SB Nation - Justin Forsett

Golden Bears in the Pros: DeCoud Shines, More Forsett, Natalie Eliminated

Avinash — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:00:33 -0000

Thomas Decoud, Atlanta Falcons

Decoud earns NFC defensive player of the week honors.

First-year starter Thomas DeCoud had the game of his short professional career at safety Sunday night for the Atlanta Falcons.

DeCoud's five tackles were fifth best on the team and he added two passes defensed, but his two interceptions helped change the game for Atlanta and won him the award.

The interceptions were the first two of his career and marked the first time a Falcons player had a multiple-interception game since DeAngelo Hall's two pick game against Tampa Bay on September 17, 2006.

More on the headlines above, plus news on one pro Bear who will be at the Wazzu game, and find out where some of your favorite Golden Bear hoopsters are now playing overseas after the jump. Also, two Golden Bears got signed to two NFL 53 man squads, find out who by checking out the rest of the post!

Justin Forsett, Seattle Seahawks

ESPN's Mike Sando reports that Forsett could be seeing more action, mainly because his pass blocking abilities might be the best of the three in the corps! Good job Coach Gould and Coach M!

Justin Forsett is earning -- and will get -- more touches in the regular offense. My take three weeks ago was that Forsett, primarily a third-down back to this point, had done enough to start getting touches on earlier downs. Seattle left Forsett alone in the backfield six times in the first quarter against the Jaguars, more than he had in the first quarters of the previous four games. Forsett is challenging to become the best pass-blocking back on the team even though Julius Jones and Edgerrin James are strong in that area. He lacks top-end speed, but he's quick and appears trustworthy in key situations. He did a nice job chipping on his way out of the backfield, helping the left tackle substantially on one play.

Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons

Lots of stuff here about the matchup between Gonzalez and Dallas's returning strong safety , who is returning with a cast on one hand due to a broken thumb. He's also expected to see lots of double coverage.

"My whole career I've always tried to look at when they played against maybe Kellen Winslow, and see what they did to him, because I know he's such a threat in the receiving game," Gonzalez said during a conference call Wednesday. "But even sometimes teams will switch it up. Earlier this year we played against New England and I didn't really anticipate getting bracket coverage as much as I was that game, and because of that I only had one catch."

The Cowboys held Winslow to four catches for 30 yards and one score in the season-opener. Gonzalez has had plenty of practice adapting to varied schemes over the years.

"It's always something," Gonzalez said of the different looks he gets. "That's something I've been used to my whole career and whatever they want to do hopefully we can adjust and move the ball down the field."

Tony G was also on Pardon the Interruption for Five Good Minutes on Wednesday--check out his interview starting at about 9:55.

Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders

Asomugha was surprised at what happened on Sunday--in terms of Oakland's defense actually following through on what they run in practice.

On Sunday, the Raiders brought a different look to the Eagles game on defense. They blitzed and played zone -- a departure from the defensive scheme Davis prefers. It was something of a revolution, according to cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. Asomugha said he lobbies every week for a more aggressive attack and less predictable coverage, but usually to no avail.

"We were shocked," Asomugha said, "because coaches say we're going to run it in practice, but we come to a game and that never happens."

Asomugha said defensive coordinator John Marshall finally agreed to make changes. "He said that he might get yelled at for it, but he'll keep going," Asomugha said.

When asked about Asomugha's claims, Cable evaded the issue.

"I think we'll do what we can, and what we think it takes to win every Sunday," Cable said.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

Football Outsiders thinks they know why Aaron is struggling to develop a good rapport with one of his primary targets (HT Acme Packing Company):

Aaron Rodgers didn't pad his stats; after a third-quarter sack and fumble, he threw only one pass in the fourth quarter, an interception. A more important question: What's up with Greg Jennings? We thought the star wideout would have a big game against the Lions, but Jennings only ended up with 38 yards on six catches in eight attempts. Our theory: Rodgers is struggling to get the protection he needs to allow Jennings to run double moves and get open downfield.

Zack Follett, LB, Detroit Lions

At least one more time, Follett will be patrolling the California sidelines on his bye week.

Rookie linebacker Zack Follett is heading back to California. He grew up in Clovis and played college football at Cal. He said he's planning to go back to Berkeley to see Saturday's game against Washington State.

"We've got three days off. I'm going to fly home and go back to the Bay," Follett said. "Catch a Cal football game and kind of refresh the mind a little bit and get ready to get back to work.

"I've already been here three months. To stay another two, it would be a tough stretch, especially with this cold weather getting up on me. I'm getting my mind ready for these winters."

Other notes

Lorenzo Alexander recorded 3 tackles in a 14-6 loss to Kansas City. You can see him against the Eagles and Desean on Monday night.
Desean Jackson caught 6 passes for 94 yards (as you saw above), as well as having 4 punt returns for 43 yards.
Dante Hughes was signed by the Chargers! Hopefully now that he's right next to the Pacific coast, he'll be able to regain his "intercepting of North Korean nuclear missiles" abilities.
The Seahawks signed Mike Gibson off the Eagles practice squad...lots of Golden Bears piling up there in Seattle!
Marshawn Lynch carried the ball 19 times for 61 yards, and 2 receptions for 11 yards.
Alex Mack was sidelined by flu-like symptoms; it's not yet known if it was H1N1 that was ailing him.
Ryan Longwell kicked four field goals, including the game-winner against Baltimore.
Brandon Mebane recorded three tackles for the Seahawks in their loss to Arizona.
Tully Banta-Cain was let go by New England...and then immediately resigned for a multi-year deal, according to Adam Schefter. He recorded 3 tackles in the 59-0 dressing down of the Titans.
Apparently long snapper David Binn once dated Pamela Anderson. Wait, WHAT?
Desmond Bishop remains on the special teams with AJ Hawk still the starter, although he is in a good spot to replace him in the future if the team chooses. He recorded one tackle in that capacity against Detroit.
Kyle Boller isn't likely to compete for the starting spot with Marc Bulger in the near future; Bulger still is the de facto #1.
The Hogs, an independent Redskins site, did an interview with Andre Carter the week before Kansas City. Carter had 7 tackles and the pass deflection you saw in the video.
Scott Fujita did not practice Wednesday because of a strained right calf he suffered against the Giants. Still not sure if he will play against Miami.
Kansas City head coach Todd Haley has found his starting right tackle in Ryan O'Callaghan.
Nick Harris punted 5 times for a 39.2 yard average for Detroit.

