The Clog has finally got around to putting up pictures from last Saturday’s Ink Bowl. Enjoy.
And before you start, yes, bob jenkins, we know you don’t care.
We would also like to add that we failed to give credit to Joshua Linville, who scored the first touchdown of the game for the Daily Cal.
Head coach, Gerald Nicdao, gives pointers to the team as they get ready to take the field. Along with his advice, Coach Nicdao passed out cups of “Michael’s Secret Stuff” that he saved for this special occasion.
The team bolts downfield in a spread option formation. The team’s rigorous off-season workouts showed in the offense’s flawless execution.
Editor-in-chief, Stephen Chen, takes the reigns of the offense for a series after coming up with some huge plays on the defensive side of the ball.
The Daily Cal sidelines erupts after one of their five touchdowns on the day. Staff representative Andrew Willis looked particularly fired up about the score. You should see how wild he gets around a Koosh hoop during office basketball.
Coach Steffi Chan raises the prized Exacto knife over her head. After a brief scare at the end from The Stanford Daily, the Daily Cal was overjoyed to retain the knife for yet another year.
Image Source: Skyler Reid, Daily Cal
Ink Bowl [Facebook Album]
Earlier: ‘WE’VE GOT THE KNIFE, WE’VE GOT THE KNIFE’
The Clog would be amiss to say that it’s surprised that the Golden Bears lost yesterday to Stanfurd 20-13. In fact, we would go as far to say that the entire student section was expecting a loss after seeing how Nate Longshore was throwing the ball during the first offensive series. He once again was able to find the open receivers but consistently under threw the majority of his passes.Coach Jeff Tedford’s ironclad faith in his quarterback (the last time another QB took a snap was during the Oregon State game) has caused the once-savior of Cal football to lose some of his luster. This game was once again marked by continuous calls from the student section for Kevin Riley to replace Nate-Nate. How ironic is it that the person who made the single biggest blunder of the season has his name chanted the most during games?The Clog would like to sympathize with Lavelle Hawkins, who played his last Big Game. After making many jaw-dropping catches throughout the entire season, the Hawk dropped two passes that would have brought the Bears within a PAT of a tie. The Hawk is likely loading up blame upon himself but should rest assured that no one is singling him out for the loss.The Golden Bears also consistently ran into trouble with the referees. Bonehead plays led to the Bears racking up 88 more yards in penalties than the Cardinal. A complete lack of focus did the Bears in.Oddly enough, even with the loss Cal was given a bid to the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. The Clog, for one, would like to respectfully decline the invitation because this Golden Bears team does not deserve to have a post-season game.Moving beyond the depressing outcome, the Clog was impressed with the newly rebuilt Stanford Stadium. The breathtaking stadium was built in only 42 weeks, yet we’re still putting the final touches on the Underhill parking lot. Even with a new stadium and the fact that the Cardinal’s arch nemesis was in town, Stanfurd’s overflow student section was more than half-empty.To add to that, the tailgating at the Big Game was lacking a certain element. Stanfurd alumni seemed to be unaware of the fact that the Big Game was taking place in a mere few hours. For most of them it was a time to meet up with some old friends and possibly attend the actual football game. Such is the sorry state of Cardinal football, but things look like they are turning around under the stewardship of Coach Jim Harbaugh.The entire day for Cal athletics wasn’t a loss. The Cal men’s water polo team beat Navy to once again place itself in the national championship game. Today it finished off the tournament with a win over USC for its 13th championship. Also, the Golden Bears basketball squad notched another win to remain undefeated. Unfortunately, the Clog was not able to be present for the Bear’s biggest out-of-conference game because of poor scheduling.Image Source: George Derk, Daily CalCal Loses the Axe After 20-13 Loss in 110th Big Game [The Daily Cal]
There’s no better way to prepare for an ultimate showdown than by finding out what the opponent is thinking–or, at least, what the (overrated) brains behind their daily publication are thinking. The Stanfurd Daily published a series of Big Game-themed articles that the Clog is happy to share and rip apart with you, in the name of school spirit, and periodical pride!We’ll start with the Stanfurd Daily’s Big Game Guidelines, in which the Cardinal sets out the rules of football in layman’s terms. (If you are a Cal fan going to the Big Game, read these enlightening tips, and do the exact opposite.)
