DBD 2.23.09 Those Slumdog Millionare people owe me money!

They stole my idea.  I went to them and pitched them my idea for a BIG movie number and they said "Not in this town, kid" (Note:  Not direct quote).  So, I said "Fair enough.  Fair enough."

And then they go and make the EXACT movie I pitched to them.  About a gay politician who fights for what he believes in, but gets assassinated by a crazy lunatic who ages backwards and bores the shit out of everybody.  Or as I called it "The Reader." I mean, yes, they took a few liberties with the plot adding in that whole thing about bugging the Democrats and all.  But it was pretty much the exact same movie!

You know you owe me money, Danny Boyle.  Just admit it and we can move on with our lives.

So, yeah, the Oscars.  They were OK.  I just tune in every year to figure out how much better I am at dressing than Mickey Rourke and then tune out.  That came pretty early when I saw his Chihuahua-oriented necklace.  That's so late 90s.  And we're still in the early-to-mid 90s.  I mean c'mon! 

So, my ego fully assuaged, I returned to copying and pasting cal sports stories.  Because lordy if there arent a lot of em.  And we seemed to lose a lot this weekend.

Oh well.

Ashley Walker becomes all time rebounder:

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) Senior forward Ashley Walker had 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds to become Cal's career leader, helping the sixth-ranked Bears to a 62-40 win over Oregon State on Saturday night.

"She's put herself in position, and I know she'll give a lot of credit to her teammates but she's worked hard and she's always been the unsung hero on this team," Boyle said. "Great things have happened for her but she's gone and gotten them, too. Everything she gets this year she deserves."

Walker has done pretty much everything since arriving at Cal nearly four years ago, the same time Boyle was hired to take over a program that hadn't had a winning record in 12 straight seasons.

Boyle and Walker have led the Bears to the NCAA tournament each of the past three years and they have them on the verge of capturing at least a share of the Pac-10 title for the first time ever.

Post-game womens bball OSU quotes:

Head Coach Joanne Boyle

"I am just really happy with the win and in general the weekend. We really played a great 80 minutes of basketball this weekend. Oregon State is always tough. LaVonda does a great job of pressure, and their guards can do a lot of stuff . I thought we did a great job of scouting report defense on them."

"When we played up there earlier this season, it's always a tough go for us up there. I thought we did a great job of committing to rebounding. Allowing just one shot, a tough shot. Just like Oregon, I thought we did both ends of the floor really well. Even tired, I think we did a great job of running tonight."

"I was trying to get Ashley out of the game, to rest her, but I knew she had one rebound left that she needed for the record. I wanted her to get it at home. She was guarding Courtney Mitchell, and I wasn't sure Ashley was ever going to get it with Mitchell in there. They took Mitchell out and put someone else in, and I knew we would keep her in there for a minute or two minutes to let her get it."

"It's tough to set and hold records, especially such a prestigious one as the all-time rebounder at a University for four years. She has worked her butt off. I couldn't be more proud of her for this and for everything she has done for this program in the last four years. I am so happy that she gets to have that recognition and hold that record. I think this is a record that will stand for a very long time."

Mens bball loses to OSU.  They have like a 3 paragraph story:

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) -- Calvin Haynes scored 19 points, including a key 3-pointer a layup with less than four minutes to go, and Oregon State defeated California 65-54 on Saturday.

The victory snapped a four-game winning streak for the Golden Bears (20-7, 9-5 Pacific-10 Conference), who are seeking their first NCAA tournament berth in three seasons.

Oregon State (13-13, 7-8) won its third straight conference game and swept the season series against Cal for the first time since the 1994-95 season.

The Golden Bears led by as many as 12 points early in the second half, but the Beavers went ahead midway through on Haynes' jumper.

Womens lacrosse loses to Syracuse:

BERKELEY - California lost to No. 3 Syracuse, 18-2, in a steady downpour on Sunday at Memorial Stadium. Sophomore midfielder Emily Abbood and senior attacker Sam Price scored for the Golden Bears, whose record evens out at 2-2 after the non-conference game. Syracuse, a 2008 NCAA semifinalist, improved to 3-0.

This is the second straight week in which Cal has lost to a 2008 NCAA semifinalist that was ranked No. 3 in the nation. On Feb. 15 in Denver, Cal lost to then-No. 3 Duke, 19-7. Cal is slated to play all four 2008 NCAA semifinalists, including national runner-up Penn on Feb. 27 in Philadelphia and four-time defending champion Northwestern on April 5 in Evanston, Ill.

"What I really want my team to take away from playing these teams is the grittiness and the fight that all those teams have," Cal head coach Theresa Sherry said. "Taking care of fundamental skills is what all those teams do very well. They have very few lapses on the defense, on the attack and in the midfield.

"We really need to put it together on all ends of the field, and we have a ways to go there it seems. Playing the top teams in the country, especially two so far this season, has been eye-opening for our current players, and hopefully that can motivate them to get to that level."

Cal softball loses to Kansas:

Palm Springs, Calif. - The Kansas Jayhawks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat ninth-ranked Cal, 3-2 in eight innings in the final day of the Cathedral City Classic on Sunday.

Cal (11-2) resumes action in Southern California next weekend in the Demarini Tournament hosted by CS Fullerton, Feb. 27-Mar. 1.

The loss snapped Cal's six-game winning streak.

Cal built an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning thanks to Valerie Arioto's leadoff home run - her third in five games. Gina Leomiti kept the inning alive with two outs with a single through the left side, followed by a Vernae Sevilla walk. Sanoe Kekahuna delivered single with two strikes through the left side to plate Leomiti.

