I've asked admin to put today's DBD on the front page. I may do it again tomorrow depending on the number of new articles. Otherwise, it will probably just be in the Recent Posts list at the bottom half of the front page. I don't want to take away from the front page posts.
Stranger Things Season 5 (18/19 Netflix) - Binged the last season over Christmas Break. I liked how they ended it. No Spoilers so I won't say much plot-wise. There are people that don't like the last season but I thought it was good.
Steelers win a wild one over Ravens to get into NFL playoffs.
Aaron Rodgers leads Steelers to 2 late TDs, Lamar does the same.
Boswell missed extra point on the last one so Steelers are only up 2. Ravens can win w/ FG and Lamar gets them into solid FG range w/ only 45 sec left only to watch the rookie kicker miss the game winning FG!
If I'm a Ravens fan, I'm gripping about Harbaugh's playcalling after getting down the Steelers' 23- yard line. The Ravens called time out with 14 seconds left, snapped the ball so that Lamar Jackson could place the ball dead center between the hashmarks, and Harbaugh waits until there are 0:02 remaining to call his last timeout.
What I want to know is why, with the Steelers' pass defense as porous as a sieve, do you decide to settle for the FG? There are two shots at the end zone before you MUST attempt a game-winning FG. What's the rationale for not taking two shots to score a game clinching TD?
Giving Henry a chance to carry the rock and bust it into the end zone is the very essence of football. With a timeout in your back pocket, I don't understand not using him.
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals fired third-year head coach Jonathan Gannon on Monday, the day after a 37-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams concluded their worst season of the modern era.
Arizona finished 3-14 this season, bringing Gannon's record to 15-36 in his three seasons as the Cardinals' head coach. He never reached the playoffs while also never finishing higher than third in the NFC West. Arizona went 4-13 in 2023 to finish last in the division and 8-9 last season to finish third.
BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns fired head coach Kevin Stefanski after six seasons, the team announced Monday.
The Browns finished the 2025 season with a 5-12 record en route to their second straight last-place finish in the AFC North and their fourth losing season under Stefanski.
The San Jose Sharks learned what it takes to be a top team in the NHL by one of the top teams in the NHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning made short work of the Sharks, jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first seven minutes of the game and then coasting to an easy 7-3 win over the Sharks.
A Week 18 preview piece that focused on special teams can be easily dismissed or scoffed at. Especially when “must be on point” is used in the headline.
Yet, Daniel Carlson’s 60-yard go-ahead and eventual game-winning field goal belabors the importance of quality special teams as the Las Vegas Raiders edged the visiting Kansas City Chiefs 14-12. The win snapped a horrendous 10-game losing skid as the Silver & Black finish the 2025 campaign 3-14 overall.
On Friday, the Golden State Warriors got crushed by the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game where Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler III, Draymond Green, and De’Anthony Melton were all unavailable. In the recap of that game, I wrote the following:
But there is good news for the Warriors, who fell to 18-17 on the season. They’re back in action against a much easier Utah Jazz team on Saturday night, and they’ll likely get Curry, Butler, and Green back for that game, which tips off at 7:00 p.m. PT from the Chase Center. They should look much better in that game.
If not, then they really have problems…
The Warriors did, in fact, flirt with those problems in the first half of their Saturday game against the Jazz. But no harm, no foul, as the Dubs used a dominant second half to coast to a 123-114 victory — their sixth in their last eight games.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers led Pittsburgh to a wild 26-24 victory over Baltimore in the final regular-season game of the 2025 NFL campaign on Sunday evening to give Cal nine former players on active rosters of the league's playoff teams. Rodgers qualified for the playoffs in his first season with the Steelers and the 13th time in his career.
- California takes off on its first Atlantic Coast Conference road trip of the season this week.
- The Golden Bears (13-2, 1-1 ACC) will visit No. 21 Virginia (12-2, 1-1) for a 9 p.m. ET meeting on Wednesday (Jan. 7) at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.
