SB Nation User Blog: Berkelium97

Golden Nuggets: How Can Routine Head Trauma Be Prevented/Reduced in Football?

Berkelium97 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:22:52 -0000

Today's lead is an article on football-related head trauma from the Wall Street Journal.

But while these helmets reduced the chances of death on the field, they also created a sense of invulnerability that encouraged players to collide more forcefully and more often. "Almost every single play, you're going to get hit in the head," says Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Jake Long.

What nobody knew at the time is that these small collisions may be just as damaging. The growing body of research on former football players suggests that brain damage isn't necessarily the result of any one trauma, but the accumulation of thousands of seemingly innocuous blows to the head.

The problem is that there's nothing any helmet could do to stop the brain from taking lots of small hits. To become certified for sale, a football helmet has to earn a "severity index" score of 1200, according to testing done by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, or Nocsae. Dr. Robert Cantu, a Nocsae board member and chief of neurosurgery at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass., says that to prevent concussions, helmets would have to have a severity index of 300—about four times better than the standard. "The only way to make that happen, Dr. Cantu says, "is to make the helmet much bigger and the padding much bigger."

The problem with that approach, he says—other than making players look like Marvin the Martian—is that heavier helmets would be more likely to cause neck injuries.

One of the strongest arguments for banning helmets comes from the Australian Football League. While it's a similarly rough game, the AFL never added any of the body armor Americans wear. When comparing AFL research studies and official NFL injury reports, AFL players appear to get hurt more often on the whole with things like shoulder injuries and tweaked knees. But when it comes to head injuries, the helmeted NFL players are about 25% more likely to sustain one.

Andrew McIntosh, a researcher at Australia's University of New South Wales who analyzed videotape, says there may be a greater prevalence of head injuries in the American game because the players hit each other with forces up to 100% greater. "If they didn't have helmets on, they wouldn't do that," he says. "They know they'd injure themselves."

Dhani Jones, a linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals who has played rugby, too, says head injuries in that sport do happen, but they're mostly freak accidents. "In football, you're taught to hit with your face," he says. "You're always contacting with your 'hat,' which is your head."

After the jump, the article goes on about the NFL can implement new rules and guidelines to protect players from routine head trauma. After that, I have more luncheon quotes and a practice update from JO, a profile of Arizona's sack leader, a scouting report for basketball's opponent tonight, a look ahead to what this year's season may bring for Monty and co, and more.

Julian Bailes, a neurosurgeon who has conducted brain research for the players' union, says the NFL should change the rules so linemen aren't allowed to go into three-point stances before plays—a rule that would prevent them from springing head-first into other players. He says he would also stop all head contact in football practices. Dr. Cantu says brain injuries could be reduced by enforcing rules already on the books in the NFL—especially helmet-to-helmet hits, which are not always called by officials. "There have to eventually be some hard sanctions for referees," he says.

To many, the solution is to come up with a better helmet. The NFL is currently conducting independent testing of helmets with a focus on "more accurate and comparative information about concussive forces," says neurologist Ira Casson, a co-chair of the NFL's Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee.

Cal Football

JO's Tuesday night update focuses on the media luncheon. Good news of out practice though: Matt Summers-Gavin was practicing in full Tuesday. Anthony Miller has a chance to return to action this weekend. Daily Cal has essentially all the same information. It seems the first practice without Best felt like something was missing. Tepper said Best is "one of those guys who has a little special aura around him...When he walks into a room, he doesn't really need to say very much because everybody knows he's there. So when that's away, it's a little different."
JO has luncheon quotes from Eddie Young, Mike Tepper, and Brian Holley.
Arizona DE Ricky Elmore has transformed from an inconsistent, stressed-out player to the sack-leader for the Wildcats. Elmore and his fellow DE Brooks Reed hope to wreak havoc on the Cal O-line this weekend.

Cal Basketball

Farudo posts his scouting report for tonight's opponent: Detroit. Keep an eye on Eli Holman. His 6'10" presence should be a good test for Markuri Sanders-Frison. Holman, a former Richmond High star, will have about 50 friends and family supporting at the game him tonight.
Joe Lunardi's way-too-early-in-the-season NCAA tourney bracket has Cal as a 4 seed. Other Pac-10 teams include Washington (3), UCLA (6), and Arizona St (13).
Three of Monty's incoming recruits made the fifteen-man Best in the West squad: Allen Crabbe, Gary Franklin Jr, and Richard Solomon. Monty's fourth recruit, Alex Rossi, didn't make the squad because he lives in Illinois.
Farudo looks at why Cal is in prime position to end its 48-year conference title drought (sixth longest title drought in the nation). Monty's first conference championship with Stanford in 1999 came after he had been there for thirteen years, so he sympathizes with Tedford, who has yet to take Cal to a Rose Bowl.

Golden Nuggets: "If He Doesn't Play Again This Year, So Be It."

Berkelium97 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:46:33 -0000

Not surprisingly, much of the discussion at today's press luncheon was Best's condition and potential return. Here is some of what Tedford said. After the jump Tedford has some more comments. He also stated that Sofele will not pass DeBoskie on the depth chart, so DeBo will be the number two back behind Vereen this weekend. Additionally, Matt Summers-Gavin will probably return, but Derrick Hill and Anthony Miller are questionable.

