Beating Furd in this manner makes the season worth it. It was a tough year. But we came back to beat Furd on a 98 yard drive. We beat Furd on a 98 yard drive! The Furds thought the game was in the bag but muffed a field goal -- after botching an opportunity for a touchdown that would have sealed our fate. Go Bears! Long live The Play! Viva Fernando!
Thank you, SGBear for this post. I'm a big admirer of Fernando's, his leadership, and his contributions to Cal football history. All the better that what is only his latest contribution came in The Big Game and is therefore the perfect topic on my birthday.
Relaxing at home just the two of us. Ordered our turkey and a few sides from our favorite bbq place- their smoked turkey is miles better than any other I’ve had.
Extended with in-laws family gathering for dinner at a large rented house. We lost a family member earlier in the year, and this is a joyous gathering that a couple of the folks are putting together. Should be a good time to see some people we don't often get to see.
Larger family gathering with wife's family locally. Excited as my nephew who lives in Orlando is visiting. He is signed with WWE NXT. Fun to watch his sports/entertainment career start as a transfer from ARC to starting DE for SDSU, then to CFL, and now trying to break into the big leagues with WWE. Kid has a ton of charm and charisma so hoping that takes him far in his WWE career.
Off to visit my sister in Iowa. Originally I was going to be the only guest. But my nephew’s fiancés mom got a short term stay visa so now it’s my nephew, his fiancé, her parents, my other nephew and his girlfriend.
we are heading to Orlando for a family reunion on my wife's side. about 35 people, staying in a 10 BR house w/ laser tag and a lazy river.
i am on the alcohol committee.
mostly things will be catered and not much emphasis on the proper Thxgiving meal which is just catered from Whole Foods. one night is Indian food, another night the Japanese hibachi people are coming over and setting up next to the pool. at least they have sake water guns!
Cancelled. I got that virus going around (sore throat, cough) that lasts for a month. Didn't want to spread it to the cousins in Michigan. Will have something humble at home if I am well enough to cook, but otherwise 🥡
I had eosinophilic pneumonia earlier this year. Symptoms started in early April and lasted through July. Cough, fatigue, low appetite, night sweats. At first they weren't sure if it was pneumonia or fungus in my lungs so they didn't prescribe anything; the treatment of one would exacerbate the other. Two bronchoscopies later they figured it was pneumonia and they gave me some steroids. I'm feeling fine now, the silver lining is I lost a few pounds.
As a person who has had pneumonia more times than I can count, I waited eagerly for when I could get one. And then, this year, they changed it again to only recommend for those compromised, which I'm not, or traveling overseas.
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, with a dominant second-half performance.
LeBron James ended with 18 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals. Austin Reaves had a strong performance with 19 points, six assists and three rebounds.
Warriors run out of gas in 104-94 loss to Spurshttps://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2024/11/23/24304466/golden-state-warriors-run-out-of-gas-104-94-loss-san-antonio-spurs
When Draymond Green recruited Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors after the 2016 season, Harrison Barnes took it personally. Green was the only former Warriors not invited to Barnes’ wedding, and he’s held a grudge to this day. In his first game against his old team as a member of the San Antonio Spurs, Barnes got some revenge, delivering 22 points and eight rebounds on just eight field goal attempts in a 104-94 win. Green scored one point and fouled out in the final minute.
The San Francisco 49ers won the toss and elected to defer. The Green Bay Packers gained 18 yards on the second play from scrimmage after Ji’Ayir Brown missed a tackle, allowing Josh Jacobs to run for a long gain. Jacobs found plenty of space two plays later for ten more yards.
On 3rd & 4, Love completed an out route to Jayden Reed, who created space against Renardo Green for a first down. Another nine-yard gain by Jacobs put the Packers inside the red zone after Fred Warner missed a tackle.
Cowboys/Commanders had to have set a record for special teams weirdness.
Dallas: 2/4 FG (1 blocked, 1 doinked), 1 punt blocked, the Turpin KO house call.
Commanders: 2/3 FG, missed XP to tie game in Q3, missed XP what would have been the game tying TD with with 24 seconds left from their own 18, give up TD on following onside kick
good thing for red zone channel that my child insists we watch. i normally just like to watch one game at a time and get updates and highlights. gives me a headache to keep switching and double or triple box ..
[SEC] Chaos as Oklahoma smokes #7 Alabama 24-3, Florida beats #9 Ole Miss 24-17, and Auburn beats #15 Texas A&M 43-41 in OT. Meanwhile, Mizzou fans beg everyone to not rank them as they win another game 39-20 over MS State.
Texas A&M and Auburn went into 4OT. Auburn scores a TD and a 2-point conversion to put the pressure on A&M. A&M score a TD and line up for the 2-pointer...