- After that test, Cal will make its first-ever trip to Blacksburg, Va., taking on Virginia Tech (12-3, 1-1) in a 4 p.m. ET clash on Saturday (Jan. 10) at Cassell Coliseum.
Playing in front of a sold-out crowd, the California women's basketball team played a hard-fought battle but ultimately fell 71-60 at NC State at Valvano Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Golden Bears (9-7, 0-3 ACC) overcame an early nine-point deficit in the first quarter and eventually took leads in the second and third quarters, but it was an 11-0 run by the Wolfpack (11-4, 4-0) to end the third quarter that proved to be the difference in the game. The Bears outrebounded NC State 42-28 after the Wolfpack came into the game with a 10.6 rebounding margin which leads the ACC.
SEATTLE – The California women's gymnastics team took home a second-place finish at the Best of the West quad meet hosted by Washington Saturday afternoon in Seattle. The No. 20 Golden Bears (196.000) finished behind No. 4 UCLA (196.975) and outscored No. 34 Washington (195.625) and No. 17 Oregon State (195.550) in the season opener. Junior Annalise Newman-Achee was awarded second-place in the all-around while sophomore Sage Melkonian received third.
BERKELEY -- Dai Dai Ames hit two 3-pointers in the last 11 seconds and drained the game-winning free throw for California men's basketball in a heart-stopping 72-71 Golden Bear victory tonight at Haas Pavilion. The Bears had trailed by as much as 12 points in the first half but didn't quit en route to a dramatic ACC win. Cal is now 13-2 overall and 1-1 in ACC play, while Notre Dame goes to 10-5, 1-1.
Travers Family Head Football Coach Tosh Lupoi announced Friday the hiring of veteran NFL player and coach Ike Hilliard as the program's wide receivers coach. In addition, Hilliard will hold a co-offensive coordinator title.
Thx to SGBear
like the intro stated ... SGBear has been doing this for a while and is otherwise very bisy with all the new things in his life. we wish him luck ..
HAG and HSB will be trying to carry on his legacy.
any complaints should still be directed to SGBear!
SGB negotiated his buyout with WFC.
or maybe SGBear was fired for embezzling funds from WFC ??!!
haha .. just trying to think of fun ways to explain his absence
Tough act to follow. SGBear was/is some kind of crazy genius.
But then, that’s not that unusual for a Cal grad!
DBD
I've asked admin to put today's DBD on the front page. I may do it again tomorrow depending on the number of new articles. Otherwise, it will probably just be in the Recent Posts list at the bottom half of the front page. I don't want to take away from the front page posts.
DBD AV Club
The Diplomat (19/19 Netflix)
rewatching this w/ my wife. we have a little more downtime these days w/ no kids in the house and being away from primary home.
our new vacation home in Burlington has no furniture yet, so it is pretty bare-bones TV watching
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KfHURgZKh53gb7uw7
I really like The Diplomat. This last season was crazy.
Stranger Things Season 5 (18/19 Netflix) - Binged the last season over Christmas Break. I liked how they ended it. No Spoilers so I won't say much plot-wise. There are people that don't like the last season but I thought it was good.
i didnt watch. people seemed to be happy with it
Politix
New Year
PRO
Steelers win a wild one over Ravens to get into NFL playoffs.
Aaron Rodgers leads Steelers to 2 late TDs, Lamar does the same.
Boswell missed extra point on the last one so Steelers are only up 2. Ravens can win w/ FG and Lamar gets them into solid FG range w/ only 45 sec left only to watch the rookie kicker miss the game winning FG!
I immediately had Cal at Pitt PTSD
If I'm a Ravens fan, I'm gripping about Harbaugh's playcalling after getting down the Steelers' 23- yard line. The Ravens called time out with 14 seconds left, snapped the ball so that Lamar Jackson could place the ball dead center between the hashmarks, and Harbaugh waits until there are 0:02 remaining to call his last timeout.
