A thought I had earlier: all 4 of Cal's 2008 losses came on the road to teams that are playing in bowls. 2 of those teams won their bowls (Maryland and Arizona) and the other two (U$C and Oregon State) haven't played yet.
Additionally, Cal beat three other bowl teams: Colorado State, Michigan State, and Oregon, which just ran all over Oklahoma State. That doesn't count Miami, which Cal beat in the Emerald Bowl. Stanford and Arizona State both barely missed bowl eligibility. The only truly terrible teams on Cal's schedule were the Washington schools.
Considering this was supposed to be a "rebuilding" year, that's not too shabby.
Showing posts with label Cal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cal. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Today, I Didn't Even Have To Use My AK.
... I have to say it was a good day.
Kind of an average day today at work, but it was a pretty good night. I had an appointment today with my allergy doctor for an annual visit. I last saw him last Christmas vacation, which means I didn't have to go in for a sinus infection or bronchitis all year. That is pretty phenomenal.
I'm not exactly sure why I had such a good year (which, given my back and cholesterol problems, is sort of ironic). I would attribute it to a couple of factors. One, over-the-counter Zyrtec and Zyrtec-D (and especially their Kirkland generic counterparts) allowed me to better medicate myself without worrying I was swallowing two dollars every time I took one. Two, I have taught myself to be more aware of my allergy symptoms and react with aggressive meds, instead of only taking drugs after it was too late. And third, maybe the shots are working.
Anyway, good news came that since my shots are going so swimmingly, I only have to go every four weeks instead of every three. But wait, there's more: if I make it through another year at that schedule, no more shots! To top it of, I got hooked up with a goodie bag of samples, and after we talked a bit about Rhonda's allergies, I went home with a bag of samples for her too! He might as well have given me a hundred-dollar bill.
Went to Costco, bought some cheap gas, bananas, cookies, and a pizza for dinner. Started reading Google Reader and found out more tickets were made available for the sold-out Emerald Bowl. And guess who ended up with two of those tickets? That's right, this guy!
It's been a rough year for us, but there have been some good days here and there as well. Like last Sunday when we were invited to Auntie Helen's and Grandma made us mole and (made me) tacos. It's pretty important that even as it seems like the world is going to hell in a handbasket, things are not always as bad as they seem, and there are some bright spots behind the clouds.
Kind of an average day today at work, but it was a pretty good night. I had an appointment today with my allergy doctor for an annual visit. I last saw him last Christmas vacation, which means I didn't have to go in for a sinus infection or bronchitis all year. That is pretty phenomenal.
I'm not exactly sure why I had such a good year (which, given my back and cholesterol problems, is sort of ironic). I would attribute it to a couple of factors. One, over-the-counter Zyrtec and Zyrtec-D (and especially their Kirkland generic counterparts) allowed me to better medicate myself without worrying I was swallowing two dollars every time I took one. Two, I have taught myself to be more aware of my allergy symptoms and react with aggressive meds, instead of only taking drugs after it was too late. And third, maybe the shots are working.
Anyway, good news came that since my shots are going so swimmingly, I only have to go every four weeks instead of every three. But wait, there's more: if I make it through another year at that schedule, no more shots! To top it of, I got hooked up with a goodie bag of samples, and after we talked a bit about Rhonda's allergies, I went home with a bag of samples for her too! He might as well have given me a hundred-dollar bill.
Went to Costco, bought some cheap gas, bananas, cookies, and a pizza for dinner. Started reading Google Reader and found out more tickets were made available for the sold-out Emerald Bowl. And guess who ended up with two of those tickets? That's right, this guy!
It's been a rough year for us, but there have been some good days here and there as well. Like last Sunday when we were invited to Auntie Helen's and Grandma made us mole and (made me) tacos. It's pretty important that even as it seems like the world is going to hell in a handbasket, things are not always as bad as they seem, and there are some bright spots behind the clouds.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Epic Win.
It's amazing, really, that something so trivial as a football game can mean so much.
This time last year, I was in excruciating pain. Not just because my team got beat by their rivals, hitting rock bottom in a season where we were seconds away from being the #1 team in the country. Nope, I was in actual physical agony, squirming in my chair, trying to find a position that would let me stay comfortable for just a few minutes without acute pain shooting down my leg.
Today, I returned to Memorial Stadium in Berkeley for the first time since last season's downpour against USC. That was the day, as I stood in driving rain for three hours, that I started to realize the numbness in my foot and the discomfort in my back was not going away. Four months out of surgery, it was great to be able to walk freely around Berkeley and its cumbersome hills with a minimum of discomfort. We did quite a bit of walking too, because after the game, we walked to get yogurt, we walked to get dinner, we did some shopping at Comic Relief and Half Price Books on Shattuck. And while I am undeniably exhausted, I have confidence that with some rest tomorrow I'm going to be OK and able to do it again next season.
I won't say it didn't matter that we won - of course it mattered. They call it the Big Game for a reason. We lost 3 out of 4 of them when I was in school and 4 more after I graduated to make it 7 straight. But to get out there for a day in beautiful sunny weather, to watch my team run all over our hated rivals, to not have to worry about health or work or whether I'll have a job in two months - that made me happier today than I really deserved to be.
This time last year, I was in excruciating pain. Not just because my team got beat by their rivals, hitting rock bottom in a season where we were seconds away from being the #1 team in the country. Nope, I was in actual physical agony, squirming in my chair, trying to find a position that would let me stay comfortable for just a few minutes without acute pain shooting down my leg.
