BERKELEY WINS THE BIG GAME! The Axe returns to it’s rightful home…No Rose Bowl for Stanford

7 out of the past 8 years, CAL has beat Stanford...

That made my evening…

First, I want to express who B.S. it is that Versus showed the Big Game. This is a game that is made for network T.V. There is no reason to deny anyone the pleasure of seeing the hatred between these two schools and the resulting battle on the field.  With the game of the cable channel Versus, most of the crew could not watch the game, because we have DirecTV.  Comcast owns Versus and they have been licensing the right to show it on DirecTV.  But, in some contract dispute, Comcast took it’s ball and went home.  They claim that DirecTV (who owns an exclusive contract with the NFL to broadcast the games)  That means that the conference that the crew follows (Pac-10 all day) can have hit or miss coverage of the games.  For me, fortunately, I was in Chicago, and the hotel at the Residence Inn has regular cable, so they have Versus.

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				CAL	STAN
	TD	13:24	Toby Gerhart 61 Yd Run (Nate Whitaker Kick)	0	7
	TD	04:46	Toby Gerhart 2 Yd Run (Eric Whitaker Kick)	0	14
	FG	00:53	Vince D’Amato 21 Yd	3	14
SECOND QUARTER				CAL	STAN
	TD	00:45	Shane Vereen 1 Yd Run (Vince D’Amato Kick)	10	14
THIRD QUARTER				CAL	STAN
	TD	09:55	Shane Vereen 4 Yd Run (Vince D’Amato Kick)	17	14
	TD	03:50	Shane Vereen 3 Yd Run (Vince D’Amato Kick)	24	14
	TD	00:12	Toby Gerhart 1 Yd Run (Eric Whitaker Kick)	24	21
FOURTH QUARTER				CAL	STAN
	TD	13:14	Marvin Jones 12 Yd Pass From Kevin Riley (Vince D’Amato Kick)	31	21
	TD	07:01	Toby Gerhart 5 Yd Run (Eric Whitaker Kick)	31	28
	FG	02:42	Vince D’Amato 28 Yd	34	28

ESPN provides some context to the score.

It was over when… Cal’s Mike Mohamed intercepted a pass from Stanford QB Andrew Luck at the 3 with less than 2 minutes left.

The game was a back and forth campaign in the second half.  The defense stepped up really big and forced the redshirt QB Andrew Luck into some bad throws.  Considering that the game started off with Stanford going up 14-0, the defense really kept its composure late.

Gameball goes to… Shane Vereen. The Cal back rushed for a career-high 193 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries.

This is a dude who really wants it.....

What a beastly game Vereen had.  While all the pregame accolades went to Toby Gerhart, and rightfully so, people forget about Shane, like the forgot about Dre.  We all know how that went when people started doubting Dre.  This game fully cemented that if Jahvid Best takes his show to the NFL, that CAL will be just fine at the running back position.  This the hard running of Vereen, that stat below makes more sense.

Vereen has responded with the two best games of his career the past two weeks in wins over Arizona and Stanford. Running effectively off direct snaps in Cal’s form of the wildcat, Vereen overpowered the Cardinal. The Bears drove more than 70 yards on four consecutive TD drives starting late in the second quarter, three ending with short runs by Vereen.

“I never carried that many times and never thought I’d carry that many times,” Vereen said. “I just had so much emotion, I didn’t think about any tiredness or pain.”

Stat of the game… 19:14. The difference in time of possession as Cal held the ball for 39:07 compared to Stanford’s 20:53.

ESPN continues with some perspective and maybe some understanding on why the D stepped up so much in the victory.

We’ve heard a lot of talk about, ‘Oh, they’re going to go to the Rose Bowl,’ ” Mohamed said. “We felt like they were overlooking us a little bit. For us to come out and to prove all these guys wrong, it feels good. And we’re keeping the Axe in Berkeley another year. You can’t get much better than that.”And it’s tough to imagine a better Big Game than one that had Rose Bowl implications, memorable performances by Vereen and Stanford’s Heisman contender Toby Gerhart, curious coaching decisions and a most dramatic finish.

