Most people have heard of Susan B. Anthony.  But anybody who is anybody knows the money suffragist was Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  I mean when it comes to 19th century feminists, Susan B. was so first wave.  So first wave!

After going to the Cal-Stanford woman’s basketball game Saturday afternoon, one of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s most celebrated quotes came to mind:

Yeah, Elizabeth Cady (or Lizzie C as I like to call her) was very intelligent.   She knew that when you are down with just a few seconds left, you gotta go to your big gun:  Baron.  And I guess that was the easiest explanation as to why Cal failed to pull it out on Saturday.  Baron Davis was out of collegiate eligibility.  And a man.

Sure, others will say it was the sloppy play (so many turnovers and traveling calls).  Some might even say it was the disastrous free throw shooting.  But we all know the truth.  I mean if Baron can do it to the Leon Powe-led Celtics, he can do it to the Leon Powe-less Stanford Cardinal!  Speaking of Powe, he is a new father.  Congratulations to Leon!

Before I get to a further discussion of the game, I just wanted to share a little story.  Saturday morning I had to drive over to El Cerrito.  My wife had been borrowing a cello from Ifshin Violins and I had to return it.  But isn’t Ifshin Violins in Berkeley, you might say?  As of this past week, no.  They have moved to El Cerrito.  While there, I talked with one of the employees as to why one of the premiere instrument shops decided to leave Berkeley.  Some of the reasons are not particularly new or novel:  Berkeley has high taxes, the new location has more space.

But the employee did mention that they had a certain problem with parking.  The meters in front of Ifshin (located on the rather busy University Avenue) were broken for like years.  Customers would get tickets no matter how short they parked there.  And Berkeley was too busy suing the school over the stadium or trying to send non-binding resolution letters to Marines instead of, yknow, FIXING AN ACTUAL PROBLEM FACING BERKELEY.  And now, for want of a few parking meters, the business exodus out of Berkeley continues. 

But enough of that.  Let’s focus on the game.  What game?

Oh yeah, that one.  Well, I’ll leave the analysis to CBKWit or Ragnarok, with whom I enjoyed the game.  All I know is that Elizabeth Cady Stanton would be proud to know how packed the stands were with passionate fans.  Here are some photos:

One of the refs took time out of her busy schedule of calling traveling on the Bears to tell the drums they were playing too much.

A blurry shot of some of the men’s B-Ball team.  Ryan Anderson was lurking, too, but I couldn’t get a good shot of him.  I was trying to take this shot as I walked by without revealing my "stalker" self, which is why it isnt very good.  

Inevitably when you have as many chances to win as Cal did, it is hard to pinpoint one aspect of Cal’s play that led to the loss.  Looking at the stats, Cal certainly had the advantage in some situations.  They snagged 10 more boards than Stanford.  But they also turned the ball over more and shot far worse at the FT line (68% to 55%). 

One clear difference was in the 3 point shooting.  Cal shot 17% (including a terrible 1-11 2nd half), while Stanford shot 43%.  The FG shooting overall was actually almost equal at about 43%.  But if you dig closer, you’ll see that it was a tale of 2 halves.  Stanford shot terrible in the first half, while Cal shot equally as terrible in the 2nd half.   

Really, as painful as the loss is, Cal can erase it from their memory with a strong end of the season.  If Cal goes farther in the tournament, nobody is going to care that they didn’t technically win the Pac10 regular season title.  Such is the joy of college basketball.  All the pain of the regular season can easily be erased.  Hopefully, Cal will erase it!

I’m sure CBKWit has a lot to say about the game.  And I’m sure that it will be the most R-Rated spiel yet.  We sat right behind two young girls, so every other word out of CBKWit’s mouth had to be "godzarnit" or "fudgetickles."  I can only assume he got home and had a 45 minute explitive filled rant to make up for his swear-free afternoon.  I look forward to hearing his thoughts on the game.  Until then, enjoy the photos, and GO BEARS! 

That was a nice win by our Bears last Saturday at Arizona State, but for some reason, it got zero coverage on this site.  The reason, of course, is that I remain thoroughly skeptical of this team and its chances to make this year interesting.  I said last week that the Bears had to get 2 out of 3 on this road trip to have a prayer, and falling at Arizona last Thursday means that they now face what is the very definition of a tall order:  a must-win game on the road against a top-10 team.  Good luck with that.

And now, we get Stanford in Maples on Sunday night.  This is not a ‘make or break’ game for the Bears.  ‘Make or break’ implies that a win would "make" their season, which is clearly not the case.  All they would get is back to .500 in the conference, with two tough but winnable games at home vs. the Washington schools next week.  Not great, but it’d be a start, with plenty of work left to do.

Sooo, Stanford.  Somehow, Ryan Anderson has to figure out how to get around the Lopez twins.  Perhaps get Brook Lopez in foul trouble again.  During their last meeting, Brook sat on the bench most of the first half, and the difference was evident.  Of course, he played excellently in the second half, scoring most of his 23 points, which led all scorers in only 19 minutes of play.

Also a problem?  Robin Lopez.  Specifically, his 10 offensive rebounds.  10!  Cal, as a team, only had 9.  That, right there, is how Cal shoots nearly 50% on the night and still loses.

Another worry from their last meeting was Mitch Johnson’s 16 points.  Mitch Johnson is not good.  He might be the worst starting point guard in the conference, and is certainly the worst example of nepotism in the Pac-10.  I still can’t believe he scored 16 points against us.

Now, Stanford is a very, very good team.  I don’t think they’re actually one of the 10 best teams in the country, but it’s hard to argue with a 21-4 record.  The Cardinal aren’t fighting for a tournament spot here.  They’re fighting for a conference championship, and if they can run the table and knock off UCLA in LA next month, they might just get it.  That said, I do think the Bears can beat them this Sunday.  It is entirely within the realm of possibility.  I just don’t think that it’s terribly likely.

So, here’s the deal I’m gonna make with you, dear readers:  if the Bears pull the upset and beat the Cardinal on Sunday, I’ll start seriously discussing the Bears’ post-season possibilities next week.  If, however, Cal falls in predictable fashion at Maples, we’ll instead start to discuss possible replacements for Ben Braun.  Sound fair?

No pressure, Ben.  No pressure.

You’ll have to pry this job from my cold, dead fingers!