What I want to know is why, with the Steelers' pass defense as porous as a sieve, do you decide to settle for the FG? There are two shots at the end zone before you MUST attempt a game-winning FG. What's the rationale for not taking two shots to score a game clinching TD?
or they could have run Henry up the middle in obvious passing situation w/ all those time outs.
Giving Henry a chance to carry the rock and bust it into the end zone is the very essence of football. With a timeout in your back pocket, I don't understand not using him.
I guess worried about a fumble or INT. Though they don't have Justin Tucker.
This was the best NFL game I've seen this season. What an ending.
(I didn't watch many games this season)
this is true
NFL coaches fired
Cardinals fire Jonathan Gannon after 15-36 record in 3 seasons
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47512424/sources-cardinals-fire-jonathan-gannon-15-36-record
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals fired third-year head coach Jonathan Gannon on Monday, the day after a 37-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams concluded their worst season of the modern era.
Arizona finished 3-14 this season, bringing Gannon's record to 15-36 in his three seasons as the Cardinals' head coach. He never reached the playoffs while also never finishing higher than third in the NFC West. Arizona went 4-13 in 2023 to finish last in the division and 8-9 last season to finish third.
Raiders fire Pete Carroll after one season, GM John Spytek remains
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47513676/raiders-fire-pete-carroll-one-season-gm-john-spytek-remains
HENDERSON, Nev. -- The Pete Carroll era with the Las Vegas Raiders is over after just one year.
The team fired the 74-year-old coach Monday after it went 3-14 this season, which ended with a 14-12 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Before the game, Las Vegas had lost 10 straight and already had wrapped up the No. 1 selection in the 2026 NFL draft.
Maybe Cheatey Petey accomplished his mission by securing the #1 pick for the Raiders.
Hopefully it isn't wasted on Nando.
Yeah, that doesn't seem like a really good fit.
i know little about the upcoming draft class and what the Raiders need. i didnt think Raiders had a QB that they really liked, do they?
Every tank needs a commander.
Falcons fire coach Raheem Morris, GM Terry Fontenot
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47507975/source-falcons-move-raheem-morris-coach
The Atlanta Falcons fired coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot on Sunday night after two straight disappointing seasons.
Their exits came hours after Atlanta wrapped up an 8-9 campaign with a 19-17 home win over the New Orleans Saints.
Browns fire head coach Kevin Stefanski after 6 seasons
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47512228/browns-fire-head-coach-kevin-stefanski-6-seasons
BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns fired head coach Kevin Stefanski after six seasons, the team announced Monday.
The Browns finished the 2025 season with a 5-12 record en route to their second straight last-place finish in the AFC North and their fourth losing season under Stefanski.
Quick bites: Sharks zapped by Lightning (7-3)
https://www.fearthefin.com/quick-bites-sharks-zapped-by-lightning/
The San Jose Sharks learned what it takes to be a top team in the NHL by one of the top teams in the NHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning made short work of the Sharks, jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first seven minutes of the game and then coasting to an easy 7-3 win over the Sharks.
Carlson’s boot lifts Las Vegas Raiders past Chiefs in season finale (14-12)
https://www.silverandblackpride.com/las-vegas-raiders-scores-results/118825/carlsons-boot-lifts-las-vegas-raiders-past-chiefs-in-season-finale
Look, I get it.
A Week 18 preview piece that focused on special teams can be easily dismissed or scoffed at. Especially when “must be on point” is used in the headline.
Yet, Daniel Carlson’s 60-yard go-ahead and eventual game-winning field goal belabors the importance of quality special teams as the Las Vegas Raiders edged the visiting Kansas City Chiefs 14-12. The win snapped a horrendous 10-game losing skid as the Silver & Black finish the 2025 campaign 3-14 overall.
This was a Scorigami until the game winning FG with no time left.
That whole game and scenario was ridiculous.