On any trepidations or concerns regarding a timetable for Jahvid's return
"We haven't even discussed that and that's really the furthest thing from our mind, is when he's going to come back to play football. The No. 1 concern is his health and his well being. If he doesn't play again this year, so be it. We haven't even discussed that and will not discuss it until probably much later on. Like I said, the No. 1 thing that we're concerned about is Jahvid's well being. That's going to be completely in the doctors' hands in making sure that he improves and he's back to 100 percent before we ever even talk about returning to the football field."

On what doctors have said about the severity of Jahvid's injury, its prognosis and his health
"We haven't talked about prognosis ... [but about his health,] that's kind of a day-by-day thing on how Jahvid feels. He's got a sore back and his thing, that night even and the next day, was a sore back and a headache. It's completely, I guess it's day to day, to see how he feels. And then we'll talk about it from there. But we have not got into any long-term `what's going to be,' nothing like that. It's just day to day on how is he feeling, and that's the question every day, is, `How are you feeling?' Making sure that he's stable and there's nothing, no further complications or anything like that."

On his last communication with Best and whether Best offered any specifics on his health
"This morning, actually. We traded texts and he said that he was feeling better. Back was, like I said, his back's a little a stiff. That he's getting better but he still has a little headache, and his back's a little stiff, but he was doing better. That's what he said."

On his upcoming schedule for followup medical appointments or tests
"I know our doctors are in contact with him and I don't know what they're communicating with him to make sure that he's doing OK and all that type of thing. I think he does actually have another appointment soon here, but I don't know. I haven't been in the loop with the doctors exactly when that is."

After the jump we have more press conference info, recaps and analysis of last night's season opener for basketball, injury updates for Arizona (Antolin is the starting RB for now...*shudder*), a surprising shift on the spread (Cal favored by 1 now!), and more.

Don't forget to vote in royrules22's top-25 poll if you haven't already, you democracy-hating Stalinists.

On whether he is comfortable with his players trying to hurdle defenders or if it's something he prefers them not to do
"We don't tell them yes or no to hurdle players. There's been people [who] jump over people and things like that all the time. I think it was a fluke. He jumped over [one defender] and here came another guy that kind of catapulted him even more and I don't think he ever saw that guy. So I don't think it was necessarily the jump, it was the push that got him going and got him off balance. So, very unfortunate."

On whether that "push" on the play that ended with Best's injury points to anything that is needed from a rules standpoint to address that type of play
"I don't think so. I think it was an accident. I think it was a freak deal. I don't think the guy intended for Jahvid to land that way, so there's no animosity at all toward their player. It wasn't a dirty play at all. It's an unfortunate play that happened on the field. You get up in the air and you get tipped and you get upside down. I don't think there's - you can't blame anybody for it, it's just an unfortunate play."
...

On the offensive line and how it is playing compared to his preseason expectations
"I think one of the things that we need to improve in is just finishing blocks. We get on guys and we need to finish blocks up there. Actually, I thought they protected the passer pretty well the other day. With all the things that Oregon State does, I actually thought they handled that fairly well for most of the game. But again, very important that we're able to finish things, sustain blocks, so that the backs have time to get through and make their plays. That's one area where I believe we can improve."

On whether the offensive lineman are going through a growth process to gain more experience and become more effective
"I don't know about that. I think a couple of them are young and the internal guys are pretty young. It's guys that - Tepper's playing a little bit with a sore foot and things like that. And it's not everybody at once, it's here and there with different guys. And it's not just the line. When it comes to the running game, it's the tight end, it's the fullback, it's the receivers, it's everybody. We need to sustain blocks better."
...
On how to pressure Arizona's quarterback against a line that has only yielded four sacks so far this season and whether that is a concern
"There's no question. I don't know that you're [going to get to Wildcats QB Nick Foles]. You can try to get to him, but they get the ball out so fast, that I don't know. [Even] if they just let a guy run free off the edge, they probably get the ball off. So there's a lot of times where they get the ball out very quickly. But that doesn't mean you just abandon the rush. There's going to have to be times that we mix it up and we pressure and we cover. So that's how we're going to have to go into it."

Cal Football

Surprisingly (for me, at least), Cal has moved to being a 1 point favorite over Arizona.
Daily Cal on the impressive run D from Cal last weekend (and the awful pass D). Not surprisingly, the article says Vereen and DeBo will have to step up this weekend.
USA Today has an article on the rising salaries of college football coaches. It devotes several paragraphs on Cal, especially due to the ongoing budget crisis. Daily Cal's Joseph Cannon talks about how Cal athletics can save some money. It's an odd mix of seriousness and sarcasm: "Cut Andy Ludwig. Cal has had three offensive coordinators in the last three years, and the Bears still run the same plays. Save the money on his contract, or at least don't give him a headset. Those things are expensive."
Arizona's Nic Grigsby is questionable for Saturday's game. This means we will relive last year's nightmare of trying to contain Keola Antolin. Defensive end Brooks Reed is healing up from his high ankle sprain and should play against Cal.
After blowing out UCLA and Wazzu, Arizona's starters have had plenty of time to rest up for their upcoming crucial, season-defining stretch.

