They say that a photo speaks a thousand words.  Well, there is certainly a big, crazy story behind this photo:

  

So, let’s get to it.  On Saturday, March 29, 2008, over a year since I really kicked it with my BFF, I decided to go check out the tree sit and see what was going on.  We hadn’t had much of an update in a while.  What was going on?  Had they removed anybody or anything? 

When we first got up there, we noticed three posted papers on the fence (which is now actually 2 fences, it appears they added another one).  The first looked like this:

 

It basically says read the Court Order, it applies to anybody entering this area, if you deface the posted Order, you suck, too.  

 

 

Thats a bit tough to read (esp. since the Blogsome software forces me to scale it down some).  Heres the best transcription I could manage (some words are blocked out by the fence). 

The Regents of the University of California, Plaintiff, v. David Galoway; Colin Scherl, and Does 1 through 50, inclusive

Recitations about past hearing, who appeared at the hearing, yada yada yada.  Key part: 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that, pending further action, defendants, and each of them, and all other persons acting in concert or participating with them, or any of them, shall be and are hereby enjoined from lodging, scaling, climbing, hanging, sitting or standing on any of the trees in the Memorial Stadium Oak Grove on the University of California Berkeley campus or placing or maintaining any objects in those trees including, but not limited to, platforms, hammocks, receptacles coantaining human waste, bar-b-ques, or other devices for preparing food with the use of fire, or rope

Failure to comply with this Order constitutes civil contempt, punishable up to a $1,000 fine or something in jail, or both, as well as an order to pay reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the The Regents in initiating the comptempt proceedings within.

I doubt that Cal thought merely posting the Order would be sufficient to get the tree-sitters to leave.  But if they did, they had to be shocked.  Clearly,this Order has had no effect at all so far:

 

 

 

 

The tree sitters are still there as always.  I guess Cal is waiting until a ruling comes down from the judge in the main court case to make a move.  If Cal removes the sitters, but not the trees, they will just go back.  And the PR backlash will be bad.  Cal cannot remove the trees just yet, because there is a Court injunction against moving forward on the project until the Court rules.  I guess that if Cal wins and Berkeley isnt going to appeal, then Cal will remove the sitters, remove the trees and push forward. 

When we got there, there was one guy standing around talking with some touristy looking people.  I didn’t want to be a dick about anything and I kind of wanted to see it from the tree-sitters angle, so I started talking with him all nice.  I asked him what his role was.  He said he was ground support.  I asked what the fence was for.  He said it was designed to keep people separated from nature.  He said there was a protective aspect to it, but it was more about keeping people from enjoying nature.  He spoke of a spiritual connection between nature and man and Cal was actively destroying that.  As if Sandy Barbour was sitting around going "PEOPLE ARE ENJOYING THAT GROVE TOO MUCH!!!  IT HELPS THEIR SOULS!  WE MUST STOP IT!  LET’S DO A STADIUM UPGRADE!"  

Then, I asked him if there were any tree-sitters around and lo and behold, they were RIGHT ABOVE ME!

  

The ground support dude left to take those other people on a tour.  We started talking and that was when I decided to snap that uber-sweet shot.  Let’s look at it again!

 

"JAZZ HANDS EVERYBODY!" 

I was hoping to get over to where they were, but once I got my legs up, that was about the extent of my tree-climbing abilities.  Not exactly at my high school weight anymore.  !  And yes I realize my maroon turtleneck with suspenders and seersucker jacket combo wasn’t the prime tree-climbing attire.  But, in my defense, I am clearly the best dressed tree-sitter of all time!

So, I came down and continued to talk with the tree-sitters.  This is what I gleaned:  

1.  The woman said it was the happiest time in her life.  I think her exact quote was something like "Every day is the happiest day of my life."  She had been there since the fall.  She said it was the longest tree sit in America history, barely beating out that great time we all hung out in Bobby’s treehouse for 15 months.  Or something.

2.  Tennessee fans were great to them.  The tree-sitters theorized as some sort of "enemy of your enemy is your friend thing."  I predict that that is not accurate and that the Tennessee fans weren’t as much nice as they were stunned.  Kind of how you are "nice" to animals in a zoo.  You dont scream or yell at them.  But that monkey with the red bottom is a weird oddity.  And certainly compared to the Berkeley fans, who were seeing the tree-sitters for the first time (it started like the day after Big Game 06, I think), the Tennessee fans were going to be less mean.

3.  Nonetheless, Berkeley fans were generally OK.  Some had hurled invectives at my new friends.  Some of their friends had had beer bottles thrown at them by the Berkeley fans.  The tree-sitters seemed to think it was a small group of a-holes ruining it for everybody.  Trying to gain their trust, I said "Isn’t it always that way, I mean right now there’s a small group of a-holes running the country, ruining it for everybody."  I made a educated guess that these tree-sitters were not pro-Bush conservatives, who would have been insulted by that.  And I was right!  I really wanted to say "There’s a BIG GROUP OF A-HOLES RUNNING THE CITY, RUINING IT FOR US ALL!" 

But that might have ended poorly.

4.  I asked about the Order.  The girl said she hadn’t read it.  The guy said he couldn’t read (couldn’t tell whether he was being serious).  The girl said cops used to come by with megaphones and read it out, but that hadnt happened in a while.  It was dated in October of 07, afterall.

And then the cops came.  If you notice in the above photo, there is a woman in a yellow jacket directly below me.  Just a Cal security guard, she must have called the cops on me when I got up in the tree.  Two squad cars came driving up.  This one cop with a HUGE tuft of facial hair coming out of his chin came over towards us.

