Too bad there wasn’t a full-court game going on. I took this picture in Dubrovnik, Croatia - which is why the lighting isn’t ideal, the composition sucks, and isn’t over-saturated with color.
Meeting up with a friend at Horn's BBQ tomorrow morning. Let's see how his west coast, but Texas and South inspired BBQ is. Looks like they have brisket, ribs, sausages, chicken, pulled pork.
[Challenge] Name a full-time starter on a Cal football or men's basketball team from the past 15 years that had the least visible impact. The goal is to make readers say "who?"
Panini (a trading cards) company made a set of Cal cards covering multiple sports (football, men's basketball, women's basketball, and baseball). For whatever reason, Khairi Fortt made the cut. I picked up a set of the 50 base cards for under $10 from eBay last year.
That's a great one. I love going at looking up these stats of players I barely remember. He started 42 games between 2010-13, with a career average of 3.3 points, 2.3 assists. Was only a 60% shooter from the line. What is with Cal and point guards who can't shoot FT's (Randle being the exception).
Joel could average nearly 10 a night if he could shoot 60%!!
When I see a starting PG that shoots 47.7% from the FT line his JR year, 46.8% for his career, I would bet dollars to donuts he is playing the wrong sport.
That is flat out inexcusable, and you can argue is emblematic of the disastrous current state of the program...no wonder this team can't win - the primary ball handler misses >1 of every 2 free throws...
Insane...in a good way or bad way? Singer played in 133 games in his time at Cal, and people still barely remember him. With career averages under 5 in all categories, he's the definition of solid-but-anonymous.
Bad way for sure. He hit a serious slump like sophomore/ junior season where he just seemed to lose confidence in his shot and would pass up wide open looks.
I had forgotten about him and I think at one of the games earlier this year they showed him on the jumbotron. I had totally forgotten about him until that point.
FET I was at the taco truck and saw a guy get out of his car and had on a really looking Cal shirt and as he walked by I looked at the back and there was a Camporeale name plate with the number 43 on it. It was the most random thing ever bc why would anyone purposely have a Camporeale shirt
I thought of him too for some reason.. but didnt he play d-line, and had a decent senior year?
Senior (2013)
► One of three Cal players to start all 12 games along with Deandre Coleman and Jared Goff
► Recorded career highs of 12 starts, 25 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss (-13 yards) to rank fourth on the team, 1.0 sack (-4 yards), one quarterback hurry and one forced fumble on defense with his forced fumble tied for second on the team and his tackles for loss fourth, as well as one reception and one yard receiving on offense
Unless I'm having a senior moment, he played OLB. I followed his career because he and I went to the same HS, so I would focus on his play during games. He was the original Cal "jumbo" OLB before Tevin Paul made it a thing. He would just disappear. Never seemed to be close to the ball and was a liability in pass coverage.
You're probably right. I'd always remembered his name because it sounded somewhat like Campanile, and I vaguely remembered him being the best available option that year at whatever position only because the team was so depleted. Partly because of the McCain saga? When I checked the Cal site it listed him as d-line probably because of the gray area of that OLB spot. Though I thought that was still a 4-3 defense with Jalen Jefferson, Hardy Nickerson, and Khari Fortt as the 3 LBs..
Domingo would frustrate Larry to no end bc of how wildly inconsistent he was. Warmups before the game, he would drain like 5-6 shots in a row. Actual game he’d brick everything.
Did some research. He played in the D-League and summer league on different teams for the past 3 years, and is now is playing on the Nigerian national team. He'll probably be on someone's summer league roster this year. Root for or against him, as you prefer.
The similarities are striking. Hyder shooting 24.3% on a bad team. Domingo shot a shocking 21.7% from the field his SR year.
How in the hell did this kid get a scholarship to Georgetown??? Man, I so wish I was 6'7". He averaged 1.5 ppg in a 4 year career at 2 P5 schools.
I used to view Lars with similar, complete disdain, but he's worked himself into almost a decent contributor...continued improvement on his low post game over the offseason, and he could easily average 6 & 4 next year, which given his first 2 years, is pretty respectable. Good for Lars.
To me it seems like Lars moving better is just losing his baby fat and strength training to improve his quickness. Unfortunately he still has hands of stone, but I think he is now a legitimate Pac-12 backup. Whereas his first 2 years he would just be a garbage time player.
This is kind of a weird comparison because Alexander Zverez, other than winning a season end ATP tournament, is no where the icon that Serena Williams has been. I also think the US media has not picked up on that outburst because he is not American and this was a small tournament.
