Golden Nuggets: A New Layout, Tennis Robots, and the Ocean of Soul
We're shaking things up this week.
Hello and welcome to Golden Nuggets! In this weekly write up, we try our best to cover all things Cal, Berkeley, Bearkeley, UC Berkeley, University of Cal Berkeley, University of Berkeley at Cal, BerkeleyInspire, and California Berkeley University that happened more or less in the last week! Let’s dig in!
What is that robot’s name?
Somehow this slipped through the cracks, but a team at UC Berkeley created HITTER, a humanoid robot that plays table tennis. The name is…well it could have been better but you know what, we’ll take it. Watch it in action below.
While pretty cool, I feel like there was probably an easier way to find someone interested in playing table tennis. You can read more about the robot, the underlying tech, and more here. What are robots going to do next, play Beer Pong?
Hot Links
Inside Cal Football
Just about a week ago, Cal Football debuted a new TV ~30-minute tv series, “Inside Cal Football” that aired on NBC Sports Bay Area at 5:30 PM. In case you missed it, you can watch it on Youtube and enjoy some grade A coach speak from Coach Wilcox. And if you’re reading this on Wednesday, catch it at 5:30 PM tonight (or set your DVR like I did.) I noticed it aired a few times you can likely watch a retape.
A Pronunciation Guide
Larry Biel of ABC7 and Mike Pawlawski break down the tape so that you don’t sound silly mispronouncing Jaron’s name. Watch the full breakdown here.
Califonia
Listen, getting back into the swing of football season can be tough. It sneaks up on you and thinks get lost at the edges, like the missing ‘r’ in California from a student giveaway leading up to the game. Read more about it in this SFGATE piece.
Mike Neu Interviewed
Cal Baseball Coach Mike Neu was on the Side Retired Podcast this week discussing his career journey, building the culture of the Cal Baseball team, recruiting in the NIL era, and a whole lot more. Listen here if you’re on Apple Podcast, or search Side Retired Podcast.
Ron and BFD
Ron Rivera continued his campaign to fill every seat in Memorial Stadium, hitting the streets this past week to give out tickets around town, making stops around campus at the Berkeley Fire Department. But of course we all know Ron is a BFD at heart.
Wait The City of Berkeley Did What?
Presumably recognizing that the mood has shifted up in Strawberry Canyon, the City of Berkeley decided to get in line and start pulling in the same direction as everyone else. They put together this VERY helpful guide on how to get to the games this season, communicating early and up front about what is open, when, and where! Catch yours truly on the 51B this weekend from Rockridge BART!
Oski, You Don’t Look a Day over 19!
The eternal sophomore turns 84 this month (happy birthday big bear!) and is celebrating with Oski’s B-Day Bear-A-Thon in 5 days! This fundraiser aims to help students at Berkeley flourish and belong, providing access to basic needs, mentorship, scholarship, wellness, and more. Read more and consider donating here.
The UC Berkeley Pimentel Choir
Thanks to TikToker ‘@pual.yoseph’ for recording UC Berkeley Chemistry professor Alexis Shusterman singing with her Cal students about atoms and how they form bonds. From what I gather online, this is more than likely Chem 3A, so kudos to Dr. Shusterman for trying to make the content more engaging and understandable. I likely would have failed out still, but that is a matter purely between me and the devil’s science.
Schedule Releases
We had a mess of schedule releases this past week. The ACC Schedule for Men’s Basketball dropped yesterday. Notable home games include Duke and North Carolina in back to back games over the Winter Break. Catch the full schedule here. Rugby dropped earlier in the week and you can see it here. Men’s Tennis Fall schedule also dropped here.
Oh Boy! Taxes, just what you want to read about.
In a new research paper that you’re going to hear mis-cited like 1,365 times on Fox News, a team of Berkeley economists found that total effective tax rates paid by the 400 richest Americans have gone down considerably to the point that many now pay a smaller percentage of income tax than the average American. Listen, it’s probably bad for society but I wouldn’t be SO mad if some of that money made it into the Cal Athletic fund….
Drowning in an Ocean of Soul
This past Saturday, I had…let’s say enough Oski’s California Gold before and during the game and reached a point that made me extra appreciative of the Texas Southern University “Ocean of Soul” Marching Band. In case you weren’t there, catch their half time show below.
Golden Bear Honors
Teagan Wy (Soccer) was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week
Cal Athletics Recap
Women’s Soccer tied against Washington State (0-0) and tied against Cal Poly (0-0)
Field Hockey lost to Harvard (1-2) but beat Ball State (3-0)
Men’s Water Polo lost to CN Marseille in an Exhibition Game (7-15) and lost to CN Atlètic-Barceloneta an another Exhibition Game (9-14)
Football beat Texas Southern (35-3)
Men’s Soccer beat Boston College on the road (2-0)
Women’s Golf competed in the ANNIKA Intercollegiate (Day 1, Day 2)
Men’s Golf competed in the Fold of Honor Collegiate (Day 1, Day 2)
Cals Pros Recap
Baseball
Bob Melvin and the Giants are three games over .500 and 7-3 in their last 10 games as they try to chase down the Padres (5 Games Ahead) and Dodgers (7 Games Ahead)
Andrew Vaughn and the Brewers’ are 5-5 in their last 10 sitting at 89-57 with a 6.5 game lead against the Cubs. Vaughn was 4/5 with a double and an RBI on Sunday and is still hitting a cool .308 since being traded earlier this year.
Football
Twenty-seven Pro Bears found themselves either as players or coaches on Active NFL Roster to start the season with 19 as Active NFL Players, 4 on Practice Squads, and 4 on Coaching Staffs.
Jake Tonges lead the highlight reel this week, getting into the game after George Kittle went down and scoring the winning TD to lift the Niners over the Seahawks. Cam Bynum keeps dancing. And practicing moves for over 10-years. Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson started at Safety on the Patriots with Hawkins catching a tip drill INT. Keenan Allen just needed a non-USC quarterback. Aaron Rodgers got back his mojo against the Jets. And Desean Jackson got his first win as Delaware State’s Head Coach.
Women’s Soccer
Alex Morgan had her jersey retired by the San Diego Wave this past week. The Athletic also profiled her entrepreneurial side.
Next Week in Bear Territory
Women’s Golf wraps up the ANNIKA Intercollegiate (9/10)
Men’s Golf wraps up the Folds of Honor Collegiate (9/10)
Men’s Soccer plays at Harvard (9/10) and against Duke (9/14)
Volleyball plays Vanderbilt (9/10) and at Cal Poly (9/12) and San Jose State (9/13) in the Mustang Invitational, then against Davis (9/17)
Men’s Tennis plays in the Battle in the Bay (9/11-9/14)
Women’s Soccer plays at Pittsburgh (9/11) and at Clemson (9/14)
Men’s Water Polo plays at Pacific (9/12) and against Davis (9/13) and San Jose State (9/14)
Football plays Minnesota (9/13)
Cross County competes at the Kim Duyst Twilight Invitational in Stanislaus
Field Hockey competes against Ohio (9/14)
As always, I’m sure I’m missing something, so please let me know in the comments. Or let me know more about your thoughts about the Gold Out this weekend. Still haven’t gotten your gold gear? You only have a few days left to order the full body suit!
Regarding the men's basketball schedule, it feels really weird that the networks have moved from not setting tipoffs ahead of time to not even setting dates (all the ACC weeknight home games are listed as either Tuesday or Wednesday).
I just saw the same recap as above on Facebook…are you one in the same or is one copying the other…asking for a friend..thanks