Pac-12 Recap: Turned Into The Wild West For A Day

((HT: Pac-12 Network))

It seemed to be all about comebacks and close ones Saturday...

First, for those of us who play fantasy college football Wazzu's Connor Halliday is usually a solid selection. Last week was no different as Halliday threw for 4 TD's ana orchestrated a fourth quarter comeback as the Cougs beat Utah 28-27.

Here's Ted Robinson and Glenn Parker to discuss


And Cal and Colorado didn't seem to be able to stop each other for an entire afternoon. The game 14 TD passes by the two teams and it took six quarters to decide a game that had 115 total points.

Kevin Calabro and Yogi Roth discuss

Hail Mary Pass A Game Winner For Arizona

Arizona was down 28-6 at halftime to California at home.

Rich Rodriquez must of had a hell of a halftime speech.

“There wasn’t any panic at halftime,” Rodriguez said. “We’re in shape. I told the guys before the game that we were going to have to play for 60 minutes.”

Arizona outscored California 43-27 in the second half and that would have been a story however the way the game ended trumped all of that.

With the Wildcats down 43-45 on the games final play Anu Soloman, who threw for a school record 520 yards, threw the Hail Mary and Austin Hill caught it to win the game for Arizona 49-45.


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"Anu (Solomon) threw a great ball and I'm just happy I was able to make the
catch." Hill said.  "The whole time I was hoping that I wouldn't get bumped into or anyone land on top of me so I could secure the catch. It means a lot to me that I was able to secure the catch."

"Winning on a Hail Mary is so improbable." Arizona head coach Rich Rodriquez said.  "At first you are exhilarated and then you're thinking ‘how did that just happen?’ I'm so happy for Austin Hill who is a senior that bounced back. You're happy for Anu Solomon) who was off tonight, but kept battling and executed the last play. I'm happy for   the people who stayed and watched the game. It's a good day to be an Arizona Wildcat."

"We’re sorry we didn’t find a way to win the ball game tonight, but I told them it won’t ever happen again." California quarterback Sonny Dykes said.  "It is part of growing up, and getting a program turned around.”

Oh, by the way, it might have taken a Hail Mary, but Rich Rod is 4-0 at Arizona. Michigan isn't 4-0.
— Pete Fiutak (@PeteFiutak) September 21, 2014

Bielema Apologizes, Sandy Barbour Explodes

((HT: ESPN/Arkansas Razorbacks))

Here's where it all started with Bret Bielema...


And it finally got to the point where Coach Bielema apologized (finally) for dragging the name of deceased Cal football player Ted Agu into the discussion that said, in part:

"In my press conference last night, I referenced information about the tragic loss of a life of a student-athlete. My comments were intended to bring awareness to player safety and instead they have caused unintended hurt. As a head coach who works with young individuals every day, the passing of Ted Agu is a reminder to us all how short and precious life is. I would like to extend my deepest condolences and sympathy to the Agu family, Coach Sonny Dykes and to the University of California family."

Cal AD Sandy Barbour responded in kind via her Twitter:

"Bret Bielema’s comments about our Ted Agu are misinformed, ill-advised and beyond insensitive.”

“Using the tragic loss of one of our student athletes as a platform to further a personal agenda in a public setting is beyond inappropriate.”

Bielema even went further in a ridiculous interview before the apology discussing why he brought Agu into the discussion...

From Sports Illustrated:

"The reason I brought up the Cal player is this: We all have sickle cell players. To me, it's the most scary individual thing we face. There are no signs. There are no indicators. You test every one of your players when they come in. And there are players who come in that have no idea they have it. Then you've got to call the parents, sit the kid down and talk to them what it means -- what the possibilities of things happening are. It's a scary deal..."

Bielema's interview in SI is mandatory reading for its silliness and stupidity over the idea of clock stoppages and instant diagnoses of athletes physical problems...

Oh...

Arkansas has their season opener at Auburn...
How do you think that will go...???

Kinda like this...???
((HT: Auburn Athletics))


And the prevailing opinion on the Plains will go a little something like this...

