THE TRUTH VS. LIES

2007-06-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

And now, the best editorial ever!

On the State of Schools and Schooling

On solid ground

by Gregory Fenves and Jack Moehle

This story ran as an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday, June 1, 2007

The city of Berkeley is suing the University of California to block construction of a student-athlete center next to the historic Memorial Stadium. The lawsuit alleges the new building would be unsafe in an earthquake. With top geologists now reaffirming that there are no active faults under the proposed center, the city's allegation is unfounded from our perspective as earthquake engineers. In fact, the city's lawsuit, filed last December, has the potential to jeopardize the safety of Cal athletes by delaying and possibly derailing the first step of a critical project to seismically retrofit the 83-year-old Memorial Stadium.

The Hayward Fault cuts through Memorial Stadium, which means that a large-magnitude earthquake could severely damage the structure and endanger lives. Each day, nearly 500 students and staff members use the stadium facilities. In addition to training and sports medicine services, the aging edifice houses offices for programs such as football, field hockey, rugby, crew and lacrosse.

Before the retrofit of the stadium can be launched, students and staff must vacate the premises and move into a new, seismically safe building. That is the purpose of the proposed new Student-Athlete High Performance Center. The plans for the center have met rigorous state environmental and earthquake-safety requirements.

Although the student-athlete center will be built near the Hayward Fault, it does not cross it. To confirm this, the campus hired a top firm, Geomatrix Consultants of Oakland, to dig trenches and drill boreholes to investigate the geology at the site. In response to the city's concerns about the study, the campus hired the geologists to return and investigate the site in greater detail.

The results of that examination substantiate the conclusion that there is no fault under the site. Thus, the design is in complete compliance with the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, a state law prohibiting new buildings on earthquake faults. Furthermore, seismologists and engineers know from studies of past earthquakes that the level of ground shaking is approximately the same right next to a fault as it is anywhere else within two miles of the fault. Thus, the new student-athlete center is unlikely to experience ground motion greater than any other building on campus or in downtown Berkeley should a major earthquake occur on the Hayward Fault.

The center has been designed by a leading Bay Area structural engineering firm Forell/Elsesser Engineers. That firm is well known for its earthquake strengthening work on many buildings using advanced technology, including Berkeley Civic Center, San Francisco City Hall, the Asian Art Museum and Oakland City Hall. To further ensure seismic safety, the student-athlete center's design has been subject to rigorous independent review.

Among the experts who have scrutinized and approved the project are Loring Wyllie, chairman emeritus of Degenkolb Engineers and member of the National Academy of Engineering; Craig Comartin, past-president of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute; and UC Berkeley's Seismic Review Committee, which is made up of faculty experts in seismology, geotechnical engineering and structural engineering.

Since 1997, UC Berkeley has invested $500 million in retrofitting nearly 70 percent of its campus buildings identified as seismically at risk. Furthermore, UC Berkeley's goal is to reopen the campus within 30 days of a major earthquake, keeping to a minimum the disruption of classes, research and community services. Indeed, university campuses play an important role in disaster recovery efforts, as was the case with UC Santa Cruz following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Likewise, UC Berkeley will be a key player in the aftermath of a major earthquake along the Hayward Fault. Given what is at stake here, and UC Berkeley's painstaking attention to seismic safety, it is vital that the campus proceed with construction of the Student-Athlete High Performance Center.

Cal athletes and athletic staff deserve the same level of protection as occupants of other seismically upgraded campus buildings. Let them move out of the Memorial Stadium and into a state-of-the-art building that meets meticulous earthquake safety standards.

Gregory Fenves is chair of UC Berkeley's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Jack Moehle is director of the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center at UC Berkeley.

2007-06-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

GOOD NEWS

FOR THE GOOD GUYS!

Study confirms no active faults under site planned for new Cal student-athlete training center

Independent geologic consulting firm releases study results
May 31, 2007

From the Cal Football Site
BERKELEY - An independent geologic consulting firm has found no active faults under the planned building site of a student-athlete training center slated for construction west of the University of California, Berkeley's Memorial Stadium. The Oakland firm Geomatrix Consultants Inc. released the results of a follow-up study of the site last week.

Last October, Geomatrix gave the site a clean bill of health after extensive exploration that included trenching and numerous borings, and the campus hoped to begin construction early this year. After reviewers from the California Geological Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey suggested additional field exploration to confirm these conclusions, UC Berkeley requested an additional trench and several deeper borings in two small areas of the building footprint where deep fill limits geological investigation.

The new explorations turned up no active fault traces in the planned construction area, confirming the company's earlier conclusions. Geomatrix's conclusions were also supported by the seismic consulting firm William Lettis & Associates Inc., which conducted peer reviews of the 2006 and the 2007 studies.

"The Student-Athlete High Performance Center is an essential element to improve conditions for the success of our student-athletes," said UC Berkeley Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour. "The safety of our students, coaches and staff are of utmost importance, and the Geomatrix findings confirm our belief that the center will be built on a site in full compliance with Alquist-Priolo statutes. With the results of this study, I am confident that we will be able to move forward with the project and will prevail when the facts of the case are presented to the court."

The Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Zoning Act is a California law that prohibits the construction of new buildings on an active earthquake fault. Three lawsuits currently are challenging construction of the center, alleging that it would violate provisions of the act. While the Geomatrix study removes one possible barrier to construction of the center, the pending lawsuits challenge other aspects of the project.