Cal Basketball

Farudo recaps all the action from various games last night in the Coaches vs Cancer tournament. He says Cal played what was by far the best opponent (and the only opponent with a winning record last season). Attendance was only 7,603, by far the lowest attendance of any of the CvC games.
Farudo has some post-game thoughts. He's not too concerned that Cal let Murray St make a comeback, but he'd be worried if they're letting teams do that a month from now. He's particularly impressed with newcomers Markhuri Sanders-Frison and Brandon Smith.
Farudo's game thread is a great recap of the game. For those looking for a more traditional recap, check out articles from the CCTimes or Daily Cal.
Rob Calonge has a recap full of quotes from Monty and his players. Monty says Randle and PC will have to get used to other teams preventing them from doing too much with the ball. This was an issue last night, as PC was often covered enough that he was not an option for a pass from Randle.

Golden Nuggets: More Info On Best

Berkelium97 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:07:28 -0000

JO had a longer than usual Sunday night update focusing mostly on Best. Holley, a fifth-year senior who is working on a thesis on cognitive dysfunction in football players, has some comments after the jump. DeBoskie also has a few comments after the jump.

Tedford also talked with Best by phone today, and said he was "just fine, communicating, seemed to be much more alert." Teammates Shane Vereen and Brian Holley exchanged text messages with Best today and said Best reassured them that he was doing well.

"He just said, ‘I’m doing good. I feel a lot better this morning.’ That was about it," Vereen said. "That was very reassuring. I kept replaying it in my head, so it was good to hear from him. You always want that little extra confirmation from him that he’s OK. So we were able to get that."

Although Best won’t practice anytime soon, Tedford said he expects Best to visit the team as soon as he feels better. "I know the guys are excited to see him and can’t wait to see him," Tedford said. "That’s what I told him on the phone tonight, and he told me to tell everybody hello.":

Tedford said when he visited Best last night, Best actually recalled much of what happened on the play in which he was injured. He hadn’t seen a replay of it yet, but did see it today.
...
"We have a responsibility to these players. We love our players," Tedford said. "To see them in harm’s way in any way, shape or form is always concering. Yeah, you lose a game, but anytime somebody gets potentially seriously injured, it really puts everything into perspective. That’s a kid’s life and a career, things like that. It was very scary at the time. It makes you feel blessed everything worked out fine.

"I was very concerned for him standing there with him. I was trying to comfort him when he came to — that’s a scary situation when you come to and there’s all the people around him. To tell you the truth, I didn’t even know where we were, I was so focused on how he was doing. The game at that point really took a backseat. Then when I was comfortable he was OK, I saw the team back there and went to them, made sure they had a good feeling he was OK, he was moving and everything. I know that gave them a sense of relief because they were very concerned."

–Tedford said he received a text message from Washington coach Steve Sarkisian today. "He saw the play and was hoping Jahvid was OK," Tedford said.

After the jump we have TV coverage info for the Big Game (Vs, 4:30pm), more stories on Best and the team's response to his injury, post-game quotes, updated power rankings, a look at why Arizona is so excited for this weekend, a Murray State basketball scouting preview, and a recap of the rest of the weekend in Cal sports, highlighted by fantastic performances from women's volleyball and men's water polo.

"It’s a dangerous thing," Holley said. "You don’t only have to worry about immediate, short-term impairment, you have to worry about long-term impairment, too."

Holley said based on his research, there are 160 concussions in the NFL every year, and probably much more that go unreported. "It kind of reminds you how lucky you are to play and how close it is to ending," he said.

Holley said he didn’t watch as much football highlights on TV after the game last night because the clip of Best’s injury kept coming up. "It was harder to watch SportsCenter," Holley said. "I watched it once and then tried not to watch it again. It was pretty bad. I had the best view in the house when it happened."

Redshirt freshman Covaughn DeBoskie-Johnson, who will now be the No. 2 running back behind Vereen, said Gould didn’t show the end of Best’s run when the team broke down film today. "He just showed him jumping and how the guy pushed him, but he didn’t show him land at all," DeBoskie-Johnson said. "When I saw it on youtube, I was like, ‘Oh, man.’ It almost made me want to cry. He looked like he was about to go through a seizure or something."

DeBoskie-Johnson said trainers and fans in the stands were in tears as Best was attended to on the field. "He has an impact on everybody," he said. "Jahvid is a good guy. He’s not conceited. He’s not boastful. He’s a real humble (guy). He always encourages us. That’s something I really like about Jahvid. Him going down like that, everyone was sad."

