DBD 3.04.09 What Was Living in Cal Like?

i lived in emeryville for my junior and senior years. totally worth it to get away from the noise and shitty traffic/roads.

also, being so close to trader joe’s is always a plus.

Lou Holtz was on Hannity last night. I’m surprised the world didn’t explode.

Mens bball heads to Arizona:

California Golden Bears (21-8, 10-6) at Arizona Wildcats (18-11, 8-8)
Thursday, March 5, 7:30 p.m. PT, McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz..
Radio: KYOU (1550 AM) TV: Fox Sports Net

California Golden Bears at Arizona State Sun Devils (21-7, 10-6)
Saturday, March 7, 11 a.m. PT, Wells Fargo Arena
Radio: KYOU (1550 AM) TV: CBS

Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, California (21-8, 10-6) heads to Arizona and Arizona State this weekend. Cal split last weekend’s final two contests in Berkeley, topping USC in overtime on Thursday but falling to UCLA on Saturday. The Golden Bears, currently tied for third in the Pac-10 with the Sun Devils, play Arizona on Thursday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the McKale Center. Last weekend, junior guard Patrick Christopher scored a career-high 29 points against USC and 16 points against UCLA. Christopher currently stands at No. 26 in the school’s all-time career scoring list.

In the NCAA statistics, Cal currently ranks among the nation’s top 15 in field goal shooting (7th, 49.0), three-point shooting (1st, 43.9) and free throw shooting (12th, 75.9%). No other school in the country rates in the top 15 in all three categories.

Junior guard Jerome Randle continues to lead the squad in scoring with 17.8 ppg and has been the Bears’ leading scorer in 17 of 29 games. He is dishing out 5.1 apg, the best in the Pac-10 right now, and is fourth on the team in steals with 21. On Cal’s career chart, Randle is seventh in assists (358) and sixth in three-pointers (144). He is also within striking distance of the school record for three-pointers in a season, having drained 66 this year, just two shy of the 68 by Ryan Drew in 1990.

The Bears continue to pace the nation in three-point accuracy, connecting on 43.9 percent of their attempts. Junior forward Theo Robertson is currently No. 3 in three-point accuracy at 52.2 percent (min 1.5 made per game). Robertson recently moved into first place in the Cal record books for career three-point shooting accuracy at 44.3 percent.

Monty quotes:

BERKELEY -California head coach Mike Montgomery spoke with Bay Area media at his weekly press conference on March 3. The Golden Bears travel to Arizona Thursday and Arizona State Saturday.

On the difference between Arizona now and earlier this season:
They’ve gotten a lot better and they’ve gone small. They present tough matchups with [Chase] Budinger at the four. They’re much more comfortable with their coaching situation and all their adjustments. Their defense has solidified what they want to do. So they’re much more confident in what they’re doing. Jordan Hill is quick, long, and he’s got a good shooting touch. He is one of the better offensive centers in the league and he’s real quick to the ball. He provides a nice backdrop for them in their zone because he can block shots. They gamble out a little bit on the ball and he’s able to patrol behind the ball in the zone and cause problems with his length. He’s got a very quick first step for a big guy, so to guard him with your own big makes it easier for him to get a first step by him to go to the basket, and if you play him with someone smaller he can go above them.

On the specific players behind UA’s improvement::
Well, they have three really good players and their role players know their roles. They can get big numbers out of [Nic] Wise, [Chase] Budinger and [Jordan] Hill. It’s comes at three different positions: big, wing, and little. [Zane] Johnson has become a reliable shooter and [Kyle] Fogg has had some big games. However, if you go past their sixth their minutes fall off dramatically. They’re using that same group and having Johnson and Fogg able to shoot allows them to spread court and play the way they are trying to play. They’re also getting great energy on defense with that group.

Pac10 Travel Info.

Cal women end season at home:

Thursday, March 5, 7:00 p.m.: No. 18 Arizona State at No. 9 Cal (Radio: KALX 90.7-FM, TV: none)

Saturday, Mar. 7, 12:30 p.m.: Arizona at No. 9 Cal (Radio: KALX 90.7-FM, TV: none)

The California Golden Bears (23-4, 14-2 Pac-10) open up their final two-game home stand of the season with a key game against the No. 18 Arizona State Sun Devils (22-6, 14-2 Pac-10). The Bears play their final home game of the 2008-09 regular season Saturday, March 7, when they host the Arizona Wildcats (11-16, 4-12 Pac-10).

The Bears and Sun Devils are currently locked in a tie for second place in the Pac-10 standings. They are both just one game behind the Stanford Cardinal in a three-way race for the Pac-10 regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the Pac-10 Tournament. ASU comes into the game riding a 14-game winning streak. The Sun Devils have not lost a game since the Bay Area school swept ASU in Tempe to start Pac-10 play.

Cal comes into the game looking to rebound from last week’s heartbreaking loss at UCLA that dropped it into a second-place tie in the Pac-10. Despite the loss, Cal managed to remain in the top-10 in the polls. They have been ranked in the top-10 for 12 weeks this season in the AP Poll and for all 17 weeks, including the preseason poll, in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ poll.