The tree-sitters said a few things like "Are you new to this beat?"  I couldn’t tell if they were being serious or not.  The cop replied about how generally he was senior enough to not have to come up there.   Then, they started commenting on his uber-sweet facial hair.

So, I was all "Can I just say that yes, you do have really awesome facial hair!"  To which, the cop replied "Oh, thanks, I love your haircut."

Hey!  I think the cop was coming on to me.  Ai!   

The cop then said that he had heard there were some people entering the trees.  That confused me at first.  I wanted to be all "Did you just walk out of December, 2006?" but then I realized he meant me climbing into the tree for a photo.  I explained the photo and said I didn’t want to make trouble and I would move on.  I really wanted to take a photo with the cop, but resisted the urge.  I also probably should have stayed to witness the interaction between the cop and the tree-sitter.  But we decided to move on, instead.  Better safe than sorry, right?

 

"I can smell you from down here." 

And thus ended my investigation into the tree-sitters and their story.  Here are some more photos of the signs and graffitotags at the area.

 

"Rez De Berkeley, fighting terrorism since December 2, 2006."  Yes, because Sandy Barbour is the same as Osama Bin Laden.

Tree Sit Day 479

 

Protecting A Native American Burial Ground.

 

 

And there you go!  GO BEARS! 

This is just a friendly reminder that Spring Ball starts tomorrow (Monday), March 31st, 2008.  Spring ball will go four straight weeks.  All practices are closed to the public except for an April 12th practice during Cal Day. 

And just for fun, here’s Marshawn Lynch’s Wikipedia page.  Now we all know the wikipedia doesn’t lie (sarcasm).  The wiki also says Money scored a 42 on the wonderlic test (which is out of 50).  Good god!  I took a sample like 12 or 15 question wonderlic test thing and did very poorly.  It said I would have gotten like 35 or something on the real test.  I thought I was smart.  Evidently not.  Not as smart as BEAST MODE LYNCH.  Not as smart as Ken Crawford.  Mr. Crawford said he used less than half of his brain!  That means I used less than 35% of my brain.  No wonder why I keep coming up with logical fallacies.  And other relevant numbers which show my general incompetency: an 82 on my driver’s license test; and a credit score of 520. 

Yesterday, TwistNHook mentioned a story about Cal recruit D.J. Seeley, who was shocked by the news of Ben Braun’s firing, and said that he was going to have to reconsider his commitment to Cal.  (FYI, Seeley has signed a National Letter of Intent, but schools often let players out of such commitments after a coach has been fired if the player feels they will no longer be happy at the school.)

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised, then, when I read this today:

Top Cal basketball recruit D.J. Seeley got a call from ousted coach Ben Braun encouraging him to stay committed to the Golden Bears, and the Modesto Christian High School star said he’s just curious to meet his new coach.

Braun didn’t have to do that; he doesn’t owe Cal anything, and no one would have noticed if he’d simply decided to move on and let Cal deal with any wayward recruits on its own.  But that’s not the kind of guy Braun is.  It’s the sort of move that speaks of class, integrity, character; of a guy who really cares about his recruits development not just as basketball players, but as human beings.  Cal may indeed find a more successful basketball coach than Braun, but they won’t find a better man.

And Seeley?  Well, he’s doing the smart thing in continuing to look out for his own interests.  If I were in the same situation, that’s what I’d do.  Hopefully Cal’s next coach can work with Seeley to maximize his talents, making him feel comfortable at Berkeley, but if not, it’s probably best that D.J. moves on.  After all, you’d hate for a guy to come to Cal, only to transfer in a year or two after he discovers that he still isn’t comfortable.  It’s better for everyone involved if he finds out what he’ll be getting into before he heads to campus.

So, it has now been almost 72 hours since Ben Braun was fired, and the coaching search stories are starting to come in; how is Cal faring?

Well, they’re not hiring Pitt’s Jamie Dixon, that’s for sure.  From ESPN.com:

Multiple sources told ESPN.com that Cal made an attempt to hire Dixon within 24 hours of firing Ben Braun. Dixon told the Bears he wanted to stay at Pitt.

Arizona State also tried to hire Dixon before Herb Sendek took the job in the spring of 2006.

There is a perception that Dixon wants to move back to the West Coast because he is from Santa Barbara and his wife is from Hawaii. In truth, he is not looking to get back there as his family thoroughly enjoys living in Pittsburgh.

Well, that sucks.  He’s clearly a guy with a track record of success, one that our AD was interested in hiring, but despite West Coast ties, he turned Cal down cold.

Still, this development doesn’t trouble me too much.  First off, he has already turned down Arizona State, so I don’t think his decision to stay at Pitt was as much as an indictment of Cal as a statement that he likes living in Pittsburgh (sure, it could happen).  Plus, it comforts me that Cal at least offered the job to someone that quickly.  Clearly, even before the decision to terminate Braun was even made, Sandy Barbour’s people were busy making and vetting a list of candidates, and so when the decision came down, they were ready to pounce on a candidate who will almost certainly draw interest from other schools.  No, they didn’t get their guy, but they’re prepared and they’re proactive, which gives me hope that they eventually will get a quality coach.

So with Dixon out, where does the search focus now?  Sources (via the Chronicle) apparently say that the front-runners are now Washington State’s Tony Bennett and Denver Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap.  (Who?  More on that in a second.)  First, Bennett.  From the article:

If, as sources indicate, Bennett does not return to Pullman, his next move wouldn’t necessarily be Cal. He might also be a candidate for the open Indiana job, among others.