Cal Football

Ruh roh: The Big Game will be televised on Versus at 4:30pm.
JO recaps Best's status. He's expected to visit his teammates at practice sometime this week.
Vereen had trouble sleeping Saturday night and was very happy to hear from Best Sunday morning. Barbour said Best's fall was the worst on-field incident she's seen in her 29 years working in athletics administration. Daily Cal follows up on Best's condition. Not surprisingly, he has been instructed to rest this week.
Cal falls to sixth in Ted Miller's Pac-10 power rankings.
Wilner gives Cal a D for their performance against OSU. He was especially critical of the secondary and said Cal would lose the game regardless of whether Best was injured. Additionally, he says the O-line has no chance against the conference's top defensive fronts. He expects Arizona to tear Cal's defense apart. Like last week, it's up to Cal's offense to keep up in the shootout.
Deleshaun Dean and the rest of Arizona are anxiuosly looking forward to ther remaining four games, particularly since they control their own Rose Bowl destiny.
JO has a sampling of post-game quotes. Response to Best's injury is a major topic.

Cal Basketball

Farudo has an extensive scouting report of tonight's opponent Murray State. The game tips off tonight at 8pm.
Despite the high ranking and high expectations placed on Cal, Randle and PC believe they are ready for the challenge. Monte Poole says the landscape of college basketball this season (with all the turnover on talent, especially in the Pac-10) means that Cal can have a great season, if they're willing to put forth the requisite effort. Jorge, whom Poole calls a great example of that effort, leads by example with his hustle. If everyone on the team had Jorge's desire, they'd "probably have a national championship" according to Randle.

The Rest of the Weekend in Cal Sports

No. 2 men's water polo extended its winning streak to seven with impressive wins over no. 9 UCSB and no. 8 Cal State Long Beach.
No. 13 women's volleyball had another impressive outing. They took care of business in a 3-1 win over no. 24 Washington State and notched a huge upset over the no. 4 Huskies, handing them their first home loss of the season.
Women's soccer ended the regular season with a 4-1 loss to no. 1 Stanford.
Great weekend for Cal tennis: Jana Juricova captured the ITA National Indoor Tennis Singles Championship and Christoffer Konigsfeld took the Saint Mary's Singles Invitational Crown.

Golden Nuggets: Best Out Of Hospital, Will Miss at Least One Game

Berkelium97 — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:00:54 -0000

Update: JO adds a few more details.

Cal coach Jeff Tedford said Best’s parents took him to their home in Vallejo. Tedford visited Best in the hospital late Saturday night and talked with him on the phone today. He said Best was groggy and tired Saturday night, partly because he had some pain medication. Tedford said Best was in good spirits Sunday.

Best update straight from the AP. I'm not sure if this is all Tedford had to say after practice, but I'll keep you updated with anything else I hear.

BERKELEY, Calif.(AP) -- California star tailback Jahvid Best has been released from the hospital and will miss at least one game after sustaining a concussion on a terrifying fall in the end zone.

Best spent the night at Highland General Hospital in Oakland for observation and tests after landing on the back of his head in the end zone and being briefly knocked unconscious in the Golden Bears' 31-14 loss to Oregon State on Saturday night.

The school says results from a CT scan and X-rays came back normal. Best will not play Saturday against Arizona. His status for future games will continue to be evaluated. This was the second straight week Best sustained a concussion.

After the jump I have Cal-Arizona tv info (Versus, 4pm), the early spread for this weekend's game (Az by 2), Tedford's postgame reaction, reactions from players to Best's injury, and more. Tomorrow I'll wrap up what was otherwise a decent weekend for Cal sports (great job volleyball!).

Cal Football

Arizona at Cal will be on Versus at 4pm. Versus: the same network that brought us such classics as OSU at Cal 2007 and Cal at Stanford 2007. Versus and Cal don't mix well together. Prepare for the worst...
Arizona is currently a two-point favorite over Cal.
In the post-game press conference, Tedford said "We got outcoached today." He emphasized the inability to do anything on third down and OSU's great field position thanks to special teams.
Rob Calonge recaps the game and has quotes about Best from several players.
Gary Peterson describes the play leading to Best's injury like it's something out of a novel. It was a bizarre article. Example: "Now Best was unthinkably high. Too high. Worse yet, his feet were pointed at the coal black sky, his back parallel to the ground"
JO has a summary of all the details of Best's concussion up to this morning as well as a recap of the game. In case you missed it, all preliminary tests came back negative. Daily Cal has all the same details.
Cal's bowl situation is unclear. The Pac-10 is a mess right now and JO believes Cal needs at least one more win to ensure an invitation. Ted Miller predicts a Las Vegas Bowl for Cal. Schlabach and Feldman predict a Poinsettia Bowl for Cal against BYU and Utah, respectively.

Cal Basketball

Former Cal basketball star Ryan Anderson will miss a week with an ankle injury. He had played very well in Orlando until he injured his ankle. Thankfully there was no tendon or ligament damage.

Initial tests come back "normal" for Best

Berkelium97 — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:57:45 -0000

Initial tests come back "normal" for Best

"Tedford said initial tests had come back normal.

Best had movement in all of his extremities, Cal spokesman Herb Benenson said. Benenson also said that a preliminary evaluation showed Best sustained a concussion, but more tests were being done before a final diagnosis would be announced by the school. Tedford didn't know whether Best would be kept in the hospital over night."

