California Golden Blogs: FanPosts

Cal Baseball Batters Cal Poly; Wins Friday and Saturday

2010-03-21T17:13:50Z

Cal's baseballing Bears won their first two against Cal Poly in their visit to San Luis Obispo this Friday and Saturday. Scoring 25 runs over two games, and on the strength of a complete game six hitter by freshman Justin Jones, the Bears overwhelmed the host Mustangs who almost managed to steal a victory in the late innings on Friday night.

First pitch Sunday will be at 1 PM, thrown by Mustang senior righty DJ Mauldin. Cal counters with noted starter "T.B. Determined". The game can be followed with the gametracker on the Cal baseball site, or on the San Luis Obispo ESPN affiliate.

Saturday: Jones Dominates; Cal Buries Poly 14-2

After a second consecutive 4 hour baseball marathon on Friday night, the Golden Bears struggled to score in the early innings of Saturday night's game against Cal Poly. Clinging to a 3-2 lead after 6, Cal again tore into the Mustang bullpen to blow the game open with 11 runs in the final three innings.

Fantastic freshman lefty Justin Jones, who pitched an inning against Houston on Wednesday to keep the game within reach, pitched his second complete game in as many starts. Jones struck out NINE (including the entire side to open the game) and yielded NO WALKS, allowing only two runs to Cal Poly. Jones seems to be emerging as a real prospect, as opponents tend to watch him closely as he warms up, and his complete games have allowed Cal's beleaguered bullpen a chance to recharge, which will be crucial if Cal is to be competitive once Pac-10 play starts.

Cal Poly's starter Matt Leonard pitched well enough in the early innings, holding Cal scoreless through the first four and allowing only singles to DH Austin Booker and 3B Tony Renda. Leonard started to weaken in the fifth, with Booker scoring after his second hit of the game on singles by CF Darrel Matthews and 2B BJ Guinn. Cal got two more runs in the sixth, ending Leonard's outing with doubles from C Chadd Krist and LF Chad Bunting, a single by Renda, and an untimely error by Mustang LF Luke Yoder.

Cal Poly brought sophomore righty Jeff Johnson on to relieve, after throwing 35 pitches in 1.1 innings on Friday night and giving up three runs. He struck out Guinn and then fell apart, surrendering a double to Oh, walking Canha, a single to Krist, a single to Renda, and an IF single to Bunting, with two runs scoring and leaving the bases loaded for his relief, Frankie Reed. Booker reached on an IF single, scoring Krist, and stole second before SS Marcus Semien tripled to clear the bases and finish up the Cal scoring with 5 runs for the inning and an 8-2 lead.

Having seen Houston fritter away an 8 run lead on Wednesday, the Bears poured it on in the 8th. After Guinn struck out to start the inning, Oh singled again and advanced on a BUNT single by CANHA. Krist and Renda followed with successive triples, and Renda scored on a sac fly by Bunting. Booker and Semien followed with singles, each with their second hit in as many innings, and Reed left the game for Tommy Erlin who was to mop up for the Mustangs. Erlin walked Matthews to load the bases, but blood pressures in the Mustang dugout finally lowered when Guinn struck out to end the inning (for the second time in the inning, a rare feat, of his FIVE ks on the day, a rarer feat) leaving the Bears up 12-2.

Erlin was on the mound soon enough as Jones only allowed one Mustang to reach in the 8th. Oh started off with a single, and Canha reached on a fielders' choice and advanced to second on an error. And the Bears finally answered the question others may have been asking: how lopsided must a game be for some of the Bears' backup players to get in the game? Backup C Eddie Hsieh hit for Krist and doubled to score Canha, moving to third on a wild pitch by Erlin. Renda doubled, and Bunting singled, but the inning ended when long-lost junior Dwight Tanaka flied out, possibly overcome by the shock of appearing in a game, and Semien grounded out.

Although the Mustangs got two men on in the ninth (one advancing on an error by Guinn, probably falling asleep on his feet completing his 11th hour of baseball over the last three games), both were stranded as Jones finished his second complete game.

*****

Friday: Cal Outlasts Mustangs, Wins Endurance Test 11-9

Fresh off a four-hour long battle with the Houston Cougars on Wednesday, the Cal baseball team completed their eighth hour of baseball at about 10 PM Friday night, holding on to beat Cal Poly 11-9.

The Bears were made to feel very welcome by host starter Joey Wagman, who allowed the first 7 Cal batters to reach base, surrendering walks to Brian Guinn, Chadd Krist, and Danny Oh,singles to Austin Booker and Tony Renda, and hitting Mark Canha and Jimmy Bosco with pitches, giving Cal a 3-0 lead. Marcus Semien struck out, but Wagman headed into the San Luis night after CF Darrel Matthews drew another walk to drive in Cal's fourth run with two batters retired (on 42 pitches!) and the top of the order looming. Eugene Wright came on for Cal Poly only to walk Guinn for the second time in the inning and allow Cal's fourth run to score. Booker grounded out to finally end the inning, leaving three men on which at the time seemed relatively unimportant.

Cal starter Erik Johnson gave one run back in the first when Mustang leadoff DH Luke Yoder tripled and scored on the ensuing sacrifice fly to Matthews. Although Johnson pitched well, scattering seven hits and two walks over his six innings of work, he had to work out of jams almost every inning and gradually let Cal Poly back into the game. In the third he gave up a single, double, and a walk but only allowed one run; in the fourth he hit the leadoff batter and gave up a single, allowing another run; he walked Yoder in the fifth but stranded him at second.

Cal played for, and scored, a single run in the top of the fifth when Bosco led off the inning with a single and was bunted over (with no outs and Cal leading 5-3) by Semien and scored on a single by Matthews.

The game turned on its head in the sixth when the Mustangs put three more runs on the board to tie the game at 6-6. Johnson allowed three singles which turned into three runs courtesy of a bad throw by SS Semien and a wild pitch. The last single by CF Adam Melker ended Johnson's night, as it glanced off his glove and hit him in the head*. Trainers rushed out, and Johnson walked off the field soon after and seemed OK but was wisely removed from the game as a precaution. Righty Kevin Miller came on to finish up the inning (and allowed the single that scored Melker).

Cal seemed to blow the game open in the top of the eighth. Matthews worked a walk (his third time on base in three appearances) and advanced to third on CONSECUTIVE BUNTS WITH NO OUTS (leadoff man Guinn reaching base on his excellent effort). The Cal "one run" bunt strategy was trumped by Cal Poly's even worse decision to walk the lefthanded Oh intentionally in favor of pitching to righty Canha. Surely joyful that Cal Poly apparently did not scout the Bears, Canha blasted a grand slam to clear the bases and give Cal a 10-6 lead. Krist reached on an error and Bosco singled, but both runners were stranded (again making the free out earlier in the inning important).

And leaving runners on base is the last thing Cal should be doing this year because every lead seems to be hard to hold. Miller ended his night by striking out the first and last Cal Poly batters he faced, these strikeouts unfortunately sandwiching a base on balls, a double, and a 2-RBI single by Mustang LF Bobby Crocker. Cal's third starter of the evening, lefty Dixon Anderson, came on to throw NINE consecutive balls before striking out 1B David Van Ostrand to end the inning and strand three Mustangs. Anderson struck out two in the ninth, but Cal Poly added another run on a leadoff double and a "mistake sampler" of a walk, a hit batsman, and an error by Canha, leaving the bases loaded for the third consecutive inning when C Ross Brayton grounded out to BJ Guinn to end the game.

-----

*Attention NCAA: this makes two consecutive games featuring pitchers struck by batted balls; Cal slugger Mark Canha drilled Matt Creel of Houston in Wednesday's game. Best wishes to the family of Gunnar Sandberg, pitcher for Marin Catholic High, who has been in a medically-induced coma since being struck in the head by a line drive on March 10. Marin Catholic is 2-0 (both games played with wood bats) after Sandberg's injury.

Cal Rugby Wins Championship Berth With 56-5 Victory Over Gaels

2010-03-20T23:31:12Z

Cal's #1-ranked ruggers bid farewell to Witter Rugby Field before a sell-out Homecoming crowd with a near-shutout over #3 St. Mary's College. With the victory, the Bears win a local play-off bye and earn the #2 seed in the upcoming national championships. Cal will meet either Cal Poly SLO or UCLA in Round of 16 play in Marietta, Ga.on April 17.

Keeping the Gaels scoreless for 78 minutes, six Bears touched down for eight tries with senior flanker Derek Asbun and freshman center Seamus Kelly each earning two. Senior Keegan Englebrecht contributed 16 points to Cal's tally with two penalty kicks and five conversions.

