In a nutshell, Saturday's effort was a clear indicator that Wilcox has no clue what to do when the team gets behind. Moreover, there is no leadership in the program.
Wins shouldn't be the only yardstick by which Wilcox's performance is evaluated. He should be evaluated on the leadership of his coaching staff and his starters.
The issue was that we saw the same problem we see year after year under Wilcox: playing down to the opponent, looking lifeless and unprepared, and taking a bad loss to a team we should beat 9 times out of 10. There's no way you can argue it was a talent problem vs. San Diego State. Playing like that was entirely on how the team approached the game.
Agreed. And that goes back to coaching and leadership. I literally had the feeling from the first possession that the team was merely going through the motions. No direction; no goals; no leadership. There was no motivation to do anything more than just show up and run plays like it was a practice.
When looked at over the course of this season thus far, it becomes even more stark. The best quarter was the first quarter vs. Oregon State. Ever since then, it's been on autopilot. I'm still not sure why Cal beat Minnesota the week before.
I was getting ready for bed during that drive. When it got to fourth and goal and they called time out I went to bed. I’d seen enough, didn’t even watch the play.
I will give credit where credit is due and say they played well vs. Minnesota. Tough opponent that might actually have more overall talent (except at QB), but played them even the whole night and caught the big break to win.
The problem is that Wilcox does this a lot, give us a nice win over a good opponent early, before seeing the team collapse in October.
Felt it (two shakes - first one barely perceptible, followed by a larger one) because I was awake after a long day at the Laver Cup (great tennis), late dinner, then catching up on the media addressing the Bears’ post-mortem. Woke this morning to learn the epicenter was in Berkeley which I found ironic!
Yup. I felt it this morning. I was trying to get back to sleep after having used the loo. Didn't get much sleep afterwards. I'll get to sleep earlier tonight because I'll be exhausted when I get home.
ADDENDUM: As per the USGS coordinates (37.863°N 122.254°W) this quake was centered off of College Ave midblock between Parker and Derby. Casa de Slug is about 2 miles north of that location.
I guess it depends on what the painting intends to depict and its subject. I take it to be a reaction to the cost of the VietNam War. 741 could be the number of lives lost attributed to UC students, though I don't know that. The California State Capital Museum lists 5,822 names on its Vietnam War Memorial.
I take the 741 to be lives up in smoke. The actual context eludes me.
Originally that always confused me. My mom would say, "2 wan" and I'd have to in my head think, oh that's 20000 not 2K. She even has to work it out in her head when speaking in English. She thinks in 10000s.
TOKYO – Nine days of competition at the World Athletics Championships came to an end Sunday as a pair of Cal alumni – Georgia Hunter-Bell of Great Britain and Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania – battled rainy conditions against the World's best at Tokyo's National Stadium to join fellow Golden Bear graduate Camryn Rogers as podium finishers. Both Hunter Bell (the 2024 Olympic bronze medalist in the 1500m) and Alekna (the 2024 Olympic silver medalist in the discus) claimed silver medals their respective events, with the former opting to compete in the 800m instead of her usual 1500m.
It was pouring rain during the nominally final two events, the 4x100 relays for women and men. And there was so much rain that the high jump and discus were postponed. They didn't show how the discus finals shaped up. They did show how one of the discus competitors slipped and fell in the rain, leading to the postponement.
LOS ANGELES – California volleyball closed out its nonconference slate Sunday afternoon, facing its second ranked team of the year on the road in a clash against No. 19 USC at Galen Center. At the end of the day, it was the Trojans (9-1) who reigned victorious, earning the win in four sets (25-20, 25-27, 25-18, 25-14) while the Golden Bears fell to 3-7 on the year.
LOS ANGELES – The No. 3 California men's water polo team (10-1) fell in the championship game of the Overnght MPSF Invitational to No. 1 UCLA (14-0), the defending NCAA champions, 11-9 on Sunday at Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles.