Golden Nuggets: SB, Birgeneau, and Bostrom Respond to Faculty In Defense of Athletics

Berkelium97 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:10:17 -0000

After a small group of faculty passed a non-binding resolution against the institutional funding for athletics, Chancellors Birgeneau and Bostrom and AD Sandy Barbour made formal responses.

"Although it is advisory, we will, of course, take very seriously the Academic Senate's recommendation and will consider the most effective way to move forward," Chancellor Robert Birgeneau said. "We are very concerned about this year's shortfall and are already working on containing Athletics deficits. We share the Academic Senate's goal of achieving a self-supporting athletics program, although that will take time to realize. We must maintain our commitment to gender equity and equal competitive opportunity for our female student athletes, both as a matter of law and to honor our campus commitment to equity and inclusion. I believe that a strong athletics program brings many benefits to the entire university. I am very proud of all our student-athletes, both men and women, and the enormous contributions which they make to the life of the campus."

The non-binding resolution also recommends that the Academic Senate establish a Senate Intercollegiate Athletics Oversight Committee composed solely of faculty members. The final tally was 91-68 of those in attendance out of more than 1,500 faculty on campus who are voting members of the senate.

"Although the resolution was supported by those who attended this meeting, I know that Athletics and its student-athletes enjoy wide support among the faculty as a whole," Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour said. "We remain committed to working with the faculty, and I look forward to constructive conversations about appropriate and sustainable financial support for Cal Athletics."
...
In an open letter to the Cal community, Barbour and Vice Chancellor Nathan Brostrom wrote that "whether it's the shared thrill of the Big Game; the pride we take and the recognition we receive when our student-athletes come home with national championships and Olympic medals; the diversity of origin and interests that our student-athletes bring to the campus; or the importance of athletics for so many of the University's 400,000 living alumni, it is clear to us that Cal Athletics must remain an indivisible part of who we are as a University and a community."

After the jump, I have articles on the importance of this weekend's game for both Cal and OSU, several articles on Riley and the last time OSU came to town, a look at OSU's passing options out of WildBeaver, quotes from Monty after bball's win last night, and more.

Cal Football

USC's athletics site has an interesting article ranking the Pac-10 visiting locker rooms from best to worst (with pictures too!). I'm sure you all will be shocked at whose locker rooms are the worst.
JO explains why Ezeff has dropped on the depth chart. Ezeff only needs one class to graduate, but it happens to fall on tuesdays and thursdays during practice, which limits his ability to get on the field during the week. In other news, Cattouse and Hill will continue to start while Summers-Gavin and Derrick Hill will miss this weekend's game.
Ted Miller says this weekend's game is pivotal for both Cal and OSU's seasons. The winner could finish near the top of the conference while the loser will likely cruise to a disappointing finish.
Cal needs keep an eye on OSU tight end Brady Camp, particularly when the Beavs run plays out of the WildBeaver formation. Camp doesn't have many catches on the season, which is part of the reason why UCLA overlooked him on the WildBeaver pass. Quizz says he's comfortable throwing passes of up to 40 yards, and he demonstrated it on a 14 yard TD pass to Camp last week.
Kevin Riley has a strong, supportive group around him on offense. Boateng says "Every time I watch TV and every time I read the papers about Kevin Riley not being consistent and stuff like that, I think it's all bull." He continues, saying "I really think he's a good quarterback. He's learning on the job. He has a lot of young receivers around him. He's done a great job." Mike Tepper says last week's two late-game drives in the fourth quarter show that Riley is "maturing into a good quarterback."
With OSU visiting for the first time since a day we'd all like to forget in 2007, Riley has the opportunity to redeem himself. If he shows the composure and accuracy he had against ASU in the 4th quarter, he should be able to vanquish memories of that unfortunate night. Riley also says that if things go as planned, he won't be shaving that beard until January. "It's going to be disgusting" he says.
Gazette Times on Riley's development since the end of last season. Riley says the changes in his mechanics have greatly improved his game and Tedford says Riley is much quicker about picking up each week's game-plan.
Building the Dam posts its Q+A with CGB.

Cal Basketball

Monty has some post-game press conference quotes. He was glad to give everyone ample playing time, but is concerned about the inside presence of MSF and Max Zhang. He says there is still work to be done there. Farudo also has some comments on yesterday's game.
Finally getting healthy after a year and a half of nagging injuries, sophomore forward Omondi Amoke is showing signs of improvement after spending all summer in the gym and weight room. Assistant coach John Jay says Amoke is the team's most improved player since the end of last season. His nine points, six rebounds, and two steals yesterday show a promising season ahead.

Golden Nuggets: Prediction Thursday

Berkelium97 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:27:52 -0000

For those watching the Virginia Tech-ECU game, this will be your open thread. Go Hokies? Go Pirates? I really don't care who wins. Later this evening we'll have the Eating the Enemy post to serve as the live thread for Cal basketball's exhibition game tonight.

For the first time all season, our buddy Ted Miller has picked against Cal.

Oregon State 27, California 24: Went back and forth on this one. Three things swing the pick to the Beavers: 1. The Rodgers brothers; 2. The Beavers always turn it on this time of the year; 3. It might be best if I go with the opposite impulse when I feel a certain way about Cal (All week I've felt certain the Bears are on the brink of a big surge).