The Student-Athlete High Performance Center, a 132,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art strength and conditioning and sports medicine center, will serve 13 of Cal's 27 intercollegiate sports, including football and 12 Olympic sports. The center is critical to future plans to renovate and retrofit the stadium, which straddles the Hayward Fault and is in seismically poor shape.

Last October, Geomatrix submitted to UC Berkeley its seismic study of the site, concluding that no active fault traces run through the planned construction site. The report was included with the environmental impact report (EIR) submitted that same month to the UC Board of Regents. The Regents certified the EIR and approved the project in December.

Nevertheless, the city of Berkeley filed a lawsuit in December alleging that the student-athlete center would be unsafe in an earthquake. In January, two other lawsuits were filed alleging the same thing and challenging plans to cut down trees to build the center. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara Miller combined the original lawsuit with the lawsuits by the Panoramic Hill Association and a consortium that includes the group Save the Oaks at the Stadium. On Jan. 26, she issued a preliminary injunction barring any construction or preparation for construction until the lawsuits could be heard in trial. No hearing date has yet been set, but one is expected in late summer or fall.

In her decision, Miller alluded to the city's challenge that UC Berkeley's plans would violate the Alquist-Priolo act. Although the first Geomatrix report concluded that there were no active faults under the planned building site, the campus asked Geomatrix to conduct additional trenching and boring to confirm that fault traces were not present beneath the sediment and fill along the easternmost part of the planned footprint of the building.

"We are very pleased that the results of the original and the supplementary field exploration programs provided such extensive data to evaluate the continuity of sediments beneath and adjacent to the building footprint, and to show where the active trace of the Hayward Fault passes though the south end of the stadium to the east of the training center," said Donald Wells, the engineering geologist in charge of the project for Geomatrix.

Professor Gregory L. Fenves, chair of UC Berkeley's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, reviewed both Geomatrix reports and has concluded that the design is in complete compliance with the Alquist-Priolo act. The building will be built with the most modern structural engineering technology to protect UC Berkeley athletes from the ground motion expected during a large magnitude Hayward Fault earthquake, he said.
"Seismologists and engineers know from studies of past earthquakes that the level of ground shaking is approximately the same right next to a fault as it is anywhere else within two miles of the fault," Fenves said. "Thus, the new student-athlete center is unlikely to experience ground motion higher than any other building on campus or in downtown Berkeley should a major earthquake occur on the Hayward Fault."

In contrast, Memorial Stadium, where student-athletes train on a daily basis, is in dire need of seismic retrofitting. That retrofitting cannot begin, however, until the student-athlete center is completed.

2007-05-29T18:02:00.000-07:00

2007-04-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

The Blog that brought you the truth about the Oaks will be back soon with an interesting article on the latest maneuvering of the anti-establishment/athletics bunch.

STAY TUNED!

2007-03-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO SEEK TO CONTROL THE DESTINY OF CAL FOOTBALL AND THE UNIVERSITY. THEY WANT THE TEAM OUT OF BERKELEY. THEY WANT THE TEAM TO PLAY IN OAKLAND. WE SHOULD DEFINITELY DO AS THEY SAY, RIGHT?

Listen to me everyone! I have a bullhorn so you have to, whether you want to or not! Never mind there is no need for the thing because there are only ten of us here, it looks better for the photo op! I have to start stumping early for the next mayoral election! GOD! I love the sound of my own voice! I am SO MUCH better than all of you! Oh yeah, I HATE JOCKS! I get to say that I am going to murder Police officers (which I intend to do) and these people below all rush to bail me out. I am above the law of the average citizen! Man I ROCK! Did I mention I am the leader of 85,000 Bay area Natives? Yeah, lets flaunt the fact that Berkeley is “Berserkley.” I love the fact I am damaging the image of the city I live in. What I love more than anything though, is the fact all of these people are out here fighting to protect my great views of the San Francisco Bay. I moved into my house shortly after the end of the free speech movement. I knew then the football team was going to be a problem for my posh living arrangement. I just had no idea anyone would actually care about stupid jocks. We are so much better than the stupid jocks. They are after all, just stupid jocks! SEND THEM OFF TO OAKLAND NOW!
This must be that student rally they are always telling us about. Yeah man, you definitely have the support of all the students. From the looks of it you haven’t been able to graduate in over 50 years. Shouldn't you be worried about your studies more than protecting rich peoples property?
You just wait and see, one of these idiots is going to fall. And guess what their first move will be? Never short of a legal team, they will immediately sue the University. Just wait and see, I almost guarantee it!
Hi there! I am one of the MANY student protesters tacking part in this effort to save the oldest forest in recorded history. If we don’t save this place, there will be like, no other trees anywhere! Oh by the way, I love to pose for pictures!

More wonderful photos of these dedicated professional protesters to come…

2007-03-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

GREAT IDEA!

Brought to us by the special land interests of Berkeley, California

East Bay Express
Give Cal Plan the Ax

Retrofitting Memorial Stadium for a quake will be a futile waste of countless millions.