Curious how long this SEC bias can continue and how many 3-loss SEC teams get into CFP due to this bias? By week three, 6 of the top seven teams were SEC and by week 14 with 3 upset losses in the SEC, the cards start crumbling...but only so far. Funny how a win over a team like Georgia can become a stopgap against terrible losses such as Alabama losing to a 6-5 Vanderbilt and having just lost to a 6-5 Oklahoma Saturday, slid only to No. 13 in the rankings. F'ing joke.
I think only Alabama has a shot at squeaking in with 3 losses, probably due to their reputation. These results actually made it likely that the ACC gets two teams in.
Also, imagine the chaos if SEC played 9 conference games and stopped scheduling cupcakes in the last quarter of the season. I guess you'd start seeing 4 loss SEC teams in the CFP, right?
[Ex-PAC] #16 CU falls to Kansas 37-21, Utah loses to #22 Iowa State 31-28, Arizona loses to TCU 49-28, UCLA loses to USC 19-13, and Wazzu loses to Oregon State 41-38 to capture second place in the Pac-2 conference.
#21 ASU picks off #14 BYU and then runs out the clock with the final 4th down play being a big giant heave out of bounds. ASU fans storm the field and tear down the goalposts - not knowing that there's still a second left on the game clock. So they have to get the students off the playing area, push the goalpost back up somehow and then BYU takes over on down at their own 49 with one second to go. BYU completes the Hail Mary, but the throw was 2 yards short of the goal line.
[ACC] #8 Miami beats Wake Forest 42-14, #13 SMU clinches spot in ACC finals with 33-7 victory over Virginia, #17 Clemson beats FCS Citadel 51-14, Syracuse beats UConn 31-24, UNC loses to BC, despite the latter's QB Castellanos quitting the team for being benched, L'ville beat Pitt 37-9, Duke hangs on to beat UVA 31-28 Florida State locks up last place in the ACC despite beating Charleston Southern - the third best FCS football team in Charleston SC 41-7.
BERKELEY – Five Golden Bears scored in double figures as the California men's basketball team held off a late rally to post an 83-77 win over Sacramento State in the Cal Classic on Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.
LONG BEACH – Sophomore Emmett Cook recorded four tries and junior Rand Santos added two tries and two conversions as the California rugby team rolled to a 101-7 victory over Long Beach State in a preseason XVs friendly Saturday afternoon at LBSU Rugby Field.
The Golden Bears got on the board promptly when sophomore Jack Byszio scored a try at the 1-minute mark and Santos followed with the conversion. Cal registered three tries during a seven-minute span later in the half and went on to lead 60-0 at halftime.
LOS ANGELES – The No. 7 California men's water polo team came out firing in a hard-fought MPSF Championship semifinal with No. 1 UCLA on Saturday, but despite a trio of Golden Bear hat tricks, the Bruins pulled away in the second half en route to a 16-14 home win.
Cal (12-12) put up an opponent season high for the second straight time against the Bruins (23-1), led by junior Albert Ponferrada's season-high four goals. Seniors Max Casabella and George Avakian each scored three times.
LOS ANGELES – Facing No. 2 Stanford for the fourth time this season, the No. 7 California men's water polo team fell 14-5 in the MPSF Championships third-place game.
Nik Mirkovic scored a team-high two goals for the Golden Bears (12-13). Jordi Gascon, Brennan Fuchslin and William Kelly also scored once each.
BERKELEY – The best way California wide receiver Jonathan Brady could garner a healthy dose of perspective on the Big Game was to create some perspective himself.
Brady, in his first season with the Golden Bears after transferring from New Mexico State, culminated a weeklong history lesson about the storied rivalry by catching a game-winning 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Fernando Mendoza with 2:40 to play to lift Cal to a jolting 24-21 victory over Stanford in the 127th edition of the Big Game.
BERKELEY – In its toughest matchup of the season so far, the California women's basketball team was down by six with five minutes left in the game before Lulu Twidale came to the rescue connecting on back-to-back 3-pointers to power an 11-0 run and help the Golden Bears (6-0) come away with a 63-59 win over visiting Auburn at Haas Pavilion on Friday night. The win gave Cal its second straight victory over the Tigers (3-2) after it won last year's matchup in Auburn and its second this season over a team from last year's NCAA Tournament as the Bears beat Gonzaga earlier in the month. The Bears have now matched their best start under head coach Charmin Smith having also started the 2023-24 season at 6-0.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.– A very memorable 2024 season came to an end for the No. 25 California women's soccer team Friday night as the Golden Bears were defeated by No. 5 Arkansas 1-0 in the second round of the NCAA Championship.