Bruce Feldman is concerned about the porous OSU O-line, but believes Canfield will lead the Beavers to a narrow 31-30 victory.

John Tamanaha predicts a 36-29 Beaver victory. He seems particularly swayed by the Beavs' strong record against Cal in Strawberry Canyon.

The five CBS experts are split 3-2 in favor of Cal.

Four of Yahoo's five experts predict a Cal victory.

After the jump I have details of Miller's arthroscopic knee surgery, articles on tonights bball exhibition game, a look at the struggling Beaver defense, and more. Plus, Riley's beard becomes the target of controversy!

Cal Football

Bad news from practice last night: Miller underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and will miss the OSU game. he is expected to return against Arizona. Hill and Summers-Gavin will likely miss Saturday's too. Best has sat out the last few practices with a minor concussion, tweaked ankle, and cold, but he is expected to return to practice tonight. Daily Cal has more details on Miller's knee. Miller had felt pain in the knee but it was more intense than usual after the game. An MRI revealed bleeding in a muscle, but indicated it had not torn from the tendon. There was slight damage to the meniscus, but it was not enough to warrant stitching. Instead it was simply trimmed.
Kevin Riley's mother wants him to trim that wild beard. Riley's dad, Faustin, says Kevin's great success in 2007 may have been swayed by the NFL-caliber receivers, running back, and O-line he was working with. When Kevin realized he was working with a different team in 2008, Faustin says, he realized he needed to do more mentally and physically both to succeed on the field and to attain a leadership role. When Riley made those changes "he grew up some."
With the talk that Riley is going to have a big day against the OSU secondary, they are making a tremendous effort to prove those predictions wrong. After losing three members of last year's secondary and two of its top pass rushers to the NFL, OSU has been giving up big plays to opposing passing attacks. Prior to registering four sacks against UCLA, the Beavers had only four sacks in their previous seven games.
OSU's true freshman Jordan Poyer has been very impressive so far. He's expected to start playing as safety soon, but for now he is a gunner on punt and kick coverage, blocker/rusher on punt returns, and James Rodgers' backup on kick returns. Look for him to play a significant role against Alamar's units Saturday.
Here's a brief interview with the musically inclined OSU DE Latu Moala.
Cal checks in at 5th in Wilner's Pac-10 power rankings.

Cal Basketball

If all goes to according to plan in tonight's exhibition game against Chico State, Markhuri Sanders-Frison, Brandon Smith, and Bak Bak (!) should get their first minutes as Cal Bears.
Farudo has information on how to listen to today's game.
Farudo has updates on some other Pac-10 teams: UCLA barely won over Concordia while Washington and Arizona cruised to victories over Central Washington and Augustana, respectively.
Don't forget about tomorrow's live chat with Monty at 2pm.

Everything else in Cal sports

Field hockey's Natalie Nurnberg is named the NorPac West offensive player of the year.
No. 10 women's golf finishes fourth at the Turtle Bay Resort College Invitational in Hawaii. Golf always has the most disjointed names for its tournaments...
No. 2 water polo takes its five-game winning streak to Southern California as they take on no. 9 UCSB and no. 8 Cal State Long Beach.
No. 13 women's volleyball takes on the no. 24 Cougs and no. 4 Huskies this weekend.
Women's soccer ends the regular season this weekend at no. 1 Stanford.

Golden Nuggets: "Hey everybody, I'm on TV!"

Berkelium97 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:43:33 -0000

Yesterday was the weekly media luncheon. Riley had some words about the last time OSU came into town:

On what he learned from his first career start, which came against Oregon State in 2007 and ended with him tackled while running the ball on the OSU 10-yard line and not enough time to get the field goal unit onto the field

"Big mistake, that's all there is to it. New situation, but when the play developed, I just kind of forgot about trying to move up in the pocket and make a play. It just didn't work out. If it was now in that situation I just would have thrown the ball out of bounds right away, in the pocket. It's just something you learn from, and I've learned from it and gotten better."

On whether it was tough to wait for his next opportunity following that 2007 loss vs. OSU
"It was tough. They were doing a great job up 'till then, and I think it was harder more when we started losing games, just watching that. It was definitely tough because we started a losing streak and that was the first game we lost and went from there."

On whether there is extra motivation facing Oregon State
"Haven't beat them when I've played, so I'd like to beat them, that's for sure. Both years we've had chances to beat them and we haven't, and we've just got to win."

On how much he has heard about the 2007 game against Oregon State since that difficult ending
"It was a big highlight on ESPN ... After a while, I was cool with it. You'd see it on TV like a week after, and I remember everyone was staring and not saying anything, and I go, `Hey everybody, I'm on TV!' You've got to try and lighten up the mood a little bit. It was a mistake but you've got to learn from it. You can't dwell on it. I think 20 No. 2 teams lost that year, every week. I went to the bowl game and they showed it like five times there, too ... It's all part of the deal."

After the jump we have some Tedford quotes from the media luncheon, injury updates for Cal and OSU, a look at Jacquizz Rodgers' ridiculous inability to fumble, OSU's media luncheon, women's bball's debut, and much more.