By Chris Thompson

Take a half-dozen granola-and-sandals activists, give them surnames like "Runningwolf" and "Butterfly," stick 'em in a few trees, and sic the University of California on them, and you've got the makings of a perfect Berkeley story. And so the national press has waggled after the latest town-gown controversy, in which university officials want to build a $120 million athletic training center to boost their newly bemuscled football program, and crunchy eco-acolytes (and even a curmudgeonly ex-mayor or two) have put their bodies on the line to stop them. Last month, the city successfully snagged an interim injunction against proceeding with the construction, which would have done away with a smallish oak grove and apparently struck at the heart of a key part of what made this town the "third most sustainable city," according to the eco-wonks at SustainLane.com. It also would have highlighted UC's imperial arrogance, made dozens of squirrels homeless, contributed to global warming via the sweat of middle linebackers; you know the drill. But as usual, the most important element of the story — the true folly of the university's plan — went unnoticed.

But where to play? How 'bout the Coliseum?
The issue isn't really the training center, which could be located in any number of different areas in or around campus. It's the California Memorial Stadium itself, which is the heart of the sports complex university officials want to reinvigorate. The stadium is an 84-year-old seismic deathtrap, built right on top of the Hayward fault, and the western half of it is slowly moving north, ripping at the foundations. Officials need to build the training center so they can move their jocks and coaches out of the stadium before a massive quake hits and buries them beneath a pile of rubble that used to be bleacher seats. Fine and good; since they work there five days a week, getting them out of the complex would surely save their lives. But then Cal administrators want to do something truly stupid: spend a fortune retrofitting the stadium itself.

No one truly knows just how much that would cost. UC Berkeley spokeswoman Marie Felde claims that Cal's engineers haven't even done the math yet. "They're not that far into the design process," she said. "Nobody wants to guess." But according to Craig Comartin, a structural engineer who has studied the schematics for UC Berkeley, the project would probably cost in the order of "tens of millions." For Cisco de Vries, a spokesman for Mayor Tom Bates, the university's very refusal to finish designing the retrofit and related projects is exactly the sort of irresponsible and arrogant planning that prompted the lawsuit in the first place. "Until there's some understanding of what it will take for the stadium to be safe, how can we be making decisions involving hundreds of millions of dollars?" he said. "That's a big part of our concern. The mayor says we want them to figure out at the very least what they're going to do with the stadium first."

But this much we know: The university's stated objective is to save the lives of the approximately 73,000 fans who could be caught attending the Big Game when the Big One hits.
Take a closer look at those odds. Seismologists claim that in any given year there's a 1 percent chance of a major quake along the Hayward fault. Cal plays between six and eight games a year at the stadium, and once the training facilities and administrative offices are relocated, these games are the only times a significant number of lives will be at risk. In other words, the university is about to spend tens of millions of dollars to prepare for a disaster that has a one-in-25,000 chance of happening.

But where would we play football, you ask? Where would we watch Jeff Tedford's Bears crush Stanford's spirits for a generation? Funny you should ask. University planners don't just want to retrofit the stadium; they want to beef up its concession outlets and slap on some new lights, luxury boxes, and press offices. There just happens to be a facility that already boasts all of these amenities, and its owners — you and me — will be desperate for new tenants very shortly.

It's called McAfee Coliseum, and now that the Oakland A's are planning to split for Fremont, Saturdays just happen to be free. With one lease agreement — and given Oakland's pathetic history of giving away the store, Cal officials can count on that agreement being very lucrative indeed — the university could have a massive football complex, complete with luxury boxes and garlic fries, for a fraction of what it would cost to modernize Memorial Stadium. And here's the bonus round: It's not sitting on a fault.

According to UC Berkeley's Felde, such a scheme won't fit in with the university's long-term plans. "When the campus looked at how to revitalize the southeast quadrant of campus, one of the main points was that the goal was to integrate the athletic experience with the student experience to a greater level than it is now," she says. And the fact that the stadium is across the street from the academic centers of campus is very important."

Well, it works for UCLA, whose stadium, the Rose Bowl, is located all the way in Pasadena. And moving Cal's games to the Coliseum wouldn't jeopardize Tedford's contract, which reportedly stipulates that the training center — and only the training center — be built. Felde claims the retrofit would be financed solely by alumni contributions and ticket sales, but make no mistake: Sooner or later you'll pay for this. When the Big One does strike, public money will be used to repair the stadium, and in the meantime, the redirection of ticket revenue would only increase the athletic department's multimillion-dollar budget deficit.

More than ten years ago, Oakland and Alameda County officials signed one of the worst sports deals in history to get the Raiders back, and it cost them millions and the departure of their baseball team. UC Berkeley planners have a chance to shake off the delusion that costly stadium construction projects are the only way to save their football program, and avoid the catastrophic mistakes made by their neighbor to the south. They just have to tell their alumni that beer tastes just as good in Mount Davis.

RESPONSES TO THIS NONSENSE

Your right, Cal football should be played in Oakland--by seceding from the city of berkeley. The University and its surrounding neiborhoods should either be annexed by Oakland or any other city that would demonstrate cooperation, appreciation, and respect for having the distinct priviledge of hosting the premier research and educational institution in the world. In the spirit of Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks, I'm ashamed that Cal is the city of berkeley. I'm ashamed Tom Bates is a former Cal football player and alum. As a Cal alum, I ashamed to be a voting resident of the city of berkeley.
Comment by Nicolas — February 20, 2007 @ 10:53PM

