SB Nation - Robert Jordan

Stanford Roundtable

TwistNHook — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:30:12 -0000

TwistNHook: I was there in 2007. It sucked. A lot.

After an afternoon of people cheering Longshore being potentially injured, nothing really capped that off as well as watching Stanford fans storm the field while the announcer yelled "THE AXE IS COMING HOME."

And you know what they say about payback. It takes roughly 2 years!

Avinash: Your writing after that loss was definitely great stuff:

While I have no idea how to emotionally deal with success, I am more than well equiped to deal with failure. It excites me. And when I say "excite" I really mean "arouse." It turns me on. I really get off on failure. This whole year while everybody else was "Saying oh no, not another Longshore interception just as it looked like we might tie the game up late in the 4th" I was touching myself inappropriately and yelling "Oh yeah, Nate, underthrow that shit, oh yeah, fucking underthrow the shit out of that, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."

Tedford, when Robert Jordan nearly decapitated that camera-man yesterday I think I splooged all over section 228 row I. And those are some pretty long rows.

This whole year has been an amazing, erotic journey for me (from Milan to Minsk). It’s just been one new experience of failure after enother. "Oh yeah, unknown Washington running back who nobody has ever heard of before, run another 60 yard run straight through the middle without getting touched, I’m going limp here!"

Tom Shneider pulling his hammy before the opener was a god-send. Anytime I saw Kay sprint out there for a FG over 35 yards, it was just all "Schwing!"

My wife even knows. When she wants to steamy up our love-making, she knows all she has to do is just whisper "1st and Goal at the 1" into my ear. And I am good to go.

Cal’s stunning inability to not score helps me score!

It seems the more we lose, the better your writing gets.

No offense, but I hope your writing sucks this year.

HydroTech: That was some epic writing there, Twist.

TwistNHook: Clearly, I peaked two years ago

via a.espncdn.com

Ted Miller has this to say:

But a bigger issue was the terrible passing offense that couldn't complement a strong, physical running game led by 237-pound tailback Toby Gerhart.

Stanford only averaged 152 yards passing in 2008 and tossed 15 interceptions versus just 11 touchdown passes.

Into that glaring weakness stepped Luck.

Terms and phrases Harbaugh used to describe his quarterback during a 10-minute chat: poised, loose but focused, humble, confident, smart, adept at reading defenses and a guy who learns from mistakes.

"He's got a lot of things going for him -- a lot of physical talent," Harbaugh said. "My wife says he throws lasers. And they are right on target."

The physical skill is obvious, but so are the smarts. Luck was his class valedictorian and plans to major in architectural design. He could have played for a lot of big-time programs, but he was eyeballing Stanford even before the school was on to him.

Avinash: I'll just go out and say it: Other than Autzen, the Furd will be our toughest road opponent this year.

This isn't a bad team. They're returning 17 starters. They have a very favorable schedule to start the season. So they could be playing for either bowl eligibility or bowl positioning in this one. I expect a very tense and tight Big Game, especially if Cal is playing for something big.

TwistNHook: I predict that Stanford will have an improved offense. Gerhardt will only get better and if Luck improves he could be a step up over Pritchard.

That said, it looks like Stanford's D might take a step down.

The Cardinal runs a 4-3 defense, and losing the two starters on the defensive line will not help a unit that gave up more yards per play than every Pac-10 team except Washington and Washington State. Ron Lynn and Andy Buh are co-defensive coordinators, but Lynn is the one calling the defenses. He is respected for his many years in the NFL, and he did a pretty good job of maximizing his talent last season, his first with Stanford.

How quickly several former offensive players adjust to playing defense will determine the defense's success. CB Richard Sherman, a former starting WR, and SS Delano Howell, a tailback last season, could be starters, and few others could get playing time. The position moves also indicate the Cardinal is looking to upgrade its talent on that side of the ball.