Here's a sample of what Tedford said yesterday:

On whether stopping the Beavers' kick return game [featuring James Rodgers, who ran a kick back for a TD in last year's annual Alamar Special] is an emphasis in practice this week

"Always. Always."

On why kick return coverage has been a problem at times this year
"There's different reasons. Sometimes it's where the kick is, sometimes it's getting out of our lanes, getting blocked, not getting off blocks. It's not just one thing. We just need to improve. Kick the ball where we need to kick it. It's not an effort issue, I don't think. It's just a matter of improving and recognizing where the return's going and then defeating the return."

On whether he is concerned about any lull that could allow an opponent back into the game after building a lead, such as when ASU came back last Saturday during the second quarter after Cal led 14-0
"I don't know that that's a lull. We fumbled the ball inside the 5-yard line. Anytime you do that, that's problems. And then they did a play-action, hit a nice big ball for a touchdown and it's a one-play deal. I don't know that you'd say that's a lull. You give them ball inside the 5[-yard line] with a turnover, it's bound to result in some points, and then they make a big play, but besides that, I don't know that you'd characterize that as a lull."

Cal Football

JO also has some quotes from various players from yesterday's luncheon. Brett Johnson talks about what it takes to contain the Rodgers brothers. Cattouse is excited to be a starter and is embracing his role as a vocal leader for the team. Lagemann talks about how he enjoys crossing routes and any other route that gets him in the middle of the field.
JO has practice updates. After missing practice Tuesday, Hill and Summers-Gavin are questionable for Saturday. Lagemann may earn more playing time, depending on the gameplan for OSU. Lastly, Tedford/Alamar considered bringing on D'Amato for the final kick at ASU, but ultimately went with Tavecchio.
After a game full of penalties, turnovers, and missed field goals, Cal remains grounded by its need for improvement. Lagemann is happy to be contributing to the team again, particularly after the mental roller-coaster that followed his broken foot in Spring 2007.
Best checks in at 4th in Wilner's list of top-10 Pac-10 tailbacks. Though Wilner calls him the top-talent and the top pro prospect in the Pac-10, he says Best's impact has been minimal in several games so far.
Jahvid Best is one of three Pac-10 players who are Maxwell Award semifinalists. The Maxwell Award goes to the nation's best player.
GazetteTimes has an article comparing stats of Best and Quizz.
Oregon State injury updates: O-lineman Timi Oshinowo has returned to practice after missing the whole season up to this point. Cornerback Tim Clark is still sitting out practice after sustaining a concussion against UCLA. His loss will be noticeable this weekend.
Jacquizz Rodgers is still not fumbling. He has touched the ball 510 times in his career and not fumbled it once. The OSU D will have to play tight gap-control because they admit no one on their defense can catch Best if he breaks free.
Several OSU players (as well as Mike Riley) spoke at OSU's recent press conference. Quizz is looking forward to the head-to-head competition with Best. He also talks about OSU's WildBeaver plays...he tossed a TD from that formation against UCLA.
Sean Canfield ought to be a big test for our defense. He is third in the nation with a completion percentage of 68.9 and leads the Pac-10 with 254.9 yards per game.

Cal Basketball

Some of women's basketball's young freshmen had promising debuts in yesterday's 101-81 win over Vanguard.

Golden Nuggets: Happy Belated Birthday, Tedford!

Berkelium97 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:06:45 -0000

Last week I tried to make a mental note to remember that yesterday was Tedford's birthday so I could dedicate the Golden Nuggets to such a holiday. Well, it looks like I forgot. Forgive me, Tedford, for I have sinned! I will banish myself to the CBKWit Memorial Dungeon until I have been absolved.

Onward to newsworthy matters: at this week's Cal-Oregon St game, Civil and Environmental Engineering's national championship-winning Concrete Canoe Team will be honored.

CEE’s Concrete Canoe, Bear Area, and its win at the 2009 ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition, will be honored during the Cal vs. Oregon State University football game on Saturday, November 7, at Memorial Stadium, Berkeley.

All loyal Canoe supporters are invited to a tailgate party at 2 p.m. on the O'Brien Hall breezeway on the Berkeley campus. (Kickoff is at 4:00 p.m.)

Join the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in celebrating Bear Area, and our long history of Canoe enthusiasts. (See below for the list of all Canoe Teams since 1988 when the national competition began). Without this tradition of the passing of wisdom from one class to the next, from one generation to the next, CEE would not be the national contender in Canoe that it is.

Supporters who would like to purchase tailgate tickets ($10.00 each) can do so at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/84578 .
(The tailgate ticket does not include entry to the game or a parking permit.)

Those who wish to purchase discount tickets for the Cal vs.OSU game may do so by contacting Dan Gee at calcanoefootball@gmail.com. He will provide supporters with the site and promo code.

via www.ce.berkeley.edu

After the jump we have Cal-Arizona television info, articles on the Beavs, Daily Cal's hatred unknown to mankind for the wildcat pass, a preview of men's bball, a successful debut for women's bball, and info on a livechat with Mike Montgomery!