True, although according to ESPN.com, Indiana has yet to offer the job to anyone.  Still, if Bennett were looking to upgrade his job (and whatever Ray Ratto says, Cal would be an upgrade over WSU), now would be a good time to get out.  Only a year-removed from being named the national coach of the year, this year he took a senior-laden team to the Sweet 16, where they were thoroughly outclassed by North Carolina.  Next year might not be so successful, and big job offers might begin to dry up.  In any case, it’s unlikely that he’ll be a hotter coaching talent that he is right now.

The same article also mentions that Mike Montgomery is expected to be on Indiana’s list, and that Xavier’s Sean Miller’s buyout would be too rich for Indiana, which almost certainly means that he would be out of Cal’s financial range as well.

In any case, it appears that Indiana will be our chief rival for whatever basketball coach we want to hire, though of course special circumstances will come into play for each specific candidate.  Oh, and both want winners with integrity, which does reduce the potential candidate pool somewhat.

And Mike Dunlap?  From the Chronicle:

Dunlap, 50, joined the Nuggets after a historic nine-year run at Metro State College (Denver), where he went 248-50 and won two Division II championships. He was named NABC Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2002, the championship years, and went to the national semifinals in 1999 and 2004.

In all the articles I’ve read, both by professionals and amateurs, not one has ever mentioned Mike Dunlap.  So where did his name come from?  I’m assuming it popped up due to the diligence of the ADs staff, or through personal contacts, or something.  Regardless, it comforts me that Sandy’s staff is more thorough and prepared than a bunch of idiot columnists and amateur bloggers (myself included).  Rest assured that in the search for the next coach, stones will not remain unturned.

"Yeah, I’d be interested in (the Cal job)," Dunlap said. "I don’t know a whole lot about it; I don’t know particulars about the process. I think a lot of people would be interested in Cal."

Sweet!  At least somebody thinks this a great job, and not just anybody, but an actual head coaching candidate.

Dunlap was a finalist for the USF job in 2004, but he was specific about what it would take to beat perennial West Coast Conference winner, Gonzaga, and was denied the budget for assistant coaches and recruiting, according to a source. He walked out of the final meeting within 30 minutes.

So he wants to get into college coaching, has a plan for being successful, has standards for what job he would be interested in taking, and is interested in the Cal job?  I’d never heard of this guy before this morning, but already I like him.

Anyway, there’s been one overture and one rejection already, but I’m initially encouraged by how the coaching search is proceeding.  It sounds like our athletic department is prepared and ambitious, coming up with inspired candidate choices and not settling for coaches that Cal knows it can get.  Barring unforeseen circumstances, I predict that this whole process will end well.

Edit2:  This might not be a good sign.  Like UCLA, Cal tried to get the Pitt b-ball coach.  Unlike UCLA, Cal apparently failed.   

Edit:  Rod Benson waxes philosophic about Ben Braun.  I forgot to mention when I wrote this post that in a perfect world, my choice for b-ball coach would be Marshawn! 

In the Braunsanity that was Wednesday, there were a few other stories that flew under the radar.  I thought I would take a moment just to go over some of these stories.

First and most important, a Cal QB has left the team. This rumor originally stemmed from Amy over at Okanes blog.  If you do not know who Amy is, consider yourself lucky.  He (she?) is a person (terrible creation of science?) who seems to hate Cal (greatest university ever?) with the passion of a thousand burning supernovae.  He posts all over the Scout boards with his strong anti-Cal views and is quite well known for his strong views.  There’s even a funny thread at the ASU Football board where he started to say some of his anti-Cal things.  And the ASU posters, aware of his online character stature, just started saying a whole bunch of incredibly pro-Cal stuff.  I’m not sure how to find it, though if somebody knows the link and could post it in the comments that’d be great. 

It doesn’t really matter how or why this hatred came to be.  What does seem to be important is that he apparently has a inside connection to Cal.  He claims his father is a big donor.  Either way, when he posted about how a QB was transferring 100% the other day, it did create some concern.  You can even see our very own CBKWit calling him a coward just a few comments lower.  Amy tends to incite those sort of feelings.  Look at these quotes from later on in that Okanes thread:

"I can’t wait for QB departure news to break out. It will be a comedy to see those clowns on BearInsider panic and cry."

Also, do you know why JO will never ban me? If it wasn’t for me blogs like Contra Costa Times would have zero interest. Right now one thread has almost 60 responses. Even the presidential primaries couldn’t get that much interest. Jay Heater knew how good I was for his career and that is why I stayed around posting. Hopefully JO will appreciate my effort as well."

That’s Amy in a nutshell.  Well, the QB in question is Bryan Van Meter.  When that news broke, I am not sure how many of the clowns over at BearInsider cried in panic.  Maybe MoragaBears, but he isn’t really a clown.  More of an early Disney-style cartoonish hobo.  So, I’m not sure if he counts for Amy’s "how many clowns will cry" question. 

That said, Van Meter is not really transferring, because he is staying at Cal.  He just wants to leave the football team to try his hand at Rugby.  Fair enough.  We here at the California Golden Blogs understand why Van Meter would want to try something different.  We wish him nothing but the best in leading rugby to sweet victory!

Speaking of rugby and sweet victories, they lost their first game of the season.   They still won the World Cup, though.  The World Cup is the trophy awarded for their two annual matches against BC.  They split this year, but the trophy goes to the team with the highest points scored.  Cal won by more than it lost (confusing, I know), so they won the award.  Even in loss, Cal wins!  Rare to hear that.

Speaking of winning when losing, Cal might lose when it wins.  Relieving Braun of his duties was a definite step forward for our down on its luck program.  But now it looks like some commitments from prep players might be wavering.  The Modesto Bee is reporting that Christian High senior D.J. Seeley might not come to Cal.   From the article:

""We’re just waiting to see the new coach coming in and what he’s going to be like," Young said. "If D.J. clicks with the new coach, everything will be good. We’re not making any harsh decisions right away.""

