DBD 08.28.09 Gameday superstitions

Mens golf starting the year:

BERKELEY – QUICK START FOR CALIFORNIA: With the first event of the 2009-10 season coming on the first weekend after fall classes are underway, three first-year players are getting the call to represent their University as the California Golden Bears enter a tournament without traditional qualfying rounds for only the second time in the 31-year career of Head Coach Steve Desimone. Like most if not all of their competition in this weekend’s Golfweek’s Collegiate Conference Challenge, the Bears were not permitted to conduct team practices until classes began; therefore, the lineup for the start of Sunday’s action was determined by previous events and junior/amateur play over the past six months.

THE EVENT: Golfweek magazine sponsors and the University of Iowa hosts the fall kickoff of the 2009-10 collegiate golf season with the first-ever Golfweek’s Collegiate Conference Challenge Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at Blue Top Ridge in Riverside, Iowa. The men’s portion of the event includes 15 Division I teams from different conferences across the nation, with a separate event for 18 women’s teams Sept. 13-15 at Primm Valley Golf Club’s Desert Course in Primm, Nev. The men at Blue Top Ridge will compete in a 54-hole, stroke-play format with one round each on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Blue Top Ridge is a resort course, designed by Rees Jones and over 7,500 yards in length, with generous fairways and large greens. “I suspect that it will be very competitive with a lot of low scores,” Coach Desimone said. Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com.

DES SAYS: “On paper, this looks like the best team we’ve had since the 2004 National Championship,” says Coach Desimone. “As successful as last year’s team was, we didn’t make the NCAA Championships. This team looks much stronger. At the beginning of the season there’s always regeneration and optimism. Still, the unknowns are a little unsettling. We have two freshmen in the lineup, a transfer and two solid veterans. In terms of overall college experience, it’s one of the least-experienced lineups we’ve ever had. What you’d like to see is that transition from amateur/junior golf very quickly to college golf. Obviously we’re hoping that’s going to happen over the next few days.”

Mens Tennis 2009-2010 season announced:

The California men’s tennis team has released its 2009-10 schedule head coach Peter Wright announced. The Golden Bears will open the fall individual tournament season at the 2009 Land Rover Napa Valley Tennis Classic in St. Helena, Calif., Sept. 18-20. Cal players will be in action once again two weeks later in the Fresno State Bulldog Classic, Oct. 2-4, in Fresno, Calif.

In the only home event of the fall season, Hellman Tennis Complex plays host to the top players in the ITA’s Northwest Region in the Wilson/ITA Northwest Regional Championships, Oct. 23-27. Several Bears will compete in the Battle of the Bay hosted by San Francisco, Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Cal closes out the fall season with the Saint Mary’s Invitational in Moraga, Calif., Nov. 6-8.

After the winter break, the Bears return to the court for their first dual matches of 2010 as they head to Tulsa, Okla. to take on Southern Methodist and Tulsa. After hosting Santa Clara, Jan. 26, Cal hits the road again for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Austin, Texas as the Bears face Texas Tech for a chance to take on the winner of the Texas and Middle Tennessee State match.

The Bears will be home for 10 dual matches in 2010 including contests against Fresno State (Feb. 3) and Hawai’i (Feb. 7). Pac-10 foes USC and UCLA will visit Berkeley for a couple of non-conference matches on Feb. 26 and 27 respectively. Cal takes a break from dual matches to take part in the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship, March 5-7, in La Jolla, Calif. While in Southern California, Cal will also take on Michigan from the Big 10 Conference in a dual match on March 4.

Womens Tennis also announces schedule:

The California women’s tennis team has released its 2009-10 schedule head coach Amanda Augustus announced. The Golden Bears will open the fall tournament season as hosts of the Cal Nike Invitational at Hellman Tennis Complex, Oct. 2-4. Last season, Marion Ravelojaona captured the Blue Flight singles title. The invitational will be the only home event for Cal, which will send sophomore Jana Juricova and junior Mari Andersson to the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships in Los Angeles from Oct. 8-11.