I find it wild that 60% of people have feet that are 2 different shoe sizes. I find it interesting that shoe companies are unwilling to sell individual shoes to make customers happy, but I can understand why they wouldn't from a logistics standpoint.
I know you're down on him for transferring out just when his presence could've made a difference, but I wouldn't mind ending up with him. He has a great reputation from his time at Eastern Washington, as well. It won't be this offseason, but it may be next year.
Ya, I'm down on him, big time. That said, I'm a Cal hoops fan first and foremost, and if Shantay can get this team on the Bubble, I'd definitely put aside my pettiness and root them on. But I'll believe it when I see it. He inherited his Eastern Washington team and rode two guys that are now contributors on P5 Tourney teams to the Dance.
I much prefer Gates if we're going to hire a former Cal guard...not sure he'd even meet with Knowlton again tho.
In a remarkably similar situation, Fred Hoiberg to get another year in Lincoln, despite a 6-49 B1G record in 3 years...donor & administrative apathy are a dangerous thing, as Cal can attest to. Fox’s P12 record in that time - 14-39, with a 2-2 line in P12 Tourn.
I'm a Husker native and a Cal grad. The Wilcox/Frost and Hoiberg/Fox parallels and comparisons over the past 3-5 years have been interesting to see how each school handles it, relative to expectations. At least with Fox and Frost, you can see the teams continues to play hard, and if you squint really hard you can see how they may not be far away from a jump up. Hoiberg's NU teams have not passed the eye test. It's not a fun team to watch. They have a great arena, they sell out most nights. Tim Miles (now at SJSU) was competive most years, and got NU to the dance but couldn't get a win. Hoiberg was supposed to be the one to make that next step. If Hoiberg was not a Nebraska native, he'd be gone.
Yeah but Hoiberg has had really good teams before at ISU and was an NBA head coach and is at a school with zero history of bball success. Fox has a way weaker resume and is at a school that boasts a decent amount of success in its past
Agree! We don’t even need a big name. I would take flyer on a rando young hungry guy if cost is the concern. Anything but what we have now, which seems certain to put us around 10th place or so in the conference in perpetuity
There's just zero excitement around the program. None.
I remember when they hired Braun, I was excited. Same thing with Monty...and when they lured Cuonzo it was a nice surprise.
Nothing about the program is inspiring...and Fox's chosen style of play, emulating 1950's rural Indiana basketball, is practically unwatchable. I remain convinced that while this team is by no means a tournament team, a better offensive mind could at least do something more with a squad that is legitimately 10 deep and features 6 guys that can shoot the 3.
Next trip to the bubble will be after 2025...it didn’t necessarily have to, but Mike Williams/Wyking/Knowlton/Mark Fox set the program back a decade. A decade.
Yes, on paper that team was loaded. It just fell apart, starting with the Hugnagel disaster. What a distraction.
No Ty, no Jabari, and they whistled Jaylen for 2 quick fouls and that was that. For as good a player as he was, JB was good for 2 player control fouls a night. The refs had his scouting report.
That was a real big case of what coulda been with a healthy squad.
Hmmmm.... I also felt the refs should have called half of those fouls as blocking by the other team, JB was too good for the Pac-12. Would have been called differently in a different conference methinks.
I spent 5+ hours driving up to Spokane from Portland only to watch that crap and then drive another 2+ hours back towards Portland because the hotel I got oversold the rooms. And I only got about 2.5 hours of sleep the night before because I couldn't fall asleep until like 2.
That was a brutal day. I think I met up with CalBear91 at the game (not the brutal part). I get to my seat and don't see Jabari Bird warming up and Ty was in his cast. Then Jabari Bird hobbles out right before the game starts and then goes back to the dressing room.
And I did get to check out Coeur d'Alene for an hour and it was really nice.
I worked in CD'Alene two years, 2009-2011 and lived in Hayden Lake, overlooking the lake about a 17 min. commute to office in CDA. I was more than familiar with that issue. I saw no one nor interacted with no one which was of that bent and I mostly worked with timber & construction people in N. Idaho & NW. Montana.
Thoroughly enjoyed and was comfortable living there. Would have stayed longer if not for >$-job in Puget Sound area.
Coeur d'Alene is a cute town but is a apparently a neo-Nazi stronghold....not kidding - a friend of mine who went to Gonzaga told me this. I was shocked - didn't see any signs when I visited with the disastrous former Mrs. Jimmy Chitwood in '14.
