California Golden Bears Football Blog - Bears with Fangs

Spring Practice Links

2010-03-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

Spring Practice starts up in less than a week on March 11th, but a number of writers have already begun assessing Cal's strengths and weakness headed into this week.I'll try to have my writeup later this week (God willing), but here are a few stories to keep everyone satisfied.ESPN Pac-10 Blogger Ted Miller breaks down the team's strength and weakness. His choice for the former is an interesting

NFL Combine Update - Best runs a 4.35 (official)

2010-02-28T11:04:00.001-08:00

The NFL Combine started a few days ago, and it'll be interesting to keep up with how some of our Bears perform at the combine.RB Jahvid Best likely has the most to gain or lose as scouts recognize his spectacular talent, but will have a number of questions regarding his health as Best has missed at least one game in each of his seasons at Cal due to injury.You can watch the combine here at the

Congratulations to Scott Fujita

2010-02-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Scott Fujita and the New Orleans Saints.As some know, Fujita was a good linebacker for the Bears. He was stuck playing through the drudgery that was the Holmoe years, but good things happen to good people. I think he also threatened to kill one of the guys over at the California Golden Blogs. Not sure about that one though.Congrats Scotts. You deserve it. Go Bears.

National Signing Day Update

2010-02-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

12:20 PM EST: All the LOIs are in. The official site should update it shortly. This just about wraps up the class, unless something crazy happens.As of 11 AM, Rivals has our class ranked 12th in the country, and 6th according to average star ratings. Expect that to go up with the addition of King's LOI. A top ten class?Unbelievable.12:00 PM EST: JR "Ego" Ferguson has signed with LSU. That

National Letter of Intent Signing Day Eve

2010-02-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

No huge news here.Tomorrow is the day when fellow football recruiting dorks wait each brutalizing second for the letters of intent to come flying in. Yes, the day we wait with bated breath as to the decisions of the high school students who will become the heirs to our beloved Golden Bear dynasty.Yes, it is that big of a deal.For those who can afford to, timewise that is, keep it locked into

Pete Carroll Leaves, Hilarity Ensues

2010-01-23T12:05:00.000-08:00

I'd be hard pressed to find a college coaching change that has impacted the rest of the college coaching landscape to the extent as Pete Carroll's decision to finally return to the pro ranks. Carroll finally found his opportunity to have complete control over a team and its coaching and staff personnel in the Seattle Seahawks, and will have a second chance to make a name for himself in the pros

Jahvid Best to enter the NFL Draft

2010-01-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

Jahvid Best announced on a conference call at 3 PM this afternoon that he will forego his senior year and declare for the NFL Draft.You can read the AP report here."Best said he has heard projections that have him going as high as the first round and as low as the third round in April’s draft. But he said those are nothing more than guesses and didn’t play much of a role in his decision.“It was

Poinsettia Bowl Preview

2009-12-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

Like most Cal blogs out there, I apologize for the blogging hiatus. What can I say? Life has been absolutely crazy for me the last few days, and I'm actually writing this on my flight back to California for the holidays. Google and Virgin are a beautiful thing.I'm actually not going to write too much about the game because;1) The game is on in 15 minutes.2) Other blogs have done a far better

Poinsettia Bowl Gifts

2009-12-14T20:58:00.000-08:00

As much as fans might be disappointed with where their favorite teams end up in terms of bowls, the bowl system certainly gives players a fun opportunity to get out of the town, end the season in a bang, and get some goodies while they're at it.While the more prestigious bowls offer far superior gifts (the Orange Bowl is giving away home theater systems and flat screen tvs), the both the Bears

FML - Washington (Part 2)

2009-12-07T12:43:00.001-08:00

"Today, I found out the freaking Poinsettia Bowl is on December 23rd at 8PM. I'm going to flying home for the holidays at that same exact time." FML.

FML - Washington

2009-12-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

"Today, my team decided not to show up for their season finale against a 4-7 Washington Club. Our loss took away our chance to play Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl, and sent our rivals there in our place. Also, instead of sending USC to the Poinsettia Bowl, we'll be going there instead.FML."Only half kidding. This is about as good of a recap as I'll have for now since I missed the entire second half

Washington Update

2009-12-05T16:48:00.000-08:00

So, the reason I hadn't posted this week was because of the craziness that has led to me being out of town for a wedding this weekend.Now I'm being told by my friends here (pre-reception) that the reason the Bears are down 21-3 is for precisely that reason.So here is my post with the second half remaining. Washington will be tough and Jake Locker is like the best player ever. Go Bears!

