With the first pick of the second round (50th overall), the Washington Nationals select … Cal second baseman Jeff Kobernus.

Turns out the scouts weren’t lying to Bears coach David Esquer when they told him Kobernus wouldn’t last past the third round. Kobernus is a tall, lanky middle infielder with good range who helped his own cause by spending the last month or so of the 2009 season in an unconscious state every time he picked up a bat.

And as we speak, Bears right fielder/first baseman/designated hitter/pitcher Blake Smith is drafted with the 56th overall pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Smith and Jackson were the ones who got all the hype going into 2009, Smith mostly because of his performance last summer with the Team USA Collegiate National Team.

(Click here to read more…)

After months of waiting and wondering where he would go in the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft, former Cal baseball center fielder Brett Jackson will simply be trading the block “C” on his cap for one of a slightly different shape.

Jackson, who was projected by most mock drafts to go in the mid- to late-first round, was drafted No. 31 overall by the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday evening, becoming the fourth-highest pick in Cal program history and the third first-rounder that coach David Esquer has produced at the Bears’ helm. The Orinda, Calif., native was the 10th outfielder drafted and gave Cal a first-round pick for the second straight year. The Toronto Blue Jays drafted David Cooper 17th overall in 2008.

(Click here to read more…)

Yesterday the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article of interest for Cal football fans. What about?

The $225,000 tickets at Memorial Stadium.

“Whaaaaaaaat?!” you might ask. And you would be correct in your reaction.

In this economy, doesn’t it seem a bit … insane to ask that of any ticket-holders this side of Yankee Stadium? Granted, this is the very top of the ticket price scale. You get your seat for 50 years, (But it seems to me that for those who can afford this deal, it’s doubtful that they’ll live the 50 years to enjoy it. No recent alum is shelling out 200,000 big ones. Just the old, very, very rich ones.) and you get free food, parking, etc. (Click here to read more…)

This isn’t directly related to Cal athletics, but if you like college baseball and you keep up with it, then you’ve probably heard of this guy.

Stephen Strasburg. Considered by many as the greatest pitching prospect in the history of baseball. He throws upwards of 103 MPH with a filthy slider and curve ball. Oh, and he’s struck out 147 while walking 15 in 78 1/3 innings.

Strasburg graced Northern California with his presence last night, coming up for a non-conference series against Santa Clara, and it was too good an opportunity to pass up. My most excellent friend Krister and I said a prayer to our nondenominational gods to stop the rain and drove down to Stephen Schott Stadium to see the Great Stras.

We weren’t disappointed. Not even a little bit. (Click here to read more…)

If you read the preview for Cal’s midweek matchup against Stanford, then you’ve already heard that the Bears are pretty serious about the newest addition to the clubhouse: the video game ‘Rock Band.’

The gift came as a surprise from former Cal great Conor Jackson, who supplied the game to go along with the new TVs sent to the team before the season started by Jackson and Xavier Nady. Needless to say, it’s been a popular present.

But with that said, the question that is burning in everyone’s mind is obvious: Who’s the clubhouse king of Rock Band? (Click here to read more…)

Here’s a good offseason riddle: How do you congratulate the graduating senior who led the Pac-10 in points per game, carried the Cal women’s basketball team to its deepest run in program history and completely changed the scene of Bay Area hoops?

Awards. Lots and lots of awards.

Local fans and conference foes had taken notice of the forward, who should fare well in the upcoming WNBA draft. The national recognition, on the other hand, was lacking — even with the Bears claiming the No. 3 spot in the country at one point this season.
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10:34 — Just got back from my quick visit to the dugout and field (had to do it — I had the creds, and I used ‘em!) and it was supremely cool. Guys looked upbeat, happy, talkative (their quotes are essentially unusuable banter however … Thanks Mike, Daniel and Todd … for nothing)

Thanks for all of you who tuned in to the live blog this evening. Hope you got something out of it and had a little fun. Matt and I definitely did. Keep checking back at dailycal.org for more Cal baseball coverage, as always, and have a great night!

10:17 — And it’s over, blessedly for the Bears. Braunecker with the comebacker to Smith who throws to first for the final of the game. Cal will leave this place winners tonight, as the most perfect song imaginable comes on — Lights by Journey.

10:16 — The plot thickens. Johnson doubles to right, but it’s not deep enough to drive in Poppert who has to hold up at third. Runners on second and third, two out.