Terrible idea. Let's just go ahead and p*ss away 80+ years of tradition and the most authentic sporting experience in the bay area. The masses of blue and gold faithful surging up Durant, Bancroft Ave. & the campus, then descending back down into the apartments, bars, eateries, and elsewhere after the game is a one of a kind experience. The picturesque setting and backdrop of the stadium is unmatched. The sightlines of every seat in that stadium are good, far better than the hole in Oaktown.You conndradict yourself in your own article too you moron:"In other words, the university is about to spend tens of millions of dollars to prepare for a disaster that has a one-in-25,000 chance of happening."then..."Sooner or later you'll pay for this. When the Big One does strike, public money will be used to repair the stadium, and in the meantime, the redirection of ticket revenue would only increase the athletic department's multimillion-dollar budget deficit."Well, is it a one-in-25,000 chance?, or an inevitable event? Leave your bad ideas and multipurpose stadiums in LA where they belong.
Comment by Andrew — February 20, 2007 @ 10:55PM

You forgot to mention one thing: The Oakland Mausoleum sucks. Nobody, not the A's, Raiders, or anybody else, wants to play there. The Mausoleum is Oakland's problem, not Cal's. The University should not be expected to bail out the city, and should be free to solve its problems on its own terms. If the stadium gets retrofitted, it will be designed to withstand a massive earthquake, and the eventual cost would be far less than the cost of a disastrous event in the stadium as it currently stands.Your opinion piece is uninformed at best, sensational at worst.
Comment by Kevin Adams — February 20, 2007 @ 11:41PM

Well then, maybe nothing should be retrofitted - the homes on Panoramic Hill next to the stadium, student dorms, freeways, San Francisco City Hall, the Bay Bridge. It cost money. Just let them all rot.If anything, UC has been a better neighbor to the city of berkeley than vice versa. Any other university would have developed People's Park by now, but no, we have to let it remain the dump it is because of the same people sitting in the trees. And the new stadium plans are lessening the danger with the reduction of seating from the existing 73K to 65K. It's a crime that what can be such a great amenity to the UC and the city of berkeley, can be obstructed by lies, distortion, NIMBYs, jobless tree sitters with "groovy"' nicknames, and residents who just want to get rid of Cal football.
Comment by Eddie — February 20, 2007 @ 11:43PM

when did you abondon reason for madness?
Comment by Jack — February 21, 2007 @ 04:41AM

Moving Memorial stadium anywhere is a terrible idea. We need to build and expand the current stadium. It will be constructed with the most modern plans and technologies. The new Memorial stadium should be left exactly where it is. Sadly, all of these people calling for it to move have no understanding of the rich history and tradition of the stadium and it's current location. Furthermore, the stadium is the center of the University's athletic program. To say you can just move it away is simply foolish. Don't listen to these anti-social "protesters". They have their own agenda and it has nothing to do with reality. BUILT IT NOW.
Comment by Timothy Smith — February 21, 2007 @ 07:26AM

Wow.Just plain poor research!Did you actually speak to Sandy Barbour, Jeff Tedford?Do you know any Cal ALums who would support your flimsy ideas?Besides not being in touch with your consituency, and doing poor research, you have a really valuable opinion.wink wink,
Comment by Richard — February 21, 2007 @ 07:40AM

A not-so-bright article for a not-so-bright idea.. You obviously didn't graduate from Cal. Get away from the sensationalized claims and foolhardy ignorance and you'll see quite a different picture. For example, "it works for UCLA"??? Depends on who you ask and your opinion certainly does not equate to fact. The situation for Cal is not directly comparable to that of UCLA's and much can be argued against for a stadium located so far from the main campus. If I was writing this piece, I'd also filter out any silly quotes from the office of that looney of a mayor, Tom Bates. Those quotes alone make me feel dumber after having read them.
Comment by andy — February 21, 2007 @ 11:48AM

Chris Thompson is, I believe, a Cal alum.Though I think he was never much of a football fan.Chris, try to imagine what playing at Oakland Coliseum would be like:--Less than half the students who currently attend will bother to make the long journey down BART.--Alumni/homecoming weekend will be dramatically hurt.--Local businesses will suffer from those 7 weekends of year of big business.--If we played in Oakland, this year, for instance, Tennessee Volunteer fans won't need to step foot in Berkeley at all.--If, god forbid, we ever suffer a pre-Tedford-like down year, the stands will become empty. With the stadium right on campus, there is at least an incentive to attend games.
Comment by Jon — February 21, 2007 @ 12:32PM

"...But as usual, the most important element of the story — the true folly of the university's plan — went unnoticed."Indeed it did. Attending a football game at Cal is special in large part because it is a collegiate experience. Remove the "college" and you're left with something considerably diminished. Cal’s vibrance sets it apart. A vibrance fueled in part by the unique proximity of the various elements that make up one’s college experience - the living, and studying and playing that make up college life. My days at Cal, were greatly enhanced by its athletic programs and to consider that a facility so central to that experience could be so casually relocated across town reveals an ignorance so elemental to be considered folly – true folly.One can only wonder your suggestion should Doe Library become seismically compromised.
Comment by Andrew Golan — February 21, 2007 @ 12:53PM

Bad idea. Why not move all of the East Bay off the Hayward fault? Let's start with you guys.
Comment by Michael Poe — February 21, 2007 @ 12:59PM
I hear there's a large stadium in Athens that's been empty since the summer of 2004 and it would probably cost less than McAfee Coliseum. Oh wait, Greece has earthquakes too. Nevermind, let's just scrap Cal football altogether.
Comment by Nate — February 21, 2007 @ 03:11PM