Cal's Ted Agu Dies During Conditioning

((HT: NBC Bay Area))

Cal DL Ted Agu collapsed during what the team doctor described as a "routine conditioning workout" early on Friday. He was transferred by golf cart and then to hospital. Agu collapsed there, was given CPR, and could not be revived...

The medical examiner should take a few weeks before they have any answers, but there may be a big question that will come up...

CBSSports.com, citing an unnamed source, had reported that Agu had sickle-cell trait.

(At present, the HQ can't find the link to that story, but Jeff Faraudo from the San Jose Mercury News has a source telling CBSSports.com that Cal knew)

A Cal spokesman would not confirm Agu's sickle-cell trait condition...

Here's coverage from Berkeley


Here's the release from Cal Athletics:

"At this time, we are deeply saddened to inform you that Ted Agu, one of our student-athletes and a member of our football team, passed away tragically this morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ted’s family and friends, our players and coaches, and our University family. Our student-athletes are our priority and we are providing counseling services for our players. Please bear with us as we work to inform personally those closest to Ted; we will provide more information as it becomes available.

“This is a very difficult time for our football family,” said Sonny Dykes, Head Football Coach. “Ted was a remarkable young man and a member of this family who was highly respected and loved by his teammates and coaching staff. He had an incredible passion for life and will be deeply missed.”

Athletics Director, Sandy Barbour, said, “Our heartfelt condolences go out to Ted’s family. This is a very painful time for the entire Cal family; in the days and weeks ahead, my focus will be on providing every member of our community the support and information they need to get through this time. I would ask that media please respect and understand how this tragedy is impacting Ted’s family, his teammates, friends and the members of our campus community. We will get through this together.”

UPSET: #1 Arizona Goes Down To Cal

Justin Cobb is a household name Sunday morning because he hit this fadeway jumper with less than a second left to lift California to a 60-58 upset of #1 Arizona.

Thanks Pac-12 Networks:

“We talked about." Cobb said. "If we got a stop no timeout, just run it straight into a pick-and-roll and see if we could get to the basket, but [Kaleb] Tarczewski did a good job and I couldn’t get there so I just stepped back and shot a good shot and it was able to go in for me.”

"Justin was feeling good offensively."  California head coach Mike Montgomery said.  "He really got off his feet on the last shot and rose up. It was a little bit like Oregon. It looked good the whole time.”

"We'd always found a way to be on the positive end of it," Arizona head coach Sean Miller said. "Tonight in that same moment, we didn't make the shots and we didn't get the big stop."

In the locker room the Bears celebrated big time.

Thanks Pac-12 Networks:



Early in the game Arizona lost Brandon Ashley while going for a rebound to a foot injury.  Wildcat head coach Sean Miller is expecting the worse.

“It’s a foot injury. It looks to be broken,” Miller said. “I don’t think we can say that it is right now just because we have to get the X-rays and overall. But certainly an injury that’s going to have him out a period of time, if not for the entire year."

With Arizona's loss to California you can expect Syracuse to move up to the top spot in the AP Poll that will be released Monday afternoon.

Jahvid Best Suing Helmet Makers And NFL Over Concussions

((HT: ESPN))

Jahvid Best had concussion issues during his time in the NFL with the Detroit Lions and started as far back as his time at Cal
((HT: FS West))


So, now with Best released and not employed by an NFL team, he is now suing helmets makers Riddell and Easton-Bell over his concussions that he suffered. He is, obviously, looking for some amount of financial pound-of-flesh, but his lawyer doesn't have an immediate amount handy...

He is filing out of the Wayne County (MI) Circuit Court and his lawyer, Bret Schnitzer, is ready for what happens next:

"As I am sure you are probably aware through various media and the 'Frontline' program and so on, the brain injuries with concussion syndrome does not necessarily manifest itself completely immediately, as you can see from the other cases. Sometimes it is 10, 20 years where the brain injury process takes to develop and it's not necessarily going to show itself in a 24-, 25-year-old football player to the extent that it might 10, 15, 20 years down the road.

"So one of the goals of the litigation is to protect Mr. Best down the road in terms of his medical condition and problems that he may have in the future."