My Tiny Contribution to Diablo Magazine

2009-11-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

Just giving my readers a heads up that I was recently featured (very briefly) in a short Diablo Magazine writeup regarding Jahvid Best and his future at Cal and/or the NFL. They refer to me as one of their "sports authorities." Bwahahah.You can read the full article here, as they also have some responses from Jonathan Okanes, Larry Beil, among others.They actually only took one short quote from

Big Game Recap 2009

2009-11-23T12:32:00.001-08:00

(Mmm...tastes so good.)“All week long the talk was about how physical they are, how they were going to run the ball on us, things like that. Our motto all week was, ‘We’re going to find out on the field.”’-Cal Coach Jeff TedfordOk, I think I’ve settled down enough to be able to write this with some bit of rational thought. I think I’ve got it all out of my system. Here we go.WOOOOOOOOO!!!Blog

Rankings Update: Week 13

2009-11-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

The most recent polls were released earlier today, and boy was there a shakeup. Well not really, but let me just say that to make a point.The most relevant news is that the Bears moved up to 22 (from 25) in the latest BCS rankings after upsetting Stanford in the Big Game.Interestingly enough, the Bears are ranked 21st in the AP Polls (which do not factor in the BCS Rankings), but are ranked 26th

Victory

2009-11-21T21:38:00.000-08:00

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)HELL F***ING YES.Will do an actual writeup in the next day or two, but this one is too good not to enjoy. Eat, drink, and be merry Cal fans. We've got the focking axe.

Keys to the Game: Big Game 2009

2009-11-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

It’s the Big Game Week folks!And for the first time in a long time (since Tedford has taken over head coaching duties really), the Bears are the underdogs, understandable given the back to back drubbings the Cardinal have given to both Oregon and USC. Most Cal fans might remember that these two teams were the ones to beat Cal by a combined score of 76-6 in back to back weeks. Think back really.

Arizona 2009 Recap

2009-11-15T14:48:00.001-08:00

(AP Photo/Ben Margot)(Snatching victory from the jaws of de-ah hell nevermind.)"It took a career day by a backup running back, a fluke tackle by a kicker and an odd penalty that thwarted a potential go-ahead drive for California to pull out a victory without star tailback Jahvid Best."-Associated PressEh? I'll be the first to admit that the game certainly had its fair share of fluky moments, but

Rankings Update: Week 12

2009-11-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

Surprise, surprise, puppy surprise!The Bears are actually close to again breaking the Top 25. After getting bumped out of the rankings following their loss to Oregon State, the Bears are again on the verge of breaking back in after upsetting 18th ranked Arizona yesterday at Memorial Stadium.The Bears are ranked 28th in the AP Poll, and 29th the USA Today/Coaches Poll. It's a pretty different

Keys to the Game: Arizona 2009

2009-11-13T15:16:00.000-08:00

(Freaking Luke Skywalker here might be death of the Bears on Saturday.)It's been an interesting and understandably disappointing season for the Bears. Once a top 10 team, the Bears had their dreams of being the top contenders to dethrone USC's run atop the Pac-10 dissipate with back to back embarrassing losses to Oregon and USC.After regaining some momentum and confidence following three

Oregon State 2009 Recap

2009-11-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

(AP Photo/Ben Margot)Before we get to the actual game itself, let’s talk about the most important bit of information which is that Jahvid Best has been released from the hospital and is expected to miss at least one game from “just” as serious concussion.At this point I’m sure everyone has probably seen the absolutely terrifying hit that sent Best airborne and straight onto his head and back as

Keys to the Game: Oregon State 2009

2009-11-05T21:33:00.000-08:00

Dah. I had a far more extensive writeup previewing the huge upcoming game (conference repercussions are big on this one folks) planned for this one, but life got in the way.So I'll have to make this shorter than usual. Here's the skinny: The Bears are coming off a 3 game winning streak after face planting earlier in the season against the conference's elite in Oregon and USC in back to back

Jahvid Best on Jim Rome is Burning

2009-11-04T19:24:00.000-08:00

Thanks to CalBearsGoBig!Say what you want about Jim Rome but the guy usually can get some pretty good interviews out of most people. Fortunately, Jahvid makes it easy for Rome as he comes across as being his articulate, intelligent self.Don't believe me about the decent interview? Just watch what happened when Best was paired up with Bay Area's own Gary Radnich a few years back. Jahvid Lynch?

ASU Game Winning Drive and Highlights

2009-11-03T15:41:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I'm still excited by the final game winning drive against ASU on Saturday. Jittery even. Fortunately TouchedtheAxein82 already has a HQ version up on YouTube. Thanks!

Arizona State 2009 Recap

2009-10-31T21:29:00.000-07:00

(AP Photo/Paul Connors)“Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.”These words nearly became a chant as I watched the entire Arizona State game on Saturday, and they reached nearly religious levels in the last five minutes of the game.Cal escaped from Tempe in a heart-stopping 23-21 win. The more jaded fans and more cynical media pundits are going to look at the game and gripe about all the things