Game-Time

8:36: And that’s going to wrap-up the live-blog coverage for today. I’m kind of disappointed that last year’s record of getting three comments wasn’t broken, but there’s always next year.

Oh, and Happy Festivus to all of you.

8:34: That was kind of cute. Longshore got a hug from Tedford. Heck if I was down there, I would’ve given Big Nate one as well.

The kid showed great potential as a sophomore with his effortless touchdown tosses. I remember him being rated one of the top QBs in the country going into his junior year.

And then as a junior Tedford did something funky. He started calling a bunch of screen plays that did not take advantage of Big Nate’s cannon.

That change coupled with Longshore’s ankle injury in last year’s thrilling Oregon game completely messed up the gunslinger. He had no confidence whatsoever as game after game he would throw fourth quarter interceptions.

I’ll admit that I was one of those people who would chant “We want Riley” last year, and now I feel a bit guilty for doing so. I’d hate to think of what his mental state of mind is when he simply walks to class and people are gawking at him.

Good luck to you Big Nate. Here’s to hoping that things turn out better for you wherever you end up.

8:25: How genius would it have been for the guys over at Emerald Nuts to give the Cal players a sack of almonds instead of the good ole’ orange tub of Gatorade. That would have been genius product placement as well as a waste of perfectly good almonds.

8:23: OMG OMG OMG Tedford cracked a smile as the clock ran out. Also, that should have been a late hit on Mohamed, but shhhh I won’t tell anyone.

8:22: Hint to Shannon and Jacory. Wherever Conte is, throw it in his direction.

8:20: If Robbie Maddison pulls off that jump that keeps getting hyped on ESPN, he gets my vote for athlete of the year. OK relax relax, I was joking. I’ll still put all my weight behind Michael Phelps.

Since I’m thinking about swimming, whatever happened to Dara Torres?

I’ve seen Michael Phelps all over the tube and Nastia Liukin got a guest spot in Gossip Girl, but where have you been Dara?

8:19: Oh Jacory, what are you thinking? GO OUT OF BOUNDS. Not even to stop the clock, I’m just afraid Follett is going to hurt you when you’re scrambling like that.

8:14: Cameron Morrah was definitely the intended receiver on Longshore’s throw there. Either way a touchdown is a touchdown.

8:12: All Cal fans better be praying that Best is able to hold on to the ball here.

8:10: How befitting. Follett and the rest of his buddies threw Cal a lifesaver. This isn’t the first time the defense has come to the team’s rescue.

8:08: Will Mr. Play-By-Play STOP saying “oh and he just passed it to his high school teammate.”

We get the point. A handful of Jacory Harris‘ teammates on Miami went to Northwestern High with him.

8:05: Thanks to Giorgio Tavecchio’s choke job, the game got a lot more interesting.

On another completely unrelated note, I wonder what his favorite European club football team is. I’m marking him down as a AC Milan guy.

8:03: If Best is out for the rest of the game we could see the magic of the Ewing Theory with Vereen running full steam ahead.

7:59: After getting a heads up from my editor Matt Kawahara, I found out that apparently Longshore has a “strained relation” with Tedford.

Not going to lie, I’m pretty shocked. Their “relation” seems quite good today.

7:52: All ied up baby. The fans got what they paid for.

By the way, I was surprised that when the tickets for the Emerald Bowl went on sale there was no discount on student tickets. $50 take it or leave it.

7:49: That roughing the kicker penalty is looking worse and worse with each passing play.

7:36: Every time Cal fans chant “fourth quarter’s ours” I always cringe because it never is. It will be theirs today, however, if Tedford gives the ball to Flash every single time.

7:33: WILL THE GODS HAVE NO MERCY ON LONGSHORE?!? Come on, now he’s stumbling over his own two feet–this is becoming sad.

Keep your head up Big Nate.

7:32: Can we come up for a nickname for Jahvid? I’m going to tentatively go with “Flash,” but that’s not set in stone. I think Jahvid was a little shiftier than Flash.

7:30: What in the world are they talking about? Big Nate and Tedford don’t have a testy relationship, more like Big Nate is Tedford’s boy.

He allowed Longshore to decide when he wanted to play even in the middle of an injury. How many coaches would do that?

7:28: WHOA! What happened there? Tedford switches from field-goal to going for it on fourth down and Big Nate calls a timeout. Gah this is getting worse and worse.

