Stanford Still Waiting

We're officially in December now, and the 11-1 Stanford Cardinal football team is still unclear on what Bowl game they'll be playing in later this month, or possibly even in early January.

There is a slight chance they end up in the National Championship game, which this year is the Rose Bowl, but are more likely destined for either the Fiesta or Orange Bowl. They had a great year, and we didn't get a chance to talk about them as much as I wanted to here during the season, but I just wanted to point out what a great thing they have going at the quarterback position in sophomore Andrew Luck. I mentioned Luck a few posts back when discussing the 49ers possible draft position, and if they do end up with a top-3 pick, they should definitely use it on the 6'4", 21 year-old (who appears headed for the Draft). During the regular season, Luck ended up with a QB rating of 115.4, with a 70% pass completion percentage going 245 of 349, and threw 28 TD's compared to just 7 interceptions. He played in all 12 of the Cardinal's games and was instrumental in all their victories. Some were concerned with the way he sort of tailed off a bit in November, but he ended huge Saturday with a 305 yard, 4 TD performance in the win over Oregon State. Outside of the Heisman hopeful Luck, the Cardinal were led by Sophomore RB Stepfan Taylor (210 carries, 1,023 yards, 15 rush TD's) and senior WR Doug Baldwin (56/824/9), who was Luck's favorite target by far.

The Cal Bears weren't as lucky this year, as they battled injury in in-effectiveness both to a diassapointing 5-7 years. They had some expectations this year with senior Kevin Reilly leading the charge and Justin Forsett 2.0 in Shane Vereen, but things never materialized, kind of like Reilly's whole career at QB with the Bears. All I can say is, finally he's gone! He was like Cal's version of Alex Smith and the Niners, just never worked out after so much expectation.

Football Done, NCAA Tourney Approaching

With the Super Bowl Champions crowned, and with the ticker tape parade already completed in New Orleans, it's not time to turn focus to the Diamond and the Court.

First off, I must say, I feel superstitiously responsible for the Super Bowl outcome. The last 4 or 5 championship games/series predictions I've made have been off. I thought the Colts would have been professional enough and prepared enough to handle the Saints, but the Colts didn't look like they were as prepared as the Saints and certainly didn't play with the urgency New Orleans did. I don't want to write too much about a game that's already been dissected in-and-out (sorry, no Hank Basket comments) throughout the week. I just wanted say my piece on it. I blame the Colts lack of aggression on their coach and I blame their lack of run game on their offensive line. The reason I give the portion of the blame to coach Caldwell is because of the way he allowed the Indy offense to run in the 2nd half. He's got the all-world QB in Peyton Manning, and wasn't allowing him to do what he does best. He kind of put Peyton on a leash in the second half. Not to take anything away from the Saints, but if Manning came out throwing like he normally does in the 2nd half, and that if that one special teams play would have transpired as it should have, the Colts would have won. Still though, hat's off to coach Peyton and Drew Brees for truly going above and beyond to bring their city home a title! They outplayed, out-coached and out-exicuted Indy and deserved to win.

With the Super Bowl now behind us though, it's time we can turn the focus to the upcoming NCAA Tournament and really start to get into some baseball talk. On the NCAA hoops front, the Cal Bears have been rolling of late and are atop the Pac 10. and have a big time match-up coming up Thursday night with the Huskies who happen to be right on their heels for the Pac's top spot. Cal has been led by their two top seniors, guards Jerome Randle (19.1 ppg, 4.7 apg) and Patrick Christopher (16.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg) who are 4th and 7th respectively in Pac 10 scoring. Those two have the talent to carry the Bears deep into the March tourney, but like I said when I was previewing the Cal/Stanford season, Cal needs to get contributions from their front-court. 7'3" center Max Zhang has continued to disappoint, and Cal's top rebounder, Jamal Boykin, is bringing down just 6.2 boards per night. Cal will have to contain Washington's all-around stud, Quincy Pondexter who's averaged over 25 points and 10 boards over his last 8 games.

Cal Has Shot to Win Pac-10

While they've had a disappointing football season thus far, the Cal Bears have a shot to make some noise in the Pac 10 basketball season. The Bears haven't won a conference tittle in hoops in 50 years, but are returning a strong core of players that should make the Bears one of the better teams in the conference.

