Ted Miller is a Pac-10/12 Media Day veteran. He has seen enough of them to know that certain things (from mundane to inane) are bound to happen. In fact, he compiled a rather humorous list of things that are all-but-certain to happen at next week's extravaganza.
- Teams at the top will tamp down expectations. Teams at the bottom will bemoan a lack of respect and insist they don't give a flip about so-called pundits.
- Every team will claim an outstanding offseason, perhaps even calling workout attendance "the best ever." There's a good chance many will be exaggerating.
...
- Oregon coach Chip Kelly will be snarky, no matter how awesome we reporters are.
...
- Graham will be asked about his controversial departure from Pittsburgh for the 10,000th time, and the reporter who does so will win a set of steak knives (there's a reason reporters ask the same question over and over).
- California coach Jeff Tedford and Oregon State coach Mike Riley will be asked if they feel pressure or feel like they are on the hot seat. Both will say no one puts more pressure on them than themselves and that there is always pressure.
- Leach will go off on a lengthy tangent that has nothing to do with anything but likely will be interesting and amusing.
Do you have any Pac-12 Media Day predictions? Anyone want to put up some odds on how many Pac-12 coaches it would take to subdue Kyle Whittingham?
Calympics
- Aleksa Saponjic will play for the Serbian Olympic team.
- Returning from elbow surgery, Ryan Young is striving to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
- Mike Teti, Cal's men's crew coach, will coach the men's eight in London. This is his eighth time participating in the Olympics.
- Not even three years after the first time she started rowing, Kara Kohler will row for the U.S. Olympic team.
Football
- Pacific Takes looks in-depth at the factors that caused the Pac-12-Big Ten alliance to fall apart.
- While the alliance may have fallen apart, Ted Miller demonstrates that the two conferences will remain good friends. Over the next four years, the conferences will face each other 19 times during the regular season. In addition to playing Ohio State over the next two seasons, the Bears begin a home-and-home with Northwestern in 2013.
- Three-star WR A.J. Richardson committed to the Bears.
- Matt Summers-Gavin and Aaron Tipoti are on the watch list for the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's best interior lineman.
- Jeff Faraudo has an update and a photo slideshow of the latest Memorial Stadium progress.
- The Bears are in good shape at defensive tackle in Ted Miller's preseason ratings.
- Rivals has a surprisingly thorough and well researched preview of Cal's 2012 season. The Bears are 34th in their preseason rankings.
- Marshawn Lynch was arrested under suspicion of DUI. He joins Jason Kidd as notable alumni making dumb decisions this past weekend. Surely these guys make enough money that cab fare isn't a big deal...
Basketball
- Jorge Gutierrez had 5 fouls, 4 points, 1 rebound, 3 turnovers, and a -15 in his summer league debut with the Denver Nuggets.
- Day two wasn't much better as Jorge had 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and 5 turnovers.
Softball
- The next generation of Bears are racking up awards before joining Cal this fall.
- The Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative honored the softball team at this past weekend's Giants-Astros game.
Volleyball
- CalBears.com catches up with several former stars on the volleyball team. This week they talk to 2010 alum Meagan Schmitt.
Field Hockey
- Two-time MPSF Player of the Year Lauren Schmidt has joined the Bears as an assistant coach. Graduating from Stanford in 2011, she spend the last year on the Fresno State staff.
Lacrosse
- After nearly being cut last season, lacrosse is moving towards financial sustainability.