7:27: If we had a power-runner, a la Marshawn Lynch, I’d say run it on 4th and 1 in this field position. Get out there Tedford and find the second coming.

7:24: A headline from the Contra Costa Times after Alex Mack won the Draddy Award, “Cal Standout is a Mack Draddy.” Anoice!

7:19: If Jahvid keeps breaking loose like that Tedford might be able to hold-off on that decision.

(two seconds after typing the above line)

Ouch. That was horribly under-thrown by Big Nate. And now the boos rain-down on him.

7:14: How much longer is Tedford going to be able to keep Riley out of the game? If he learned anything from the past season, he should know that putting in Riley for the first time in the fourth quarter is not the smartest move.

7:13: I can’t understand why Miami keeps running right.

1) There is less room to maneuver on that side with the short-field.

2) Chris Conte is playing with one-arm!

7:11: Do you notice how ever time they zoom in on ESPN’s sideline reporter Quint Kessenich there is some poster or something advertising one of Diamond Food’s products? Shame on you ESPN.

7:09: They finally found Cal’s weak-spot: the one-and-only, Chris Conte. This could get ugly real fast.

7:04: I’m glad the punter was able to bail Byrne out of that poor snap. I’d hate to see any chance of Miami fans or the media chastising his play.

7:00: Damn, the Emerald Bowl committee settled on a sick design for its trophy. A lot better than that sorry excuse for a BCS trophy, although something tells me Tedford and the boys would rather have the latter one displayed in Haas Pavilion.

6:54: On a kinda, not really related note check out this video of Malcolm Kelly freestyling over a beat from Ronald Jenkees.

We should get Kelly to come on down to Lower Sproul to do his thing. He can have the “Shower Boys” back him up.

6:50: I wonder if Coach Shannon is going to bring in Ed Reed to pump up the troops.

6:46: I should take amend that last comment that inferred Oski’s sexuality. For all we know he could actually be a she.

I mean if God can be Alanis Morissette, why can’t Oski be a woman?

While we’re on the subject of mascots, I just like to go on record and say how awesome it is that the Hurricanes’ mascot is named “Sebastian.”

“Sebastian” is a completely underrated name. If I am not obligated to name my first child “Nittany,” I might choose “Sebastian,” regardless of sex.

6:42: Gah turns out the Coca-Cola Fan Lot is in the middle of construction.

At least the Build-A-Bear Workshop is still open. I’m sure Oski is having the time of his life over there.

6:37: What did I hear Tedford correctly there? Longshore is going to be starting coming out of the second half.

After Longshore’s family and Jessica Simpson, I’m next in-line in terms of wanting to see Big Nate play well. But come on Tedford, you’re going to risk the game in order to give him another shot at getting drafted?

6:36: I wonder if the Coca-Cola slide at Giants Stadium is in operation today. I remember I tried to go on it in August last year but they had height regulations.

6:31: With Longshore unable to convert that fourth down, no way is big Nate going to be starting when the Bears come out of the tunnel at the start of the second half. Too bad.

I think I’ll keep my farewell for Longshore until the end of the game.

6:29: This two-minute drill is going to end disastrously unless Tucker pulls out another 74-yard reception.

Take notice of Longshore’s footwork during this drive. I’m not really sure what he’s doing, but he’s not really stepping into his throws.

6:28: Why are you so beastly Mike Mohamed? Here’s to hoping you get to start next year.

6:25: Can everyone stop acting like the Rose Bowl is going to be some epic battle between USC and Penn State. I will name my first child “Nittany” if the Trojans do not easily win the game.

6:21: Wow two trick plays in a single half? Relax Tedford, don’t exert yourself too much here.

Usually I’m a big fan of the trickeration, but Jahvid is just running train over everyone. No need to go the unconventional route. It’s time for some Marty Ball.

6:17: What does Mr. Color Announcer mean when he says, Harris told him that “the birds got (him)” at Alcatraz.

Can we be more specific? Did Harris actually get bird doodoo on him? Hopefully after the commercial break he realizes how open-ended the remark was and clarifies for everyone’s benefit.

6:15: I love how Harris steps up in the pocket. Take notes Longshore.

6:13: The Capital One Bowl Week is from December 20th through January 3rd. Like duh, that’s more than week.

