SB Nation User Blog: BearsNecessity

DeSean Jackson Preseason Video Highlights vs Carolina Panthers 8/15/08

BearsNecessity — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:36:58 -0000

DeSean Jackson Preseason Video Highlights vs Carolina Panthers 8/15/08

Aaron Rodgers preseason highlights vs. Cincinnati (compiled by Danzig at the California Golden Bl...

BearsNecessity — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 02:20:36 -0000

Aaron Rodgers Preseason vs CINN from ken livingston on Vimeo.

Aaron Rodgers preseason highlights vs. Cincinnati (compiled by Danzig at the California Golden Blogs)

Should College Athletes Be Booed?

BearsNecessity — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 01:24:52 -0000

Ted Miller outlines a grim possibility for Opening Week.

California fans need to prepare for a distinct possibility that many will not embrace, one that will inspire slapped foreheads and furious and outraged typing across the Golden Bear Nation.

Nate Longshore could win the quarterback job over Kevin Riley.

So how will Bears fans handle that? Will the raucous booing Longshore faced walking off his home field in Sourberry Canyon in 2007 return the first time he hurls an ill-advised interception?

Not saying Longshore is definitely the man. There's still about a week to 10 days before a decision needs to be made as earnest preparations begin for the Aug. 30 opener against Michigan State.

But folks who've watched more than a handful of practices -- when pushed to make a call -- suspect it will be Longshore.

So it might be good for fans to prepare. Let us suggest Dale Carnegie's lesser-known classic, "How to Win Friends and Influence Quarterbacks."

I wrote a similar article earlier this year about it (you're stealing my columns Ted) and maintain a somewhat ambivalent stance on the issue. I don't like booing athletes, but I can imagine the hyped up students turning nasty and even some of the grayer Bears getting a little frustrated if Nate struggles. I doubt he will, but the possibility of more boos out of the gate is not at all remote.

I'm not going to influence the vote on the poll, but you can vote and leave your thoughts in the comments: Should college athletes be booed? If so, under what circumstances?

And separately, if Nate Longshore does start and has a below-average performance against the Spartans, what will be your reaction? And what do you think will be the general fan reaction?

Poll

Should fans of a college team boo their athletes?

DBD 8.8.8 KUNG FU PANDAS

BearsNecessity — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:49:54 -0000

Since the Opening Ceremonies are kicking off just about now...I dedicate today to the PANDA!

via apina.nwpshost.com

PANDA SMASH!

Lavelle Hawkins has a blog. Check out the Hawk.

This blogging thing is new to me but I'm looking forward to sharing my rookie experiences with all of you and hearing what you have to say. I just moved from playing college ball at Cal (go Bears!) to playing for the Tennessee Titans, and even though I'm going to miss my college days, I'm proud to be a part of this team. I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to tell you guys as we go through my first season. I'll be back soon, but until then be sure to leave me some comment love!

From Okanes's stand-in, Bryson:

The primary storyline to Thursday’s practice was quarterback Kevin Riley being given the opportunity to work exclusively with the first team. Working on the hurry-up offense with full squads, Riley’s first pass was a 30-yard completion to Michael Calvin on a wheel pattern down the left sideline.

The sophomore signal-caller had his ups and downs during Thursday’s workout. His nicest pass of the afternoon came on a rollout to his right when he hit Nyan Boateng cutting across the middle about 40 yards down field. Boateng caught the ball in stride and went into the end zone untouched. Riley’s day also included a handful of misreads and a few overthrows.

Asked for a quick assessment of Riley’s day with the first team, coach Jeff Tedford seemed encouraged, but not overly so.

"It’s practice, and we’ll watch the tape," Tedford said. "Every day is a learning process for everybody. (Riley) did some good things and some not-so-good things."

Longshore had a relatively strong day with the second team offense. He had a copule of 60-plus yard touchdown passes. He hit tight end Tad Smith over the middle for a score. And he connected with wideout Sean Young on a fly pattern down the right sideline. Young beat freshman cornerback Michael Anthony on the play. However, Anthony redeemed himself later in practice when he picked up the only interception of the evening. He jumped the route on a Beau Sweeney pass and returned it 25 yards into the end zone.