 

The curious coaching decision was that Harbaugh went for a 4th and 8 that missed and gave CAL great field position, which they turned into a field goal 2ith 2:42 remaining in the game.  But, that left CAL only up six, with plenty of time for the coach who was nicknamed Captain Comeback as a player.  But, the interception on the 13 closed out the game.

One mans glory, is another mans pain, and it belongs to Toby Gerhart, who did everything in his power to win the game.

This marked the third time this season that the Cardinal lost a game in which they led by at least 14 points. This one was especially painful because it came against Cal and ended the team’s Rose Bowl hopes. Stanford would have been eliminated anyway when Oregon beat Arizona 44-41 in double overtime, but now the Cardinal can’t even share the conference title.

“This one hurts,” Gerhart said. “Everybody takes pride in winning this game. The season has been decent and getting to a bowl game is nice but we had greater goals than that. When all is said and done we’ll have an empty pit in our stomach that we didn’t get the Axe back.”

The parties are less fun when you lose.  Stanford, you just got caught up in the hype… Welcome home AXE!

Cal Football hits rock bottom

As if two straight losses weren’t enough…

The Cal Football Team will be making the trek to LA this weekend by bus. Read story. Turns out coach Tedford is just doing his part to ease the pain of his state’s budget woes while losing every possible recruit in the process. What a JackA-s this guy is. Why would he ever agree to something like this. At most schools the football program turns a huge profit every year. This profit in turn funds all the other athletics at the school. But simple economics tell us; No planes =  No good recruits = No good team = No ticket sales = No $loot$. Fire Tedford now.

No $money$ will be saved!!!

“Because the game is at 12:30 p.m., the Bears are getting to Southern California a day earlier than they would have if they traveled via charter flight as usual. It is estimated that the road travel would have saved about $20,000, a number all but wiped out by the extra night of hotel and food costs. Cal officials couldn’t immediately confirm the monetary estimates.”

Don’t hire Hippies to do your accounting. They cut corners but miss the big picture.

Go Bruins!!!

E’s song of the day

The weekend has landed!  Time for a healthy dose of college football to help you forget the stress of the grind.  In particular, we in the Bay Area will enjoy an exciting top 25 match-up between my USC Trojans and Steve’s Cal Bears.  The recent history of this rivalry certainly favors the men of Troy.  Since Pete Carroll took over as USC’s head coach the Trojans are 7-1 against the Bears, with the only loss coming in an exciting triple overtime game in Berkeley in 2003.  Carroll hopes to build on his 5-game winning streak against Cal tonight at Memorial Stadium, and your boy E will be there to cheer his Trojans to victory.

For today’s tune, I’ve selected a song that I’ve noticed getting played on TV for various sporting events.  It’s a pretty good pump up jam of sorts, and it’s been on my queue for about a month, so what better time than now to share with you.  Today’s jam: Flipsyde – Someday.  Fight on!

Michael Vick – Will somebody please just sign this guy so I can read about something else?

I had begun to comment on the story from one of our readers, fellow blogger Alan Parkins, but when I finished, I noticed that my comment was of near post-size proportions, so I figured I would share with you on this page as well:

This Vick business is starting to border on ridiculous.  I had initially thought that he would be a perfect fit for my beloved (but much maligned by all others) Raiders.  Imagine the possibilities of Vick and McFadden in a wildcat formation!  Upon further reflection, I’ve decided that, for a team struggling to break even after several years in a row near or at the bottom of the NFL, taking on a player (and all of the media hype involved therein) who may not even play until the end of the season might not be the best move.  I agree with you (Alan) that those Green Bay guys need to get their media story straight.  Flirting with Vick is a recipe for disaster.  Rodgers was a top 10 QB last year.  Talking about bringing in another player at that same position is just silly (and only demonstrates a lack of confidence, on some level, in the relatively young former Cal QB).  I actually think Carolina would make sense.  Delhomme is no spring chicken and their receiver core (after Steve Smith) doesn’t exactly give me goose bumps.  He could be an exciting addition to that team, fitting into the roster at any number of positions (Smith and Vick as the two split wideouts?).  Either way, it’s beginning to make me feel similar to all of the Favre media nonsense (from both last year AND this year): I just want someone to make a move one way or another so we can get on with the season.  Maybe this new league, the UFL, might be the way to go.  At least so Vick can prove that he still remembers how to play the game…