Ever the more reason for Sandy Barbour to make sure she hires the right guy.  Hopefully, whomever is hired will be to the liking of DJ Seeley.

That, of course, brings us to the current vacancy in the coaching staff.  Some people have suggested former Cal superstar Kevin Johnson.   Unfortunately, he is running for mayor of Sacramento.  I was even about to do a post on one of KJ’s fundraisers this Wednesday morning when the Braun news came down the wire.  I did a mental calculation on what was more important.  KJ’s fundraising event in San Francisco on Thursday?  Or the firing of Ben Braun?  We went with what we thought people wanted to hear about.  And we stand by that decision!

But KJ’s campaign might end poorly, because there are already concerns about slaughtered farm animals and statutory rape.  Now that is a sentence I never thought I’d ever write.  Don’t worry there isn’t a connection between the statutory rape and the slaughtered farm animals.  Or at least I hope not!  Nonetheless, it might not end well for his campaign.  Maybe he will be the coach afterall!

Finally, Cal baseball!  They are good this year.  I’ve been meaning to write about them, but haven’t had a chance to get out to one of the games.  I will probably be out at the game next Saturday.  Cal, currently ranked 11th, plays 2 time defending national champion OSU.  And this weekend, they face #5 Long Beach State.  Here is the schedule.   With the As looking as they look, Cal might be your best bet for great baseball in the East Bay!  So, get out there and support your team.  GO BEARS!

Well, yesterday the big news was ‘Braun Fired!’  Of course, it took about 15 minutes after the story finally broke nationally for the ‘who’s next?’ phase of the story to begin.  Dozens of articles have been written on this topic since then, recapping the highlights of Braun’s coaching career, the lean years that led to his ouster, maybe quoting Sandy Barbour from her statement yesterday, and then suggesting a half-dozen predictable names of potential replacements, mostly drawn from the ‘local coach recycle bin’.  (Hint:  if you’re reading one of those articles and Steve Lavin’s name is mentioned anywhere, you can immediately stop reading and get back to work — nothing worthwhile to see there.)

Well, before we start irresponsibly tossing out more names of coaches, I think it’s worth stopping and figuring out exactly what it is we want from a coach and a basketball program.  First off, I’d like to mention again this post I wrote about a month ago regarding what we should expect from our basketball program and its head coach.  Though I think the whole discussion is valuable (including the comments), the gist was that we need a coach who:

1) Represents the University well
2) Can regularly compete for conference championships
3) Can have some NCAA tournament success
4) Can bring national relevance to Cal’s basketball program

Ray Ratto seems to think the odds of Cal landing such a person are not good, calling Cal "a school with a largely mid-major profile."  OK, leaving aside the major media market and the new facilities and the local recruiting talent and the major conference exposure and the sterling academic reputation, he’s got a point (don’t tell Kevin over at TheBand that).  Still, Ratto could’ve written (and probably did) the same article following Tom Holmoe’s resignation in 2001.  I think that coaching search turned out OK.

On the subject of what sort of coach Cal will end up with, he had this to say today:

What Cal fans actually deserve is a team that (a) graduates its players, (b) stays off the NCAA’s bad books, (c) has a coach whose recruiting and coaching philosophies mesh far better than Braun’s did and (d) a realistic understanding of where Cal fits in the college basketball universe. It is not UCLA. It is not Indiana. It is not Kansas. It is not North Carolina, or Duke, or 50 other places where basketball drives the entertainment train. It has limitations based on its academic and social culture, its geography and resources, even its place in its own conference.

These can be broadened; Stanford was once a basketball pit. But that happens only in incremental steps rather than quick fixes, with a coach who not only knows his X’s, O’s, C’s and PG’s, but flows with rather than fights against the prevailing tide, and who regards Cal as the ideal place to make a career stand. The way, if you’ll pardon us baiting the hook again, Montgomery did at Stanford.

Ignoring the fact that Braun himself regarded Cal as the ideal place to make a career stand* (one of about a half-dozen nits I’d pick with Ratto’s article), Ratto certainly does have a leg to stand on here.  Cal does not have its pick of whatever coach it wants (this year, that would be Indiana), and not just any hot young coach will do.  A successful head coach at Cal will both understand and embrace not only the natural advantages Cal has to offer, but the unique challenges that this place will  undoubtedly present (*cough* Berkeley City Council *cough*).

Carl Steward of the Contra Costa Times wrote what I consider to be the most intelligent and thoughtful of all the mainstream news articles on this subject.  In searching for a section to quote, I had to stop myself from quoting half the article.  This passage, however, should get his main point across:

…as long as she’s going to be besieged with suggestions on Braun’s replacement, I might as well throw mine on the pile.

Nobody just yet.

Take your time, Sandy, and before you even start sifting through applications and recommendations, call Steve Gladstone or get in a boat and row to wherever he is. Barbour shouldn’t necessarily ask her predecessor as AD about candidates. But she definitely should ask him about a hiring process when it comes to the second-most important job in the Cal athletic hierarchy.

Gladstone, of course, conducted the search for the most important job in that hierarchy — head football coach — and took his sweet old lazy-river time in doing so. During the process, a lot of people wondered if Gladstone was really up to the chore or was just a misplaced crew coach up a creek without a paddle.

But Gladstone delivered a winner — Jeff Tedford — because he was both prudent and patient and had no preconceived notions about "instant" remedies.

