If asked whether the Berkeley-Stanford rivalry reached to the highest levels of government, most people would probably answer “no.” And they’d probably be right. But it’s at least a little interesting to note that Steven Chu (secretary of energy and former big cheese of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab) and current Stanford professor Mark Jacobson point in different directions for the future of biofuels.

Example: read more »

Sunday Shout-Out picks out the week’s stories that simply slipped our minds.

* This is really sad: A 5-year-old was hit by a truck and killed near Clark Kerr Campus. [SF Chron]

* That Oscars musical sequence was like vomit onstage. [AIWFB]

* Hey shorties, wanna model? Tyra wants you! [Snitch]

* FYI, that Stanford is no way affiliated with Stanford. [Paper Trail]

* Why the Daily Planet sucks, published by … [Daily Cal]

Image Source: Nick Fradkin, Daily Cal
Earlier: Good News or Bad News?

…Well, in doll form anyway. Apparently the characters of High School Musical (3? 5? whatever number they’re doing nowadays) have finally graduated from high school, even though most of the cast is already old enough to drink and some have been involved in nude picture scandals.

But you didn’t think they’d let this teeny bopper cash cow go that easily, did you? Despite the whole leaving high school thing, there’s supposedly another installment (so would that make this College Musical now?) in the works. Way to milk the franchise for every prepubescent squeal that it’s worth. read more »

Although Stanford somehow managed to take home the axe after last year’s Big Game, this year they were hacked into firewood and pulverized into sawdust, so to speak, in a 37-16 victory on Saturday. Their “mascot,” which looked like a bunch of poinsettia-inspired potholders attached to a metal rack with bloodshot eyes and a creepily smiley mouth hanging off it like a Christmas ornament, was basically just a redder and more infuriated version of last year’s just as unsightly counterpart.

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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]

 

 Unfortunately, the coveted Stanford Axe is now in the hands of its “original” owner–hands that, incidentally, needed a crash course in the rules of football before the game took off today. How ironic.So we lost to the Cardinal for the first time in six years. Don’t lose hope. The Clog feels your pain and has compiled a list of things you can do to ease the hurt before finals kick in.

* Eat some chocolate with John Scharffenberger at the Botanical Garden on Sunday at 2 p.m. Yay for endorphins!* If laughter is the best medicine, then laugh at gravity with Circus Oz, performing at Zellerbach Hall on Sunday at 3 p.m.* We would also like to remind you that the Tang Center is there for you on Bancroft Way and Fulton Street and “can help with crisis intervention and debriefing in the event of a death or other tragedy”–in this case, the death of a perfectly alright football season.

We’re going to go study for finals now.Image Source: Jessica KuoCal Loses the Axe After 20-13 Loss in 110th Big Game [Daily Cal]

In the hills of Berkeley, there exists a bright beacon of Golden Bear pride, and that is the Big C. It’s a steep hike (give us a break–we work behind computers!), but the Clog sallied forth at 10 p.m. to visit and otherwise disrupt UC Rally Committee’s guarding during Big Game week.

First things first: If you plan to take pictures, make sure you have a charged camera ready to go. So much for being tech savvy.

Needless to say, we managed to take some pictures …

After huffing and puffing, we reached the top, where “C” marks the spot. Despite our loud comments of “Let’s paint it red!” and “Ambush Rally Comm!,” there was no one to hear our genius. We walked across the C, stepping on a light (oops), and we realized the C had a whole string of lights looped around. So we plugged it in.

Unfortunately, Rally Comm sucks at lighting, but perhaps that’s all for the better, considering they had Christmas lights against the dry brush of the hill. Their decorated C was lackluster at best.

We must have signaled to them because soon after three bewildered Rally Commers came trudging up the hill. We greeted them, offered chocolate, but they spurned our hospitality. They attempted to fix the lighting, and we took pictures of ourselves.

The view was amazing at the top of the hill, especially during this holiday season. If you are either drunk or have a camera that’s about to die, the view would look something like this:

The Rally Commers walked the perimeter of the C, finding a smashed bulb at the base. “It must have been Stanfurd,” we said. Of course. Oh, how we love school rivalry!

Then we really thought Stanfurd was coming up the hill when a whole herd of men arrived at the scene. Immediately they stared snapping away, their flashes bright in the nakedness of the night.

“Take pictures of them taking picture of us!” one of us shouted.

Engineers! They weren’t Stanfurdites at all, just some pleasant (albeit awkward company). At least they were friendly enough to scarf up our chocolate peace offering.

Rally Comm never did figure out the lights while we were up there, but it was still enjoyable to hang out around a demented-looking-candy-cane string of lights. While they futzed about, we dusted off our pants and bid all a good night, knowing that would be the last time we’d ever hang around that many freshmen and engineers.