NBA preseason

Jason Kidd is averaging 7 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals through five preseason games. Since the Spurs are the favorites to win the division, here's what Mavs Moneyball thinks Kidd should do to slow down Tony Parker (hint: he won't): "First Jason Kidd must force Parker into becoming a passer more than a scorer. This is not going to be easy for Kidd, in fact it may be impossible! If Kidd cannot at least slow down Parker's ability to get to the basket the Mavericks will be forced to try and win a shootout, and at this point I do not feel confident enough in their rotation defense to say they can win that type of game with these Spurs."
Ryan Anderson is averaging 14 points, 4 rebounds, and over 50 percent from downtown per game for the Magic in the preseason. According to Third Quarter Collapse, his offensive rating is an astounding 118.7 (translation: very very good) with a usage rate of 23.7%. If you haven't seen it, check out danzig's highlight reel of him against the Bulls, where he hit the go-ahead bucket in the fourth quarter. You can see Anderson in action in the final preseason game tonight on ESPN against the Hawks at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST; considering that starters usually are rested a lot in these games, this might be the most Anderson plays all year long.
Sean Marks? 2 points, 5 rebounds, 30% shooting, 4 fouls per game. We should expect a lot of updates like this; pray for a gamewinning dunk here and there.
Leon Powe met with his old Celtic battery mates during the last preseason game between the Cavs and Cs (he is of course still far away from playing). It was, in his own words, 'strange'.
Rod Benson was released by the Pacers. Sigh. He'll probably be back in the D-League soon enough. Interesting stuff about dissent between Benson and his agent from Ridiculous Upside.

Elsewhere

Week 3 - Natalie Coughlin - Dancing With The Stars (via ABCNetwork)

Natalie Coughlin was eliminated prematurely from Dancing with the Stars, because people who watch Dancing with the Stars obviously hate beautiful women and prefer C-list celebrities. For those who wanted to catch her dances (all in HD!): Week 1 with the salsa, Week 2 with the quickstep, Week 3 with the rumba (her best one) is the embedded video above, Week 4 with the bolero. Here's her post-elimination interview from Good Morning America, where they wake her up at 4 to 5 AM local time the night afterwards and drag her back to the studio for an interview to ask her how much it sucks to be eliminated. You stay classy ABC.
At least it led to this gem by one of the judges. You should spot what's wrong pretty quickly.

"Unfortunately for Natalie, I think that people didn’t know who she was," said the cheorographer, actress and dancer [Carrie Ann Inaba]. "Maybe the fan base of her sport isn’t watching our show or maybe it isn’t as big as someone like Michael Irvin’s fanbase, which is basketball."

Toronto FC's Stefan Frei is a dark horse candidate for MLS Rookie of the Year.
Finally, Joseph Cannon of the Daily Cal wrote up about several Golden Bear hoopsters playing overseas. Ayinde Ubaka's starring in Australia for the Gold Coast Blaze, DeVon Hardin's been hopping from Oklahoma to Greece to Turkey and now Greece again for EO Athens, and Eric Vierneisel's been everywhere (New Zealand, Syria, Jordan), before settling on Heidelberg, Germany.

Bouncing Back From Oregon + Why Hasn't Cal Been Able to Beat USC?

Avinash — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:25:57 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Joe McKnight and the USC Trojans are headed to Berkeley. Is Cal ready to respond and beat their big conference rivals?

Browse more photos »

Despite the unfortunate defeat at Oregon, the importance of Cal-USC really hasn't changed. Everyone knew coming into the season that Cal would have to beat USC, and now at 0-1 in the conference they'll be pretty much in must-win mode the rest of the season.

So as a postmortem on Oregon, and for those Cal fans out there playing the role of Dr. Phil this week, let's remember several things about how Tedford's Bears have responded to games like this.

1) The last time Cal was crushed like this on the road as a top 10 team with high expectations, they rallied and went on to win their next eight games, winning by an average of three touchdowns, and winning the first five games after that defeat by an average final score of 43-18. How many games are left in this season? Eight. Hmmm....

2) A Jeff Tedford team has NEVER followed up a blowout on the road with a loss at home. In fact, every time the Bears have lost by more than a touchdown on the road, they've responded with the following results in Memorial: Cal 37, Furd 16; Cal 41, UCLA 20; Cal 42, Minnesota 17; Cal 20, Washington State 17 (okay, this game sucked, but a win is a win).

3) The Bears have only lost twice in home games after tough road losses. And both of those games were with Joe Ayoob as quarterback. Kevin Riley, whatever you may care to call him after last week, is not Joe Ayoob.

Let's man up Cal fans and get back to the habit of doing what we all love Tedford for: Winning. Play this song on loop the rest of the day, and get the hate back in your body.

It's USC's time to feel wrath. Click after the jump to figure out why we've struggled with them.

How do you feel the Bears will bounce back from their loss to Oregon (also vote in the poll)? And what do you think is the main reason Cal has always been unable to beat USC? Ponder these questions in the comments.

NOT the defense. For all the Bob Gregory haters out there (and Lord knows there's plenty of them out there), Cal's defense always provides some of its stoutest efforts against the Trojans, even when overmatched. Take a look at the offensive stats from USC each season, and compare it to their stats against USC.

