i was looking forward to having some this week since there USED TO BE a location in Adams Morgan in DC right next to the hotel where i am staying. they seem to have shut down their few DC locations.
i normally like my coffee strong and black, but i usually go w/ "sweet and creamy" at Philz since they do such a good job with it.
News said they measured one-tenth of an inch at the airport which is the official station. How do you even measure that? Cars had a dusting but no accumulation on the streets or grass where I am.
I've been pulled over twice. Once I got a ticket for going 70 down the hill on 92 at midnight on Thanksgiving. Once I smiled my way out of a ticket for doing 90+ on I-5 somewhere north of Buttonwillow.
I've been pulled over for rolling through a stop sign once.
Speeding, maybe 4 or 5 times. Once in Tennessee, or maybe it was southern Ky, on the way home from the 2005 UT game. Once in middle Kentucky. Once on highway 4 in Hercules. Once in Louisville when going on an onramp. Cop said he clocked me at 70. Not sure I was going that fast, but I might have been harder on the throttle on the on-ramp.
my fastest was about 92 in a 65 mph zone in VA. it was a reckless driving ticket since it was more than 25 mph over speed limit.
i had just finished passing someone and was heading back to the middle lane. i probably on average was going about 80-85, but at that one moment clearly faster
As best as I can tell through a Google search, Virginia, DC, and maybe Mississippi are the only states in which it is illegal to have a police radar detector. The rationale I've read is that they want motorists to obey the speed limit at all times and not just when they think they can be detected going over the limit.
That seems like a messed up rationale. I wonder why the other 48 or 49 states gave the okay to using police radar detectors.
I think we can safely say the Dodgers have taken over the big bully throne from the Yankees, just minus titles to show for it so far. I for one can say I always have and will forever will hate the Dodgers--now with even greater cause--and I'm not even a Giants fan! I'm always surprised how so many A's fans have adopted the Dodgers after '88. Sicko stuff.
How is this going to impact others, like a Soto extension or Bellinger.
They may go up a little, but Ohtani not only pitches (hopefully), but the marketing in Japan alone probably easily covers his salary.
I don't see Soto getting 50 mil/year. He is basically should be a DH because he is not a good defender and a bad base runner. At least Bellinger is a GG in the OF and 1st, but he has only had 1 good year after hurting his shoulder in the 2020 WS. Maybe he's now healed and he's closer to last season than a .211 hitter.
It will be interesting. Soto's problem is that last year he was not great at hitting either. Not someone I would feel comfortable maxing out for, which would have been crazy to say just a couple of years ago.
Yeah he struggled the end of 2022 when he was traded and struggled early in 2023. Someone will overpay but I don't see him much more than a $30 million a year player given he is like a 2 tool player. Hits for high avg to all fields, great eye, can drive in runs. Doesn't have crazy power, not a great runner, slow not a great fielder. Almost like schwarber without the power. And at least last year wasn't a clutch hitter.
Maybe he just needs a change of scenery. Many of the Padres players probably do.
Ohtani's interpreter Ippei Mizuhara supposedly gets paid 2% or 5% of Shohei's salary. But then he does more than just interpreting. Ippei is married, but I don't know how much time he gets to spend with his wife.
After graduating from UCR, Ippei started out his career as interpreter for Hideki Okajima at NYY, but Okajima failed the physical and was released before the season. Ippei also lost his job. He then went to Japan and became interpreter for Nipponham Fighters (Ohtani's Japanese team), helped out foreign players in Japan, and when Ohtani signed with Angels, he came to US with Ohtani to be his personal interpreter. Ippei also married Fighters cheerleader while in Japan.
A few years ago, Dodgers were looking for a Japanese interpreter, and I seriously wanted to sign up. Oh what could have been.
Way, way less than that. He deferred $680 of the $700MM and is getting $2MM in salary each year for 10 years. MLB gonna have to close that loophole, because that is BULLSHIT.
I kept an open mind about the tourney, but overall I didn't find it particularly compelling. Maybe it would have been better if it had been condensed into a week or two rather than spread out over a month
Wasn't surprised the Seahawks came out pretty frisky in this game. They were on a three-game losing streak and badly needed a win to stay in the playoff race. I'm impressed by how the 49ers responded and just kept them at arm's length for the entire second half.
Also not a great game for the "Purdy can't throw deep" crowd.
Who remembers the Eagles fans taunting something about home field advantage after their loss to the 49ers? After the Cowboys beat the Eagle 33-13, Pepperidge Farms remembers.
I don't think I've ever seen a play like that, a big play or TD called back because a receiver lined up offsides. I've seen other weirdness, like the slot guy being ineligible because he was covered up by the outside WR or something, but not him just lining up offsides.
