Tennessean: Top 10 Bears' coach not excited he must open season at UT

Cal is wary of Vols

By CHRIS LOW

Staff Writer

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee fans aren't the only ones lamenting last season's 5-6 disaster. California Coach Jeff Tedford also wishes the Vols had fared a little better a year ago. Emotion plays such a big part in college football, and Tedford doesn't need to be reminded how difficult it can be to open the season on the road against a proud program, such as Tennessee, eager to prove itself all over again. "That wasn't a typical year for them, and I'm sure they'll be highly motivated," said Tedford, whose Golden Bears will make the cross-country trek to Neyland Stadium on Sept. 2 in the season opener for both teams. "I'm sure they see us as an opportunity to get off on the right foot," he said. "I don't see them as being wounded or down at all. They'll be coming out with a vengeance, and that's the way we'll go into the game.

"We all know that we're going to be running into a buzz saw." It's a role that's not all that familiar to the Bears, who are ranked in the Top 10 in all of the preseason polls and have already been favored over the Vols in some quarters. "To even be put in the same breath as Tennessee is something that's different for our program," Tedford said. "It's something we've worked very hard to achieve and something our players embrace. It's why they came here, to be mentioned with programs as great as Tennessee. "We're not quite there yet, but we hope to get there." Taking down the Vols in Knoxville would be another huge step. Since Tedford's arrival at Cal in 2002, he's elevated the program to heights that those in Berkeley typically thought were reserved for academic excellence. Cal has long maintained a well-deserved reputation as one of the country's most prestigious public institutions.

But under Tedford, the Bears almost overnight have also been transformed into a West Coast football powerhouse. The year before Tedford got there, Cal went 1-10. In his first two years, he won more games (15) than any other Cal football coach had won over his first two seasons in more than 50 years. The Bears have gone to bowls each of the last three years, and Tedford has been named Pac-10 Coach of the Year two of his four seasons in Berkeley. His 2004 team went 10-1 during the regular season, vaulted into the Top 5 and just missed playing in the Rose Bowl. Considered one of the top offensive minds in all of football, Tedford has coached seven quarterbacks during his career who've started an NFL game, and he's tutored six who were drafted in the first round. He's not ready to say his 2006 team will be the best one he's had at Cal. But he clearly likes what he has returning and what he saw in the spring.

"Two years ago, when we were 10-1, that team pretty much had everything," Tedford said. "This team is not far from that. "The only thing we don't have on this team is a lot of experience on the offensive line. We lost three starters who were drafted in the NFL. We've got some talent there. They just haven't been on the field yet." There won't be any shortage of playmakers. Cal came within an eyelash of having two 1,000-yard rushers a year ago, and they're both back. Marshawn Lynch is a 223-pound junior who rushed for 1,246 yards in less than 10 full games. Justin Forsett had 999 yards and averaged 7.6 yards per rush. A deep receiving corps is led by sophomore DeSean Jackson, and Tedford said sophomore Nate Longshore enters the fall as his starting quarterback. Longshore was lost for the season last year after breaking his ankle in the first half of the first game.

"Nate still has to learn under the pressure of the game, which he really hasn't done yet," Tedford said. "He hasn't done it under fire. "He was healthy in the spring, but he wasn't 100 percent. He hadn't been able to recover with foot quickness and things like that. He's really worked hard and I think is getting back this summer to where he was at the start of last season." Tedford said there's no question this should be his best defense at Cal, where eight starters return. Virtually the entire two-deep up front is back, as well as both cornerbacks. Daymeion Hughes is the kind of lock-down cover guy who could go in the first round of the NFL Draft. This will be Tedford's first meeting with an SEC team since coming to Cal, although he's been on more than a few radars when SEC teams have been hunting for coaches. He talked to Kentucky after the 2002 season, and Florida sent out overtures to him two years ago before hiring Urban Meyer.