Yup - an assistant coach role is perfect for him...plenty of incompetent ACs out there...barring doing something illegal that gets your school sanctioned, you can’t really torpedo a program as an AC. Ineptitude as the Head honcho, where you get in a fistfight with one of your own ACs, that’s next level.
Just love how he had Stanford, Colorado, and both Washington schools all in the field of 64...he’s a great ambassador for the Conference...unfortunately he’s batschitt cray cray... ;-)
I bet Ukraine wishes they hadn’t given up their nuclear missiles in the 90s. No way does Russia go into Ukraine if they still have their Soviet nuclear missiles.
Last month, when the U.S. State Department began urging American citizens to leave Ukraine, Jerome Randle’s phone started buzzing incessantly. Friends and family in America would send Randle media reports detailing Russia’s extraordinary military buildup along its border with Ukraine. They then begged the Chicago native to pack up his belongings and return home before it was too late.
Volkswagen will pause production at two factories in Germany that produce electric vehicles because deliveries of parts made in Ukraine have been interrupted by fighting. The shutdowns illustrate how war could have unpredictable effects on the global economy, adding to supply chain turmoil that has fueled inflation.
I had this really cool law professor who always said “for every move there is a counter move.”
But what moves are there for Ukraine? The West has left them to die. They can resist Russia for a while in a conventional war but eventually the asymmetry of the forces will cause them to lose.
So what then, some long sustained guerrilla campaign within Ukraine against Russian occupying forces? Get all IRA and blow up buses in Moscow? They don’t have a lot of obvious moves
I dispute "The West has left them to die" - we have no treaty obligations with them, but we have sold them weaponry to defend themselves. The sanctions on Russia are not trivial and will impact the Europeans. There's no question that Russia can eventually prevail, but I'm not sure this ends well for Putin and Russia. I'm not sure he really thought this through.
Well don’t forget, Trump was president for 4 of those years and he didn’t seem interested in arming Ukraine due to his close ties to Putin/Russia and Zelensky not doing his dirty work on Biden.
Biden has been doing a good job of arming them but he has only been in office for 1 year.
I don't think that's a fair assessment - and honestly part of the problem with the Russians and all the former constituents of the Soviet Union is they are all corrupt.
I agree we didn't handle the Crimea invasion well.
Russian Foreign Ministry today warned against Sweden and Finland joining NATO citing that joining military cooperative pacts is bad and if they do, they will be met with military consequences. You can't make stuff up.
The issue with sending arms to a corrupt nation is that you don't know if they're going to then wind up in the wrong hands.
I don't know, maybe there is more the US could have done in Ukraine, but that seems like very America-centric thinking to me. This is Putin's aggression being carried out against all reason, which means it could easily have happened anyway.
And even if Putin takes Kyiv, the battle would not be over and Ukraine would not be gone. Guaranteed there would be an ongoing internal resistance for years to come. Ukrainians do NOT want to be occupied by anyone.
And he wants them to occur in Minsk, Belarus. If I’m Zelensky I wouldn’t take that meeting in Minsk, if you do, you might as well shoot yourself in the head before going.
If I’m Zelensky I would agree to talks in Geneva or Paris but not Minsk.
I am not surprised. The US, once presented with a choice of supporting Pakistan or India, unfortunately picked Pakistan. That worked out great for Pakistan, not so much for the US. Why we picked Pakistan over India, a democratic nation never made sense to me. When we picked Pakistan, India went with the Soviet Union and now Russia.
Yeahhhhhhh. I think we are in a cycle here - used to be very aggressive about this kind of stuff but that aggression got us into a bunch of foreign wars that were fairly pointless and expensive so now we are gun shy and letting madmen roam free. At some point we probably revert to more bullishness. Sad thing is that if we had better relations with China we could really keep the world order much better. But alas…
TFG - the guy who got impeached for withholding military aid to Ukraine in his extortion effort to benefit his man-crush Putin - says the invasion wouldn't happen if he was President again
Watched Brute Force last night - 1947 directed by Jules Dassin staring Burt Lancaster - a prison movie with (overall) superior acting, and good chunk of social commentary. 15/19 WB. It was opened a bit by the flashbacks of the prisoners, one was particularly droll.
DBD Kitchen
Hopscotch makes a damn fine fried chicken sando, goes great with a glass a champagne
Is that the place we met up with tbb? Maybe during one of the PGE power shutdowns? At least for me.
Yup, the one.
Yeah that sandwich was good.
Meeting up with a friend at Horn's BBQ tomorrow morning. Let's see how his west coast, but Texas and South inspired BBQ is. Looks like they have brisket, ribs, sausages, chicken, pulled pork.