The Chiefs' receivers really are single-handedly destroying their championship hopes.
One little thing that's lost in this manufactured brouhaha: the flag was thrown immediately after the snap. I was watching and the flag was clearly visible in the bottom third of the screen.
One of my favorite moments in Little League was when a coach would inevitably ask about warnings on a specific rule when I had discussed that same rule in the line-up exchange at home plate, my response was, "This is the warning."
Some nice little nuggets from the Xeet of Teddye Buchanan & Tobey Weydemuller's dad... like what Justin Wilcox is reading, drinking, and troll collateral we give to recruits.
Multiple sources have Cal picking Sterling Gilbert as next QB Coach. Gilbert frustrated multiple fanbases as an OC, but I'm not qualified to know how he'll be as a QB coach.
My ranking of Golden Bear head football coaches from the time of the permanent switch to football (1915) through today. Not included are those who coached three or less seasons: Schaeffer (’15) Shaw (’45) Wickhorst (’46) Elliot (’57-’59), and Mariucci (’96).
1. Andy Smith — Wonder Teams (’20-’24), five-year unbeaten run, only lost one Big Game.
2. Pappy Waldorf — Three straight unbeaten regular seasons (’48-’50), also only lost one Big Game.
3. Jeff Tedford — Eight straight winning seasons (’02-’09) 7-4 in Big Games.
4. Stub Allison — His Thunder teams (’36-’39) were 35-7-1 in four seasons, one Rose Bowl victory, 5-3 in Big Games, no winning seasons in last six.
5. Nibs Price — Started and ended with losing seasons, 20-6-3 in between including a Rose Bowl appearance, winless in Big Games.
6. Mike White — Three winning seasons in six including a co-conference championship, 2-4 in Big Games.
7. Bruce Snyder — Two winning seasons in five with the last finishing in the top ten, winless in Big Games.
8. Bill Ingram — Three winning seasons and one at .500 a win and a tie in Big Games.
9. Roger Theder — Two winning seasons to start, two losing ones to finish, 2-2 in Big Games.
10. Ray Willsey — Two games under .500 in eight years, 2-6 in Big Games.
11. Justin Wilcox — Always between four and seven regular season wins, three winning seasons in seven, 4-3 in Big Games.
12. Keith Gilbertson — One good season in four, 2-2 in Big Games.
13. Joe Kapp — One winning season in five, 3-2 in Big Games.
14. Sonny Dykes — One winning season in four, no Big Game wins.
15. Marv Levy — No winning seasons in four, one Big Game win.
16. Tom Holmoe — No winning seasons in five, no Big Game wins. Got Cal on probation.
I came here to say Snyder is too low, but you may be right. I knew it took awhile for his Cal tenure to get going, but what I didn't realize until I just checked was that his ASU start was slow as well. ASU was largely mediocre or less until he made the Rose Bowl in his fifth year (11-1). He had a successful sixth season (Sun Bowl W) and then fell back to mediocre for a number of years. He had an interesting career in that the highs were very high at not historically good programs, but 75% of his tenure was mediocre to less. Seldom was he just good.
One other thing: But for Bob Bockrath, Cal should have kept Bruce Snyder. Cal was poised to haul in a monster recruiting class in '92. Instead it scattered, with a large portion of it following Snyder to ASU. I believe that Cal would have made a Rose Bowl under Snyder, except for Bockrath chasing off Bruce Snyder.
I do not disagree. Letting him go was the great sliding door moment for Cal Athletics in my lifetime. And passing over Mooch for Gilby in that search was maybe the second great sliding door moment. One bit of chatter I was seeing over on BearInsider recently was that Tien also played a large part with Bockrath in not getting Snyder his deserved raise. That surprised me, as Tien was such a visible champion of the football program. But apparently, according to some posters anyways, he didn't think football coaches should be making enormous wads of cash in relation to academics.
You know, I hesitated in bringing that very issue up. I don't know for sure that it was the academics vs athletics thing that others hint at, but I do think that Tien told Bockrath that he wouldn't honor the handshake agreement that Maggard made with Snyder. I also think that Tien was content to let public perception allow him the space to make this move knowing that Bockrath would be the convenient fall guy. Bockrath was selected as Athletic Director to do two things: (1) consolidate the Men's and Women's Athletic Departments into the Intercollegiate Athletics Department and (2) cut as many costs as possible in the process.
To be fair, there was duplication of positions that could be eliminated by the consolidation of both departments. But it was also true that Tien did not want to do the fundraising necessary to improve athletics facilities when he was asking people for money on the academics side.
Another factor was that Snyder felt pretty chuffed by all the criticism he got from alums over the team's lousy Big Game performance. You've got ASU waving a big check, and he's here fighting for a raise and getting hammered about the Big Game despite taking the program to it's highest peak in forever. And then he got blasted for leaving. But hard to blame him really.