While there's a sense of newness surrounding the Vols with David Cutcliffe's return as offensive coordinator, Tedford said Cal also will present a bit of an unknown on offense. Mike Dunbar, known for his spread offense at Northwestern, takes over as Cal's offensive coordinator. He and Tedford will jointly call the plays. "Mike's brought another dimension to our team," said Tedford, whose Bears have averaged 34.4 points a game in his four seasons. "He's used to being 100 percent in the spread offense. We're not going to do that, but we're going to mix and match and find the right chemistry and the right percentages of what we want to do. I'm real anxious to see the carry-over we take into the fall."

One of the tougher challenges Tedford has faced at Cal is refuting talk each year that he's leaving for another job. Some have called him the Steve Spurrier of the West Coast with his high-powered offenses, and he's become a hot commodity with NFL owners and college athletic directors. But Tedford insists he's not in the market for another job. "It's something we have to address every year, and everybody uses it against us in recruiting," Tedford said. "I have no ambition to coach in the NFL right now, and we have so many positive things going on right here. "We have a new facility that's going to break ground at the end of this season. We're graduating over 80 percent of our players, and this is a great place to live."

Tedford's also making big money at Cal. At the end of the 2004 season, he signed a new contract that runs through 2009. He makes a guaranteed $1.5 million a year and can earn up to $300,000 more in incentives. If he remains at Cal through the duration of his contract, he would collect an additional $2.5 million retention bonus. Cal's commitment to him has been equally impressive.

When other programs were lining up to pursue Tedford after the 2004 season, donors didn't hesitate to get out their checkbooks. They raised the money to fund his new contract exclusively through private donations. "There's no other place in the country I'd like to be, and there's still a lot more we want to accomplish here," Tedford said.

New York Times Herald Record: Levy now faces real-life pressure

We hear about it all the time: big-time college athletes getting busted for all kinds of transgressions. We tend to slam down the gavel and lament another jock feeling a sense of entitlement. Then one of our own discovers the inside of a patrol car. Suddenly we have a rooting interest. Suddenly we realize there's a person involved, a living, breathing human being with family members who live in our neighborhoods. Suddenly we think, and hope: Maybe he's innocent.
Steve Levy's a Cornwall kid who starred at quarterback for Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. He went to Cal on a full ride. He sat on the bench for most of his first three years, one as a red-shirt, all the time waiting for his opportunity. He finally got a big chance at big-time college football last fall. Levy played in six games and led Cal to victory over BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl. He wound up 2-0 as a starter. Levy was chasing the starting job for his senior season this fall. Now he's chasing his reputation and football future. Cal coach Jeff Tedford suspended Levy for the season opener at Tennessee. At best, Levy will face another steep climb toward regaining the starting position. At worst, he will have to deal with serious consequences, his gridiron future perhaps the least of those concerns.
All because of an incident inside a bar in the early morning of June 25. According to police, Levy was involved in a dispute with a patron at 1:23 a.m. When the doorman asked Levy to leave, police said, he threw a pint glass at the doorman, who sustained a cut near his eye. Levy is facing a felony charge of using an instrument to incur bodily injury, essentially assault with a deadly weapon. He could face two to four years in prison, and today faces a pretrial hearing. Levy has pleaded not guilty. Only the people who saw the incident know the degree of Levy's guilt. Chances are, at the very least, he's guilty of poor judgment. A lot of bad things happen in bars after midnight. Levy, of such wondrous decision-making skills on the field, must be able to read the potential consequences of every situation.
"I wouldn't make a judgment on it until it all goes down,'' said Levy's buddy, John Allegretta. "It's not like him to do something like this. Steve's not a violent guy or a big juicehead.'' None of this makes Levy a bad person. Even if he's guilty, Levy can learn from the mistake and go on to live a productive life. If he's not guilty, Levy will serve as a reminder that big-time athletes also are innocent until proven guilty. Not just one of our guys.

