Sturdy Golden Blog

Cal 45, Tennessee 31

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 09:13:26 -0800

My write-up is over at Excuse Me For My Voice.

Excuse Me For My Voice

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:24:37 -0800

Ken Crawford, author of the excellent Bear Territory blog, has offered to join forces with myself and Phil, and we're going to give it the old college try.
So for the foreseeable future, for your Cal Football needs, please keep up with us at Excuse Me For My Voice.

Goodbye, Mike Dunbar

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 16:35:59 -0800

Offensive Coordinator Mike Dunbar is leaving Cal to take an O.C. job at Minnesota.
As many readers know, the Dunbar family is close to my uncle and his family. We were lucky enough to be the Dunbars' guests at the Big Game, and got to meet Mike and Linda in person. Really nice people.
It was clear at the outset that Tedford's move to bring in Dunbar was an odd one -- a spread-formation coach coming in to run the offense under Tedford, who clearly has some differing philosophies? We'll never know the real reasons, though I suspect Tedford wanted someone who he could trust as playcaller and was intrigued by the idea of using the spread more. In the end, my guess would be (and no, I have no inside information) that Tedford wanted to use the spread less, Dunbar wanted to use it more, and in the end it wasn't a marriage that was going to work.
Some of the more, um, colorful Cal bloggers out there have said "good riddance" to Dunbar. I suppose if you believe that Tedford is God, you've got to place all your blame on Dunbar.
As for me, I think it's fair to call the Dunbar hire a reach by Tedford. Tedford wanted to try going in a different direction, but in the end it was clear that it wasn't working. I don't blame Tedford or Dunbar for wanting to resolve the situation. But let's be clear -- it was Jeff Tedford's decision to bring Mike Dunbar to Cal. I'm not quite sure why we need to spread blame around about a year when Cal won a share of the Pac-10 championship for the first time since 1975. But if there's blame to be placed, let's not place it on Mike Dunbar for being exactly the person he was before Jeff Tedford hired him. Tedford took a shot, tried something different, and it didn't work.
Now the Dunbars get to move on to Minnesota, where I have every expectation that they'll do well. And Tedford will learn from this experience and go another route, presumably with an Offensive Coordinator who will be his playcaller but fit more clearly within Tedford's established style.
So it goes in the football business.

Online Petitions are Dumb

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:32:15 -0800

I think online petitions are dumb. Nobody listens to them, nobody cares. It's all a case of people patting themselves on the back for something, making them feel like they took a stand when all they really did was fill out a web form that will be ignored.
That said, I still signed it, and so should you. Feel free to call it dumb while you're signing it -- I know I did.
By the way, smelly hippies still suck.

On the Rose Bowl

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 17:22:49 -0800

That 23-9 loss to USC isn't looking so bad now, eh?
Cal looked much better than Michigan looked today, I'll tell you that.

How's That For a Holiday? (Cal 45, Texas A&M 10)

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 15:54:40 -0800

If the 2004 Holiday Bowl was from hell, this one was from heaven.

Cal looked like they did during the early part of their long winning streak this season, allowing a terrible first defensive series and then dominating the rest of the game. After about half a quarter of watching Texas A&M's confusing option scheme, the defense figured it out and that was basically it.
Longshore and his talented collection of receivers (so this is what it's like to have healthy receivers in a Holiday Bowl!) picked apart the porous A&M secondary, and the A&M line was manhandled, opening holes aplenty for Lynch and Forsett.

Getting to San Diego was as much of a nightmare as usual. Terrible traffic on Interstate 5 prevented a quick side trip to visit the old Alma Mater (yes, I went to UCSD). We got into the insanely mismanaged Qualcomm Stadium parking lot maybe an hour before kickoff.
Now a word about the halftime show. What does it take to competently produce a sporting event? I'd really like to know, because whatever it takes, it was not in evidence in San Diego on Thursday. The halftime show was like a parody of halftime shows from elsewhere: let's throw every single thing we can think of into the stadium and see what sticks! Fireworks? Check. High school bands? Check. Smoke machine on the field? Check. Loud crappy music blaring from giant AM-radio-quality stadium speakers? Check. And hey, I know: let's do 'em all at once!
Yes, that's right. While the skies are full of fireworks and the stadium sound system howls with crappy music, the Holiday Bowl geniuses decided to also have marching bands playing on the field, next to a giant smoke machine. Those poor kids. Nobody could hear them over the terrible music playing over the speakers. And nobody was watching them anyway, on account of the fireworks. As for the on-field smoke machine, well, that was apparently just there to make the playing field foggy for the first part of the third quarter. Job well done!
It makes me feel a bit better about the terrible PA system and stupid video board management at Memorial Stadium.
Finally a word about the Texas A&M marching band and the intricate chants of the Aggie faithful. I came in with an open mind, but I have to call it the way I see it: The band was colorless and unimaginative, and then when they're done they run away like someone has warned them of incoming artillery from enemy forces. The fight song is the theme from "Yogi Bear." The chants are weird. I can't say I was impressed.