The California field hockey team shutout No. 7 Duke in the second half but it was two Blue Devil scores in the first half that made the difference in a 2-0 loss at Jack Katz Stadium in Durham, NC on Sunday morning. The Golden Bears (3-4, 0-2 ACC) successfully defended seven Blue Devil (5-2, 2-0) penalty corners but were only able to draw two.
CARY, N.C. – The California women's tennis team concluded its run in the pre-qualifying rounds of the ITA All-American Championships on Sunday at Cary Tennis Park, with Laura Cilekova and Naomi Xu falling in singles and Greta Greco Lucchina winning her consolation match.
BREMERTON, Wash. - The California men's golf team kicks off a busy week Monday at The Tindall, a 14-team tournament hosted by the University of Washington at Gold Mountain Golf Club.
The Golden Bears, coming off a strong season-opening fifth-place finish at the Folds of Honor Collegiate earlier this month in Grand Haven, Mich., are one of eight teams in the field that qualified for an NCAA Regional last season.
BERKELEY– The California women's soccer team shutout Bay Area rival Santa Clara 2-0 Saturday evening at Edwards Stadium to extend its unbeaten streak to seven matches.
CARY, N.C. – The California women's tennis team began the 2025-26 season with a pair of pre-qualifying singles wins in the ITA All-American Championships on Saturday. Freshman Laura Cilekova won her first match as a Golden Bear and sophomore Naomi Xu also posted a victory at Cary Tennis Park.
The San Francisco 49ers came into Week 3 hobbled, and a defensive line that has been the strength of the team would miss two of its most important players before halftime. Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams were both questionable to return. The broadcast showed Bosa giving Robert Saleh a thumbs down, which felt like Bosa knew something was off. Bosa would eventually be ruled out for the remainder of the game.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- In just the second year of the team's existence, the Oakland Ballers are Pioneer League champions. The Ballers toppled the Idaho Falls Chukars, 8-1, in front of a sellout crowd of 4,100 at Raimondi Park on Sunday night, to bring a well-deserved championship to Oakland.
I really ought to have followed the Ballers more closely this year. Reading the article embarrassed me. I realize that one of the players had an older brother who played in Albany Little League. And yes, my oldest played alongside that older brother. I seem to recall that Esai played T-Ball and probably was in AA or AAA, before my youngest and I left the league.
The finale of the three-game series, and the end of the last road trip of the season took place today as the Athletics faced off against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Mitch Spence (3-5) got the start for the A’s and Mike Burrows (2-4) took the mound for the Pirates.
When it started, the Giants’ final road trip could’ve served as a route to the postseason. After a series loss in Arizona and dropping the first three in LA, the journey proved to be a road to nowhere — a week of spinning their wheels, leaking oil, and running into dead ends. The overall season against the Dodgers was equally a bust, with Saturday’s loss ensuring the team would drop all four of 2025’s series match-ups against their historic rivals.
Blake Treinen allowed three runs in the eighth inning, continuing a slump that has lasted over two weeks, turning a Dodgers lead into a 3-1 loss to the Giants on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
Up 1-0 to open the eighth, Treinen allowed two singles and a ground-rule double to tie the game before recording an out. Dave Roberts opted to intentionally walk Rafael Devers to load the bases, trying to set up a double play, but still an iffy proposition with Treinen having control problems of late, including two walks in Thursday night’s series opener.
In a nutshell, Saturday's effort was a clear indicator that Wilcox has no clue what to do when the team gets behind. Moreover, there is no leadership in the program.
Wins shouldn't be the only yardstick by which Wilcox's performance is evaluated. He should be evaluated on the leadership of his coaching staff and his starters.
1. If they play well and get beat, that's one thing.
2. If they get beat because they play crappy, that's another thing.
3. If they win, we might forgive them for playing crappy. That might not be a good thing.
Clearly, we want our team to play well, win or lose. The fact that this did not happen in any phase of Saturday's game is deeply concerning.
