SB Nation User Blog: SoCal Oski

For all that is Good and Decent and Right in the world

SoCal Oski — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:32:38 -0000

Please, Cougs. Please.

I say this not as a selfish outsider, or someone with an axe to grind. But someone who has felt your pain and is truly and honestly on your side.

Please. Please please please beat Ucla.

It shouldn't take much. But it needs to be done. For many reasons. First, beating a "program on the rise" would be a huge lift to your guys. Not only would it be a conference win, but a tangible sign of improvement. Also, it would be a nice form of satisfaction, since (let's be hones with each other here), aside from USC and UW (at least for you), Ucla has to be a team that you would gain the most satisfaction in beating. And lastly, it would serve the greater good. Shutting up those annoying Ucla fans who seem to believe that it is their given right to be among the top in the conference. Not even Oregon fans can be as annoying or grating with that kind of entitlement.

So please, Cougs, go out and beat those damned powder blue children. I assure you that if you do, the other 8 fan bases in the Pac will thank you.

Go Cougs!

Two years predicts future success?

SoCal Oski — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:16:51 -0000

Two years predicts future success?

The guys at CC have an interesting post up which presents some pretty compelling evidence that a coaches's performance after only two years can predict their future success.

26 September 2009: Well, THAT sucked!

SoCal Oski — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:51:23 -0000

Okay, I know that this has been beaten into the ground, and that other far more knowledgeable posters have dissected the causes for Cal's calamity. From my perspective, it just looked like Cal was slower all around, and Oregon was completely hyped. In fact, after Cal could only manage a field goal after the opening fumble, I turned to the wife and said, "Well, we lost this one already."

That being said, I'd like to welcome all of you younger Cal fans to the official Old Blue's club. Now you know. The shellacking in Eugene was the initiation. Now, maybe (just maybe), you'll understand our behavior a bit better. You've finally been given a peek at our psyche, and the reason every Old Blue still alive fears success more than the boogerman. Having the Bears win games, get noticed, and gain respect is a tarp. It's some horrible plot hatched by Dracula, Nixon, Tommy Trojan and Joe Bruin to rip the hearts out of Cal fans. Oh, and no, it never ends.

The good news (for all of you out there), is that after a while, the scar tissue does start to accumulate, and these start to sting less and less. Oh, they still sting, but not as much. You learn to not think in terms of planning trips to Pasadena in January. You learn to react to pre-season hype and high poll position with the sort of fear Frankenstein's monster had for fire. And you learn to approach games wondering if this will be the one that will stick the shiv into your left kidney.

And, you also learn to start to talk about success in terms of beating select teams, rather than overall record and BCS bowl appearances. After all, back in the day the overall won-loss record was meaningless, so long as we beat Furd. Throw in a victory over one of the LA schools, and we were over the moon with delight and delierium!

Yeah, you kids point at us and make cracks about bitter Old Blues, and so forth. Little did you all know that you were simply mocking the things you were to be. But through it all, the Bear Will Not Quit, the Bear Will Not Die. You know it, you tell the story. We had a little party down in Newport.

Welcome to my world, bitches. Welcome to being a Cal fan!

GO BEARS!

SI Article about Best & the Heismann

SoCal Oski — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:22:56 -0000

I'm not sure if this is a compliment to Best, or a bit of smack toward Harbaugh. Maybe it's a complimack?

At a preseason press conference, Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh misidentified him as a different player. Odd when you consider Best ran for over 200 yards against the Cardinal last season (perhaps Harbaugh could have identified him better from behind).

Other than that, it's a nice write up about Jahvid and Cal.

Pac-10: Week 2

SoCal Oski — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:18:08 -0000

Two weeks in and the haze is beginning to lift a bit ...

We still really don't know all that much about:

Arizona, ASU, and Cal: These teams basically went up to a puppy and started kicking it for no reason. Seriously, what can we really take from Cal rolling over EWU or ASU abusing Idaho State? At least they did what they were expected to do and put up video game numbers on their opponents. I guess one could argue that Zona kind of underachieved against NAU, but then one could also argue that darts should be an Olympic sport.

We learned a bit more about:

USC: Yes, they pwn the Big Televen. But their win against the BuckyNutts might have been more a reflection on how overrated Ohio State is than how good SC is. The Trojans got solid defensive play, but their last drive aside, looked very, um, average. All this talk about Barkley being some sort of blend of Fran Tarkenton, John Elway, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, and YA Tittle is just silly. He seems to have a lot of talent and upside, but dude was a 50% QB on the night.

Ucla: Props to the bRuins for not soiling their shorts in Neyland, and exposing the Vols on national TeeVee (that’s the way they say it down there. Teeee-Veeeee). As impressive as the win was for their team and as great as it is to see the SEC just have to shut the hell up for a day or two, there should be some perspective. Specifically, Ucla’s offense does not look too good. But the baby blue did show strong defense, and if nothing else, it’s pretty clear this is not last year’s team. Ucla is a legit 7-5 team, and should be taken seriously.

Oregon State: Sort of an all-around “feh” performance against UNLV. But there’s no doubt that this team will go as far as Quizz will take them.