I couldn’t agree more.  Get the ‘right’ guy, Sandy, because no one wants to do this again in 5 years’ time.

And what do the players think about all this?  Well, both Jamal Boykin and Theo Robertson spoke to the media yesterday (the most extensive set of quotes I’ve seen can be found here), and as player representatives and soon-to-be fourth years, I’d have to commend them for being both mature and diplomatic about the whole process.  If they had anything bad to say about Coach Braun, they certainly didn’t take this opportunity to say it.  "I know a lot of guys were really appreciative of things that Coach Braun brought to the team," said Robertson.  "He gave us an opportunity to play at this level and gave us a place to play and receive a top-flight education."  Boykin, in regards to whoever might be the next coach at Cal, had this to say:  "I think that the coach would have a lot of the characteristics that Coach Braun had in being compassionate, caring about players, caring about academics, letting the players play who produce the most results."

Of course, neither did the players dig into Sandy Barbour for letting go a coach whom they obviously liked.  Boykin again:  "She’s truly dedicated to getting the best for us and this is what she feels is what’s best for us," said Boykin.  "It’s tough but it’s just one of those things that’s a part of the college basketball business."

So what are the players looking for in their next coach?

"I think there are a lot of positive characteristics from Coach Braun that we’ll talk about but other characteristics I think we’ll be looking for would be a disciplinarian,” said Boykin. “I think that’s something we could really use –some more discipline –in our practices and just moving forward.

“I think every program does. It’s a crucial part of every program. I came from a program (Duke) that was very disciplined. Coming here, there was a difference in that. The advantage of it was that the relationships between the guys here were phenomenal because you’re able to be free and smile and laugh but at times that carried into times that we should’ve been taking care of business. I think having a coach that we kind of fear clowning around with could help us at this point."

That sounds reasonable.  This was a talented team, one that was potent offensively, but the defense was often puzzlingly lax.  Perhaps a little ass-kicking would be in order.  Oh, and in case you were wondering, Robertson also added this:

"I’ve had no indication that anyone was thinking of leaving the program. I’ll have to talk to the guys that weren’t here for the meeting but I don’t have a general sense that any of them are leaning towards leaving the program."

Phew.  Good to hear.

Well, if you’re itching to hear some names speculated about, you could always check out my post from a few weeks ago.  However, if you’re looking for a much more thorough rundown of all the potential names out there, check out this post by smokeyrover over at the Bear Insider.  If some of his post looks familiar, it’s because he left the first part of it as a comment on this post, from which I quoted extensively here.

One thing to note about the search:  don’t be sucked in by the hot coaching names.  When I wrote up my list less than a month ago, I tossed in Bill Grier’s name at the end, almost as an afterthought.  After all, he’s been a head coach for less than a year.  Since then, his San Diego team upset both St. Mary’s and Gonzaga to win the WCC tournament and a trip to the big dance, where they proceeded to take down fourth-seeded UConn in the first round.  Now everybody wants to hire this guy.  Is he a much better coach than he was a month ago?  I doubt it.  Look, I’m not saying anything about Grier.  I’m just saying that you’ve got to judge a candidate by their overall track record, and not just whether his team pulled off a big upset or two a couple weeks ago.

Anyway, names will continue to surface over the next few days and weeks, and when we get credible information that someone is actually been considered/interviewed, rest assured that we’ll be all over it.

———————–

*According to this article, Braun said this in 1997:
"I really believe that Cal is a dream job.  Our values have always been in place here.  I don’t want to be anywhere where the bottom line is only winning games," said Braun.

According to this article, Sandy Barbour said this yesterday:
"The bottom line is we just didn’t win enough games," Barbour said.

FYI, these are not contradictory statements.

ITS OFFICIAL!  We here at the California Golden Blogs all wish Ben Braun nothing but the best.  We realize the past few years have been rough, but he helped clean up Cal.  He helped move us past the unfortunate era of the mid-90s and for that all Cal fans will always be thankful.  It was, it would seem, time for both parties to move forward to bigger and better things.  We greatly enjoyed stalking Ben Braun and wish him good luck with his next step in life.  That said:

 

"FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!" 

As of 11:47 AM, sources close to the athletic department report that Braun has been fired.  It will be announced later today.

There arent a lot of details, but that is what we are hearing.  If we hear anything more, we will send it along to you.  Keep your eyes locked here for more information.  Until then, GO BEARS!

Edit:  FoxSports seems to think Braun is out, too. 

Edit2:  CBSSportsLine, too. 

Edit3:  And the Chron!

This seems like it will be very likely at this point, we just have to wait for the official statement. 

Edit4:  Ah, let’s throw Andy Katz into the mix 

Oof.  I was really looking forward to Monday afternoon, with a vision of a raucous, overflowing bear’s lair cheering on the men in an upset victory (alright, it wasn’t the most realistic vision) as the women methodically moved on to the sweet sixteen.  It was fitting that I couldn’t even get in the door (the bear’s lair is shut down for spring break).  I improvised fairly effectively by setting up TVs side by side in my living room, buying some Pacifico and inviting Ragnarok and his dog, but the dream was dead.

 

"Yeah, daddy, we get to watch so much Cal b-ball together.  Yay!"

-Ragnarok’s Dog ~ 4:15 PM, Monday, March 24, 2008

The men started off competitively.  I won’t say they were playing well; the score was close because the buckeyes kept missing open shots.  I believe they were 1-11 from beyond the arc early, and that more than anything kept Cal in the game and at times gave us the lead.  Then OSU started hitting some buckets, Cal started pressing on offense, and a 1 point lead with less than 7 minutes in the half turned into a 12 point halftime deficit.  It was never close in the second half.