LB Clinton Snyder and FS Bo McNally give the Cardinal a pair of hard-hitters, the kind of physical players Harbaugh loves. But Clinton has had a lot of injuries (although he's played through most of them) and McNally is not great against the pass.

The Cardinal defense is not going to dominate anyone; it just needs to make enough big plays and avoid major mistakes. That is well within its capabilities.

Although it lost its best defensive lineman (DE Pannel Egboh), Stanford does have the ability to rush the passer with DE Tom Keiser and DE Erik Lorig. If Clinton can stay relatively healthy, the defense should be better than last season, although it still won't be among the Pac-10's best.

Yellow Fever: I think we're overlooking what is clearly the biggest strength of the Cardinal. The tight ends.

HydroTech: I saw this on Fox Sports:

Stanford wins the Pac-10

I'm a believer in a solid rushing attack and RB Toby Gerhart (pictured) is a beast to bring down. Coach Jim Harbaugh has had two consecutive brilliant recruiting classes and is quietly waking up the West -- they are murmuring national championship talk up in Palo Alto. Their schedule has enough teeth (No. 22 per Phil Steele) for NC consideration if they win the Pac-10: They host Oregon, Cal and Notre Dame and travel to Wake Forest, Oregon State and USC.

via msn.foxsports.com

Stanfurd winning the Pac-10??? What a joke! Stanfurd doesn't have a chance at winning the Pac-10. Quite frankly, even though most people suspect that Cal might upset USC for the Pac-10 Championship, that will be a "shocking scenario" if it happens. But Stanfurd winning the Pac-10??? That's just plain silly. That's such an absurd thought, that it shouldn't even be a "shocking scenario." It should be an "impossible scenario."

I doubt that Luck will perform that well this year as a freshman. And as for Toby Gerhart, he's a decent back, but I'm not sure there is enough offensive power overall to sustain a Pac-10 Championship season. I see Stanfurd winning about 5 games this year... and maybe 6, but they're not even going to get close to a Pac-10 championship.

Ragnarok: I think you need to become bowl-eligible before you can start to "murmur national championship talk".

Yeah, looking at their schedule, I'd say that Stanfoud looks like they'll most likely finish with 5-7 wins. WSU, UW, and SJSU look like wins, and UCLA and the Arizona schools should be games that Stanford can win as well. But once again, it's a backloaded schedule for them -- their November is as follows: Oregon, @USC, Cal, Notre Dame. They'd better get to 6 wins by the end of October if they want to play into December.

Personally, I'm actually excited that the Big Game has the potential to be a good game again. The last time both Cal and Stanfurd both went bowling in the same season? 1996. And 7-5 'Furd over 6-6 Cal was hardly a classic.

via news.stanford.edu

Yellow Fever: I think we'd all be looking forward to that with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.

TwistNHook: Wasn't the 1996 Big Game that one that was the 100th Big Game? There was all this hoopla and then Stanford beat us like 10-3 or something. That sucked.

Avinash: The big question: If Tedford was to somehow win the Big Game and clinch something important like a bid to the...uh...LAS VEGAS BOWL...then should we get him a $75,000 private bathroom?

Ragnarok: Nah, you're mixing up your forgettable Big Games (faulty memory of late-90's Cal football? how shocking!!). The 100th Big Game was 1997. We lost that one 21-20. Stanford beat us 10-3 the next year, in 1998. The 1996 Big Game was the Mooch year, where we started out 5-0, then lost 5 of the last 6 (including Big Game, 42-21), then lost the Aloha Bowl to Navy.

How you mix these games up is beyond me.

TwistNHook: I've embarrassed myself yet again.

HydroTech: Wow, that's a big much for a bathroom? Does it have gold plated toilet seats or something? Only gold touches Harbaugh's butt?

TwistNHook: Look, let's be clear on one thing here. Toby Gerhart is Stanford's #1 weapon. They have a suspect D. They are working in a young, albeit talented QB. Their one main source of stability here, by far, is Gerhart. If he can play at a high level, he could help provide cover for Luck to develop quickly. And keep the D off the field with long, sustained drives.