The Bears will also take part in the Wilson/ITA Northwest Regional Championships at Stanford, Calif., Friday, Oct. 23-Monday, Oct. 26. The two singles finalists and the doubles champion from the regional championship will earn automatic berths to the ITA National Indoor Tennis Championships in New Haven, Conn. Nov. 5-8. Cal will also send players to the Saint Mary’s Invitational (Oct. 16-18) in Moraga, Calif. and the ASU Thunderbird Invitational (Nov. 6-8) in Tempe, Ariz. this fall.

Coming out of the winter break, Cal will open the dual-match season with a trip to the islands as the Bears take on Hawai’i on Jan. 14, 2010. The first home action in the spring takes place when the Bears host the Cal Winter Invitational Jan. 22-24. Cal will again play host to the ITA Kick-Off Weekend when Utah, Colorado and Sacramento State visit Hellman Tennis Complex Jan. 29 and 30.

The Bears will play eight home dual matches in 2010 including one each against Pac-10 powers UCLA and USC on April 2 and 3 respectively. Out of conference, Cal welcomes San Diego State, Stanford, Sacramento State and Harvard in one four-match stretch before closing out home play with Fresno State on April 15. The Bears will have a tough road slate in 2010 as it faces six of its eight Pac-10 foes on the opponents’ courts, concluding the regular season with a bout at Stanford on April 17.

Former Golden Bear helps team win pro softball championship:

BERKELEY – Four-year letterwinner Chelsea Spencer helped her team to a National Pro Fast Pitch Championship on Aug. 23 with a solo home run. Spencer plays for the Rockland Thunder, which won its first championship at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio, climbed back from a 1-0 deficit and near elimination to win both games of its series to capture the Cowles Cup.

The Thunder earned a 1-0 lead when Lyndsey Angus bunted to bring Shanel Scott. Spencer added the insurance run with a solo shot that soared over the fence in left field.

Spencer, who played at Cal from 2002-05, is in her fifth year of professional softball. As a freshman, Spencer was on the team that won the national championship. En route to the national title, Spencer posted a .308 average with two doubles and three RBIs, earning placement on the WCWS All-Tournament team.

In 2008, she was named shortstop for the All-NPF team after playing in all 48 games for the Force and recording a .276 batting average. During the 2008 campaign, she led her squad in RBIs and at bats.

Daily Cal Oped on volleyball:

It’s that gut feeling that matters. That’s the one you should listen to.

Like when you were watching the Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl and you just knew that the Giants were going to pull off something ridiculous. Nacho- and buffalo wing-induced indigestion be damned, you recognized that gut feeling.

Or when word spread through Memorial Stadium in 2007 that No. 1 LSU had lost in triple overtime and Cal was on the cusp of becoming the top-ranked team in the country. You just knew the horror was coming. The Bears never get things handed to them. It’s part of the culture.

I love gut feelings. I rely on them to justify my otherwise irrational sports ramblings, and I consider myself quite good at interpreting and putting those feelings into use.

So why can’t I figure out how I feel about the 2009 Cal volleyball team?

Mens soccer to start season at 8:

The No. 8 Cal men’s soccer team had just completed a practice within the enclaves of the soccer field a short jaunt from the Clark Kerr campus.

As some players were trickling off, a jovial game of soccer tennis-a game in which one uses one’s feet in place of a racket-broke out among the players.

Junior forward Andrew Wiedeman and redshirt junior Josh Leon found themselves in a tightly contested match with two challengers.

With bragging rights on the line, Wiedeman leapt in the air, back turned to a volley and with reckless abandon blocked the shot downwards across the net for a resounding match point.

“There is hope for us all!” Leon pronounced to the onlookers.

Injuries to mens soccer team last year will provide depth:

We all are obsessed with rankings. Admit it, you could tell me right now where the football team stands.

So let’s just get it out there: The Cal men’s soccer team has been ranked everywhere from No. 4 to 8. Every major poll has placed them among the top 10 squads in the nation. That’s a pretty good consensus of opinion. But standings aren’t always an accurate depiction of how good a team really is.

