Welcome back! And thanks for ensuring Rishi has to wait just another day for my views on How I Met My Mother!

I’ll put up links in the morning. Moreover, we have an open thread coming up at 530 AM PST and moreover, we have moreovers. Oh and TBred is going to be dropping more knowledge about recruiting tomorrow.

Oh and moreover.

We’re all obsessed with UCLA. That is all.

Marshawn is known as BeastMode.

Ryan Jamison can’t catch the ball in the middle.

Jason Kidd can’t shoot.

Dave Barr has been known to NAIL IT on the 50 yard line.

Ziv Gottleib is a wide receiver and not a quarterback.

Steve Levy led us to a win over Stanford and BYU.

Nick Harris was considered for Heisman.

Scott Fujita is not really Japanese.

HTH.

Why did Longshore start over Riley?

I saw something about Riley being hurt? True?

Did Longshore suck as much as his numbers indicate?

I’ll answer these questions.

Yes, Riley was injured prior to the Emerald Bowl. This piece of information went widely un-reported by the mass media. Not to brag, but it was actually me who broke that information. I actually saw Riley myself at the Emerald Bowl luncheon the day before the game from only a mere 5 feet away and he was limping pretty heavily. So I do think Riley’s injury was one of the reasons why Longshore started instead of Riley. I won’t go as far to say it is the sole reason because Longshore could have just been performing better than Riley in practices too.

In hindsight after the game, I don’t think Riley was going to play at all because Mansion seemed to be the 2nd QB based upon how Mansion was in the timeout huddles more than Riley (backup QBs must be in timeout huddles to know what’s going on, etc.), and judging from how Riley seemed more mentally removed from the game while standing on the sidelines.

Longshore wasn’t as bad as he looked in the Emerald Bowl. Yeah, he wasn’t great, but he wasn’t bad either. He did miss a few easy throws, but he also made a couple of great throws too (Tucker catch and Miller TD catch). Longshore didn’t really have a great completion percentage but if you look at the plays individually, he did better than the stat line suggests. On the first drive, Mack got beat and Longshore had to quickly get rid of a ball which caused an incompletion. On the third drive, Morrah missed a block on a screen and the play got blown up for an incompletion. On another drive a WR slipped on the grass to cause an incompletion. Miami blitzed the A-gap quite a bit to get quick pressure on Longshore causing another incomplete pass. I mean, I can specifically think of like 4 plays where Longshore ended up throwing incompletions because of things out of his control. However, Longshore had his moments where he also just plain threw bad balls when under fairly ideal circumstances. He had some horrible footwork on some dropbacks and it affected his throwing motion causing him to miss some wide open WRs.

Oh Longshore got stepped on during a dropback which isn’t really his fault but got booed anyways. He also had to call a timeout on a 4th down play after the WRs mucked up their alignment and Longshore got blamed for that too. Longshore did try to fix the alignment but there wasn’t enough time left on the playclock. That was really more the fault of the WRs than Longshore yet people were still blamed Longshore despite not knowing what really happened on that play.

Other than that, yeah, Riley was injured. Longshore was okay. We won.

And I thought this was a past time reserved for work

JO emerges from the fortress of solitude to write an article.

Members of Cal’s coaching staff have traveled to places such as Dallas, Seattle, Somerville, N.J., and Eugene, Ore., to recruit football players for 2009. And they’re not doing so simply to find guys who will be
competitive in practice.

If you’re going to utilize the resources to go out of the area to find prospects, there had better be a pretty good return on your investment. More than ever before, the Bears have secured commitments from some of the top prospects in other states, something that has helped Cal put together a recruiting class ranked in the top 30 nationally by multiple analysts.

The Bears are expected to announce 16 or 17 commitments today, the first day prospects are allowed to sign national letters of intent for 2009. At least nine of the players are from out of state.

Four of the top recruits in the class are not from California — center Mark Brazinski (Somerville), defensive back Steve Williams (Dallas), defensive tackle Deandre Coleman (Seattle) and offensive lineman Charles Siddoway (Eugene).

Although the writer spells “Berkeley” wrong, this is a good article on our new LB recruit from Berkeley High, Lucas King.

CGB conquered ATQ. WTF!

Is ATQ really independent or is the war still raging?