While the Bears (13-6-2) were shutout for just the second time this season, they also held the top offense in the country to a single goal in a wire-to-wire battle. In 20 matches this season the Hogs have only been held to a goal or less seven times.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – California volleyball started off their last road trip of the season against a tough North Carolina team on Friday night, winning the first set at Carmichael Arena but ultimately falling 25-22, 18-25, 21-25, 19-25 to the Tar Heels (20-6, 12-5 ACC). It was the second match in a row that the Golden Bears (12-17, 4-13) took the first but lost the next three sets to give their opponent its 20th win of the season.
DURHAM, N.C. – California volleyball returned to the win column Sunday thanks to several standout performances from its players, leading the Golden Bears (13-17, 5-13 ACC) to victory over Duke, 25-21, 16-25, 25-17, 25-19, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Traditionally the Big Game has ended the regular season for both California and Stanfurd. That changed in 2008 due to a number of factors and the Big Game is now the penultimate regular season contest for both schools. For California there have been numerous previous occasions when the Big Game was not the season finale. Between 1924 and 1942 California played games after the Big Game nine times. There was a two game series against Penn starting with a New Year’s Day game in Memorial Stadium in 1925, a 14-0 Bear victory, and a rematch also in Berkeley on New Year’s Eve of 1927, a 27-13 Cal win. The Sturdy Golden Ones took on Georgia Tech in ’31, ’32, ’36, ’38, and ’40 going 3-2. Two of the games were in Berkeley and three in Atlanta. Two of the games were on Boxing Day, one on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the other two on December 17th and 28th. In 1934 the Bears went to Hawaii for a couple of games, both of which they lost, one to the University of Hawaii and the other to a collection of all-stars. Those games were on Christmas Day and News Year’s Day. In 1942 Cal hosted Navy Pre-Flight on December 12, winning 12-6. (There were no games against Furd from ’43-45.) From 1946 through 2007 the Bears finished most seasons against the Lobsterbacks. Exceptions being 1968 and 1993 when the Bears traveled to Hawaii on Thanksgiving weekend (winning both times, 17-12 and 42-18) and in 1987 when Cal ended the season with a 17-17 tie against Washington State in Tokyo. Japan. Two other exceptions were in 2001 when the terrorists attacks of September 11 forced the postponement of a trip to play Rutgers until after the Big Game and 2004 when a game at Southern Mississippi had to be rescheduled to December due to a Hurricane. The Bears won both of those games.
Oski Disciple’s Bear Facts has appeared on the DBD throughout the Cal football season. Our finally edition will be on Wednesday.
Saturday’s win means Justin Wilcox is now tied with Stub Allison for fourth most Big Games win by a California head coach with five.
Pappy Waldorf and Jeff Tedford each had seven wins (Pappy also had two ties while the Bears held the Axe) and Andy Smith won six (with one tie)
The Bears are now 12-13 in Big Games this century. California only won 12 vs. Furd in the 40-year period from 1961-2000. From the permanent switch to football in 1915 through 1960 the Bears were 26-15 (I’m counting ties as wins for whichever team held the Axe entering the game.)
The last time California won a Big Game by the score of 24-21 was 1972 when the Bears won by that score on a Vince Ferragamo to Steve Sweeney on the last play of the game.
Fernando Mendoza has now quarterbacked two victories over the Lobsterbacks. Other Cal QBs to do so include Chase Garbers, Kevin Riley, Aaron Rodgers, Dave Barr, Gale Gilbert and Joe Kapp. I know of no Cal QB who has beaten the Furdies three times, there are certainly none in the last 65 years.
The Bears have won five of the last six Big Games. Other comparable periods include seven of eight from 2002-2008, four of five from 1979-1983, twelve of fourteen from 1947-1960 (that includes two ties while Cal held the Axe), four of five from 1936-1941and six in a row from 1918-1923.
Personal note: Saturday's game moves into sixth place on my all-time favorite Big Games attended list, trailing only '82, '09, '70, '72, '19.
3rd and eleven and we need to score a TD. And it's looking grim as our red zone offense sucks. Nando stands in the pocket and gets smashed just as he lofts his pass. That pass touches the absolute finger tips of Jonathan Brady and he somehow catches it. A few millimeters another way and we take the loss.
This! I watched from home Saturday, so had the privilege of watching this interview right after watching him snatch a win from the jaws of defeat! Kid is a true leader and is quickly becoming one of my all-time Cal favorites.
It's just the highlights and not the full game. It didn't even show the missed 2 point conversion so I still don't know what play it was. ACCN highlights didn't show it either.
It does. But they are showing it starting at 10AM and I leave for the airport at 9. My b-I-l has it taped so I can watch the second half which I missed.
Everything about how that network was handled was truly baffling. There seemed to be no understanding that people actually need to be able to watch the games.