Today's win closes out the Bears' local season with a perfect 5-0 record and a 388-point scoring advantage over Stanford, Sacramento State, UC-Davis, Chico State and St. Mary's. Two of Cal's league matches were won by shut-outs, including a 99-0 drubbing of the Stanford Cardinal in the annual Scrum Axe game on January 30.

Overall, Cal's earned a 20-0 record this season, outscoring its opponents by a 15-to-1 margin and improving on last year's late-season pace.

Today's match was the swan song for Witter Rugby Field as the home pitch for Cal's ruggers. Witter will be converted to a practice field through 2013 as Memorial Stadium is renovated and the new Student Athlete High Performance Center is constructed. Cal will play its home games at high schools in the interim.

The Bears won't be idle before the national championships. With three days rest, Cal travels to Vancouver to challenge the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in the second stanza of the World Cup. The Bears have a 32-point advantage in the best-score-in-two contest.

While in Vancouver, Cal's Second XV will square off against Pacific Northwest up-and-comer Central Washington University.

Cal's schedule has room for another match on April 3 if an opponent and a pitch can be procured, though pickings will be slim. With a loss today, St. Mary's is now obliged to host a NorCal-Pacific Northwest play-off that weekend to determine if it can earn a #11 seeding in the national championships.

What the hell is going on at the pond?

2010-03-20T08:35:26Z

Getting over that hump and winning the PAC-10 title was a monumental achievement for UO. It just seems that it might have been just too much for the program to handle. Misdemeanors, felonies, game suspensions, verbal recruits decommitting... and now Bellotti heads to the Ponderosa. In the spirit of competition, I feel for our CGB North brethren, but when will it end? Details after the Jump.

Bellotti will now become an analyst for ESPN, after just one season shadowing Chip Kelly from his lofty AD position.

via espn.go.com

Former Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti has resigned as the Ducks' athletic director and will join ESPN as a college football analyst.

Bellotti, who assumed the position of athletic director in July, will provide studio and game analysis among several ESPN platforms, making his debut April 17 on ESPNU's telecast of Auburn's spring football game.

"I am really excited to join the best team in college football broadcasting," Bellotti said in a statement Friday. "Working as an analyst for ESPN is a dream come true and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I will bring the insight, experience and expertise I have gathered from 36 years of coaching college football to the studio and telecast booth. Spring ball is in full swing, I can't wait to start."

In 14 seasons, Bellotti's Ducks went 116-55 as he became the school's winningest football coach. In 2001, Oregon won 11 games, including a 38-16 victory over Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl to finish ranked No. 2.

"Coach Bellotti ranks as one of the most successful head coaches in the perennial power Pac-10 Conference," Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, production, said in a statement. "His knowledge and experience will deepen our roster of analysts and provide us with a unique perspective of someone who recently coached in the game."

From ESPN.go.com

My question about the whole situation is, where exactly does Kelly go from here? The pressure that was apparent to anyone watching Bellotti lurk the UO sidelines this past season should just vanish, so does this mean that Kelly`s system will flourish or flounder without the AD figurehead?

Seems to me, that this is the exact opportunity that he needs to take hold of the reins and galvanize the Quacks into the team that smashed Cal and USC. If he doesn`t and tries to play "everyone`s friend" who r efunds expenses to everyone who emails him displeased with the Ducks` performance, in my opinion, 2010 will be filled with Boise States and Ohio States for them.

via a.espncdn.com

Ducks may float, but Kelly will either sink or swim this season

SB Nation Survey + Chance to donate $500 to a charity of this community's choice

2010-03-20T00:47:53Z

>> Take SB Nation Survey

Hello sports fans! We're always striving to provide you with the best experience possible and it's been quite some time since we checked in with you.

So we're rolling out this survey to learn more about you and your sports world. It should only take about 10 minutes to complete.

We really appreciate your time and this is also going to help make a donation to a good cause.

By next Thursday (3/25) at 11:59pm PST the site that has the highest percentage of their community filling out the attached survey about their sports interests and consumption will win $500 to donate to a charity of their choice. We will leave it up to the discretion of the community manager(s) of the winning blog to decide how to choose the particular charity.

You can take the survey HERE

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WYR2WQT

Thanks for your support!

Breaking NCAA Tournament News!

2010-03-19T19:42:48Z

via media.komonews.com

Lorenzo Romar could not believe it!

As reported earlier today on the DBD, the NCAA has taken steps to protect the integrity of the NCAA tournament. Watch for updates later on the fate of our California Golden Bears. As of now, our first round game vs. Louisville is still on.

SAN JOSE — In a decision reached in consultation with CBS Sports and other sports media figures from around the country, the NCAA announced today that Washington’s 80-78 victory over Marquette Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament will be rescinded. Marquette will be declared the winner and advance to the second round to face New Mexico on Saturday in San Jose.

"We had to do this to preserve the integrity of the competition," said an NCAA official on condition of anonymity. "Everyone knows the Pac-10 just isn’t any good and the Big East is probably the best conference in the history of college basketball. Washington beating Marquette had to be a fluke.

"And with New Mexico sitting there in the second round, we just couldn’t take the chance that Washington would make it the Sweet 16."

People at CBS Sports asked the NCAA to make this unprecedented move, citing the ill effect that Washington’s advancement would have on the credibility of its analysts.

"None of us saw that coming," said Seth Davis, a studio analyst for CBS Sports’ coverage of the NCAA tournament. "I mean, a Pac-10 team beating a Big East team? There are many things we can tolerate in this tournament, but that’s just a little much."

Another Pac-10/Big East matchup looms tonight, as California is scheduled to play Louisville in a first round game in Jacksonville, Fla. CBS Sports has already suggested to the NCAA that the game be canceled and Louisville advanced to play presumptive first round winner Duke in the second round.

"Look, I didn’t even think Cal should be in the tournament," said Davis. "Yes, Cal was the regular season champion of the Pac-10, but the league was absolutely horrible. Nothing good can come out of having them play Louisville. I mean, could you imagine if Cal won the game? It would show that the Pac-10 might have been better than we gave it credit for. And what good could come of that?"

The NCAA is expected to make a decision on the outcome of tonight’s Cal/Louisville game this afternoon. Options include allowing the game to go forward, but declaring Louisville the winner regardless of the final score. Another option is to assign the officiating crew from Thursday’s Robert Morris/Villanova game to do the Cal/Louisville game, with instructions to give Cal the same treatment as the crew gave to Robert Morris.

"We might implement a new policy next year," said the NCAA official. "We’re looking at a ‘Pac-10 sucks’ rule that would enable us to take away Pac-10 victories in the tournament at our discretion, except in the case of Ucla."

DBD 3/19/10: Fair-weather Asshats

2010-03-19T06:34:00Z

Hey DBD circle-jerkers! Guess What? Cal has a game tonight! 6:55 against Louisville. Of course, this will come as a surprise to many of you (Carp, Rishi, Twist, for starters) because you apparently are not Cal fans. If you were Cal fans, you would have picked Cal to beat Louisville in your California Golden Blogs NCAA tournament bracket challenge extravaganza.

Why pick Louisville? Well, you get virtually no benefit, as picking a winner in a first round game gets you a whopping 1 point, out of something like 25,000 possible. If you really think Louisville is going to the final four and you have to pick them over Cal to do so, fine. But guess what? Rishi, Carp, Twist, and probably everyone else who picked Louisville has them losing to Duke in the second round! So you're picking Cal to lose for only one possible bracket point, which will make absolutely no difference in the final standings.

Are these guys even Cal fans? Sure, they hang out 50 hours a week on this site...but 99% of it is right here in the dbd. Twist would skip a Cal game to hold his wife's hand while she got a pedicure. Rishi would skip a Cal game for a Lemon Drop. I'm pretty sure Carp doesn't even know we have a basketball team (we do have a women's basketball team, who beat those farmers from uc davis on Wednesday. Yeah, our women's bball team is better than your women's bball team. Eat it, Aggies).

Of course, maybe you guys are just cold-hearted, dispassionate thinkers who don't allow sentimentality (like four senior starters leading us to our first pac-10 championship in 50 years) to get in the way of your expert analysis. Oh wait, you know who knows virtually nothing about college basketball? Rishi, Carp, and Twist, that's who! What's the over/under on the number of games the three of them, combined, have seen all year? 8? So maybe they're going with the betting public? Nope, the game is a pick 'em. No favorite, no underdog. What we have here are 3 people (and I'm sure there are more of you - out yourselves!) who know nothing about college basketball, have no favorite to go on...and pick against Cal, when there is no benefit to do so.

