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One of the greatest Cal athletes of all time goes up against one of the greatest Cal people of all time. Deltha ran into the Jack Clark buzzsaw last year, but he has a better shot this year. He must deal with a sentimental fave in Cal's current rope coach though.
The winner moves on to face Jahvid Best in the second round. Cast your vote by noon PDT Friday.
Vote for Desean vs Milica! (Last week's winners: Glenn Seaborg (over Justin Forsett 164-59), Steve Bartkowski (over Nick Harris 131-23)).
O'Neal's NFL career is well known, but it might surprise some of you young ones how much of an impact he had with the Bears.
Tony Macaroni: What some may not know is that Deltha entered the program as a reserve tailback and got pushed into duty as a freshman when the other backs went down with injuries. He had a serious fumbling problem (I heard that Bobby Shaw encouraged him to carry a football around with him as he went to class). He fumbled the opening kickoff in the ‘96 Big Game, setting up the first of what seemed like 20 Stanfurd TD’s. But Holmoe eventually moved him to CB, and he was instantly a force to be reckoned with. He had eight (!) interceptions his senior year, four of which he returned for touchdowns. He was also a rediculous return man, his two return TDs accounting for Cal’s only points in the 1999 Big Game.
dballisloose: And in that 1999 Big Game, it should be noted that Stanford was trying to kick AWAY from Deltha, absurdely so to the point where they would kick all but 2 out of bounds….the 2 that he fielded (and maybe the years are making me exagerate that he only fielded the 2) he took all the way, and those of us in the stands would prepare for the kicks with our thumbs and index fingers together in a triangle, cheering "Deltha, Deltha, Deltha".I think Deltha may be the most impactful Cal player ever. Ever.
As for Rope Coach, his community work goes a long way toward making our currrent Cal athletes better citizens, as Berkelium discovered in a recent Golden Nuggets.
Kevin "Rope Coach" Parker constantly reminds himself and his players of the consequences of poor life choices. His involvement with the SQUIRES program has earned him heaps of praise from his fellow coaches and his players.
Parker played running back at Oregon when Tedford was the offensive coordinator there in 1998. Parker had a short stint in the Arena Football League before Tedford brought him to Berkeley when he became the head coach in 2002.
A few years later, Parker was introduced to S.Q.U.I.R.E.S, a program at San Quentin State Prison where hard-core inmates meet with troubled youths to show them how they might end up if they make the wrong decisions in life. Parker, who saw lots of crime growing up and had always dreamed of going into law enforcement, was awed by the experience.
He came up with the idea of getting Cal's players involved in the program, if nothing else to teach them not to take anything for granted.
"The first thing I thought was we have to get some of our guys over here," Parker said. "I thought our players needed to see it because we're only one bad choice and one bad decision away from coming here. That's true for anybody. I think anybody and everybody should go visit a prison, just to keep you on the straight and narrow. You don't want to be there."
Parker said he brings a group of Cal players to the program about three times a year — there will be another visit next month — but now finds himself going on his own as much as possible. Parker tries to go every Saturday, just to listen to the inmates' stories and keep him as grounded as possible.
"I get over there pretty often," Parker said. "My wife gets mad at me for going over there so much. When I'm feeling bad, I go over there and hear their stories just to keep me on the straight and narrow. It's big-time therapy. Sometimes, I just sit in the corner and listen."