Archive for October, 2009
The play that will be remembered most for the next few days following Cal’s 23-21 victory over Arizona State on Saturday was an inconsequential incomplete pass by the Bears. It happened after Cal quarterback Kevin Riley, who was outstanding at times on Saturday and perplexingly ineffective at others, had expertly guided a late drive that would ultimately lead to Giorgia Tavecchio’s game-winning 24-yard ...
Oct 31st, 2009
We have inquiring minds, so we have questions that need to be answered right now regarding this week’s West Coast football action. These are tough questions, so we ask the football gods, who don’t always seem to be listening. Why is Boise State QB Kellen Moore not leading these so-called Heisman Trophy polls? He leads the ...
Just as a marketing exercise, let’s put our heads together and figure out a way Stanford men’s basketball coach Johnny Dawkins can come out of the 2009-2010 season looking good. He may need a political-spin doctor because it won’t be easy to put a happy face on this one, and if he does, he ...
After practice, when Stanford’s players join their position groups to work on individual moves, Jayne Appel had always gone with the post players, working on moves from the low block. It is what helped make Appel the best center in college basketball, but it is also an arduous, somewhat monotonous task that earned the routine the ...
Max Zhang is Cal’s starting center. Well, maybe he is and maybe he isn’t, but the mere fact that the 7-foot-3 sophomore might be a starter for a team picked to win the Pac-10 is noteworthy. A non-factor last season as a freshman, Zhang began Cal’s Tuesday intrasquad scrimmage in the starting lineup with the Blue ...
Cal can still get to the Rose Bowl, and the wacky BCS rules give the Bears a better chance to get to Pasadena if they finish second in the Pac-10 than if they finish tied for first. Playing the games always gets in the way of these nice, little scenarios, but Cal fans’ annual hope is ...
We’re making a U turn, or at least a turn toward the letter U, as we look at college football across the nation. UNLIKELY SITUATION – If Oregon beats USC in Eugene on Halloween – and Oregon should be favored, but isn’t – the Ducks would nearly assure themselves a Rose Bowl berth. The Ducks would ...
Two perspectives on Stanford’s season after its 33-17 victory over Arizona State on Saturday It looks promising that . . . After playing its best all-around game, Stanford is just one win from being bowl eligible with four games still to play, and with a bye this week, Stanford will be strong for a final ...
The Good and Bad of Cal’s 49-17 victory over Washington State on Saturday The Good: Cal has won two straight, and it had a passing threat in both. The Bears will have to pass effectively next week against Arizona State, which entered the weekend ranked second nationally in run defense. Jahvid Best will not be ...
When Eric Reveno became one of the three finalists for the head-coaching vacancy at Stanford 18 months ago it seemed to indicate Cardinal athletic director Bob Bowlsby could not attract a top-flight coach. How in the world could a guy — even a good guy like Reveno, who was a Stanford alumnus and former Cardinal assistant ...