Riley does not get the praise fans desire and Tedford lets Longshore off the hook for a practce TD return? Clearly this is a sign of conspiracy and the occult. Or maybe Brock Mansion is working his magic.

via lh6.ggpht.com

Oh look, a breaking story that changes nothing. Hooray!

Still issues about who will fill up the linebacking roster spot in the new 3-4 defense, with Felder Follett and Williams all secure at their positions, Desmond's little brother is vying for the spot. Dito nosetackle:

Senior Mika Kane and sophomore Derrick Hill are considered the favorites to man the middle of the defensive line, although Gregory singled out true freshman Kendrick Payne as someone who has stood out during the early stages of camp. Payne graduated early from Klein Forest High School in Houston and went through spring practice with the Bears.

I'll add more later, but it's 5 in the morning and I've decided sleep is a better option. Season's closer than ever, but it's still a dead week filled with nonstories. But plenty of pandas! Hail MAO and the glorious red Book! It is China's time to show how great their bears are.

via www.animaltalk.us

Maarty Leunen feature at NBA.com

BearsNecessity — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:21:47 -0000

Maarty Leunen feature at NBA.com

Found this feature on NBA.com; thought you Ducks fans might like to see Maarty Leunen fighting hard to earn a roster spot on the Rockets

Ted Miller Doesn't Like Oregon

BearsNecessity — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:08:15 -0000

The former Husky journalist has a startling revelation! Wow, I missed the memo on this one.

The most-hated program in the Pac-10?

This could go the predictable way or the more nuanced way.
USC is the obvious answer.
...

But let's at least acknowledge a strong second place... let's salute the program that a couple of seasons ago had Carroll dropping a series of F-bombs at the opposite sideline for a national television audience to absorb.

(You guys in the Northwest already know where this is going, don't you)?

Let's send out a Pac-10 salute to ... the Oregon Ducks... Nike U... Phil Knight's play pen.

You know: The guys who put up billboards in Times Square for a quarter million dollars. And wear the ugliest uniforms in the history of the world. And brag about it.

The team with the absurdly luxurious locker room, weight room and training center: Thank you Uncle Phil!

And that Autzen Stadium... hey, Quacks, can you give it a rest for just a moment? It's just a second-quarter punt -- no need to make like 54,000 jet engines for the ENTIRE GAME!

And what about that Mike Bellotti. He's so, so... media friendly. He's SO AVAILABLE. With his OPEN PRACTICES. He acts like COLLEGE FOOTBALL SHOULD BE A FUN THING TO BE AROUND.

(Wait... that's a really cool thing).

And, you know, win a Rose Bowl in the Modern Era before you act like you invented football.

He also doesn't have The Civil War listed (apparently you guys care more about Oregon-UW?) in the top 5 Pac-10 bitter rivalries, and Oregon has the ninth toughest non-conference schedule (guess who's first).

I'm a Cal fan and even I didn't know that Oregon fans were so widely despised. Or are they just widely despised by Ted Miller?

What Type of Wine is Cal Football?

BearsNecessity — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:24:19 -0000

Wrote this up over at The Bear Insider, and figured the question might be an interesting way to pass what's left of the dead season of July. The answer so far range from various Cabernets to the awesome Bearitage.

EDSBS Live had this radio special from a few weeks back dedicated to wine analogies for football teams, and I figure there are enough old-timers here who have enjoyed their fill of the finer liquors of life to have some awesome responses. So I present these four questions to you Bear Insiders. Here are some sample answers from an Ole Miss fan.

What Type of wine is your football team?

Your best vintage year, describe in wine-y terms.

Robert Parker reviews your arch enemy (take your pick here: Stanford, USC, UCLA, anyone but Portland State). Go.

Describe yourself in wine terms. "Subtly brilliant in small doses, unbearably pungent and incredibly vexatious in larger quantities. Only truly appreciated by the insane and drug addicted." If you knew me, it'd make sense.