Meats are good, sides are meh.
[Challenge] Name a full-time starter on a Cal football or men's basketball team from the past 15 years that had the least visible impact. The goal is to make readers say "who?"
Marloshawn Franklin. He was terrible but for some reason he was a full-time starter. He was very un-Cal like player.
Khairi Fortt. For a LB who was drafted in NFL, I think he is easily forgotten among Cal fans.
Panini (a trading cards) company made a set of Cal cards covering multiple sports (football, men's basketball, women's basketball, and baseball). For whatever reason, Khairi Fortt made the cut. I picked up a set of the 50 base cards for under $10 from eBay last year.
https://www.cardboardconnection.com/2015-panini-california-collegiate-trading
That's interesting. Zack Follet definitely deserves a spot before Fortt.
Alex Crosthwaite. I think a lot of Offensive linemen will make this list.
Brandon Smith. Starting PG for one year
That's a great one. I love going at looking up these stats of players I barely remember. He started 42 games between 2010-13, with a career average of 3.3 points, 2.3 assists. Was only a 60% shooter from the line. What is with Cal and point guards who can't shoot FT's (Randle being the exception).
He was a freshman on the Pac10 Championship team, and became a starter following departure of all the core players.
Joel could average nearly 10 a night if he could shoot 60%!!
When I see a starting PG that shoots 47.7% from the FT line his JR year, 46.8% for his career, I would bet dollars to donuts he is playing the wrong sport.
That is flat out inexcusable, and you can argue is emblematic of the disastrous current state of the program...no wonder this team can't win - the primary ball handler misses >1 of every 2 free throws...
Can't make this stuff up.
Matt Anderson. Helluva kicker.
Sam Singer
oh this is a good answer.
He was solid, just was (rightly) overshadowed by the Rabb/Bird/Brown trio. Kinda like an earlier version of Joel Brown.
Solid? He used to drive my son insane.
Insane...in a good way or bad way? Singer played in 133 games in his time at Cal, and people still barely remember him. With career averages under 5 in all categories, he's the definition of solid-but-anonymous.
Bad way for sure. He hit a serious slump like sophomore/ junior season where he just seemed to lose confidence in his shot and would pass up wide open looks.
Bad way, he was a decent enough point guard, but he really lacked scoring ability.
I had forgotten about him and I think at one of the games earlier this year they showed him on the jumbotron. I had totally forgotten about him until that point.
Dan Camporeale - I don't know how a starting linebacker averages less than 1.5 tackles per game.
FET I was at the taco truck and saw a guy get out of his car and had on a really looking Cal shirt and as he walked by I looked at the back and there was a Camporeale name plate with the number 43 on it. It was the most random thing ever bc why would anyone purposely have a Camporeale shirt
I saw a guy in full gold Cal gear top to bottom at a gym once. It was D'Amato himself.
Maybe. Was Camporeale Asian?
Dang Kang Poh Raya Leh
I thought of him too for some reason.. but didnt he play d-line, and had a decent senior year?
Senior (2013)
► One of three Cal players to start all 12 games along with Deandre Coleman and Jared Goff
► Recorded career highs of 12 starts, 25 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss (-13 yards) to rank fourth on the team, 1.0 sack (-4 yards), one quarterback hurry and one forced fumble on defense with his forced fumble tied for second on the team and his tackles for loss fourth, as well as one reception and one yard receiving on offense
Unless I'm having a senior moment, he played OLB. I followed his career because he and I went to the same HS, so I would focus on his play during games. He was the original Cal "jumbo" OLB before Tevin Paul made it a thing. He would just disappear. Never seemed to be close to the ball and was a liability in pass coverage.
You're probably right. I'd always remembered his name because it sounded somewhat like Campanile, and I vaguely remembered him being the best available option that year at whatever position only because the team was so depleted. Partly because of the McCain saga? When I checked the Cal site it listed him as d-line probably because of the gray area of that OLB spot. Though I thought that was still a 4-3 defense with Jalen Jefferson, Hardy Nickerson, and Khari Fortt as the 3 LBs..
I get Dan Camporeale and Kyle Kragen mixed up. Kragen was much better but he's buried in fans' memories as well.
Stephen Domingo...barf.
Domingo would frustrate Larry to no end bc of how wildly inconsistent he was. Warmups before the game, he would drain like 5-6 shots in a row. Actual game he’d brick everything.
Did some research. He played in the D-League and summer league on different teams for the past 3 years, and is now is playing on the Nigerian national team. He'll probably be on someone's summer league roster this year. Root for or against him, as you prefer.