The whole streaming phenomena is an extension of the cable/carrier distribution chaos that has been plagued by the lack of understanding that just because it can "work" it doesn't mean the infrastructure buildout continent wide is there, and it is not quick, easy, or cheap to catch up. There is the rush to grab a few viewers and some $s, but as you say, people (and that means MOST people) actually have to be able to watch the content, and easily and economically. So it becomes a game of skim what you can and get out before the initiative collapses.
The Pac-12 network was the most well know example, but there have been others. Remember the Rocky Mt Network (or something like that)? Or Root Sports before it was splintered? Essentially the same mistakes were made with both of those, and the teams and fans were the victims of a combination of baffling and incompetent management that had nothing to do with the actual product and people.
Beating Furd in this manner makes the season worth it. It was a tough year. But we came back to beat Furd on a 98 yard drive. We beat Furd on a 98 yard drive! The Furds thought the game was in the bag but muffed a field goal -- after botching an opportunity for a touchdown that would have sealed our fate. Go Bears! Long live The Play! Viva Fernando!
We Miamied Furd.
You could see the immediate deflation and surrender cobras.
We beat Furd!
Thank you, SGBear for this post. I'm a big admirer of Fernando's, his leadership, and his contributions to Cal football history. All the better that what is only his latest contribution came in The Big Game and is therefore the perfect topic on my birthday.
GO BEARS!
Happy Birthday! May all your future birthdays be celebrated along with Cal’s Big Game wins!
Thank You, CalGal2004!
Happy Birthday!! Nando delivered a great present for you!
Thank You, HAG!
Happy birthday, Slug!
Thank You, Bowlesman 80!
Happy birthday to you and wishing you many many more!
Thank You, OD!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY. that is a great present
Thank You, HSB!
Thanksgiving plans
Relaxing at home just the two of us. Ordered our turkey and a few sides from our favorite bbq place- their smoked turkey is miles better than any other I’ve had.
Smoked turkey can be sublime.
Extended with in-laws family gathering for dinner at a large rented house. We lost a family member earlier in the year, and this is a joyous gathering that a couple of the folks are putting together. Should be a good time to see some people we don't often get to see.
After that, some turkey at home over the weekend.
Spending it with our new in-laws in Danville.
Just heading over to my dad's house in San Francisco for the big family dinner. The usual.
Larger family gathering with wife's family locally. Excited as my nephew who lives in Orlando is visiting. He is signed with WWE NXT. Fun to watch his sports/entertainment career start as a transfer from ARC to starting DE for SDSU, then to CFL, and now trying to break into the big leagues with WWE. Kid has a ton of charm and charisma so hoping that takes him far in his WWE career.
Will have to look up your nephew- my husband is still entertained/follows the wresting. Will be fun to have new guy to cheer on!
Anthony Luke. His longtime partner wrestles under the name Maxxine Dupri.
Off to visit my sister in Iowa. Originally I was going to be the only guest. But my nephew’s fiancés mom got a short term stay visa so now it’s my nephew, his fiancé, her parents, my other nephew and his girlfriend.
Boys are going to their mom's. I'm going with my mom to my cousins in Fremont. Going to figure out a dinner plan with the boys for Friday.
we are heading to Orlando for a family reunion on my wife's side. about 35 people, staying in a 10 BR house w/ laser tag and a lazy river.
i am on the alcohol committee.
mostly things will be catered and not much emphasis on the proper Thxgiving meal which is just catered from Whole Foods. one night is Indian food, another night the Japanese hibachi people are coming over and setting up next to the pool. at least they have sake water guns!
https://www.vrbo.com/en-ca/cottage-rental/p4197378vb
That house looks really fun! I’ve seen Vrbo spots with lazy rivers, but not the laser tag.
Cancelled. I got that virus going around (sore throat, cough) that lasts for a month. Didn't want to spread it to the cousins in Michigan. Will have something humble at home if I am well enough to cook, but otherwise 🥡
Update: it's pneumonia. Great.
Hoping the new meds will help you kick it. Being sick over the holidays sucks.
Does this mean you will recover within a week or so? That beats one whole month by a lot of days.
A speedy recovery, SGBear!
I had eosinophilic pneumonia earlier this year. Symptoms started in early April and lasted through July. Cough, fatigue, low appetite, night sweats. At first they weren't sure if it was pneumonia or fungus in my lungs so they didn't prescribe anything; the treatment of one would exacerbate the other. Two bronchoscopies later they figured it was pneumonia and they gave me some steroids. I'm feeling fine now, the silver lining is I lost a few pounds.
i went to get some Hep A vaccine this weekend because of travel to Vietnam and they suggested that pneumonia vaccines are now recommended for 50+
As a person who has had pneumonia more times than I can count, I waited eagerly for when I could get one. And then, this year, they changed it again to only recommend for those compromised, which I'm not, or traveling overseas.