"I did not realize that Stanford received a 15 yard penalty on that last kickoff, because they celebrated their ostensible game-winning field goal. How did that penalty affect the outcome of the Play??"

Here are his impressive numbers from last year.

RUSHING	GP	Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Gerhart, Toby	12	210	1176	40	1136	5.4	15	46	94.7

Will that happen? I don't know. Last year Gerhart was killing us in the 1st half of the Big Game. Here are his numbers from the Big Game:

Stanford Rushing
	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
T. Gerhart	19	103	5.4	1	22

If my math is accurate, Gerhart had 16 yards in the 3rd quarter and 25 and a TD in the 4th quarter. That was partially, because Cal got up quickly and they had to throw with Pritchard a lot. I believe Pritchard had a season high in attempts that day.

So, the key for Cal winning this might be taking Gerhart out of the game. Be it by containing him or exploding offensively so he is used less, it's unclear.

How do you guys see this one ending up? Do we keep the Axe?

Avinash: Keep the Axe?

Uhh...don't commit turnovers. Cal is a better team than the Furd. If we don't make mistakes, we will win.

TwistNHook: KeepTheAxe4life! I say we win 85-82. Stanford is an improved team and it'll be close!

Yellow Fever: I see a 6-5 nailbiter.

Poll

How will Cal do against Stanford?

Big win

124 votes

Close win

42 votes

Close loss

3 votes

Big loss

6 votes

175 votes | Poll has closed

Cal 2009 Position Previews: Receivers and Tight Ends

Avinash — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:00:10 -0000

via www.nationalchamps.net

Read the previous position previews: Quarterback, running backs, offensive line.

Here was Hydrotech after spring practice.

Who are Cal's top 3 WRs? This is a fairly important question. Cal's top 3 WRs get the majority of the snaps on the field - perhaps upward of 90%.

So who is it going to be? Tucker, Ross, and Boateng have the most experience so you might think it'd be them. However, we all saw sophomore Alex Lagemann blow up in spring ball. Right now he's penciled in at the #1 slot position. When Cal goes to its 3 WR sets (11 personnel), if we assume the top players at each WR position see the field then the top three will be Boateng, Jones, and Lagemann. That leaves out experienced WRs Jeremy Ross, and Verran Tucker - and puts the more inexperienced Jones and Lagemann on the field. Do we want more inexperienced WRs on the field again another year?

Several months later, we are reaching a resolution. Whether it's one that puts us at ease is an unresolved answer.

Which wideouts will Cal depend on this season? If you were to rank our receivers in terms of their depth chart position, where would they go?

More about the receivers and tight ends after the jump.

The problem with Cal receivers is that last season their touches were too few and far between. You couldn't really get a feel to each player's individual game. Here's what we can discern:

1) Route running was inconsistent (could this be a symptom of the shifting between OCs?).
2) Receivers greased their gloves and dropped the ball hundreds of times.
3) No clear number one, two, or three was established.
4) Inconsistency at the quarterback position also kept receivers from getting into any sort of groove.

That last part is crucial, because the last time that happened for Cal was in 2005, which feels like the closest Tedford-equivalent to last season (phenomenal running game, haywire passing attack). The next two seasons would be some of the healthiest for the Cal passing game.

The similarity between those two seasons diverge from there. In 2005 the Bears had three clear rising stars who were the top three wide receivers (and they would go onto replicate those performances the next two seasons). 2008, by contrast, will not be as clear-cut. The top six receivers were separated by a total of 13 receptions, and not one Cal receiver exceeded 30 catches. So while the Bears's receivers might be deeper than in 2006, production on that level is not a certainty, as the competition is expected to be fierce for every spot. You could argue that reliance on too few bodies cost us games we could've won.