The Bears are beeing led by senior guards Jerome Randle and Patrick Christopher as well as senior forward Theo Robertson, and all those guys can score the basketball. The Bears shouldn't really have an issue with their offense, as they have four players averaging double digits in points, but their one area of concern is their size. The Bears' top rebounder is averaging just 7.2 boards per game and the two guys they start at forward are both 6'6". Coach Mike Montgomery is really hoping for 7'3" center Max Zhang to come into his own and provide defense and rebounding inside the paint, but the sophomore has started the '09-'10 season very slowly, averaging just 4.5 points and 3.8 boards in 14.5 minutes per game. The Bears can run, shoot and score, but they're not going to have any serious hopes of overtaking either Washington team. The Bears have gone 6-3 in their 9 non-conference games to start the year, but have quite possibly their toughest test they'll face all year when they travel to Kansas to play the #1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks right before Christmas on December 22nd. Their first conference game will come just after the new year when they host the Stanford Cardinal.

Speaking of the Cardinal, they don't quite have the depth that Cal does, but they have a couple of starts that should keep them in contention and make them one of the more exciting teams to watch in the conference. The one player who could carry them is senior Landry Fields, who's started off the 2009-10 season on fire, averaging 23.3 ppg, 9 rpg and 3 apg through first 9 games. Sophomore shooting guard Jeremy Green is also an up-and coming player who's seen his game rise this year. Green is averaging 15 points and 4 boards per game. Like Cal, the Cardinal are a tad undersized, but unlike Cal, they aren't really a threat to out-score teams each night. I think they're going to be right around .500 this year and should finish in the middle of the Pac-10 standings. Now, I'm not much of a college basketball handicapper, so I wouldn't take my CBB picks to the bank, but I just don't see them with enough firepower to consistently be very good.

A's Staying Quiet in Winter Meetings

The Winter Meetings are set to wind up Thursday, and the A's have been one of the least talked about teams during the last three days. In-fact, people were pushing for A's news so badly that one source even started a rumor that the A's would have interest in bringing Milton Bradley back to Oakland, which is not really in the realm of possibility.

They have been mentioned in a few rumors that might actually have some merit though. Those rumors involved Hideki Matsui and Kevin Kouzmanoff, but they're so far of from making a move of any kind, that Billy Beane isn't even sticking around for the last day of the meetings. Beane was set to fly back from Indianapolis, the site of the Meetings this year, back to Northern California Wednesday evening, so I wouldn't look for anything to happen on the A's front until after the Holidays, most likely. Apparently the A's could look into Hideki Matsui later on down the line if the price becomes right as they have interest in him becoming their new Jack Cust; part-time outfielder, full-time DH. Beane is also said to be looking at long-term solutions to third base, where things have been a mess since Eric Chavez's injury's started in 2007. Chavez is still trying to make a full comeback, but I don't think the A's are counting on it, and they could look to Kouzmanoff as a guy to hold that position for the foreseeable future.

The A's acquisition of Jake Fox and Aaron Miles may be their lone headline deal of the winter though, and I think Fox is in for a breakout year in 2010. I am expecting him to slide in at first base or in right field full time when the season starts, and I think he's going to hit right in the middle of the A's lineup. As far as other possible additions, I do expect them to make a play for Matsui, as he really fits perfectly in the mold of guys that Beane likes to fill the DH role; veteran with power and an excellent on-base percentage. Also, it hasn't been mentioned anywhere yet, but it wouldn't surprise me to see the A's give shortstop Orlando Cabrera a 1 year-deal again if he doesn't find any other suitor. The A's need a short-term fill-in at short to hold them over until Grant Green is ready, and Cabrera is still a solid option who can bring them something in return at the trade deadline.

NCAA Hoops Underway: The NCAA basketball season has begun, and although conference play hasn't started yet, the Cardinal and Bears are already 8 games into their schedule. We'll have our College Basketball picks and Cardinal and Bears Previews soon, so stay tuned for that!

Stanford Upsets USC, Cal Beats Arizona

It was a good day for the Bay Area NCAA football teams. For the second time in the last couple of years, the Stanford Cardinal celebrated on the USC Trojans' turf while the Bears took care of Arizona at home in Berkley.

The Cardinal rolled into Los Angeles and handed the Trojans their worse loss in decades, 51-22. The star of the day was once again Toby Gerhart, who rushed for 178 yards and 3 scores, and this game really put him right in the thick of things as far as the Heisman race goes. The Cardinal had control of the game for the most part, although USC made the score 28-21 at the end of the third quarter, making for a tight finish. However, Stanford made it anything but a close game. The Cardinal exploded for 4 TD's in the fourth quarter, while completely shutting the Trojans out. It's almost as if the two teams just swapped. Stanford looked like the powerhouse of the West Coast on Saturday, not the Trojans. They ran at will, and even burned USC through the air. Freshman QB Andrew Luck had himself a successful afternoon as well, throwing for 144 yards and 2 TD's while also rushing for 61 yards and a score. The Cardinal victory has bolted them into top fifteen to number 14 in the latest AP Poll, with USC dropping to 22, and coming dangerously close to becoming un-ranked.

