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]

First off, thanks to the guys at thebandisoutonthefield.com for bringing to our attention that last week the Chron wrote a story about how Stanfurd athletics bitches about its academic standards.

Secondly, we pretty much agree with thebandisoutonthefield’s argument: good academics shouldn’t be a hindrance to building a good sports program—it should help it.

This is where new Stanfurd football coach Jim Harbaugh comes in. In interviews in the last week or so, he has used the school’s academic excellence as a crutch to explain why Cardinal football has been so bad the last half decade.

In addition to that, Harbaugh is accusing other schools of lowering their academic standards for easier recruiting tactics.

In an interview with the San Francisco Examiner, Harbaugh accused his alma mater, Michigan, for doing so with its football team.

bq. “Michigan is a good school and I got a good education there,” he said, “but the athletic department has ways to get borderline guys in and, when they’re in, they steer them to courses in sports communications. They’re adulated when they’re playing, but when they get out, the people who adulated them won’t hire them.”

But it doesn’t end there. The Stanford Daily did a telephone interview with Harbaugh, offering softball questions to the first-year head coach.

bq. TSD: I see most schools across college football selling out in order to win. … You mentioned Michigan, but a lot of Stanford fans would say that’s the route Cal used to turn its program around. What do you think? Do Stanford and Cal differ in terms of how they prioritize academics and football?

bq. JH: I don’t think there’s any doubt about it. It’s a pretty wide gap. Right now, Stanford is No. 1 in the country at 92 percent graduation, and Cal’s at 44 percent. So, I’d say they’re cutting some corners.

bq. Stanford embodies the highest standards, really the character of the school, because they won’t cut the corners to get athletes, especially in basketball and football. It’s an interesting stat of all athletic departments in the country. Stanford’s SAT score is the highest in the nation, and the second-place school is 200 points below Stanford.

We don’t need to talk about how much of an ass that makes Harbaugh sound. And all it does is fuel the rivalry, and trust us, Cal fans, players and coaches don’t need anymore fuel for the fire.

Captain Comeback (that was Harbaugh’s nickname when he was a mediocre quarterback in the NFL) needs to get his facts right and stop citing reports that uses data for kids who were recruited in 1996-1999.

And FYI, those recruits brought the Bears one of their worst four year stretches ever, ending in that 1-10 season before Jeff Tedford became the head coach.

But of course, we guess Harbaugh’s just doing his job to get the Indians some sort of swagger heading into this season. Let’s face it, the cockiness and uber-ego that Harbaugh has wasn’t present in Stanfurd since before the turn of the century.

And it is a good fit. Stanfurd needs a pompous ass like Harbaugh to lead its really bad football team. Just look at what he said concerning his statements about Pete Carroll a few months ago.

bq. I definitely said that. But we bow to no man, we bow to no program here at Stanford University.

Get ready to bow to the rest of the Pac-10, Jim. It’s going to be a long season if you can’t keep your mouth wired shut.

Feeling bad for Stanford [The Band Is Out On the Field]
HIGHER STANDARDS [SF Gate]
Harbaugh can resurrect the Cardinal [Examiner]
Harbaugh touts Stanford’s fall potential [Stanford Daily]
Harbaugh shows that he’s been taught well by Ditka [CC Times]
Golden Bears’ Academic Record is Better than Stats Suggest [North Gate 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]