When Snyder jumped to ASU, ASU was coming off a historically mediocre run, which, by ASU standards at the time were just plain bad. Snyder did at ASU what he did at Cal - took a foundering program and built it into a national contender. I don't know how many folks remember this, but the 1996 Sun Devils team was about 1 minute away from defeating Ohio State and claiming a national championship in the 1997 Rose Bowl. ASU should have won it, too. They had a remarkably solid team; undefeated except for the Rose Bowl.
That's correct, but I was surprised to see how mediocre he was after that Rose Bowl. Had a good follow up season, but then they dropped off a cliff and sat there for a number of years. Hence, his highs were quite high, but they were also fleeting and the lows far more regular. That said, I think he was a great coach for the reasons you listed. Second best Cal coach in my lifetime (I was too young to pay any attention to those Mike White teams).
Yeah, those years after the Rose Bowl were lean for ASU. I kind of wonder if getting to the Rose Bowl was a satisfaction that couldn't be followed or made better for Snyder.
Nonetheless, I thought alums could have shown some restraint given the strides that had been made that season.
ehhh, I know Sonny gets a lot of hate but the purge post Tedford was extreme. 40 players left due to graduation, transferring, thinking they were NFLers or just because they were assholes. He rebuilt the team and culture from zero. So yeah, did he need to go cause he didn't want to be here? Sure. Did he do a bad job? I dont think so at all considering the circumstances
I ranked them purely based on their records. Someone could do a more thorough job taking other matters into consideration, although I don't think it would be too different from my list. It can surely be argued that Sonny was a better coach than Gilbertson or Kapp.
Why? I don't understand the jumping ship after one season where you get to play a lot. Unless there's all manner of behind the scenes stuff that was hidden before he joined NTU at the beginning.
BERKELEY – California men's gymnastics has welcomed alumnus Karl Ziehn (class of 2003) back to the program, this time as an assistant coach. Ziehn joins head coach JT Okada and associate head coach Bryan Del Castillo on the Golden Bears' staff. Ziehn recently spent seven years (2012-19) as an assistant coach for Stanford's men's gymnastics program, helping lead the Cardinal to a national title in 2019 and assisting in the development of dozens of All-Americans and several National Team members.
The California football team's Jaydn Ott and Cade Uluave continued to pile up honors on Saturday when Ott was named to Super West Sports' first-team and Cade Uluave was selected as the media outlet's Defensive Freshman of the Year. The Super West Sports' squads include players from the Pac-12 and Mountain West Conferences, as well as BYU.
Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox announced Saturday that Mike Saffell has agreed to become the tight ends coach for the California football team. Saffell, who was a four-year letterwinner as an offensive lineman for the Golden Bears (2017-20), has spent the past three seasons on Cal's football staff as a student coach (2021) and graduate assistant (2022-23) working with the offensive line.
BERKELEY – The California women's basketball team used a dominant defensive effort to extend its winning streak to six games against Nevada in a wire-to-wire 76-49 victory at Haas Pavilion Saturday afternoon. The Golden Bears held the Wolf Pack to just 28.1% from the field and 25.0% from beyond the arc. Cal hit 12 3-pointers on 42.9% shooting – both season highs.
INDIANAPOLIS – Three Golden Bears scored 20-plus points and the California men's basketball team overcame an 11-point second-half deficit, but ultimately fell 97-90 in double overtime against Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday.
BERKELEY – Jen Malcom, a 13-year coaching veteran across four different Power 5 programs, has agreed to become the next head coach of the Cal Volleyball program, Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton announced Saturday.
Malcom comes to Berkeley from UCLA, where she served as the Bruins' associate head coach. Before her stint with the Bruins, Malcom spent seven years at her alma mater, Iowa State - first as assistant coach from 2016-18 and later as associate head coach from 2019-22. The Cyclones posted the program's first 20-win season in 2022, culminating in the latest of Malcom's five NCAA Tournament appearances with the Iowa State staff. She also helped lead the Cyclones to a National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) title in 2018. In total, 13 of Malcom's players earned a combined 20 AVCA All-Region nods, including a Regional Player of the Year and a Regional Freshman of the Year. Seven of her athletes also collected a total of 12 All-Big 12 awards.
Acalanes Dons, your 2023 California 3-AA State Football Champions under the coaching guidance of HC/OC Floyd Burnsed, Cal's own David Ortega at DC, and W4C's @JucoJesse at WR whose star player Trevor Rogers is coming to Cal.