Wondering if your dr would consider you lung-compromised since you have had pneumonia multiple times?
Anothrr thing to look forward to as one ages. Getting old isn't for whippersnappers!
bummer. sorry to hear that.
i think that my daughter in Seattle has that too.
PRO
Lakers collapse in second half, fall to Nuggets
https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2024/11/23/24304477/lakers-vs-nuggets-final-score-recap-stats-box-score-lebron-james-austin-reaves-nikola-jokic
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, with a dominant second-half performance.
LeBron James ended with 18 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals. Austin Reaves had a strong performance with 19 points, six assists and three rebounds.
Warriors run out of gas in 104-94 loss to Spurshttps://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2024/11/23/24304466/golden-state-warriors-run-out-of-gas-104-94-loss-san-antonio-spurs
When Draymond Green recruited Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors after the 2016 season, Harrison Barnes took it personally. Green was the only former Warriors not invited to Barnes’ wedding, and he’s held a grudge to this day. In his first game against his old team as a member of the San Antonio Spurs, Barnes got some revenge, delivering 22 points and eight rebounds on just eight field goal attempts in a 104-94 win. Green scored one point and fouled out in the final minute.
49ers get the doors blown off them 38-10 in embarrassing no-show against the Packers
https://www.ninersnation.com/2024/11/24/24304975/packers-49ers-jordan-love-josh-jacobs-brandon-allen
The San Francisco 49ers won the toss and elected to defer. The Green Bay Packers gained 18 yards on the second play from scrimmage after Ji’Ayir Brown missed a tackle, allowing Josh Jacobs to run for a long gain. Jacobs found plenty of space two plays later for ten more yards.
On 3rd & 4, Love completed an out route to Jayden Reed, who created space against Renardo Green for a first down. Another nine-yard gain by Jacobs put the Packers inside the red zone after Fred Warner missed a tackle.
Transferring my rooting interests to the Detroit Lions. The best thing the Rams ever did for me is trading Goff to Detroit.
I didn't watch the game, but nothing about this result was surprising. Just too many problems this season; they are done.
Raiders-Broncos score: Denver sweeps Las Vegas
https://www.silverandblackpride.com/2024/11/24/24295145/raiders-broncos-live-updates-score
Final score:
Broncos 29, Raiders 19.
Now that the game is over, let’s take a look at the key aspects:
Team records: The Las Vegas Raiders are 2-9. The Denver Broncos are 7-5.
Gardner Minshew injured, reportedly breaks collarbone and out for the season
https://www.silverandblackpride.com/2024/11/24/24305121/raiders-news-gardner-minshew-injured
The Las Vegas Raiders have another injury at quarterback.
Gardner Minshew injured his left should on sack late in a 29-19 loss at home to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. He was replaced by Desmond Ridder.
Dallas kickoff return was the play of the week -- ices the win for Cowboys over Commanders
Kavontae Turpin has some serious speed and moves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m42K6Ns5rDo
That was like DJax's return
That was a crazy game.
Cowboys/Commanders had to have set a record for special teams weirdness.
Dallas: 2/4 FG (1 blocked, 1 doinked), 1 punt blocked, the Turpin KO house call.
Commanders: 2/3 FG, missed XP to tie game in Q3, missed XP what would have been the game tying TD with with 24 seconds left from their own 18, give up TD on following onside kick
https://www.hogshaven.com/2024/11/24/24297236/game-recap-special-teams-debacles-commanders-suffer-a-stunning-home-loss-to-cowboys-34-26
good thing for red zone channel that my child insists we watch. i normally just like to watch one game at a time and get updates and highlights. gives me a headache to keep switching and double or triple box ..
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
[SEC] Chaos as Oklahoma smokes #7 Alabama 24-3, Florida beats #9 Ole Miss 24-17, and Auburn beats #15 Texas A&M 43-41 in OT. Meanwhile, Mizzou fans beg everyone to not rank them as they win another game 39-20 over MS State.
Texas A&M and Auburn went into 4OT. Auburn scores a TD and a 2-point conversion to put the pressure on A&M. A&M score a TD and line up for the 2-pointer...
https://twitter.com/CFBBluePrint/status/1860546842536145178
Curious how long this SEC bias can continue and how many 3-loss SEC teams get into CFP due to this bias? By week three, 6 of the top seven teams were SEC and by week 14 with 3 upset losses in the SEC, the cards start crumbling...but only so far. Funny how a win over a team like Georgia can become a stopgap against terrible losses such as Alabama losing to a 6-5 Vanderbilt and having just lost to a 6-5 Oklahoma Saturday, slid only to No. 13 in the rankings. F'ing joke.
They’ll threaten to take their balls elsewhere.