And what do we do with Memorial Stadium? Tear it down? Whoops! Here come the preservationists demanding that the university restore this historic structure!
Comment by Wayne — February 21, 2007 @ 03:13PM

Please do some research. UC Berkeley isn't trying to "save" their football team. The team status is great. If you really wanted to know what team needs saving look across the bay into the Palo Alto area. So before you start rambling about saving programs, realize Cal is looking to upgrade (not saving) and has the resources to do it.Oh, and spare the fault excuse. Technology does wonders when you have the opportunity to apply it.
Comment by Scott — February 21, 2007 @ 03:20PM

NEWS FLASH! This project is PRIVATELY FUNDED. Nice job of "journalism", amateur. Why don't you do even a modicum of research before you go spouting your nonsense ideas? You can start with this article, which describes the specific technology being utilized in the retrofit of the stadium: http://california.scout.com/2/613967.htmlYour contention is that we should prevent the spending of PRIVATE money to retrofit the stadium before the Big One hits, because down the road we will have to spend PUBLIC money to repair it after the Big One? That's some solid logic there Voltaire. Cal playing in the Oakland Coliseum is possibly the worst idea anyone anywhere has suggested. That piece of garbage stadium isn't fit to host Pop Warner, let alone College Football. You are now free to crawl back to the deep dank hole you climbed out of.
Comment by The Spirit of Oski — February 21, 2007 @ 04:20PM

Good lord, where do you get your information? This so-called "article" has more holes than GW's plan in Iraq. The Coliseum is NOT a viable option for so many reasons. First off, Cal doesn't need or want a pile of luxury suites, as you so confidently claim. In fact, the new stadium renovation is unusually thin in such pursuits. The Rose Bowl does not work as well for UCLA as you believe. While it draws a significant crowd from the millions of Southern Californians that reside in the area, their fan base from the campus is extremely weak. Most students opt to stay home, rather than make the long trek to the stadium. UCLA football has little or no connection to college athletics, rather it takes the place of an absent professional franchise for most residents in that half of the hellhole we call LA. Relocating basketball games to the Oakland Arena was a huge failure for the campus, drawing only a handful of students to the games and rarely selling tickets in the upper deck. We should take a lesson from this and understand how important it is to keep the games on the campus, where the collegiate athletics experience can continue. Your agenda is quite clear and it's distressing that you feel so entitled to dig for headlines with such trash. Why don't you try doing your job instead of vomiting such propaganda?
Comment by Chris L — February 21, 2007 @ 05:22PM

Thank you. I've been waiting for someone to write this story. It's the elephant in the room.
Comment by Janice Thomas — February 21, 2007 @ 10:01PM
Janice, the only thing "elephant"-like in this room is your head if you think your petty needs outweigh the future of the Greatest Public University in the World. I won't bother to ask where you live because you make it abundantly clear. Go find something else to complain about like your neighbor's selection of paint color or the teenage kid's loud music across the street.
Comment by Mike Lewis — February 21, 2007 @ 10:38PM
Bottomline: retrofitting the stadium is going to be less expensive then building a new one or a long term lease at the Oakland Coliseum (amortized over the expected longevity of the new renovation).
Comment by jimmy — February 21, 2007 @ 11:17PM

Wow. Do you even think before you write? Or do such ill conceived "thoughts" just leak out of you when you least expect them?You state that "...moving Cal's games to the Coliseum wouldn't jeopardize Tedford's contract, which reportedly stipulates that the training center — and only the training center — be built." Oh, really? You might want to give that ludicrous statement just wee ponder. Do you really think that Tedford would stick around for the long haul if forced to play at that dump? And do you really think his contract would determine that outcome? I'm trying to be reasonably civil here, but you're just not very bright, are you? (Ditto for Janice Thomas.)
Comment by Wally — February 22, 2007 @ 01:41AM

Thank you for an excellent article. This is a sensical and disarmingly simple analysis.
Comment by Ignacio Chapela — February 22, 2007 @ 08:11AM

Wow...where to begin? First, Scott is correct that Cal's football program does not need "saving." Of course, that would change if Cal were to follow your advice and move its games off-campus.Second, you state without any proof at all that an off-campus stadium "works" for UCLA. I doubt many UCLA fans would agree with that statement. The Rose Bowl may be an improvement over the team's prior home (the LA Coliseum), but most UCLA fans would love to have an on-campus stadium. If you think off-campus stadiums are such a good idea, check with Minnesota fans -- the team's move to the Metrodome almost killed that program; that's why it is moving back on campus in 2009.Finally, the only elephant in this room is the question as to why someone would move next door to a football stadium, then express shock that the university might actually hold its football games there.
Comment by Bill — February 22, 2007 @ 09:31AM

It certainly is a "simple" analysis.
Comment by Ferdinand — February 22, 2007 @ 10:08AM

Thank you for the very incisive and "right-on" article about UC Berkeley's plans to retrofit California Memorial Stadium. You left out one very important point, however. The EIR issued in support of this retrofit/development outlines a way to pay for it by having an unlimited number of other "capacity events" at the 62,00 seat stadium. So the stadium becomes no longer alumni's much-beloved Cal Stadium, but a large, commercial venture with possible rock concerts, etc. In the event of an earthquake it would not be just the occassional football fan who would be a risk but the public in general- not to mention what this plan would do the the surrounding residential neighborhoods.
Comment by Joan Barnett — February 22, 2007 @ 10:28AM