Philz Coffee
i was looking forward to having some this week since there USED TO BE a location in Adams Morgan in DC right next to the hotel where i am staying. they seem to have shut down their few DC locations.
i normally like my coffee strong and black, but i usually go w/ "sweet and creamy" at Philz since they do such a good job with it.
every time i get light sweet light cream at philz i regret my decision
gotta go sweet and creamy
I don't like Philz. I'm not a coffee person either way, but the one time you and I went there I didn't like it. The flavors were weird.
I agree most flavors are weird.
I do like their mojito coffee, iced.
on a separate note, i forgot to pack socks for my trip this week. so i need to go find some as my first task after work today.
Snow
drove to DC last night. most cars were covered w/ at least an inch or two of snow overnight.
We've already had more this month than we did in all of last winter.
Naturally, this morning I found myself stuck driving behind people who didn't clear their cars and were shedding snow all over the place
News said they measured one-tenth of an inch at the airport which is the official station. How do you even measure that? Cars had a dusting but no accumulation on the streets or grass where I am.
Victimless crime
I've been pulled over twice. Once I got a ticket for going 70 down the hill on 92 at midnight on Thanksgiving. Once I smiled my way out of a ticket for doing 90+ on I-5 somewhere north of Buttonwillow.
A victimless crime is sleeping in your car and assisted suicide
I've been pulled over 10+ times for speeding, but I stopped counting.
Got tickets on 4 or 5 of those.
I've been pulled over for rolling through a stop sign once.
Speeding, maybe 4 or 5 times. Once in Tennessee, or maybe it was southern Ky, on the way home from the 2005 UT game. Once in middle Kentucky. Once on highway 4 in Hercules. Once in Louisville when going on an onramp. Cop said he clocked me at 70. Not sure I was going that fast, but I might have been harder on the throttle on the on-ramp.
I know someone who was pulled over for rolling through a stop sign. He insisted afterward that STOP stands for Slow To Observe Pigs.
my fastest was about 92 in a 65 mph zone in VA. it was a reckless driving ticket since it was more than 25 mph over speed limit.
i had just finished passing someone and was heading back to the middle lane. i probably on average was going about 80-85, but at that one moment clearly faster
They don't mess around in VA. I stay in the right lane at 5-over when I'm driving out there
Oh yeah VA is a killer. Take your radar detector and put it in the trunk. And just go with the flow of traffic.
Put the radar detector in the trunk because a radar detector is illegal?
In Va, yeah. That's the advice I've heard because they're illegal there. And they're extremely strict.
As best as I can tell through a Google search, Virginia, DC, and maybe Mississippi are the only states in which it is illegal to have a police radar detector. The rationale I've read is that they want motorists to obey the speed limit at all times and not just when they think they can be detected going over the limit.
That seems like a messed up rationale. I wonder why the other 48 or 49 states gave the okay to using police radar detectors.
is this the right place talk talk about speeding tickets?
i think i have had 3 or 4 in my life. i dont actually drive particularly fast, but just happened to be caught speeding some random times.
I got caught speeding *twice* in one day. Once on I-80 outside of Fairfield (I think) and once on I-80 in Nevada west of Reno.
No, but 🤷♂️
PRO
Raiders lose the punt-off.
Raiders-Vikings recap: That was completely awful
https://www.silverandblackpride.com/2023/12/10/23849361/raiders-vikings-recap-week-14
We just witnessed the worst display of offensive football in the modern era, as the Las Vegas Raiders lost 0-3 to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Raiders and Vikings should refund the ticket prices to folks in attendance.
LSU's Jayden Daniels wins the Heisman. ASU lol
https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/jayden-daniels/
Ohtani gets a gazillion dollars over a decade from the Dodgers. Or something like that.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39076745/shohei-ohtani-join-dodgers-10-year-700m-deal
I think we can safely say the Dodgers have taken over the big bully throne from the Yankees, just minus titles to show for it so far. I for one can say I always have and will forever will hate the Dodgers--now with even greater cause--and I'm not even a Giants fan! I'm always surprised how so many A's fans have adopted the Dodgers after '88. Sicko stuff.
How is this going to impact others, like a Soto extension or Bellinger.
They may go up a little, but Ohtani not only pitches (hopefully), but the marketing in Japan alone probably easily covers his salary.
I don't see Soto getting 50 mil/year. He is basically should be a DH because he is not a good defender and a bad base runner. At least Bellinger is a GG in the OF and 1st, but he has only had 1 good year after hurting his shoulder in the 2020 WS. Maybe he's now healed and he's closer to last season than a .211 hitter.
It will be interesting. Soto's problem is that last year he was not great at hitting either. Not someone I would feel comfortable maxing out for, which would have been crazy to say just a couple of years ago.