Cal did not play well collectively, and no one had a strong individual performance.  This is generally not a recipe for success.  Randle was the statistical leader in most categories (points, assists, steals), but aside from a great early steal and coast to coast lay-in, he was completely out of control and ineffective running the offense.  His defense wasn’t good either, but we’re used to that.  Ok, we’re used to out of control play and careless turnovers too.

Anderson, in what hopefully wasn’t his last game as a bear, was ineffective as well.  In one critical stretch in the first half (when the game was still close), he missed a dunk and then on the defensive end gave up a steal to OSU for an easy bucket.  He and Hardin also fought over a defensive board, tipping it conveniently to the OSU big Koufos for a dunk.  This has been a common move in Hardin’s arsenal.  For all his athletic prowess, Hardin’s hand eye coordination is sorely lacking, leading to a lot of missed boards and balls fumbled out of bounds or into opposing hands.  It reminds me of Rod Benson during the end of the 06 season - I couldn’t count how many times entry passes or missed shots would glance of Rod’s hands during the Pac-10 tourney.  The critical difference is that Rod was coming back from an injury, and after a terrible Pac-10 tourney he was probably Cal’s best player in the NCAA 1st round loss to NC State.  Now he’s tearing it up in the D-League.  Maybe Hardin will find his hands in the NBA, but his recent performances do not make one optimistic.  It’s also hard to be optimistic when he’s giving up a career high 16 boards to something named Othello Harrington, he of the 6.4 boards per game this season and 14 boards in the last 3 games combined.  I wish DeVon all the best, and the rebounding and defensive problems are not completely his fault (Anderson is not what you’d call a defensive stalwart), but he’s certainly been a frustrating player to watch at times.

The women’s game thankfully started right when the men’s game was getting out of hand, so I put the men’s game on mute and turned the adjacent TV to ESPN2.  Ragnarok, the dog, and I were instantly rewarded.  Whereas the two men’s teams started their game a combined 3-24 on three pointers (and not due to defense, both teams were simply cold.), our women hit 4 of their first 5 treys.  After some early lead changes, Cal started to assert itself and took an eight point lead into the locker room.

Cal lead for 19 minutes and 15 seconds of the second half.  For 32 seconds the score was tied at 36 before Cal pushed the lead to 43-38.  Cal lead by 7 at the 4 minute mark, and by 6 with just over 3 minutes.  Those are big leads in a women’s basketball game.  The wheels came off on Cal’s second to last offensive possession, starting with about 50 seconds left and a two point lead.  Natasha Vital rushed a long jumper with a dozen seconds left on the shot clock.  The airball was collected by George Washington, and while Cal stood around flat-footed waiting for a timeout, the senior laden GW team took the ball straight to the rack for an easy lay-in.  Tie game.  Cal called timeout with 12 seconds left, then attempted to call another timeout with 5 seconds left after Vital brought the ball accross half court.  Unfortunately, she traveled, setting up the improbable airball/pass to the back side of the rim for a 3 foot bank shot.  With less than 1 second left, GW took its first lead since the 17:24 mark in the first half, when they lead 5-4.

I hope this sounds as brutal as it actually was.  Blowout losses are worse for a program (nothing looks better than losing by 20 in the NIT on ESPN!), but they’re a lot easier on the fans.  You’re able to start throwing up defense mechanisms early (in my case, sarcasm: "Nice shot selection Randle!  Great defensive positioning DeVon!") and have more time to come to terms with the loss.  The women’s game was simply heartbreaking.  They were on the brink of the program’s first ever sweet sixteen only to see it slip away with two vital mistakes (get it??  vital is a synonym for important and also the last name of the player who committed the mistakes.  Genius!)  Of course, Vtial cannot be held soley responsible.  Cal gave up 13 offensive boards (though they collected 15), and Alexis Gray-Lawson, who played a great game otherwise, missed the front end of a 1-1 with 2 minutes left.  The women will be back next year, as every contributor returns and 2 highly touted freshman guards arrive to patch up the sometimes shaky backcourt.  Still, this was a sweet sixteen caliber team this year.

Sometimes life just sucks.

"Daddy, why does God want me to feel so much pain?" 

- Ragnarok’s dog ~ 7:15 PM, Monday March 24th, 2008

 

"Welcome to being a Cal fan, son"

Ragnarok ~ 7:15 PM, Monday, March 24th, 2008 

(Thanks to Ragnarok, who contributed the title and dog to this report). 

While we wait for CBKWit’s views on the b-ball games yesterday, I thought I’d take a moment to talk about the two-QB system. 

So somebody reported that Tedford is considering a two-QB system.  When I read this, I was surprised.  The whole idea of using two-QBs has always been kicked around by Cal fans and rejected by Tedford.  Most Cal fans who advocate a dual-QB system are ones who have seen the success that Florida had with Tim Tebow and Chris Leak.  Or this last year seen the success that LSU has had with subbing in Ryan Perrilloux.  In 2008, expect to see Ohio State use Terrelle Pryor like Tebow.  Yes, having a ridiculously good offense can be sexy, and by doing whatever other successful teams do, we too can be all sexy on offense.  Right?  Well… not really. 

First of all, Cal doesn’t have a QB like Tim Tebow or Ryan Perrilloux.  I’ve heard some Cal fans say that (former Cal QB) Kyle Reed or Kevin Riley is our Tim Tebow.  Umm…. no.  First off, neither has the running power of Tebow.  Neither has the weight that Tebow has.  And I’m not quite sure that either is as fast as Tebow. 