The 85-page filing says also that the NFL is just as responsible.
The suit alleges Best was at risk by being put in the draft- despite his concussion history...

Here's Prim Siripipat discussing with Michael Rothstein

Cal DB Taken Away In Ambulance After Hit, Has Feeling In Extremities

((HT: San Jose Mercury News/Faurado))

Jeff Faraudo was around at Cal practice today and Cal defensive back Avery Sebastian had to be taken off the field in an ambulance after a head-to-head hit with running back Jeffrey Coprich.

Sebastian, from the suburban Atlanta, Georgia town of McDonough was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland.

For more than 15 minutes it appeared Sebastian was motionless. He was eventually strapped to a gurney, his head immobilized, and then was taken away from the scrimmage.

The only quote associated with the injury by head coach Sonny Dykes was: "We don't have any idea the severity of it. As soon as we know something, we'll put out a statement."

According to ESPN's Brett McMurphy, through his Twitter feed, has Sebastian experiencing movement in all of his extremities and the school anticipates he'll be released soon...

More when we know more...

Chuck Muncie Passes Away

If you are a fan of NFL Football history, you should know who Chuck Muncie was.

If you have an appreciation for hard workers who willed themselves to be successful at their craft, you should know who Chuck Muncie was.

If you like reclamation stories where people come back from drug arrests and a history of drug abuse to become a mentor and leader to kids both young and in college, you should know who Chuck Muncie was.

Chuck Muncie passed away Monday after a heart attack. He was 60-years old.

Muncie made his name as a hard running, successful attack running back for the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers for 8-years. He was the 1st Saints player ever chosen to play in the Pro Bowl and was a part of the the Chargers "Air Coryell" years in the early 80's.

His career was derailed in 1984 when he tested positive for cocaine during the football season and was suspended. In 1989, he was arrested for possession.

But Muncie got his act together, sheparding the Chuck Muncie Foundation in 1997 to help mentor kids in the Los Angeles area get their lives together. He eventually became a mentor to students athletes at his alma mater, The University of California and continued in the role until his demise.

Here's some video of Muncie from his days with the Chargers:

ICYMI: Basketball Fight--Stanford vs. Cal

Uh...the fact that players from Stanford and California got into a brawl during their basketball game Wednesday night may or may not surprise some.

The fact that some assistant coaches got involved too, makes it worse.

Multiple players, 1 Cal assistant coach and 2 Stanford assistants were tossed after the brawl and the Cardinal ended up winning the game 83-70.

Both schools have a history of hate and if you'll remember, their football teams were a part of the last-second "Band on the Field" game back in the 1980's.

No word from the PAC-12 as of this writing on suspension, but you can bet Cal assistant Greg Gottlieb and Stanford coaches Mark Madsen and Charles Payne are gonna be in trouble. (Ejected).

Here's the only current video that exists, shot off a TV (at least until pulled)--

Pre-Carousel: Cal Fires Jeff Tedford

Sometimes 12-years with a College Football program is too much. In fact in major conference college football it often is.

12-years for Jeff Tedford at Cal was exactly that: Too long.

Tedford was fired Tuesday morning as the Golden Bears limped through a 3-9 season. And yes, the school owes him money. A lot of money. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 million for the next three years.

Tedford made a name for himself as the groomer of quarterbacks. While at Oregon as an assistant, he groomed Joey Harrington. At Cal, his biggest success was Aaron Rodgers.

The Golden Bears just moved into a fully renovated stadium and the losses moved the school to try and find someone else to ignite the fire and get people back into the stadium.

No real early speculation on a front-runner to replace him, though the Coaching Carousel will not begin in full until the regular season ends next week and many more coaching jobs come open.

Local Coverage seen below...
((HT: KGO-TV))

TWTW: Cameron Morgan Gets One-Handed Hail Mary

((HT: Pac-12 Network/ESPN/The Score))

Southern Utah's Thunderbirds gave Cal a handfull before eventually losing in the Bears' new barn...

But not before Morgan grabbed this pass out of desperation...


Catch Of The Year contender...???