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Golden Nuggets: Tony Franklin and Art Kaufman Preview San Diego State

Cal coaches preview the Aztecs team visiting Berkeley on Saturday, Arielle Ship wins another honor, and Bob Melvin gets a rare MLB extension.

By cldpc
Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Men's Water Polo

After scoring a combined 16 goals in the first four matches of his senior season, Cal men's water polo player Colin Mulcahy set the tone for what he hopes is plenty more success to follow.

Field Hockey

A pair of Golden Bears has claimed Cal's first-ever America East weekly field hockey honors, as junior Sydney Earle earned the Player of the Week nod and freshman Melina Moore claimed the Rookie of the Week title, the conference announced Tuesday.

Volleyball

The Cal volleyball team has the very special and unique opportunity to play in a one-of-a-kind tournament this weekend, as the Bears will take part in the Service Academy Classic inside The Pentagon in Arlington, Va.

Major League Baseball

The Oakland Athletics extended Golden Bear alum and manager Bob Melvin to a two-year contract on Wednesday.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Bob Melvin knows new contracts are rare in losing seasons, so he is cherishing Oakland's commitment to him as a long-term leader of the organization.

The Athletics manager received a two-year contract extension Wednesday that takes him through the 2018 season.

"It's not lost on me that during a year like this, these are things that don't typically happen," Melvin said. "I'm very fortunate and appreciative for that. As a team this year I believe we've underachieved. The one thing that the front office has always done for me here is given me good players. We've underachieved this year, and I'm responsible for that.

"I'm fully committed to this team, this organization and this fan base to get this thing turned around sooner than later," he said.

Women's Soccer

California's Sandra Ley and Arielle Ship have been named the Pac-12 Defensive and Offensive Players of the Week, respectively, the conference office announced Tuesday.

Golden Bear and USWNT fans finally have a chance to play as Alex Morgan as demos of EA's FIFA 16 rolls out to consoles this week.

Men's Basketball

College Hoops' Most Interesting People: Cal Assistant Coach Wyking Jones

A tipsy Taye Diggs, who plays the role of Roland in "The Wood," stumbles into a store, approaches the counter and asks "Yo, where da aspirin at, man?" in a scene that begins nearly 23 minutes into the 1999 classic. That's when the most interesting man in college basketball looks at his co-worker, turns toward Diggs and tells the wobbly man that the "aspirin in the third aisle, man."

It's a simple line, but it's also proof that few coaches in the game can match California assistant Wyking Jones' résumé.

How many college basketball coaches have an IMDB page?

Jones, who won a national title as an assistant at Louisville in 2013, has appeared in multiple mainstream movies, including "The Wood," "Dope," "Brown Sugar" and "Benchwarmers." And he was the co-executive producer of a movie called "Studio" in 2007.

"The Wood" was actually written by his childhood friend, Rick Famuyiwa, who based the film off his upbringing in Inglewood, California, with Jones and another friend, Geoffrey Blackshire. Blackshire and Jones appear in the film. The character Slim, based off Jones, is occasionally called Lavinio in the film. Lavinio is Jones' middle name. And like Slim, Jones also had a Jheri curl.

"Yeah, I did," said Jones, laughing. "It was the 1980s in Inglewood. Everyone did."

Cal has all the pieces to be special

In the world of college basketball coaching, leaders often benefit from a change of scenery.

That has certainly been the case for Cuonzo Martin out at California. I felt he got a raw deal at Tennessee, and he left for greener pastures out west.

His Vols made an NCAA tournament run, but it seemed like he couldn't please the fans down in Knoxville. They wanted Bruce Pearl to return to the sidelines at Rocky Top, and their feelings of displeasure with Martin were one reason he went to Cal.

Martin is a battler, a survivor in the game of life. He has beaten cancer.

In the Pac-12, Arizona and UCLA are usually the favorites for the title. This season, expect to hear a lot from the Golden Bears. I believe California has the talent to be in the top 20, with the potential to make a serious run come tournament time.

California vs. San Diego State Aztecs

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