KU trimmed the deficit in the bottom half of the first when Allie Clark doubled with two outs to plate Stevie Crisosto.

Womens gymnastics loses to Stanford:

The California Golden Bears posted six career high scores in their 197.175-190.625 loss to the No. 4 Stanford Cardinal Sunday, Feb. 22 at Haas Pavilion in the annual Flip for a Cure meet.

The Bears strongest event of the meet came in their final rotation. The Bears posted a season-best 49.050 on the floor. Five of the six Cal scores in the event tied or set new personal bests for the gymnasts. Freshman Alex Leggitt and senior Joanna Bennett both earned a career-best score of 9.775. Sophomore Stephanie Cheng set a new career mark with her 9.850. Sophomore Avery Gee also earned a 9.850 for her routine, tying her career high. Freshman Shana Johnson scored a career high with her mark on the floor as well as setting a career high with her 9.575 exhibition vault.

Sophia Hocini was once again the top all-arounder for the Bears. Her season-best 9.80 on the floor helped her to an all-around total of 38.950, her highest overall total of the season, for a second place finish. Stanford's Shelley Alexander won the all-around with a mark of 39.40. Cal's Gee was third with a 37.725

Womens golf in 10th place at Wildcat Invitational:

The California Golden Bears women's golf team is in tenth place after the first round of play at the Wildcat Invitational tournament in Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico. Playing the par-72, 6,146 yard course, the Bears ended the day with a +19 after posting a 307 (69-73-78-87). UCLA leads the field of 17 teams with a one-under 287.

Sophomore Pia Halbig finished her round in a tie for second place after shooting a three-under, 69. Senior Allison Goodman also ended day one ranked in the top-ten, tied for ninth place with a one-over, 73. Juliana Murcia of Arizona State sits atop the leaderboard with a five-under, 67. Senior Shannon Yocum shot a 78. Roseanne Niven was the final scoring Bear with an 87. Angie Villela posted a 92.

Round two tees off on Monday, February 23 with opening threesomes starting on the first hole at 8:00 a.m. (MST).

Womens water polo gets 7th at Irvine Invitational:

IRVINE, Calif. - The No. 5 California women's water polo team won its last game of the weekend, 9-6, against No. 8 San Jose State on Sunday afternoon at the Anteater Aquatics Complex. The Golden Bears improve to 15-2 overall. Cal split its four games at the tournament to finish seventh at the Irvine Invitational.

The Bears went on an important scoring drive in the second quarter with four goals to hold a 6-3 advantage at the halftime break.

Each team scoring three goals in the second half, but Cal's early lead kept the Spartans at a three-goal distance.

Senior two-meter defender Paige Lorenz paced the Bears with three scores. Camille Hewko had two while Emily Csikos, Meghan Corso, Erin Scully, Athina Vazeos each scored one.

Redshirt sophomore Stephanie Peckham and senior Lauren Burke split time between the posts, grabbing four and three saves each, respectively.

Rugby beats UBC 31-15:

BERKELEY - California welcomed British Columbia to homecoming with a capacity crowd and television cameras Saturday at Witter Rugby Field, as the Golden Bears rose to the occasion to beat UBC, 31-15. The win creates a 16-point advantage for Cal's return trip to Vancouver in March for the finale of the annual "World Cup" series.

Cal winger Dustin Muhn scored the game-winning try in the second half and was named Man of the Match by USA Rugby, which presented the event as the National Guard Game of the Week for an April 6 broadcast on ESPNU.

"The match was very even, two equals," said head coach Jack Clark. "We controlled our position on the field pretty well, played some defense on our own goal line and benefitted from a couple of long-range scores."

Softball beats maryland:

Palm Springs, Calif. - No. 9 California improved to 11-1 this season after a 7-0 win over Maryland on Saturday in the second day of the Cathedral City Classic.

The Bears were aggressive all afternoon, registering seven steals and taking advantage of UMD pitching miscues and three errors. It was the third time this season that Cal had seven or more steals in a game, giving them a Pac-10-best 48.

"Fortunately for us we were able to be aggressive today and put the pressure on their defense," said Valerie Arioto. "That's one of the things we set out to do as a team this season - be aggressive with our speed and generate scores with runners in scoring position."

This was also the fifth shutout of the season for the Bears. In fact, Cal has only allowed just one run in the last 36 innings since the sixth inning George Washington game on Feb. 13. The Bears have outscored their opponents, 86-17.

Cal baseball loses doubleheader to Riverside:

BERKELEY, CALIF. - The University of California baseball team dropped a doubleheader to UC Riverside, 6-5 and 5-2, Saturday at Evans Diamond, falling to 1-2 on the 2009 season after defeating the Highlanders (2-1), 8-7, on Friday. In game one, the Golden Bears almost made an impressive comeback when sophomore Austin Booker led off the bottom of the ninth with his first career homer to get Cal within a run. Brett Jackson followed with a double, but unfortunately for the Bears freshman Danny Oh lined out to right field, junior Jeff Kobernus flew out to deep center field and junior Blake Smith flew out to the right field warning track to end the game.

In game two, the Bears did not get a hit until the fourth inning as UCR junior left-hander Paul Applebee threw a complete game with four hits, two runs, one walk and eight strikeouts.

In the morning game, UCR scored two runs in the top of the first inning off of Blake Smith, who ended up throwing a career-high 5.2 innings with four hits, four runs, no earned runs, four walks and a career-high seven strikeouts. Smith struggled in the first inning however, giving up two runs on his throwing error to second base and a wild pitch.

So, what'd you think of the Oscars?