After all the shit that was given to (and taken from) UCLA I don’t want to think about what would happen if he goes.

Also we went 0/3 in the end for the biggies (Kennard, Caroll, Hall) and Davis went to the shit hole in Seattle.

I don’t want more bad news

Motion to punch the opposing counsel in the face

I usually style mine, “Motion to Kick Opposing Counsel’s Ass,” and they’re generally denied. Does “Motion to punch in the face” work better?

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Hasiak feel free to send in your Cal commit FAX anytime now…

Womens bball heads to Wash:

Friday, Feb. 6, 7:00 p.m.: No. 3 Cal at Washington, Seattle,(Radio: KALX 90.7-FM, TV: none)

Sunday, Feb. 8, 2:00 p.m.: No. 3 Cal at Washington State, Pullman, Wash., (Radio: KALX 90.7-FM, TV: none)

After a tumultuous week for teams in the top-10, the California Golden Bears (18-2, 9-0 Pac-10) moved back to No. 3 in both national polls, a position they held for two weeks earlier this season. The No. 3 ranking ties the best-ever showing by the Bears in the polls. Losses by the teams that held the No. 3-6 spots in the poll last week cleared the way for the Bears to move up four spots in the AP poll and two in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. The Bears, who have not lost a game since Dec. 13, when they fell to No. 2 Oklahoma, look to win their 11th straight game Friday, Feb. 6, when they take on the Washington Huskies (5-14, 1-8 Pac-10) in Seattle. The Bears current 10-game winning streak ties the program’s most consecutive victories mark. It is the sixth longest current streak among Division I teams. Among Division I teams, UConn leads with an 18-game winning streak.

The Bears have already set a new standard by winning nine straight Pac-10 games, their longest stretch of consecutive conference wins and best conference start in program history. Cal has led wire-to-wire in just three Pac-10 games season, with Washington, Washington State and Arizona never holding a lead against the Bears. UCLA held the largest lead over the Bears, an 11-2 advantage, in a game that Cal won 64-48. Five of Cal’s nine Pac-10 games this season have been decided by five or fewer points.

Thurs., Feb. 19th, 2009
Haas Pavilion – Berkeley, CA – 8:00 pm

What is The Second Annual Pink Zone Night?
An initiative dedicated to raise breast cancer awareness at a women’s basketball game. Started in 2007, Cal Women’s Basketball made a commitment to the community to spread awareness about this vicious disease by inviting the campus of UC Berkeley, as well as the surrounding community, to attend a women’s basketball game at a reduced admission price.

When is The Second Annual Pink Zone Game?
Thursday, February 19 when Cal hosts the Oregon Ducks. In addition to the game, representatives from local organizations such as Susan G. Komen will be available to discuss with fans what their organizations can do to spread awareness, what you can do to help, how you can volunteer, and when they are having upcoming events.

What do I need to do?
All we ask is that you wear pink to the game and you will receive the reduced admission price of $3.00.

Rooter bus to Stanford:

BERKELEY – Spend Valentines Day with Cal Women’s Basketball and ride the bus to Maples Pavilion for the Cal-Stanford rematch.

When: Saturday, February 14, 2009

Tip-off: 8 p.m.

Details: Bus will leave Cal (back of Haas) at 6:00pm. Light snacks will be provided.

Price: Triple Threat members may ride the bus and receive a general admission ticket to the game for $5. Non-Triple Threat members may ride the bus and receive a general admission ticket to the game for $10. Deduct $5 from each cost if you do not need a ticket.

How to Reserve: Please RSVP to aniles@berkeley.edu ASAP.

Golf finishes 7th:

TUCSON, Ariz. – With three golfers finishing in the top 15, California ended its first competition of the spring with a seventh-place finish Tuesday at the Arizona Intercollegiate. John Murphy shot the Golden Bears’ best final found with an even-par 71 to end at +3, while George Gandranata’s second-round 69 stood as Cal’s best round of the event. Pepperdine finished first and Tennessee’s Chris Paisley posted a -12 201 to win the individual title.

Similar to how the Bears stumbled out of the gate at The Prestige to end the fall season, Cal was unable to make up ground after a difficult opening day. Cal ended its competition at the Arizona National Golf Club in seventh place for the second straight year.