You mean they'll threaten to walk? 🤨🤨🤨
I think only Alabama has a shot at squeaking in with 3 losses, probably due to their reputation. These results actually made it likely that the ACC gets two teams in.
Also, imagine the chaos if SEC played 9 conference games and stopped scheduling cupcakes in the last quarter of the season. I guess you'd start seeing 4 loss SEC teams in the CFP, right?
[Ex-PAC] #16 CU falls to Kansas 37-21, Utah loses to #22 Iowa State 31-28, Arizona loses to TCU 49-28, UCLA loses to USC 19-13, and Wazzu loses to Oregon State 41-38 to capture second place in the Pac-2 conference.
#21 ASU picks off #14 BYU and then runs out the clock with the final 4th down play being a big giant heave out of bounds. ASU fans storm the field and tear down the goalposts - not knowing that there's still a second left on the game clock. So they have to get the students off the playing area, push the goalpost back up somehow and then BYU takes over on down at their own 49 with one second to go. BYU completes the Hail Mary, but the throw was 2 yards short of the goal line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWcwtQTPm3g#t=15m8s
[ACC] #8 Miami beats Wake Forest 42-14, #13 SMU clinches spot in ACC finals with 33-7 victory over Virginia, #17 Clemson beats FCS Citadel 51-14, Syracuse beats UConn 31-24, UNC loses to BC, despite the latter's QB Castellanos quitting the team for being benched, L'ville beat Pitt 37-9, Duke hangs on to beat UVA 31-28 Florida State locks up last place in the ACC despite beating Charleston Southern - the third best FCS football team in Charleston SC 41-7.
FSU finishing last in ACC below both Cal and Stanford is just the best.
Pretty much the whole ACC has to be delighting in this, after all the complaining they did in the offseason.
One would think. Karma served up with a side of abject humiliation.
CAL
[BB] Cal Withstands Sacramento State
https://calbears.com/news/2024/11/24/mens-basketball-cal-withstands-sacramento-state.aspx
BERKELEY – Five Golden Bears scored in double figures as the California men's basketball team held off a late rally to post an 83-77 win over Sacramento State in the Cal Classic on Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.
[RUGBY] Bears Breeze Past LBSU In Preseason Friendly
https://calbears.com/news/2024/11/23/rugby-bears-breeze-past-lbsu-in-preseason-friendly.aspx
LONG BEACH – Sophomore Emmett Cook recorded four tries and junior Rand Santos added two tries and two conversions as the California rugby team rolled to a 101-7 victory over Long Beach State in a preseason XVs friendly Saturday afternoon at LBSU Rugby Field.
The Golden Bears got on the board promptly when sophomore Jack Byszio scored a try at the 1-minute mark and Santos followed with the conversion. Cal registered three tries during a seven-minute span later in the half and went on to lead 60-0 at halftime.
[MPOLO] Bears Fall To No. 1 Bruins
https://calbears.com/news/2024/11/23/mens-water-polo-bears-fall-to-no-1-bruins.aspx
LOS ANGELES – The No. 7 California men's water polo team came out firing in a hard-fought MPSF Championship semifinal with No. 1 UCLA on Saturday, but despite a trio of Golden Bear hat tricks, the Bruins pulled away in the second half en route to a 16-14 home win.
Cal (12-12) put up an opponent season high for the second straight time against the Bruins (23-1), led by junior Albert Ponferrada's season-high four goals. Seniors Max Casabella and George Avakian each scored three times.
[MPOLO] Bears Finish 4th At MPSF Championships
https://calbears.com/news/2024/11/24/mens-water-polo-bears-finish-4th-at-mpsf-championships.aspx
LOS ANGELES – Facing No. 2 Stanford for the fourth time this season, the No. 7 California men's water polo team fell 14-5 in the MPSF Championships third-place game.
Nik Mirkovic scored a team-high two goals for the Golden Bears (12-13). Jordi Gascon, Brennan Fuchslin and William Kelly also scored once each.
[FB] Bears Stage Memorable Comeback To Win Big Game
https://calbears.com/news/2024/11/23/football-bears-stage-memorable-comeback-to-win-big-game.aspx
BERKELEY – The best way California wide receiver Jonathan Brady could garner a healthy dose of perspective on the Big Game was to create some perspective himself.
Brady, in his first season with the Golden Bears after transferring from New Mexico State, culminated a weeklong history lesson about the storied rivalry by catching a game-winning 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Fernando Mendoza with 2:40 to play to lift Cal to a jolting 24-21 victory over Stanford in the 127th edition of the Big Game.
[FB] California Postgame Notes vs. Stanford (11-23-2024)
https://calbears.com/news/2024/11/23/football-california-postgame-notes-vs-stanford-127th-big-game-11-16-2024.aspx
Cal's victory today makes the Golden Bears bowl-eligible in back-to-back years for the first time since 2018 and 2019.