Depth will not be a problem this time. The issue will be consistency. Will there be a defined pecking order as to who the top receiver is, who will move into the slot, and who can come off the bench and provide capable catches? Who will go where?

via grfx.cstv.com

Tight ends: The Tad Smith injury means Anthony Miller will be starting this season. However, Tedford seems optimistic that the Bears can overcome Smith's absence.

Cal coach Jeff Tedford seemed optimistic that Cal still has enough depth at tight end to make up for the loss of Smith.

"It’s nice getting Spencer back," he said. "Skylar has really stepped up in this camp, thankfully. You have Anthony (Miller), you have Skylar, you have Spencer, you have (Jarrett) Sparks and you have (Garry) Graffort. All those guys are in the mix, and they’ve all done pretty well."

Nevertheless, there is a lack of playing time for each of these guys, no matter who ends up in the one spot long-term. We only know Miller because he caught a prayer throw from Longshore at the end of the Emerald Bowl, and everyone behind him has close to zero experience. In almost every case, this will be Cal's weakest position this season.

So at least here, we'll have to concede the advantage to the Furd.

via graphics.fansonly.com

Coach Daft stepping up? One weakness last season was coaching experience in that particular field, but Kevin Daft seems more comfortable leading Cal's wideouts.

"We know the game now," Cal receiver Jeremy Ross said. "Even Coach Daft is telling us to put a little style in our routes, a little flavor. We can now because we know the game. Out there running routes, we're able to put our twist on things. We're out there confident and ready to get after it."

And just what kind of flavor is Ross adding to his route-running this season?

"You know, a little salt over here, a little pepper over here, a little Cajun seasoning," he said. "You'll see all the ingredients on Sept. 5."

Not many of us have been comforted by Daft's first season, but it wasn't exactly favorable circumstances for him to thrive. Let's see how this season goes before passing judgment on his worth.

The battle of the weight room: Onto the receivers. Nyan Boateng and Jeremy Ross seem to be the two incumbents staying in place. Boateng certainly looked like the most talented receiver last season, in terms of making his cuts and finding his place (it's no surprise that he soon became the favorite target of the precise Nate Longshore). But, like seemingly every receiver for the Bears, he dropped the ball far too much. Ross, while performing pure athletic acrobatics (remember the leaps!), didn't have enough experience to be anything more than semi-reliable.

However, both have shown a great deal of extroverted confidence during practice, and their work ethic in the gym has been impeccable. Who can bench more, sadly, has yet to be resolved.

Charging from the back: Verran Tucker is going to have a tough time catching up with the rest of the flock. Although he performed well in relief for the injured Calvin and inconsistent Young and Cunningham, according to Okanes he was pacing behind his counterparts this spring.

The JC transfer was the Bears’ second-leading pass-catcher among wide receivers last season, but he didn’t practice in the spring to focus on academics. With Jones and Alex Lagemann coming on, and with Michael Calvin expected to be fully recovered from a knee injury by the fall, Tucker’s status as a starter could be in jeopardy.

Speaking of Calvin, there was definitely a lot of great stuff he showed during the early part of the season, as he established himself as one of Kevin Riley's favorite targets. However, he is coming back from a torn ACL, a traditionally difficult injury to overcome for a receiver. So we'd have to expect that like Tucker, he will be coming on the rebound going against the healthier competition. At the moment though, he seems to be progressing better than Tucker.

via grfx.cstv.com

The new faces: Marvin Jones and Alex Lagemann are expected to make huge splashes this season. Of all the receivers on this list, Jones is the most highly touted. Desean Jackson was a huge factor in Jones caming to Cal, and he appears to possess similar potential to the Eagles' rising star.

"Marvin Jones. The sophomore-to-be emerged as the Bears’ top receiver in the spring. This really doesn’t come as a surprise. The argument could be made that Jones was the most talented receiver on the roster last season, but a knee injury limited his true freshman season. Jones is healthy now and looked sharp in the spring. Despite the fact Cal has its top three receivers back from last year, Jones should enter fall camp as the team’s top pass-catching threat."