Said head coach Steve Desimone of Cal’s improvement as the competiton progressed, “We dug ourselves out of the rather substantial hole that we put ourselves in yesterday, but it’s pretty disappointing. We put ourselves in bad shape ending the first round. Overall, it was a fairly inconsistent performance.”

Cal will resume daily practice for the next week before qualifying play resumes. The Bears have a three-week window to improve before their next competition at the USC Collegiate Invitational.

Mens swimming tot ake on USC:

BERKELEY, CALIF. – Golden Bears Entertain Trojans and Roadrunners

The No. 6-ranked California swimming and diving team (3-1, 2-1 Pac-10), led by 2008 Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian, host a pair of 1 p.m. dual meets this week at Spieker Aquatics Complex, hosting No. 23-ranked USC (4-1, 2-1) on Friday, Feb. 6 and Conference USA foe Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, Feb. 7.

Last season, Cal defeated the Trojans, 136-102, in Los Angeles and topped the Roadrunners, 133-78, in Bakersfield. USC ended up fifth at the 2008 Pac-10 Championships.

Adrian, from Bremerton, Wash., was named the Pac-10 Swimmer of the Month for December when he helped the Bears win seven events during the Husky Invitational in Seattle. On Dec. 4 he won the 50 free in a Cal school record and NCAA automatic qualifying time of 18.94 (old record was 19.01 set by Duje Draganja in 2005, only the fifth swimmer to ever swim under 19.0 in the 50-yard free), led off the Bears’ victory in the 200 free relay (Adrian, senior Bennett Clark, sophomore Josh Daniels, sophomore Graeme Moore, 1:17.62 NCAA A standard) and swam the freestyle leg in the 400 medley relay. On Dec. 5 Adrian won the 100 fly with a time of 47.47 and led off Cal’s winning 800 free relay. Finally on Dec. 6, he won the 100 free with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 41.83 (fourth fastest time in Cal history) and swam the second leg of the Bears’ winning 400 free relay, which had an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 2:50.15 (Moore, Adrian, Daniels, Clark). Adrian won a gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics swimming the prelims of Team USA’s 400-meter free relay. He sat out last year to train for the Beijing Olympics after competing for Cal in 2006-07.

Another highlight for the Bears at the Husky Invitational was on Dec. 5 when sophomore Damir Dugonjic swam an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 52.14 in winning the 100 breast. Dugonjic also broke his own school record of 52.50 in the 100 breast, which was set in the prelims of last year’s NCAA meet where he went on to finish second nationally.

Softball to get underway:

BERKELEY – The 14th-ranked California softball team (also ranked 16th in the NFCA Top 25) opens the 2009 campaign this weekend at the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs, Feb. 6-8 at the Big League Dreams Park.

Cal opens the tournament with No. 13 Houston at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, followed by an afternoon affair with Liberty at 1:00 p.m. On Saturday, the Bears take on Boise State at 10:30 a.m.; followed by Illinois at 1:00 p.m. Cal concludes the tournament on Sunday against Fordham at 9:00 a.m.

One thing the Bears have in their favor is opening day success. Cal has not lost a season-opening day game since 1997. Additionally, Cal is facing Houston and Boise State for the first time in school history. The Bears are a combined 8-0 against Liberty, Fordham and Illinois.

Cal, who returns six starters (Sanoe Kekahuna, Valerie Arioto, Vernae Sevilla, Taylor Kelly, Gina Leomiti and Bernice Masaniai) along with pitchers Marissa Drewrey, Arioto and Brittany LaRosa, finished the 2008 season with a 43-27 mark, a trip to the NCAA Super Regional and No. 14 ranking in the final USA Softball/ESPN.com Top 25 poll (No. 16 in the final USA Today/NFCA poll).

The Bears were paced by Arioto, who led the team in batting average (.324), runs (55), hits (71) and doubles (17) to earn All-Pac-10 and All-Pacific Region honors. Drewrey won 29 games in the circle with over 300 strikeouts en route to all-conference and all-region accolades. Cal set a team record with 279 RBI as well.