So why? Why such a stupid, dick move? Attention. They're all attention whores, which is painfully, annoyingly clear after reading approximately 3 comments in any dbd. And now I'm giving them the attention they want. I'm no better than they are, except I am because at least I picked Cal to win.

Real Cal fans, it's time to stand up. As Mike Silver said, get your goddamn game face on. Enough cutesy bullshit picking against Cal in a toss-up game. Have some fucking faith in your team. Go bears, prove the fair-weather asshats wrong.

Golden Recruiting Thread: March 2010

2010-03-02T02:01:30Z

This is your place to discuss all new recruiting news, rumors, events, stories from any of the major recruiting sites concerning Cal football, Cal basketball and anything that might be tangentially related to Cal.

Something I've been working on lately related to recruiting will be revealed soon, but right now things are too busy for me. For now, solarise will be your main guide, as he has been the past few months. Updated Junior day post will be coming tomorrow, and hopefully a story about Darren Ervin's commitment.

Here are his latest links:

Nathan Hughes, DE (Klein, TX)

(via scout.com)

6’6" – 245
4.8 40

Offers: Arkansas, Baylor, Cal, Colorado, Houston, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Okie St., Oregon, Stanford, TCU and Texas Tech.

Interested in: LSU, Oklahoma and Texas.

Prep: As a sophomore 83 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 6 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in 10 games. As a junior 86 tackles, 11 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.

Analysis: Hughes has an amazing frame for a high school kid. He has a great work ethic and motor, which is essential at the DE position. He does a great job getting off blocks, even though he was often double and even triple teamed. He also utilizes his hands very well, and does not let blockers get into his body. Nathan does a great job against the run, and because the teams in his league are primarily running teams, it’s hard to gauge where he is as a pass rusher. Hughes needs to work on his initial burst and his speed, but he will be a beast at the next level.

MIchigan Sports Zone

[WBB] Chairese Culberson, SF (Berkeley, CA)

No. 26 junior Chairese Culberson has an early top three

Chairese Culberson, the 6-foot wing prospect from Berkeley High School (Calif.) has an early list of leaders in her recruitment. According to her Cal Ballaz club team coach Leroy Hurt, California, Washington and UC-Santa Barbara are in the mix currently. She is the No. 26 ranked prospect in the 2011 class according to ESPN HoopGurlz.

ESPN On the trail
Viliami Moala, DT (Sacramento, CA)

When you size up Vei Moala, you have to stand back a few feet for the full view. He’s that immense.

Grant High School’s 6-foot-3, 330-pound lineman has size 16 feet and hands the size of "shovels," according to Pacers coach Mike Alberghini.

Wide shoulders, massive thighs, but no overhanging gut. He also has an engaging smile and a personality that belies his ferocious play.

"He’s the total package," Alberghini said. "A leader, a good person, a good student, a great player. He’s everything."

The Sacramento Bee

Viliami Moala (Sacramento, Calif./Grant) revealed his most important decision factor for ESPN affiliate Web site WeAreSC.com.

"I pretty much want to stay close to home," he said. "I want to be close enough for my parents to be able to see me play. That’s a major factor." Moala added that the education provided by the school would be equally important.

That said, USC, Washington, Washington State, California, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon and Oregon State among others could be in the mix for his services.

Alabama, Florida and Miami-FL are among the schools away from home that recruited the ESPNU 150 Watch List prospect.

ESPN On the trail

Youtube – Vei Moala (from 1:25) Sacramento Bee’s Bee’s Prep Football Player of the Year candidates

Savon Huggins, RB (Jersey City, NJ)

Offers piling up for explosive RB Huggins

Savon Huggins has been on the national radar since his freshman year, and the soon-to-be senior showed why he will be a dominant force for Jersey City’s St. Peter’s Prep this fall. The running back has been a highly recruited playmaker since his sophomore season, with a rare blend of size and breakaway speed. Huggins impressed with good hands as a receiver in the passing drills, having shown marked improvement in his route running over the past year.

On signing day, Huggins hauled in an offer from Alabama’s Nick Saban. This past Friday he got an offer from Notre Dame in the mail. With the offers piling up, Huggins will continue to be one of the most sought-after backfield prospects in the nation. Along with ’Bama and ND, Huggins has received offers from Penn State, Rutgers, Miami and Florida — but there is currently no leader in the mix.

"Things are going well and I’m excited about everything that has been happening so far," Huggins said. "But right now, I am really just focusing on getting ready for my last season at the Prep."

Huggins also vowed that this year, Prep will beat Don Bosco, the North Jersey program that finished this year as the No. 1 team in the nation according to several polls, including MaxPreps and Rivals.com.

Kristian Dyer, Sports Illustrated

Ray Hamilton, TE (Strongsville, OH)

Class of 2011 prospect Ray Hamilton (Strongsville, Ohio) has received a scholarship offer from Notre Dame bring his total up to roughly 20, ESPN affiliate Web site IrishSportsDaily.com reports.

Oklahoma, Boston College, California, Michigan Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Stanford and West Virginia, where his father Tom played college ball, have also extended scholarship offers.

"I have no favorites, but at the same time I’m definitely genuinely interested in a good amount of schools and taking it one day at a time," Hamilton said. "I’m doing my research on each school so when I make the ultimate decision, I’ll be making the right choice for the next four or five years of my life."

He also explained what he wants in a program, "I want to feel the campus atmosphere. It should feel like a home away from home environment. Definitely want to build a relationship with the whole coaching staff, but in particular you want to build a relationship with the position coach because ultimately that’s who you’re going to be spending the majority of your time there with."

"Also the academics. When football is all said and done, whenever that is for me, what’s my degree going to do for me for the rest of my life? Where can I network and how good of a degree is it? You want to set yourself up for life after football."

ESPN On the trail

Another package deal in the works?

Defensive lineman Gabe Wright (Columbus, Ga./Carver) informed ESPN affiliate Web site NoleInsider.com that he and Under Armour All-American running back Isaiah Crowell may choose the same school.

"I think we gonna be a package deal. You will be getting two if you get either one of us probably," he said.

Alabama, Auburn, California, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Mississippi State, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are among the many schools that have offered the Columbus Carver pair.

Wright added, "I don’t want to spend too much time with recruiting this summer. I think I want to trim my list some and focus on those schools more. I’m just looking for a school I fit into at. I would like to play early, I mean who doesn’t want to play early. I’m also looking for a school that can fill the stands."

Crowell Youtube HLs

ESPN On the trail

Carver-Columbus football stars Isaiah Crowell and Gabriel Wright tend to be talked about as a pair. As a result, they are often thought of as a package deal in recruiting. But that’s not necessarily the case. "They’re separate individuals," Carver coach Dell McGee said Thursday morning. "I’m not saying they wouldn’t [consider signing with the same school]. But I think they both have different things they’re looking for and they both have different personality types." Of course, every school would like to sign both of these elite prospects. Both are consensus top 10 prospects in the state of Georgia for the Class of 2011. I have Crowell (6-foot, 204 pounds) No. 1 in my "Tentative Top 10″ and Wright (6-3, 273) No. 5.

DBD 3.18.10 Time To Vote For Daily Cal's Best Of Berkeley

2010-03-18T14:44:41Z

Last year, we went head to head with the Daily Cal Blog itself and won! HELL YA DEMOCRACY! Then for the "Editor Choice" the Editor....................chose THEMSELVES! WTF! You lose, despotic dictatorship.

Well, now it is ROUND TWO! BRING IT ON DAILY CAL BLOG! WE'LL CRUSH YOU! TOTAL DOMINATION! *tears shirt* SAY MY NAME, BITCH! IF YOU SMELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL WHAT THE CGB.............IS COOKING.

So, go here and vote vote vote.

Here is a direct link to the entertainment site where you can vote for Best Blog, but you might have to sign in first.

GET READY FOR THE FINISHER! BTW, what is the name of our Finisher?

Open BBall Practice for Womens NCAAs at Haas:

BERKELEY - Fans are welcome to attend the Friday, March 19, practices of the four teams competing in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament first- and second-round games at the University of California's Haas Pavilion. The workouts for 13th-ranked Georgetown, 14th-ranked Baylor, Marist and Fresno State run from noon until 4:15 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

Georgetown will practice from noon-1 p.m.; Marist from 1:05-2:05 p.m.; Baylor from 2:10-3:10 p.m.; and Fresno State from 3:15 p.m.-4:15 p.m.

The NCAA first round commences on Saturday, March 20, at Haas Pavilion, as the tournament's fifth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas take on the 12th-seeded Marist Red Foxes at 5 p.m., with the fourth-seeded Lady Bears from Baylor battling the 13th-seeded Fresno State Bulldogs at 7:30. The second-round game takes place on Monday, March 22, between the winners of the two first-round games at a time to be announced.