Prior to the UCLA game, the Bears had been in control of their own destiny in regards to earning the program’s first Pac-10 regular season championship. The Bears can still win the title, but it will require a pair of Cal victories and at least one Stanford loss. Arizona State also still has a chance to become the Pac-10 champion if they sweep Cal and Stanford this week. All three teams are currently ranked in the top-25 with Stanford moving up to No. 2 in both polls this week.

This is from the above link, but I wanted to put it separate:

There is very good news for Cal fans in regard to the injury sustained by junior point guard Alexis Gray-Lawson in the first half of the UCLA game. Gray-Lawson went down with a knee injury just prior to halftime of the game. MRI results on the knee reveal she sustained a left knee sprain, but there was not any damage to the ligaments. Gray-Lawson’s status for Thursday’s game is listed as day-to-day and may be a game-time decision as to whether or not she will play.

Canha named Player of the Week:

WALNUT CREEK, CALIF. – California sophomore outfielder/first baseman Mark Canha has been named the Pac-10 Baseball Player of the Week and Arizona State junior right-handed pitcher Mike Leake has been named Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 23 – Mar. 1, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.

Canha went 9-for-20 (.450) last week in Cal’s wins over Vanderbilt (4-3) and at Santa Clara (12-2), and in its three-game sweep at Long Beach State. The San Jose, Calif., native totaled seven runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and five RBI for the Golden Bears. Canha posted a .850 slugging percenage and .500 on-base percentage. For the year, the sophomore is hitting .419, eighth in the Pac-10, and holds a .806 slugging percentage (4th in the Conference) and a .455 on-base percentage.

This is the first player of the week honor for Canha and the 43rd all-time for Cal.

Due to rain, Cal’s (6-2) next home contest has been moved from Tuesday, March 3 to Wednesday, March 4 at 1:30 p.m. when the Bears host Bay Area opponent San Francisco (3-6) in a non-conference game at Evans Diamond.

HUGE article on Brett Jackson:

The primary pet peeve among scouts is the tendency of some D-I programs to take batting practice with numberless jerseys, making identifying players frustratingly difficult. (Editor’s note: In fact, scouting directors brought this up to college coaches at their annual Winter Meetings get-together, and the college coaches remain somewhat stubborn on the matter.)

The University of California Golden Bears are an offender on this point. However, no one has a problem in picking out Brett Jackson, Cal’s 6-foot-2, 200-pound, lefthanded-hitting, righty-throwing center fielder.

Jackson sticks out with his high socks and distinct inward-turning, hand-pumping, leg-kicking, load-up and let-it-fly swing. Solidly built with a muscular and athletic frame, Jackson also possesses a distinct swagger on the field.

Mens swimming goes to Pac10 championships:

BERKELEY, CALIF. -

Wed.-Sat., March 4-7 at Pac-10 Championships, Belmont Plaza Pool,
Long Beach, Calif. All Day

The No. 6-ranked California men’s swimming and diving team (6-2, 3-2) competes at the 2009 Pac-10 Swimming Championships this week (Wed.-Sat.) at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach. The Golden Bears will be looking to snap Stanford’s stranglehold on the Pac-10 meet as the Cardinal have won the team title 27 straight years. The last school to win the Pac-10 meet other than Stanford was Cal in 1980 and 1981. The Bears will also be looking to produce even more 2009 NCAA automatic qualifying times. So far this season, Cal has seven automatic qualifying times – sophomore Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian in the 50 (18.94, school record) and 100 free (41.83), sophomore Damir Dugonjic in the 100 breast (52.14, school record); and sophomore Guy Barnea (46.37) and senior David Russell (46.59) in the 100 back. The Bears also have automatic qualifying times in the 200 free (1:17.62, Adrian, senior Bennett Clark, sophomore Josh Daniels, sophomore Graeme Moore) and 400 free (2:50.15, Moore, Adrian, Daniels, Clark) relays. Cal has 19 other NCAA B qualifying marks, including the 200 and 400 medley relays and the 800 free relay. The Bears are coming off a fourth-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Championships and a second-place finish at the 2008 Pac-10 Meet. The Bears have five returning All-Americans; including Russell, the 2008 Pac-10 champion and NCAA third place finisher in the 200 back; Dugonjic, who placed second in both the `08 Pac-10 and NCAA meet in the 100 breast; and junior Sean Mahoney, who placed third in both the `08 Pac-10 and NCAA meet in the 200 breast. The Bears are the defending Pac-10 champs in the 200 free, 200 medley and 400 medley relays as well.

Field hockey is SMART:

BERKELEY – Eleven California field hockey players are among the members of the 2008 NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad that was announced on Monday. This year’s total of Cal academic squad appointees bests the number of Golden Bears on the 2007 academic squad by two.