6:08: Speaking of goody bags, here’s what Cal and Miami athletes get for playing in the Emerald Bowl.

Sony noise-canceling headphones
Armor Gear rolling duffel bag
Fossil watch
Emerald Bowl baseball cap

Plus, in the words of Emerald Bowl spokesman Doug Kelly, “all the Emerald Nuts anyone could ever eat.”

Jack, go on down and steal some nuts from the locker room–you could use some protein on those arms of yours.

5:59: Their receivers are giants compared to our undersized CBs. Expect Harris to keep going up-top every chance he gets.

5:58: I asked Jack Ross, one of the Daily Cal reporters covering the game if there was anything interesting I should include in the blog. His response, “We got a bag of nuts each.”

What happened, was there no Pop-Secret on hand?

5:51: My my, turns out Mr. Harris has an arm. That probably woke up Cal’s secondary.

5:47: LOL at the announcer for remarking how Best’s 311 yards came against a BCS-conference opponent.

I bet if you put Washington against any of those other teams listed there, Washington would lose. They lost to Wazzu! WAZZU!

5:44: The thing I like about Syd’Quan’s punt-returning is he doesn’t force things.

Remember last year when Desean would try to run everything back? Half-of-the time “Tha 1 To Watch” would get completely railed by the opposition’s coverage team.

5:41: I feel a little bad for Harris right now. He is just so mismatched.

I almost feel as bad for him as I did for Longshore when he completely messed up his opportunity in the Bears’ home-opener.

5:39: OMG Jahvid is filthy.

I wish Chris Berman was doing the play-by-play right now just so I could hear him say “whoop” every time Best makes one of his shifty moves.

5:38: Every time I hear Rece Davis’ name I always think about this Mayne Street Episode. The ending is spectacular.

5:33: Shout-out to our photographer Skyler Reid. You got your 1.38 seconds of fame capturing Best making his way into the end zone.

5:30: Please please please no goal-line fumble.

5:26:…………………………………..If there was ever such thing as getting hypothetically backhanded, Longshore just did it to me with that TD to Tucker. Although in all fairness, it was more Tucker than Longshore.

5:24: Nate is not looking too well. Silly throws and leaving Verran Tucker out to dry is not going to help you get Mr. Irrelevant next spring.

5:21: Pop-Secret? What’s this? I thought we’re at the Emerald Bowl.

But alas, Diamond Foods bought out Pop-Secret earlier this year. I guess they figured since they are paying millions for the naming rights, why not throw in another completely unrelated product. Eh I guess they are both snack foods.

This might be a first, well at least the first time I’ve observed it, that there are multiple advertisements from the same company on the field.

5:16: Shane Vereen, you are NOT Jahvid Best. Hold on to that ball youngster.

5:14: The play-by-play dude definitely said “Tony Felder.” Maybe the announcer and Felder got real close over the last week so he feel comfortable enough to shorten Anthony’s first name.

5:11: Wow these player introductions are extremely lame. I can’t wait ’till we get to the BCS–I have confidence in Fox that they’ll do it right.

5:10: OK finally ESPN360 is up, and already we’ve punted away. Let’s see how Harris does.

Pre-Game

4:59: A recap of who’s suspended from Miami is in order…

- TE Richard Gordon

- TE Tervaris johnson

- LB Jordan Futch

- QB Robert Marve

- PS Chris Ivory

The most ridiculous thing that comes out of all these suspensions is that their snapper for field goals, Jake Byrne, takes over for punt duties as well, and is also the third-string QB behind Jacory Harris. Byrne could have a Charles Woodson-esque night if Harris gets injured.

4:48: I’m looking forward to the player introductions. I hope they get to introduce themselves and say something along the lines of, “This is Chris Rutledge offensive lineman for ‘The U.’”

I think we should come back with, “Worrell Williams, linebacker for ‘THE UC.’” You got to fight fire with fire.

4:32: In the event that Greg Olson is out there reading (you just never know nowadays), I would just like to say that his verse on the 7th Floor Crew’s first and last single was the best. i would link to the song itself but I’d probably get fired.

2:59: A couple mayors have decided to get in on the action. San Francisco’s Gavin Newsom will receive several bags of Florida oranges if the Bears win, while Miami’s Manny Diaz will get a case of Napa Valley wine and several loaves of sourdough bread if the Hurricanes reign supreme.