Women's Football Huddle, Aug. 4

Registration is now open for the third annual Women's Football Huddle, which will be held Friday, Aug. 4 inside Memorial Stadium. Head coach Jeff Tedford and his staff will lead a strategy session and guide participants through a series of drills and plays on the stadium turf. The women-only event costs $30 for those who sign up in advance at www.calmarketplace.org and $35 at the door. Check-in lasts from 4:30-6 p.m. and the Huddle runs from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Participants should wear workout apparel and tennis shoes. Last year, more than 500 fans attended and space is limited, so make sure you reserve your space now. For more information, call (510) 643-8395.

Dallas Morning News: Columnist Answers Readers' Recruiting Questions

Here is the link.

SportsDay recruiting beat writer Todd Wills answered readers’ questions

<snip>

Reader Question: How solid do you think ESD's Brock Mansion's committment is to Cal?

Todd Wills: My belief is Brock's commitment to Cal is 95 percent solid. Is there such thing? A few others will make a run. Alabama can still make some noise. And OU is a family favorite. But it's going to take a big-time sell at this point. Hard to argue with Cal coach Jeff Tedford's success with quarterbacks. By the way, is Aaron Rodgers ever going to get to play for the Packers?

Oakland Tribune: Coach's death hits Cal aide hard

By Dave Newhouse

 BERKELEY — Coaches endure being fired because it's the bane of the business. Death normally isn't the same job hazard, but when it occurs, it adds to the vulnerability of the profession.   Randy Walker, the Northwestern coach, died of a heart attack this month at 52. His loss had a profound effect on Mike Dunbar, Cal's new offensive coordinator, who served under Walker the past five years.  "He was a coach's coach," Dunbar said Thursday. "I had great admiration for Randy. He was as much a friend and mentor as a boss. He was a good man who cared about people, cared about kids and families.  "Even my decision to come here, he was very supportive of that. He knows I'm from the West Coast. Like he told me, 'That's too good a position for you not to take.' That's the kind of guy he was."

Dunbar flew to Evanston, Ill., for Walker's funeral.  "It was a celebration of Randy's life," he said. "We laughed, and we cried, and we hugged. It made us understand the positive influence Randy had on us. I know it helped me."  Pat Fitzgerald, 31, another five-year Wildcats assistant and a former standout linebacker at the school, was named the new coach.  Was Dunbar, 57, ever considered a candidate?  "With me being gone, the timing wasn't right," he said. "The athletic administration and president decided to stay within the family, to go with Fitz, who was being groomed for the job."  Walker personally hired Dunbar, and they flowered together. Last year, the Wildcats' offense,  coached by Dunbar, finished fourth nationally with 500.3 yards per game. And Walker became the school's first coach in 75 years to produce three consecutive six-win seasons.

"(Gary) Barnett led Northwestern to its first Rose Bowl in (nearly) 50 years in 1995," Dunbar said. "But Randy doesn't get enough credit for the consistency he brought to the program. The job now is to continue his legacy."  Walker had heart problems in 2004, but doctors monitored his physical condition, and Walker, according to Dunbar, was watching his weight, exercising, eating properly. He left behind a wife and two children.

"It keeps things in perspective," Dunbar said. "You kinda hug your friends a little bit tighter. You hug your wife and your children one more time. Life can come to an end at any time. I'm five years older than Randy, so it gets your attention."  Dunbar eats properly and exercises, even without heart issues.  "It is extremely competitive," he said of coaching. "We all work hard and spend a lot of time at what we do, because we love it."  Coaches live for what they do, but they expect to retire from the job, not expire while working.

 

SF Examiner: More than just a coach

Glenn Dickey, The Examiner

Jul 14, 2006 5:00 AM (9 hrs ago)

SAN FRANCISCO - One reason Jeff Tedford is the best Cal football coach in a half-century: He’s always looking for ways to improve.  “When I was a young coach,” he said when we talked in his office, “I thought when I was a head coach, I’d put in a plan and use that every year, but it doesn’t work that way.”  In the spring, Tedford visited two schools that run spread offenses, Virginia and Florida. He also hired Mike Dunbar, who had run a very successful spread offense at Northwestern. The Bears will still feature what Tedford calls “downhill running,” power runs between the tackles, but elements of the spread will be incorporated this fall. An already good offense should get better. Tedford talks continually to his players, individually and in groups, about aspects of their lives as students, from class work to behavior away from the football complex. He feared that he wasn’t getting through to the black athletes on his team this year.

