assists for the Dolphins.

Cal Presente No Ticket Fee Weekend

BERKELEY – Cal Athletics would like to give thanks to its fans with a No Per Ticket Fee Weekend beginning Friday, Nov. 27, at 9 a.m. until Monday, Nov. 30, at 11:59 p.m PT.

Per Ticket Fees are being waived (delivery charges will apply) for all men’s and women’s basketball tickets including the 4 Game and 7 Game Mini Packs and single game tickets. The No Ticket Fees Weekend promotion is only available online at CalBears.com.

Don’t miss the chance to watch men’s basketball face Pac-10 opponents including Stanford, UCLA and Arizona, and save. Also, check out Cal Kids Days for women’s basketball where youth tickets are $1 (youth grade 12 and under) for all Pac-10 weekend home games.

Click here to purchase your tickets beginning at 9am PT on Friday, November 27th.

Cal returns to Haas Pavilion on Tuesday, Nov. 24, when it welcomes Jacksonville at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29, is JamFest ’09 when Cal faces Princeton at 2 p.m. at Haas Pavilion. Prior to the game, there will be fun and games for youth of all ages. The first 300 youth in attendance will receive a Cal wristband. Click here for more information.

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Montgomery said Randle is fine after colliding with an opposing player when a screen was not called out. He also confirmed the MRI showed there is no structural damage to Theo Robertson’s right foot and the senior will be back on the floor as soon as he no longer is experiencing pain.

I’m starting to feel Kamp might not be 100% most of the season, which could mean something like this:

Starters
Randle
Christopher
Robertson
Boykin
MSF

Bench
Jorge
Amoke
Seeley/Knezevic? I feel more comfortable with Brandon Smith actually than Nikola, but something tells me Monty sticks with experience at the guard spots.
Kamp (if healthy; if not we’re going to be struggling all season long)
Max (here and there when MSF gets into foul trouble, which could be a season issue)

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A study co-authored by UC Berkeley economics professor David Card has found a significant statistical link between the outcome of some NFL football games and reports of certain types of violence.

According to a working paper of the study issued this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research, empirical results show that police reports of male-on-female intimate partner violence increased by 8 percent in an NFL team’s state when the team suffered an “upset loss.”

An “upset loss” was defined as a loss that occurred despite predictions by betters that the team would win by three points or more.

The paper is the result of a two-year collaboration between Card and Gordon Dahl, associate professor of economics at UC San Diego.

“(The study) establishes a potentially important role for the emotional factors regarding the onset of family violence,” Card said.

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I’m not going to convince any of the individuals who engaged in unlawful and immoral acts that they were in the wrong. Nor will I convince the those who gathered to support them. Instead, I call upon the sane individuals on this campus—the individuals who have come here for a world-class education, not for a chance to stage a farcical reenactment of the 1960s—to demand justice from your administrators.

Chancellor Birgeneau’s response struck me as particularly Canadian (no offense intended to Canadians—I once dated a lady from the True North.) I remember Canadian troops in Afghanistan scored a major victory, driving the Taliban from its positions, destroying its command posts, and killing or capturing almost 300 enemy combatants. It was truly a proud day for a country whose military, all jokes aside, has a history of honorable service in the cause of freedom. Yet, the headline in a major Canadian newspaper was something to the effect of “4 Canadians Killed in Afghan Battle.”

In similar fashion, the chancellor missed the point in his email to the campus Monday. He devotes precisely one sentence to acknowledging that the administration has a duty to ensure academic instruction proceeds unmolested. He devotes four full, hefty paragraphs responding to allegations of police brutality.

These charges do not merit a response. The right to peaceably assemble entails a responsibility to follow the instructions of legitimate authority meant to preserve public safety. It is inevitable that a few injuries result when protesters abjure that responsibility, as happened throughout that day. Chancellor Birgeneau reveals his prejudice when he writes, “we expect that, as a result of this review, modifications (in tactics to exercise crowd control) will be made.” Before any review has been conducted, the police have already been adjudged guilty in the Court of St. Bobby.

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— Tedford said that the discussion of Best returning to football still has not happened.

“We’re not even going to talk about it until he’s ready to talk about it,” Tedford said.

— Senior cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson, who suffered an ankle sprain towards the end of Cal’s win over Stanford, did not practice on Tuesday and will not practice today, Tedford said. The Bears are practicing Wednesday afternoon, then breaking for Thanksgiving until Sunday. Tedford said that Thompson will “hopefully” be back on Sunday.

— Vince D’Amato handling field goal duties against the Cardinal was a game-time decision based on D’Amato kicking better in pre-game warm-ups.

— Freshman tailback Dasarte Yarnway was back practicing in full capacity on Tuesday, carrying the ball in no-contact team drills. Yarnway underwent foot surgery during fall camp.

— Cornerback Josh Hill has a shoulder sprain, Tedford said.

— Wednesday’s session will be a short period of preparation for Washington, then a scrimmage featuring the scout team players.

Or will the incessant corruption and apathy of state politicians continue to stifle California students?

This impending tragedy could be avoided, of course, if attitudes were different in state government. Providing an additional $2 billion to the universities would end all these cuts and restore most classes and student slots. That would cost an average of $52 per year — a dollar a week — per Californian.

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One of the most glaring measures of Luck’s difficult day against Cal involved three fumbled snaps from the shotgun. Beeler, the center, said he and Luck each took a share of the blame.

“I was probably a little quick on my part,” Beeler said. “One was a little low, one a little to the right. I don’t know if it was something I was doing.”

Beeler said Cal’s three-man front played a role in disrupting Stanford’s rhythm. The Bears put a rusher over center, forcing Beeler to block quicker than usual. That resulted in short snapping, he said.

Teammates tried to console Luck after his 10-for-30 performance and one big interception.