Poll

Whats the name of our Finisher?

Cal Baseball Runs Out of Runs, Houston Wins 12-9

2010-03-18T06:19:05Z

Cal and Houston battled for almost 4 hours this afternoon before the Bears finally fell to the Cougars 12-9 in 12 innings. Although the loss is fairly disappointing, particularly since Houston lost to USF yesterday, Cal sluggers proved that even on the ballfield that the Bear will not quit, the Bear will not die.

And dead is exactly how the Bears' attack could best be described through the first five innings. Hardthrowing Houston FRESHMAN righty James Conlee stymied the Bears through 5 innings, giving up only two walks in the first three innings of mowing down Cal batters. Cal's only baserunners were DH Devin Rodriguez and SS Marcus Semien, and Conlee immediately erased Semien with his excellent pickoff move, ending the third on a depressing note for the Bears but beginning an early end to the frosh's first career start.

These short innings didn't help Cal's starter Chris Petrini, who struggled through three innings of work in his first start of the season, giving up 5 hits and 3 walks. The Cougars scored one in the second and added two in the third on a two out, two strike, two run homer by Houston RF Codey Morehouse, who should have been retired on a foul ball that dropped between Jimmy Bosco and Mark Canha. That indignity overshadowed a couple of nice defensive plays in the difficult second: a slick pop-up slide and throw by freshman CF Darrel Matthews to hold Cougar 1B/closer Matt Creel to a single, and a Semien-Brian Guinn-Canha double play to end the inning and Petrini's day.

Conlee was visibly tired as he pitched the fourth, throwing fewer and fewer of his lively fastballs and more and more breaking balls. Slugging C Chadd Krist (below, not practicing his bunting) and 3B Tony Renda each "singled" in the fourth, helped by Houston SS Blake Kelso's weak throws from deep in the hole, and RF Jimmy Bosco singled in the fifth. Although the Bears stranded all these runners, the action on the basepaths helped push Conlee towards the showers. Perhaps hoping to repeat his success with Semien in the third, or accustomed to picking runners off easily in high school, or an overeager coach who forgot the score, he repeatedly threw over to first to hold these runners on. Bosco must have drawn at least 8 throws in the fifth, by which point Conlee was holding a 5 run lead and running on fumes, each pitch slower and sloppier than the last.

The next Houston runs came off Cal punching bag/long relief man, senior righty Daniel Wolford, making his staff-leading 7th appearance of the year. Getting the call in the fourth, his first few pitches were all over the place, but he settled down and retired the Cougars in order. Trouble ensued in the fifth as the Cal outfield misplayed a blast from Houston 2B Austin Gracey into a triple, followed by a double and a single leaving runners at the corners with nobody out. Again Wolford responded to the adversity, giving up a run to get an out on a grounder and retiring the next two batters easily. He started slow again in the sixth, giving up a leadoff double to 3B Jake Runte, but prevented Runte from scoring by picking him off third, and recovered to get out of the inning unscathed. Wolford threw quite a few strikes in the dirt, and Krist did a nice job of handling and blocking every one of them.

Houston pitcher Mo Wiley made the Bears miss Conlee in the fifth, allowing only Canha to reach base when he nicked his jersey with a pitch. Freshman lefty and former Ponderosa Bruin Matt Evanoff relieved Wolford, an interesting choice to face the 8 righthanded bats in the Cougar lineup, and promptly surrendered two runs on a single and two doubles. Two fantastic diving stops by Renda at 3B turned sure hits into outs and helped Evanoff get out of the inning with the score "only" 7-0.

Your correspondent was gathering his belongings in the fifth when, with one out, Bear DH Devin Rodriguez singled to left, and Bosco singled to right. After Semien popped out, 9th batter Matthews stepped in, 0-2 on the day, and blasted a double to deep center to drive in Rodriguez with the first Cal run of the day. Floodgates now opened, Guinn and Danny Oh followed with singles and Wiley headed for the bench as Houston RF Codey Morehouse walked in to the mound having only allowed 5 hits in 8 innings of work during the season. Canha singled, Krist and Renda doubled, and Rodriguez returned to drive in Renda with the tying run on his second hit of the inning! Junior speedster Austin Booker came on to run for Rodriguez and stole his way to second with the go ahead run, but Bosco was retired on a hard grounder to Houston 1B Creel.

The front end of the Cal pitching staff now relevant to this game, freshman Justin Jones, fresh off his complete game win last Friday at Rice, entered to blank the Cougars in the 8th while closer Brian Diemer started getting loose. Houston responded by moving fireballing closer Creel over from 1B, and he retired Semien and Matthews on dribblers before Guinn walked and stole second only to be stranded when Oh grounded out.

Houston tied the game again in the 9th on a pair of singles off Diemer and an error charged to Semien, but Creel saved the day by grounding into a double play to keep the Bears within 1. Creel climbed the hill again for the bottom of the ninth, and was almost cut off at the waist when Canha (below, facing Creel) drilled one of his fastballs straight back into his gut and got to first before anyone could get to the ball.*

Bear Backers stood and cheered as slugging sophomore cleanup hitter Krist (.462/.525/.942) stepped to the plate with the tying run on first and no outs. And they sat down again when KRIST SQUARED TO BUNT. The good news is that Chadd Krist is as good at bunting as he is at fielding and slugging, and moved Canha to second. The bad news is that Canha was doubled off second when Renda lined out to Kelso, ending the inning and forcing Cal's beleaguered bullpen to extra frames.

Diemer struck out Runte to start the 10th, but surrendered two singles and a hard grounder that scored Cougar LF Zak Presley from third. Freshman Michael Lowder entered with runners on the corners and one out and got two popups to salvage the Bears' chance at a win.

Creel stayed on to pitch the 10th with little left in the tank, his fastball slowing and his catcher calling more breaking balls, and Booker started the inning with a rocket to left. With no out, Bunting followed by, well BUNTING, as the Cal bench again played for the tie. Semien flied out to center, not deep enough to let Booker tag, but the 5'10", 165 lb. Matthews drilled one to the base of the wall in deepest CF, flying into third with the winning run. Guinn worked the flagging Creel for a walk, but Oh could only manage a grounder to 1B as Canha watched from the on deck circle.

As the afternoon light began to fade, the Bears' chances went with it. Lowder walked Cougar C Chris Wallace to start the inning, and pinch runner Dakota Dill (another candidate for the All-Texas Baseball Name team) scored from second on a single by the inexhaustible Creel, who scored when Presley homered. Creel staggered out to retire Canha and strike out Krist but surrendered a single to Mitch Delfino and finally headed for the showers. Senior William Kankel entered and got Booker to ground out, giving the Cougars a chance to make their plane home and closing out their long California road swing with a rousing 4-1 record.

Cal falls to 9-6 overall and starts packing for a three game trip to San Luis Obispo, taking on the Cal Poly Mustangs in a three game series beginning Friday night. The games will be broadcast on the SLO ESPN affiliate, and the bandwidth misers can use the gametracker on the Cal baseball site.

--------------------------------------

*Attention NCAA: Aluminum bats are dangerous when wielded by future major league batters against future major league pitchers. Creel (and Canha) were very lucky today.

"Study" Claims Cal has Zero Graduation Rate in Basketball

2010-03-17T23:07:48Z

A "study" (using the term generously) by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida that looks at graduation rates claims that Cal has a zero graduation success rate for black and white basketball players entering school from 1999-2002, with an overall graduation rate of 20%. Meanwhile, Cal has an APR of 944 for the period from 2004-2008, well above the 925 number that can result in scholarship reductions and other penalties. So it seems as though for more recent years the graduation rate is better. The "study" notes that a 925 APR score is equivalent to an NCAA GSR rate of approximately 60 percent.

The Institute reviewed 2002‐03 graduation (six‐year) rates, with a four class average (freshman classes of, 1999‐2000, 2000‐01, 2001‐02, and 2002‐03). The APR data in this study does not include data from the 2008‐09 academic performances of the teams, but instead uses the four‐year data from the 2004‐05, 2005‐06, 2006‐07, and 2007‐08 academic years.

The "study" lists Cal as having an overall overall student graduation rate of 80%. A related study looking at football graduation rates shows Cal has an overall football graduation rate of 64%, with 62% for black players and 69% for white players. These numbers are from 1999‐2003, so that covers some pre-Tedford recruiting classes. The overall football graduation rate from the bowl teams in 2009-2010 is 65%, with 58% for black players and 77% for white players.