USC Offense Breakdown	Rushing YPC	Rushing YPG	Comp%	Passing YPA	Total Yds	Pts per game
2009 offensive stats	5.89	216.5	60.6	8.4	424	28.5
2009 vs Cal	???	???	???	???	???	???
2008 offensive stats	5.05	195.6	65.4	8.7	454.7	37.5
2008 vs Cal	4.81	173	60	7.9	411	17
2007 offensive stats	4.97	198	62.1	6.7	434.9	32.6
2007 vs Cal	4.98	239	55	6.5	368	24
2006 offensive stats	4.08	130.9	61	7.6	391.8	30.5
2006 vs Cal	3.87	120	58.1	7.7	358	23
2005 offensive stats	6.44	260	64.9	8.6	579.8	49.1
2005 vs Cal	4	188	62.5	7.7	434	35
2004 offensive stats	4.68	177.38	65.6	8.2	449.1	38.2
2004 vs Cal	1.64	41	60	6.6	205	23

While the Bears have not reached the heights of the 2004-2005 teams that shut down Reggie Bush, excepting 2007 when Chauncey Washington ran all over us, we have held our own, holding USC below their mean in almost every game. Most impressive is last year's performance where USC converted 36% of their 3rd downs as opposed to 45% on average and sacked Sanchez three times when he was sacked an average of 1.3 per game. Most importantly is the point total--USC has only scored more than 24 points once, and their final totals are on average about two touchdowns lower against Cal than their average points per game. In the most important category, Cal's defense has stifled the Trojans.

More talent. USC always puts out a bigger, more physical, more talented team. These issues can't really be argued. Go down the skill positions and the defenses and you'll see the Trojans probably have the advantages at every position, save maybe running back, defensive line and (maybe) the secondary. And you could probably make a strong case either way about quarterback. Offensively, when USC is on, they're usually unbeatable because of the talent of their skill players in cutting and breaking away in the open field, as well as overwhelming smaller defenses. Thankfully for our defense, they're not usually on against us, but eventually they break through.

USC's talent is not only physical but mental, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Pete Carroll's defensive groups always are good not only at chasing you down in space, but also at anticipating play calls, reading the quarterback's eyes, overwhelming opposing O-lines, turning 8-10 yard screens and swing passes into 1 to 2 yard pickups with their reading and recognizing of the system. These are smart football minds who know how to make quick, smart football decisions.

Depth. Lose seven defenders to the NFL draft, lose another dozen to injury, and they bring up seven more guys who have helped held their opponent offenses to 10 points per game (5th in the nation), 1.7 rushing yards per carry (3rd in the nation), and 227 yards per game (6th in the nation).

Cal, by contrast, cannot afford any error in terms of health. In 2007 they lost players to injury all the time and it ended up hurting us, in 2008 it was part of the difference between an 8 win Emerald Bowl team and a 10 win Rose Bowl team.

The Trojans are like the Red Army. They could lose an army of talent and not miss a beat in plowing your team into the ground. Don't underestimate them, even with the plethora of talent that will be sitting on the sidelines or in LA this Saturday.

Bad luck. Let's face it, Cal had their chances to win last year's game. But they were saddled with an incompetent officiating crew that gave the Trojans a crucial 14 point swing: There was the incomplete pass in the end zone that was ruled a touchdown (0:53 in), and that bizarro ineligible receiver/illegal motion penalty that I'm STILL trying to figure out. Reverse either of these calls, and Cal could be down by only a field goal or tied up going into the 4th quarter, definitely putting far more pressure on Mark Sanchez and USC to respond.

However, that's one instance of bad luck hurting us. There have been two relative constants I see in our defeats the previous seasons.

Quarterback. I hate to bring it back to quarterback play, because I know how much everyone loves talking about it. But for a Cal offense that prides itself on its strong passing game, the past four seasons they have come up woefully short against the Trojans.

2005: Joe Ayoob & Steve Levy, 56.5% completion rate, 0 touchdown, 4 interceptions, 5.7 yards per attempt (season averages of 52% completions, 7.2 YPA, and a 1.3 to 1 TD to INT ratio)
2006: Nate Longshore, 44.7% completion rate, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, 4.6 yards per attempt (season averages of 60.2% completions, 8 YPA, and almost a 2 to 1 TD to INT ratio)
2007: Nate Longshore, 44.8% completion rate, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, 6.9 yards per attempt (season averages of 60% completions, 6.7 YPA, and nearly a 1 to 1 TD to INT ratio)
2008: Nate Longshore & Kevin Riley, 48.4% completions, 0 touchdown, 1 interception, 4.5 yards per attempt (season averages of 52.6% completions, 6.2 YPA, and a 2.5 to 1 TD to INT ratio)

So Cal's passing game has completed about 50% of its passes, which certainly won't get the job done. Winning passing quarterbacks have, over the last five years have completed 60% (Locker), 64% (Moveao), 64% (Dixon), 36% (Pritchard, albeit that was a fluky game), 65% (Matt Moore), 57% (Cowan), and 75% (Young). You'd expect Kevin Riley would at least have to complete 57% of his passes, and certainly around 60% for the Bears to truly get on track on the offensive end.

More disconcerting is the 2 touchdown to 9 interception ratio. With the Trojans likely to focus on Jahvid Best the way Oregon did, Cal will have to establish their passing attack in some way if they plan to win, whether by a balance of playcalling or a quick hitting attack to exploit any USC defensive weaknesses the coaching staff notices.

If the passing attack regresses to its inconsistent 2008 ways, then it could be a very long, tedious night in Memorial.

The Cal offense finishing the game. The biggest difference in our recent meetings has been the fourth quarter; we have held our own until the must crucial part of the game. In the fourth quarter of the last three games in the series, USC has outscored Cal 28-0; extend it to 2005 and it's 35-7. Two of those games were tied (although USC took a 7 point lead early in one of those games); another the Bears were only down by 7. These three games were immensely winnable by the Bears, yet in the fourth quarter they have put up these epic offensive stats.

2006: 1/4 on 3rd down conversions, 3:36 time of possession, 41 yards of total offense, 1 turnover, 29% completion rate
2007: 1/2 on 3rd down, 4:37 time of possession, 83 yards of total offense (78 by Forsett), 2 turnovers, 29% completion rate
2008: 0/3 on 3rd down, 4:23 time of possession, -1 yard of total offense, 17% completion rate.

What you see in these 4th quarters is a Cal offense that struggles to possess the ball, struggles to move the ball, struggles to pass the ball and struggles to handle the ball. That sort of play is a recipe for defeat against any opponent in a close game, much less the class of the conference.