The Phantasmagorical Brain of Dave Del Grande

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 10:51:17 -0800

Dave Del Grande writes:

There's no doubt in my mind the Bears would have won more than 10 games this season had [Steve Levy] led the way.

I'll insert a pause here so you can get that laughter under control.

Had the Bruins' defense laid down against USC as it did in the Emerald Bowl, Cal would be in Pasadena today preparing for a Rose Bowl showdown with the Big Ten runner-up, Michigan.

Um... no. When UCLA beat USC, Cal had already been removed from the BCS and accepted a Holiday Bowl Berth.
I'd suggest that Dave Del Grande is the worst sports columnist in the Bay Area, but that position's filled.

Big Game Photos

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:08:59 -0800

I am totally swamped, and my lips are still chapped from the Big Game. Still haven't had a chance to write much about it, but I've assembled a Flickr slideshow for those who are interested in seeing some pictures.

Smelly Tree-Hugging Hippies to Tedford: Drop Dead

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 11:28:36 -0800

Walking to the Big Game, we passed by a bunch of hippies protesting the stadium development, which will require the cutting down of several oak trees.
Contrary to popular belief, I do not hate trees. Trees are beautiful. They generate shade, and oxygen, both of which I enjoy.
That said, the trees on the west side of Memorial Stadium need to go. They need to go so that the coaches and players of Cal's athletic teams can get out of the rickety old stadium before it comes down on top of them. So that that stadium can then be repaired, to be safe and more comfortable for stadium patrons. And so that Cal can continue to have a successful athletics program and a successful football coach.
Which is why, as we passed the hippies, I provided a variation of a traditional big game chant.

Give 'em the Axe, the Axe, the Axe!

Right in the trunk, the trunk, the trunk!

As is widely known, I do dislike hippies. Hippies are silly. They generate unpleasant smells and ridiculous controversies, neither of which I enjoy.

Don't Buy Those Holiday Bowl Tickets Just Yet

Fri, 24 Nov 2006 19:46:58 -0800

Today Oregon State beat Oregon, giving Oregon State three Pac-10 losses. This means that Cal must beat Stanford in order to avoid the tie with Oregon State, at which point the Holiday Bowl would get to choose from Cal or OSU.
In weirder news, Texas and Boston College lost. According to BCS guru Jerry Palm, this means:

The Texas and BC losses are just two of the many things that need to happen for Cal to creep back into the top 14 and BCS eligibility. The Bears are currently 19th, but figure to move ahead of both Texas and BC. Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Rutgers and Boise St could still fall behind Cal, but the Bears could also get jumped by Tennessee, Wake Forest and/or Nebraska.

Yeah, you read that right. If things fall the right way for Cal, including USC winning out and a few other teams losing, Cal actually could back into the Rose Bowl.
Ow, that Arizona loss stings.
(Update: The Crazy Scenario is still alive. So pull for Nebraska beats Oklahoma by a little, Georgia Tech over Wake, Florida over Arkansas. If all that happens, Cal might end up at No. 14 in the BCS. And at that point, Rose Bowl Insanity begins.)
(Update 2: Okay, maybe not. Jerry Palm now points out that there's no way Cal's going to get all the way up to 14 in the BCS by next week. Go Bears, Beat Stanford, and San Diego is lovely this time of year!)
(Update 3 -- The Ken Crawford-Mandated Update: I bought my Holiday Bowl tickets today. Take that, Kevin!)

