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Pro Football
- Remember some of Jared Goff’s finest moments as a Cal player before you see him in the Super Bowl.
— Oct. 4, 2014: The most insane three-week stretch of Cal football history climaxed with a 60-59 win at Washington State in which Goff threw for 527 yards and five touchdowns . . . and he wasn’t even the quarterback headliner. WSU’s Connor Halliday set an NCAA record with 724 passing yards and six TDs.
But Cal won it when the Cougars missed a chip-shot field goal with 19 seconds left, giving the Bears a 4-1 overall record and sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 North.
What they said: “It was kind of like the football gods were on our side.” — Jared Goff
- Cal’s reputation takes a huge boost with Goff and Anderson (among others) playing in the Super Bowl. This isn’t a positive article, as it juxtaposes Cal football’s great NFL history with its ... relatively poorer actual history.
How is it that the Bears churn out so many elite players, yet can’t achieve the one goal they set every season? Frustrated alums compare it to the Curse of the Billy Goat and the Chicago Cubs’ 108-year wait between World Series championships. Eternal adversary Stanford, which also prides itself on its academic standards, has been to six Rose Bowls over the past six decades, winning four.
“I’ve been resigned to the fact that it will probably never happen,” said San Francisco attorney Carl Stoney, a 1967 Cal grad who has served on the UC Board of Regents and president of the Alumni Association. “I grew up in Glendale, about 5 miles from the Rose Bowl. My high school played games there. It’s like my whole upbringing. And all anybody says around Cal is, ‘We just want to play in the Rose Bowl one time.’ We don’t have to win; we just want to go.”
College Football
- Did Cal FB meet expectations this year? And will they be good next year? Scout’s Chris Hummer thinks so, doesn’t seem like he really watched Garbers or the offense though.
- The failure of the Pac-12 Network makes the already bleak future of the conference even bleaker, according to Daily Cal writer Charlie Griffen.
Men’s Basketball
- Will anyone be at Sunday’s Cal/Stanford game given that it cuts really close to the Super Bowl? Stanford may be one of the few teams Cal can beat, so... (There’s also Cal WBB and various Bay Area college basketball in the article)
Women’s Basketball
I almost considered taking another day off since I had work all day, but with Cal/Stanford tonight and SIX+ articles about the game, I had to at least make a prime time post.
- The Associated Press gave Kristine Anigwe some love. This article, which was also posted on the online New York Times, talks about her growth and leadership.
She is playing better than ever. Realizing the Golden Bears needed more, she took it upon herself to become a better rebounder — and began the week leading the country, in men’s or women’s Division I, at 14.9 rebounds per game.
“There’s no two different personalities. It’s one personality, you are the same on and off the court,” said Anigwe, who endured a trying 2018 away from basketball that brought her down at times. “It’s an advantage for me to know who I am off the court ... I get comfortable on the court because I’m not pretending to be anybody. I am a passionate player. I am emotional, but who doesn’t want to have those emotions? When people come to see me play, they’re inspired. I want to be a person and a player that inspires people to maximize their full potential or maximize who they are off the court.”
- Michelle Smith of the Pac-12 Network also wrote about Anigwe.
“I don’t want to get overwhelmed by looking at a stretch of big games,” Anigwe said. “All I want to think about is the next game, like ‘Ok, Stanford is a really good team. Let’s just go and compete.’ You can’t change who you are in a week. This is just another game in our path.”
- Get the scoop on Cal/Stanford from Cal Bears Maven and Golden Bear Report. Who will be at Haas tonight and Maples on Saturday?
- How will the Bears handle a stretch where they play Stanford twice, Oregon, and then Oregon State? All four teams are in the Top 10 nationally.
“This is an exciting opportunity, and we need to take advantage of it. We have a great team, and we’re playing against great teams,” senior point guard Asha Thomas said before politely reminding a reporter that Cal can’t win four in a row if it doesn’t first win Thursday against No. 8 Stanford (17-2, 7-1). “It’s going to be fun to battle and to see who wants it more. I think we’re ready for the challenge. We’re not going to shy away from it.”
- Jazlen Green is excited to join the Cal women’s team and UC Berkeley next season.
Baseball
- Bay Area College Baseball Media Day was earlier this week, and Andrew Vaughn revealed that he will probably play leadoff this season. It also looks like McIlwain will find playing (if not starting) time this year.
BEAT STANFORD!