Today, I returned to Memorial Stadium in Berkeley for the first time since last season's downpour against USC. That was the day, as I stood in driving rain for three hours, that I started to realize the numbness in my foot and the discomfort in my back was not going away. Four months out of surgery, it was great to be able to walk freely around Berkeley and its cumbersome hills with a minimum of discomfort. We did quite a bit of walking too, because after the game, we walked to get yogurt, we walked to get dinner, we did some shopping at Comic Relief and Half Price Books on Shattuck. And while I am undeniably exhausted, I have confidence that with some rest tomorrow I'm going to be OK and able to do it again next season.
I won't say it didn't matter that we won - of course it mattered. They call it the Big Game for a reason. We lost 3 out of 4 of them when I was in school and 4 more after I graduated to make it 7 straight. But to get out there for a day in beautiful sunny weather, to watch my team run all over our hated rivals, to not have to worry about health or work or whether I'll have a job in two months - that made me happier today than I really deserved to be.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Playing Catch-Up
Almost two months since my last post. I suck at this.
Let's hit the high/lowlights of March and April:
That's all for now. See you in ...July?
Let's hit the high/lowlights of March and April:
- I started Twittering (Twitting? Tweeting? Damn Web 2.0 doublespeak). Well, in any case, Twitter is sort of like a mini-blog, where you can post short entries about anything, no matter how mundane. My three most recent "tweets" are in the sidebar on the right of this page, or you can sign up and "follow" me. I have been spending a lot of time on this lately, probably slowing down my blog output.
- In sports, out with college hoops season. Out with Ben Braun. In with Mike Montgomery. In with baseball season. Out with Giants' playoff hopes, then back in. (Same for entertainment value of 2008 Giants.) Out with Warriors' playoff hopes. In with Cal NFL prospects, out with little remaining faith in the 49ers' front office. Lastly, out with Sharks hockey.
- Democrats still haven't picked a player. Starting to wonder if an election seemingly ripe for the taking will go by the wayside. Hilary doing McCain's work for him. Obama unable to close the deal. Sigh.
- Back flare-up two weekends ago. Using leaf blower and doing actual work apparently through me all out of whack. That's all gone now but still some nerve impingement in my leg, and I think that is still causing me some weakness (although the pain is mostly gone). I am convinced the extra thirty pounds I put on after my wedding is causing all this, and I need to lose at least twenty. So all-you-can-eat ribs tonight were probably a bad idea.
- Layoffs on the way at Sun. What else is new? Seriously, I love working at Sun so I'm hoping that I (again) will make it through unscathed. I think they are on the right track and were just stung by the sluggish U.S. economy. I put full blame for our current stock price on the guy in the white house on Pennsylvania Ave.
- I have four (yes, four) fantasy baseball teams this season, including two in 20-team leagues. That is taking up far too much of my time.
That's all for now. See you in ...July?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Cal 68, New Mexico 66
Cal squeaked one out in the opener of the NIT tonight. They were beneficiaries (for once) of a questionable foul and were able to capitalize at the stripe, whereas New Mexico could not hit a free throw to save their 2008 lives.
It's been fashionable in Berkeley to call for Ben Braun's head on a pike after The team's disappointing run in the Pac-10, but I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Cal's core of players is still very young, and truthfully, I don't think they've learned how to put away an opponent yet. It doesn't help they play in the toughest conference in the NCAA (yes, I said it). They are going to be much better next season, and a run through the NIT is going to give them some much needed experience.
It's been fashionable in Berkeley to call for Ben Braun's head on a pike after The team's disappointing run in the Pac-10, but I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Cal's core of players is still very young, and truthfully, I don't think they've learned how to put away an opponent yet. It doesn't help they play in the toughest conference in the NCAA (yes, I said it). They are going to be much better next season, and a run through the NIT is going to give them some much needed experience.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Rough weekend and beyond.
It was a ugly weekend, in more ways than one. Rhonda and I headed up to Berkeley Saturday for the big Cal-U$C showdown. The weather forecast was for showers. Unfortunately, it was a little off. Rhonda made me buy her a disposable poncho, and after half-an-hour, I swallowed my pride and bought a second one for myself.
Four hours and two interceptions later, Cal had lost a winnable game and I had added about five pounds in water to my wardrobe. It was literally like I had gone swimming in my clothes. I've been having some pain in my leg lately, and my calves are still sore and knotted from standing in the cold.
Tonight I'm still recovering. We watched the Niners game, or at least tried - they are terrible. The jury is still out on whether Alex Smith stinks, or if he needs receivers, or both. At least Cal has been competitive when they lose this season.
Also, I've been following the WGA strike. Whereas at first it just meant Daily Show re-runs, it now looks like a long wait until next baseball season. If there's no 24 or Lost and they stop running The Office, I might as well cancel my cable and save a few hundred bucks.
So to summarize, my leg hurts, my teams stink, my clothes are still damp, and I could be bored to tears this spring.
Four hours and two interceptions later, Cal had lost a winnable game and I had added about five pounds in water to my wardrobe. It was literally like I had gone swimming in my clothes. I've been having some pain in my leg lately, and my calves are still sore and knotted from standing in the cold.
Tonight I'm still recovering. We watched the Niners game, or at least tried - they are terrible. The jury is still out on whether Alex Smith stinks, or if he needs receivers, or both. At least Cal has been competitive when they lose this season.
Also, I've been following the WGA strike. Whereas at first it just meant Daily Show re-runs, it now looks like a long wait until next baseball season. If there's no 24 or Lost and they stop running The Office, I might as well cancel my cable and save a few hundred bucks.
So to summarize, my leg hurts, my teams stink, my clothes are still damp, and I could be bored to tears this spring.
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