DeSean Jackson Profile from Cal Fans

BearsNecessity — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:05:04 -0000

Wrote up this miniprofile for Eagles fans to dissect, this is from someone who's watched him for two years so I hope it's helpful.

Upside

He's a big game receiver. It was amusing to see how much DeSean's stats would increase for a nationally televised game; he usually saved his best stuff for those games (including 3 primetime punt returns for TDs). I'm very interested to see how he'll perform on a Sunday Night tilt.

No one's going to deny his overall talent either. He has so much body control that you're always left guessing as to what he'll do next. He's capable of bringing his body to a complete stop and then turning on the accelerator, like he did in the big Oregon game (most impressive play's at around :37)

It's worth noting that some of his biggest receiving performances came against pretty good secondaries like UCLA and Arizon

Despite our struggles with Longshore as a QB, Jackson managed to perform very strongly in a three-pronged corps featuring Lavelle Hawkins and Robert Jordan, combining for 335 catches and 33 TDs.

He runs pretty good routes for a college receiver, certainly his biggest skill over Hawkins and Jordan. Especially against great secondaries, he was capable of burning the deep cover packages by his fake out abilities or his cutting skills to get wide open gaps.

He likes running reverses too, a natural extension of his punt returning skills and his natural ability to get to the edge.

Jerry Rice likes him. Usually a good sign.

Downside

He's small. Enough's been said about that. Jerry Rice was small too.

He gets hurt...or at the very least, ACTS like he's hurt. Whether he's being dramatic or not, like clockwork, you could predict Jackson falling to the ground at least once and taking himself out of every game for a few sequences. It's hard to say how difficult the contact was or how much pain he was in, but I can count the number of times that happened the past two years (taking himself out of the Washington game after a 'tweak' and sitting out the final two games, heading toward the sideline after a PI call in the faithful Oregon State game, or getting beheaded by Keith Ellison (okay, that one was legit). Cal fans are pretty forgiving in that regard, but I don't expect much of those shenanigans in Philly.

His blocking skills need plenty of work. I mean, he'll do the prefunctory arm block and lock the corner up, but only for a few seconds. In the NFL he'll certainly need to work on that.

There were reports of locker room problems in Cal, and many of them centered around a star wide receiver causing friction inside the team. No one has ever specifically said who it was, but mainstream authorities have already assumed it was him and thought the worst about him. I'm not going to defend Jackson's supposed behavior, but I do think last year's collapse was one of the worst possible things that you can ever experience as a player, and it brought out the worst in the fans, the players and the coaches. It's just a miserable experience to go from #1 for two hours to 6-6.

Anyway, this is about as much as I've learned about DeSean from the tape; if I see anything else I'll let you know.

Hope this helped!
BearsNecessity

Cal vs. Michigan State Preview

BearsNecessity — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:06:25 -0000

Cal vs. Michigan State Preview

A look at Michigan State's side of the ball; an interview with the Enlightened Spartan. I did Cal's side on his site.

Fear the Beard is heading to LA

BearsNecessity — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:31:23 -0000

Geez, that was quick.

NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the guard reached a verbal agreement with the Clippers on Tuesday night and will sign a new multiyear contract with Los Angeles after the leaguewide moratorium on signings and trades is lifted July 9.

Davis was in line to make $17.8 million in the last year of his deal with the Warriors, but after telling the team that he wanted to stay, opted out at the last minute.

Poll

SB Nation User Blog: BearsNecessity

DeSean Jackson Preseason Video Highlights vs Carolina Panthers 8/15/08

Aaron Rodgers preseason highlights vs. Cincinnati (compiled by Danzig at the California Golden Bl...

Should College Athletes Be Booed?

Should fans of a college team boo their athletes?

DBD 8.8.8 KUNG FU PANDAS

Maarty Leunen feature at NBA.com

Maarty Leunen feature at NBA.com

Ted Miller Doesn't Like Oregon

What Type of Wine is Cal Football?

DeSean Jackson Profile from Cal Fans

Cal vs. Michigan State Preview

Cal vs. Michigan State Preview

Fear the Beard is heading to LA

Did Baron Davis make the right move to go to LA?