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| 11/23 |
| 2004/10/12-13 [Academia/UCLA, Recreation/Sports] UID:34063 Activity:low |
10/12 How long will we be able to keep Tedford?
http://csua.org/u/9fm
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6195155 |
| 11/23 |
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| csua.org/u/9fm -> www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2004/10/12/fool311.DTL Niners headed down the road to ruin 08/31/2004 Cal football fans are pondering some awfully strange things these days in the wake of that epic struggle with USC. For instance, this week's game with UCLA would normally be one of those g ames where Cal is trying to save a season, or perhaps ruin a superior se ason for the Bruins. No, Cal is favored by two touchdowns over UCLA and figures to be only mil dly annoyed by the smaller, weaker collection of fur-covered brothers. Was it "Typical Cal" because the Bears made just enough mistakes to lose? Was Cal clearly the better team as many national experts have pointed out in the last two days? Is a BCS game easily within reach now because outside of Cal and USC, the Pac-10 is pretty bad this season and Cal isn't going to lose again? Can Cal perhaps even play for the national title if USC slips up against Arizona State or maybe UCLA? The most important thing to ponder in all this, and the most frightening, is: How long will Jeff Tedford stay? He may be the hottest coaching property in the nation right now and with new head coaches needed at top programs like Texas, Penn State, Notre Da me and even Florida State, it's difficult to imagine Tedford hanging wit h this Berkeley thing much longer. At Texas, the only thing he'd have to worry about is coaching football. T he facililites are terrific and his salary would likely triple. At Penn State and Notre Dame, he could take programs that are mediocre (a t best) right now and turn them back into big time winners. At Florida State, he'd get any player he wants and contend for the nation al title every year. Well, he's earned some national recognition for the program, taki ng the Bears into the Top 10 and on to national TV. When he brings recruits to Berkeley, the stroll along Telegraph Avenue is likely frightening to most kids as wild-eyed freaks claw at them for mo ney. Wo w On campus, you're a football god, not an overly aggressive example of our media-controlled society. These things (music, clubs, women) are very important to most 17-year-old football stars. If Bear Backers don't come up with some serious cash soon, Tedford is gon e Then we'll see a lot more games where the only reaction can be . Vince Young is tall and athletic and patently awful at passing a football . Gutless Texas never had a chance against Oklahoma and with Young throw ing sidearmed off his back foot, slinging balls five yards short or 10 y ards wide of the intended targets, it quickly became an embarrassment. Ohio State has had some of the worst quarterbacks in Big Ten history the last few seasons, all the while somehow piling up tons of wins. Still, with just about the best talent in the country, the Bucks are 0-2 in league and headed for a crummy bowl again after a solid two-year run. Something bugs me about evil-looking head coach Jim Tressel. It's like bodies-in-the-closet scary and it's going to come out one day soon. I'm more stunned that a team ranked in the top 20 could sink to the lowest level of college football in less than 14 days. I was cheering for Atlanta partly because of Jeff Kent's classless act in Game 4 After Adam LaRoche homered to tie the game, Kent dropped his head, k icked at the dirt and openly clowned his fallen pitcher. Boy Wonder then hit into a double play with a game on the line. The Astros are truly on e of the most worthless franchises in all of sports. The Braves, on the other hand, are trying to take from the Giants the tit le of all-time baseball chokers. Ten first-round exits from the playoffs in 13 tries is butt ug ly. No wonder no one shows up to watch them in the playoffs. Quick question: How bad do you have t o be at your job to get fired as a base coach or a bench coach? If I hear one more announcer say this is the series "ev ery baseball fan wants," I'm gonna yack. I'm guessing A's fans, for inst ance, would be just fine with A's and Orioles in the ALCS. I'm secretly hoping for a Devil Rays-Blue Jays ALCS next season so we can literally feel the panic of Fox Sports marketing gerbils. Question of the Week responses: Who are the biggest chokers in sports? I never knew I could get so much satisfaction watchi ng a team fall on their face. They played gutless, heartless cry-baby ba seball for 162 games and it's exactly what these Chicago fans deserved. They gave themselves a World Series parade in April, and blamed everybod y insight when the division, let alone the wild card wasn't handed to th em. Say what you want about Alou, he runs circles around Dusty. He's possibly the smart est color guy around,is on the outs with the Cubs and would surelytemp er the current announcers' home-townbias. He's in cahoots with the Bush team, and his management of the 49ers franchise is part of a scheme to punish California -- and particularly the ultra-liberal Bay Area -- for being so ... Just by sitting in the Angels press box he's caused Boston to go two u p on the road in the first round. It seems the giants (ZERO for California in champions hip banners) and their fans have become kindred spirits of the Red Sox. The loss last year to the Cardinals was of classic proportions. By winning enough games during the season to raise the hopes of the Ice State they only make it worse when they come crashing down on an other Daunte Culp eper fumble. Laughable how many t imes this group of underachievers coughed up a kidney. If Scott Norwood had to take a drug test would he be wide left? |