It's likely to be a close affair again this season between two reeling but still very talented teams. Will the Cal offense step down or step up? After last week, everyone has plenty of reason to be worried.

Poll

How will Cal bounce back from their loss to Oregon?

With a vengeance

107 votes

With a determined performance

143 votes

With an average performance

38 votes

With a whimper

19 votes

They won't.

83 votes

390 votes | Poll has closed

What Are the Greatest Golden Bear Running Back Performances?

Avinash — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Paul Battaglia - AP

2 months ago: California quarterback Kevin Riley (13) hands-off to tailback Jahvid Best during the first half of an NCAA football game against Minnesota, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009 in Minneapolis. Riley was 16-25 for 252 yards as California won 35-21. (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

Browse more photos »

VOTE FOR JAHVID BEST FOR AT&T ESPN ALL-AMERICAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK (click here for instructions)!

"Jahvid is a speed reader. He finished Atlas Shrugged in an afternoon." ~JahvidBestFacts

Rushing isn't all about yardage. Well, okay, it is all about yardage, but yards in some game mean more than they do in others. Jahvid Best's five touchdown performance on Minnesota might not have brought as many highlight reel passses the way the first two games this season have, but it's the biggest of his three because of the circumstances. Cal hasn't won a road game, Cal is a bad road team, Cal chokes when it matters, etc. etc. This time, Best played great when we needed him, getting the touchdowns to put us up early and late, at both the goal-line (pleasant surprise) and in the open field (not surprising at all).

So this afternoon, before we gear up for Oregon, let's pause and take a look at your Cal history banks. What Cal tailback performances have stirred up similar feelings of clutchness and productivity?

Share and debate your favorite Golden Bear running back performances. Rec your favorite posts/performances in the comments and we'll summarize the performances with the most recs at a later date!

Here's my personal top 5 (keep in mind my Cal fandom only extends to 2004; I'd love to see plenty of performances from before that time). If you like any of these ones a lot, feel free to copy the performances I share below in the comments, we'll probably see some overlap.

via graphics.fansonly.com

5) Justin Forsett, 31 carries, 164 yards, 2 receptions for 45 yards, 1 TD, USC 2007 (first 1:15).

Yeah, it was in a loss, but it was the first time I ever really thought, "Wow, Forsett could actually be a pro back." I'd always though he'd max out in college before that game, but his ability to elude and break what were essentially pro tacklers in USC's front was so impressive I . Not to mention he was able to block blitzes from those powerful Trojan linebackers for the ailing Nate Longshore. Niners fans got a taste of the havoc he will soon unleash yesterday.

I really didn't feel any hope we'd win this game after our performance the previous four weeks. But Forsett (and a little bit of Hawk) made me feel otherwise.

Here's the top 4 after the jump!

4) Marshawn Lynch: 25 carries for 189 yards, 3 catches for 13 yards, 2 touchdowns, Oregon 2005 (:45 to 1:06)

When you go 52 yards for a game tying touchdown in the 2nd half, when your quarterback is playing with his hands wrapped tightly around his throat, when you're trying to win for the first time in Autzen in nearly two decades, and you go for nearly 8 yards per carry, you're definitely worthy of the top 5.

3) Jahvid Best: 19 carries, 201 yards, 3 receptions, 35 yards, 3 touchdowns, Big Game 2008 (Best/Vereen highlight reel of the game; note: no audio)

This was about the time Jahvid Best took over our 2008 offense. Our season could've 2007ed if Jahvid didn't decide to make this game his. Big props to Alex Mack and Will Ta'ufo'ou for opening up big enough holes for Best, and Tedford finding creative ways to either misdirect the defense to focus on Best or get him the ball in ways that eviscerated the defenders who could not cut and jive their way with him.

via 2.bp.blogspot.com

2) Marshawn Lynch: 21 carries for 150 yards, 4 receptions for 53 yards, 2 touchdowns, Washington 2006 (2:06 to 3:11)

Twist references this game as The Passion of the Christ. He leaves out the part about Jesus rising to heaven on a tripped out injury cart.

via www.eteamz.com

1) JJ Arrington: 31 carries, 261 yards at Southern Miss 2004. (3:21 is the only clip I can find from that game, sorry for the terrible quality)

This was the biggest clutch performance I've seen from perhaps any Golden Bear the past five seasons. The Bears were about to get Longhorned out of the Rose Bowl, and Arrington made the case not only for Cal to get to Pasadena, but also for him to enter the Heisman discussion. He ripped apart Southern Mississippi when the passing game started to falter, Geoff Macarthur broke his leg, and Aaron Rodgers was having trouble completing half his passes.

You can tell a true Cal fan from a poser if you ask them who the most important player on that 2004 team was. Their answer should incorporate the number 2018 into it.

Honorable mention: Jahvid Best: 26 carries, 131 yards, 5 touchdowns, Minnesota 2009; Justin Forsett: 26 carries for 156 yards, 1 catch for 49 yards, 1 TD, Tennessee 2007; Jahvid Best 20 carries, 186 yards, 2 TDs, Emerald Bowl 2008; Marshawn Lynch 25 carries for 152 yards, 3 catches for 17 yards, 2 TDs, at Wazzu 2006; JJ Arrington 29 carries, 205 yards, 2 TDs versus UCLA, 2004.

My history of Cal football is exceptionally short. Old Blues, enlighten me and other youngins about the greats that preceded us!

CGB HoF Round of 32: Aaron Rodgers vs Justin Forsett

Avinash — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:00:10 -0000

We conclude with two of Cal's modern football players, one who had the golden arm, the other having to grind through the blues of the trenches.

For each athlete, you can vote in the poll; it closes a week from today at midnight. After the jump, you can read the athlete profiles written up by our commenters, and discuss in the comments your memories of each athlete and which one deserves to move on. (Check out the full bracket here. To check out the original nomination thread, click here. For those who want to track the CGB Hall of Fame posts exclusively, click here or right next to the timestamp above where it says "Hall of Fame".)

Aaron Rodgers

via www.greenbaypackersticket.net

norcalnick provides one more fantastic profile about one of Cal's greatest quarterbacks.

