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Chronicle Live to preview Cal:

SAN FRANCISCO – The 2009 Cal Football Preview television show will make its debut on Comcast SportsNet California this Tuesday, August 18 (6 p.m.). The half-hour program is hosted by Damon Andrews and will feature interviews with several members of the Cal football team, including in-depth sessions with head coach Jeff Tedford, Heisman Trophy candidate running back Jahvid Best and first-team preseason All-American cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson. The show will also feature a special segment with offensive tackle Mike Tepper mic’d up.

After its August 18 premiere, the show will be replayed on CSN California on August 20 (6:30 p.m.), August 21 (10:30 p.m.) and August 22 (9:30 p.m.). For additional air dates and times on both CSN California and CSN Bay Area, visit csncalifornia.com. The 2009 Cal Football Preview will also be available on Comcast Digital Cable’s ON DEMAND Channel 1.

Cal is in the midst of its 2009 training camp that continues through August 29 with that day’s practice followed by Fan Appreciation Day at Memorial Stadium from noon-2 p.m. All practices are closed to the public.

Womens Soccer beats Pacific:

BERKELEY – The California women’s soccer team overpowered its first opponent of 2009 in Pacific, 3-0, in an exhibition game Saturday afternoon at Edwards Stadium. Three different Golden Bears scored in the victory – redshirt junior forward Lisa Kevorkian, senior midfielder Katie Oakes and sophomore forward Katie Benz.

“I think our movement forward, our ability and desire to get forward, was good,” Cal head coach Neil McGuire said. “We didn’t execute in the final third as well as we had hoped. But we certainly created a lot of goal-scoring opportunities, and that’s a good sign for the first game of the year.”

The Bears outshot the Tigers, 17-5, and had 10 shots on goal as compared to UOP’s three. Cal earned seven corner kicks while Pacific had two.

Goalkeepers Gina Pellegrini and Rosie Aguilera split time in goal equally, with Pellegrini making one save in the first 45 minutes and Aguilera with two tops in the second half.

Both Kevorkian and junior forward Alex Morgan had two shots on goal apiece with Morgan pacing the team with four shots.

Womens Soccer Q+A with Neil McGuire:

BERKELEY – The California women’s soccer team is set to kick off what looks to be a successful 2009 season this Saturday with an exhibition match against Pacific. The Golden Bears return 15 letterwinners and five starters and welcome 10 newcomers. CalBears.com caught up with third-year head coach Neil McGuire to get his thoughts on what to expect from Cal in 2009.

CalBears.com: What kind of differences are you seeing in practice between this year’s team and last year’s squad?
Neil McGuire: It’s somewhat early to tell because we’re only a couple of practices into preseason. I think that we might have better balance in terms of positional depth. Last year, we had to rely on certain players to play lots of minutes in one or two positions, and that was problematic.

CalBears.com: What will help the team be more successful in 2009?
NM: I think that we have to have a clearer understanding that we have to learn to put games away. I think that we had a lot more opportunities to win games last year than we did as a result of inefficiencies in front of the goal and allowing teams to get one or two clear chances that could help them win. We had a lot of good opportunities to win games last year that we just gave away.

CalBears.com: Three of the first four teams that the Bears face went to the NCAA Tournament – can you speak to your nonconference schedule this season?
NM: I think anytime you can prepare for your conference games with opponents that are similar to the ones you’ll face in your conference, that is only a good thing. There’s no question that Portland, Santa Clara, Texas and Texas A&M and other games that we have are going to challenge us. We’re going to see what we have to work on. I think it’s going to be a very stiff test early. But I’m very, very excited about it. In Portland, Texas, Santa Clara and A&M, you’re facing teams that are perennial top-10 opponents. Obviously, if you parlay that into a comparison between them and the Pac-10 teams, any number of them – UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State, Arizona State has developed tremendously. Everyone has. There were no easy games last year. And there will be no easy games this year.

Field Hockey loses to Pacific:

BERKELEY – The California Field Hockey team was defeated by Pacific, 2-1, in a preseason match in Stockton on Sunday. Sophomore defender Erin Magill recorded the lone goal for the Golden Bears in the 13th minute.