The issue was that we saw the same problem we see year after year under Wilcox: playing down to the opponent, looking lifeless and unprepared, and taking a bad loss to a team we should beat 9 times out of 10. There's no way you can argue it was a talent problem vs. San Diego State. Playing like that was entirely on how the team approached the game.
Agreed. And that goes back to coaching and leadership. I literally had the feeling from the first possession that the team was merely going through the motions. No direction; no goals; no leadership. There was no motivation to do anything more than just show up and run plays like it was a practice.
When looked at over the course of this season thus far, it becomes even more stark. The best quarter was the first quarter vs. Oregon State. Ever since then, it's been on autopilot. I'm still not sure why Cal beat Minnesota the week before.
I was getting ready for bed during that drive. When it got to fourth and goal and they called time out I went to bed. I’d seen enough, didn’t even watch the play.
I saw that aspect in the first drive too.
I will give credit where credit is due and say they played well vs. Minnesota. Tough opponent that might actually have more overall talent (except at QB), but played them even the whole night and caught the big break to win.
The problem is that Wilcox does this a lot, give us a nice win over a good opponent early, before seeing the team collapse in October.
Perhaps there is a clause in his contract to give Berkelium a certain number of rockfights, or stonings, to eveluate?
Occasionally lifted from the MIT Download:
If I had to explain British culture to someone, I’d just send them this video.
https://www.tiktok.com/@londonvegorch/video/7551161152995216662?_r=1&_t=ZN-8zswSV9WZr4
Magnitude 4.3 earthquake, epicenter in Berkeley, shakes Bay Area
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/magnitude-4-6-earthquake-shakes-bay-area-21060687.php
Felt the 1.8 aftershock at 11 pm Pacific time. Reported it to USGS (me and three others). LOL. #princessandthepea.
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc75240772/executive
I think I just felt an aftershock at 6:22 PM.
Yes, there was a 3.0 at that time.
Jolted me awake for sure. Honestly, I thought it was more like 1 AM but apparently not!
Felt it (two shakes - first one barely perceptible, followed by a larger one) because I was awake after a long day at the Laver Cup (great tennis), late dinner, then catching up on the media addressing the Bears’ post-mortem. Woke this morning to learn the epicenter was in Berkeley which I found ironic!
The Laver Cup line-ups were great- jealous!
Yes! And to think I skipped the Sat evening matches to watch the Bears… 🤨
It might be kind of good that we had a decent-sized quake on the Hayward Fault that didn't cause much damage?
It might be that some pressure was relieved. That could be good.
On the other hand, it might be the precursor of something bigger.
Yup. I felt it this morning. I was trying to get back to sleep after having used the loo. Didn't get much sleep afterwards. I'll get to sleep earlier tonight because I'll be exhausted when I get home.
ADDENDUM: As per the USGS coordinates (37.863°N 122.254°W) this quake was centered off of College Ave midblock between Parker and Derby. Casa de Slug is about 2 miles north of that location.
I think I woke up right before it happened. My Android phone gave a warning right in the middle of it.
My phone also went off as the shaking intensified.
The poll choices did not include the most obvious - Angry. Pissed. Just this side of enraged.
I couldn't even be pissed. It was just "Oh, here we go again." I'm resigned.
I get and appreciate the 1,000 yard bear stare; what is the significance of "741" in smoke?
Good question.
I guess it depends on what the painting intends to depict and its subject. I take it to be a reaction to the cost of the VietNam War. 741 could be the number of lives lost attributed to UC students, though I don't know that. The California State Capital Museum lists 5,822 names on its Vietnam War Memorial.
I take the 741 to be lives up in smoke. The actual context eludes me.
DBD AV Club
Do we still even have a government that governs anymore?
1000
As many of us know, in Chinese you generally say ten thousand instead of a thousand. It’s a linguistic thing.
Originally that always confused me. My mom would say, "2 wan" and I'd have to in my head think, oh that's 20000 not 2K. She even has to work it out in her head when speaking in English. She thinks in 10000s.
Last Weekend
I think our game against SDSU was cancelled. At least the coaches and the players thought that.
