Volunteer For the Cause (Cal-Tennessee Soliloquy)
I remember tuning into this game, watching for about ten minutes, slowly lowering my head into my legs, assuming the fetal position, and eventually proclaiming “It’s over” by halftime. Wasn’t sure if I meant the game, the offense or the season, but you have to credit Cal for hanging in there after this game–they were shellshocked for half the Minnesota game before they got back into gear. This was like watching Lee order Pickett’s Charge, only if no one got killed and slaves weren’t emancipated as a result.
Still, it reignited all the Pac-10 vs. real college football team jokes, that Cal again lacked the mental toughness to succeed against a powerhouse from the Right Coast. Although we briefly scrambled back into contention for the BCS before the double knockout in November, the respect never seemed to be there.
Now once again our season’s direction could be decided on the opening game. Last time we had the convenient excuse of 105,000 screaming rednecks and the road factor, the first actual Tedford experience into real football territory. For the Deep South, college football might be the second holiest thing next to enlisting in the military–expect plenty of Volunteers in Memorial Stadium, and don’t be surprised when they drown out the typical, laid-back Cal fans.
But this isn’t Rocky Top, and the inexperience factor has long disappeared. There can’t be any excuses this time around. The stakes for Cal are clear: Win, and they make their first step into the world of college football giants. Lose, and it’s a long nine weeks until USC comes a calling, with a brutal road schedule forthcoming.
The reality isn’t easy. But fulfilling expectations never is.
In case you want a reminder of the horrific events of 9/2/06…
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The War Has Already Begun. And Ended.
The site of battle: The Oaks outside Memorial stadium. The soldiers at arms, seen here wearing traditional Haradin gear (either that or we’ve found our local terrorist cell) are already beginning their steadfast defense of their majesties of nature. Unfortunately for the bloodthirsty (seriously, I think their diet doesn’t contain enough iron, they desperately need some blood) defenders, the UCPD has chosen the path of non-violence and decided to go all Roman Empire on them. Siege warfare it is.
A UC Berkeley construction crew began fencing off the tree sitters in an oak grove in front of Memorial Stadium this morning. University officials said the 8-foot fence barrier was being erected for safety reasons in advance of Cal’s opening football game with the University of Tennessee on Saturday at 5 p.m.
The Bears Are Roaring (Cal Football Season Preview)
- The California Golden Blogs lead off with with their roundtable discussions of Cal and their Pac-10 rivals: USC, Oregon, OSU, Washington, WSU, Arizona, ASU, UCLA, Stanford are all discussed. On a lighter note, if you’re thinking of the best places to march to on a Pac-10 road trip, get your plane tickets ready for Seattle (ok, so it isn’t a standard road trip, whatever).
- Kevin and Eli over at The Band Is Out on the Field take a look into our depth chart, both defensively and offensively. Plus, a disturbing case of the jitters (I seem to be feeling the same way).
- Ken Crawford from Excuse Me For My Voice also has listed his predictions about the upcoming season. He does have some updates from both practice weeks one and two and some news as to how the Vols will be running offense in Memorial Stadium. Better keep up.
- Jonathan Okanes’s best work is coming Thursday and Friday. Should be a good read.
- Rose Bowl Before I Die has our depth chart out and some bold statements about our team’s defensive strength this year.
- The Cal Football Fan reports that Kirk Herbstreit has high expectations for our players. That’s wonderful. That bandwagoning asshat better get his predictions right.
How do you guys feel about the upcoming season? Apprehension? Anticipation? Apathy? Share in the comments.
Down The Field to Tennessee (Cal Football Season Preview)
The time to this season’s kickoff can be counted now in the mere hours (just over seventy-two away from starting things off at Memorial Stadium). Who has the advantage? Let’s find out from the other side–Volunteers fans. I wonder where their allegiances could lie.
These are all genuine responses from Vols fans at their message board. It’s a vibrant community, definitely worth checking out if you want some more insight into Tennessee sports.
There has long been a contention that SEC fans are more passionate and diehard in support of their teams, especially in contrast to the laid-back Pac-10. Having lived and travelled through the South in my formative years, I know how much you guys care about it, perhaps tooo much. Is this really a good thing, or does it burn you out (especially after a loss to Florida or LSU)?
It doesnt burn this Vol fan out. I will say that the expectations are so high for each years team that people can be blinded by their love and their expectations…only to be disappointed and hurt when the team doesn’t live up to them.
…
It never burns us out. We look forward to it every year. When we say football is like religion down here, we mean it. It’s a topic 365 days a year, and we’re perfectly happy with that. In other sports in other regions, the game is just that, a game. Down here, whether you at the stadium or watching at home, the whole day is considered “an event”.
And it doesn’t hurt that every single one of us on this board have friends, good friends, or relatives that are alumni or fans of one or more of our rivals. Braggin’ Rights are big, and having to wait 365 for revenges is tough. Die Hard doesn’t come close to accurate description when your best friend is a Bama fan and you’ve lost 11 in a row to them (as i had to suffer thru with my best friend when i was a kid).
Dropping Out of Bad Classes, Falling Into Good (Telebears Recap)
With the craziness of the first few days behind you and now all your syllabi are lined up for calendar organization, you’ve probably already found one or two classes where you’re going, “Oh, shit, this is going to blow.”