Second, Tedford doesn’t like his QBs getting hit.  Whether it’s in the pocket or outside of the pocket, Tedford doesn’t want his "field generals" getting injured.  We all know what an injury can do to a team (see Cal’s 2005 and 2007 seasons). 

Third, using a two-QB system doesn’t build up player confidence.  Whether you’re simply subbing in your #2 QB for one snap a drive, or you’re merely going with the hot-hand for the game, the incumbent is always left wondering when he’s going to get yanked.  If he simply makes one bad throw, is he going to get yanked?  Two?  Does the coach count WR drops against him too?  What’s the rule on when a player is expected to get yanked?  Tedford has elaborated on this topic a few times in the past few years.  While I don’t have specific quotes on hand from the past, CBKWit got a great quote from his recent 2008 Recruiting Class Party and State of the Program Address (see the second to last question).  Here’s what Tedford said:

I don’t really like the 2 qb system because I don’t want people playing scared, looking over their shoulders every time they make a mistake.

That’s been his standard response every time somebody asks him about a two-QB system.  He doesn’t like it.  Meaning, we probably won’t see it.  The two-QB system doesn’t instill confidence and trust in his incumbent QB.  

Tedford is essentially being fair to the player.  He lets the best player start unless the best player gets injured, or the season is beyond being salvaged and you might as well let the backups get game experience (such as putting Kevin Riley in at the start of the 2nd Quarter of the Bell Helicopter Bowl Game versus Air Force in 2007). 

Anyways, we have two conflicting reports.  One guy on BearInsider-Growls saying that Tedford hinted on the *possibility* of using a two-QB system and our very own CBKWit who heard Tedford say that Tedford doesn’t like the two-QB system. 

So I mean, Tedford could not like the two-QB system but still consider using it, right?  It’s possible.  That statement would validate both the poster on BearInsider-Growls and CBKWit.  But if you look at CBKWit’s report of the State of the Program Address, while Tedford doesn’t explicitly deny any chance of a two-QB system, he does say he dislikes it bringing about the inference that it’s not really a possibility. 

So who are we to believe?  What BearInsider-Growls guy heard?  What CBKWit heard?  Or the strange combination of the two where Tedford doesn’t like the two-QB system but will consider it if a starter can’t be chosen?

Well, I’m going with CBKWit.  First of all, I know CBKWit.  I know he knows his stuff (football and Cal Football).  There is no way CBKWit would confuse the question or answer.  Second of all, Tedford’s answer that CBKWit heard is more along the past explanations that Tedford has given.  Honestly, I can’t even remember EVER hearing Tedford say he’d consider a two-QB system.  And third, Tedford has always said that two-QB systems make the QBs play scared.  So yeah, CBKWit’s report of Tedford’s answer is more along the lines of what we’ve always heard Tedford say than the BearInsider-Growls guy (and I’m not saying that guy is a liar, but that if Tedford gave two different answers to the same question, I believe the "truer" answer was the one he gave to CBKWit). 

So, are we going to see a two-QB system next year with Longshore and Riley?  

No, almost certainly not. 

Strictly speaking, today’s games are not a double-header; they will in fact overlap, as the men tip off in Columbus, Ohio at 7 PM ET (4 PM PT), while the women will get going at Stanford just an hour later, 5 PM PT (8 PM ET).  For the Cal basketball fan, it promises to be a channel-flipping feast, with the men’s NIT game airing on ESPN while the women’s NCAA game will be part of ESPN2’s "whiparound" tournament coverage.  So, with that in mind, I’ve worked up a short (and slightly overlapping) preview for tonight’s hoops madness.

First up:  the men, who will get going before I get off work tonight.  Ohio State isn’t the same team that made it to the national title game last year, as both Greg Oden and Mike Conley, Jr. left school early and were top-5 draft picks.  Still, the team that was left was pretty good in a so-so Big 10, finishing 5th at 10-8.  Though they were not invited back to the Big Dance this year, in part because they lost 7 of their last 11, including at moribund Michigan and a Big 10 tournament quarterfinal loss to Michigan State, they did enough to earn a No. 1 seed in the NIT.  They’ve definitely gone toe-to-toe with some heavyweights this year, falling by 10 to North Carolina and by only 5 at Tennessee.  However, they also got pasted by 19 at Butler and by 23 at home to Texas A&M.

The Buckeye’s best players are senior point guard Jamar Butler and freshman seven-footer Kosta Koufos.  Given Cal’s strength inside, I’m more worried about Butler.  Koufos can be quieted, as he’s been held to 4 points (North Carolina and Michigan State), 6 points (Iowa), 7 points (Iowa) and 8 points (Illinois and Coppin State(!)), and hasn’t picked up more than 6 boards in his last 7 games.  Butler, however, will probably take advantage of our weak perimeter defense to both pour in some points (averaging almost 15 points per game) and help his teammates out (averaging over 6 assists per game, and his assist/turnover ratio is 2.26).  Oh, and don’t put him on the line; he’s only missed 5 free throws all season.  Butler will hurt us, that’s for sure.  Cal can only hope to contain him, not shut him down completely.

Then, the Cal women will face off against George Washington, with a trip to the Sweet 16 in Greensboro, North Carolina on the line.  Joanne Boyle should know all about George Washington from her days in the Atlantic 10 as the coach at Richmond, which should help some.  GW is no stranger to success, winning 20 games for the 9th straight season, including a Sweet 16 appearance last year, so I imagine Boyle will be wary of the Colonials’ tricks.