I was busy. Why? How much did we win by?
The most optimistic sarcasm I've read on the subject of Saturday's turd.
CAL
[T&F] Hunter Bell, Alekna Earn Silver Medals To Cap Off World Championships
https://calbears.com/news/2025/9/21/track-field-hunter-bell-alekna-earn-silver-medals-to-cap-off-world-championships.aspx
TOKYO – Nine days of competition at the World Athletics Championships came to an end Sunday as a pair of Cal alumni – Georgia Hunter-Bell of Great Britain and Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania – battled rainy conditions against the World's best at Tokyo's National Stadium to join fellow Golden Bear graduate Camryn Rogers as podium finishers. Both Hunter Bell (the 2024 Olympic bronze medalist in the 1500m) and Alekna (the 2024 Olympic silver medalist in the discus) claimed silver medals their respective events, with the former opting to compete in the 800m instead of her usual 1500m.
Will have to watch the replay when I have time. But it looks like the rain was really pouring during this last night.
It was pouring rain during the nominally final two events, the 4x100 relays for women and men. And there was so much rain that the high jump and discus were postponed. They didn't show how the discus finals shaped up. They did show how one of the discus competitors slipped and fell in the rain, leading to the postponement.
[VB] Cal Falls In Four To No. 19 USC
https://calbears.com/news/2025/9/21/volleyball-cal-falls-in-four-to-no-19-usc.aspx
LOS ANGELES – California volleyball closed out its nonconference slate Sunday afternoon, facing its second ranked team of the year on the road in a clash against No. 19 USC at Galen Center. At the end of the day, it was the Trojans (9-1) who reigned victorious, earning the win in four sets (25-20, 25-27, 25-18, 25-14) while the Golden Bears fell to 3-7 on the year.
* sigh *
[MPOLO] No. 3 Cal Falls To No. 1 UCLA In Title Game
https://calbears.com/news/2025/9/21/mens-water-polo-no-3-cal-falls-to-no-1-ucla-in-title-game.aspx
LOS ANGELES – The No. 3 California men's water polo team (10-1) fell in the championship game of the Overnght MPSF Invitational to No. 1 UCLA (14-0), the defending NCAA champions, 11-9 on Sunday at Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles.
* sigh *
[FH] Cal Falls Short At No. 7 Duke
https://calbears.com/news/2025/9/21/field-hockey-cal-falls-short-at-no-7-duke.aspx
The California field hockey team shutout No. 7 Duke in the second half but it was two Blue Devil scores in the first half that made the difference in a 2-0 loss at Jack Katz Stadium in Durham, NC on Sunday morning. The Golden Bears (3-4, 0-2 ACC) successfully defended seven Blue Devil (5-2, 2-0) penalty corners but were only able to draw two.
* sigh *
[WTEN] Bears End ITA All-American Pre-Qualifying Slate
https://calbears.com/news/2025/9/21/womens-tennis-bears-end-ita-all-american-pre-qualifying-slate.aspx
CARY, N.C. – The California women's tennis team concluded its run in the pre-qualifying rounds of the ITA All-American Championships on Sunday at Cary Tennis Park, with Laura Cilekova and Naomi Xu falling in singles and Greta Greco Lucchina winning her consolation match.
* sigh *
[MGOLF] Bears Head To Pacific Northwest For The Tindall
https://calbears.com/news/2025/9/21/mens-golf-bears-head-to-pacific-northwest-for-the-tindall.aspx
BREMERTON, Wash. - The California men's golf team kicks off a busy week Monday at The Tindall, a 14-team tournament hosted by the University of Washington at Gold Mountain Golf Club.
The Golden Bears, coming off a strong season-opening fifth-place finish at the Folds of Honor Collegiate earlier this month in Grand Haven, Mich., are one of eight teams in the field that qualified for an NCAA Regional last season.
[WSOC] Bears Blank Broncos 2-0
https://calbears.com/news/2025/9/20/womens-soccer-bears-blank-broncos-2-0.aspx
BERKELEY– The California women's soccer team shutout Bay Area rival Santa Clara 2-0 Saturday evening at Edwards Stadium to extend its unbeaten streak to seven matches.