Yeah he struggled the end of 2022 when he was traded and struggled early in 2023. Someone will overpay but I don't see him much more than a $30 million a year player given he is like a 2 tool player. Hits for high avg to all fields, great eye, can drive in runs. Doesn't have crazy power, not a great runner, slow not a great fielder. Almost like schwarber without the power. And at least last year wasn't a clutch hitter.
Maybe he just needs a change of scenery. Many of the Padres players probably do.
I figured this would be the ultimate result once he entered free agency. But I am still disappointed.
Ohtani's interpreter Ippei Mizuhara supposedly gets paid 2% or 5% of Shohei's salary. But then he does more than just interpreting. Ippei is married, but I don't know how much time he gets to spend with his wife.
After graduating from UCR, Ippei started out his career as interpreter for Hideki Okajima at NYY, but Okajima failed the physical and was released before the season. Ippei also lost his job. He then went to Japan and became interpreter for Nipponham Fighters (Ohtani's Japanese team), helped out foreign players in Japan, and when Ohtani signed with Angels, he came to US with Ohtani to be his personal interpreter. Ippei also married Fighters cheerleader while in Japan.
A few years ago, Dodgers were looking for a Japanese interpreter, and I seriously wanted to sign up. Oh what could have been.
That could've been you!! You could be funding the NIL.
Yeah! and what are the chances of someone like me to sit in the bench with the players. it would have been amazing.
And to think I got exercised in 2000 because Alex Rodriguez got a 10 year contract for $250MM. That's just a pittance against $700MM.
It's probably going to end up around 50 mil/year for the luxury tax. Ohtani asked lots of money be deferred so that the Dodgers wouldn't be hamstrung.
Way, way less than that. He deferred $680 of the $700MM and is getting $2MM in salary each year for 10 years. MLB gonna have to close that loophole, because that is BULLSHIT.
Looks like about 46 mil per year against the luxury tax for 20 years.
He’s essentially getting a Jimbo buyout every year for 10 years
And then for the next 20 or whatever years after that he'll probably be getting 10 Bobby Bonillas.
Lakers win some sort of in-season tourny.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/columnist/jeff-zillgitt/2023/12/09/lakers-win-nba-cup-in-season-tournament-winners-losers/71869325007/
I kept an open mind about the tourney, but overall I didn't find it particularly compelling. Maybe it would have been better if it had been condensed into a week or two rather than spread out over a month
we were watching at the house of an NBA exec. he said that the in-season thing has been wildly successful, even more than they had hoped.
fan interest, player interest, etc etc all good. made seemingly meaningless games count for something.
i for one have always valued the history and tradition of the in season tournament
For a hunk of metal?
$500k per player too
Ravens pip the Rams in OT 37-31 in an exciting game
https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/401547585
Fantastic game. Probably the best one I've watched this season
Zach Wilson has a great second half and beats the Texans 30-6
https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap/_/gameId/401547582
Bears upset the Lions 28-13 as Detroits offense lays an egg in the second half
https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap/_/gameId/401547586
Seahawks have no answer for 49ers multiple offensive tools. SF wins 28-16
https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap/_/gameId/401547589
Wasn't surprised the Seahawks came out pretty frisky in this game. They were on a three-game losing streak and badly needed a win to stay in the playoff race. I'm impressed by how the 49ers responded and just kept them at arm's length for the entire second half.
Also not a great game for the "Purdy can't throw deep" crowd.
Who remembers the Eagles fans taunting something about home field advantage after their loss to the 49ers? After the Cowboys beat the Eagle 33-13, Pepperidge Farms remembers.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/game/_/gameId/401547590
I thought the Eagles were riding a lot of luck to their great record and these last two games seem to have proven that true.
Bills beat Chiefs after a trick play is called back for offsides. Mahomes, Andy Reid blast referees for making the correct call
https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2023/12/10/23996209/patrick-mahomes-andy-reid-kadarius-toney-refs-nfl
Taylor Swift: "What rhymes with Kadarius Toney?"
I don't think I've ever seen a play like that, a big play or TD called back because a receiver lined up offsides. I've seen other weirdness, like the slot guy being ineligible because he was covered up by the outside WR or something, but not him just lining up offsides.
The Chiefs' receivers really are single-handedly destroying their championship hopes.
One little thing that's lost in this manufactured brouhaha: the flag was thrown immediately after the snap. I was watching and the flag was clearly visible in the bottom third of the screen.
They are crying because there was no warning.
One of my favorite moments in Little League was when a coach would inevitably ask about warnings on a specific rule when I had discussed that same rule in the line-up exchange at home plate, my response was, "This is the warning."
Did he do the look at the ref and point? If so, do they usually tell the receiver to move back? If not, that's on him.