March Madness!!! Things to remember about the Tournament

Surprisingly, the entire crew got their favorite teams/alma maters in the dance. ( I have to fudge a little bit, I got Berkeley, my favorite team and hometown team, but a little and dirty secret that I have is that I started at Davis (because I was waitlisted at CAL) and I graduated from Weber St. who lost in the semis of the Big Sky to Montana St, even though we ran through the regular season at 16-2.)  This at least gives me some reason to keep an eye on the NIT, since Weber will be playing SDSU in the first round, one of the final teams left out of the field.

Ronin will be cheering the UCLA Bruins into battle, while Erik is the resident Trojan fan in the house, cheering for the University of Spoiled Southern California, an illegitimate, wanna-be California Regent School…( I couldn’t help it, since Erik knew he was in dire straights at the end of the regular season needing to win the Pac-10 tournament to make the big dance.  We rode him mercilessly about playinng in the NIT or the CBI.  They made it, so hats off to Trojan fans everywhere.  This is the one time where I throw my support behind all Pac-10 teams, even USC…)

Putting those little annoyances away, it’s time to think about the tournament.  I found an interesting article on the LA Times website about resources to use for the tournament and I added a section on food.

Too Old Food and Drink Recommendations

• Chicken Wings. You have to have a lot of chicken wings and they are not that hard to prepare. You can do them the conventional way, or do something nontraditional in the preparation, like bread them first, and then fry them, or bake them in your favorite style sauce. One of the Too Old ways will be the use of a Garlic Pepper Sauce to coat the wings, as the sweetness plays really nice with the hotness. I might unveil my curried chicken wings, but I don’t want too much out there, because the gremlins don’t leave…

• Mexican Bar. We usually have some sort of Fajita/Mexican bar for people to make their own tacos and/or burritos during the game. I usually make my sought after al pastor (spicy pork that has been marinated at least two days) chicken and carne asada. I think that this year I will include refried black beans as a slight twist on the traditional classic. This works extremely well, because we have hipster vegans that can’t eat much and they can usually eat the tortillas and salsa and beans. (Although I am going to spike the beans with lard, which is Animal fat…that is where the flavor comes in…) One area that I (and you) can cut corners on is the tamales.  Mi Pueblo, a mexican market here in the Bay Area, has a restaurant inside the store.  You can buy tamales that they make there that are really, really good.  Also at the Oakland Farmers Market (in the DMV parking lot in the Rockridge/Temescal area) have good ready made tamales as well.

• Drinks. This can cause riots in some places. Some people will make the call to load the kegerator and let’s get going. There are some hipsters and other sophisticated types that will claim martinis and such. I don’t discriminate; I say live and left live. I am going to have a decent selection of beer ( re: Beer that I would be willing to drink, like Guinness, Newcastle, Stella, Red Stripe or some Hefeweizen. Does this mean I don’t drink Bud or other cheap derivates? Yes, if I can help it, and I can. I will start the morning games with fruity drinks to keep my vitamins going and get lubricated. So, to get in the proper spirit, I will open up with Baileys and Coffee, with a splash of Kailua, and then move to Pineapple juice and dark rum. Beer really doesn’t work for me until the afternoon games come on. I will have the standard Seagram’s Seven and 7-Up going as well for the mid afternoon change-up

Flights

• Kayak.com is the first place I check for cheap airfare. It’s a different business model, but think of it as the Craigslist of travel. Kayak seems to either partner with or one-up all the other heavy hitters (Orbitz, Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity). I’ve also heard good things about Mobissimo but haven’t used it yet.
• Unfortunately, Kayak misses a couple of the best budget carriers. Specifically, you should double check on Southwest, JetBlue, and Virgin America for good rates and dependable quality. My personal favorite is Virgin America. While they only fly to a few destinations, it’s clearly the airline for the millennial generation — tons of in-flight entertainment, mood lighting, on-call food, and even WiFi on select flights.
• Still can’t meet your budget? Google your destination. You might see an ad for a cheap flight.