The stats will tell you that nine starters are back this year and that the only people lost were a goalie-granted, an incredibly elite goalie-and a midfielder. What they don’t tell you is that there are far more players with experience than that.

Last season was not a lucky one for the soccer team when it came to injuries. First to go down was defender Imaan Kerchgani from the right side of the field. Fellow defender Josh Leon wasn’t fit for play either.

Field hockey team overhauled and ready to go:

It’s hard to imagine how a team that finished at the top of its conference for the past four seasons could consider itself a long shot.

But the No. 25 Cal field hockey team is this season’s self-proclaimed dark horse.

“We’re underdogs-we’re definitely the underdogs,” junior Sophie Sproats said.

And for those returning players who can remember what it was like last season with 10 seniors and a healthy dose of urgency, being the underdog might be a welcome change.

“I liked being on top; who doesn’t?” junior Erin Magill said. “But there’s also pressure that goes along with that. But this is a good change. I like it.”

But the 180-degree turnaround from perennial conference powerhouse to an inexperienced-and perhaps underestimated-team is partly preseason speculation.

Womens soccer heads to Portland for game:

Tonight at 7 p.m., the unranked Cal women’s soccer team will have a chance to shake up the national soccer scene-if it beats Portland at Merlo Field in Portland, Ore.

The Pilots might be the best team that the Cal women’s soccer team will play all season. In fact, they might be the best team in the nation.

Portland, which lost only two games last season, is ranked No. 3 in the coaches’ poll and returns nine starters from 2008.

But having played the national powerhouses of the Pac-10-UCLA, USC and Stanford-many times before, junior Megan Jesolva isn’t more nervous than she is for any other game.

Mens golf hopes to avoid inconsistency:

This summer, the Cal men’s golf team practiced sky-high and low-cutting golf shots and learned how to read the slopes of lightning-fast putting greens.

The Bears’ work was all in preparation for the 2009 season, which could be their best since they won the national championship in 2004.

The team’s lineup is virtually untouched aside from the loss of a few seniors. Led by returning players like senior John Murphy and junior Eric Mina, the Bears have a seemingly tangible desire for revenge after a 20th-place finish at the NCAA West Regional Championship last season.

Actually Fire Starkey, this is my random pic of the day. Check the tagline on this:

It’s like Rishi’s perfect drink. Get high everytime you drink!

It’s a picture of half a dozen lemon drops.

Cal Band Auction Is Open. Bid Now!

From here

PLACERVILLE, Calif. – A man suspected of snatching an 11-year-old girl and hiding her for nearly two decades in his backyard faced a Friday court appearance, as the woman’s family reunited with their daughter and met the two children fathered by her alleged abductor.

(snip)

The case broke after Garrido was spotted Tuesday with two children as he tried to enter the University of California, Berkeley, campus to hand out religious literature. Officers said he was acting suspiciously toward the children. They questioned him and did a background check, determined that he was a parolee and informed his parole officer.:

Anyone see this guy?

I don’t engage in self gratification the day before of the day of the game. Its been a superstition since I played high school football and our coaches told us not to. So if I do, and Cal loses the game, I blame my hormones.

Only superstition I remember is that I wear some Cal t-shirt on gameday, whether I’m watching on TV or in the stadium. Other than that’s pretty much it.

I think I’ve worn out my 2006 gameday t-shirt. That thing looks so faded. I’m considering buying the 2009 version (generic, but on the cheap side), but if anyone has any better suggestions or links to better shirts I can order, let me know.

(This is part of the reason I’m so eager about this CGB t-shirt thing…I need a new shirt to wear on gameday. And I’d wear that Best shirt every Saturday.)

Isi Sofele became accustomed to the routine during his time at Cottonwood High in Salt Lake City. College recruiters showed up tempted by Sofele’s speed and flashy statistics (1,436 yards rushing as a junior and 1,920 more as a senior) – and departed after verifying another number (his 5-foot-7 height).