Now, getting back to basketball. Is the data correct that Cal did not have a single black or white basketball player graduate who enrolled from 1999-2002? I thought for sure that at least Gabriel Hughes, Amit Tamir, Richard Midgley, and Rod Benson graduated. Is this wrong or is the NCAA data messed up? Maybe others graduated as well. I don't know if signed players who didn't even enroll count in the data, but players who transfer and graduate somewhere else do not count against the graduation rate.

The only thing I can conclude from this study and the graduation rates in general is that Ben Braun was not only a bad coach on the court, but was a failure when it came to the academic progress of his players. The program was in such disarray that many of the players he recruited did not even have a chance to graduate.

1999: Donte Smith [enrolled spring 1999], Joe Shipp, ShanTay Legans, Brian Wethers, Nick Vander Laan

2000: Saulius Kuzminskas, Gabriel Hughes, Michael Lawson

2001: Jamal Sampson, Julian Sensley, Erik Bond, Amit Tamir

2002: Richard Midgley, David Paris, Rod Benson, Jordi Geli Vilardell, Kennedy Winston

DBD 3.17.10 CGB Market Research--Fill Out A Form!

2010-03-17T10:31:52Z

Fill out this questionnaire about DBD reading habits (if you're having trouble seeing it below, click here). Please fill this out--IMPORTANT DECISIONS COULD BE MADE. Like us finally deciding to send out a search party to find Olsonist.

Answers will be revealed for the next DBD I write.

If you don't care about privacy, you can reveal any/some of your answers in the comments. Especially the least favorite/favorite commenters. I hope all of you choose me for least favorite guy. Because I'm kind of a prick.

Will Cal beat Duke?

2010-03-16T21:46:20Z

Cal was rollin until they ran into UW in the Pac-10 championship game. CBS's Seth Davis said Cal shouldn't of even been selected to the big dance. What is he smoking? I'm sick of all the West Coast haters out there.

Check out this link

http://theleftcoastbias.com/?p=1751

This site gives a rundown of all the teams on the west coast and their chances to win it all. There might be not be a UCLA or a Arizona in the tournament this year, but there are still plenty of quality teams that could upset some schools from the Big 6

RemorsefulBruinBabe Enters The Ring. Again.

2010-03-16T20:40:25Z

You may or may not remember that last year I wrote up a post detailing why and how I made my NCAA Bracket decisions. I'm doing it again this year, and I'm even "running" my own little bracket through Southwest Airlines' Bracket Challenge, with a chance to win prizes and free flights and such (email me at kimskitchensink[at]blogspot[dot]com by um, tomorrow I guess, if you want to join my bracket there.

Because this post is going to be long (this year, I explained ALL of my decisions, not just choices from one region...whoa baby!), I've put the details of my picks below the jump. Enjoy if you want something totally silly to read. Warning: it's long. But maybe entertaining. Perhaps. Let me know what you think of my picks. Or don't. Either way, here they are. Disclaimer: formatting may be wonky because I cannot figure out how these damn class code things work. I miss the olden days when there was a freaking "center" button and you could just click it and center your images and such. Wah wah wah.

My final Four: Kansas/Syracuse, West Virgina/Duke
Finals: Kansas/West Virgina
Winner: Kansas

via 2.bp.blogspot.com

My bracket - can't figure out how to make it bigger, so you'll have to just go here to see it.

Here we go...

Kansas/Lehigh - I like that little Jayhawk, and they're favored 99-1 in user pics, so I pick Kansas.

UNLV/Northen Iowa - UNLV are the Rebels, and Yahoo said this about them: "The antithesis of the run-n-gun Rebels of yesteryear, this year's UNLV club is controlled, slow and patient." I think that says it all.

Michigan St./New Mexico St. - I pick the Spartans, because I was one in middle school, and because "if their ugly side appears, vacation comes early." Ok.

Maryland/Houston - I was going to choose Maryland over Houston because they are turtles, and then Yahoo said "Turtle power" and I was officially sold on them.

Michigan St./Maryland - TURTLE POWER!

Maryland/Kansas - Woody Woodpecker. I mean Jayhawks.

Tennessee/San Diego State - "Slashers" vs. "Athletic Slashers" ... "Volunteers" vs. "Aztecs" ... I'm going with the Athletic Slasher Aztecs. Go San Diego State!

Georgetown/Ohio - I'm going with Georgetown, simply because of this quote from their Yahoo description: "This is a team capable of advancing deep. Of course, in order for that to occur, taking care of the basketball must be stressed." Ya think?

Georgetown/San Diego State - I pick Georgetown, just because. I didn't really think about it.

Georgia Tech/Oklahoma State - "Unless Tech shackles the orange, it will be Ramblin' Wrecked early." - What does that even mean? Whatever, I pick Tech, because they are favored higher, and because they are the Yellow Jackets, and those bugs don't mess around.

Ohio State/UCSB - Even though I like the fact that UCSB is the Gauchos (and my mom went there), I can't ignore the Buckeyes' chances at the Final Four. So, Ohio State.

Georgia Tech/Ohio State - hmmm Buckeyes just look better according to stats I don't really understand or pay attention to.

Georgetown/Ohio State - I pick Georgetown because the teams are sort of evenly matched (I think), and Georgetown is a slight underdog. And hey, they just need to take care of the basketball, right?

Kansas/Georgetown - I'm sticking with Kansas on this one...good old Woody Woodpecker. Jayhawk.

Kentucky/E Tennesee St - "Ashley Judd, rightfully so, is giddy." Ok, I'll bite. I pick Kentucky. Even though "rolling through the Atlantic Sun tournament, the Pirates hope to plunder Daddy Warbucks for the fourth time in seven years."

Texas/Wake Forest - I'll go with the Deamon Deacons this year, since I didn't pick them last year.

Kentucky/Wake Forest - I pick Kentucky because of Ashley Judd's apparent giddiness.

Temple/Cornell - "Nocturnal these Owls are not" - so I pick Temple.

Wisconsin/Wofford - Wofford? Wofford? Really? There is a school called Wofford? Even though the Wisconsin Badgers have a "grinding, systematic style", I'm going with the Wofford Terriers, who can be expected "to leave teeth marks in a favorite's backside". Tee hee.

Temple/Wofford - I am going with the owls because they are not nocturnal! Those crazy owls!

Kentucky/Temple - Giddy Ashley Judd wins over Not Nocturnal Owls. Sorry, Temple. I pick Kentucky.

Marquette/Washington - Marquette all the way. I can't root for the Huskies because the boyfriend's brother is a Cougar (and they are sworn enemies)...but also, Marquette's description says "Don't sleep on them." Whatever that means.

New Mexico/Montana - I'll choose the New Mexico Lobos, because Lobos is funny to say. And they're favored 97/3.

Marquette/New Mexico - I'm not going to sleep on Marquette. I hope they win.

Clemson/Missouri - These both look pretty lame, so I'll choose Mizzou, because I like the silly name.

West Virginia/Morgan St - West Virginia, because of this: "The Mountaineers aren't exactly Baryshnikov on wood..." They may not be Bayshnikov on wood, but they had me at the ballet reference.

Missouri/West Virginia - Mountaineers all the way. See above.

Marquette/West Virginia - ditto.

Kentucky/West Virginia - this is tricky. a giddy Ashley Judd vs. (not) Baryshnikov. Hmmm I'll go West Virginia because they are kinda the underdogs in this unlikely matchup.

Syracuse/Vermont - Syracuse is "The Orange", and even though supposedly they enter the ring with "lower pulp levels" (oh Yahoo, you are so punny), I'm choosing them. Along with 99% of the users so far.

Gonzaga/Florida St - I choose Gonzaga because it's in Washington, and I've heard of it.

Syracuse/Gonzaga - Syracuse is favored to win...Even though I think a bulldog would devour an orange, I'm going to go with the majority on this one (and feel really silly if there is a crazy upset).

Butler/UTEP - I don't know what UTEP is, but they are the miners, and they have their pickaxes sharpened!

Vanderbilt/Murray State - Murray State used the Seabiscuit thing last year...so Vanderbilt it is.

UTEP/Vanderbilt - The intern at work said "definitely the miners" in this matchup. So...yeah. Miners it is, even though they are the underdog.

Syracuse/UTEP - Syracuse. Because the boyfriend says they are really good.

Xavier/Minnesota - Even though Xavier reminds me of Rufus Xavier Sasparilla, I have to go with the Gophs.

Pittsburgh/Oakland - I like Pittsburgh for this one. They are highly favored, and I like panthers.

Minnesota/Pittsburgh - Now this one is tricky. A panther could certainly take down a gopher, but gophers are so cute. I'm really struggling with this decision, but I think I have to go with Pittsburgh...if this matchup actually happens (which it probably won't), they're more likely to actually win.

BYU/Florida - I don't care about either team, so, um, BYU. Because I'd like to see the Mormons party it up.