Meh, kid has made a living playing basketball despite not being any good at it. Good for him.
I'd rather root for the IRS in audits v. the Mom & Pop shop than I would for Domingo.... ;-)
https://gleague.nba.com/player/stephen-domingo/
His percentages haven't suddenly improved. I guess he's a decent rebounder????
Not that I recall...he must have a motor on him defensively...only thing I can think of.
ouch!
Was he the one that got in a fight with Tyrone?
He only started 4 games. But after transferring in from Georgetown, I expected a little bit more.
He was garbage. I mean, awful. Trash. Missed pretty much EVERY shot.
Coulda swore he started more than 4 games…he was expected to start more and played himself right out of the lineup. Boo.
Unfortunately when I see Hyder enter our games, I have Domingo flashbacks.
The similarities are striking. Hyder shooting 24.3% on a bad team. Domingo shot a shocking 21.7% from the field his SR year.
How in the hell did this kid get a scholarship to Georgetown??? Man, I so wish I was 6'7". He averaged 1.5 ppg in a 4 year career at 2 P5 schools.
I used to view Lars with similar, complete disdain, but he's worked himself into almost a decent contributor...continued improvement on his low post game over the offseason, and he could easily average 6 & 4 next year, which given his first 2 years, is pretty respectable. Good for Lars.
To me it seems like Lars moving better is just losing his baby fat and strength training to improve his quickness. Unfortunately he still has hands of stone, but I think he is now a legitimate Pac-12 backup. Whereas his first 2 years he would just be a garbage time player.
Haha. I don't know if I call him that but I can confirm that he missed every shot.
PRO
Double standards in media?
https://deadspin.com/what-if-serena-williams-did-what-alexander-zverev-did-1848588387
This is kind of a weird comparison because Alexander Zverez, other than winning a season end ATP tournament, is no where the icon that Serena Williams has been. I also think the US media has not picked up on that outburst because he is not American and this was a small tournament.
Hank the Tank was framed. JUSTICE FOR HANK!
https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2022/02/24/hank-the-tank-big-bear-not-responsible-for-tahoe-break-ins/
So Hank had two accomplices. I can still assign 11 break-ins to him, assuming they are equal opportunity pillagers. Keep to yoself Hank!
Matt Takimoto (MS Edu - UC Berkeley '15) wins Jeopardy. Daily Cal interviews him.
https://twitter.com/dailycal/status/1496915330966462470
is that Takimoto from ATQ?
Yes
CAL
Jerome Randle, Ukrainian! https://www.yahoo.com/sports/you-need-to-get-out-of-there-american-basketball-players-struggle-to-flee-ukraine-150040957.html
[MBB] Axe will be on display tomorrow during game vs. Furd
https://twitter.com/calmbball/status/1496908042637512706?s=21
That's what they said earlier this year.
Would have been badass if they said it BEFORE the Big Game.
Professor Bersani (French) has passed away
https://twitter.com/UCBerkeley/status/1497280454264860676
Go Bears!!!
Hey G.Oso...
https://calbears.com/news/2022/2/24/football-exclusive-travel-package-to-notre-dame-available-now.aspx
Looks like ND tickets through the ATO are only available to STHs.
Downtown Chicago Hotel for 2 nights + train + shuttle + tailgate = $1100/person for a double room or $1400 for a single room.
Train only $359/person.
These all seem pretty expensive for what they are.
yup I agree. I'd rather just get a car and drive and park there for that price.
Asymmetrical
Eugene Levy's character in Best in Show had two left feet
Jerry Fleck.
And a wife that had slept with basically everyone....everyone.
Weird baseball fields.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnMac11Csow&ab_channel=JomboyMedia
I find it wild that 60% of people have feet that are 2 different shoe sizes. I find it interesting that shoe companies are unwilling to sell individual shoes to make customers happy, but I can understand why they wouldn't from a logistics standpoint.
60%? I find that hard to believe - sure one foot is slightly smaller, but not a whole size smaller.
I wonder how much of an advantage an asymmetrical outfield is for the home team in MLB.
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
Cute story by Canzano. But no thanks.
It’s not the biggest or most important story of the week. But the journey of Shantay Legans may lift your spirits.
Column:
https://t.co/tsqLXo34Ox
https://twitter.com/johncanzanobft/status/1497311690974658560?s=20&t=IjAuDJlTHr42i1IzLx3Hkw
I know you're down on him for transferring out just when his presence could've made a difference, but I wouldn't mind ending up with him. He has a great reputation from his time at Eastern Washington, as well. It won't be this offseason, but it may be next year.