Minnesota United's Greg Olsen earned a hat trick by scoring his third point with 1:57 before stoppage in their 3-0 blanking Las Vegas FC
https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap/_/gameId/401547588
CAL
Sam Jackson V to the portal
He...
A) did not want to be a backup QB
B) did not want to switch positions
C) we have a transfer QB coming in
D) had his NIL $$$ pulled
Sam Jackson V:
2020 season: Doesn't play senior year due to Covid pandemic
April '20: Commits to Minnesota
June '20: Commits to Purdue
Dec '20: Commits to TCU
'21: Enrolls and redshirts
'22: Plays his redshirt freshman year
Jan '23: Enters transfer portal for one time exemption
'23: Plays his redshirt sophomore year
Dec '23: Enters transfer portal
'24: Sit for mandated RS-junior year*
'25: 1 year to play 1
Seems he may be a bit flighty. Does he think he's going to get to be a QB in the NFL?
I was hoping he might become a slot WR. Oh well
yes to all!
Some nice little nuggets from the Xeet of Teddye Buchanan & Tobey Weydemuller's dad... like what Justin Wilcox is reading, drinking, and troll collateral we give to recruits.
https://twitter.com/arron_sr/status/1733883270855815247
Of course he has a fly fishing book on his table
Multiple sources have Cal picking Sterling Gilbert as next QB Coach. Gilbert frustrated multiple fanbases as an OC, but I'm not qualified to know how he'll be as a QB coach.
https://twitter.com/ESPNRittenberg/status/1733605870099964053
Not to be too nitpicky, but isn't the name Sterlin Gilbert? I googled Sterling Gilbert and google said Did you mean: sterlin gilbert.
yes, it is Sterlin
So you could say it’s Nuthin’ but a G Thang?
If true, that would wrap up our coaching change this offseason.
I would like some more changes.
My ranking of Golden Bear head football coaches from the time of the permanent switch to football (1915) through today. Not included are those who coached three or less seasons: Schaeffer (’15) Shaw (’45) Wickhorst (’46) Elliot (’57-’59), and Mariucci (’96).
1. Andy Smith — Wonder Teams (’20-’24), five-year unbeaten run, only lost one Big Game.
2. Pappy Waldorf — Three straight unbeaten regular seasons (’48-’50), also only lost one Big Game.
3. Jeff Tedford — Eight straight winning seasons (’02-’09) 7-4 in Big Games.
4. Stub Allison — His Thunder teams (’36-’39) were 35-7-1 in four seasons, one Rose Bowl victory, 5-3 in Big Games, no winning seasons in last six.
5. Nibs Price — Started and ended with losing seasons, 20-6-3 in between including a Rose Bowl appearance, winless in Big Games.
6. Mike White — Three winning seasons in six including a co-conference championship, 2-4 in Big Games.
7. Bruce Snyder — Two winning seasons in five with the last finishing in the top ten, winless in Big Games.
8. Bill Ingram — Three winning seasons and one at .500 a win and a tie in Big Games.
9. Roger Theder — Two winning seasons to start, two losing ones to finish, 2-2 in Big Games.
10. Ray Willsey — Two games under .500 in eight years, 2-6 in Big Games.
11. Justin Wilcox — Always between four and seven regular season wins, three winning seasons in seven, 4-3 in Big Games.
12. Keith Gilbertson — One good season in four, 2-2 in Big Games.
13. Joe Kapp — One winning season in five, 3-2 in Big Games.
14. Sonny Dykes — One winning season in four, no Big Game wins.
15. Marv Levy — No winning seasons in four, one Big Game win.
16. Tom Holmoe — No winning seasons in five, no Big Game wins. Got Cal on probation.
I came here to say Snyder is too low, but you may be right. I knew it took awhile for his Cal tenure to get going, but what I didn't realize until I just checked was that his ASU start was slow as well. ASU was largely mediocre or less until he made the Rose Bowl in his fifth year (11-1). He had a successful sixth season (Sun Bowl W) and then fell back to mediocre for a number of years. He had an interesting career in that the highs were very high at not historically good programs, but 75% of his tenure was mediocre to less. Seldom was he just good.
One other thing: But for Bob Bockrath, Cal should have kept Bruce Snyder. Cal was poised to haul in a monster recruiting class in '92. Instead it scattered, with a large portion of it following Snyder to ASU. I believe that Cal would have made a Rose Bowl under Snyder, except for Bockrath chasing off Bruce Snyder.
I do not disagree. Letting him go was the great sliding door moment for Cal Athletics in my lifetime. And passing over Mooch for Gilby in that search was maybe the second great sliding door moment. One bit of chatter I was seeing over on BearInsider recently was that Tien also played a large part with Bockrath in not getting Snyder his deserved raise. That surprised me, as Tien was such a visible champion of the football program. But apparently, according to some posters anyways, he didn't think football coaches should be making enormous wads of cash in relation to academics.