Kansas St/North Texas - There's a North Texas? Kansas State are the Wildcats (High School Musical, anyone?), but North Texas is "Mean Green" ...but alas, North Texas seems to be not so good, so Kansas St it is.

BYU/Kansas St - Kansas State looks like a good team (I think), so I predict they will win.

Syracuse/Kansas State - Syracuse...I somehow think they're going to do really well throughout this tournament.

Kansas/Syracuse - Well, I've gotta go with the Jayhawks here. Haven't seen 'em in a while (in my bracket), and I like that little bird.

Duke/Ark-PB/Winthrop - Duke wins because Ark-PB/Winthrop has nothing in its description stats-wise, and a really confusing description and I don't know who they are.

Cal/Louisville - I pick Cal, just for the sake of picking Cal, even though Louisville is favored.

Duke/Cal - I pick Duke, because they are, um, how should I put this...better. Sorry, Bears.

Texas A&M/Utah State - Texas' freethrows "can be a bugaboo", but I'm gonna pick 'em anyway. Wait, is a bugaboo a good thing? I have no idea.

Purdue/Siena - Like I did last year, I'm picking Siena because of my adorable pseudo-niece Sienna.

Texas A&M/Siena - Goin' with Texas A&M...they seem like a better team.

Duke/Texas A&M - Duke it is. I think they will do well.

Notre Dame/Old Dominion - Old Dominion? There's really a school called Old Dominion (Old Dome for short)? Notre Dame is my pick. Because I've heard of them and they seem respectable, despite their "occasionally horrific defense".

Baylor/Sam Houston St. - No contest...Baylor. I've heard of them (in regards to basketball) and I've never heard of Sam Houston State. Done.

Notre Dame/Baylor - Baylor. They have a dude named Epke.

Richmond/St. Mary's - Ummm...Spiders vs. Gaels...ummmm Spiders I guess?

Villanova/Robert Morris - Villanova. Isn't Robert Morris a talent agency? Ok, that's William Morris. But still.

Richmond/Villanova - Villanova. Kill those spiders.

Baylor/Villanova - Villanova. I don't honestly think they'll make it this far, but if they do, I think they'd win this match.

Duke/Villanova - Duke. I actually think they will make it this far.

West Virginia/Duke - hmmm I want to say West Virginia here.

Kansas/West Virginia - Kansas.

My final Four: Kansas/Syracuse, West Virgina/Duke

Finals: Kansas/West Virgina

Winner: Kansas

Boom. Done.

Did you actually read this whole thing? Jeez. Ok, you get a prize. This awesome video.

DBD 3.16.10 You ever seen a grown man naked?

2010-03-16T09:27:05Z

Joey, did ya ever hang around a gymnasium?

Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?

Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?

RIP Peter Graves. Oever and out.

Cal Women's Basketball in the Women's NIT for the first time since 1987

The California Golden Bears women's basketball team will be playing in the post season for the fifth straight year, earning an at-large bid to the WNIT. They will open play on Wednesday, March 17, hosting the UC Davis Aggies at Haas Pavilion at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets for the game will go on sale Tuesday March 16th at 9 am over the phone, online or at the Athletic Ticket Office window. All seats will be general admission and the prices are: Adults - $12; Youth/Senior/Student - $7; Group (10+) - $3.

Cal Basketball Tourney Viewing Parties

2010-03-16T04:40:52Z

I know we had a post for football, so I just wanted to put one up for Cal viewing parties that are taking place all over the US.

I am setting one up for the Philly alumni at Cavanaugh's (39th and Sansom) for Friday at 9:45-Round one. Hope to see some alums there. Feel free to message me if you need more info on the location.

Anyone else hosting an alumni viewing party?

Reminder: Join the CGB Tournament Pick'em Challenge and Fantasy Baseball League!

2010-03-16T01:10:12Z

In case you missed it the first time, we have a CGB Bracket Challenge set up over at Yahoo. You'll need a Yahoo ID first, so to sign up:

1. Click here
2. Join league
3. Group #13453
4. Password "gobears"

We've also set up a fantasy baseball league this year at Yahoo. Once again, you'll need a Yahoo ID. To join that:

1. Click here
2. Join Custom
3. League #482530
4. Password "gobears"

Comments or questions? Have at it below.

And You Thought Pac-10 Refs Couldn't Get Any Worse

2010-03-15T19:30:00Z

There was a bizarre incident at the Cal-Stanford women's semi-final game on Saturday involving one of the referees. As you all know, Alexis Gray-Lawson suffered a very frightening injury, that was eerily reminiscent of Jahvid Best's injury against Oregon State. After hard, but entirely clean, contact with three Stanford players, she fell backward onto the floor and hit her head. The TV announcers said that her head hit so hard that they could clearly hear the sound of it from where they were sitting. As Lexi lay on the floor, the refs allowed the game to continue until the next stoppage of play.

Once play was finally stopped, there was dead silence in the Galen Center as Lexi was tended to, her mother and Coach Boyle at her side. After about 15 minutes, her head and neck were immobilized, and she was taken off the floor on a stretcher. During the frightening silence, a fan yelled out from the stands that the refs were "stupid," apparently referring to the refs allowing play to continue while Lexi lay on the floor with what could have been a very serious injury. (Thankfully, she seems to be doing very well.) That's all there was: one single, non-profane insult, yelled out by a single fan in a moment of extreme stress. None of this showed up on the TV broadcast, so I will quote the description of what happened next from C and R's Stanford Women's Basketball Blog (who kindly gave me permission to quote their description):

There was a very scary moment right before the 5 minute mark in the second half. Stanford was up 56-32. Michelle Harrison blocked Cal’s Alexis Gray Lawson and she hit the deck. Stanford grabbed the rebound and hustled down the court while Alexis lay motionless on the floor. Play kept continuing and the refs did not stop play for the injured player.

Now, it is unclear to C and R of the refs have discretion to stop play whenever a player goes down or if they have to wait for a dead ball to check on the injured player. Or if they just didn’t know she was laying back there in the back court. So the game continued on for 12 seconds until there was a break in the action and the refs finally called an official time out to check on Alexis.

Sooo, from the fans point of view, the refs were either heartless or clueless.

Soooo, as the medical crew was checking on Alexis and both teams were huddled by their benches and it was very, very quiet in the building, a female fan (not us) yelled, "You refs are stupid!" That’s it, one sentence, no curse words, no badgering. Unfortunately, the lady ref we don’t like heard her and said, "I heard you call me stupid."

Sooooooo, the ref, let’s call her Melissa, called over security and wanted the fan thrown out. Two big guys went to the section and were unsure what to do, who was it, was it that bad, was it this little old lady, so they just told the section to be quiet. The ref kept wanting someone thrown out and the staff didn’t want to throw anybody out. The fan seemed pretty pacified by this point. (BTW, if you know who that fan is, please email us so we can buy her an adult beverage!)

http://www.womenssportsinformation.com/blog.html

C and R added in an email to me that there was absolutely no profanity or vulgarity by the fan, and that the security people seemed quite embarrassed at being told to eject the fan, whom they couldn't identify anyway. They ended up just telling the people in the section "Y'all be quiet!"

I find it absolutely incredible that a referee would go off on a personal ego trip like this while a player was laying on the floor with what could have been a very severe injury. And since when is yelling that the refs are "stupid" a reason to eject a fan? If that is the standard for ejection, I should probably have been kicked out of every sporting event I have ever attended. Certainly, if a fan gets in a ref's face or engages in loud and prolonged taunting of the ref, there may be reason to eject him or her. But this was just ridiculous. If a ref can't tolerate having someone yell from the stands that she is stupid, then she needs to find another line of work.

All this has left me with several questions. What are the rules about stopping the game for injury? Do the refs have the power to stop the game immediately in the case of what appears to be a very serious injury? I recall the men's game earlier this year continuing for some time when Jorge was injured, but he wasn't laying motionless on the floor. If the refs don't have the power to stop the game in the event of a serious injury, shouldn't they be given that power? My next question is what power the refs have to eject fans. Is it completely unlimited? Does this mean I can never call a referee "stupid" again without fear of being ejected? And finally -- will the Pac-10 ever do anything about its horrible refs?

Cal Baseball Splits Series With #9 Rice

2010-03-12T04:19:50Z

Sunday: Cal Falls to Rice 7-4, Splits 4 Game Series

In the series finale, Cal came up just short against the Owls and settled for a split of the weekend's four game series in Houston. Perhaps tired from all the bat swinging in the Saturday BP session, both teams went homerless and combined for only three extra base hits in the game. Junior Danny Oh was the offensive sparkplug for the day, scoring Cal's first two runs as he was drilled in the first and fourth innings by Rice starting pitcher (and future all-name team material) Boogie Anagnostou. In the fourth Mark Canha moved Oh up with a single and the runners scored on successive sacrifice flies by 3B Tony Renda and RF Jimmy Bosco.