“It was a good opportunity to play our freshmen and get them some experience,” head coach Shellie Onstead said. "Our freshmen are all playing well. They were all out together at one point today. They did a nice job.

“We got a chance to work on some new potentials structures, so I accomplished what I wanted to for a scrimmage.”

Magill scored off of a penalty corner at 12:25. Junior midfielder Lisa Lohre and sophomore midfielder Jessica Kreck earned the assists. The Bears would hold on to that lead heading into halftime, but the Tigers notched two unassisted scores shortly after the intermission to take the lead for good.

In the 41st minute, Lisa Muhl evened the game at one. She scored off of a broken corner play, finishing to back post. A few minutes later, Kiddy Leubane tallied the game-winning goal. Leubane knocked in a loose ball off of a deflected pass at 44:53.

3 mens gymnasts named to US Senior National Team:

DALLAS – Three Golden Bears were named to the men’s gymnastics U.S. senior national team at the U.S Championships on Friday. Four-year letterwinner Tim McNeill, junior Kyle Bunthuwong and sophomore Glen Ishino all made the team.

For complete all-around results, please click here. For complete event results, please click here.

“The University of California had probably its finest day ever,” Cal head coach Barry Weiner said. “It was a great night and I’m both proud of our guys and thrilled with their performance.”

McNeill, who won a program-best five individual NCAA championships in his four years at Cal, finished second in the all-around competition with a 178.500. McNeill won parallel bars with a two-day total of 30.500, which was the first Cal U.S. national champion on the even since Trent Wells won it in 2000.

Additionally, McNeill was named to the team that will make the trip to London for the 2009 World Gymnastics Championships from Oct. 13-19.

Kyle Bunthuwong took fourth all-around (177.750) and Ishino was sixth overall (175.950).

McNeill took third, Ishino tied for fourth and Kyle Bunthuwong was sixth on pommel horse. Kyle Bunthuwong was fourth on parallel bars.

Cal football has 2 a day practice:

BERKELEY – The California football squad went through its first two-a-day session of 2009 training camp on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The team’s morning session was conducted in full pads with the early evening session held in helmets and shorts for the first time since last Saturday.

Cal returns to a single session on Sunday and continues 2009 training camp through August 29 with that day’s practice followed by Fan Appreciation Day at Memorial Stadium from 12:00 – 2:00 pm, PT. All practices are closed to the public.

The Bears begin their 2009 campaign with a nationally televised ESPN2 contest against Maryland at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, September 5 (7:00 p.m., PT). Cal fans are encouraged to participate in a Blue Out in the season-opener. The best way to show your support is to pick up the Cal 2009 Football Official Game Day Tee. For more information, visit CalBears.com/Blueout.

Best continues to rack up pre-season honors:

BERKELEY – California junior running back Jahvid Best continued to rack up 2009 preseason honors on Friday when he was selected to a 2009 Preseason All-American team selected by Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com and was also named to the watch list for the Maxwell Award, which is given annually to the national player of the year.

Two days earlier, Best was listed fourth in an ESPN.com poll of Heisman hopefuls and panel member Bruce Feldman called him “the most exciting player in college football” in an explanation of his picks. Best has also moved up one spot into fourth place since a fifth-place showing Wednesday on the “Rank `Em: Heisman Watch 2009” that allows website visitors to select their 2009 Heisman picks. (Vote for Jahvid here).

Best is the country’s leading returning rusher after averaging 131.67 yards per game last year when he ran for 1,580 yards to record the second-highest single-season total ever at Cal. His 8.1 yards per carry in 2008 set a new single-season school record while his 15 rushing touchdowns tied the Bears’ single-season mark. Best was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection as a running back in 2008 after earning the same honor on special teams as a true freshman the previous campaign.

Best and his Cal teammates are currently in the midst of the team’s 2009 training camp that continues through August 29 with the day’s final practice followed by Fan Appreciation Day at Memorial Stadium from 12:00 – 2:00 pm, PT. All practices are closed to the public.