Up the coast, the Cal Bears were playing host to the 18th ranked Arizona Wildcats. Cal was obviously without Jahvid Best, their top rusher and offensive player, but still managed to hold off the Cats, 24-16. Sophomore halfback Shane Vereen did his best Jahvid Best impression, as he rushed 30 times for a buck fifty-eight and a TD. Kevin Riley continues to struggle though, as he once again threw more interceptions (2) than touchdowns (1). The real strength for Cal on Saturday though was their defense. They held a strong Arizona offense to just 16 points and 273 yards total offense. It's been a tough year overall for Cal, but they can finish strong as they get the surging Cardinal next week in Palo Alto, then head north to play Washington to end the regular season on December 5th.

Cal's Best Injured, Stanford Keeps Winning

Coming into this NCAA football season, Jahvid Best was widely considered one of the five favorites to bring home the Heisman Trophy in 2009. However, Cal has been somewhat of a disappointment this season, and after righting the ship in recent weeks, things got bad again on Saturday.

Not only did the Bears get upset by Oregon State, they lost their star running back and top offensive player, Jahvid Best, for the foreseeable future. Best was flipped in the air and landed awkwardly on his neck on a 7-yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter. Best was carried off the field in a stretcher and ambulance, as it was a pretty scary looking injury. You can see in the picture to the right just how much air he did get before falling right on his neck. The good part about the fall is that he didn't land directly on his head, which could have resulted in a serious spinal injury. Instead, it looks like he's going to make out of this with a severe concussion and a slight neck strain. Coach Tedford hasn't put a timetable on Best's return, but he did say he'd be out this Saturday vs. the Pac-10's second best ranked team, Arizona.

Things have been going much better for Stanford, as the Cardinal pulled off another victory on Saturday over Oregon. The Cardinal now find themselves bowl eligible for the first time since 2001 after the win, and it looks like Jim Harbough is starting to build one heckuva program. Coming into the year, the only guy on Stanford who got national attention was their power running back Toby Gerhart. However, they've thrown freshman QB Andrew Luck into the fire, and he's played about as well as Harbough could have asked him to. Luck has 11 TD's with just 3 picks in 9 games and has totalled 2,076 yards. He's also rushed for 227 yards and a score, showing his mobility. The Cardinal defense still has some work to do to make them a more complete team, but right now, this offense can really put up points with the best of them. Next Saturday's showdown in USC could be a chance for the Cardinal to really open eyes around the nation and catapult themselves into the top-10.

Cal Hopes to Get Well Vs. UCLA

The Bears are coming off a couple of their worst losses in recent years over the last two weeks. They got pounded by an un-ranked Oregon squad while they were ranked 6th on September 26th, 42-3, followed by a 30-3 loss to USC on October 3rd.

This 2009 season has an eerily similar feel to it as the Bears' 2007 run, in which they started off the year 5-0, looked like national championship material, then completely melted down in the second half of the year, losing 6 of their final 7 ballgames. The Bears have had to sit on these last two losses for two weeks, and no matter what they say, you know that season is playing over in those players minds, as well as Jeff Tedford's. After what's seemed like a month of inactivity, they'll finally get their redemption shot vs. the struggling Bruins. The one thing they absolutely have to do in order to get back on track, is get Jahvid Best going early, and often. Best was a pre-season Heisman hopeful coming into the season, and after 3 games he had 412 rush yards along with 8 touchdowns. However, he's hit a wall, literally, over the last couple weeks as he's averaged just 3.4 YPC and has totaled just 102 yards on the ground over their last two games. He's still not totally out of the Heisman race yet (a 5 TD week can buy you a couple of off games), as there is still a ton of football remaining, but in order to make his way back onto the list of consideration he's going to have to turn it back around now.

In the midst of the struggling rushing attack, Kevin Riley has had a pretty rough couple of games as well. A big part of the reason for Best's struggles over the last 2 games is because of Riley's in-efficiency. Teams simply do not think Riley can beat them through the air, and after seeing Oregon and USC's formula for beating them, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bruins pack 8-9 guys in the box and beg Riley to throw the ball 35+ times. They need to get some short, intermediate routs going and definitely some screens. Best has only caught four balls over the last 2 games, and he should be getting at least 3-4 designed screen plays to him each game, just to get him the ball in the open field a bit. I'm no college football odds master or game picker, but I say the Bears end up getting back on track in this one, and cover the 3.5 spread by a large margin, Bears win 27-16.