Weather (to plan your packing)

• Everybody should know about Weather.com by now. Even if you’re a regular, make sure you’re checking the 10-day forecast for your city of choice. It’s at least as reliable as the local weatherman, and gives you all the info you need with one glance.
• While less practical, I’m always amused by GoingToRain.com.

Lodging

• You’re reading a sports blog, (we do more than just talk trash….we talk sports too…)  so there’s a good chance you’re a college student or upcoming sportswriter. In other words, you’re more broke than the BCS. While I don’t have personal experience with the site, I’ve had several friends (and fellow sportswriters) recommend CouchSurfing.com as a cheap (heck, free) alternative to a hotel.
• Use Facebook, Twitter and whatever other social networking sites you’re on to announce your travel intentions — and needs. You never know if a long-lost friend might be able to hook you up at the last second.
• Quickbook.com can find you good deals on higher-end hotels.
• When all else fails, go back to Kayak (or Orbitz, Expedia, Priceline or Travelocity).

Local advice

• FanFoodie.com is a stinkin’, rotten, awful idea. In other words, I’m really jealous that I didn’t think of it first. They guys behind HuggingHaroldReynolds.com are the brilliant minds behind the site, which has guest contributors from around the country (I did one a couple months ago). Check it out, and look for the categories just to the right of the main column. Click on the city you’re going to, and prepare to eat well!
• Sure, you know about Google Maps. Sure, you use it for driving directions. But did you know they also offer public transportation and walking directions? Next time you’re filling out your start and end locations, look for a drop-down menu that says “by car” and change it to your mode of preference. Unfortunately, this is good for some but not all of the NCAA tournament cities.
• Speaking of Google, travelers on a budget should search for “rideshare” (try it with and without the name of your destination city). They say nobody rides for free … but you can if it gets the driver into the HOV lane.
• Use the forums at TripAdvisor.com to post a question. Unlike Citysearch, you won’t be left wondering if you just got advice or an advertisement. A friend recently went to Istanbul (not Constantinople) and got a recommendation for a good burger.
• LikeMe.net is a relatively new site, but has some good recommendations for places to go. The first time I went there, it told me to check out three of my favorite places in my hometown.
• Yahoo Travel has a number of local guides that will give you tips on what to see and do at your destination.

Game Tickets

• You can always try the official NCAA men’s tournament ticket page, but some sites are already sold out.
• If you like to hedge your bets, check out FirstDIBZ.com. The site allows you to plunk down a non-refundable deposit (ex: currently $25 to $150 for UCLA depending on the seat). If your team makes the semifinals in Detroit, they will guarantee you the opportunity to purchase the seats at face value.

A Case of the Mondays

The weekend was not as great as it could have been.  I had the time off, so that was good, but it really didn’t come together as I wanted.  I kinda feel like this guy…

This one never gets old, but the proverbial kick in the junk must have been really painful

I had a master plan of raiding the local Circuit City to get all the last reamaining bargains, since they are closing in a week. (At least the one here in San Jose, CA on Stevens Creek)  That plan failed with another mission of actual work came up that took precedence.   At least I got to get home and watch the CAL/UCLA basketball game, which CAL lost.

I thought that it would get better Sunday, since the day was all about not really doing anything.  That was a mission accomplished, but watching the Lakers game was particularly frustrating, as he dropped 49 but that still managed to not be enough.  At least I didn’t have this happen…

Bryant made 18 of a season-high 38 attempts in the 96th 40-point game of his career. He scored 17 points in a span of less than four minutes early in the second half.

Bryant had a tooth knocked out of place when he was hit in the mouth during his big third-quarter run.

“Don’t ask me nothing funny. I’m not smiling,” he said afterward. “It feels foul. It feels like I can’t chew anything, like Roger Rabbit or something.”

No Kobe, you are still cool with me, but yours should say "Wheres the WHITE women at?"

All and all, having to get up in the morning and drive to work was the rake…but hey, at least we are not like Trojan basketball, since they are playing for this…

At least they compete with the NIT

instead of this…

You can’t win if you don’t play!