10:14 — Bernatz grounded out to second, Lipkin struck out. That leaves Poppert as the last hope. And he delivers with a ringing single over Kobernus at second to drive in Zach Kim. Two out, the tying run at first base. Johnson’s at the plate. 4-3 Cal. (Click here to read more…)

HALFTIME: There are probably 2.5 people reading this, and it’s starting to be a real struggle but I’m still going strong. I want to run down a couple quick housekeeping issues, one of which is really important:

1) This is JACK ROSS. In case you didn’t know, I didn’t want Andrew Kim to get any more credit. He left. He’s in Kansas City somewhere doing who knows what. Probably eating food and being gluttonous. I’m working. Get it straight, people. 

2) BLAKE GRIFFIN. He has 18 points in 17 minutes and a couple highlighty ally-oop dunks. This guy can’t miss (on shots or in the “he can’t miss” prospect way).

3)

56.0 seconds - OU 36, MSU 19: Playing out the string at this point. Griffin is truly special (almost as much as that Bear I keep harping about), but he’ll probably get pulled a few minutes into the second half so long as the Sooners have a 20+ point lead. Oh well. Enjoy it while you can. There isn’t much else out there at this point (besides his brother, Taylor, I guess).

3:32 - OU 32, MSU 17: This one’s taken a turn for the worse, unless you bet on OU (your definitely covering). Otherwise, we got a yawner. 

Cool note: Did you know that the possession arrow is operated remotely by a switch that turns in which ever direction the arrow does? We are sitting right by the official scorer and can see it. Figured they’d have that digital by now. Guess not.

And to make matters worst, the Lil Wayne songs have stopped, replaced by standard boring fare like the Sportcenter theme in medley form. One of the MSU cheer leaders just did 12 flips in a row, though, so I’ll stop complaining. And the Bear is getting busy now, too.

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8:06 - OU 21, MSU 11: That was quick. MSU actually had a chance to take a lead but a jumper rimmed in and out and now they’re down 10. This isn’t going to get much closer. The spread was 15.5 and I think anyone with money on the Sooners should be feeling good.

Also: Blake Griffin is Evander Holyfield-real. This guy is not Mike Beasley in the least. He’s stronger, bigger and way more athletic. He just doesn’t miss. I don’t want to dip into hyperbole too much, but he’s sorta like a new Natural Wonder of the World. Really. Super fluid. Imagine Shawn Kemp two inches taller with a great basketball IQ and a kitchen-sink arsenal of shots. Color me impressed.

Other cool thing about MSU No. 2: I like their mascot. It’s the most generic Bear head ever on top of a normal guys body. It’s actually not cool at all just describing it. Trust me, though, if you saw it, you’d think it was amusing.

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11:40 - OU 12, MSU 7: NEW HIGHLIGHT OF ROUND 1…The Morgan State Band and Dance team. Reasons why: 1) First song out of the gate is “Lollipop” by Lil’ Wayne. That scores big points with me, especially having heard “Hail to the Victors” 129 times last game. Ugh. Welcome relief. It’s like Drumline 2 in here. I’ll keep the reasons coming

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15:55 - Oklahoma 6, Morgan State 3: Doesn’t feel like MSU has enough beef or firepower to hang. Cal fans might find it interesting that former Bears head coach Todd Bozeman (the guy who gave a recruit’s dad $30,000) is the Bears coach (yes, the MSU mascot is the Bears, too). He’s really engaging and motivating, so many he’ll keep him in it. Other thoughts:

Basketball is just much more fun with tiny people. Almost every game has had one guy (Cal’s Jerome Randle, CSUN’s Mark Hill and now, MSU’s Jermaine “Itchy” Bolden) who clocks in around 5-foot-8. Scoring in a bottle… with guys that fit inside a bottle….

Frustrating watching the best player in the NCAA tournament and probably the country get really borderline calls. Twice in the first four minutes, Griffin went up largely uncontested and was awarded fouls for him. Why do refs feel obligated to give superstars calls? Not impressed.

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PRE-GAME: Took a break to regroup after Cal lost … I’ll update this any time-out for whoever is reading. Two words: Blake Griffin (is really good). Keep it locked.

2:46 - Maryland 76, Cal 66: They definitely don’t go down without a fight.

3:32 - Maryland 74, Cal 62: “I almost want him to make it, so we don’t have to box out.” -Me, when Maryland was up 7 and shooting free throws. I was right. One 3-point play, 5-second violation and Maryland layup later, the Bears are down 12.

One word comes to mind for the next 3:32: CURTAINS. I remember Jerome using it after he talked about all the open looks he got against Arizona. Looking like they are starting to fall on the Bears season. 

