161 Comments

Amazed at how all of these teams are suddenly being affected by Covid 19, and Cal was the only one affected during the season. Omicron may be more contagious, but something seems a bit strange.

Expand full comment

Mississippi State and the Pirate embarrassed in Memphis...looked like they did not want to be there....

Expand full comment

John Madden, legendary Hall of Fame coach, dies at age 85

https://www.nfl.com/news/john-madden-legendary-hall-of-fame-coach-dies-at-age-85

The game of football has lost a legendary figure.

Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and legendary broadcaster John Madden died unexpectedly on Tuesday morning, the league announced. He was 85 years old.

"On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Virginia, Mike, Joe and their families," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "We all know him as the Hall of Fame coach of the Oakland Raiders and broadcaster who worked for every major network, but more than anything, he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.

Expand full comment

Wow. What a loss for all football fans.

Expand full comment

He was legendary in 3 different fields: NFL HC, NFL broadcaster and NFL video game icon. Depending on your generation, some people grew up with him coaching games, others as an announcer and others as a guy with a video game. He might have been Mr. NFL.

Expand full comment

Like Keith Jackson, his voice was synonymous with big games.

Expand full comment

Weren't a bunch of you "Cheer" fans? From today's NY Post:

"The hit cheerleading docuseries “Cheer” will make a surprise return to Netflix, with a Season 2 premiering on Jan. 12.

Season 1, which premiered in January of 2020, followed the nationally-ranked Navarro College Bulldogs Cheer team from Corsicana, Texas, as they prepared for the National Cheerleading Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The series was a hit because it showcased the difficulty and athleticism of a sport that doesn’t get much mainstream spotlight.

It also had several breakout stars with intriguing life stories that captured audiences’ attention — including no-nonsense coach Monica Aldama; the talented but troubled Lexi Brumback; star cheerleader Gabi Butler who faced a lot of pressure from her parents; La’Darius Marshall, who faced homophobic bullying during his childhood and Morgan Simianer, who lived with her grandparents and faced a lot of personal tragedy.

The show’s breakout star Jerry Harris captured the world’s attention with his positive attitude and later worked the Oscars red carpet for Ellen DeGeneres. However, the series fell into scandal when Harris was arrested last year for sexual misconduct charges that included child pornography.

It seemed impossible that there would be a “Cheer” Season 2 after the dark shadow this development cast on the series, but it’s coming. According to Netflix, Season 2 will address Harris’ arrest and its impact on the team, as well as the difficulty of continuing cheer during the coronavirus pandemic.

The trailer shows coach Monica Aldama saying “I can’t even process it,” in reference to the news regarding Harris, while another teammate explains, “everyone just felt lost.”"

Expand full comment

Loved this show, but somehow missed the Harris controversy and fallout. Gross.

Expand full comment

Also, I don't think the people who watched this show are what you would call "fans" exactly, the way one might be a fan of say "Fraiser".

Expand full comment

did you pick Frasier because of the Cheer(s) connection?

Expand full comment

Sort of, recently watched the first 3 seasons of Cheers, that show was really funny right at the start.

Expand full comment

yeah, lost it after coach "left"

Expand full comment

when I read the first line, I thought it said "CheerS" fans. I'd watch a doc on that show...

Expand full comment

It was a compelling and weird look into a strange world.

Expand full comment

this is right in Fire Starkey's wheelhouse

Expand full comment

2022 - What are you looking forward to?

Expand full comment
Dec 28, 2021Liked by SGBear

Cal football in South Bend

Expand full comment

Are you staying in South Bend or driving in from somewhere else?

Expand full comment

Newllbany and I are still determining this

Expand full comment

stay in Chicago, party bus to/from South Bend

Expand full comment
Dec 28, 2021·edited Dec 28, 2021

The Metra takes you down to South Bend from downtown and you can party.

Expand full comment

3 hour drive?

Expand full comment

the googlymaps says just under 2 hours

Expand full comment

this is what the SC alumni do.

Expand full comment

Moving back to the US, buying a new car, playing golf, buying a new bike and camping are kind of my list right now. Also re-upping vaccination.

Expand full comment

Three weeks in Europe!

Expand full comment

honestly not much, I might need to lighten up a bit

Expand full comment

Boy, do I hear that. One has only so much energy to expend on "important" issues.

Expand full comment

Roadburn Fest in Tilburg, NL in April.

Hopefully

Expand full comment

Lower House Rebuild

That's the replacement of the family cabin that was destroyed in the Glass Fire on September 28, 2020.

Expand full comment

Going to Spain for a few weeks in May. But who knows anymore.

Expand full comment

Tuesday, February 22, 2022.

Expand full comment

Ok, why?

Expand full comment

2sday, 2/22/22. extra special at 10:22:22 pm.

Expand full comment

Wouldn’t it be even extra special at 02:22:22 am on 02/22/22?

Expand full comment

he set you up on that one! :-)

and I prefer 24-hour time...my computer, laptop, etc. are all 24 -hour time, but not because of the military. Just so I don't have to think "am or pm?"

Expand full comment

I figured he was using the 24-hour time. I just think that it would be extra special to have the time and date completely match up but if you’re trying to get the most “2”s possible on a given date and time them clap doc is correct.

Expand full comment

10:22 pm is 22:22:22 in military time

Expand full comment

Hopefully a vacation finally.

Expand full comment

Honestly, I have no clue.

Expand full comment

Going to see Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit play at Red Rocks in May...

Expand full comment

Not getting Omicron or any other variant of the 'rona.

Expand full comment

Hoping to achieve this too. Probably means a new booster being out sometime in the spring that an alarming number of people will not get.

Expand full comment

The current mortality rate in the US is about 1.6% of confirmed cases. That would lead to about 4,500,000 deaths in the US. Now I don't know how the mortality rate has changed over time, so this is likely a high prediction.

Expand full comment

DBD Not Financial Advice

Expand full comment

DBD AV Club

Expand full comment

Enjoying the 3rd season of Sex Education, watched the penultimate episode of Insecure (will be sad when that's over) first episode of the second season of The Witcher was fun.

Expand full comment

For anyone who liked the Timothy Zahn "Heir to the Empire" Star Wars trilogy (which is amazing, btw):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC9fYUDQ6CM

Seems like it'd have to be six parts. No idea how long Disney will let this live on the webs...

Expand full comment

Disney should have just made this series episodes 7-9.

Expand full comment

yup...had been wishing for that for a long time. even pre-Disney. they'd have to have recruited all new actors, tho, since it's only 5 years after RotJ.

Expand full comment

Watched Georgetown last night. Had no idea what it was about and never looked it up to see. Christopher Waltz directed & leading role. Found it fascinating. Based on one Albrecht Muth. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/georgetown-movie-review-2021

Expand full comment

Who played Patrick Ewing?

Expand full comment

My wife and I started The Sex Lives of College Girls. I am enjoying it so far. It is obvious that it is a Mindy Kaling show, in terms of comedy and dialogue. It is basically a college and HBO version of Never Have I Ever.

Expand full comment

that's a good enough review to get me to watch it. is there a college/HBO equivalent of John McEnroe? ;-)

Expand full comment

Unfortunately not. It is based on a small liberal arts college and it makes me wonder what it would have been like to attend a smaller college/university rather than Berkeley.

Expand full comment

Just like high school?

Expand full comment

Probably but my high school was relatively small. Student population of about 1,100 and my graduating class around 280.

Academically, I was a big fish in a small pond. I knew going to Cal would challenge me in all aspects of my life, not just academically and I would simply be a regular sized fish in a big sea.

Expand full comment

My high school (in NJ) was similarly sized. My graduating class was 232.

By comparison, both my sons graduated from Berkeley High, which, in 2011 and 2014 was the 2nd largest high school in the state of California at around 3,600 enrollment. Both the Class of '11 and '14 was more than 850 graduates.

Expand full comment

Had about 1,000 at my high school. After I got my acceptance letter with that gold sticker on it I kind of coasted through the second semester with as little effort as possible.

Expand full comment

1,000 students in HS is fairly large, isn't it? My HS was about that size.

I was curious so I just looked up avg student population in US HS it's 750.

Expand full comment

Finished S2 of High Town on STARZ, of which I think I am one of about 11 people that have that channel on the West Coast....pretty solid. Makes me wanna go to Cape Cod, a spot I've never been to. Looks like it would be a lot of fun.

Expand full comment

Our Crumbling Democracy

Expand full comment

Now .. . I don't really believe Madison Crawthorn's ex-wife is a Russian asset, but his story about how he met her is really weird. He's in Sweden on vacation with some friends, and they decide to "randomly" hop on a ferry to St. Peterburg. A ferry which runs 3 times a week and takes 9 hours.

Then he meets a US Army Captain in a casino (which may or may not exist legally in Russia) then a year later that US Army Captain sends Crawthorn an invite to a Crossfit competition in Miami that Crawford attends, but it ends up being fake and a ruse for the army captain to introduce this woman to Crawford? I mean come on. This is really weird shit.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1475583481778475012?s=20

Expand full comment

The GQP is an arm of the Russian state security agencies, so yes, he is a Russian asset.

Expand full comment

One thing I keep in mind is this: let's say for the sake of argument that Rep Crawthorn isn't in any way a Russian asset, he's still an absolute clown who probably shouldn't be in Congress given his flirtations with the far right, his track record of inappropriate behavior with women, etc etc.

Expand full comment

Of all the clowns in congress, he is the clowniest.

Expand full comment

and beating up defenseless trees

Expand full comment

only approved when in Palo Alto, I hear

Expand full comment

Today in Omicron

Expand full comment
author

Isolation guidelines will be revised if the omicron spike does not abate.

Expand full comment

dolla dolla bills y'all

Expand full comment

I have tickets to see High on Fire for NYE at the UC theater. I'm kinda hoping it gets canceled, but will probably still go if it doesn't

Expand full comment

I feel like my whole life right now is hoping that plans I have made get canceled.

Expand full comment

some plans more than others

Expand full comment

I am getting together with a couple of colleagues tomorrow and since the weather is set to be mild, I just strongly suggested we go to a place with lots of outdoor seating and heat lamps. I don't much want to be in a restaurant until this spike drops off next month or thereabouts.

Expand full comment

I met a friend for lunch yesterday in Marin and we ate indoors. I think that will be the last of that for 4-6 weeks or so, or until rates come down. It's something that's easy for me to give up for a while to reduce risks.

Expand full comment

I hadn't really gone back to eating in restaurants anyway - just trying to figure out where I'm drawing the line. Like the 19 y.o. went out with her boyfriend last night & he took her to an actual restaurant, which is pretty low risk for them overall, but we hadn't hit a general household policy on this.

Expand full comment

I'm honestly just in "f*** it" mode at this point. I will stay home if I test positive or show symptoms, but otherwise I'm going out and doing whatever (following mask rules wherever they exist). I'm vaxxed and boosted, so my personal risk seems to be pretty low, and given how contagious the new variant is and how high the local vaccination rates are (Bay Area) I'm not sure who I'd be protecting by staying home.

Expand full comment

I definitely got in an argument with my parents yesterday because my dad wouldn't wear an N95 for when he appraises houses; my mom insisted that the surgical mask was "just as good" because she has trusted sources from YouTube. So, I took my bossy self home.

Expand full comment

I heard that one's gonna be a go. I have tickets to see Flipper at Bottom of the Hill on 12/30. If I'm gonna catch COVID, it might as well be from Yow getting in my face. But I think I'm just gonna eat the tix. Gahhhh.

Expand full comment

FLIPPER?!?!?! Nuke the Whales Flipper?

Expand full comment

Still able to make a dirgey racket.

Expand full comment

My son wants to go see Jack Harlow at the Fox Theater in a couple of weeks. He wants to get GA tickets. I'm debating whether this is a good idea or not.

Expand full comment

The fox requires vaccinations and "encourages" masks indoors

Expand full comment

Maybe an ok idea for him, slightly less ok idea for you, worse idea for your mom?

Expand full comment

Yes.

Expand full comment

Just anecdotally, it really seems like a ton of friends who had been careful, masking, vaccinated, not going out much - are catching the 'Cron.

Expand full comment

Yup - I feel like my family has been pretty diligent, and a couple of us got it. But we're all vaccinated so we barely had symptoms.

I've arrived at the camp of thinking that everyone is eventually going to get it and most vaccinated people who do get it will be just fine. The unvaccinated made their choice and have to live or die with the consequences.

Expand full comment

In this line.

Expand full comment

And a Yup to you as well.

Expand full comment

Yeah everyone around my neighborhood has it. Most of them have been vaccinated multiple times. It also seems like they won’t stay home unless they are bedridden. No one seems to care anymore. Wonder how this stops.

Expand full comment

Very much the same. My circle has been largely unimpacted by previous waves. This one, tons of positives, especially among the 20-somethings.

Expand full comment

I think it's just that infectious that people who were sorted versus Delta are getting caught out. We know a few people who weren't doing anything out of the ordinary between November and December but got Omicron this month.

Expand full comment

It's going around in the lady friends' circle of friends. We were both exposed at her friend's bday party the week before xmas but we have both tested negative since

Expand full comment

No 2's GF got it over Christmas. Don't know how careful her family is. She actually had a booster appt a day ago but obviously she can't do that now. She was going to come on NY for a week before they fly back to Vandy. I think if she tests negative over 2 days before her flight she'll still come out.

Expand full comment

That seems to be the way of it in my neck of the woods also. I'm probably going to be a little more cautious until the wave drops off next month, but I'm not freaked out about it the way I was before I got vaccinated.

Expand full comment

Pro

Expand full comment

John Madden died. He was fun to listen to.

Expand full comment

Going to the Warriors game tonight. No 1 wanted to see a game vs Jokić. Looks like Wiggins is back. Poole is back but isn't going to play due to conditioning. But would still rather have Draymond.

Going to get there after 530 to watch Steph's warmup routine.

Expand full comment

And I can't believe the Chase Center doesn't allow outside food.

Expand full comment

Not terribly surprising. Although it is kinda nitpicky.

Expand full comment

Stop me if you've heard this one: Jimmy Garoppolo is injured again.

https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1475610164489244672

Expand full comment
Dec 29, 2021·edited Dec 29, 2021

Of course he is, why wouldn't he be...but is he really tho? ;-)

Garoppolo always seems to have suffered some phantom injury whenever he schitts the bed as the Niners seek to keep his trade value intact (v SEA with the calf, @ Tenn). He looked fine in the post-game news conference, including opening a water bottle with no apparent discomfort, which has twitter abuzz.

Jimmy makes the same poor decisions and awful throws when he's 100%, like in the 1Q tho, so blaming it on the thumb is a stretch. Tough to see any team giving anything but a Day 3 pick for him.

Expand full comment

I . . . don't think his previous injuries that caused him to miss time were phantom ones.

Expand full comment
Dec 29, 2021·edited Dec 29, 2021

Phantom in that no one can recall how they were suffered. Internet sleuths are speculating where the thumb injury came from, tho he showed no indication of it. Plus, the Niners reported a minor sprain 4 days later, and then the Garoppolo camp claimed it was more serious. Plus, he spent the last quarter of the season watching games from the press box, despite more whispers that he was healthy enough to play...hell Kittle came back on a broken ankle to play.

The calf injury v SEA was minor, with team sources being "surprised" he didn't play through it @ ARI. Garoppolo was wildly ineffective before that injury, same as at Tennessee.

This could just as easily be more a case of damage control for a 49er team that have watched an overpaid, average quarterback start for them for the last time. Guy is garbage.

Expand full comment

Saints vs. Dolphins score: Miami wins seventh straight as defense throttles Ian Book; Jaylen Waddle dominates

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/saints-vs-dolphins-score-miami-wins-seventh-straight-as-defense-throttles-ian-book-jaylen-waddle-dominates/live/

Expand full comment

Dolphins become the first team in history to loose 7 games in a row then turn around and win 7 games in a row in the same season. Of course that was impossible before the expansion to 14 games, and nearly so until the expansion to 16 games.

Expand full comment

Expansion to 14 games: when did that happen? It's been (at least) 14 my whole life, so that's 50+ years of opportunity. Still, an impressive turnaround!

Expand full comment

Wikipedia says that the NFL went to a 14-game schedule in 1961.