[WTEN] Cilekova, Xu Win Openers At ITA All-Americans
https://calbears.com/news/2025/9/20/womens-tennis-cilekova-xu-win-openers-at-ita-all-americans.aspx
CARY, N.C. – The California women's tennis team began the 2025-26 season with a pair of pre-qualifying singles wins in the ITA All-American Championships on Saturday. Freshman Laura Cilekova won her first match as a Golden Bear and sophomore Naomi Xu also posted a victory at Cary Tennis Park.
Noice.
PRO
Mac Jones leads the 49ers in a comeback win over the Cardinals to claim first place in the NFC West
https://www.ninersnation.com/san-francisco-49ers-news/150510/mac-jones-leads-the-49ers-in-a-comeback-win-over-the-cardinals-to-claim-first-place-in-the-nfc-west
The San Francisco 49ers came into Week 3 hobbled, and a defensive line that has been the strength of the team would miss two of its most important players before halftime. Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams were both questionable to return. The broadcast showed Bosa giving Robert Saleh a thumbs down, which felt like Bosa knew something was off. Bosa would eventually be ruled out for the remainder of the game.
What a 2 minute drill. Jake Tonges was part of it.
Squeaking out wins with so many guys missing . . . feels like found money.
Raiders-Commanders score: Las Vegas totally outclassed by Washington
https://www.silverandblackpride.com/las-vegas-raiders-game-information/110366/raiders-commanders-score-las-vegas-totally-outclassed-by-washington
Sharks beat the Vegas Knights 3-0 in the first preseason game of the year.
Oakland Wins 2025 Pioneer League Championship (Ballers beat Idaho Falls Chuckers 8-1)
https://www.oaklandballers.com/sports/bsb/2025p/releases/202509228aws6a
OAKLAND, Calif. -- In just the second year of the team's existence, the Oakland Ballers are Pioneer League champions. The Ballers toppled the Idaho Falls Chukars, 8-1, in front of a sellout crowd of 4,100 at Raimondi Park on Sunday night, to bring a well-deserved championship to Oakland.
I really ought to have followed the Ballers more closely this year. Reading the article embarrassed me. I realize that one of the players had an older brother who played in Albany Little League. And yes, my oldest played alongside that older brother. I seem to recall that Esai played T-Ball and probably was in AA or AAA, before my youngest and I left the league.
A’s futility continues against Bucs 11-0
https://www.athleticsnation.com/recaps/100365/as-futility-continues-against-bucs-11-0
The finale of the three-game series, and the end of the last road trip of the season took place today as the Athletics faced off against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Mitch Spence (3-5) got the start for the A’s and Mike Burrows (2-4) took the mound for the Pirates.
Giants find win in unlikeliest place
https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/san-francisco-giants-scores-standings-nl-west/101020/trevor-mcdonald-emmet-sheehan-dodgers
When it started, the Giants’ final road trip could’ve served as a route to the postseason. After a series loss in Arizona and dropping the first three in LA, the journey proved to be a road to nowhere — a week of spinning their wheels, leaking oil, and running into dead ends. The overall season against the Dodgers was equally a bust, with Saturday’s loss ensuring the team would drop all four of 2025’s series match-ups against their historic rivals.
Blake Treinen’s nightmare September continues with another Dodgers loss
https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-scores-standings/104339/blake-treinen-slump-dodgers-giants-emmet-sheehan
Blake Treinen allowed three runs in the eighth inning, continuing a slump that has lasted over two weeks, turning a Dodgers lead into a 3-1 loss to the Giants on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
Up 1-0 to open the eighth, Treinen allowed two singles and a ground-rule double to tie the game before recording an out. Dave Roberts opted to intentionally walk Rafael Devers to load the bases, trying to set up a double play, but still an iffy proposition with Treinen having control problems of late, including two walks in Thursday night’s series opener.