Cal has now won the Big Game four straight times and in five of the last six seasons.
Should get Wilcox extended thru at least '28.
You forgot to use the sarcasm font.
The Cal AD hasn't used the sarcasm font.
The Cal AD doesn't knot how to use sarcasm. Does that mean you're gonna write with one hand tied behind your back?
[WBB] Cal Wins Thriller Over Auburn
https://calbears.com/news/2024/11/22/womens-basketball-cal-wins-thriller-over-auburn.aspx
BERKELEY – In its toughest matchup of the season so far, the California women's basketball team was down by six with five minutes left in the game before Lulu Twidale came to the rescue connecting on back-to-back 3-pointers to power an 11-0 run and help the Golden Bears (6-0) come away with a 63-59 win over visiting Auburn at Haas Pavilion on Friday night. The win gave Cal its second straight victory over the Tigers (3-2) after it won last year's matchup in Auburn and its second this season over a team from last year's NCAA Tournament as the Bears beat Gonzaga earlier in the month. The Bears have now matched their best start under head coach Charmin Smith having also started the 2023-24 season at 6-0.
Bears were down by six with four minutes to go then rode their defense to a 12-2 run to finish the game. Impressive effort.
[WSOC] No. 25 Cal Held Scoreless By No. 5 Arkansas
https://calbears.com/news/2024/11/22/womens-soccer-no-25-cal-held-scoreless-by-no-5-arkansas.aspx
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.– A very memorable 2024 season came to an end for the No. 25 California women's soccer team Friday night as the Golden Bears were defeated by No. 5 Arkansas 1-0 in the second round of the NCAA Championship.
While the Bears (13-6-2) were shutout for just the second time this season, they also held the top offense in the country to a single goal in a wire-to-wire battle. In 20 matches this season the Hogs have only been held to a goal or less seven times.
[VB] Li’s 20 Kills Not Enough Against North Carolina
https://calbears.com/news/2024/11/22/volleyball-lis-20-kills-not-enough-against-north-carolina.aspx
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – California volleyball started off their last road trip of the season against a tough North Carolina team on Friday night, winning the first set at Carmichael Arena but ultimately falling 25-22, 18-25, 21-25, 19-25 to the Tar Heels (20-6, 12-5 ACC). It was the second match in a row that the Golden Bears (12-17, 4-13) took the first but lost the next three sets to give their opponent its 20th win of the season.
[VB] Li Posts 27 Kills To Lead Cal To Victory Over Duke
https://calbears.com/news/2024/11/24/volleyball-li-posts-27-kills-to-lead-cal-to-victory-over-duke.aspx
DURHAM, N.C. – California volleyball returned to the win column Sunday thanks to several standout performances from its players, leading the Golden Bears (13-17, 5-13 ACC) to victory over Duke, 25-21, 16-25, 25-17, 25-19, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
We've got the Axe! We've got the Axe! We've got the Axe!
Busted
https://x.com/Graham_SFN/status/1860902559197569467?t=4ZfjvnqNr958AjlguAnT1g&s=19
Found Uluave's replacement!
It’s time again for Oski Disciple’s Bear Facts.
Traditionally the Big Game has ended the regular season for both California and Stanfurd. That changed in 2008 due to a number of factors and the Big Game is now the penultimate regular season contest for both schools. For California there have been numerous previous occasions when the Big Game was not the season finale. Between 1924 and 1942 California played games after the Big Game nine times. There was a two game series against Penn starting with a New Year’s Day game in Memorial Stadium in 1925, a 14-0 Bear victory, and a rematch also in Berkeley on New Year’s Eve of 1927, a 27-13 Cal win. The Sturdy Golden Ones took on Georgia Tech in ’31, ’32, ’36, ’38, and ’40 going 3-2. Two of the games were in Berkeley and three in Atlanta. Two of the games were on Boxing Day, one on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the other two on December 17th and 28th. In 1934 the Bears went to Hawaii for a couple of games, both of which they lost, one to the University of Hawaii and the other to a collection of all-stars. Those games were on Christmas Day and News Year’s Day. In 1942 Cal hosted Navy Pre-Flight on December 12, winning 12-6. (There were no games against Furd from ’43-45.) From 1946 through 2007 the Bears finished most seasons against the Lobsterbacks. Exceptions being 1968 and 1993 when the Bears traveled to Hawaii on Thanksgiving weekend (winning both times, 17-12 and 42-18) and in 1987 when Cal ended the season with a 17-17 tie against Washington State in Tokyo. Japan. Two other exceptions were in 2001 when the terrorists attacks of September 11 forced the postponement of a trip to play Rutgers until after the Big Game and 2004 when a game at Southern Mississippi had to be rescheduled to December due to a Hurricane. The Bears won both of those games.