McAfee Stadium stinks as a football venue. Cal is a tremendous place to watch football.The college atmosphere is unique and a fantastic experience. Tens of thousands ofCal fans and alumni are sick and tired of the naysayers. Just go ahead with the project and get it done! It will be great for the University and the Bay Area.Spending a day on the Cal campus and watching a game in Memorial is so far aboveanything "Mount Davis" has to offer. You're comparing the White House to the outhouse.Jeff AndersonTurlock
Comment by Jeff — February 22, 2007 @ 10:35AM

Your ideas are not too far fetched. The only problem is moving the games off campus. You site UCLA's plan as working. They have a very hard time getting students to go to the games. The Rose Bowl is usually half full at best. And they aren't the only example. San Diego State used to have a highly successful football program. They moved the game of campus and the whole program has gone downhill. Off campus sites might work for non-student fans, but future fans need to come from the student body to get the kind of support a college football team needs. Making it difficult for students to get to games is bad news.
Comment by Jill Moore — February 22, 2007 @ 10:43AM

EBE, I'm a dedicated supporter of the tree-sit and I just want to say "Thank you" for this article. You touch in on some essential issues that many other newspapers have intentially avoided. For example: "UC arrogance", the availability of alternative sites, the $ incentive for UC and the resulting $ problems for the Berkeley comminity. I never even thought about McAfee Stadium, but it is a great idea! It would also make travel easier for visiting teams (Oakland Airport access), and there's PLENTY of parking! A long shot, but a great idea nontheless.My only concern, will Raider fans and Cal fans get along???
Comment by K Lim — February 22, 2007 @ 11:14AM

Dear Panoramic Hill residents,Inspired by this article, I feel we need to address problems that stretch far beyond the borders of Memorial Stadium. After giving it careful thought, it's become clear that you should no longer eat meals in your homes. The fumes created from your ill-advised "enchilada night" are not only a nuisance to your neighbors, but threaten the lives of an "ancient" breed of endangered "Common House Cat." The subsequent trash from said cooking increases traffic of garbage trucks through the hillside. Besides, these kitchens are now deemed seismically unsafe, as they were built decades ago. I know you'd love to remodel and create a kitchen that keeps your family safe and happy, but think of the cats.My resolution: Cook and eat meals in the kitchens of West Oakland homes. They have perfectly good kitchens already. Don't waste your money on maintaining your personal identity when you can simply rent someone else's. I'm sure your little rugrats will be happy to make the journey to the West O. Bon Appetit!
Comment by Chris L — February 22, 2007 @ 12:43PM

Good article. As a retired architect I would add that there is no way that an athletic training center could cost $1000 per square foot, unless there is a substantial hidden cost to make its structure part of the needed support for the west side of the stadium.
Comment by Christopher Adams — February 22, 2007 @ 04:09PM

Yes, of course. Let's relocate the football program even though the stadium was there before the Panoramic Hill neighborhoods were developed. I'm going to buy a house near AT&T Park tomorrow and force the Giants to move back to Candlestick because I don't like the noise, traffic, and potential damage in an earthquake.Funny, there were no complaints from neighbors and this "newspaper" when the Haas Business School was built and Wurster Hall was retrofitted, both literally across the street from the stadium.
Comment by Eddie — February 22, 2007 @ 04:24PM

Dude, Chris Thompson, your idea would actually make sense and restore a rough sense of proportionality between the priority we accord football and the priority of spending public money.This of course means, your idea is disqualified from the start. Especially in this state.Only ideas that can be b!tched about ad nauseum or which make life perfect for one of the numerous psychotic, deranged groups of wackjobs with nothing better to do than sit in trees, participate in bureaucratic pissing matches, gripe about their property values, or participate in some mass delusion of togetherness at a sporting event are permitted, Chris. Shame on you for insulting the petty fascists who pay your salary, mister. You should have known that the most costly solution is the one that accomplishes nothing of value, and that is the one they want :)
Comment by Die Bearded Liberals — February 22, 2007 @ 10:24PM
Your idea is so stupid, I got to puke now, thank you for ruin my breakfast, and lunch today.
Comment by John Hoang — February 23, 2007 @ 10:41AM

Terrible research. Horrible logic. Sounds like someone who doesn't like football and who has drank the Panoramic Hills association coolaide. As a Cal alumni, I am extremely disappointed by the the city's lawsuit against the University. The flagship University in the great state of Californiadefines the City of Berkeley. It is not the city that defines Cal. Why can't we have a great academic University as well as a great sportsUniversity? Both are possible and your misguided efforts to support some tree supporters is very disappointing. The University hasdone an excellent job in preparing for this renovation (why wouldn't they?) and new athletic facilities. The Stadium is 84 years old. We need new facilities. You should be ashamed of yourself as a fellow Cal alum. We will win and our sports programs will excel just like our academic programs. Go Bears!
Comment by Hamlet K. — February 23, 2007 @ 02:31PM

Memorial Stadium in Berkeley is one of the best places to watch a football game on the planet. Not one bad seat in the house (except for the ones closest to the field), and views are to die for. McAfee/Network Associates/Virus Scan Coliseum is one of few reminders of an era of monstrous multipurpose bowls, and is an awful place to watch almost any event by comparison. The seats on top of Mount Davis are even worse than the "visitor" section in the LA Coliseum. Why anyone would entertain moving from a gem to a sh*thole is beyond me.
Comment by Jon — February 23, 2007 @ 06:03PM