Never to fear. I think this might be the thousandth time I’ve written about this, but it’ll be the last one–at least until spring. Here are all the related posts about Telebears for this semester, surmised into one post. If you guys find any errors in professors, textbooks, or have any of your own recommendations for teachers to take, comment and share away.
Part I–Math
Part II–Physics
Part III–EECS
Part IV–Engineering
Part V–Pre-Meds
Part VI–MCB
Part VII–IB
Part VIII–Economics
Part IX–Business
Part X–Statistics
Part XI–PEIS/Poly. Sci.
Part XII–Psychology
Part XIII–History
Part XIV–English
Part XV–Linguistics
Part XVI–Philosophy
Part XVII–Anthropology
Part XVIII–Sociology
The Easiest Professors Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV
The Hardest Professors
The Worst Professors
The Best Professors
Again, if you have any additional suggestions/disagreements/testaments for these classes and others shoot them off in the comments. Deadlines for dropping/adding are approaching.
Interviewing The Golden Bloggers (Cal Football Season Preview)
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a football maniac. Okay, maybe I am, but I’m a stupid football maniac. I can’t claim to be knowledgeable about the offensive package Jeff Tedford runs. I don’t have the slightest clue about whether Washington State or Washington will be the more likely team to upset the Golden Bears this semester. So I set off to find answers to some of these pressing questions and managed a few answers from the busy people in the Cal football blogosphere. Hopefully more will follow
Some start-off questions (with hopefully more answers) with answers from Hydrotech of the California Golden Blogs, follow after the jump. He’ll explain his blog for ya and give you the gist of how much the Tennessee game means this week.
The Shining Lights (Ten of the Best Professors This Semester)
Standing ovations. You don’t do this often. Maybe at a basketball game, maybe after a great musical. But these teachers? They lecture so perfectly that you can’t help but stand and cheer. So in case you want a great experience in class along with your good grades, obsessively stare at your waitlists and try to barge in on these classes.(Textbooks available online are pictured after each course.)
Ron Gronsky, Engineering 45, Properties of Materials
(5.0 out of 5.0): “Awesome class, awesome dude…He gets you through the vast amount of information at a very nice clip, and always engages the class and makes the subject so easy and fun…Made me want to major in Mat Sci. Tests are fair, if do the homework and labs you’ll do fine…go to office hours!”
Shouldn’t You Have Been Fired Yet? (Ten of the Worst Professors This Semester)
Just for the fun of it, we decided to create the doomsday scenario for you. Some of you think you have it bad with your miscellaneous craploads? Imagine a combination of the following teachers of terror. These profs are not going to make your life fun. So in case you’ve ever thought of killing yourself, these teachers might place you over the edge.
Mariane Ferme, Anthro 189, Special Topics in Cultural Anthropology (1.4 out of 5): “She is very unorganized, had to change the syllabus about 5 times, people usual zone out during lecture…I learned nothing except how a professor can humiliate and brutalize students’ egos…She’s extremely unhelpful, rude, and purposely tries to embarrass students. Seriously…she’s crazy.”
How Sadomasochistic Are You? (Hardest Classes This Semester)
Hey tough guy. So taking 25 units with research wasn’t backbreaking enough for you? Do you just really want a kick in the ass? Want to feel the cold boot of academia squash you into the ground until you’re nothing but bones and meat? Believed you’ve had it too easy as a kid, and can’t find a dominatrix around? Well, what’s on this list will definitely present you with an adequate challenge.
Welcome to UC Berkeley Boot Camp 101. These teachers will make you beg for mercy. You think you know pain? You don’t even know. You have been warned. (Textbooks for class listed under the profs).
Christine Palmer, American Studies 10, Intro to American Studies
Amish Children,
& American Studies 101, Examining U.S. Cultures in Time
(Easiness: 2.1 out of 5): “I actually drug myself out of bed to walk a mile into the basement of the library at 8am twice a week my last semester at Cal because her class was just that good. Grading is tough but fair and reading was always interesting…midterm was difficult, and the Final was extremely difficult (plan on being able to synthesize from very obscure prompts for the essay questions.”
Just Want To Club in SF? Easiest Classes This Semester, Part IV
(The semester is now closer than ever, and you’re probably scrambling around Telebears these last few weeks, filling up holes in your schedules with classes you probably will end up hating. Well, no worries. We’ll be happy to provide you with teachers who will be pushover…push you to your limits. Of your alarm clocks. If you’re just looking for classes to end your time at Berkeley on the right note or start it off without a damper, this might be your list. You’ll be sleeping every night comfortably taking this schedule. Your dreams will be endless. And you will be dousing yourself in alcohol every Saturday night. Ain’t that the life?
There are obvious courses you can cruise-control through (Physics 10, Astro 10, anything with a 10), so let’s find some more unlikely candidates. This is a five part series in no particular order. Classes for your snooze button after the jump. All ratings from Rate My Professors and texts are available after the descriptions)
Gary Firestone, MCB 135A, Molecular Endocrinology (Easiness: 4.2): “The most useful thing I learned in this course was how to critique a research paper, a skill that was highly necessary in graduate school… very easy tests because its very obvious what he’s going to emphasize: hormones.”