While both Jones and Lagemann have shown promise that could carry them far, Hydro does offer the warning of giving Jones and Lagemann too much of a prominent role while consigning the veterans to the sidelines:

When Cal goes to its 3 WR sets (11 personnel), if we assume the top players at each WR position see the field then the top three will be Boateng, Jones, and Lagemann. That leaves out experienced WRs Jeremy Ross, and Verran Tucker - and puts the more inexperienced Jones and Lagemann on the field. Do we want more inexperienced WRs on the field again another year? Is the talent that Jones and Lagemann bring to the field worth more than the experience that Ross and Tucker bring? Cal could have a Rose Bowl season next year if its passing game comes together (and assuming the running game stays dominant and the same goes for the defense). I'm not exactly sure that having more inexperienced players on the field is the greatest way to get that passing to improve.

Riley says...Ultimately though, the receiver's value is measured the best by the person throwing the balls to him We give our leading QB the last word:

Riley said Jones has just continued to do what he did during the spring while Calvin, who is coming back from a torn ACL, is getting more and more healthy. "Every week as the summer has progressed, he’s gotten a little more comfortable with his route running," Riley said. "Coming back from an injury like that, you’re going to be a little scared at first on your break. Every week, he’s running routes better. He’s always caught the ball well. Hopefully he can continue to get better. He can be a guy who can really makes plays for us." Riley said Lagemann, like Jones, also continues to build off his spring, although he has been slowed by a toe injury during the offseason."

Of all the analysis above, we can bet this endorsement means the most of all.

Poll

Who will be Cal's number one receiving option by season's end?

Nyan Boateng

82 votes

Michael Calvin

15 votes

Alex Lagemann

10 votes

Marvin Jones

230 votes

Jeremy Ross

9 votes

Verran Tucker

21 votes

Someone else

8 votes

375 votes | Poll has closed

Hall of Fame Round of 64: Pappy Waldorf Bracket, Part I

Avinash — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:00:17 -0000

Check out the full bracket here.

To check out the original nomination thread, click here.

For those who love the Hall of Fame and want to track all these posts, click here or right next to the timestamp where it says "Hall of Fame".

This post's matchups: Jeff Tedford vs Angie Pressey, Joe Roth vs Robert Jordan

We kick things off with the top half of the Pappy Waldorf bracket; top two matchups get posted this morning, bottom two this afternoon. Polls for these matchups close next Thursday, June 25 at midnight. The athlete matchups are above, the athlete descriptions and polls are after the jump. Please read, vote, and debate in the comments!

#1 Jeff Tedford vs #16 Angie Pressey

via bleacherreport.com

It'd be hard to find Cal fans who didn't have a positive opinion of Jeff Tedford.

Ohio Bear: He has done an unbelievable job. If you followed Cal football in the 1980s and 1990s through the Holmoecaust, you know what I’m talking about. Perhaps something I read a long time ago on a Michigan blog said it best (and I’m paraphrasing): before Tedford, Cal was the Indiana of the Pac-10 in football.

Beast Mode:

59-30 Overall
5-1 Bowl Games
6-1 Against Stanfurd
1 Co-Conference Championship
Pac-10 COY
SAHPC
Hope

For people who might want more background on one of Cal's finest coaches, check out this widely circulated Gameday profile from 2004.

Hey guys, CBKWit here. Avinash wanted somebody to write a few personal memoirs of Coach Tedford and since I've spent more time on that Penguins blog than my own Cal blogs, I figured I'd try to step in here. I remember Coach Tedford from a vacation we spent in Turks and Caicos. We spent long days sunning ourselves on the beach. I would read him a quote from a Oscar Wilde book and we would laugh, oh how we would laugh. At night, we would dress ourselves in the finest velour jumpsuits for a night out on the town. Man, he crushed so much talent that summer. It was just a few weeks, but man, it seemed to last a lifetime. I'll never forget Coach Tedford, all oiled up building a sand castle on the beach, laughing about how that crazzy Dorian Gray.

