*Leading Off…Johnson Not the Best in the World*
We don’t care if Alysia Johnson finished short in her bid for world domination. We still think that she has given the best performance of any Cal athlete this year.
So what if she took sixth at the Pan-Am games? She still took NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles, and she is the United States champion in the 800 meter.
After all that, is there any athlete that can do better than what she did this year?
Oh wait. Enter John Mann.
*Add That Gold Medal to Your Mantle John*
OK, so John Mann didn’t score any goals in Team USA’s gold medal victory over Brazil at the Pan-Am games. But he was still on the team. So he still gets that gold medal and that berth to the 2008 Olympics.
He did net a hat trick against Puerto Rico in the quarters though—but can’t anyone net three goals against Puerto Rico?
*Tyson Ross = Stud*
Cal pitcher Tyson Ross is a stud. We can’t wait to see him pitch next year. That’s all we’re saying.
*Gottlieb Added as Assistant Coach*
Three cheers for mediocrity!
Ben Braun added Gregg Gottlieb to his staff. Gottlieb comes to Cal after eight years at San Diego State. Yes, the Aztecs. Yes, the same SDSU that beat the Bears last year.
And sure, the Aztecs are now a contender in the Mountain West Conference, but for years, SDSU was one of those teams near the bottom. The bottom.
Image Source: David Belford, Daily Cal
So, we lied. We’re back for another Wide World of Cal Sports. A lot has happened, especially in the last few weeks. We never thought it’d get this busy during the lazy, dog days of summer.
*Leading Off…Braun Gets His Extension*
Yes, we get to suffer through two more years of Ben Braun. That means two more years of stagnant offenses, so-so defenses and more mediocrity.
Braun’s original contract was slated to go to the 2008-09 season, but the university agreed to a contract extension in June, which was pending approval from the UC Regents.
Well, at least Braun will have his hands full if his players don’t stop acting up.
*More Coaching News*
Cal has found replacements for its women’s tennis and lacrosse teams.
Jan Brogan left the Bears after 29 years and a semifinal appearance in the NCAA tournament. We thought it was dumb to leave, but one of Brogan’s pupils is going to take the helm.
Amanda Augustus, who won two NCAA doubles-titles with Cal in the mid-1990s is going to be the new head coach.
On the lacrosse front, assistant coach Theresa Sherry has been elevated to head coach. She was a three-time All-American at Princeton.
Let’s hope she can bring that east coast flair to the Bears and help Cal crack that east coast bias.
*Tyson Ross: Silver Medalist*
We know Tyson Ross is awesome. He’s going to be Esquer’s only hope of keeping his job after next year (we keep saying that, but it might be true).
Add to Ross’ list of accomplishments a silver medal from the Pan American games. He was on the mound for Team USA in the tourney-opener, defeating the Dominican Republic 5-1. He also pitched two innings of relief for Team America in the gold medal game.
Can Cal have Ross pitch every game, please?
*More Pan-Am Athletes*
Our Cal Athlete of the Year, Alysia Johnson, began representing Team USA today with a second place finish in the 800 meter at the Pan-Am games in Brazil.
That finish gets her into the final. Maybe she can add “world champ” to this impressive list of accomplishments: NCAA indoor champ, NCAA outdoor champ and United States champ.
We’re sure she’s going to be in Beijing next summer of the Olympics. Just you wait and see.
Image source: Salgu Wissmath, Daily Cal
*Leading Off…How Sweet It Is*
The Cal women’s tennis team is through to the round of 16 after knocking of Southeastern Louisiana and Arizona State over the weekend at the Hellman Tennis Center.
It should have been that way. Who are the Lions anyway? They’re from No-where, Louisiana. Oh, and the Sun Devils? The Bears knocked them off twice during the regular season.
Easy rolling to the sweet 16 if you ask us.
*Not So Sweet*
The men’s tennis team didn’t fare as well as their female counterparts, losing in the first round to Oklahoma. It was a pretty close one, with the Bears losing 4-3.
It was also Cal’s first first-round loss since 2000, and it was a bitter way to end the season after roaring back at the end there.
Still, most of the season was ho-hum anyway.
*No Pac-10 Crowns This Time*
After the men’s and women’s crew teams won Pac-10 championships last year, both fell to rivals in this year’s edition.
The women’s crew lost its conference crown (for the first time in four years) to USuC. When you don’t advance to the grand final in two of the four events, you’re going to be pretty hard pressed to win a meet.
On the men’s side, all they needed to do was beat Washington in the final race to capture their third straight Pac-10 crown. They lost and were knocked off their pedestal.
*fUCLA Wins 100th Team Championship*
The Baby Bears won the women’s water polo national championship over the weekend, giving fUCLA 100 NCAA team titles.
Whoop-dee-fucking-doo.
*Warriors Un-Mania*
Last week, we asked a simple question: Can the W’s use their athleticism to beat the Utah Jazz the same way they did against Dallas?
For one game, Golden State in fact was able to do that. But for the rest of the series for the Warriors, the team misses free throws, has horrible shot attempts and just runs out of gas near the end of the games.
Game 5 is going to be tough in the SLC.
*Golden Bears*
_1) Alysia Johnson – track & field_
Racking up the hardware won the Pac-10 crown in the 800-meter
_2) Ed Wright – track & field_
Took home the Pac-10 crown in the high jump
_3) Jill Malko – lacrosse coach_
Truly one of the better coaches on campus and one of the better people at Cal. She put in a lot of effort her nine years at the helm.
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