I hope Diaz negotiated a clause that stipulates overnight shipping if he wins the wager–two-day old bread from Boudin just isn’t the same.

Also, where’s Berkeley’s own mayor, Tom Bates? If anything it should be him placing some of Berkeley’s finest commodities on the line. I was thinking maybe a glassware set from one of the shops down on Telegraph along with some Bongo Burger.

2:48: Cal is favored by 10 points according to the latest odds. Not too bad considering this is basically a home game for the Bears.

About 4,000 Miami fans are expected to be in attendance, which is probably less than the number of supporters coming out for some away teams when Cal hosts games at Memorial Stadium.

1:17 p.m.: When I made that comment about Tedford wearing a sombrero, I made it thinking that no way would Tedford actually be up for such a fun, casual endeavor. Hawaiian shirts are one thing, but wearing anything other than that Cal hat would be absurd.

Lo and behold, at practice on Christmas Day Tedford was out there sporting a Santa hat (Is hat the correct word here, or should it be referred to as something else?). No way would he come to practice with such a hat on–someone had to put him up to it. Any guesses as to the identity of the culprit?

11:30: Rise and shine everyone, gameday is here.

A quick check on the weather shows that we might have less than ideal conditions tonight in San Francisco. The weather will be about 50 degrees with a chance of rain.

This is precisely why as many bowl games as possible should be played in warm weather locations; it beats me as to why in the world we don’t have this game down in Cancun.

Reporters would like it, fans could make a nice vacation out of it, and players would be more than ecstatic (Prior to the official bowl announcement, several Cal players were grumbling about the prospects of playing in San Francisco.). If you’re not sold yet, just think about how awesome it would be to see Tedford prowling the sidelines wearing a sombrero on his head?

12:29 a.m. (12/27/08): Tree-sitters rejoice, the Emerald Bowl is being run solely on wind and solar energy. Big ups to FPL Energy for taking the initiative for making the world a little greener.

Also, I’m sorry but I have to hate on whoever wrote up that media release I linked to.

The wind power theme to the game fits well for the Miami team – the Miami Hurricanes.

Come on, how lame can you get? Also I would hardly consider “The U” to be “rivals” with the Bears, unless of course you consider three games in the last 48 years to be of rival-making stuff.

8:54: You have no idea how giddy I am that it’s not even gameday and already we have our very first comment! We are well on our way to breaking last year’s record of three remarks.

In response to John, I meant to say that this would be Longshore’s last opportunity to showcase what he can do in a full-contact scenario.

I wonder if QB-1 has a stellar outing tomorrow coupled with a great pro day if he could actually manage to sneak his way into the draft. I’d put money on him getting tryouts if he went undrafted, but how tragically fitting would it be if he managed to snag the title of “Mr. Irrelevant.”

8:26: With the configuration of AT&T Stadium, both teams will have their benches on the same side of the field. Considering “the U” has lost its mojo as of late, the chance of a mere 10 yards separating these two teams creating problems is remote, but imagine the possibilities for a second.

What if for three hours you had …

Shaq anywhere near Kobe the day after this news report surfaced

Terrell Owens staring down Jeff Garcia, George Teague (he’s the fella laying into T.O. the second time around) and Ray Lewis (if I forgot anyone, be sure to tell me).

Mike Tyson and anyone else across the way?

7:01: As many of you have probably heard by now, coach Jeff Tedford has tabbed his boy Nate Longshore to be the starting QB come tomorrow.

This announcement should come as no surprise considering that Tedford has always had a soft spot for Longshore. Since Longshore did not receive a bid to a senior all-star game the Emerald Bowl is his last chance to show NFL scouts that he has something to offer up at the next level.

Here’s to hoping the senior has an amazing game en route to earning Emerald Bowl MVP honors.

5:46 p.m. (12/26/08): After live bloggin’ the Armed Forces Bowl last year for The Clog, I just couldn’t resist an encore performance. As always, I’ll try to bring some witty, informed banter to keep the folks at home amused.

In case you’ve been out of the loop, Cal takes on Miami at 5 p.m. tomorrow in the Emerald Bowl. The game will be televised on ESPN, or for those of you who are technologically inclined, the game will also be on ESPN 360.