Conquest (USC 23, Cal 9)

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 13:25:53 -0800

As has been discussed at length around the Web, this was a crushing psychological loss. In reality the game was pretty close, and if USC is indeed on course for the national championship game, there's not a lot of shame in losing to them in their own stadium, after keeping the game in doubt for three quarters.
But Cal fans know that this was supposed to be the year Cal surpassed USC. That Cal had the team and the talent, and that USC was having a down year. And who knows? Maybe at some other point earlier in the season that would've been true. But it wasn't true on this particular day, and so although Cal was one win away from the Rose Bowl, that win didn't happen.
I generally thought Cal played well, and the fact that they were leading at halftime despite having turned over the ball twice was encouraging. There wasn't a lot of room for error in this game, not a lot of groan-worthy "woulda, coulda, shoulda" moments like, for example, the Arizona game. The offense stalled out in the second half and USC broke through, end of story.
The Cal blogs are littered with garment-rending and teeth-gnashing this week, and I fully understand those emotions. And although I admit I'm disappointed in the sequence of events that really marked the end for Cal offensively -- namely the two plays called after they had 2nd and 1, failing to get the first down. And don't get me started about that long field goal attempt, which was terrible game strategy.
But generally what I have to say is not necessarily something rabid Cal fans want to hear: Cal didn't lose this game, USC won it. I wish Cal had won it, obviously, but it was USC's great coaching and good play, including a lack of turnovers and a perfectly timed long pass on 4th and 1 to extend the lead to 14, that won the day. Yes, Cal's players seemed a bit intimidated (though not as much as versus Tennessee) and Cal's coaching seemed timid. But it was USC's boldness that swing things.
Other notes from my seat just a dozen or so rows from the rim of the stadium, opposite the Cal band and biggest Cal contingent....
Next to me were two Cal fans, John and John, from New York. One of the Johns was actually a recent Cal drum major. That was pretty cool, but I have to say that Drum Major John was also so drunk that I had to grab him twice to prevent him from tumbling ass over teakettle into the row in front of us. The third time I figure he'd owe me his firstborn or something.
The Coliseum is definitely an ancient structure, although as a Cal fan I can't really ding them on that one. I was really impressed with the quality of food on the outside ring of the stadium, though. We had some barbecue and grilled corn on the cob that was excellent. Given the sad state of affairs that are Cal's concessions, USC wins that battle.
In terms of fan environment, I guess I'd have to say that my USC experience was the most negative of the three true away games I've been to. At Washington the fans were polite and cheered on their own team without harming others. As Tennessee the fans were amazingly friendly, with the exception of a couple drunken louts after the final gun had sounded. As we exited the stadium after the game, I did have several older USC fans tell us to drive safely in a friendly voice, which was perfectly decent.
But. That doesn't really excuse the jackass behind me who was talking trash all night, or the three different people who came up to my wife and shouted "Cal sucks!" in her face. Hey, you guys are champions. Your team is perhaps the best in college football. Act like it. Or the football gods -- or are they the Whammy Gods? -- will punish you severely.

And Now, Your Moment of Zen

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 15:33:42 -0800

From 24 years in the past....

Live Blog: Cal-USC

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 16:47:42 -0800

C'mon... you didn't think we'd let The Most Meaningful Cal Game Since the Eisenhower Administration come to pass only to leave you high and dry, did you? Oh sure, Jason is otherwise indisposed -- having paid a king's ransom for tickets, he's currently sitting in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum end zone. ("Watching the game from space," he told me during our pre-game phone call that sound as if it was originating from with the Cal Band's brass section.) But I'm still here to walk you through what will either be a landmark Cal victory or a horrific defeat that will fill us with enough recriminations and regret to last half a lifetime.
So yeah, a lot of emotions going on there.
We are watching this game semi-live through the courtesy of TiVo , and the good graces of our wife, who has ceded control of the Schmeiser-Michaels television set with nary a roll of the eyes heavenward. And we'll be checking in with witicisms and crys to our God for death throughout the evening. Jason has promised to send in observations from his blimp's-eye vantage point, too -- or as many observations as his fragile emotional state will allow.
Of course, the last time I tried something like this -- the 2005 All-Star Game -- it was done to the resounding indifference of the public at large. So that, plus the possibility that things could get Cal-vs.-Tennessee ugly really quick, could mean that I'll be posting Thanksgiving recipes and lyrical poems about my cats midway through the second quarter.
And with that, powered by a Gordn Biersch Marzen and a fairly disappointing cheese plate, let's get it on like Donkey Kong...