Oski Disciple’s Bear Facts has appeared on the DBD throughout the Cal football season. Our finally edition will be on Wednesday.
Bonus Big Game Bear Facts
Saturday’s win means Justin Wilcox is now tied with Stub Allison for fourth most Big Games win by a California head coach with five.
Pappy Waldorf and Jeff Tedford each had seven wins (Pappy also had two ties while the Bears held the Axe) and Andy Smith won six (with one tie)
The Bears are now 12-13 in Big Games this century. California only won 12 vs. Furd in the 40-year period from 1961-2000. From the permanent switch to football in 1915 through 1960 the Bears were 26-15 (I’m counting ties as wins for whichever team held the Axe entering the game.)
The last time California won a Big Game by the score of 24-21 was 1972 when the Bears won by that score on a Vince Ferragamo to Steve Sweeney on the last play of the game.
Fernando Mendoza has now quarterbacked two victories over the Lobsterbacks. Other Cal QBs to do so include Chase Garbers, Kevin Riley, Aaron Rodgers, Dave Barr, Gale Gilbert and Joe Kapp. I know of no Cal QB who has beaten the Furdies three times, there are certainly none in the last 65 years.
The Bears have won five of the last six Big Games. Other comparable periods include seven of eight from 2002-2008, four of five from 1979-1983, twelve of fourteen from 1947-1960 (that includes two ties while Cal held the Axe), four of five from 1936-1941and six in a row from 1918-1923.
Personal note: Saturday's game moves into sixth place on my all-time favorite Big Games attended list, trailing only '82, '09, '70, '72, '19.
Haven't been able to confirm this yet, but prior to the previous 65 years, Paul Larson might have beaten Snodfart 3 straight times.
Larson was a starting QB for two seasons and in one of those ('53) the Big Game ended in a tie.
Oh, well. It was a thought.
It was one I had myself.
These two posts were really interesting. Thanks for the time and effort you put into this. It doesn't go unnoticed.
Go BEARS!!
everyone in the house was wearing Cal gear as we watched the end of that game, that looked pretty grim for most of the time.
3rd and eleven and we need to score a TD. And it's looking grim as our red zone offense sucks. Nando stands in the pocket and gets smashed just as he lofts his pass. That pass touches the absolute finger tips of Jonathan Brady and he somehow catches it. A few millimeters another way and we take the loss.
In the air, I thought that there was no way it would be caught...the magic of long fingers!
Fernando-lorian: Winning in spite of coaching ineptitudes. This is the way.
Full Big Game now available.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFCZneQ7Jek
Wilcox's post game presser. Thought he gave a good one. The players didn't fold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-BqhWJTl80&ab_channel=CalBears
Nando's post game interview on the field.
https://x.com/calgoldnbears/status/1860473217971892627
This! I watched from home Saturday, so had the privilege of watching this interview right after watching him snatch a win from the jaws of defeat! Kid is a true leader and is quickly becoming one of my all-time Cal favorites.
It's just the highlights and not the full game. It didn't even show the missed 2 point conversion so I still don't know what play it was. ACCN highlights didn't show it either.
Accn posts full game tomorrow, I think
It does. But they are showing it starting at 10AM and I leave for the airport at 9. My b-I-l has it taped so I can watch the second half which I missed.
I am still agog how Larry Scott kept Pac-12 Networks so exclusive that nobody could watch it. They even kept video clips off the internet.
Everything about how that network was handled was truly baffling. There seemed to be no understanding that people actually need to be able to watch the games.
The whole streaming phenomena is an extension of the cable/carrier distribution chaos that has been plagued by the lack of understanding that just because it can "work" it doesn't mean the infrastructure buildout continent wide is there, and it is not quick, easy, or cheap to catch up. There is the rush to grab a few viewers and some $s, but as you say, people (and that means MOST people) actually have to be able to watch the content, and easily and economically. So it becomes a game of skim what you can and get out before the initiative collapses.
The Pac-12 network was the most well know example, but there have been others. Remember the Rocky Mt Network (or something like that)? Or Root Sports before it was splintered? Essentially the same mistakes were made with both of those, and the teams and fans were the victims of a combination of baffling and incompetent management that had nothing to do with the actual product and people.
Sounds like some of the MLB regional providers that are shutting down. Diamond Sports I think.
DBD AV CLUB
Pamela Hayden - the voice of the Simpson's Milhouse and Jimbo Jones retired yesterday. Jimbo said one of the funniest lines in S4E8.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKRJ_5PGtSA
Humbug
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62jmnjj9p3o
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
Jack Smith files documents to drop Jan 6 charges against Pres. Trump.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/jack-smith-files-drop-jan-6-charges-donald-trump-rcna181667