Ya, I'm down on him, big time. That said, I'm a Cal hoops fan first and foremost, and if Shantay can get this team on the Bubble, I'd definitely put aside my pettiness and root them on. But I'll believe it when I see it. He inherited his Eastern Washington team and rode two guys that are now contributors on P5 Tourney teams to the Dance.
I much prefer Gates if we're going to hire a former Cal guard...not sure he'd even meet with Knowlton again tho.
That's a cool story on Shantay.
Jayden Daniels visiting Mizzou
https://twitter.com/PowerMizzoucom/status/1497241990303522818
Georgetown is 0 for the Big East. I'm old enough to remember when they were a big time program but they are really at rock bottom.
And somehow they made the tournament last year!
They had a mediocre regular season but somehow went on a run and won the conference tournament to get in. Not gonna happen this year.
Yeah and it was obviously a weird regular season with all the COVID cancellations, so that made such a run more possible. This year, no way.
In a remarkably similar situation, Fred Hoiberg to get another year in Lincoln, despite a 6-49 B1G record in 3 years...donor & administrative apathy are a dangerous thing, as Cal can attest to. Fox’s P12 record in that time - 14-39, with a 2-2 line in P12 Tourn.
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/33364417
I'm a Husker native and a Cal grad. The Wilcox/Frost and Hoiberg/Fox parallels and comparisons over the past 3-5 years have been interesting to see how each school handles it, relative to expectations. At least with Fox and Frost, you can see the teams continues to play hard, and if you squint really hard you can see how they may not be far away from a jump up. Hoiberg's NU teams have not passed the eye test. It's not a fun team to watch. They have a great arena, they sell out most nights. Tim Miles (now at SJSU) was competive most years, and got NU to the dance but couldn't get a win. Hoiberg was supposed to be the one to make that next step. If Hoiberg was not a Nebraska native, he'd be gone.
Yeah but Hoiberg has had really good teams before at ISU and was an NBA head coach and is at a school with zero history of bball success. Fox has a way weaker resume and is at a school that boasts a decent amount of success in its past
You don't have to convince me. I think they both should be gone, TBH...3 straight years of no improvement should be enough....
Agree! We don’t even need a big name. I would take flyer on a rando young hungry guy if cost is the concern. Anything but what we have now, which seems certain to put us around 10th place or so in the conference in perpetuity
There's just zero excitement around the program. None.
I remember when they hired Braun, I was excited. Same thing with Monty...and when they lured Cuonzo it was a nice surprise.
Nothing about the program is inspiring...and Fox's chosen style of play, emulating 1950's rural Indiana basketball, is practically unwatchable. I remain convinced that while this team is by no means a tournament team, a better offensive mind could at least do something more with a squad that is legitimately 10 deep and features 6 guys that can shoot the 3.
Oregon gets a big win for their resume, sweeping a Juzang-less UCLA. SC up next - probably need that one too, and then 1-1 at the Washingtons.
Meanwhile, Colorado boat races Cal in the 2H, and then goes on to get blown out by 17 to ASU in Boulder. The Bears are bad...sigh.
I guess we're not going to the dance. ;)
Last visit was ‘15-‘16....
Next trip to the bubble will be after 2025...it didn’t necessarily have to, but Mike Williams/Wyking/Knowlton/Mark Fox set the program back a decade. A decade.
And that was such a sad appearance, with a bunch of starters injured right before the tournament and getting bounced immediately. Ugh.
Yes, on paper that team was loaded. It just fell apart, starting with the Hugnagel disaster. What a distraction.
No Ty, no Jabari, and they whistled Jaylen for 2 quick fouls and that was that. For as good a player as he was, JB was good for 2 player control fouls a night. The refs had his scouting report.
That was a real big case of what coulda been with a healthy squad.
Hmmmm.... I also felt the refs should have called half of those fouls as blocking by the other team, JB was too good for the Pac-12. Would have been called differently in a different conference methinks.
And without Jabari as the outside shooting threat Hawaii just packed the paint and took away Jaylen's driving lanes. It was a wrap.
I spent 5+ hours driving up to Spokane from Portland only to watch that crap and then drive another 2+ hours back towards Portland because the hotel I got oversold the rooms. And I only got about 2.5 hours of sleep the night before because I couldn't fall asleep until like 2.
That was a brutal day. I think I met up with CalBear91 at the game (not the brutal part). I get to my seat and don't see Jabari Bird warming up and Ty was in his cast. Then Jabari Bird hobbles out right before the game starts and then goes back to the dressing room.