Because I am also a San Francisco 49er fan, I tuned into the 2005 NFL draft very much hoping that Aaron Rodgers would complete his destiny as a childhood Joe Montana fan and don the Red and Gold as our franchise quarterback. Four years later and I’m still not sure if I wished that had happened.

Rodgers only had about a season and a half to make an impression as a starter for the Golden Bears, and he wasted very little time. Taking over as starting QB midway through the ’03 season, Rodgers led a late season charge for a bowl berth in a year that was expected to be a rebuilding year. He then had perhaps the best performance ever by a Cal QB in a bowl game, sending expectations for 2004 sky-high in a thrilling, crazy 52-49 victory over Virginia Tech in the Insight Bowl. He threw for 394 yards and 2 TDs.

His 2005 season can almost be described as disappointing, although none of the fault would fall to Rodgers. How can a 10-2 season be disappointing? How about when hard-luck injuries gradually hamper the passing game as the team slowly puts the offensive burden on the legs of JJ Arrington? Or when those receiver injuries haunt Cal by essentially preventing any chance at a comeback in a painful loss to Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl? And most of all, how about when your QB puts together one of the most impressive single game efforts in a losing effort to the eventual national champs? Never have I been surer of something football related in my life than when Cal had first and goal at the USC 9 with less than two minutes to go. Cal was going to score. Aaron Rodgers was 29-31. There is no way we don’t take the lead. I just sat numb in my chair when Jonathan Makonnen slipped on 4^th down, not comprehending that I was wrong.

via www.sfgate.com

Go to Hell, BCS! You go to Hell and you DIE!

Sadly, the peak of Rodger’s passing attack at Cal was probably reached in Corvallis in the game just before Cal’s loss to USC. In that game Rodgers, Chase Lyman, and Geoff MacArthur absolutely blitzed Oregon State in a 49-7 victory. Next week Lyman would go down with a knee injury that would essentially end is football career. Makonnen would miss most of the games that year with a variety of nagging ailments and MacArthur played through various problems that limited his abilities before going down with a freak injury in practice before the Holiday Bowl. It’s a testament to Rodger’s talent and Tedford’s coaching that Cal’s passing attack didn’t completely disappear.

via www.midwestsportsfans.com

Despite a rocky start, Rodgers came to embrace Green Bay fans, culture and moustaches.

Rodgers intelligently declared for the draft in a down year for quarterbacks. In one of the most unbelievable displays of NFL draft skullduggery he somehow slid to the end of the first round to the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers suffered through Brett Favre’s chronic indecisiveness and is now the unquestioned starter for a perennial playoff contender. Meanwhile, Alex Smith is for some reason still considered a viable starting quarterback contender for the 49ers. I said above that I don’t know if I’m still upset that the 49ers drafted Smith over Rodgers. That’s because I wouldn’t wish the 49er’s dysfunction on a Cal quarterback as clearly talented as Rodgers is, even if that means he has to play for a team that knocked out my 49ers every damned year in the late 90s. When everything is done many expect Rodgers to finish his NFL career as the most decorated quarterback ever to come out of Cal. I’ll remember him as the player that vaulted Cal from feel-good mid-conference team to perennial Pac-10 title contender.

Justin Forsett

via cdn3.sbnation.com

From Wikipedia:

With a deep depth chart at running back, it appeared Forsett would redshirt his freshman year, but an impressive performance in fall camp kept Forsett on the active roster. In the season opener, Forsett had 34 yards rushing and a touchdown in Cal's victory over Air Force. Forsett played mostly as a backup during his first 3 years at California, playing behind J.J. Arrington and Marshawn Lynch. Nevertheless, he managed to amass a good amount of playing time. During his freshman year, Forsett was used primarily on special teams, retuning one kickoff for 11 yards but usually blocking for Marshawn Lynch. On coverage units, he made 3 tackles and blocked a punt in the endzone for a touchdown against Washington.^[3]

During his sophomore year, Forsett became second on the Cal depth chart at running back. He filled in when Lynch was injured in the early-season and ran for 235 yards against New Mexico State, good for the fourth highest single game rushing effort in school history.^[2] In Forsett's junior year, he continued his role as backup. He ran for over 100-yards against Oregon when injuries sidelined Lynch and in Cal's rout of Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl.^[2]

As a starter his senior year, Forsett rushed for 1,546 yards on 305 carries, and scored 15 touchdowns. He opened the season with 156 yards rushing and a touchdown against University of Tennessee. His 15 touchdowns led all rushers in the Pac-10, and his 1,546 rushing yards finished second, behind only Oregon tailback Jonathan Stewart. Forsett's efforts earned him a selection to the All-Pacific-10 Conference first team.^[5] Forsett ended his college career on a high note, rushing for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 42-36 Cal victory over Air Force in the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl.

Justin Forsett Extended Highlights 01 from bob gregory on Vimeo.

Justin Forsett Extended Highlights 3 from bob gregory on Vimeo.

Poll

Who should move on, Aaron Rodgers or Justin Forsett?

Aaron Rodgers

308 votes

Justin Forsett

34 votes

342 votes | Poll has closed

Hall of Fame Round of 64: Pete Newell Bracket, Part IV

Avinash — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:00:12 -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: Justin Forsett vs Brian Wethers, Aaron Rodgers vs Camille Leffall

We conclude the bottom half of the Pete Newell bracket! Top two matchups were posted this morning, and we move onto the bottom two. Polls for these matchups close next Friday at midnight. The athlete matchups are above, the athlete descriptions and polls are after the jump. Please read, vote, and debate in the comments!

This is our final bracket of the first round! Get ready for second round action next week!