Angie Pressey

via farm2.static.flickr.com

LeonPowe has these words about Angie:

Took the Cal Volleyball team to the Final Four (right?) also dominated asa 5’8" OUTSIDE HITTER. She had some MAJOR HOPS, like her dad.

Danzig chimes in:

But among the [Cal volleyball] players that I’ve seen play on TV I’d say Angie Pressy was the most impressive. She’s just a freak…such a small player jumping that high and hitting that hard was just amazing.

Not many people know this, but Angie's dad competed in that 1986 Spud Webb Dunk contest (did manage to find one clip of Paul throwing it down).

For those having trouble viewing the box above, click here to vote.

#8 Joe Roth vs #9 Robert Jordan

via www.joeroth12.com

To learn more about Roth, let's listen to the impeccable Keith Jackson.

"Dying is not so tough. For the last three years I've lived with the realization that the next day might be my last. I'm lucky to be here as long as I was, so don't feel any pity. A lot of people younger than me and older than me have to face up to this sort of thing. I'm nothing special. I'm Joe Roth, a student and a football player."

– Joe Roth

You can find out more about Roth here.

On a lighter side, this gives us a chance to showcase that great 1975 season again! Check out this sweet retro footage and vintage Roth.

Robert Jordan:

via i.cdn.turner.com

RoJo also has twitter. A few of his masterpieces:

Family First and not the church, who u givin yo 10% to stupid, mine go 2 da fam.

Stop givin money 2 preachers so they can ride off in cadilacs when ur fam starvin. WAKE UP PEOPLE, yo Family is everything, that's FAM1ST

just woke up, and jamer nelson still hella weak I can't fuck wit em he mite not got it

Robert Jordan never had a truly remarkable season for California, but he played solid downs all four seasons he was a Golden Bear. He plugged in gaps, bridging the gap between Lyman and Macarthur, Jackson and Hawkins, catching passes from at least five different California quarterbacks.

For those having trouble viewing the box above, click here to vote.

CGB Hall of Fame Sign Up Sheet

Avinash — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:00:21 -0000

via images.absoluteastronomy.com

Hi, commenters. Yes, you, I'm looking at you. Although not as creepily as you might think...

Despite our best efforts to publish 64 accurate, condensed, proper biographical summaries of our athletes, we've come up a bit short. We've gotten the majority of it finished, but we're going to need your help to finish up everything to have it ready to go by Wednesday.

Remember those high school days. Well they're back! It's sign up time!

The instructions are after the jump.

1) Sign up in the comments to write about a particular athlete on the list below! You just have to write their names...we'll update who takes who on the post as commenters start taking assignments

2) If you want to keep your entries private until the contest starts, email us at goldenblogs at gmail dot com with Subject Line "Hall of Fame"; if you don't care about anyone seeing it before the thing starts, just write it up in the comments with your entry.

3) Personal memories and experiences are what we're aiming for, but if you don't have any memories of them, look for media articles on the athletes and find interesting tidbits or outstanding accomplishments in their lives that are worth sharing.

4) Examples: We don't need you to write up an epic opus like BearStage did for Joe Igber (although we'd definitely LOVE IT); LeonPowe's mini writeup on Mike Pawlawski, ososdeoro's quote on Jocelyn Forest or California Pete's paragraph on Vicky Galindo are the sort of things we're looking for.

So we've split who's left into two catgeories. We're not expecting to fill all of these, but we'd love to get as many comprehensive experiences of Cal athletes as humanly possible.