“They use the N-word all the time talking among themselves,” he said. “It’s like a white kid saying, ‘Hey, dude.’ I told them, ‘That may be common when you’re in your group, but you’re at the University of California now and it’s not acceptable here.’ They told me, ‘Coach, that’s part of our culture. You’re not taking anything away from the white players.’” So, Tedford asked Harry Edwards, who has been counseling 49ers players since Bill Walsh was coaching in the mid-’80s, to talk to his players. “Harry told them, ‘I’ve been backstage with the big rap stars. They use those words to sell songs, but they don’t talk that way when they’re in a professional situation. You’re building a resume here. You don’t want that on it.’”

That worked so well that Tedford plans to bring in Edwards for more talks in the fall. Tedford believes in a hands-on approach, on and off the field, which is why I believe he’ll never go to the pros, as many Cal alumni fear. When Joe Ayoob was struggling last season, being ripped by fans and even fellow students, Tedford called him in for a talk. “I told him that maybe he should think of transferring, not because I wanted him to, but because I

didn’t want this experience to destroy him. He sat there with tears in his eyes and said, ‘I’m not transferring. I hope it will all work out in football, but even if it doesn’t, I’ll have my degree and move on.’” In spring practice this year, Ayoob appeared much more confident and was throwing the ball with strength and accuracy. Tedford talked to the quarterback’s academic advisor and heard that Ayoob’s grades were his best since coming to Berkeley. “I’m so proud of that young man,” Tedford said. This year’s Cal team has been ranked in the top 10, as high as No. 6 in one ranking.

“We still have to prove it on the field,” he said. “I’m not worried about those rankings affecting our kids. We’ve been in the top 10 or 20 in previous seasons, so this isn’t anything new to them.” The moment of truth will come early as the Bears travel to Tennessee for their opener. Whatever happens, Tedford will cope with it. His hands-on approach is working.

 

CBS Sportsline: With Mebane as anchor, Cal aims to sink foes -- USC included

By Bob Condotta

Special to CBS SportsLine.com     

Cal defensive tackle Brandon Mebane has always been the prototypical leader-by-example.  So when he grabbed the microphone while accepting the trophy for last December's Las Vegas Bowl, a 35-28 Cal win over Brigham Young, nobody was expecting anything memorable.  But while waiting to ascend the podium, Mebane looked at all of his teammates and realized most of them would be joining him in returning for the 2006 season.  And then, microphone in hand, Mebane let his heart do the talking.  "Next year, national championship," Mebane said, eliciting a loud roar from the Cal contingent.  Asked six months later about his proclamation, Mebane doesn't flinch.  "I just felt deep down that we have a chance to compete for the national championship," Mebane said of his comments that night.

 

Read the entire article here.

USA Today: Texans Giving Carr a Tune-Up

This article mentions Tedford.  Here is the quote: 

 

Carr compares Calhoun's expertise to that of his college coach, Jeff Tedford. "The first time I met him, I went home with a headache," Carr says. "We come for the 6:30 a.m. meetings. He says, 'Good morning, how ya doing,' then we're into it. You better have your caffeine because he's firing questions from the minute you get in there 'til the minute you leave. I can't say the same thing about other coaches I've had."

 

(I apologize for the pop-ups on USA Today’s site)

Oregon Magazine: Football Forecasters Show Unusual Unanimity

Here is the link.

 

By Fred Delkin

We’ve perused the pre-season college gridiron published punditry and find the current seers in rare agreement on Pac10 team rankings. The Oregon Ducks are third strongest, behind USC and the California Bears, while Oregon State rates only eighth place...according to a summary of the opinions expressed in Phil Steele, Athlon, Street & Smith and Sporting News...the longest lived group of crystal ballers.