And I did get to check out Coeur d'Alene for an hour and it was really nice.
I worked in CD'Alene two years, 2009-2011 and lived in Hayden Lake, overlooking the lake about a 17 min. commute to office in CDA. I was more than familiar with that issue. I saw no one nor interacted with no one which was of that bent and I mostly worked with timber & construction people in N. Idaho & NW. Montana.
Thoroughly enjoyed and was comfortable living there. Would have stayed longer if not for >$-job in Puget Sound area.
Coeur d'Alene is a cute town but is a apparently a neo-Nazi stronghold....not kidding - a friend of mine who went to Gonzaga told me this. I was shocked - didn't see any signs when I visited with the disastrous former Mrs. Jimmy Chitwood in '14.
Let's not forget that Wyking is an assistant Coach at UW, which swept us this year. https://gohuskies.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/wyking-jones/5701
Yup - an assistant coach role is perfect for him...plenty of incompetent ACs out there...barring doing something illegal that gets your school sanctioned, you can’t really torpedo a program as an AC. Ineptitude as the Head honcho, where you get in a fistfight with one of your own ACs, that’s next level.
[Feldman] UCLA to hire Ken Norton Jr as LB Coach
https://twitter.com/BruceFeldmanCFB/status/1496969242603888653
He's a good coach - did well when he was coaching for SC.
Never change, Bill Walton
https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1497045653700194339
I'll have what he's having.
Just love how he had Stanford, Colorado, and both Washington schools all in the field of 64...he’s a great ambassador for the Conference...unfortunately he’s batschitt cray cray... ;-)
UKRAINE UPDATES
I bet Ukraine wishes they hadn’t given up their nuclear missiles in the 90s. No way does Russia go into Ukraine if they still have their Soviet nuclear missiles.
The Bulldog urged to flee Ukraine
Last month, when the U.S. State Department began urging American citizens to leave Ukraine, Jerome Randle’s phone started buzzing incessantly. Friends and family in America would send Randle media reports detailing Russia’s extraordinary military buildup along its border with Ukraine. They then begged the Chicago native to pack up his belongings and return home before it was too late.
https://sports.yahoo.com/you-need-to-get-out-of-there-american-basketball-players-struggle-to-flee-ukraine-150040957.html
Oh wow, I didn't know he was playing over there.
I went by the Ukrainian Embassy on my run over lunch time. It looks like any other day from the outside. A lot different inside I suspect.
Volkswagen will pause production at two factories in Germany that produce electric vehicles because deliveries of parts made in Ukraine have been interrupted by fighting. The shutdowns illustrate how war could have unpredictable effects on the global economy, adding to supply chain turmoil that has fueled inflation.
Bad week for VW, between this and the burning ship.
I had this really cool law professor who always said “for every move there is a counter move.”
But what moves are there for Ukraine? The West has left them to die. They can resist Russia for a while in a conventional war but eventually the asymmetry of the forces will cause them to lose.
So what then, some long sustained guerrilla campaign within Ukraine against Russian occupying forces? Get all IRA and blow up buses in Moscow? They don’t have a lot of obvious moves
Europe, not us, needs to step in on this one.
I dispute "The West has left them to die" - we have no treaty obligations with them, but we have sold them weaponry to defend themselves. The sanctions on Russia are not trivial and will impact the Europeans. There's no question that Russia can eventually prevail, but I'm not sure this ends well for Putin and Russia. I'm not sure he really thought this through.
Cugel, you and I are on the same page in regards to Russia/Urkaine and I completely agree with this assessment.
We sort of half assed supporting them with weapons, then telegraphed that we wouldn’t step in to defend them.
Why not arm them to the fucking teeth right after Crimean invasion in 2014 and refuse to answer any questions about whether we would step in?
This is a democracy in a former Soviet republic that we let wither and die due to inattention.
Well don’t forget, Trump was president for 4 of those years and he didn’t seem interested in arming Ukraine due to his close ties to Putin/Russia and Zelensky not doing his dirty work on Biden.
Biden has been doing a good job of arming them but he has only been in office for 1 year.
I don't think that's a fair assessment - and honestly part of the problem with the Russians and all the former constituents of the Soviet Union is they are all corrupt.
I agree we didn't handle the Crimea invasion well.
True re the corruption, but seems like such issues never stopped us from arming/supporting Allies in the past.
We should admit Finland to NATO post haste
Except for the part that they aren't actually an ally - does Finland want to join? I doubt that very much.