Womens VBall picked 2nd in Pac10 poll:

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – The California volleyball team was selected to finish second in a 2009 preseason poll of the Pacific-10 Conference head coaches. The Golden Bears were one of two teams to receive first-place votes taking the top spot on one of the ten ballots. Washington was voted the favorite to win the Pac-10 by receiving the other nine first-place votes while three-time defending Pac-10 Champion Stanford was picked third. Coaches were not allowed to rank their own teams.

Cal picked up 80 points in the poll after setting a program best with a 13-5 record in conference play last season. In 2008, the Bears finished third in the Pac-10 and were one of three Pac-10 teams to advance to the NCAA Regional Final where they fell to eventual national champion Penn State.

The Huskies tallied 90 points and claimed nine first-place votes. Washington is coming off a season in which it finished second in the Pac-10 with 15-3 record; 27-5 overall. Eleven-time and three-time defending Pac-10 Champion Stanford earned 74 points to take third in the poll. The Cardinal won the Conference title last season with a 17-1 record and posted a 31-4 overall mark.

UCLA picked up 62 points for fourth place just ahead of USC with 60 points for fifth place. Oregon got 48 points for sixth, while Arizona garnered 42 points for seventh. Arizona State received 34 points for eighth and barely edged out Oregon State which finished with 31 points. Washington State was 10th in the poll with 19 points.

Cal returns two All-Americans from a year ago including two-time selection senior outside hitter Hana Cutura. Junior setter Carli Lloyd received second-team All-America honors and All-Pac-10 recognition a year ago. The Bears also bring back plenty of firepower via starting senior middle hitter Mindi Wiley and two 2008 Pac-10 All-Freshman selections in sophomores Tarah Murrey and Shannon Hawari.

Burl Toler, father and grandfather of Cal players, has passed away:

Burl Toler Sr., the first African-American official in NFL history and a star on USF’s 1951 undefeated team, died Sunday in San Francisco. He was 81.

Toler, an NFL official for 24 years after a knee injury ended a promising pro career, played linebacker on USF’s 9-0 team in 1951 that also featured Hall of Famers Ollie Matson, Bob St. Clair and Gino Marchetti.

Constanzo working to obtain playing time:

The first time defensive lineman Mike Costanzo put on full pads at Cal, he severely tore up his right knee, wiping out his freshman season before it began. He’s been playing catch-up ever since.

Although Costanzo has successfully rehabbed his knee, he’s still trying to resurrect his football career. Now entering his fourth season in Berkeley, the former prep All-American from Monte Vista High in Danville has registered just three tackles in 10 games during his career.

Costanzo enters his redshirt junior season buried on the depth chart at nose tackle. He’s been taking some reps at strong side defensive end during training camp to try to make himself more versatile, but he doesn’t appear to be in the mix for significant playing time anytime soon.

“He’s doing as well as he can do,” Cal defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said. “We have a lot of good defensive linemen. I think he’s played as well as he’s ever played this fall camp, but we have some pretty good players.”

Big things were expected from Costanzo when he arrived in Berkeley in 2006. He was considered one of the top defensive linemen in the country by multiple recruiting services and joined a program that needed some help up front.

Tavita Pritchard takes demotion OK:

Tavita Pritchard would be excused if he felt like another outcast American worker who has been asked to train his replacement.

For the past year, Stanford’s fifth-year senior quarterback has groomed Andrew Luck, the starter for the season opener Sept. 5 at Washington State. Pritchard, who has started 19 games for the Cardinal, shows no sign of animosity over his backup role.

“That’s just not the focus right now,” he said Friday. “There’s a long way to go. I’ve learned to compartmentalize a little bit. The biggest thing is just focus on training camp and not worry about the things you can’t take care of.”

If the Cardinal is to break through in coach Jim Harbaugh’s third season, Pritchard will have an impact even if he is not calling signals behind center. As one of the team’s most influential players, Prtichard has the respect of the Stanford locker room.