So there was an unmistakable sense of satisfaction in Sofele’s voice Thursday, as he spoke about Cal’s decision to play him as a true freshman. He will start on the kickoff and punt coverage teams (as the “gunner”) and might see action on kickoff returns.

Sofele Story in SF Chron

I thought I had read that Isi was getting a lot of snaps at WR—in fact, I think the reporting of this led to the whole exclusion of media at practices?

"I don’t think anyone on this team knows what schism means let alone use it in a sentence form. At first I thought schism was an STD, and I was like WHOA we preach abstinence around this locker room!"

Feldman

Bad news for Cal fans: wide receiver Michael Calvin had to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery Monday to clean up his already-surgically-repaired right knee, reports Jonathan Okanes:

Calvin tore his ACL in October and there was some fluid and swelling in the knee. Tedford said Calvin will be out for a couple of weeks. It’s been one thing or another for

Calvin, who was expected to do big things at Cal but has yet to get untracked. A sprained toe limited him for the first four games of his redshirt freshman season last year, and then he suffered the knee injury.

One guy I could see really emerging is Marvin Jones. Over the summer I chatted with a couple of Cal players who touted Jones as a receiver to watch, saying he’s smart and physical.

I wanted super-mojo, so I wore the following:
-yellow (aka gold) long sleeved undershirt
-2004 game day tee
-Cal Hawaiian shirt
-“The Play” tie
-Cal flannel lounge pants
-Cal slippers
-Cal hat

Yes, I looked like a homeless (yet well-educated) freak, but we won big so YOU’RE WELCOME.

Here

Being an amazing man comprised of integrity, pride, and honor (I think I could have made an amazing Marine because of my supreme leadership skills, good looks, and the bond that I create where people who meet me become followers), I have to be able to admit when an idea that either me or The Entourage comes up with ends up being a bad one. My friends and I had discussed all week about going up to NYC to go the Britney Spears Concert because we thought "There would be a ton of hot, young ass there", and we could meet some "Un-Jaded" 21-24 year olds who looked at us like gods (The demographic that I am finding my celebrity really appeals to is young girls (18-23) because they see me as "The Handsome Man", and probably see a very fatherly quality in me that makes them feel safe), and we could take them out and show them exclusive entrance and treatment at the hottest clubs in The City, and then back to the room for some Good Old Fashion "Kadeing" (My new term for seducing and sleeping with a Smokin’ Hot girl).

Also worth seeing for his “modeling” photos.

Now, the bad news: the legowigkade site has kinda ruined this – it’s not fun anymore. They started targeting his friends and posting their identities on the internet.

Arthur Kade is an entertaining guy. Sure, we laugh at him, but there shouldn’t be a reason to HATE him this way.

But I can’t tell you all about what they are because I’m afraid mentioning it would ruin it.

Some things I can mention are:

- Doing the 4th Q is ours chant
- Wearing a gameday t-shirt
- NEVER say roll on you bears chant unless you are past the 50yd line.
- Do not do the “bear territory” or the “goodbye” chant unless there’s less than a minute to go and we’re winning big.
- Always participate in those stupid “guess which helmet the football is hiding under” things. I hate them so I tried not to do it during 2007 starting with the OSU game… yeah.
- Don’t watch away games on TV/webcast. This is hard but all the times I’ve tried the results have not been good. Only exception was Armed Forces Bowl.

Actually, that should be more of a law than a superstition. Anyone who participates in the Wave in a close football game (by close I mean two touchdowns or less) at Memorial should be forced to sleep at People’s Park Saturday night.

Looks like they’re not going to make the Cowboys move the scoreboard in 2009. Essentially, they’re calling for a re-do of the play if the ball hits the stadium

Question: Given the guns for arms some QBs have, what do you think the ramifications would be for a QB to, instead of just throwing the ball away, throws it at the screen, hoping to hit it and get another chance at a down?

I told my purchasing manager to call me when she comes back to her desk. She’s been there for like TEN minutes, no phone call, and I’ll feel like a douche if I bother her again.

this is why more Americans need guns: so they can shoot people who slightly inconvenience them throughout the day.