During yesterday's US Army All-American Bowl, Viliami Moala announced that he'll be joining the Bears this year. Staying close to his family was a big factor in his decision. Although he still has a couple visits planned, he appears unwavering in his commitment to Cal.
"I'm doing this for my mom, so I can stay for the home cooked meals," Moala said, as he picked the Cal hat off the table.
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For Moala, it's been about family all along. With cousin Nu'u Tafisi having played alongside Tiny's future defensive line coach and primary recruiter Tosh Lupoi, it's always been about blood.
"But, I think I came down to Cal as my final decision because of my father," Moala said. "His lifespan is not so much, because he's really unhealthy right now, and if anything happens, I can just shoot right over to Sacramento, and it's just an hour drive. I don't have to get a plane ticket or anything."
Moala said that he will still take his official visit to Oregon State with his Sacramento (Calif.) Grant teammates Darryl Paulo and Puka Lopa, but only for moral support.
"I'm still going to go, just because I promised, and I'm not about to break a promise to a teammate," Moala said. "I'm not going to switch. No, sir."
After the jump the men's team holds off ASU and has a good laugh on the plane, the women's team routs Arizona, and Eric Kiesau looks forward to coaching for Cal again.
Basketball
- The team had a good laugh when a flight attended announced that they were missing Gary Franklin Jr before closing the plane's door.
- Franklin is considering transferring to San Diego State, UNLV, New Mexico, Texas A&M, Georgetown, UTEP, and San Jose State
- Faraudo recaps the game with his live thread.
- The Cal women started the game with a 15-3 run and never looked back. The beat Arizona 80-60.
- Once again Joanne Boyle talked about how she believes her team has found its identity. They have good chemistry and they're playing well, but they have a tough road trip this weekend.
- Jorge Gutierrez is Faraudo's guest on this week's "20 Questions." Jorge talks about the highlight of his career, his ideal one-on-one matchup against Steve Nash, and how his physical play might get under Nash's skin if they ever went one-on-one.
Football
- Even when he was at Colorado, Eric Kiesau maintained a close relationship with Jeff Tedford. Now that Kiesau's children are older, he's happy to be part of the Cal coaching staff again. He is especially looking forward to working with Cal's talented group of receivers.
- Cal Athletics confirmed that Mike Blasquez is football's new strength and conditioning coach. Blasquez helped MSF drop 30 pounds and he helped freshman Richard Solomon add 25 pounds of muscle.