Wednesday, September 07, 2011

SF Chronicle: Cal Has 2 Former Colorado Asst Coaches on Staff

John Crumpacker
When Cal assistant coach Ashley Ambrose was talking about the importance of striking first and gaining an early advantage against Colorado on Saturday in Boulder, it sounded like so much meaningless coaching palaver.
But wade through the coach-speak and you'll find kernels of truth. Cal leads Colorado 3-2 in a series in which the team that scored first has won all five games. Furthermore, the losing team never had a lead in those games. "We've got to hit them in the mouth and get the fans out of the game," Ambrose said after practice Tuesday. "It's going to be hostile for us."
Link to rest of article.

Kyle Boller Beats Out Trent Edwards for #2 Quarterback Position with Raiders

The Raiders released Trent Edwards, with Kyle Boller currently backing up Jason Campbell. Link.
On a happy note, JaMarcus Russell just paid off $200,000 owed to the State of California for taxes. His Oakland home is about to be auctioned off, however.

Former Cal Bear Tracy Slocum Arrested for Pimping

From the San Jose Mercury News:
A former high school football star from Fresno who played with little acclaim at Cal is being held without bail in Santa Clara County Jail on charges of domestic violence, sexual assault and pimping. San Jose police gave few details about Tracy Slocum Jr., 23, who was arrested Friday in Fresno by federal marshals and Fresno police and then brought to San Jose. The arrest followed a month-long, multi-jurisdictional investigation, according to San Jose Police Officer Jose Garcia. Investigators suspect Slocum was a pimp in several cities over the last few months, he said.
Garcia said officers believe there may be victims in the case who have not yet come forward. After a stellar football career at Clovis East High School in Fresno, Slocum was heavily recruited by a number of top schools but decided on UC Berkeley. He spent three years at Cal but didn't play much. He then took a year off before joining the Fresno State Bulldogs as a walk-on. Slocum told a Fresno TV station last year that he saw his senior year as a Bulldog as a second chance after his tenure at Cal "didn't work out." "It's a great opportunity" he said. "That's why I'm here."

Denver Post: Colorado's Coach Looks Back at Last Year's Thrashing by Bears

Link.
CU coach Jon Embree, at a Tuesday news conference in Boulder, looked back at the beating the Buffs took at Cal in 2010. Embree spent much of the off season examining the Cal loss. Of all the ineptitude, what stood out the most? “Lack of effort,” Embree said. “I don’t think we competed very well last year. I felt like we just kind of were hoping and waiting for the clock to run out so we could get off the field.”
Added senior nose tackle Conrad Obi, a backup last year: “I thought the effort was there. I didn’t think we executed. At all. All the things we wanted to do we didn’t do.”

Contra Costa Times: Cal Must Prove it Can Win on the Road

Monte Poole
No fan base in America could urge an athletic director to fire a college football coach whose team played its entire schedule on the road. Cal folks wouldn't dare.
No A.D. would be irrational enough to dump a coach before allowing him to coach in the marvelous new facility built with the momentum he generated. Cal's Sandy Barbour won't even consider it.
Not that she should.
To the delight of most but the dismay of some, Jeff Tedford gets a pass this season. The Golden Bears cannot go winless, so the coach's job is safe in every realistic scenario.
That's not to suggest Tedford can spend 2011 coasting on those successive top-25 finishes accumulated from 2004 through 2006. To the contrary, this season provides ideal circumstances under which he can begin repolishing a reputation that once shined brightly enough to attract glances from NFL executives.
Tedford, 49, can reaffirm his initial identity as a football professor in Berkeley. Or he can confirm his recent status as a coach whose well of innovative solutions is not as deep as once thought.
Link to rest of article.

Thursday, September 01, 2011