Pac-10 pitcher of the week Kevin Miller started for the Bears and pitched well through the first six innings, scattering 6 Rice hits and 4 walks, allowing four runs and striking out 3. He still could not stop Rice's bipedal organic baseball playing construct, 3B Anthony Rendon, who put Rice on the board by walking, stealing second (first of two steals on the day), and scoring on a single by C Craig Manuel who drove in two runs with his three hits in the game.

Cal tied the game in the seventh with their only two extra base hits of the game, a triple by Bosco followed by a double by SS Michael Semien. Austin Booker was then hit by a pitch from Rice reliever Doug Simmons who had just entered to replace Anagnostou, but ball magnet and favorite target Oh was unable (or reluctant) to repeat his previous success and grounded out to end the inning.

Cal suffered a pitching breakdown for the second straight game, although most of the victims had escaped damage in the great Saturday massacre. Miller got the hook after allowing two singles and a walk to begin the top of the seventh, and Joe Kurrasch celebrated his second appearance in as many games with two wild pitches and two walks in his 2/3 of an inning, one an intentional pass to Rendon who then stole second and advanced on a wild pitch but was stranded at third when Brian Diemer entered, striking out pinch hitter Diego Seastrunk (another candidate for the all-name team) and getting CF Steven Sultzbaugh on a grounder to Renda to escape the inning.

Matt Evanoff came on to pitch a clean 8th for the Bears and striking out two, unfortunately an inning too late. Rice's Mark Haynes came on to close the game, and allowed only two Cal baserunners, one a single by Semien and allowing Renda to reach on a wild third strike, in his two innings of work.

Despite the pitching breakdowns, especially in the bullpen, the Bears held their own on the road against one of the top college ballclubs in the nation. Over the last two weekends Cal played nearly .500 ball against two of the top 20 teams in the country, and with continued solid performances from their starters, good hitting at the top of their order especially from Canha and Krist, and avoiding the mistakes that cost them games against Arkansas, the Bears might have attracted national attention that might prove valuable later in the spring when postseason selections are made.

The Bears return to Evans Diamond on Wednesday to host the Houston Cougars, who are coming off a three game sweep of Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and will be making a stop at Benedetti Diamond to play USF on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier this month Houston beat the then-#3 Texas Longhorns, so Cal has one more serious test before traveling to play Cal Poly themselves next weekend.

Saturday: Cal beats #9 Rice, 7-2 (through five innings)

In the Saturday game, Cal again stunned Rice with strong starting pitching and powerful offense, controlling the field through five innings. Sophomore starter Dixon Anderson held the Owls to two runs on five hits and five walks while striking out four. Cal sluggers Mark Canha and Chadd Krist each drove in runs in the first, Krist with his third double in two games. SS Michael Semien hit a two run homer in the second, and freshman CF Darrel Mathews was gunned down at home trying to score on a double by Brian Guinn. Cal scored again in the third when Canha launched HIS third double in two games and Chad Bunting singled him home, chasing Rice starter Tony Cingrani for Tyler Duffey. Bunting ended up stranded at third as Cal left the bases loaded, which would prove totally unimportant later in the game. Cal sneaked in another run in the fourth when Guinn singled, moved to second on a bunt by RF slugger Danny Oh, scampered to third on a passed ball, and scored on a Canha single (his third hit in as many at bats).

Cal's bats were finally silenced in the 6th inning by Duffey, at which point the Houston Astros split squad arrived to don Rice uniforms and take matters into their own hands.

Or perhaps a giant asteroid crashed into Reckling Park at this point. Records are spotty, and eyewitness accounts vary. Wait, here's a copy of the game log...

Rice 6th - Petrini to p for Anderson. Manuel flied out to cf. Comerota tripled to right center. Ratterree
walked. Fuda walked; Ratterree advanced to second. Wolford to p for Petrini. Hague doubled down the
lf line, 2 RBI; Fuda advanced to third; Ratterree scored; Comerota scored. Rendon intentionally walked. 
Mozingo hit by pitch, RBI; Rendon advanced to second; Hague advanced to third; Fuda scored. Kurrasch
to p for Wolford. Rathjen to dh for McDowell. Rathjen reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; Mozingo out
at second ss to 2b; Rendon advanced to third; Hague scored. Sultzbaugh singled through the left
side, RBI; Rathjen advanced to second; Rendon scored. Manuel reached on an error by rf, advanced 
to second; Sultzbaugh scored, unearned; Rathjen scored, unearned. Comerota singled up the middle; 
Manuel advanced to third. Ratterree doubled to right center, 2 RBI; Comerota scored, unearned; Manuel 
scored, unearned. Lowden to p for Kurrasch. Fuda singled to left field, RBI; Ratterree scored, unearned.
Hague walked; Fuda advanced to second. Rendon singled down the rf line, RBI; Hague advanced to 
third; Fuda scored, team unearned. Mozingo singled, RBI; Rendon advanced to second, advanced to 
third on an error by cf; Hague scored, team unearned. Rathjen grounded out to 3b. 
12 runs, 8 hits, 2 errors, 2 LOB.

Note the end of that paragraph: Rice STRANDED TWO MORE RUNNERS! They could have still been batting when Daylight Savings Time began. The organist was playing fugue as the Cal pitchers entered. Don't forget to tip your servers.

Each of the Cal relievers gave up more than one run in a third of an inning and surely wishes to forget the trip to beautiful Houston, but senior hurler Daniel Wolford most of all. He didn't record an out on Saturday (ERA=infinity) and only managed to retire one Rice batter in his appearance on Thursday night, facing a total of nine Rice batters and allowing 7 runs on 4 walks. Casual fans should note, however, that this kind of performance is very important to the team. His work in these two games allowed coach Esquer to rest closer Brian Diemer after his 2.2 innings worked on Thursday night, leaving him fresh to save a close game on Sunday. Probably not a consolation to Mr. Wolford on the flight home from Houston but very important over the course of the season and critical to Cal's chances to win the 4 game series.

Only down by a touchdown at this point, their ears ringing from the aluminum racket in the previous inning, the Bears pulled within laughing distance at 14-8 on a homer from 3B Tony Renda. Unfortunately, the pitchers' duel continued as Rice added two field goals in each of the eighth and ninth innings. Cal sophomore pitchers Stephen Pistoresi and Matt Flemer earn the Iron Oski for each lasting an inning in spite of the onslaught by the batting machines from the Rice University robotics lab. Facing 9 and 11 batters, respectively, these two saved Cal position players (and starters from prior and succeeding games) from having to toss batting practice and risk arm and shoulder injuries to get through the rest of the game.

Cal managed three more runs in the ninth on a RBI double from Chad Bunting and subsequent homer by pinch hitter Mitch Delfino. The rally fell just short, unfortunately, and the Bears lost this squeaker 26-11.

NASA mainframe computers are still processing the complex algorithms required to analyze the Rice batters' totals, but early results show 3B Anthony Rendon continuing his red-hot performance through the series, blasting two homers in a 3 for 5 day (with two walks besides, once intentionally in the fateful 6th inning that probably held down Rice's scoring even more than they did). Baseball nerds that read through this whole thread will note that makes 4 home runs in three games for Rendon, whose season line is now .348/.583/.783, hopefully earning him four sliders in the dirt in every at bat on Sunday.

You can follow whatever Cal pitchers can haul themselves out of the whirlpool in the final game today at 11 AM PDT via Rice Baseball Multimedia. Those of you missing the game live today (as I will) can catch it via gametracker; the Cal Baseball site seems to leave the gametracker link up longer than does the Rice site, so those of you intending to ingest medicinal substances before watching the colorful sprites prance around should look there... as of 8AM PDT the gametracker from last night is still available. You may wish to close all other applications before the digital Rice batters recreate the 6th inning.

Friday Night: Cal beats the formerly #9 Rice, 6-4

As the Goldenbloggers crowded around their televisions to watch the branch campus' basketball team fight valiantly against all odds on their "neutral" court to hold off the Pac-10 champion squad, the Cal baseball team won their third straight game, sinking Rice 6-4 and guaranteeing at least a split of the four-game series.

Things started off slowly as the Bears tried to bunt their way on base and made a variety of weak popouts, with Rice taking the early lead with a single and double in the home half of the second off freshman lefty Justin Jones. That was all they would get through the first five innings, as Jones scattered a hit and a walk over the next three and SS Michael Semien, 2B Brian Guinn, and 1B Mark Canha turned double plays to strand runners in the third and fifth innings.