Image Source: Dena Fehrenbacher

First it was new Stanfurd head coach Jim Harbaugh making himself look like an ass, and now it’s Les Miles down at LSU.

We’ll preface this by saying that we never thought that we would have to come to the defense of USC, but when someone attacks the conference as a whole, then everyone has to get up in arms and defend the Pac-10.

What did Miles say? He pretty much said that the Trojans have an easier schedule and that they will benefit from it. He also said something to the effect that his Tigers will have a tougher time with tougher competition in the SEC.

bq. “I can tell you that I would like nothing better than to play USC for the title,” Miles said in a speech that radio station WWL made available on its Web site…

bq. “I can tell you this, that they have a much easier road to travel,” Miles said of the Trojans. “They’re going to play real knockdown drag-outs with UCLA and Washington, Cal-Berkley [sic], Stanford — some real juggernauts — and they’re going to end up, it would be my guess, in some position so if they win a game or two, that they’ll end up in the title (game). I would like that path for us.

bq. “I think the SEC provides much stiffer competition.”

And as our friends at The Band is Out On the Field said, Miles pretty much puts Cal in the same breadth as Stanfurd by sarcastically saying that the Bears (and UCLA, U-Dub and the Card) are juggernauts.

Yes, we know that the SEC is probably the best conference in the country. Yes, we know that Cal was smashed by Tennessee last year. But we wonder if Miles remembers the beatdown ‘SC gave to Arkansas last year.

We will always have this debate, and sadly the only Pac-10/SEC game on the docket next year happens to be when the Bears host Tennessee. We’re not going to say that Cal will be playing for the Pac-10 in that game in addition to trying to exorcise last season’s demons, but if the Bears lose, then the SEC will brag all the way until the Trojans beat Miles and LSU in that bowl game Miles wants so badly.

Image Source: Deng-Kai Chen, Daily Cal
LSU coach rates SEC best [ABC 2]
Les Miles = Total Douchebag [TBIOOTF]

Now, how could anything like that RANK NO. 2 on any list concerning college football, unless it’s in a list of the worst plays in college football history?

Well, that’s what ESPN’s Ivan Maisel thinks The Play should be in his list of the best 100 moments in college football history.

Before we get all up in arms about this travesty, let’s get a little bit of context. First, the No. 1 play of all time, according to Maisel, is Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary to give Miami a 47-45 defeat at the hands of Boston College, essentially giving Flutie the Heisman Trophy.

We kind of get that. The Eagles finished that year 10-2 and the Canes finished 8-5, and that is probably the most memorable pass in the history of football.

The Play, on the other hand, was between two schools that were at .500 or barely over .500, not exactly the same pressures when you have a Heisman candidate and a school trying to get into a major bowl for the first time in decades.

But nonetheless, it turns out that Maisel is a Stanfurd alum. So maybe Maisel was looking out for the old alma mater. And as the guys at The Band Is Out on the Field points out, the Indians/Cardinal get a few more mentions in his list than the Bears.

Stanfurd is mentioned five times on his list, which includes The Play, while Cal is only mentioned twice. And as TBIOOTF points out, the Bears have won a few more conference titles than the boys down on the Farm.

Are we saying that Maisel was a little biased? Look to the fact that UCLA was only mentioned twice on his list (while having EPIC battles with ‘SC and having a guy named Aikman lead their team) and Washington once (and remember U-Dub used to be good), and we’ll just let the numbers speak for itself.

What was the other mention of the Bears in Maisel’s list you ask?

It was Wrong Way Riegels’ blunder in the 1929 Rose Bowl against Georgia Tech. Riegels recovered a Tech fumble and ran the wrong way, giving the Yellow Jackets an easy two points. What was the final score of the game? 8-7 Georgia Tech.

Yeah. Infamous.

Stanford is the Bestest Footballers Evar! [TBIOOTF]
Iconic moments for college football’s time capsule [ESPN]

We guess campus security at Stanfurd really isn’t what is used to be. First there was that impostor who masqueraded as a Stanfurdite for most of the school year. Now someone’s been accused of stealing Stanfurd credit cards and checks.

How was this suspected culprit stopped? She wanted to steal from Cal too, according to UCPD.

The Chron reports that UCPD arrested Liller Johnson last Friday after a university police officer saw her leaving Lewis Hall.

Apparently UC police found stolen credit cards and checks from both UC Berkeley and Stanfurd. And apparently some of the stolen Stanfurd cards had been used that day.

So, we’ll tally a point for UC police and take away five points from Stanfurd police for not being able to nab this alleged credit-card stealer.

Seriously, what kinds of things can people get away with down on The Farm?

Theft suspect arrested at UC Berkeley [Sf Gate]