“Quarterbackwise, I’m real confident with both,” receiver Ryan Whalen said of Pritchard and Luck, a redshirt freshman who hasn’t taken a college snap.

Article on overarching view of fall camp so far:

Skylar Curran sat comfortably at 89 percent going into Sunday’s practice. Tad Smith was at 80 percent on Saturday, but hey, he’s working his way back up from a rough first day.

The percentages are part of Cal tight ends coach Pete Alamar’s newest fall camp wrinkle: nightly report cards. Every day, Alamar’s staff keeps track of every ball thrown to a tight end during a team period or a full-speed group drill and whether it’s dropped or caught. They tally it up in a straight percentage — catches over opportunities — and then, every night, each tight end has a brand new Excel spreadsheet waiting for him with both his score for the day and a camp-to-date number. Ninety percent is the minimum acceptable goal. Ninety-five is exceptional.

The charting — which also counts “loafs,” or plays on which a tight end gives less than maximum effort — is part of Alamar’s plan to improve the consistency of a group that returns several veterans but little game experience after 2008 starter Cameron Morrah decided to forgo his senior season and declare for the NFL draft. The “objective feedback” of the spreadsheet, he says, is a nice complement to the coaching that players receive coming off the field after a play.

“You have immediate feedback on the field, but then you come in at night and know, OK, here’s what I did for the day,” says Alamar. "Sometimes maybe I didn’t do as well as I thought I did, and sometimes maybe I did better than I thought I did. There’s motivation there.

Fall Camp Notebook: Day 10:

The Cal football team continued Sunday to ratchet up the realism of its situational drills in preparation for its first scrimmage of fall camp on Tuesday.

Coach Jeff Tedford brought officials out for the second day in a row and the Bears finished their 11th practice in 10 days with three situational team sequences: one with the offense starting on its own 33-yard line, one at the goal line and a two-minute (in this case 90-second) drill with the offense starting from its own 40. Quarterback Kevin Riley ran with the first-team offense in all three drills — as he has done for the majority of fall camp — while Brock Mansion quarterbacked the second team.

Mansion had a good practice highlighted by a nearly flawless touchdown drive on the final sequence — getting some help from a 15-yard defensive penalty on a third down. The sophomore completed all six of his passes on the drive, including two to redshirt freshman receiver Ross Bostock and two to tight end Skylar Curran, and capped it with a sharp touchdown pass on a slant to tight end Tad Smith.

Mansion was on point during the earlier sequences and 7-on-7’s as well. He threw consecutive touchdown passes to Curran and Jeremy Ross during skeleton offense and made possibly his best throw during the goal line exercise. He put a ball right in the crook of tight end Jarrett Sparks’ right arm for a touchdown from about five yards out as Sparks was fighting off a linebacker with his left arm.

Press Room Banter:

It’s been fifty years since Cal last played in a Rose Bowl-one which ended in a 38-12 drubbing from Iowa.

As for the last time it won the Granddaddy of Them All? Tack another 20 years onto that already embarrassing five-decade drought.

Since then, Cal has had its share of heartbreak, enough to knock any fickle fans off the rickety bandwagon.

But with football season looming once again, the light is shimmering at the end of the proverbial tunnel-and with Cal just outside the top-10 in most preseason polls, it’s shimmering brighter than ever.

Jahvid Best has an outside shot at cracking the Heisman Holy Trinity of Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy. The defense returns a preseason All-American in cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson. A more seasoned Kevin Riley will hopefully secure the starting quarterback job, bolstering the passing game with a deeper receiving corps.

Fall Camp Notebook: Day Nine:

People walking by Memorial Stadium on Saturday morning kept stopping to peer inside because, for all the world, it sounded like football season had started. In the quiet of Strawberry Canyon, Memorial was alive was blaring crowd noise, referees’ whistles and, occasionally, the hard plastic thud of pads.

In the morning session of the Cal football team’s double day, the Bears spent a good chunk of their two hours on the field doing situational 11-on-11’s. Unlike a scrimmage, the ball was placed at strategic locations and the first, second, third and fourth strings battled it out in each scenario under the watchful eye of a team of referees and with the added challenge of recorded crowd noise.