“We said, ‘You can’t be upset,’ " Beeler recalled. “The aggressive character that led you to make that throw is what put us where we are today. We’d rather have you make that throw than not make it.”

I’d figure the same thing is true in college football too.

NFL offenses generally run too often on 1st down. Accounting for the relative gains of each play type, and accounting for the risks of turnovers, offenses should pass more. There is currently an imbalance, where teams are too often running directly into defenses that are expecting runs.

Game theory tells us that when there are two strategy options, like run and pass, the expected payoffs for both options should be equal. You really don’t need game theory to intuitively understand this. If one option yields a better payoff, then it should be chosen until the opponent responds with a strategy change of his own. Eventually, as the opponent responds, the payoffs for the two options equalize. The point at which the strategy mix equalizes payoffs is known as the minimax, or sometimes called the Nash equilibrium. The resulting strategy mix, or run-pass balance in this case, produces the best overall, long-run payoff.

When there are two strategy options and one of them yields a much higher payoff, it tells us two things. In this case, passing is more lucrative than running on 1st down, and this tells us: 1) offenses should be passing more often, and 2) for now, defenses should continue to be more biased toward stopping the run.

Addicted to Quack breaks down the numbers

I’d put Oregon State over them, frankly.

Southern California, LSU and Miami are among eight teams that cannot earn an automatic BCS bid, but are still in contention for an at-large invite to a marquee bowl game.

BCS officials announced Tuesday that a total of 20 teams are still in the running for spots in the national championship game and the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar and Orange bowls.

Ten teams, including No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Texas, are in position to earn an automatic BCS bid as a conference champion or an at-large pick.

Either Boise State or TCU could earn an automatic bid by winning its non-automatic qualifying conference and finishing in the top 12 on the final BCS standings. Both are eligible for an at-large selection if they don’t get an automatic bid.

Joining USC, LSU and Miami as teams still in the mix solely for BCS at-large bids are Brigham Young, Iowa, Oklahoma State, Penn State and Virginia Tech.

Who else do you guys think deserves a BCS at-large bid?

I only ask because a coworker was discussing his “insights” on the game yesterday (I use that term in a manner as loose as USC coeds because I honestly don’t think he had any idea what he was talking about) and said that Stanfurd lost because “their coach sucks and has no idea what he’s doing” (I think we all hate Harbaugh, but it’s hard to say a coach sucks when he knocks out Oregon and USC in back-to-back weeks).

Being at that game, I was under the impression that we, for the most part, did a good job controlling the line and we dominated them in yardage. Hell, the game could have been a lot less close on our end.

The only reason this all matters is because, well, perception matters in college football for the future.

Of course, the same guy said he doesn’t think Jahvid Best is that great or particularly fast and his runs and stats are all the result of excellent o-line blocking, so maybe I should just ignore it.

Quick opinion question: If either Bama or UF lost this coming weekend and then won the SEC championship game, would they still be an automatic lock for the NCG?

If both UF and Bama have one loss, and there are four other undefeated teams, does a Cincy, TCU (or Boise) make the jump to the big game?

This is also assuming UT wins out, so I guess the same Q would apply to if they lost to A&M or in the Big 12 Champ game…

Thoughts?

Nice job students.

Don’t tell ‘em I’m here.

Robin Soderling advanced to the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals by beating Novak Djokovic 7-6 (5), 6-1 Wednesday for his second straight win at the season-ending tournament.

The Swede outlasted Djokovic in a tense opening set despite wasting three straight set points with the third-ranked Serb serving at 5-4.

This one is for you.

Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling claims to remain very interested in winning.

“I can visualize a Clippers parade,” he says. “I’m telling you, I will win. I promise you that. I will find the combination.”

Kerry Rhodes, who makes $33.5 million, is getting benched due to his poor play.

Jay Glazer reports that Jets players tell him the team is benching free safety Kerry Rhodes in favor of Eric Smith.

While Rhodes was the starting free safety for the NFL’s No. 4 pass defense in the first ten games, he hasn’t made a big play all year (no picks, zero forced fumbles, only five pass breakups).

Could he be the next offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears?

According to the Chicago Sun Times, former Rams head coach Mike Martz is a candidate to be the Bears’ next offensive coordinator.

“Martz would love to work with Jay Cutler,” a source said. Martz is close to Lovie Smith from their days at Arizona State and St. Louis, and current Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner is on his way out.

Jimmy Claussen took the brunt of Charlie Weis’ failure at ND, to the face!!!

Link coming soon.

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California 34, Stanford 28. Cal running back Shane Vereen may never be mistaken for the spectacular blazer he replaced in the Bears’ backfield, Jahvid Best, or the thundering Mack truck on the opposite sideline tonight, Toby Gerhart, and may never approach the broad star power of either. But Vereen shouldered as many carries against the Cardinal (42) as any back in the country has endured in any game this season, for 193 yards and three touchdowns en route to leading the Bears to their biggest win of the season over their most hated rival. At minimum, that buys him 24 hours of undisturbed sleep and at least one deep-tissue massage from a comely student trainer.

It ought to buy Cal a little more respect, too, for demonstrating more resiliency than the Bears have shown in years — for a team with a reputation for extended collapses (2007) and random losses at the wrong time, the Bears have managed to rally this year first from back-to-back blowouts at the hands of USC and Oregon with three wins in a row, and now from another tough home loss against Oregon State (including the frightening injury that sidelined Best) to pick up back-to-back big wins over Arizona and now Stanford, breaking three-game winning streaks in both cases. That may not amount to hill of beans in this crazy mixed-up league as far as the final standings or bowl lineups go, but its a lot better than almost anyone would have guessed two weeks ago.

Time for DRINK O’CLOCK family time at home and long stretches of sitting at the dinner table.