WOW. As a Berkely native, I hate to say I have read dumber things but not by much. Off campus stadiums have not worked for college football. Moreover, the move to oakland would HURT attendence and make the deficits that you speak of even larger....football turns an important profit to help support the rest of the athletic department. You also need to address the question of "now what" since demo'ing Memorial is out of the question given its historic significance. I
Comment by Erik — February 23, 2007 @ 08:41PM

This comment is directed to Chris Adams, who said:------------"As a retired architect I would add that there is no way that an athletic training center could cost $1000 per square foot, unless there is a substantial hidden cost to make its structure part of the needed support for the west side of the stadium."------------Uh, Chris...have you been following this situation at all? There is absolutely nothing hidden about the cost nor the plan to include shoring up the western wall of Memorial as part of phase 1 of the project (which refers largely to the construction of the SAHPC).To quote DIRECTLY from university documents in a description of the project: "This building will be placed partially below grade so that the top of the building forms a plaza at the exterior promenade level of the stadium." The document continues: "Construction of the underground space for this building will require significant shoring of the existing west stadium wall, thus providing the first phase of seismic reinforcement to the stadium itself."What's being hidden here?
Comment by Justin Williams — February 24, 2007 @ 11:57PM

Joan Barnett writes:"The EIR issued in support of this retrofit/development outlines a way to pay for it by having an unlimited number of other "capacity events" at the 62,00 seat stadium. So the stadium becomes no longer alumni's much-beloved Cal Stadium, but a large, commercial venture with possible rock concerts, etc."-------------Hey Joan, I've not seen the document that refers to the unlimited number of "capacity events" at the 62,000 seat stadium, but I've got to ask you...exactly how many events per year (outside of a measly 6-7 football games) do you think stadiums that hold 62k persons are booked for? By simply perusing ticketmaster's site, it sure doesn't look like many. Giants Stadium (a football stadium serving the NY market) is booked for one concert (The Police) thus far for this year. ONE CONCERT. The LA Coliseum and Rose Bowl currently have NO bookings. So even if they were to use it as a commercial site, the demand simply doesn't exist for an unlimited number of non-football events. Your argument fails to apply logic beyond that of hysteria.
Comment by Justin Williams — February 25, 2007 @ 12:10AM

Number of errors in this subjective story.A's stadium was over 30 years old; A's wanted an entirely new and fancy "downtown" stadium in Oakland. It wouldn't have mattered if the Raiders were there or not, as the A's wanted out of there.Oakland refused. So the A's sought the riches of the Silicon Valley, which they probably were really after all along.
Comment by Ed Jamison — March 1, 2007 @ 12:02AM

Property Address: 15xx FRANCISCO ST, BERKELEY CA 94703-1215 Owner: LIM KENG L & KAM C Losers...
Comment by Snoop — March 1, 2007 @ 08:30AM

Give UC Berkeley a break. It is 1.2 acres of planted Oaks. The smart thing to do would have been to demand "mitigation", where UC Berkeley buys 5-10 acres of umperiled (i.e. to development) oaks elsewhere (ideally on the edge of an existing East Bay Park) and donates it to the East Bay Park system. That would actually add good habitat to a much larger chunk of intact habitat. This "Oak grove" is pretty low value habitat. This is something that could have been worked on in conjunction with other environmental causes. This maximizes the time and energy of activists.The dumb thing to do was to waste 100% time and effort for months for 1.2 of degraded oak habitat (take a walk in Tilden, then take a walk in the grove if you don't know what I'm talking about). This has tied up the time and energy of dozens of activists. Any victory is a loss if the true goal is to preserve habitat.
Comment by John — March 10, 2007 @ 04:11AM

I've been a Cal football season ticket holder for over ten years and I'm hoping the stadium renovations occur. However, I have to admit that many of the comments by the pro-renovation folk are childlike. Calling the author names and assuming your opinions are the only valid ones is pretty egotistical. We need voices of dissent so that the projects we undertake take all negative impacts into consideration.
Comment by Lorenzo Dodaro — March 14, 2007 @ 11:54PM

"Childish?” Wow, ok. So how exactly are we supposed to respond to such a childish article? With maturity? No, these Panoramic Hill types who move next to a stadium and then express outrage over the use of said stadium are the insane ones. This is nothing more than a classic example of the continuing efforts of the City to degrade the sovereignty of the University. They have done a wonderful job of making Cal out to be the bad guy, when in actuality they are. The other great point is the fact that Memorial cannot simply be torn down, so what are we to do with it when we move to Oakland? I have heard rumors that the Panoramic Hill Association plans on turning it into a massive party site, where underage prostitutes and drugs run rampant. I say we send in the National Guard and forcibly remove these residents. Send them to reeducation camps where perhaps they could learn a thing or two. God help us all, God help us all indeed!
Comment by Rich Sanchez — March 20, 2007 @ 01:54PM

Is anyone starting to see what an insane and self-righteous group of people we are dealing with? I sure hope so! The University of California can use all the help it can get in fending of these malicious lies and attacks perpetrated by the special land interests of the Panoramic Hill Association and the City of Berkeley. Please start today by saying enough is enough, and calling your local representatives to complain about the situation. Maybe we can get some real lawmakers on our side, instead of the tyrannical despotic city regime of Berkley.