48 Years

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 11:04:40 -0800

This is it. A play-in game for the Rose Bowl. One game, a single game, that Cal must win to end 48 years of frustration. To let the faithful Cal fans reach one of their lifelong -- and, at times, seemingly insurmountable -- sports goals.
I have said for many years now that I have only two sports wishes in my life. One is for my beloved San Francisco Giants to win a World Series. (Hope Russ Ortiz still has that ball.) The other is for my beloved Cal Bears to play in (not win, just play in) the Rose Bowl.
Not to win the Pac-10 championship -- let's face is, I hate Mack Brown for only one reason: that he prevented Cal from getting a rare second-place shot at the Rose Bowl.
Not to play for or win the national championship. My sadness about the Arizona loss last week is all about my general Cal insanity and a more specific feeling that it might have cost Cal an outside shot at a fall-back trip to the Rose Bowl. BCS be damned.
And so I sit here in the greater Los Angeles area, six hours before kickoff, getting ready to visit a hostile enemy stadium I've never been in before. And although I've been nervous about this game for more than a week now, a (perhaps temporary) sense of calm has settled over me. I can't play in the game, have no control over the outcome. USC has been, over the last four years, the most dominant team in college football. But by all appearances this is a slightly down year for them, a year where Cal may actually have more talent on the field than the opposition.
And all they have to do is win. Win, and erase 48 years of misery. Win, and heal feelings about Bruce Snyder and Roger Theder and Joe Kapp. Win, and give Cal fans something greater to hang their hats on than the crushing of a random trombone player. Win.
Thousands of trees have been chopped down to supply paper for navel-gazing Bostonians to write about what the Boston Red Sox curse, and its exorcism, meant to them. Cubs fans are famous for suffering endlessly at the hands of bad teams interspersed with the occasional moment of hope that's immediately dashed by painful failure.
I understand what they feel. But it doesn't go the other way. Most people outside of our little circle do not know the magnitude of what this would mean to us. Cal fans have suffered in silence, suffered through Tom Holmoe and Keith Gilbertson and the Joe Kapp years and many years of poor-to-mediocre play that preceded the appearance of my young self on the benches of Memorial Stadium.
I can't speak for the new faces that have filled Memorial Stadium the last few years. I'm sure they're excited, and I'm glad they're aboard for the ride. But I speak as someone who has seen the lean times, chanted the mantra "Keep It Close, Lose With Dignity," who stood outside the stadium and cheered Tom Holmoe because Cal only lost to Nebraska rather than getting blown out. Who watched Stanford run around with the axe innumerable years and then cap it off with their own inconceivable trip to the Rose Bowl. Who has seen older people from the benches around us disappear from this world during the off-season, never to see the Bears reach that goal.
The other week I was riding the bus to work and began to think about what I would do if Cal played in the Rose Bowl. I really couldn't even get my arms around it, emotionally. And very quickly I stuffed it all back down under a pillow in a corner of my mind, promising myself that there was no point in running that emotional simulation when the goal was so far off. There would be plenty of time to live the event after it occurred, if somehow a series of ridiculous events that began with Cal hiring a brilliant football coach and recruiting a series of star players culminated in the most ridiculous event of all: a conference championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl.
There would be tears, certainly. And madness, incoherent shouting and whooping. And perhaps the distinct buzzing feeling that we've all been transported to some parallel universe where black is white and night is day and man bites dog.
But that's all hypothetical. And it will remain so unless Jeff Tedford's team does one thing tonight, one simple thing.
Win.

On the Couch (Arizona 24, Cal 20)

Sat, 11 Nov 2006 15:15:43 -0800

This is the only Cal game I'm watching on television this entire year. I hate it. All I can do is sit and rock back and forth in frustration. The other two games I haven't been to weren't on TV. The next two games, I'm going to. Infuriating.
As I write this, Arizona has just scored a touchdown because the refs called pass interference on an absolutely perfect coverage interception in the end zone.
It'd sure be a shame if Cal lost this game because the terrible Pac-10 refs decided that defenders no longer have the same right to receive a pass as receivers...
Update: Okay, now Longshore has tossed a terrible interception that's been run back for the touchdown. So we can now chalk this one up to terrible play by the offense, particularly Longshore, as well as the terrible call by the refs.
Update 2: Fourth and six at the 50, 5 minutes to go -- you've got to make a stop either way. WHY ARE YOU PUNTING? And then, of course, a big return to make the punt even more pointless. One Arizona offensive play and all the punt yardage is erased. What a complete waste of time. I don't understand why coaches think that it's a better percentage play to give away a chance for a first down and for yourself to make a stop, rather than give yourself a chance and still force yourself to make a stop if you fail.
The Final Update: Full credit for Jackson for almost staying in bounds, but he absolutely stepped out. And full credit for the fight to the finish. Look, the Rose Bowl is the goal. Cal-USC is still for all the marbles. But still, how disappointing for Cal's national image and ranking.