Student-athletes must receive a grade-point average of 3.30 or higher through the first semester of the 2008-09 academic year to receive this award

The Bears who received the honor this year are senior midfielder Gwen Belomy, who collected career highs in points (11), goals (4) and assists (3) during the 2008 season; senior defender Caroline Bistue, who posted career bests in points (16) and goals (8) in 2008; junior midfielder Caitlin Byrne; sophomore midfielder Kaitlin Duncan; freshman defender Kristen Goodman; freshman goalkeeper Maddie Hand; senior goalkeeper Kelly Knoche, who posted three shutouts and a goals-against average of 1.13 in 2008; freshman midfielder Jessica Kreck; sophomore midfielder Lisa Lohre; senior defender Rachel Moffitt, the 2008 MPSF Defender of the Year who became Cal’s all-time assist leader (36) by contributing a team-high 15 in her final season; and freshman goalkeeper Jessica Pizarek.

Yesterday, I saw Arrested Development for the first time – three episodes.

It’s entertaining and I definitely laughed out loud. I can totally understand its appeal and will most definitely watch more episodes.

That said, I’m still a bigger fan of Friends, HIMYM, and Seinfeld-type sitcom humour and enjoy those more. But apologies to all the Arrested Development fans out there.

Kamp still is having calf issues, but should be better this weekend than last weekend.

Cal coach Mike Montgomery said sophomore forward Harper Kamp continues to rehab a strained calf, but that he will be ready to go Thursday night when the Bears face Arizona in Tucson.

"Harper’s having a hard time. That leg was probably not quite ready to go last Thursday and we used him quite extensively," Montgomery said, referring to the Bears’ win over USC. "It was very hard for him Saturday and it still lingers."

Arizona’s Jordan Hill is improving and should play Thursday.

Will Jordan Hill be good to go on Thursday?

It’s looking good, said University of Arizona interim basketball coach Russ Pennell said Tuesday on the Pac-10 teleconference.

“We feel better that he’ll be ready to go on Thursday,” he said.

Hill has taken well to the treatment over the last two days.

Mentions Cal; baseball switching away from sign language to qb-style wristbands.

My freshman friend keeps on telling me he wants to pledge a Cal frat this fall. I know nothing about frats. Is there any difference between any of them?

Cal also a serious player for top DT Cassius Marsh

“Right now, I’d have to say my top five would go Cal, USC, UCLA, Tennessee and Arizona State, but at this point right now, I’d say Cal’s probably my greatest interest…Cal’s business program is amazing. They’re also consistently good in football and their defensive lineman go to the NFL. If I go there, I have a chance to play as a freshman and the opportunity to play all four years is very attractive to me. They’re recruiting me as a strong side defensive end. It’s basically a perfect fit for me.”

Rod Benson gives dating advice!

Stanford nabs 2010 tight end Swanson

Zach Swanson, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound tight end from Katy, Texas, has accepted a Class of 2010 offer from the Cardinal.

Stanford now has four commitments.

Unit III was fun, even if the co-ed bathrooms were a bit odd (felt weird “doing business” when ladies were present, for fear of earning a nickname like “MassiveFarts” or "Plopper").

Paying off a corrupt apartment manager to get a decent apartment sucked, and then the roof caving in sucked harder, but on the whole the place was located in a great spot and facilitated attendance at football games.

Owning a car and living in Albany was awesome. Clean, comfortable living space, ample parking (day or night), less risk of carjacking, good eateries up and down Solano.

My girlfriend lived in a co-op one year. Those places are the suck. Everyone gorges the one day food was delivered, it was dirty, and dirty people seemed to enjoy living there. Yuck.

I came to Cal in Fall ’08 as a junior transfer and moved right in to AGO as a boarder, and pledged that semester. Christian Frat sounds like a huge oxymoron, but I absolutely love it. I feel like if I had lived in Wada or Channing-Bowditch, I would have just sat around in my room lots of the time and not made any friends. The guys here are almost like a family to me, which is awesome. Other fraternity perks (for me at least): Coscto deliveries every week, cook who come 4 nights a week, and a massive HDTV, wii, and 360.

BTW, Bowles for a year and then at Maharg’s moms house for 3 years. I wasnt sure about that, but she really wanted me to move in. To take our relationship to the next level. It was a terrible, terrible 3 years.

PS at that time, Maharg was still, I believe, in high school. AWKWARD!

Bowles first year, Fraternity house second year, Studio Apartment third year (block away from my fraternity house), Apartment with first year roommates 4th year.

I think it was a pretty flawless model, each year worked out really well for where I was in my studies (not going to class).

He’s the PG who will be grayshirting this fall (depending how the chips fall, he may still get a scholarship this year).

This is an incredibly prestigious award, and I think he’s earned it as the starting PG on a dominant team (De La Salle) all 4 years of his HS career.

Also, he is the best friend (their fathers are best buds also and raised them together when they were young) of future WR walk-on Spencer Hagan, whom coaches all around the Bay have said is a definite D-I starter some point down the road.

Some past winners of the ESPN Gatorade National Player of the Year: LeBron, Dwight Howard, Greg Oden, Jrue Holiday

I don’t have a link for this yet, but more on this later

http://www.ibabuzz.com/beartalk/

No need to scour CoCoTimes