12th Ranked Cal Set To Open Season

The College Football season officially kicks off on Saturday, as most the teams in the nation will play their first game of the 2009 season. The California Golden Bears will host the Maryland Terps' in a game the Bears are heavily favored in.

Coming into the season, most of the talk around campus has been about Cal's Jr. phenom halfback, Jahvid Best. The 5'10" 200 pound speedster is coming off an impressive 2008 campaign in which he rushed for 1580 yards on just 194 carries, good for a 8.1 ypc average. He also found paydirt 15 times on the ground an once through the air. A lot of experts around the nation feel that Best is one of, if not the most explosive back in the college football this year, and there are a lot of expectations surrounding the youngster. The Terps' are going to have to stop him and the rest of the Bears rushing attack if they're serious about pulling off the upset in Berkley. Another key offensive player for Cal is their quarterback Kevin Riley. The Junior quarterback has been heavily involved in the Bears offensive game plan over the last 2 seasons, but this is the first year in which he'll enter the season as the clear cut QB 1 and there isn't anyone else close to threatening that spot. No longer will he have Nate Longshore to share snaps with or compete against for PT, so it should be interesting to see how he does being in this situation for the first time. The Bears are obviously more of a smash-mouth, running offense as is, but I'm still expecting a big season out of Riley, and I'd consider it a disappointment if he fails to reach 2,500 yards through the air and at least 20 touchdowns. The Bears don't have the most stacked receiving corps this year, but they do have returning wideouts Nyan Boateng and Veran Tucker, along with yet-to-be used sophomore Marvin Jones, who the Coach Tedford has high hopes for.

Defensively, the Cal is always pretty solid and this year should be no different as many expect them to be the teams strength. They're returning 8 of the 11 starters from last year, and last years bunch was one of the best defenses in the nation as far as creating turnovers. Defensive end Tyson Alualu and defensive backs Syd'Quan Thompson and Marcus Ezuff should all stand out defensively and lead the charge for the Bears. The only way I see the Bears having any trouble controlling the game vs. Maryland is if the Terps somehow figure out how to shut down Best (they did last season, holding him to a career low 25 rushing yards) and get into the face of Kevin Riley, but I highly doubt they'll do enough of that to disrupt Jeff Tedford's game plan.

Notes: The Stanford Cardinal also officially start their 2009 season off on Saturday, as they travel up to Washington State. The Cardinal are hoping for big things from their star running back Toby Gerhart, who's having visions of a 2,000 yard season. They're also starting a freshman quarterback in Andrew Luck, who they're hoping can take that job and keep it for the next couple of seasons. The Cardinal will have their work cut out for them on the road in a tough environment in Washington, but they're facing a team in which they absolutely slaughtered last year (58-0) and I fully expect the Cardinal to leave Washington with a record of 1-0.

Cal and Stanford's First-Rounders

The MLB Amateur draft just ended yesterday, and both Cal and Stanford each had a player from their school get selected in the first round. Today I wanted to talk a little bit about those players and what can maybe be expected from them at the next level.

Drew Storen, RHP, Stanford: Storen was taken with the 10th overall pick by the Washington Nationals. The Stanford sophmore was considered the best closer available in the draft and was the first taken. In fact, it's rare to see a reliever-only go in the top-10, but the Nats felt that good about he Stanford flame-thrower. Storen has 7 saves in 2009 for Stanford, and had a 3.80 era spread out over 43 innings. In those 43 innings, he recorded 66 k's and only walked 8 while allowing 34 hits. Storen was often used for more than 1 inning at a time with Stanford though, and had a 7-1 record in 28 ballgames. I do expect to see him close as at the next level, and with that experience pitching under pressure for Stanford, he probably should be pretty prepared to move through the Nat's system pretty quickly.

-ESPN video on Storen.

Brett Jackson, OF, California: Taken by the Cubs with the 31st pick in the first round was the uber-athletic Brett Jackson out of Cal. Jackson can do a little bit of everything out on the baseball field and I was really hoping he would fall to the Giants in the second round, but that wasn't the case. At 6'2" and 210 pounds, he's got the size to drive the ball, but he's always been a leadoff hitter, so it's going to be interesting to see what happens to him in Chicago's system. He kind of reminds me of Travis Buck with the Oakland A's. Should eventually develop into a decent everyday big league outfielder that won't wow you, but will do everything pretty well. His teammate, all-around second basemen Jeff Kobernus, went just a handful of picks after Jackson to the Nationals at pick 50.

-Here is a video of Jackson roping fellow first rounder, Aaron Crow.
-Another video of a few Jackson at-bats. including a bomb to right.