“There’s obviously some things that were learned,” coach Jeff Tedford said. “As much as we can, (we) put them out there on their own and get them used to that. It’s as simple as backers manipulating the umpire in there, receivers communicating with the linemen, so on and so forth.”

Fall Camp Notebook: Day Eight:

The red jerseys were out in numbers Friday afternoon as the Cal football team began week two of fall camp with a few starters battling injuries.

Cornerback Darian Hagan, linebacker Mychal Kendricks and receiver Nyan Boateng all sat out their second consecutive practice. Hagan has a sore knee, while Kendricks and Boateng are both recovering from concussions. They were joined on the sideline Friday by Chris Conte, who coach Jeff Tedford said has a “little pulled muscle,” and safety Sean Cattouse, who has a pulled hamstring.

After not participating in most of the team and group drills yesterday, Jahvid Best ran through a normal first half of practice and sat out the majority of the second half, including a red-zone team drill and a kickoff return session.Tedford said that Best is “a little sore,” and the rest is to “let his aches calm down a little bit,” although Best looked as explosive as ever on one play during early team sessions, taking ahandoff right and slipping into the second level of defenders through a virtually nonexistent gap.

OK, I just brought a billion stories over, any more out there? Let’s see em!

I like this pic because he’s got the “Cal” on the football turned out and exposed, nice angle

Will Kapp story from Sunday


Lock up your ladies.

“It’s a unique feeling,” Joe Kapp said. “You want to stay removed and let the man play his own game. And yet obviously you care. I have the same feeling for the Bears that every alum has for the Bears. It’s personal.”

Joe Kapp, removed from the public arena for more than two decades, seemed uncomfortable about his role in his son’s story. That’s understandable, but Will Kapp was less reluctant to embrace the family history he brings to Cal football.

“It’s awesome coming from that background, that legacy,” Will Kapp said. “But I’m doing my own thing. I didn’t decide to come here because my dad played and coached here. I came here because I grew up here.”

Will Kapp grew up in Los Gatos, but he began attending Cal football games soon after he began walking. He remembers watching Deltha O’Neal, who started his Cal career when Will was 8. After one recent practice, he pointed to Section CC, where he sat when the Bears beat USC in triple overtime in 2003.

It’s also worth noting the way Will Kapp offered these nostalgic tidbits – in a soft voice, with little of the bluster and intensity Joe still shows at age 70. Will Kapp chuckled as he spoke of Joe, ever active, throwing the football at the beach in Capitola earlier this month.

But father and son are strikingly different in many ways. Will shares just as many personality traits with his mother, Jennifer.

“I’m a lot more laid back than my dad, less gung ho,” Will said. “When I step on the field, I’m like him. But I’m a little quieter and less in-your-face off the field.”

Joe Kapp’s brash style was especially memorable because he played quarterback. Will was born long after Joe’s playing career ended, but he watched countless tapes of his dad powering downfield, mostly for the Minnesota Vikings.

Will smiled as he recalled one touchdown against the 49ers, when a linebacker decked Joe as he crossed the goal line. He lay motionless on the ground for nearly 10 seconds, then popped up, ran off the field and didn’t miss a series. Another time against the Browns, Joe planted his knee into an opposing linebacker’s chin, knocking out the guy.

“He was cutthroat,” Will said. “I’m trying to be cutthroat out there, too.”

LB article from Saturday

Coach Jeff Tedford summed up his new group as “excellent. I feel great about the linebackers. People think we’re inexperienced there. A lot of those guys played last year.”

Sophomore D.J. Holt, for example, is fighting for an inside spot and looked sharp Friday. In the span of a few snaps during an 11-on-11 drill, he stuffed a running play and intercepted a Kevin Riley pass.

Sophomore Mychal Kendricks looks like the other inside starter at this point, while the biggest battle is shaping up on the weak-side outside spot, which Follett vacated. Senior Devin Bishop, freshman Chris Little and junior college transfers Ryan Davis and Jarred Price are in the hunt, although Bishop may play on the inside as well.