At this point in my preview, I think I’ll just ‘borrow liberally from ESPN:

The team is best known for coach Joe McKeown’s Blizzard defense. As the story goes, McKeown — who became the 34th Division I women’s coach to reach the 500-career victory plateau in early February — promised his players at New Mexico State (1986-89) dessert at Dairy Queen as a reward for good defense. Not just any defense, mind you, but an aggressive, trapping matchup zone that he brought with him to GW and that harassed foes into 18.7 turnovers per game this past regular season. As ESPN.com’s Graham Hays wrote in January, the Blizzard "turns offensive sets into shot-clock triage" and results in forced shots and "rhythm-breaking scrambles." Opponents shot just 37.1 percent from the field and averaged only 56.5 ppg through the regular season.

Given the Bears’ erratic guard play this year, such an aggressive defense could be a concern.  In their 6 losses this year, Cal has turned the ball over 21, 16, 11, 14, 14 and 16 times.  No matter how good your post players are, they can’t score if you can’t get them the ball.

Also of concern for the Bears is the absence of backup center Rama N’diaye, who hurt her knee in the victory over San Diego on Saturday.  Given the Bears’ lack of depth, it’s hardly an injury they can afford right now, and the hope is that it’s not a bad one.

Still, this looks to be a tough matchup for the Bears, and if they move on to the next round, they’ll have earned it.  Still, according to Shantrell Sneed’s blog, the players sound confident, which is what you like to hear:

We know that we need to take care of the ball against their "blizzard defense." I feel like if we just stay composed and especially if Rama [N’diaye] is out, if everyone does a little bit more, whatever their role may be, I think we’ll be ok.

So, big day ahead for Cal basketball.  Can the men keep their season going?  For some reason, they seem to play better on the road this year, which is why I’m more hopeful than perhaps I have a right to be.  What about the women?  Can they handle a pressure defense with composure and avoid turning the ball over?  Do they have what it takes to reach the first Sweet 16 in program history?  Yeah, I think they do.  Go Bears!

Earlier this week, I wrote about my experience at the men’s NIT game vs. New Mexico.  In particular, I focused on the apparent lack of fan interest/support present for the game.  It was disappointing, sure, but I understand the reasons behind it:  the hasty turnaround in organizing the game and selling tickets, the fans’ disappointment at missing the NCAAs yet again, and the growing discontent with Braun’s leadership of the team and the program.

Still, I was a little saddened by an email I received yesterday from Chris Avery, a published over at The Bear Insider (whom I’m assuming is the same person who posts as GreyBear).  Asked to forward it to every other Cal basketball fan I know, the best I can do is to publish it on my blog in its entirety:

I regret to report that I have heard from a couple of people close to the Cal men’s basketball program that several players on the team were disappointed (and are feeling somewhat hurt) by the lack of fan support at the first round NIT game at Haas Pavilion.

None of them is complaining publicly, and this message has not been prompted by any of the players or coaches.

If you’ve read the posts on our the website about the poor attendance (1,902), you know the variety of reasons that some have cited for staying away - and also that several of those said they regretted not being there to support the players.  

Through a variety of interviews, videos, and post-game comments, we’ve come to know these guys pretty well - Christopher, Hardin, Anderson, Randle, Boykin, et. al. - a great bunch of guys.

So we are troubled to hear about their disappointment - partly because we also know that most fans understand that player support should always come first - even when -  or especially when - other issues may interfere with attendance.

We won’t debate those other issues here, but we do want to ask you to help us put support for the players back on center stage.

To do that, we have created a special discussion board where fans can post their messages of support for the team. The Ohio State game is Monday evening, so we will deliver a copy of the posts to the team Monday some time during the day.

Click on this link to get to the board:

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=166#s=166&f=3930

Please join us in expressing your support - and please forward a copy of this email to every other Cal basketball fan that you know. Prompt action is important.

Thanks for joining in,

Chris Avery
Publisher
The Bear Insider

I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Avery’s sentiments.  Through what has been a trying season at times, our Bears have, to a man, continued to play hard and fight through adversity, coming within a few questionable calls of upsetting a UCLA squad that is as talented and well-coached as there is in the country.  Everyone one of them has been a fine representative of his University, and I have no doubt that, when their time comes, several of them will continue to do their alma mater proud in the NBA.  If you are a fan at all of Cal Basketball, I cannot fathom how you could not support this team of fine young men.

At the same time, though I do not flatter myself that the players themselves would read this blog (indeed, I might caution them not to), I would hope that they would understand, especially in today’s environment, that it is possible to both support the troops and at the same time question their leadership.  Unfortunately, it is often difficult to see how actions of the latter type could possibly be compatible with the sentiments of the former, and I understand how this could lower their morale.  Though I obviously cannot speak for all Cal fans, I at least wish them the best of luck in the NIT, and if I have criticized them, it is only because I wish that they will perform better in the future.

Yet criticism is not nearly as harmful to a sports program as disinterest.  For my own part, I’m simply unable to just stop caring about this team.  The players are fun to watch, and I really want them to succeed.  That’s how I’m built as a sports fan.  And when Cal Basketball eventually does reattain success, my share in their joy will be greater for having unwaveringly followed them through the lean times that preceded such success.  Indeed, having followed the football team through the Holmoe years (I personally attended 10 of the 11 games during the 1-10 season) has given me perspective on the sucess of the Tedford Era that newer fans, through no fault of their own, are simply not afforded.

In any case, our Cal Basketball squad is still playing, and they still have something to play for.  If you do indeed still support these players, and this team, I would encourage you to join with Mr. Avery’s efforts and let the team know that, even if you were unable to attend the New Mexico game on Wednesday, you’ll still be cheering them on via ESPN this Monday evening.  I know they’d appreciate it.

In short:  Go Bears!  Beat the Buckeyes!  Bring home another title!