Golden Nuggets: The Aaron Rodgers Special

Women's Soccer

Cal is getting another major boost of talent with the addition Louisiana State University transfer Emma Fletcher.

Football

Coach Sonny Dykes issues a statement on recent coaching departures.

"We wish Rob Likens and Zach Yenser all the best as they enter the next phase of their coaching careers. It is a compliment to your football program when other teams find the coaches on your staff to be attractive hires. Throughout the past two seasons Rob and Zach have made many important contributions to our football program, helping it grow both on and off the field, and their efforts helped build a strong foundation for success. As always, we will look to continue to hire quality people that are both effective coaches and recruiters. We will fill the positions as quickly as our university process allows with coaches that are the right fit for our program, and share in our philosophy of recruiting and developing the entire student-athlete to ensure success on the field, in the classroom and in the community."

Men's Tennis

#15 California will open the New Year in a series of hidden dual matches that run from Friday through Sunday at the Morgan Run Club & Resort in Rancho Santa Fe, CA.

Women's Water Polo

The Cal women's water polo team, which advanced to the semifinals of last year's NCAA Championships, has been picked to finish in fourth place in the 2015 Preseason Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coaches Poll.

Swimming and Diving

Cal junior Elizabeth Pelton has been named the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Month for December.

Women's Basketball

No Gray Area: Committed To Helping Others

By Jonathan Okanes, Cal Athletic Communications

BERKELEY - Unlike her surname, there is no need to clarify Reshanda Gray's commitment to help those less fortunate.

In fact, the working title for the foundation she plans to start after her days at Cal are over says just that: No Gray Area.

The Bears' All-America candidate has made a lasting impact as a basketball player in Berkeley. An All-Pac-12 performer, she helped Cal reach its first Final Four in school history as a sophomore. She also is expected to be a top pick in this spring's WNBA Draft.

But Gray is looking to make a different kind of impact - one similar to the one she had made on her.

"Growing up, I had a lot of experience with the social work system from past experiences," said Gray, now a senior. "I know how I felt to be part of the system. This is definitely why I used basketball to get my way here and get my degree in social welfare. I want to be able to help families keep their children in their homes and not have them taken away."

Men's Basketball

Junior guard Tyrone Wallace (21) and sophomore guard Jordan Mathews (17) combined for 38 points, but the California men's basketball team fell short in a 71-57 setback to USC on Wednesday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan was named to the Forbes 2015 Sports 30 under 30:

The California native and advocate for youth soccer development in the US burst onto the national scene in 2012 while helping lead the US women's soccer team to Olympic gold in London. She won the US Soccer Federation's player of the year award in 2012 and earned the same award from CONCACAF the following year. She has also authored three children's books.

Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers Pulls a Packers Fan's Beard and Transforms Him Into a Wisconsin Celebrity

ESPN: As Aaron Rodgers chases his second career Super Bowl, he has one title firmly in his grasp: the NFL's best deep-ball thrower.

BOMBS AWAY: In a high school practice, Aaron Rodgers once threw a ball 75 yards. Mastering the precision of his deep ball, however, was a different story. As he says: "It's something I struggled with. I always had a strong arm and just wanted to zip everything." He has no such problems now. Here, the QB takes us inside the art of throwing a bomb.

More on A-Rod's deep game from the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel

Green Bay - It might be one of his most impressive yet under-the-radar records.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers ranks No. 1 in NFL history with 16 career touchdown passes of 70 or more yards.

He achieved the feat Nov. 9 with one of his six touchdown passes against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field - a 73-yarder to Jordy Nelson - surpassing Brett Favre and Peyton Manning, who have 15 each. And if you're a little surprised by that, you're not the only one.

"I had no idea. Sixteen? That's the most in NFL history?" said receiver Randall Cobb.

How do you deal with his powerful arm? Invent new training devices, of course.

Aaron Rodgers didn't come into the league as the best deep-ball thrower in the NFL. But as he developed that skill over time, the Green Bay Packers had to invent new, more difficult ways for him to work on his accuracy on deep balls.

According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Packers coach Mike McCarthy decided that the traditional targets that Rodgers was using in deep-ball drills - "50-gallon-sized receptacles lined up on the goal line" - were no longer effective.