“It might be certain guys on certain downs,” defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said. “We’ve got to put guys in the right positions and give them the right things to do.”

Damn them toes. First it was DJax’s that cost us the Rose Bowl and now Best is worrying us all.

Well, he’s back on the radar, playing in Australia apparently.

http://www.ibabuzz.com/beartalk/2009/08/17/basketball-ubaka-leads-aussie-squad-past-gaels/

Former Cal backcourt star Ayinde Ubaka has surfaced in Australia, where earlier today he helped the Gold Coast Blaze to an 82-74 victory over Saint Mary’s College, which is touring Down Under. Ubaka had 16 points, including a late 3-point basket that helped seal the victory.

Insane Bolt doing 9.58… crushing his old WR… on a day Tyson Gay was probably running a personal best…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By1JQFxfLMM

Goddamit. Tiger loses his streak and now this??

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=976023

Pretty much all that is mentioned is USC and Cal. Best, Alualu, Syd, and Anger were preseason first team selections, with Schwartz as a second team.

According to their preseason unit rankings, Cal has the #1 Backfield, #7 Receivers, #2 O-Line, #1 D-Line, #6 Linebackers, #2 DB’s, #2 Special Teams, & #4 Coaching Staff

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1144&CID=976036

I gotta say I very much enjoy my 2009 Game Day Tee. I particularly like the front (the back is a bit lame). I enjoyed strutting around in it over the weekend. I look forward to wearing it during the Blue Out.

In my neck of the woods they look at you funny thinking it is a Michigan shirt. Then they calm down and say “Is that a high school or something?”

An awesome photo set of the shiny news stadium they’ve built out there.

For comparison’s sake, I’m looking at attending a Twins game while I’m out there, just to see what the baggie-dome was like.

Here

A team of Canadian mathematicians have been picking their large, delectable brains over whether humankind could survive a zombie apocalypse.

Their conclusion?

“An outbreak of zombies infecting humans is likely to be disastrous, unless extremely aggressive tactics are employed against the undead,” says the paper, titled When Zombies Attack! Mathematical Modelling of an Outbreak of Zombie Infection.

Wilner on BCS & Pac10 toughest/softest schedules:

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2009/08/17/bcs-football-the-five-toughest-schedules/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2009/08/14/bcs-football-the-five-softest-schedules/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2009/08/12/pac-10-football-the-five-toughest-schedules/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2009/08/12/pac-10-football-the-five-softest-schedules/

I agree with Wilner: Penn St is an absolute joke. Looks like they could be undefeated.

I applaud Oklahoma for trying this year but I wouldn’t necessarily say they have toughest schedule this year. Heck, I don’t know how USC could be 4th on that list.

Livechat with JO Thursday at 1.

Odds and ends from JO’s practice reports.

–Riley said one of the major differences in his game this fall is his ability to move on after something goes wrong.

"There have been some better days than others," he said. "The biggest thing is, if a bad play happens, just keep it out of your head and move on. Last season, in games especially, when a couple of things went wrong, I kind of went on a downward spiral. So far this camp, I think I’ve done a pretty good job when a couple of things go wrong of making a couple plays afterward.

"At times last year, I’d just say "What the hell am I doing?" I’d think about it too much. But everybody makes mistakes. You just have to move on and learn from it."

–Freshman running back Dasarte Yarnway looks the part of a potential impact player. The 6-0, 222-pounder is built more solidly than any other tailback on the roster and has good explosion. Yarnway already has gotten some reps with the first and second team, although some of that is due to the fact that Jahvid Best hasn’t practiced lately.

"We want to get him a couple more reps with the first team," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "Sometimes with the third team, there are more blown blocking assignments so he doesn’t get a chance a lot of times. We put him with the 1s and 2s a little bit just to give him some holes, and he’s done a nice job. He’s got a bright future."

It remains to be seen if Yarnway will play this season. Assuming the Bears are at full health, it’s hard to imagine Yarnway being more than the third-stringer behind Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen.