Golden Nuggets: Basketball, Table Tennis, & Miss Chinatown USA
Hot Links, Tasty Side Articles, and Golden Nuggets
Hello friends and welcome back to Golden Nuggets, our weekly wrap up of all the interest happenings you might have missed surrounding the world’s greatest University. Without further ado, let’s get this air fryer cooking.
Help a Golden Bear Out
Friends, like many of you, we all watched the devastation in Los Angeles unfold last week. Our hearts and minds are with those affected by the fire and if you can give to help others at this time, please do! If you want to do it with a Golden Bear flavor, consider helping out Camden Jones and his family who lost everything last week. As of press time, they’re sitting at about 76% of their goal and I know we can get them over the edge. Please consider donating here.
What a Week for Cal Women’s Basketball!
Cal Women’s Basketball is off to a HOT HOT start, beginning the season 16-2 with big big plans comes March…but for now lets focus on what you might have missed! Jayda Noble was featured on KTVU for her sneaker art! Ann Killion profiled coach Charmin Smith. KPIX profiled the team. Some alumni came back for a game. And Charmin Smith wants you to drive down to Palo Alto.
And the Oscar Goes To…
The Daily Californian wrote a feature on Climate Journalism Professor Jason Spingarn-Koff who was short-listed for two short films up for nomination this year. Read the article in full here!
Get Your Schedules Here
Cal Men’s Rowing and Cal Women’s Lacrosse released their Spring Schedules. Check it out and make some plans!
Rugby Wakes Up
Cal Athletics Inside the Lair featured the Cal Rugby team returning to Winter Camp as they prepared to start their Winter/Spring season this Saturday opening against Cal Poly. Check out the feature here.
Big Game Thanksgiving Day Disaster
Alex Simon, Sports Editor at SF Gate wrote a feature on the Big Game Thanksgiving Game Disaster, America’s deadliest sport related event that claimed the lives of two dozen people on Thanksgiving Day 1900. Read the feature here.
Speaking of Cal Bears History…
Tell the Whole Damn World podcast, a podcast on all things Cal, recently featured Mike Pawlaski and Leslie Mitchell! Mike you know as a former Cal Quarterback and Leslie you know as a current all-things Cal History Buff! Give the podcast a listen here.
Miss ChinaTown USA Pageant
Friends it’s time to rig another election. Cal’s Own Hannah Chea (謝慧寧), Class of 2021, is up for the 2025 Miss Chinatown USA People’s Choice Campaign! Hannah played mellophone in the Cal Band (go Mutants woo) so help her out and go vote!
California Golden Bear: Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele
The Daily Cal profiled new transfer QB (let’s not talk about it) Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele this past week. Read the interview here. Or drool over his tape here.
Just Another Day for a Cal Olympian
Cal Alum Lily Zhang was back in the Bay this week at a tournament in Pleasanton and Mercury News covered it here.
Golden Bear Honors
eMjae Frazier was named the ACC Gymnast of the Week
Harmony Andrade and Miranda de Nava were named to the Softball America Freshman to Watch List
Cal Women’s Basketball was named the Team of the Week
Cal Band was named the “Best trend that digs at the worst trend” for memeing about Fernando Mendoza’s transfer out of Cal
Cal Softball was ranked #19 in a preseason poll by Softball America
Cal Women’s Basketball moved up from #24 to #18 in the rankings
Cal Women’s Gymnastics was ranked #5 in the Road to Nationals Rankings
Inside the Lair profiled Mady Sissoko for his charity work
Track and Field Athlete Mykolas Alekna (Current Discus World Record Holder) was named to the Bowerman Preseason Watch List
Swimmer Mary-Ambre Moluh was named the Gatorade Student Athlete of the Month
Cal Athletics Round Up
Men’s Basketball beat Virginia but lost to Virginia Tech
Women’s Basketball beat #21 NC State and Florida State
Women’s Tennis dominated the Cal Winter Invitational
Women’s Gymnastics took third at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad that featured the #1 and #2 Team in the Country.
Men’s Gymnastics lost to Stanford
Cal Pros Round Up
Congrats to Cam Jordan on receiving the Bart Starr Award for his outstanding character, integrity and leadership on and off the football field. Congrats Cam!
Women’s Basketball Alum Jaelyn Brown accepted a qualifying offer from the Dallas Wings and signed a contract, joining the team and the WNBA this year. Congrats Jaelyn!
The NFL Playoffs began this past weekend and will feature five Cal alumni. Congrats Jared Goff, Cam Bynum, Patrick Mekari, Nikko Remigio, and Chris Brooks. Congrats all!
Jaylen Brown is up for NBA All-Star voting. Vote for Jaylen here!
Max Homa joins the cover athlete crew, gracing the cover of the soon to be released PGA 2K25.
Excellent article, BEN! I really enjoyed the Pawlawski interview on the Tell The Whole Damn World YouTube podcast. I went on to explore some of Pawlawski’s own Insider podcasts from the fall and, wow, his interview of Wilcox really showed how dismayed and demoralized Justin is about the current portal realities in college football. Clearly it has taken a lot of the fun and continuity out of the coaching experience, though he of course acknowledges he is happy to see athletes getting payed. Both he and Pawlawski know these are way different times from when they played, or even just a few years ago. But Pawlawski’s discussion of his book, his positive life journey, a philosophy of living every day intentionally and deliberately including approaching and finding ways through adversity, were uplifting.
The link to help Camden Jones is going to the Max Homa cover instead.