Other worthwhile terminology to remember: Stanford is on offense when we have the ball and are trying to score, defense when Cal has the ball and we are trying to get it back. A first down is a good thing, going “3-and-out” is a bad thing. It’s bad if your quarterback gets sacked, but good if Cal’s does. If all of this is too hard, just use common sense — if a Stanford student runs a long way or catches the ball, that’s impressive, right? And it’s also a good thing in football.
We appreciate the sarcastic tone of the first portion of the article, before it got all Jonathan Poullard on everyone. The blunt admission of the Stanfurd population’s football stupidity is awesome, and the additional snarky-lite jabs at its own hyper-academic brethren kind of remind us … of us! But let’s not get into mushy comparisons. This is a rivalry.From browsing through the Stanfurd Daily’s detailed explication of the history of bears to bear pun appearances in their headlines, it’s obvious that the Stanfurd Daily is, like, so fascinated by us. The strange, Big Game-themed sex column by Roxy Sass is no exception. “Do Stanford Students Outscore Cal?” Sass asks. No, but Christine Borden out-columns Roxy Sass, giving the Daily Cal a winning point on the arbitrary scoreboard–which we did not reveal until now. Hooray!Daily Cal: 4Stanford Daily: 0In related Big Game news, this time on the Cal front–the Clog recently spotted dear Chancellor Birgeneau on Berkeley’s YouTube channel, trying very adorably to get alumni to care about the imminent axe-battle. He’s already fired up a solid 43 spirited viewers, which is perhaps much more people than the current UC Rally Committee can energize, well, all season (not counting the bonfire, of course).On that note: It is about 2:30 a.m. and the Big Game begins in approximately 13.5 hours in the Stanford Stadium.If you are reading this later in the day, that means 4 p.m.Go Bears!Image Source: Ben Miller, Daily CalBig Game Guidelines [Stanford Daily]Bears That Can’t Be Beaten, Unlike Cal [Stanford Daily]Make Finals Week Bear-able [Stanford Daily]Do Stanford Students Outscore Cal? [Stanford Daily]
In case you’ve been in a shell your entire time at Berkeley (basically every engineering student), the biggest bonfire west of the Mississippi River is here again. The Greek Theatre will be on fire on Friday with the annual Cal Bonfire Rally set to get underway at 7 p.m.
Everyone should be encouraged to come on down to the rally whether they are planning to attend the Big Game or not. For a couple of hours, Berkeley students will be able to forget the miseries they’ve accumulated over this past semester and share a few laughs, cheers and possibly a wave.
The Clog is getting psyched about what has become a traditional Haka—we’re going to be bringing our A-game after watching loads of All Blacks videos. If our football team put as much heart into their play as these former mic men put into their Haka, we wouldn’t be losing to the likes of Pac-10 cellar-dweller Washington.
Placing a close second to the Haka is the “freshmen more wood” ritual. After scouting this year’s wood tossers, we’re officially placing the line at five for number of times a crate doesn’t reach the fire.
The Clog would also like to applaud the UC Rally Committee for putting together the gathering, which also happens to be its only successful event all year (trust us on this). Be aware at all times while strolling on Sproul Plaza, and don’t get sucked in to attending another one of their happenings.
For those of you who will be attending your first bonfire, the Clog encourages you to sit as close to the pit as possible for the most intense experience. You can thank us later.
Image Source: Fir0002 under Creative Commons
Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News recently pulled a Debbie Downer on the Cal-Stanfurd rivalry, saying, “My premise was that on the 25th anniversary of The Play, the Cal-Stanford rivalry is a fading blip on the rivalry radar.” His reasons?
The stakes are rarely high, the games usually aren’t close, and there hasn’t been a major upset in decades.
Without those three elements (stakes, competitiveness, upsets) you have a second-rate rivalry.
Well, while Wilner continues to see scholastic rivalry in purely athletic terms, we Cloggers are busy uniting our people against a good, old-fashioned common enemy. So put on your blue and gold best, in the name of Cal pride! Besides, let’s be honest–at this point in the lovely season, is Big Game spirit really about the football?
Not really. Four-fifths of the Clog staff doesn’t even care for the game. However, our sentiments are mostly in line with one passionate Cal fan’s romantic defense for our beloved rivalry.
Nothing matches Big Game Week on the Cal campus. Blue and gold lights everywhere. Band performances. Night rallies. And of course, the Bonfire Rally at the Greek.
Also, we can’t forget Oski’s showdowns with the Stanfurd tree. Lovable mascots and hardcore school spirit tug at our gentle heartstrings sometimes.