Oregon: Well, it wasn’t pretty, but it’s a win. Still, if I’m a Duck fan right now I am not ready to get on my knees and open wide for Chip Kelly just yet. Yes, they won, but the beat Purdue. Pur.Stinking.Doo. That offense still just looks way too fragile for Oregon to be any sort of threat in the Pac.

Washington: I guess we know if that little doggie is going to bark all day, or if it’s going to bite. Idaho was just what UW needed after a pretty impressive showing against LSU. I don’t expect this team to win next week, but I sure wouldn’t be surprised.

Furd: As much as it pains me, they did get jobbed against Wake. But seriously, they came out in the second half and just sucked. And I have a feeling that Furd will be like this all year long. Good, but not too good. Able to score, but not able to prevent scores. Able to beat the weaker teams, but not able to pull it out against the stronger ones.

We already know about:

Wazzu. Okay, it’s just painful now.

More Hype for our beloved Golden Bears

SoCal Oski — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:55:55 -0000

So, it appears that What If? Sports has done this thing where they've simulated every game of the FBS season 10,000 times and have come up with some interesting predictions. Some good, some bad for the Bears.

The good: Cal gets a win at Oregon, Tedford gets his first win in LA, we keep the axe . And, can you say BCS? Cal goes 11-1 on the year and takes on Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

The bad: $C still beats us. Even at home. Even in October. Even with a freshman at QB.

The ugly: Cal loses to Oklahoma.

Of course, that is still a pretty great season.

some help for a complete moron

SoCal Oski — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:10:37 -0000

See here's my problem. Well, one problem, anyway. I have several. Okay, be fair, I have a multitude. Some bigger, some smaller. This one is actually one of the smaller ones. But it's a problem nonetheless. And I know enough to seek help for my problems. Well, the less embarrassing ones, anyway. The really awkward ones I keep all to myself.

Anyway, here it is.

You know, now that I think about it, this is really more a question than a problem. So forget all that stuff on top. I have a question. One anyway. I have several. Okay, be fair, I have a multitude of questions ... and so on.

My question is, how do I insert an image into a comment? When I try it asks for a URL. Do I just put the path on my local computer for the image, or do I have to actually upload the image to some website, then link to it?

It's all so confusing.

Is SC a "must win" game?

SoCal Oski — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:17:32 -0000

The short answer, I think, is yes.

Of course, there is a pretty important assumption that goes into this:

We lose to Ucla, ASU, and Zona

And it seems to me that's not an out-of-possibility assumption.

But back to the point, beating SC should ensure an NCAA tourney bid by giving us that magical 20th win and guaranteeing a top-half of the conference finish. .

Losing to SC puts us in danger of sliding out of the top five, and even with a strong RPI and solid conference wins against Zona, ASU, and Washington twice, the NCAA committee likely won't look kindly on a five-game slide and #6 finish (see: assumption).

Now naturally, Cal has a better than puncher's chance against Ucla, Zona, and ASU but out of the four, SC seems like the best chance to get win 20.

So, is it doable? Oh yeah. The first game in LA was close, and it seems we match up pretty well against the Trojans. And, considering their team right now is showing some big cracks and there's evidence of internal discord, it seems as if they may not be strong enough to pull out a big win on the road. Add to that our strong play at home, and the odds are with us. But then again, SC isn't a pushover, and the Bears have shown a tendency to sometimes have a prolonged streak of ineffective play (for lack of a better term).

All in all, Thursday will be a big day for this team. A win gets them into the tournament and makes this one of the most surprising and over-achieving seasons in Cal hoops in a long long time. A loss, and we may have to settle for another trip to the NIT hell.

Poll

Is SC a "Must Win" for Cal?

Yep. Win and in. Lose and snooze

12 votes

Nah. Cal takes at least two of the last four anyway

5 votes

How 'bout that Rugby team!

9 votes

26 votes | Poll has closed

The definition of "determination."

SoCal Oski — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:08:16 -0000

Apparently Bobby Bowden will be coaching at FSU again next year. That isn't a big surprise, I guess. After all, the money is good and having millions of toothless Florida rednecks revere you as some sort of god has to feel pretty cool. Oh, and the FSU coeds you get to screw is a nice incentive too.

But let's not kid ourselves. Bowden is back on the sidelines for one reason. He hates Joe Paterno, and will not stop coaching until he either overtakes him or dies. It's an obsession with Bowden. Even during games, when he ought to be managing his team or working with the coordinators about in-game fixes, he's constantly checking his blackberry for updates on Penn State games. He even has an old picture of JoePa taped to his bathroom mirror so he can look at him every day and get motivated.

This obsession is sick.

Someone needs to sit that old hillbilly down and explain to him that his place in NCAA football history is secured regardless of whether he gets more wins than Paterno. And that he will never again see the success of the 90's.

There really isn't anything quite as pathetic as a bitter old man still engaged in vendetta.

The Ghost of Tedford Past

SoCal Oski — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:20:16 -0000

Evidently those jolly Ducks up in Eugene still have nightmares about the one that got away! They recently announced a deal where their current OC (and Tedford wanna-be) will be the heir apparent to the Head Coaching job when Pornstache Bellotti finally retires.

The time table isn't firm, but apparently Bellotti will be heading for the AD gig in a year or two, and Chip Kelly will take over the Duck program.

Hopefully he'll have more spine in terms of saying no to silly unis and scary mascots.