Baseball has 3rd toughest sked:

BERKELEY, CALIF. – The University of California’s 2009 baseball schedule has been ranked as the third toughest in the nation according to Boyd’s World, one of college baseball’s most respected ranking services. The Golden Bears will be facing nine teams that participated in the 2008 NCAA postseason, including hosting Vanderbilt in an early season match-up and entertaining Bay Area rival Stanford to open Pac-10 Conference play.

Cal, which qualified for an NCAA Regional last year with 33-21-2 overall mark and 12-12 record in the Pac-10, begin their ’09 season with two home games at Evans Diamond versus UC Riverside on Friday, Feb. 20 at 1:30 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 21, at 1 p.m. The Bears then host Vanderbilt on Sunday, Feb. 22 and Monday, Fed. 23. Both games against the Commodores are slated for 1 p.m.

In the Boyd’s World rankings, the top 24 teams are either from the Pac-10, Big West or West Coast Conferences. Cal only trails UCLA and Stanford in the strength of schedule rankings, and is ahead of other Pac-10 teams Washington (4th), Oregon (5th), Washington State (7th), USC (10th), Arizona (12th), Oregon State (15th) and Arizona State (20th).

Additional highlights of the Bears’ 2009 non-conference schedule include a three-game series at Long Beach State, Feb. 27-March 1; a three-game series at Arkansas March 6-8 and a single game at Oklahoma Mar. 9. The 49ers, Razorbacks and the Sooners all qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year, with Cal competing in the Long Beach Regional along with the University of San Diego and eventual national champion Fresno State. The Bears defeated Fresno State twice last season (14-4 in San Diego, 5-4 at Cal), both times defeating junior left-hander Justin Wilson, who ended up being the winning pitcher in the Bulldogs’ national championship victory over Georgia.

Monty speaks:

BERKELEY – How do assess the state of your developing depth?

We’re struggling. We have Jorge (Gutierrez) lose his confidence a little bit. Harper (Kamp) has struggled in his last four games. We need some help. I know Saturday I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t feel that I had anybody who could come in and really help. Part of it was the way USC was playing us, but we need some guys to step up. We’re going the opposite way right now. We need some guys to get some confidence and come in and be able to help us.

Could you talk about the backup point guard position? Nikola (Knezevic) played a lot this weekend. What does it look like going into this weekend?

Troublesome. I think I’m going to give Nican (Robinson) a little shot. Again, the way USC played was part of it; they weren’t going to guard anybody they didn’t feel could shoot. So, that made it really put a premium on Patrick (Christopher), Jerome (Randle), and Theo (Robertson). We need to take of the ball a little bit; we’ve tried to move Jerome off the ball some. We’ve been back and forth between Jorge and Nikola a little bit and with mixed results depending on how somebody plays us. It’s a spot we need to get better.

Womens lacrosse to get underway:

This Week
California opens the lacrosse season on the road with a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game at first-year program Fresno State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, Calif. The Golden Bears are coming off a 2008 season that ended with a 9-9 overall record (4-1 in the MPSF) and with Cal head coach Theresa Sherry earning the MPSF Coach of the Year award.

Among the returnees for Sherry are junior midfielder Alyse Kennedy (27 goals, 8 assists, 35 points), a 2008 All-MPSF selection who ranked second in goals and third in points for Cal last season, junior midfielder Alex Tickner (17, 4, 21), Cal’s fifth-leading scorer last year, and senior goalkeeper Morgan Dyson, who posted a 10.93 goals-against average in 17 games, including 13 starts, in 2008.

The Bears face a challenging 2009 schedule that features seven teams that are nationally ranked and four of the top five teams in the current Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association poll. Six of those seven games are on the road: No. 3 Duke (Feb. 15 in Denver), No. 2 Syracuse (Feb. 22 in Berkeley), No. 5 Penn (Feb. 27 in Philadelphia), No. 11 Notre Dame (March 22 in South Bend, Ind.), No. 19t Denver (March 28 in Denver), No. 1 Northwestern (April 5 in Evanston, Ill.) and No. 18 Stanford (April 12 in Stanford, Calif.).

New (NSFW) test out to determine if you are gay or not.

Great article on Bak Bak’s past.

Condoleezza Rice as Pac-10 Commish?

Thankfully, she’s not interested.

Oaktown, are you to blame for ruining T-Breds post???? UNBELIEVABLE!

http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?Year=2009&School=11&Sport=1