#7 Justin Forsett vs #10 Brian Wethers

via cdn3.sbnation.com

From Wikipedia:

With a deep depth chart at running back, it appeared Forsett would redshirt his freshman year, but an impressive performance in fall camp kept Forsett on the active roster. In the season opener, Forsett had 34 yards rushing and a touchdown in Cal's victory over Air Force. Forsett played mostly as a backup during his first 3 years at California, playing behind J.J. Arrington and Marshawn Lynch. Nevertheless, he managed to amass a good amount of playing time. During his freshman year, Forsett was used primarily on special teams, retuning one kickoff for 11 yards but usually blocking for Marshawn Lynch. On coverage units, he made 3 tackles and blocked a punt in the endzone for a touchdown against Washington.^[3]

During his sophomore year, Forsett became second on the Cal depth chart at running back. He filled in when Lynch was injured in the early-season and ran for 235 yards against New Mexico State, good for the fourth highest single game rushing effort in school history.^[2] In Forsett's junior year, he continued his role as backup. He ran for over 100-yards against Oregon when injuries sidelined Lynch and in Cal's rout of Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl.^[2]

As a starter his senior year, Forsett rushed for 1,546 yards on 305 carries, and scored 15 touchdowns. He opened the season with 156 yards rushing and a touchdown against University of Tennessee. His 15 touchdowns led all rushers in the Pac-10, and his 1,546 rushing yards finished second, behind only Oregon tailback Jonathan Stewart. Forsett's efforts earned him a selection to the All-Pacific-10 Conference first team.^[5] Forsett ended his college career on a high note, rushing for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 42-36 Cal victory over Air Force in the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl.

Justin Forsett Extended Highlights 01 from bob gregory on Vimeo.

Justin Forsett Extended Highlights 3 from bob gregory on Vimeo.

via media.collegepublisher.com

Twist: For this tiny Jewish man, Brian Wethers was always a medical marvel. He looked like he could just smash somebody into pieces with those arms of his. We were obsessed with his ability to potentially play Whack A Mole solely with his fists! We were just happy he was a happy-looking nice guy and not The Angriest Man Alive (i.e. AJ Diggs!).

Brian Wethers (born December 17, 1980 in Carson, California, U.S.) is an American professional basketball player. Wethers attended college at the University of California in Berkeley after graduating from Murrieta Valley High School in 1999. Wethers primarily plays the small forward or shooting guard position. After college he had NBA pre-draft workouts with the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers but was never drafted. Wethers then played for Shandong in China in the 2003-2004 season before moving to the Hunter Pirates in the Australian National Basketball League for the 2004-2005 NBL season. Wethers was a standout for the Pirates, leading the league in scoring with 24.1 points a game and being named the MVP of the Australian league. Wether's strong play took the Pirates to the playoffs, after they had previously only won 2 matches the season before. His signing was a major acquisition for the New Zealand Breakers, who have struggled in the league since their inception in 2003-2004. Moved to Ukraine in 2008, signing with Budivelnik (Budivelnyk) Kyiv.

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#2 Aaron Rodgers vs #15 Camille Leffall

via www.greenbaypackersticket.net

norcalnick provides one more fantastic profile about one of Cal's greatest quarterbacks.

Because I am also a San Francisco 49er fan, I tuned into the 2005 NFL draft very much hoping that Aaron Rodgers would complete his destiny as a childhood Joe Montana fan and don the Red and Gold as our franchise quarterback. Four years later and I’m still not sure if I wished that had happened.

Rodgers only had about a season and a half to make an impression as a starter for the Golden Bears, and he wasted very little time. Taking over as starting QB midway through the ’03 season, Rodgers led a late season charge for a bowl berth in a year that was expected to be a rebuilding year. He then had perhaps the best performance ever by a Cal QB in a bowl game, sending expectations for 2004 sky-high in a thrilling, crazy 52-49 victory over Virginia Tech in the Insight Bowl. He threw for 394 yards and 2 TDs.

His 2005 season can almost be described as disappointing, although none of the fault would fall to Rodgers. How can a 10-2 season be disappointing? How about when hard-luck injuries gradually hamper the passing game as the team slowly puts the offensive burden on the legs of JJ Arrington? Or when those receiver injuries haunt Cal by essentially preventing any chance at a comeback in a painful loss to Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl? And most of all, how about when your QB puts together one of the most impressive single game efforts in a losing effort to the eventual national champs? Never have I been surer of something football related in my life than when Cal had first and goal at the USC 9 with less than two minutes to go. Cal was going to score. Aaron Rodgers was 29-31. There is no way we don’t take the lead. I just sat numb in my chair when Jonathan Makonnen slipped on 4^th down, not comprehending that I was wrong.

via www.sfgate.com

Go to Hell, BCS! You go to Hell and you DIE!

Sadly, the peak of Rodger’s passing attack at Cal was probably reached in Corvallis in the game just before Cal’s loss to USC. In that game Rodgers, Chase Lyman, and Geoff MacArthur absolutely blitzed Oregon State in a 49-7 victory. Next week Lyman would go down with a knee injury that would essentially end is football career. Makonnen would miss most of the games that year with a variety of nagging ailments and MacArthur played through various problems that limited his abilities before going down with a freak injury in practice before the Holiday Bowl. It’s a testament to Rodger’s talent and Tedford’s coaching that Cal’s passing attack didn’t completely disappear.

via www.midwestsportsfans.com

Despite a rocky start, Rodgers came to embrace Green Bay fans, culture and moustaches.

Rodgers intelligently declared for the draft in a down year for quarterbacks. In one of the most unbelievable displays of NFL draft skullduggery he somehow slid to the end of the first round to the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers suffered through Brett Favre’s chronic indecisiveness and is now the unquestioned starter for a perennial playoff contender. Meanwhile, Alex Smith is for some reason still considered a viable starting quarterback contender for the 49ers. I said above that I don’t know if I’m still upset that the 49ers drafted Smith over Rodgers. That’s because I wouldn’t wish the 49er’s dysfunction on a Cal quarterback as clearly talented as Rodgers is, even if that means he has to play for a team that knocked out my 49ers every damned year in the late 90s. When everything is done many expect Rodgers to finish his NFL career as the most decorated quarterback ever to come out of Cal. I’ll remember him as the player that vaulted Cal from feel-good mid-conference team to perennial Pac-10 title contender.

via graphics.fansonly.com

Here are some thoughts on Camille.

ososdeoro--Okay, she was just one of the better players on a really good team, but she had Hall of Fame hair.