Other times, they just makes us barf–at least when it’s coming from the other side. A recent foray into the long-winded boringness that is The Unofficial Stanfurd Blog turned up a disturbing “Beat Cal” photo contest, whose past participants take their photos in exotic locales like Paris, China and outer space.
Obviously, the tree has a bit of difficulty finding support ’round these parts.
It’s on, Stanfurd. It’s on!
Image Source: Blaire Bailey, Daily Cal
Cal and Stanford football: Is Big Game becoming irrelevant? San Jose Mercury News
First, we have to say, WTF? Second, why VERSUS?!
Cal announced that the 110th Big Game (yes, the annual rival match against Stanfurd) will not air on ESPN or ABC or even the really shitty Fox Sports Net, but on a network where the NHL went to rot in hell for all eternity.
Yes, this year’s Big Game will air nationally, which is nice, but on the network that used to be called the Outdoor Life Network, now known as Versus.
The only positive? Most cable providers already have Versus on their basic cable packages. The huge negative? It’s on Versus.
So, next year, on Versus: more NHL that no one watches, the Tour de France, some show about hunting, fat guys fishing, grown men fighting in a cage and the Big Game.
This has to be a slap in the face to Cal football, but it’s probably more of a reflection of how bad the Card has been the last half decade.
Oh well, at least for all those Cal fans who can’t go to the Big Game, they can watch it on TV. Our question: can you get Versus in high-def?
Earlier: Tiny Stanfurd Stadium Means Less Cal Fans for This Year’s Big Game
Big Game on Versus beats no TV at all [SF Gate]
Three More Cal Football Games Selected for Television [Cal Bears]
It was always a joy whenever The Big Game went down to Palo Alto, especially in the Tedford era. We think Palo Alto’s the only place where Cal fans truly “take over” an opposing side’s territory.
This year, undoubtedly, Stanfurd will be painted blue all over again, but there’ll be fewer Blue and Gold clad fans inside Stanfurd Stadium.
The Card downgraded from its 85,000-seat stadium to a brand spankin’ new 50,000-seater. Less seats means less fans, unless somehow Cal fans can buy all those tickets. But at least we still get to call it The Big Game.
For this year’s Big Game (and for the rest of its home schedule) Stanfurd is reserving 35,000 of its seats for its season ticket holders, students, faculty and fans. All visiting teams will get 15,011, even the hated weenies from “Kal.”
Of those 15,011, only 5,000 will go to students, faculty and the Cal Band (and fucking Rally Comm). Actually, maybe Rally Comm will send all their kids to “guard” the Axe on the field. You know, when they walk around the sidelines, carrying the Axe. You don’t look that cool. You would look cool if you did it in front of the Stanfurd fans all game. Anyway …
The rest will be going to the donors who sit on the opposite side of the Student Section (when are we going to hear that new name?), who sit on their asses all day in the shade and don’t make any noise.
This has caused so much of a panic that even Old Blues are buying Stanfurd season tickets. But that’s blasphemy says one Cal fan.
bq. “I’m not giving them my money,” said Bonnie Hazarabedian, who is such a Cal fan that she named her daughter Callie. “There has to be a better option.”
BTW, if we were naming our kid after the university, we’d name him or her Oski or Ludwig or even Campanile, not Cal-lie.
BIG GAME BLUES [SF Gate]
This is about a week late, but what the hell, we’ll mention it anyways.
Remember a couple of months ago when we told you about how the NFL is trying to trademark the term “The Big Game?” Actually, we should say that the NFL WAS trying to trademark that term.
After Cal and Stanford (notice how we don’t use the “u” because of our alliance with the junior university on this one), filed extensions for the trademark for “The Big Game,” the NFL dropped its pursuit.
Yeah, only a match made in hell, Cal and Stanford, can bring down something as evil as the NFL. But for now, our precious, little, college tradition—The Big Game—is safe from the clutches of corporate America. Actually, it’s not, but at least we get to keep calling The Big Game “The Big Game.”
But we’re not out of the woods yet. The NFL may refile under some other trademarks application.
Pshh. Whatever. It’s not like the NFL has half the brainpower that Cal and Stanford have.
Earlier: Finally, ‘Furd and Cal Have Found Something to Agree On: Stopping the NFL NFL drops effort to trademark ‘Big Game’ phrase [SF Gate]
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