Need a lot of help with (these are still fairly empty, although I'm sure they could get filled quickly in the right hands):

Rod Benson: norcalnick
Ryan Anderson: rollonubears
Jack Clark: carp
Lavelle Hawkins: rollonubears
Nnamdi Asomugha: R-Rated Superstar
The Play guys (Kevin Moen/Richard Rodgers/Dwight Garner/Mariet Ford): norcalnick (if anyone of you have witnessed The Play live, norcalnick's willing to give this up)
Sandy Barbour
Bob Milano: California Pete
Morgan Beck
Kirk Everist
Mary Meagher
Jeff Kent: norcalnick
Jerrott Willard: LeonPowe
Joy Fawcett: California Pete
Suzi Babos
Justin Forsett
Aaron Rodgers

Need some help with (these are alright and could go as is, although they're a little on the short side and/or many lack personal anecdotes:

Tony Gonzalez
Shareef Abdur-Rahim: LeonPowe
Craig Stevens
Thomas Decoud: rollonubears
Jeff Tedford
Robert Jordan
Dante Hughes
Lorenzo Alexander
Milica Vukadinovic: LeonPowe
Jeremy Newberry
Ed Gray: LeonPowe
Desmond Bishop

For all those who contribute, thanks in advance for sharing the sweetness of Golden Bear history. It's part of what makes CGB such an awesome and special place.

Other than Pedo-Oski, of course.

CGB Hall of Fame Brackets And First Round Matchups

Avinash — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:30:15 -0000

Here are the bracket announcements. Top half first, bottom half after the jump. Discuss in the comments whether we screwed it up like Meme Madness, bracketology picks, whatever.

Also, if anyone wants to write anything about these guys I can include in the matchup previews (anecdotes, stats, tall tales about the athletes, etc.), put them in the comments and I'll include them.

Oh yes, people, you might notice Mark Bingham is not in the poll. That's because he's automatically in! Our first CGB Hall of Fame inductee! (For more on Bingham, check out his story here).

Note: Sorry Ken, you got in Vinnie Strang just a little too late (plus for whatever reason Twist hates his guts and vetoed him out)!

Quick hits on first round matchups. Times on the bracket are unofficial and are subject to change. Click on the bracket images to enlarge them.

Brick Muller Bracket

#1 Tony Gonzalez vs #16 Hardy Nickerson: One of the greatest football players in Cal & NFL history, versus one of the fiercest defenders in California history.

#8 Rod Benson vs #9 Ryan Anderson: Perhaps the best athlete blogger of his time versus a low post monster in his last year.

#5 Sean Lampley vs #12 Matt Biondi: Pac-10 POTY at hoops and led the Bears to a NIT title. The other one just replicated Mark Spitz in winning seven medals at Seoul--five golds, four world records.

#4 Joe Igber vs #13 Will Ta'ufo'ou: The first is an incredible student athlete with kick-ass photos on Life. The second liked knocking people to the ground.

#3 Geoff Macarthur vs #14 Shareef Abdur-Rahim: The primary weapon of Aaron Rodgers versus an NBA journeyman.

#6 Jack Clark vs #11 Lavelle Hawkins: A rugby legend versus a loveable receiver.

#7 Nnamdi Asomugha vs #10 Craig Stevens: One has risen from the ashes of the Holmoecaust to be a Pro Bowl talent. The other blocked, blocked, blocked, and blocked some more.

#2 Deltha O'Neal vs #15 Thomas Decoud: The favorite is a legend to Cal fans everywhere. The underdog blasted Korey Bosworth to other dimensions.

Joe Kapp Bracket

#1 Natalie Coughlin vs #16 Jon Zuber: One of the most decorated Olympians ever versus a well-loved baseball player.

#8 Kevin Johnson vs #9 Jocelyn Forest: A softball player with an amazing story versus a guy who posterized Hakeem The Dream and became mayor of Sac-town.

#5 Sandy Barbour vs #12 Bob Milano: Our current AD versus our greatest baseball coach.