Each of these forecasting collections places the Ducks among the top 25 nationally, while the Beavers are relegated to no better than 60th among the 119 NCAA Division I schools. Last season Oregon went 7-1 in the Pac 10, 10-2 overall and ranked fifth in the nation. OSU was 3-5, 5-6. This time around, the Ducks will field another squad of national note, but face a tougher schedule...let’s look at it:

<snip>

“10/7 at California–Bears lost in overtime at Autzen in ‘05, return a powerhouse expected to finish in national top 10 and coach Jeff Tedford should exact a payback on his former boss.”

ESPN Analyst Bill Curry: Vols' Players Better than Cal's

Here is the link.

 

“Even though the Vols are coming off a rare, losing season, Bill Curry believes Tennessee will bounce back this fall.”

Curry- "When is Fulmer the most dangerous? It's when everybody counts him and his team out. When I say dangerous, that doesn't mean they're going to win the conference championship. That means you better be really, really ready to play them."  Curry expects Tennessee to be tested right away against California.  Curry- "The Vols better get ready because Tedford is one heck of a football coach. He's got good players. But their players are not as good as Tennessee's. And they're playing in Neyland Stadium."

Oregon Register-Guard: Ron Bellamy: Oregon's stock fragile with loss of Bartko

(Note from Blog Editor: It appears that in addition to recruiting top players and assistant coaches, Tedford has landed someone who can get the stadium built.)

 

The Register-Guard

Tuesday morning, several huge cardboard boxes occupied the floor of Jim Bartko's office in the Casanova Center, in various stages of packing, and Bartko wondered where he could store almost two decades of Oregon memorabilia.  Monday evening, in the Bay Area, Bartko met with some Cal donors, at the home of football coach Jeff Tedford, in his new role as a senior associate athletic director for the Golden Bears. Today, someone will repaint his old office.  By a week from Friday, after going-away parties at Oregon and at Nike, Bartko will officially be done at Oregon after 17 years as a key fundraiser, dealing with major accounts from the late Harold Taylor to, for more than a decade now, Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

If you're an Oregon fan, you have every reason to be worried that Oregon is losing such a vital personal link to its most important donor, at a time when the proposed new basketball arena, a $160 million project that has been Bartko's almost-exclusive focus for more than a year, is still that, a proposal.  Take it from Knight himself.  "I would just say this doesn't help it, doesn't help my involvement with the basketball arena," Knight said in a telephone interview Tuesday.  "He's become more than just somebody to work with," Knight said. "He's become a very close friend. We're going to miss him a lot."  Knight said he'll still work with the UO and its athletic department, and that he is "continuing to talk to Oregon about all kinds of projects, including that one."

However, Knight, who had been targeted as a contributor for a significant portion of the $130 million in private funding for the arena project, said "at the end of the day, you basically want to have your charitable contributions go where they'll be used well, and there are a couple of clouds on that.

"I don't want to be any more specific than that."  Oregon athletic director Bill Moos said Tuesday that he continues to be "optimistic that the arena project will go forward," and that he is "certainly hopeful that Phil and Penny Knight will be involved with it." But Moos admitted that his hope of having the arena open for the 2009-10 season "may be unattainable as a goal."

It's fair to say that Bartko can't get enough credit for his role as a liaison to Knight during the latter's 17-month estrangement from his alma mater over the Worker Rights Consortium issue. He kept that relationship alive, and when Knight resumed contributions to Oregon, he was the major donor to the expansion of Autzen Stadium.  More recently, Bartko has been vital during a period of strained relations between Knight and Moos, stemming in part from Moos' display of interest in the Washington job and, last year, his handling of the resignation of track and field coach Martin Smith, which deeply angered Knight, upset that he and Nike were perceived to have forced Smith's ouster.

It's fair to say, too, that to some degree Bartko has been caught in the middle of the tension between Knight and his boss, though Bartko wouldn't acknowledge that as a factor in taking the Cal job, and Moos said he offered Bartko a pay raise - and sole responsibility for fundraising for the new arena and for the Olympic Trials - to remain at Oregon.