Down 13 with 210 seconds? Possible. I guess with Randle, anything is possible. But everyone looks pretty defeated. It’s going to take a real miracle from here on out.

7:54: Maryland 63, Cal 53 - Flat. Flatlining. Condition: Looking rather fatal, at the moment. They absolutely CANNOT get ANY penetration against the Maryland 2-3 zone. Just like Arizona State two weeks ago.

The Bears need a spark from somewhere. Where? I don’t know. The energy on the Terps sideline is pretty infectous. They are all playing with a bounce, feeding off crazy ol’ Gary Williams. Cal? Montgomery has been sedated all game. Makes you wonder if he expected this flat-ish effort. 

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9:55: Maryland 59, California 51 - This team simply CANNOT play with a lead. It takes less than two minutes to go down eight after leading. Gosh. They want to comeback, they don’t know any other way, it seems.

And so, expect Jorge/Kamp to come in again and push and hope for the best. Foul trouble doesn’t mean anything if you are down double digits. Especially since Wilkes can’t help defend the perimeter. And just so you know, Patrick Christopher still hasn’t hit a 3 (0 of 6). Not a good sign. Law of averages, anyone?

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11:49: California 51, Maryland 50 - Who wants to see a FREE THROW SHOOTING CONTEST! Well, if you do, keep watching because that is what we are about to get. 6 team for the Bears, 5 for the Terps. A lot of FTs coming. Ugh. Anyways, Cal’s defense is very good considering everyone minus Randle has 3 fouls (add Boykin to that list now, too). Especially PC, who is hounded Vasquez with three fouls.

One note: the Bears could be more aggressive against the zone press. They are turning down some big fast break points. One thing to watch if they stay really, really, deliberate the rest of the way. 

Last thing: Breathe. I know I am having a hard time. PS: If they have a hard time with Maryland’s press, imagine them playing Memphis! Whatever. Cross that bridge if we get to it.

—-

First lead 47-46 at 14:46 left in the game. Then they give it away a second later on a Bowie layup. Then a Neal layup.

15:14 - Maryland 46, Cal 44: Hmmm. These refs are pretty bad (not Pac-10 level, but still). 9 team fouls in less than 5 minutes. Being called way too tight. Theo, Jorge and Harper all already have 3 fouls (not good at all). If I was on the Bears, I would have gotten ejected for complaining.

Speaking of complaining, Jerome and Jamal were exchanging some heated words on the sideline after Theo’s and-one. Something to watch (how everyone plays together with Harper out and Jamal in).

Final thing: 5 fouls for Maryland mean one-and-one for the Bears very soon. That bad reffing is good fot Cal.

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One more note before we go… 1) Energy is horrible from this crowd. Everyone likes Kansas.

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HALFTIME: Deep breaths, everyone. Breathe slowly. Okay. Where do we begin? Let’s go inside the box score:

1) JEROME RANDLE: Electric. More or less unstoppable. 11 points and two assists. Plus, he hasn’t been going much from deep. Only took 3 threes. Over-under for threes in the 2nd half? I’d say 6. And he’ll make half. Good signs there.

2) FOUL TROUBLE: Huh? 12 fouls? Well, 4 of the most important Bears have 2 fouls (Jorge, Harper, Theo, Patrick). That could be problematic, but I wouldn’t really think it will be a factor. Those guys will play the entire half (I’m guessing) if they aren’t in foul pergatory.

NOTE: Because of the fouls, Wilkes/Nikola/Seeley have played 14 minutes, far more than Montgomery probably intended. That fact bodes very well for Cal in the second half (since they probably won’t see that much time again).

3) EVERYONE ELSE (specifically ROBERTSON, CHRISTOPHER, BOYKIN): 5-21 in the first half. Nerves maybe? That probably can’t carry over. And if it does, the Bears will almost certainly lose. Ditto their 3-13 (23 percent) mark from downtown. Again, nothing new from Cal: shoot well and win, don’t and lose.

FINAL STUFF BEFORE WE BEHIND: Okay, I’m thirsty. Anyways, some thoughts from press row:

Jeff Faraudo of the Contra-Costa Times thinks the Bears are “getting outplayed.” I disagree. They are missing shots and haven’t found any rhythm… and are only down 3. Rusty Simmons of the SF Chronicle seems to think that “Gary Williams is a good coach. And whoever makes adjustments will win.” I mostly agree. To me, “adjustments” means playing with their best five for a long stretch (Kamp/Gutierrez/PC/Robertson/Randle) and making a run. Which still hasn’t happened.

Alright… getting a diet coke. Be back in a jiffy. Requests are welcome.