Russian Foreign Ministry today warned against Sweden and Finland joining NATO citing that joining military cooperative pacts is bad and if they do, they will be met with military consequences. You can't make stuff up.
https://thehill.com/policy/international/russia/595853-russia-threatens-military-and-political-consequences-if-finland
The issue with sending arms to a corrupt nation is that you don't know if they're going to then wind up in the wrong hands.
I don't know, maybe there is more the US could have done in Ukraine, but that seems like very America-centric thinking to me. This is Putin's aggression being carried out against all reason, which means it could easily have happened anyway.
And even if Putin takes Kyiv, the battle would not be over and Ukraine would not be gone. Guaranteed there would be an ongoing internal resistance for years to come. Ukrainians do NOT want to be occupied by anyone.
Putin supposedly open to "talks" with Ukraine but calls on all Ukrainians to lay down their arms first.
And he wants them to occur in Minsk, Belarus. If I’m Zelensky I wouldn’t take that meeting in Minsk, if you do, you might as well shoot yourself in the head before going.
If I’m Zelensky I would agree to talks in Geneva or Paris but not Minsk.
18,000 weapons given to reservists in Kyiv region, as Ukrainian men from 18-60 banned from leaving
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-25-22/h_56cdb5c118413732c7b34cf51ba5d62b
145 Russians officials decide they've lived a good, long life - decide to sign an open opposition letter to Putin.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10546799/More-150-senior-Russian-officials-sign-open-letter-condemning-Putins-invasion-Ukraine.html
Seems like there's been a LOT of dissent within Russia against this war. I think Putin miscalculated just how strong a grip he had on that country.
Gonna be a lot of “accidents”...
I saw a report that someone had accidentially fallen out of a 5th floor window already today so...yeah
It's amazing how folks just start falling from windows.
A whole new meaning to the song “It’s Raining Men”
Defenders of Snake Island told Russian Navy to go fuck themselves just before they died
https://www.politico.eu/article/go-fuck-yourself-ukraine-soldiers-snake-island-russia-war-ship-killed/
I have mixed feelings about this - it's incredibly brave, but it's also the bravery of the doomed.
It may be bravery of the doomed, but at least they didn't go meekly into that good night.
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
👀
https://twitter.com/SamRamani2/status/1497162914586898475
I am not surprised. The US, once presented with a choice of supporting Pakistan or India, unfortunately picked Pakistan. That worked out great for Pakistan, not so much for the US. Why we picked Pakistan over India, a democratic nation never made sense to me. When we picked Pakistan, India went with the Soviet Union and now Russia.
Hmmm... I thought the Indians picked Russia first, but I could be wrong.
Biden nominates Ketanji Brown Jackson for SCOTUS
https://www.whitehouse.gov/kbj/
Area man angry upset with the people - including 3 GOP members - who voted to affirm her 8 months ago to the US Court of Appeals
https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1497218172071645195
Do we? Do we really?
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1496965250108858370
Standing up to bullies doesn’t mean we always have to fist fight them.
Yeahhhhhhh. I think we are in a cycle here - used to be very aggressive about this kind of stuff but that aggression got us into a bunch of foreign wars that were fairly pointless and expensive so now we are gun shy and letting madmen roam free. At some point we probably revert to more bullishness. Sad thing is that if we had better relations with China we could really keep the world order much better. But alas…
China relations will never be “good” until the issue of Taiwan sovereignty is settled.
We only had a “good” relationship with China due to the power imbalance in our favor. Now China is more our equal and is exerting itself.
Or really as long as the government is authoritarian. Seems like no end in sight. Maybe in 100 years?
TFG - the guy who got impeached for withholding military aid to Ukraine in his extortion effort to benefit his man-crush Putin - says the invasion wouldn't happen if he was President again
https://twitter.com/reallizusa/status/1496992141465243649?s=21
Trump’s authentic writings all seem like parodies
Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) says he'd rather have cuckoo-bananas Q-loving white supremacist Wendy Rodgers than a Democrat
https://twitter.com/nickmartin/status/1497034569597341696
Not exactly a ringing endorsement, though. She's just not a Democrat.
DBD AV CLUB
Watched Brute Force last night - 1947 directed by Jules Dassin staring Burt Lancaster - a prison movie with (overall) superior acting, and good chunk of social commentary. 15/19 WB. It was opened a bit by the flashbacks of the prisoners, one was particularly droll.
TODAY IN COVID
CDC drops mask recommendation for over 70% of Americans
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/25/health/cdc-covid-metrics-mask-guidance/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html