Read the rest of the article here.

 

Notable excerpts:

“Bartko, 41, considered a position at Cal three years ago, with Tedford's encouragement. The timing wasn't right then, he said, but is now; his son, A.J., is going into the fourth grade, and his daughter, Danielle, is just 3. Though Bartko and his wife, Eileen, have strong family ties in Oregon - his parents live in Portland, hers in Corvallis - they have relatives and friends in the Bay Area. On the face of it, the Cal job would enhance Bartko's credentials as a candidate for an AD job someday; it's not a job he's sure he wants, however, and whether that opportunity would have come around at Oregon after Moos retires, especially with the presence now of former Oberlin AD Vin Lananna on the staff as director of track and field, is uncertain.”

“At Cal, Bartko sees arguably the best public academic institution in the nation, with good all-around sports programs, but needing improvements in facilities - especially for football - and growth in the budget through fundraising. Both are his areas of expertise.  "There's the desire to be great," he said of Cal. "It's maybe where we were in the late 1980s or early '90s, where we saw a little light at the end of the tunnel where we could go for it. I think the upside is huge. It will never diminish my love for Oregon and the fans here, ever. No one can say, after 17 years, that you're not loyal. I'll cherish friendships here forever."  Among those will be the friendship that Bartko developed with Knight and his family.”

“At Oregon, Bartko played roles in the expansion of Autzen, the construction of the Moshofsky Center, the redesign of football uniforms and the innovative marketing of Oregon athletics through billboards, including that banner of Joey Harrington in New York City.”

 

CollegeFootballSports.com: Top 100 Heisman Prospects

Here is the complete article.

 

91. RB Justin Forsett, Cal – Even as Marshawn Lynch’s caddy, Forsett raced for just a yard shy of an unlikely 1,000-yard season in 2005.  He’ll remain a backup in 2006, but if Lynch happens to go down, Forsett has already shown that the drop-off is hardly detectable.

 

58. QB Nate Longshore, Cal – Back-to-back really bad years at quarterback for Cal is unlikely.  Longshore was slated to start last year, but missed all but a few series with a severe ankle injury.  He’s likely to regain the top spot, where he figures to hasten WR DeSean Jackson’s trip to stardom.

 

14. RB Marshawn Lynch, Cal – After Adrian Peterson, Lynch is squarely in the team photo for next best back in America.  He can zoom past or through tacklers, and last December’s 194-yard, three-touchdown demolition of BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl was a prelude of things to come in his junior season.  

 

 

SportingNews: Playing If I Were With College Football

Here is the entire article.

 

When I was young, we used to play the If I Were … game. If I Were … Underdog, I'd have more than one place to hide my special vitamin pill and I'd take it before Simon Bar Sinister knocked me silly and had Sweet Polly Purebread strapped to the railroad tracks.  So in the spirit of the humble, lovable Shoeshine Boy, If I Were …

<snip>

… Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer, I'd sell my coaching soul to win that first game against a very good Cal team. Momentum--good or bad--is contagious.

 

 

Knoxville News: Cooter DUI hearing postponed until August

July 12, 2006

(Note from Editor: Once again, his name really is Jim Bob Cooter)

 

University of Tennessee reserve quarterback Jim Bob Cooter’s DUI preliminary hearing has been postponed until August 17th.  Cooter was arrested and charged with driving under the influence June 3 around at around 3:25 a.m., after UT police officer Joey A. Knight spotted Cooter’s black SUV running a red light and driving on the wrong side of the road on 16th street. Knight’s report said Cooter, who turned 22 on July 3, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent.  The senior from Fayetteville was suspended from the team indefinitely by coach Phillip Fulmer and will not be eligible for Tennessee’s season-opener against California.  Cooter, who earned his bachelor’s degree this spring and will enroll as a graduate student this fall, is the third player suspended or dismissed since May.  Senior linebacker Marvin Mitchell was suspended for a disorderly conduct arrest. Freshman defensive tackle Raymond Henderson was dismissed from the team for "an inappropriate comment to a woman and her adolescent daughter." Both incidents occurred in May.