You know, I hesitated in bringing that very issue up. I don't know for sure that it was the academics vs athletics thing that others hint at, but I do think that Tien told Bockrath that he wouldn't honor the handshake agreement that Maggard made with Snyder. I also think that Tien was content to let public perception allow him the space to make this move knowing that Bockrath would be the convenient fall guy. Bockrath was selected as Athletic Director to do two things: (1) consolidate the Men's and Women's Athletic Departments into the Intercollegiate Athletics Department and (2) cut as many costs as possible in the process.
To be fair, there was duplication of positions that could be eliminated by the consolidation of both departments. But it was also true that Tien did not want to do the fundraising necessary to improve athletics facilities when he was asking people for money on the academics side.
Another factor was that Snyder felt pretty chuffed by all the criticism he got from alums over the team's lousy Big Game performance. You've got ASU waving a big check, and he's here fighting for a raise and getting hammered about the Big Game despite taking the program to it's highest peak in forever. And then he got blasted for leaving. But hard to blame him really.
When Snyder jumped to ASU, ASU was coming off a historically mediocre run, which, by ASU standards at the time were just plain bad. Snyder did at ASU what he did at Cal - took a foundering program and built it into a national contender. I don't know how many folks remember this, but the 1996 Sun Devils team was about 1 minute away from defeating Ohio State and claiming a national championship in the 1997 Rose Bowl. ASU should have won it, too. They had a remarkably solid team; undefeated except for the Rose Bowl.
That's correct, but I was surprised to see how mediocre he was after that Rose Bowl. Had a good follow up season, but then they dropped off a cliff and sat there for a number of years. Hence, his highs were quite high, but they were also fleeting and the lows far more regular. That said, I think he was a great coach for the reasons you listed. Second best Cal coach in my lifetime (I was too young to pay any attention to those Mike White teams).
Yeah, those years after the Rose Bowl were lean for ASU. I kind of wonder if getting to the Rose Bowl was a satisfaction that couldn't be followed or made better for Snyder.
Nonetheless, I thought alums could have shown some restraint given the strides that had been made that season.
ehhh, I know Sonny gets a lot of hate but the purge post Tedford was extreme. 40 players left due to graduation, transferring, thinking they were NFLers or just because they were assholes. He rebuilt the team and culture from zero. So yeah, did he need to go cause he didn't want to be here? Sure. Did he do a bad job? I dont think so at all considering the circumstances
Sonny was just okay during his time at Cal. Not terrible, but not raising the bar either.
I ranked them purely based on their records. Someone could do a more thorough job taking other matters into consideration, although I don't think it would be too different from my list. It can surely be argued that Sonny was a better coach than Gilbertson or Kapp.
Go Bears!!!
Cal gets the verbal for a 2025 recruit. He seems to be an ILB.
https://twitter.com/carterjones07/status/1733994979725656232
Cal flips a Stanfurd commit. He is a TE/LB, but I think he'll be ILB
https://twitter.com/LukeFerrelli/status/1734360432243335307
Time is a flat circle. Former Cal QB Target Chandler Rodgers commits to Cal, transferring from UNT
https://twitter.com/Hayesfawcett3/status/1734298627407773734
Why? I don't understand the jumping ship after one season where you get to play a lot. Unless there's all manner of behind the scenes stuff that was hidden before he joined NTU at the beginning.
[MGYM] Karl Ziehn Joins Bears’ Staff
https://calbears.com/news/2023/12/10/mens-gymnastics-karl-ziehn-joins-bears-staff.aspx
BERKELEY – California men's gymnastics has welcomed alumnus Karl Ziehn (class of 2003) back to the program, this time as an assistant coach. Ziehn joins head coach JT Okada and associate head coach Bryan Del Castillo on the Golden Bears' staff. Ziehn recently spent seven years (2012-19) as an assistant coach for Stanford's men's gymnastics program, helping lead the Cardinal to a national title in 2019 and assisting in the development of dozens of All-Americans and several National Team members.
[FB] Ott And Uluave Continue To Pile Up Honors
https://calbears.com/news/2023/12/9/football-ott-and-uluave-continue-to-pile-up-honors.aspx
The California football team's Jaydn Ott and Cade Uluave continued to pile up honors on Saturday when Ott was named to Super West Sports' first-team and Cade Uluave was selected as the media outlet's Defensive Freshman of the Year. The Super West Sports' squads include players from the Pac-12 and Mountain West Conferences, as well as BYU.