Meanwhile, the Bears erased Rice's early lead in the top of the fourth when Rice starter Jared Rogers walked Guinn and allowed a single to Austin Booker, who proceeded to double-steal their way into scoring position. With two out, Canha blasted one of his two doubles of the evening to clear the bases. Mashing C Chadd Krist followed by launching the first of HIS two doubles of the evening to drive in Canha.

Cal added another run in the fifth via singles from freshmen Jimmy Bosco and Darrel Mathews and an error and sloppy defense by Rice, hanging a run on Abe Gonzales, the second Rice pitcher to appear in the game. A variety of singles and bunts in the sixth pushed Booker across to give Cal a 5-1 lead as Gonzales gave way to Mark Haynes, the Owls' third pitcher of the evening.

Rice's morose crowd began to awaken from their slumber when 3B Anthony Rendon hit his second homer in as many nights in the sixth, but soon nodded off again as Jones retired the next 5 Owl batters with ease. Guinn reclaimed that run all by himself in the top of the 8th, tripling to right and scoring on a wild pitch. Booker followed with a single, bringing forth lefty Holt McNair (surely destined for greatness with a name like that) from the busy Rice bullpen, and he held the Bears the rest of the way. Rice added an unearned run in the 8th on a walk and wild pitch from Jones, and Rice SS Rick Hague gave the sullen Owls backers one more chance to cheer in the bottom of the ninth with a solo shot.

Jones got the final two outs easily, heading for the showers having struck out 5, walked 4 and allowing only 6 hits, guaranteeing at least a split of the 4 game series for the Bears and resting the rest of the pitching staff for the weekend games.

After a few hours sleep and enjoying all the luxury and glamour Houston has to offer of a Friday night, the bloodshot and jet-lagged Bears will take the field again tomorrow at 12 PM PST before coping with the switch to daylight savings time with an 11 AM PDT start on Sunday morning.

You can follow the action via Rice Baseball Multimedia. The audio feed is very good, and Rice's announcer is pretty professional (and I assume paid accordingly- not a student) although quite a homer. The video stream apparently requires some kind of paid membership to CBSSports.com, or perhaps enterprising EECS alums and students know some technological wizardry to work around such impediments. Finally, if (like me) you can't catch the live feed tomorrow use the gametracker and let the bouncing icons replay the game for you at your leisure.

Thursday Night: Cal Baseball beats #9 Rice, 8-6

While most of you watched the postseason pretournament basketball tournament, the Bears clobbered the #9 Rice Owls 8-6 on their home field. The game was all Bears through 6, on three run homers from C Chadd Krist and 3B Tony Renda while Erik Johnson held Rice to two hits and a walk while striking out 6!

Cal, perhaps feeling guilty for treating their hosts so poorly, let Rice climb back into the game in the 7th. The Owls put up 4 runs off only one hit (and three walks) from Roseville senior Daniel Wolford in the 6 batters he faced and Brian Diemer, who came on with the bases loaded (allowing two of those runners to score) and went the rest of the way.

Junior slugger Mark Canha added a solo shot in the 8th, his second homer in as many games, and Renda tripled and scored on a squeeze by Chad Bunting (yes, delicious irony).

Rice 3B Anthony Rendon answered with his own homer in the bottom of the inning, and things got interesting for Diemer and the Bears in the last of the ninth. After getting the first batter, Rice got two singles and a walk to load the bases for Rendon (again). Diemer walked Rendon, perhaps not the worst choice tonight. Fortunately, Chad Mozingo then hit into a 4-3-6 double play, Guinn-Canha-Semien to finish the Owls. Diemer was credited with a save, striking out 7 and walking 6 in his 2.2 innings.

The rematch is tomorrow at 4:30 PM PST (yes, another night game for those hard-partyin' Houstonians).

Here's the link again to Rice's page where you can find the audio/video feeds during the game, and a gametracker (highly recommended for its animated, color-coded Fisher-Price figures hopping about) during and after the game: Rice Baseball Multimedia.

DBD 3.15.10 Don't Forget To Sign Up For the CGB March Madness Pool!

2010-03-15T14:55:11Z

Via yellow fever:

It's that time again.

1. Go here
2. League #13453
3. Password "gobears"

Usual caveats about needing a Yahoo! ID apply. Go Bears.

Men's BBall to face Louisville in NCAAs:

BERKELEY - California, 2010 Pac-10 regular-season champion, earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and will play Louisville in a first-round game Friday at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The Golden Bears (23-10 overall, 13-5 Pac-10) are the No. 8 seed in the South Region, while the Cardinals (20-12, 11-7) are seeded ninth.

Tip-off will be 30 minutes following the conclusion of the game between Duke and Arkansas-Pine Bluff/Winthrop at 4:25 p.m. PT, approximately 6:55 p.m. PT.

The winner of the Cal-Louisville game will play a second-round game Sunday against the winner of No. 1 seed Duke (28-5, 13-3 ACC) and the No. 16 seed, which will be determined by the winner of an opening-round game between Arkansas Pine-Bluff (17-15, 14-4 SWAC) and Winthrop (19-13, 12-6 Big South) on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio. Game times will be announced later Sunday, and all games in the NCAA Tournament will be televised by CBS.

The Bears are making their second straight and 16th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Cal earned a No. 7 seed but fell to 10th-seeded Maryland in the first round in Kansas City, 81-74. The Bears are in the NCAA field for the sixth time in the past 10 years and 11th time in the last 20.

This year's Cal team is led by Pac-10 Player of the Year Jerome Randle, who became the school's all-time leading scorer during the Pac-10 Tournament. He enters the postseason with 1,802 points and an average of 18.7 ppg in 2009-10.

Randle is one of four senior starters who averaged at least 10 ppg and earned All-Pac-10 notice this year. Patrick Christopher, also a first-team choice, contributes 16.0 ppg, along with second-team selections Theo Robertson (14.1 ppg) and Jamal Boykin (12.0 ppg).

The Bears enter the tournament having won six of their last seven and nine of their past 11. Cal reached the final of the Pac-10 Tournament for the second time in its history before losing to Washington, 79-75, in the title game.

Louisville was defeated by Cincinnati in the first round of the Big East Tournament after finishing tied for fifth in conference during the regular season. The Cardinals are led by third-team All-Big East selection Samardo Samuels in both scoring (15.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg). Edgar Sosa leads the club in assists (4.5 apg) and three-point field goals made (66-172, .384), and is also the team's only other double-digit point scorer (13.3 ppg).

Cal's Ruggers Skunk Chico State 97-12

2010-03-14T07:00:37Z

Cal rugby coach Jack Clark sometimes likes to mix things up. In Saturday’s match against Chico State, Clark bumped senior James Bailes forward from his usual fullback position to flyhalf.

The moved paid off handsomely. By halftime, the #1-ranked Bears had racked up a 52-0 shutout against the Wildcats, giving Clark the scoring cushion needed to relieve some of his seniors. Freshman forwards were rotated in at the interval to gain some valuable match experience.

No. 8 Tyler Colin, sub’ed in at the 50th minute, took no time to score two tries for the Bears, joining freshman center Jared Braun and junior scrumhalf Connor Ring in the two-touchdown club.

Sophomore fullback Anthony Lombardo landed behind the tryline four times while five other Bears each contributed a try to the scoring fest.

Chico State managed to put together two tries in the second half, converting one, while the Bears piled on the points to come away with a 97-12 victory. A reserve-side match followed, ending 72-3 in Cal’s favor.

The win is Cal’s 19th for the season overall and the fourth win against its NorCal opponents. The Bears return to Witter Rugby Field next Saturday for a final league match against #3-ranked St. Mary’s. The outcome of that match will determine if Cal or St. Mary’s wins a “bye” into the national collegiate Round of 16 as the #2 seed.

Cal’s playing like it has something to prove. The ruggers are ahead of last season’s pace both offensively and defensively. To date, the Bears outscore their opponents 15-to-1; last year at this time, Cal’s ratio was less than 10-to-1. In 2009, the Bears scored an average 61 points per game and allowed six points. This year, Cal’s run up an average score of 66 points per game while allowing only four.

Conversions, which contributed 17% of Cal’s points last year, were booted with 51% accuracy at this time last season. Now they’re scored 71% of the time and make up nearly 21% of the Bears' point total.

In other NorCal action, St. Mary’s felled Sacramento State 38-15 while #11 UC-Davis defeated Stanford 34-7. In Utah, #2 BYU took down Colorado 52-7, bringing the Cougars’ record to 10-1 with two more “friendlies” to be played before the nationals.