 

Wisconsin State Journal Discusses Memorial Stadium

In an article about U of W's efforts at renovating Camp Randall Stadium, the article mentions Cal's efforts:

"California, the Pacific-10 Conference school often linked in attitude and academics to UW, is in the process of trying to renovate Memorial Stadium. The project that is being funded in part by an increase in season ticket prices ($39 to $45 for the 2006 season) and a $50 per-ticket renovation fee.

Complicating matters on the public relations front is the fact Cal officials are enforcing an existing policy that requires a donation to renew season tickets in priority locations. The policy was not enforced for several years because the Bears were struggling on the field. That has changed since Jeff Tedford came aboard five years ago and went 33-17 in his first four seasons.

Another PR issue with the stadium renovation is that it will reduce the capacity of Memorial Stadium by approximately 10,000 and create re-seating headaches with season ticket-holders."

Vegas Odds for Cal National Championship

Odds-makers in Las Vegas currently have Cal 20 –to-1 to win the National Championship.  Only 8 other schools have better odds.

(Thanks to Art for this submission).

Video Message From Cal Football

As a reminder, Cal single-season tickets go on sale tomorrow.  Here is the link to the video message.

SportingNews: Cal's O-Line Looks Formidable

Here is the link.

 

Quote:

“Lost among the hype of California coach Jeff Tedford's adding some spread option principles to his offense: A once-shaky line now looks formidable after a few offseason developments. Mammoth OT Mike Tepper has returned after missing all of 2005 with a leg injury, and OT Andrew Cameron, one of the Pac-10's top young talents in 2004 before leaving the team last season because of multiple injuries, says he will return. G Tyler Krieg, a two-year starter at Duke before graduating this year, will play his final season at Cal under the new NCAA graduate transfer policy. RB Marshawn Lynch's chances for a Heisman run look better and better.”

DevilsDigest.com Predicts USC to Finish First in Pac-10

DevilsDigest.com Staff Predictions 

Read the entire article here.

 

<Snip>

2—Cal—The Bears appear to have all the pieces in place for a BCS bowl if they can find some consistency at quarterback. That may be easier said than done considering last years debacle at the position but Cal is hoping to duplicate the success Oregon had a year ago in implementing the spread offense while rebuilding the offensive line. DeSean Jackson looks to become the next premier receiver in the league while Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett will lead the ground attack. Cal's defense, much like USC's, is anchored by the front seven--particularly by the linebackers. The only loss the Bears will be looking to fill is Donnie McCleskey at safety. The schedule is also favorable this year as USC appears to be the only conference roadblock.

Fox Sports: 10 Most Outrageous Moments in Sports History

Kevin Hench / FOXSports.com

What makes a sports moment outrageous? I mean, besides the price of admission, beer and bad hot dogs. Well, for starters, we should be fairly certain we'll never see it again. On that point, I feel safe in saying we'll never see another no-hitter thrown on lysergic acid or a heavyweight title fight interrupted by a parachutist again in our lifetimes. In honor of the Best Damn Sports Show Period's 50 Most Outrageous Moments, here's Dock Ellis, Fan Man and the rest of my top 10.

<Snip>

3. Cal-Stanford, "The Play"

This would be one of the most outrageous plays in sports history even if it didn't end atop a trombone player. The fact that Kevin Moen flattened Stanford band member Gary Tyrell in the end zone takes it from outrageous to surreal. Of course Stanford fans will tell you the most outrageous aspect of the whole damn thing was that the refs missed one Cal runner's knee touching the ground and an obvious forward lateral on the last, desperation flip. But at least Stanford was spared the cruelest cut. Had Moen been hauled down at the five, the officials were prepared to award the Bears a touchdown on account of the Stanford band's interference. Now that would have been a tough loss.

 

Read the entire article here.