BearStage: Interesting tidbit – she was the one Mike Tepper kept from being run over:
Mike Tepper and a friend, Cal senior volleyball player Camille Leffall, were crossing Telegraph at Dwight Way about 1:15 a.m. when a Chrysler pulled alongside them.

And we all know what happened next.

Now apparently an aspiring singer. Not to mention gorgeous.

Twist gives us Leffall's basic biographical details.

Leffall, a 6-1 middle hitter from Upland, Calif., is having an outstanding senior campaign, hitting .394 (fourth in the Pac-10) and leads the team with 107 blocks. Leffall shined in the Bears' Oct. 31 win over Stanford, recording a career-high 21 kills with a .425 hitting percentage. From Sept. 28-Nov. 5, she hit .300 or better in 11-straight matches, and has hit .300 or better in 20 of 27 matches overall. Leffall is currently second on the Cal all-time block list with 427 total blocks - seven blocks shy of Cara Dane's school-record 434 blocks from 1990-93. She is also the Bears' school record-holder with a .365 career hitting percentage and has the second-most career blocks of any active Pac-10 player. Leffall was a member of the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team in 2001 and was honorable mention All-Pac-10 in 2003.

Here's the full story on the Tepper-Camille incident.

Tepper and a friend, Cal senior volleyball player Camille Leffall, were crossing Telegraph at Dwight Way about 1:15 a.m. when a Chrysler pulled alongside them.

"The driver said, 'Hey, babe, what are you doing?' to Camille," said Tepper, who is 6-foot-6, 330 pounds. "She said she wasn't interested. We kept walking, but we only got about five feet when the car pulled up alongside us into the crosswalk. They kept hitting on her so I stepped in front and said, 'Hey, we're going to meet some friends. Can we just get by?' "

According to Tepper and police reports, as Tepper and Leffall tried to cross behind the car, the vehicle shifted into reverse and headed toward them. "I saw the driver had his hand on the steering column and I thought that this guy was going to punch it," Tepper said. "So I hit Camille across the chest and threw her."

Although Tepper managed to toss Leffall out of the direct path of the car, the front, passenger side of the vehicle blasted into them both. The severity of the impact was lessened for Leffall because Tepper already had sent her sprawling backward.

"We both got hit, but Mike got run over," said Leffall, who suffered cuts and scrapes and an injured back. "It's a good thing he pushed me out of the way, because my body couldn't have handled (being run over). I probably would have had my foot amputated.

"It was really nice of him. He was trying to protect me."

Tepper wasn't so fortunate. "The car hit me, and I hit the ground, and the tire ran over my leg," Tepper said. "I looked back to my right, and the guy puts it in drive and runs over me again."

Again, Tepper's right leg was crushed under the tire before the vehicle drove off.

Leffall still is suffering from back pain and emotional trauma. "I have to walk past that intersection to go to school, and it is really, really tough," she said. "I don't think they found all the guys who were in the car, so I am constantly watching my back. This has overwhelmed me ... the emotions you have. We are getting hit by cars driven by crazed maniacs. It takes away your sense of security."

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GIVE ME STUDENT SECTION OR GIVE ME DEATH!

TwistNHook — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:00:18 -0000

But preferably, student section.

See, Webster's Dictionary defines "Ken Crawford" as a well-respect Cal blogger, who runs the site "Excuse Me For My Voice." He also hunts people for sport and fashion.

He recently wrote an interesting piece about potentially moving the student section. Go and read it, it's good stuff. Because we're about to conga-line onto his bandwagon of concepts and theories and new-fangled beliefs in something called a "Justin Forsett It And Forget It."

"I'm actually in this photo. Look for the guy wearing blue and also some gold." via upload.wikimedia.org

Avinash: Well, let me play devil's advocate. Take away all this 'purity of college' crap; college sports, in general, lose money for the university and divert resources away from academia. What is even more surprising is that football generally breaks even and doesn't come close to making up the difference.

The Pac-10 has also begun to feel the pinch and the situation isn't expected to get better anytime soon.

Now, Cal is currently one of the few athletic programs that can sustain itself thanks to boosters, donors, and whatever, but that trend won't last forever. So the university should look for ways to maximize its profit margin and keep itself in the black, and the obvious attraction would be giving the premium seats at Memorial Stadium to people who will pay top dollar for it as opposed to the students (who are paying essentially gold zone money for the best seats in the house).

Why would you guys be against this?

TwistNHook: I don't know. I never had the student experience at a Cal game. I was always doing the band thing. I have no idea what the student experience is like.

What is the student experience like?

HydroTech: Charge students more money for their tickets. Also have them pay a penalty fee for not going to the game if they did buy season tickets.

Avinash: But would the student section sell out if you charged more money?

HydroTech: Perhaps it wouldn't. But this is my line of thinking. If the students are going to occupy some of the best seats in the house, charge them appropriately. If the Athletics Department feels that the students are being under-charged, then charge them more. Furthermore, because the students are occupying the best seats in the house, they better come to the games because if they don't, then the University lost out on possible revenue from a willing alumni who would have paid $250 for those seats or whatever. Thus, that is why I suggested that the Athletics Department charge the students a penalty fee for not coming to games if they bought tickets. I think Alabama has something similar to this.

Such a change would cover all interests of the program. It still allows students the best seats in the house. It still maintains that tradition of having students on the fifty yard line. It still provides excellent home field advantage by having some of Cal's most consistently loud fans at the most strategic position within the stadium. It allows the Athletics Department to increase their revenue. And furthermore, it encourages students from skipping on games so they don't get penalized.

Alternatively, the Athletics Department could charge the students MUCH more than they are currently paying, and subtract costs from the students if they attend the game. In other words, charge the students $500 for season tickets, but for every home game they attend their account will be credited $40. Thus, if the students attend all 7 home games, they'll be credited $280, and the cost of their season tickets really is $220. This alternative method accomplishes the same goal as my first suggestion but instead of penalizing the students, it rewards them. Although the result is essentially the same, psychologically, it can be more encouraging for the students to "earn" credit rather than being punished.

Frankly, I think this is a great solution to the problem, and I'm not just saying this because I put forth this idea.