1961 was also the year in which Congress passed the Sports Broadcasting Act in response to a court decision which ruled that the NFL's method of negotiating TV broadcast rights violated anti-trust laws.

Expand full comment

I think it may have happened in 1970 or 1971. 1970 was the year of the NFL-AFL merger.

Expand full comment

this would line up with me being 4 or 5 year's old, so my life has been at least 14 games. I just found out recently that it's now 17, yeah?

Expand full comment

The NFL schedule went to 17 regular season games this year.

If you were born after 1960, the NFL was using a 14 game regular season schedule until 1977. In 1978 the regular season schedule expanded to 16 games.

Expand full comment
Dec 28, 2021·edited Dec 28, 2021

Huge tip of the cap to Miami co-offensive coordinator’s George Godsey & Eric Studesville...against a tough (tho depleted) Saints D, they got very creative with Jaylen Waddle, lining him up all over the field in order to maximize his touches. He was in the backfield, in the slot, out wide, etc., and got receiving targets and rushing attempts.

I’ll never understand why more OCs don’t think outside the box in order to find creative ways to get the ball into the hands of their most dynamic playmakers.

Expand full comment

One challenge with that is that some of the folks who could be dynamic playmakers struggle with change and learning new plays and timing without a lot of repetitions.

Expand full comment

If the players struggle with change and learning new plays, then just how dynamic are they to begin with.... ;-)...I think another issue is a lot of these OCs are either not creative enough, or just too plain stubborn, to do it.

Also, there's something to be said for finding ways to get the ball in the hands of your 1st round skill position players from Alabama, at least the ones NOT named Jerry Jeudy. But guys that are explosive with the ball in their hands usually know what to do with it.

One game where this was evident was that garbage Cheez-It bowl and Jalen Reagor...with TCU's QBs scuffling in the passing game, their OC did the Bears a favor by not using him on jet sweeps, bubble screens, etc. Cal just couldn't make them pay.

Expand full comment

Dynamic with the ball, doesn't mean dynamic off the ball, which you need in the nfl to be able to get the ball. I'm thinking of guys who would need multiple reps of each play they are expected to know, not just be told 'run this pattern from this formation position' once and be able to get it.

Expand full comment

Other College

Expand full comment

Today's Bowls:

#20 Houston v Auburn noon ET

Air Force v Louisville 3:15 ET

Miss St v Texas Tech 6:45 ET

U.C. Los Angeles v #18 NC State 8:00 ET

WVU v Minnesota 10:15 ET

Expand full comment

Holiday bowl was just canceled.

Expand full comment

I feel bad for anyone who travelled for the game, especially from North Carolina. But you know they're all saying "at least we're in San Diego!" They could be in El Paso...Shreveport...Birmingham...

Expand full comment
Dec 28, 2021·edited Dec 28, 2021

You may be walking back that El Paso slander when we're all dancin' in the street upon hearing the Bears landed that elusive Sun Bowl invite from the guys in the yellow blazers.....

Expand full comment

JFC SMH

Expand full comment

SEC falls to 0-3 this bowl season

Expand full comment

Go Bears.

Expand full comment

Probably will DVR the UCLA game and watch it later tonight

Expand full comment

Update: Holiday bowl canceled due to the decimation of UCLA's D-line (COVID).

Expand full comment

Wow, talk about a late cancellation. It is too bad because Cal could have probably filled in for this bowl game since it is California.

Expand full comment

The human indicator known as Jimmy Chitwood bet Air Force...FYI...proceed accordingly...

Expand full comment

soooo....go all in on Louisville, then. Got it.

Expand full comment

Oh please do...the only thing more frigid than the former Mrs. Jimmy C's heart is Newellbany at the betting window....;-)

Expand full comment

Yeah, I'm terrible at the window, but New York is about to legalize online sports wagering and I expect I'm gonna CRUSH it on the phone!

Expand full comment

YES! Getting it done!

Expand full comment

Crush what? Your bank account? Have you been reading too much of Jon Wilner's 5 star (loser) bets?

Expand full comment

Cal

Expand full comment

Go Bears!!!

Expand full comment

GO! BEARS!

Expand full comment

Go Bears!

Expand full comment