[FB] Saffell Named Tight Ends Coach
https://calbears.com/news/2023/12/9/football-saffell-named-tight-ends-coach.aspx
Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox announced Saturday that Mike Saffell has agreed to become the tight ends coach for the California football team. Saffell, who was a four-year letterwinner as an offensive lineman for the Golden Bears (2017-20), has spent the past three seasons on Cal's football staff as a student coach (2021) and graduate assistant (2022-23) working with the offensive line.
Is calbears.com required to always use "Travers Family Head Football Coach" for Wilcox?
Probably since calbears.com is the Athletics Department website.
Bear Insider always uses it too.
[WBB] Bears Handle Nevada 76-49
https://calbears.com/news/2023/12/9/womens-basketball-bears-handle-nevada-76-49.aspx
BERKELEY – The California women's basketball team used a dominant defensive effort to extend its winning streak to six games against Nevada in a wire-to-wire 76-49 victory at Haas Pavilion Saturday afternoon. The Golden Bears held the Wolf Pack to just 28.1% from the field and 25.0% from beyond the arc. Cal hit 12 3-pointers on 42.9% shooting – both season highs.
[MBB] Bears Fall In Double OT At Butler
https://calbears.com/news/2023/12/9/mens-basketball-bears-fall-in-double-ot-at-butler-2.aspx
INDIANAPOLIS – Three Golden Bears scored 20-plus points and the California men's basketball team overcame an 11-point second-half deficit, but ultimately fell 97-90 in double overtime against Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday.
[VB] Jen Malcom Named Cal Volleyball Head Coach
https://calbears.com/news/2023/12/9/jen-malcom-named-cal-volleyball-head-coach.aspx
BERKELEY – Jen Malcom, a 13-year coaching veteran across four different Power 5 programs, has agreed to become the next head coach of the Cal Volleyball program, Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton announced Saturday.
Malcom comes to Berkeley from UCLA, where she served as the Bruins' associate head coach. Before her stint with the Bruins, Malcom spent seven years at her alma mater, Iowa State - first as assistant coach from 2016-18 and later as associate head coach from 2019-22. The Cyclones posted the program's first 20-win season in 2022, culminating in the latest of Malcom's five NCAA Tournament appearances with the Iowa State staff. She also helped lead the Cyclones to a National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) title in 2018. In total, 13 of Malcom's players earned a combined 20 AVCA All-Region nods, including a Regional Player of the Year and a Regional Freshman of the Year. Seven of her athletes also collected a total of 12 All-Big 12 awards.
DBD AV CLUB
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
Woman who got abortion exemption in Texas and then had AG Paxton go after her personally - has fled the state.
https://reproductiverights.org/texas-woman-who-needs-emergency-abortion-forced-to-flee-state/
A troll presented Gaetz with an award for trafficing/raping a minor
https://twitter.com/rooster_ohio/status/1733205597489598608
Defamation case against Drunk Uncle by two Georgia poll workers starts today
https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/giuliani-defamation-trial/
Trump reverses course and says he won't testify at his NY case. I guess he does listen to his lawyers sometimes. That's too bad.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/reversal-donald-trump-says-will-not-testify-defense-new-york-fraud-tri-rcna128749
Perhaps Putin's payment to JD Vance just cleared?
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4352409-senate-republican-says-us-needs-to-accept-that-ukraine-will-cede-some-territory-to-russia/
Alex Jones, Vivek Ramaswamy, Andrew Tate, and Elon Musk get together in some sort of Legion of Doom of Disinformation
https://www.thewrap.com/alex-jones-returns-elon-musk-andrew-tate-vivek-ramaswamy/
So... since when is Bernie Sanders the voice of bitter truths?
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/bernie-sanders-rejects-the-idea-of-a-permanent-ceasefire-between-israel-and-hamas-they-want-to-destroy-israel/
Trump: "I'm going to be a dictator on Day 1 if reelected."
Sycophants: "He didn't actually mean that. What he meant is...
Trump again "I AM GOING TO BE A DICTATOR ON DAY 1"
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/contradicting-allies-trump-talks-dictator-plans-rcna128987
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
Harvard grade inflation
https://twitter.com/SMTuffy/status/1733283486843146378
Dillon Gabriel to Oregon
https://twitter.com/mzenitz/status/1733515466310664265
Acalanes Dons, your 2023 California 3-AA State Football Champions under the coaching guidance of HC/OC Floyd Burnsed, Cal's own David Ortega at DC, and W4C's @JucoJesse at WR whose star player Trevor Rogers is coming to Cal.
https://www.dailynews.com/2023/12/09/birmingham-football-sees-cif-state-title-slip-away-against-acalanes/
Bronny James eclipses his dad's college scoring record
https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/bronny-james-usc-debut-son-of-lebron-james-plays-in-first-game-as-trojans-lose-in-ot-to-long-beach-state/live/