TwistNHook: I think thats a great idea and Im saying that solely because I think Hydro will punch me in the face if I disagree.

That said, heres my concern. We generally sit in Section RR. This is to the left of the band. This is, ostensibly, a student section. But since its on the other side of the band, its always wide open. So, if they move the students, that might stop being so wide open and easy to go to for the games.

So, I am now 100% completely and totally opposed to any moves.

"I'd put all the students in "Haas Press Box."" via grfx.cstv.com

Yellow Fever: I'm not so certain that a plan like that would work. I have no doubt that at a cost of 220, the student section would sell out, but with an upfront sticker price of 500, you'd have to imagine a lot of students would be wary about their initial investment even if they were planning on attending every game.

HydroTech: I understand your concern, Fever. In that case, charge the students the normal fee and add a punishment clause whereby they pay an extra $30 to $40 for every game they miss.

Avinash: The biggest issue I'm seeing is that the really passionate young Cal fans (the ones that make the most noise) get priced out. College kids enjoy their football, but it's not like the most diehard fans have to go to the games anymore. They can probably sit back and watch on their friend's 50" HD, or go to one of the many huge sports bars if they feel the University is tightening their grasp on their wallets.

If we raise the prices on students, we might see a similar issue permeate the student section. Indifferent on defense, occasionally cheering when it gets late, etc. Do we really want to leave our rowdiest fans out on a limb?

HydroTech: Well, I think the solution is to then make the game-day environment one that can't be missed. And thus, those people that want to watch the game at home on their HDTVs, will be able to see the game and that's it. They'll miss out on the band, the music, the energy within the stadium, the free giveaways, etc. If Cal can make the gameday environment exciting and enticing enough so that people who stay home and watch the game on TV will feel like they're missing out on something special, then those people will start coming to the games in person.

Avinash: You don't feel moving the students to the gold zone and/or blue zones is a feasible solution?

Yellow Fever: Personally, if the game day experience is fine, I'd have no problem being anywhere in the stadium. But then you're talking about a guy who's paid for tickets in the very top row of the worst stadium in the NBA, so I don't really have the highest of standards. Still, I don't feel like the team needs to worry about pricing out too many students. Is there any problem with student attendance now? If there isn't, then in the interest of capitalism I don't have any problem with the team charging as much as they can.

HydroTech: I think moving the students to the endzones is a possibility, but not a feasible one when the goal we are trying to accomplish is keeping the tradition of student seating on the 50 yard line and also increasing revenue. If we simply wanted to increase revenue, then yes, moving the students to the endzone is the right thing to do. However, that would mean the tradition and strategic advantage of having the students at mid-field is lost. Keeping the students where they are, and charging more money for season tickets - along with the punishment fee for missed games - would be an ideal way to satisfy both goals.

"Would moving the student section mean the end of card stunts?" via upload.wikimedia.org

Ragnarok: Man, I don't even know where to start. I'm not even sure whether I dislike this idea more than simply moving the students off the 50.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I wasn't a Cal fan until I started attending school there. I think the same goes for a lot of Cal fans. I probably wouldn't have even attended football games if I hadn't joined the Cal Band; I sure didn't bother going to football games in high school. But once I was in, I was hooked -- and given that I was watching a Tom Holmoe-coached team, you know that there has to be something special about Cal football.

All this talk about moving students into the endzones, or raising ticket prices on them, or charging them penalty fees for missing games; these are all shortsighted moves that will, in the long run, hurt Cal football. There's a reason student tickets are so cheap, and especially why there are corporate sponsors paying for free tickets for freshmen: it's all designed to induce student attendance. Students are on a budget -- many depend on scholarships and grants to get them through each semester, and tripling or quadrupling football ticket prices will just drive them away. However, if you get students to attend a few games, and if they're at all susceptible, they'll be hooked for life.

The point of having a football program is not to make money. In fact, simply not losing money should be only a secondary concern. The point, like every extra-curricular activity that the University sponsors, is to enhance the experience of the student body in general. Give students a good time, and they'll keep coming back for 50 years, putting up with crappy seats, terrible parking, and all the while donating money to their alma mater. Drive the students away, and you'll be wondering why, in 30 years, your alumni base that stays active and involved in their alma mater is so small.

"Is this a view Cal students should have?" via www.rkgprojects.com

Avinash: You're arguing that if we move the student section to the end zones and charge the same price, fewer students would show up? I don't think end zone seats are that bad; it's not exactly like sitting in the upper deck corners in baseball or basketball games, you're still getting a fairly decent view of the game on the field, without much detriment to the viewing experience.

TwistNHook: Have you ever sat in the end zone seats? You cant tell whether that run went for 1 yard, 5 yards, or 15.

To be fair, last time I sat in the end zone was USC 2005. I couldn't tell whether the DBack returned Ayoob's interception for 1 yard, 5 yards, or a TD. So, I might have some Vietnam-esque flashbacks to that proposal.

Ragnarok: No, I'm arguing that if you raise ticket prices, you'll get fewer students to show up, and if you start instituting penalty fees for not showing up, you're going to get fewer students to purchase student tickets in the first place. I'm also arguing that if you diminish the student experience, you'll get fewer of them to come back as alumni (and this is true whether you're talking about Cal football, or other sports, or the classroom experience, or whatever). Make the students love their four years at Cal, when they are poor, and you'll be repaid over the next 50 years as they become well-to-do alumni.

Moreover, I was arguing at the beginning that moving the students off the 50 and marginalizing their impact on the crowd and on the football game will only serve to diminish the experience for everyone involved. What I like about the ESP program and much of the renovation plan in general is that it brings in significant new revenue from the small portion of the fanbase that is able to afford it, and it does this by significantly enhancing the perks they receive and their overall gameday experience, without significantly detracting from the experience of the vast majority of the fans. Displacing the students to appease some portion of the general season ticket base (you know that the vast majority will put up with reseating without complaint) does not achieve the same level of unobtrusiveness.

Poll

Student Section. Move or stay?

Move

27 votes

Stay

184 votes

211 votes | Poll has closed

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