| msnbc.msn.com/id/6195155 MATCHUPS Cal's future rests on keeping Tedford Coach transformed Bears, but will he see mission through? Image: Jeff Tedford David Zalubowski / AP file Will Jeff Tedford follow in the footsteps of former California coaches Br uce Snyder and Steve Mariucci and leave the program for a more lucrative job? Click Here The university athletic department revolves around the stoic, 45-year-old football coach with the cool wrap-around sunglasses. He has done more t han just breathe life into a football program that had descended below r ock bottom. He has made it a Top 10 team, perhaps even a BCS game team; This is the game all our fans were circling on the calendar, quarterbac k Aaron Rodgers said. AP, coaches' polls Its hard to imagine that Cal is the only Pac-10 team that hasn't finishe d in first at least once the past 11 years, and, just three years ago, h ad a dismal 1-10 season that was worse than the record suggests, if that s possible. The Cal student body is not the type that goes into hysterics over its sp orts teams, but the alumni are beside themselves. The crowd of 58,494 fo r Cals home opener against New Mexico State might not suggest fan excit ement to a Big Ten fan, but it more than doubled the 24,692 at the home game against New Mexico State two years ago and practically represents a college football mania in the Bay Area, where pro sports rule sports fa ns habits. With Tedfords firm hold on every aspect of the Cal program and his pench ant for creating stars out his quarterbacks, the good times may be rolli ng for a while at Cal. Ever since the middle of Tedfords first season, Cal fans seemed resigned to the fact that Tedford would abandon them for a more lucrative job, j ust as Bruce Snyder and Steve Mariucci did when they had some success at Berkeley. Tedford, however, has hinted that he might stay awhile, but o nly if Cal follows through with its plans for an overhaul of the stadium facilities that will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 million . His contract, rewritten after his first season, gives him an annual salar y of $800,000, and if Cal should reach a BCS game, the incentive bonuses would bring it to $12 milliion. But the $1 million buyout clause dwind les to $500,000 if Cal does not break ground on the renovation by Dec. On the incentive side, Tedford gets a $500,000 bonus if he is Cals head coach when the first game at the renovated stadium is played. The proble m is that Cal has a long way to go to raise the necessary funds, and new athletic director Sandy Barbour arrived less than a month ago and recog nizes the window of opportunity is closing. Keeping Tedford should solid ify Cals place as a national player. More important, it would mean incr eased attendance and revenue, which could fund the sports that are in je opardy because of the drastic cuts in state funds. For now, Tedford is a god around the Bay Area, approaching the genius sta tus Bill Walsh enjoyed when he led the 49ers out of obscurity. Tedford c aptured Cal fans hearts two years ago when he used a gadget play on his very first snap as head coach to produce a spectacular 71-yard touchdow n Tedford has not given them a chance to revoke their allegiance since. It wasnt one thing Tedford did that turned things around. Coach takes care of every little detail, Rodgers said, from the way we travel to the way we dress, the way we practice, the way we do walk-thr ough. Coach always says, everybody has a will to win, but not everyone has the will to prepare to win, Cal receiver Chase Lyman said. The Bears have not played a single game under Tedford in which they looke d ill-prepared. The teams performance has been as consistent as Tedford s expressionless face regardless of when and where it plays. Since Tedf ord took over, the Bears are 9-5 at home and 9-5 on the opponents home field, with three of those road losses being by four points or less. Its no accident that Cal went from minus-17 in turnover margin the year before Tedford arrived to plus-18 in his first season at Cal. Every single practice we talk about ball security, Tedford said. If th e ball comes away from the rib cage of a runner, if you see any space, h es going to hear about it whether he fumbles or not, Tedford said. JJ Arrington ranks fifth in the nation in rushing this season, but he w ent two consecutive games without a single carry last year because he wa s stuck in Tedfords doghouse for fumbling a few times. People dont rea lize how much Tedford relies on that running game. Having coached seven quarterbacks who later started games in the NFL and transforming Kyle B oller from a three-year bust into a first-round NFL draft pick has obscu red the fact that Cal led the Pac-10 in rushing last season and ranks si xth nationally in that category this year. Rodgers got most of the cred it for last years upset of USC by completing 17 of 21 first-half passes , but the key was Adimchinobe Echemandus 147 yards rushing, making him the first player in 17 games to surpass 100 yards against the Trojans. In fact, Tedford seems to have a pretty good read on Pete Carrolls defen se. The Bears shot out to a 21-3 lead over USC before losing 30-28 two y ears ago, and, of course, Cal handed USC its only loss last season. Thats why Cal has a chance against the Trojans on Saturday, even though USC has the advantages of revenge motivation, an extra week of preparati on because of a bye and the home field. If Cal wins, Tedfords celebrity rises further, making the wealthy colleg e programs more interested and adding pressure to Cals fund-raising eff ort to accommodate Tedfords wishes for new digs. |