Cal Football

Cal-Arizona television coverage will be decided Sunday. It will either be on Versus at 4pm or ESPN at 7:20pm. If it's raining Nov 14th, that would be one miserable 7:20pm game...
Daily Cal's Joseph Cannon calls the wildcat pass "one of the worst play calls in the Tedford era, if not the worst." He goes on to criticize Tucker and Ross for drops earlier in the game that prevented Cal from opening up a larger lead.
Saturday's matchup is critical for the Bears and the Beavs. Whoever wins can look forward to a third-place finish or even a tie for second at the end of the season. Oregon live has some Cal-OSU game notes (I do not recommend that children, pregnant women, people with sensitive stomachs, or those with a history of heart conditions read it, as the Cal-OSU game of 2007 is prominently featured).

Cal Basketball

ESPN has its Blue Ribbon Preview of Cal. They earn an A+ for backcourt, C+ for bench/depth, B for frontcourt, and A- for intangibles.
Jeff Farudo is hosting a livechat with Monty Friday at 2pm. If Monty is as funny online as he is in person, this will be a great livechat. Give him your most bizarre and silly questions and I bet he'll answer them with flair.
The no. 18 Cal women won 101-81 in tonight's exhibition game against Vanguard. Stat of the night: Cal outrebounded the Lions 57-19.

Golden Nuggets: "We Call It 'Crazy,' You Guys Call It Wildcat"

Berkelium97 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:53:12 -0000

JO has a comprehensive list of post-game quotes.

Kevin Riley revealed some interesting pieces of information:

On being prepared for a two-minute drill:

We have clutch drills every Wednesday. It’s something we’re just used to doing. We do it so much and it’s not an uncommon thing. Coach Ludwig has talked about putting it in mid-game because we do a good job at it.
...

On Shane Vereen’s near-interception:

I told him before the play, "Shane, be smart. If he doesn’t look open, throw it over the goal post." I might have gotten into his head a little bit because I think he hesitated on the throw. It was a good spot to run it. I was trying to run over there to make the catch, but I was a little late.

Right when we ran the play before in Crazy – we call it crazy, you guys call it wildcat; Coach Ludwig is not a big fan of the wildcat. We were trying to set it up.

Tavecchio speaks:

On coming through during an up-and-down season:

It feels great. Again, it’s a blessing to be on this team and to be out there. The best feeling for me after making a good kick, a kickoff or whatever, I walk to the sideline and everyone’s smiling. I really love this team, I love this program, I love this school. So that’s the greatest feeling. It’s great to be able to help the team out, especially on a day like today.

On the reaction after his 39-yard miss:

At least 30 players came up to me and said, ‘It’s OK, we’ll get another chance. After the (made) kick, Riley came to me and said, ‘Great job, I knew you’d come through for us in the end.’ I really appreciated that.

On whether Tedford said anything after his miss:

He said stay focused, don’t worry about it, we’re going to get it at the end. I kind of fed off that confidence. Even though I missed, I thought we were going to get another one. That helped me a lot.

After the jump a couple Cal players earn player of the week honors, Ted Miller updates (or does he...?) his Pac-10 power rankings, basketball has a couple articles, and we go over a generally successful weekend in Cal sports.

First off, endless thanks to TouchedTheAxeIn82 for providing the Cal@ASU torrent for us. Remember the golden rule and keep seeding!

Also, be a good citizen and vote in royrules22's top-25 poll. Even if you just copy the AP or Coaches' poll and move a couple teams up or down, just put something in there so he has a better sample of data. Don't make me fine you like we do in CGB Australia.

Cal Football

Anger earns the CFPA punter of the week award for the second time in three weeks. His 53.0 average is helping bring his season average up (it's at 43.0 now) close to 45, which is his goal.
Mike Mohamed earned Pac-10 defensive player of the week honors.
Cal stays at 5th in Ted Miller's Pac-10 power rankings, just behind the Beavs.
Wilner gives Cal a B for the performance against ASU. He called it an ugly performance, but said Cal responded to adversity in a way that they haven't often shown recently. He predicts the Cal-OSU game will turn into a shootout.

Cal Basketball

Randle is Rivals.com's #4 rated point guard heading into the 2009-10 season.
Rob Calonge looks at why this Cal team is rated so highly. Most of it has to do with the return of an experienced, talented, senior-laden core.

The Rest of Cal Sports

No. 2 men's water polo had another fantastic weekend. They defeated no. 7 UC Irvine 13-10 and followed that up with an 11-4 bludgeoning of no. 16 UC Davis.
After losing in four sets to no. 11 UCLA, no. 14 California bounced back and defeated no. 16 USC in four sets.
Soccer's slump continues: men's soccer broke its losing streak in a 2OT tie with Washington but followed that up with a 1-0 loss to Oregon St.
Breaking out of a slump of its own, women's soccer defeated Arizona 2-0 and defeated ASU 3-2 in OT.
Women's cross country had its best finish (5th) in 21 years at the Pac-10 championships.
Sophomore tennis player Nick Andrews defeated fellow Golden Bear Zach Gilbert to claim first at the 2009 Battle of the Bay.