#4 Zack Follett vs #13 Milica Vuckadinovic: Pain Train needs no introduction. Milica was a pioneer, the best women's hoopster until Ashley Walker came along.

#3 Desean Jackson vs #14 Kyle Boller: Perhaps the greatest receiver in California history versus a QB who got it together under Tedford's watch.

#6 Michelle Granger vs #11 Morgan Beck: The most good-looking of the first round matchups. A softball giant versus an offensive volleyball talent.

#7 Kirk Everist vs #10 Mary Meagher: Water battle! He was and is a water polo king as player and coach (national championships in both). She won gold medals at Los Angeles and set swimming records that lasted nearly two decades.

#2 Marshawn Lynch vs #15 Jeremy Newberry: The underdog is the original version of Alex Mack. I hear Twist really likes the favorite.

Onto the bottom half of the bracket!

Pappy Waldorf Bracket

#1 Jeff Tedford vs #16 Angie Pressey. Our head coach extraordinare goes up against one of our most competitive women's volleyball talents.

#8 Joe Roth vs #9 Robert Jordan. Learn about Roth here. Come back. Jordan was a secondary yet critical element on four straight Golden Bear teams.

#5 Vicky Galindo vs #12 The Play Players. I've fallen in love with our 5 seed. I don't know what to do about it. I've even forgotten what happened at the 1982 Big Game. Someone remind me?

#4 Ashley Walker vs #13 Ben Braun. The greatest women's bball player in Cal history, I'd say. The other guy was here a long time.

#3 JJ Arrington vs #14 Brian Hendrick. Arrington perhaps had the best running season in California history, perhaps Pac-10 history, perhaps college football history (I don't know, you could probably find others, but go back and look at that season again). Other was a solid bball player who came just before the rise of Kidd, so he's sort of fallen through the cracks.

#6 Dante Hughes vs #11 Lamond Murray. One was a great great ballhawk, our finest corner since Deltha. The other was a pure pure scorer who finished off much of Jason Kidd's handiwork.

#7 Mike Pawlawski vs #10 Sean Dawkins. You know how football announcers annoy you with intangibles talk and "how he does all the little things to win"? That's what Mike was about. Dawkins made tough tough catches during our time at Cal.

#2 Leon Powe vs #15 Lorenzo Alexander. Welcome to the Show. For those who've forgotten Alexander, he was one of the main forces that drove the early Tedford defenses of 2002 & 2003.

Pete Newell Brackett

#1 Jason Kidd vs #16 Jeff Kent. Both of these athletes have had long, great careers in the pro leagues. Surprising this is a first round matchup, even more suprising it's 1 vs 16.

#8 Joy Fawcett vs #9 Jerrott Willard. Joy is one of women's soccer's finest. Willard enjoyed destroying people.

#5 Desmond Bishop vs #12 Geno Carlisle. Bishop was the anchor of those 2006 defenses. Carlisle bragged that the only person better than him in Chicago was MJ.

#4 Russell White vs #13 Ed Gray. Perhaps the greatest RB in Cal history goes up against a former Pac-10 player of the year at hoops.

#3 Alex Mack vs #14 Suzi Babos. Mack is self-explanatory. Suzi Babos won Cal's only women's singles title.

#6 Chuck Muncie vs #11 Joe Shipp. Muncie nearly won the Heisman in 1975 if it weren't for that dastardly Archie Griffin. Shipp was a versatile talent on the earlier decade Cal bball teams.

#7 Justin Forsett vs #10 Brian Weathers. Forsett was a steady horse who gave great effort on the field.

#2 Aaron Rodgers vs #15 Camille Leffall: Battle of the hair. Rodgers has always enjoyed his unkempt look. Leffall just looks fabulous, with or without the blond highlights and braids.

There you have it guys. Discuss away!

Poll

Just the Elite 8 get in, or should it be wildcard picks?

Just the Elite 8

28 votes

Wildcard picks

17 votes

45 votes | Poll has closed