Golden Nuggets: Good news and bad news for Portland State game

Perhaps the biggest--and worst--news entering the second week of the season is that safety Avery Sebastian will miss the entire rest of the season due to a torn Achilles.

Let's get the bad news out of the way first. Wide receiver Spencer Hagan will be retiring from his playing career due to a knee injury he suffered in 2012. Nevertheless, he remains optimistic for his future:

"I"m happy with it. I'm at peace about it. There's nothing I want to do more now than helping this team win." -- Spencer Hagan

— Ryan Gorcey (@RGBearTerritory) September 3, 2013

Spencer Hagan on retiring: "there was a lot of pressure taken off me when I found out that (coaching) was an option"

— Cal Rivals (@CalRivals) September 3, 2013

And the ambiguous news is simply an update on defensive end Brennan Scarlett, whose lingering injury may be the result of a bone graft from his surgery in the spring.

Ready for some good news at last? Linebacker Khairi Fortt has been cleared for today's practice, which is promising for his status against the Vikings while quarterback Austin Hinder is serving as a team captain for the week.

And how about that fake field goal?! That must have taken lots of precise practice for such crisp execution, right?

Bouza on fake FG:"we didn't really even practice it...we did it in walk-thru a little but we didn't use a football. We used beach volleyball

— Cal Rivals (@CalRivals) September 3, 2013

Lastly, let's take a look forward at the Portland State game. Dykes already stated that he doesn't believe in bringing in the second-team players for more live practice and he reiterated that at today's press conference. Let's hope none of those guys get thrust into critical situations down the road...

But concerning Portland State, Dykes revealed the worst news of all:

Dykes on Portland State: "They're a pistol offense. They do a good job of running it."

— Cal Rivals (@CalRivals) September 3, 2013

Get ready to watch some defenders crash into the runningback as the quarterback trots down for six!

Cal Athletics

• Tune in on Wednesday to Inside the Locker Room to hear from the men's and women's soccer coaches and Sonny Dykes

Men's Soccer

• The Golden Bears are two games into the season with two straight upsets, this time conquering no. 2 Maryland
• Check out Steve Birnbaum and Stefano Bonomo scoring against those Terrapins (YouTube links)

Women's Soccer

• San Jose State was held scoreless as the Bears marched to victory

Field Hockey

• Cal loses a close one to Connecticut, cursed by having to play on Stanfurd's Varsity Turf
• Watch Cal's lone score of the game, courtesy of Jordan O'Reilly (YouTube)

Men's Golf

• Cal is ranked number one! HOLE ON YOU BEARS.
• Six Bears have qualified for the 89th California State Fair Men's Amateur Championship

Women's Basketball

Football

• Portland State takes a look at the stats and history of our storied rivalry
• For his performance in the Bear Raid debut, kicker Vincenzo D'Amato was named the Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week. Receiver Chris Harper was nominated for Offensive Player of the Week
• Want more accolades? D'Amato, Harper, and punter Cole Leininger were recognized as honorable mention players of the week.
• Post-practice interviews from Coach Dykes and McCain (more YouTube)
• As expected, the up-tempo offense led to a whopping 99 plays in the Northwestern game, tied for first in the nation for the week one of the season
• SFGate's Hunter Hewitt opens up the mailbag to answer some reader questions and determine our Bears were physical and flying around to the ball
• A look at Cal's top-ten single-game passing performances, where Jared Goff's debut ranks second
• Uncle Ted released his Power Rankings after Week One