Steph Curry leads bounce-back win for Warriors over Jazz
https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/warriors-scores-results/106907/warriors-jazz-scores-recap-steph-curry-lauri-markkanen
On Friday, the Golden State Warriors got crushed by the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game where Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler III, Draymond Green, and De’Anthony Melton were all unavailable. In the recap of that game, I wrote the following:
But there is good news for the Warriors, who fell to 18-17 on the season. They’re back in action against a much easier Utah Jazz team on Saturday night, and they’ll likely get Curry, Butler, and Green back for that game, which tips off at 7:00 p.m. PT from the Chase Center. They should look much better in that game.
If not, then they really have problems…
The Warriors did, in fact, flirt with those problems in the first half of their Saturday game against the Jazz. But no harm, no foul, as the Dubs used a dominant second half to coast to a 123-114 victory — their sixth in their last eight games.
CAL
[FB] 9 Golden Bears On NFL Playoffs Active Rosters
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/4/football-9-golden-bears-on-nfl-playoffs-active-rosters.aspx
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers led Pittsburgh to a wild 26-24 victory over Baltimore in the final regular-season game of the 2025 NFL campaign on Sunday evening to give Cal nine former players on active rosters of the league's playoff teams. Rodgers qualified for the playoffs in his first season with the Steelers and the 13th time in his career.
[MBB] Cal Heads East For First ACC Road Trip Of 2026
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/4/mens-basketball-cal-heads-east-for-first-acc-road-trip-of-2026.aspx
BEAR BITES
- California takes off on its first Atlantic Coast Conference road trip of the season this week.
- The Golden Bears (13-2, 1-1 ACC) will visit No. 21 Virginia (12-2, 1-1) for a 9 p.m. ET meeting on Wednesday (Jan. 7) at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.
- After that test, Cal will make its first-ever trip to Blacksburg, Va., taking on Virginia Tech (12-3, 1-1) in a 4 p.m. ET clash on Saturday (Jan. 10) at Cassell Coliseum.
[WBB] Cal Loses Hard Fought Battle At NC State
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/4/womens-basketball-cal-loses-hard-fought-battle-at-nc-state.aspx
Playing in front of a sold-out crowd, the California women's basketball team played a hard-fought battle but ultimately fell 71-60 at NC State at Valvano Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Golden Bears (9-7, 0-3 ACC) overcame an early nine-point deficit in the first quarter and eventually took leads in the second and third quarters, but it was an 11-0 run by the Wolfpack (11-4, 4-0) to end the third quarter that proved to be the difference in the game. The Bears outrebounded NC State 42-28 after the Wolfpack came into the game with a 10.6 rebounding margin which leads the ACC.
[WGYM] Bears Clinch Second Place At Best Of The West
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/3/womens-gymnastics-bears-clinch-second-place-at-best-of-the-west.aspx
SEATTLE – The California women's gymnastics team took home a second-place finish at the Best of the West quad meet hosted by Washington Saturday afternoon in Seattle. The No. 20 Golden Bears (196.000) finished behind No. 4 UCLA (196.975) and outscored No. 34 Washington (195.625) and No. 17 Oregon State (195.550) in the season opener. Junior Annalise Newman-Achee was awarded second-place in the all-around while sophomore Sage Melkonian received third.
[MBB] Dai Dai Ames Hits Heroic Late Shots For Cal Win Over Notre Dame
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/2/mens-basketball-dai-dai-ames-hits-heroic-late-shots-for-cal-win-over-notre-dame.aspx
BERKELEY -- Dai Dai Ames hit two 3-pointers in the last 11 seconds and drained the game-winning free throw for California men's basketball in a heart-stopping 72-71 Golden Bear victory tonight at Haas Pavilion. The Bears had trailed by as much as 12 points in the first half but didn't quit en route to a dramatic ACC win. Cal is now 13-2 overall and 1-1 in ACC play, while Notre Dame goes to 10-5, 1-1.
[FB] Ike Hilliard To Lead Cal Wide Receivers
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/2/football-ike-hilliard-to-lead-cal-wide-receivers.aspx
Travers Family Head Football Coach Tosh Lupoi announced Friday the hiring of veteran NFL player and coach Ike Hilliard as the program's wide receivers coach. In addition, Hilliard will hold a co-offensive coordinator title.