2007-03-01T13:57:00.000-08:00

RUNNING WOLF BROWN TO

SUE UNIVERSITY

FOR UNSPECIFIED AMOUNT

NO LONGER CONTENT WITH FAME,

DEFENDANT NOW SEEKS

FORTUNE AS WELL

What began as an attempt to gain national notoriety and fame, has now digressed into pure greed. Running Wolf, or (Zach Brown as his legal name states,) announced today that he will sue the University for violating his civil rights. I await with great anticipation the fame seeker who will represent him pro bono. Said Running Wolf, “I’m totally going to fight this! I’m not backing down from the tree protest. It is a burial ground of my people.”

Yes, it is a burial ground for your people, and what evidence have you to corroborate such outlandish comments? NONE! Anyone interested in seeing a real Native burial ground can go to Midpines, CA, where most of my family is buried.

Further more Running Wolf, you fake, where is your Native ID Card? Real Natives get these from the Federal Government, but I have yet to see Zach Browns! In some cases Natives are unable to get these, because their tribes are not federally recognized, but they still have what is called an Indian ID number.

Running Wolf has shown us none of these. Yet he claims to be a Native leader of some 85,000 Natives. I intend to contact the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) office in Sacramento to see who this guy really is! I will expose you RUNNING WOLF!

With the judicial system as crazy as it has become in California, it would not surprise me in the least to see a large unwarranted settlement thrown his way. The money that he is to be rewarded with for breaking the law, will come from yours truly. Not just me though, you to! Instead of our hard earned tax dollars going to the students, it will go to Running Wolf. This will certainly be good for Running Wolf, as he is completely broke.

Just to close, I am not saying Running Wolf is not Native. He may be, who knows at this point? He certainly doesn't represent me or any of my tribe though. I am sure many feel he is furthur tarnishing the image of Native Americans, I know I do.

Don't you just love Berkeley?

Stay tuned for the latest on this breaking story.

2007-02-27T13:18:00.000-08:00

MORE TRUTH BURIED IN LIES

Well, this out of control situation just gets worse and worse. It now appears that the hero of the so called “peoples protest” Zachary Running Wolf, would like to murder UCPD officers in cold blood. Unconfirmed sources have said the threatened officer has a family, including two young children.

In other news, the mainstream media continues its campaign of disinformation and attempts to whitewash the entire incident. In this article the reporter appears to give credence to the theory of one hippie that this was just a big misunderstanding.

Please expect the truth on this in the near future. In the meantime read this blog that is also fighting for the truth.

2007-02-21T23:00:00.000-08:00

WELL FUNDED LIES

AGAINST THE POOR TRUTH WHAT A SAD WORLD WE LIVE IN

The recent barrage of false lies leveled against the University is particularly troubling. As I am of Native decent, Sierra Miwok Band, (proudly more so than “Running Wolfe” could ever hope to be) I find the recent tactics of the Panoramic Hill Association downright scandalous. Haven’t the Native people been victimized enough? Apparently not.

The Panoramic Hill Association, showing they are willing to do whatever it takes to enforce their Nimby priorities, no mater the moral implications, have now dragged in Natives who honestly have no idea what the issues are. I sincerely doubt they would willingly support rich white land interests, like they are now doing, if they in fact knew the reality of the situation. I will ask this of the association, have you no shame? I mean, what level of depravity will you not sink to?

As with any society or culture, you will find elements that exist solely to self promote and obstruct. They do this because it makes them feel important, and powerful over the silently subjugated masses. This is what they do, and they do it very well. They feed off the attention and become emboldened to continue their travesty of lies and DOMINATION.

No, we will not shut our face Panoramic Hill Association! We will continue to fight for truth and justice! You will never crush our free spirit!

I find it even more disturbing that the San Francisco Chronicle would attempt to legitimize these false allegations. Caroline Jones, who wrote the article, has written one subtly negative piece after another. She has continually placed blame on the University, while showing no objective journalism during the process. What information are you basing this assumption on Ms. Jones? As I understand, no test of ethnicity was done on the body. So there can be no verified claim of Native remains. Stealing a page from your book, I conclude the following: One Spanish conquistador does not constitute a Native burial ground. This conquistador is in fact responsible for the systematic genocide of the Native peoples in the area. This body is in fact that of a Native baby killer!

I wish I could devote my life to dispelling the lies of the Panoramic Hill Association, for a lifetime it would take. The truth has become a serious problem for the Panoramic Hill Association, so they breed false lies of a never-ending nature. You see each time one of their far fetched lies is set free by the truth, they tell another lie. Most recently with the fictitious Native burial ground. They have learned much from Fox News. Their attacks have been textbook obstructionist policy, and they have been very successful. At the rate they are spinning lies, the truth will never be heard.

With the limitless funds of the Panoramic Hill Association and the taxpayers of the City of Berkeley, this river of lies may flow forever!

Another thing that I found particularly disturbing in recent days was the claim by one land owner that the University was encroaching on the City. Wow, I must use every muscle in my body to not go crazy over such statements. Statements that were run in the mainstream media. How exactly is the University encroaching on the City? This plan for Memorial is all situated within preexisting land allotments. Land that was allotted for the State of California and its citizens, NOT fringe radicals left over from the Sixties.

Sorry "Wavy" but the Sixties have been over for a very long time. Your lies are no longer accepted as the truth. People are too smart for your self promoting propaganda.

The really scary thing that I am just now starting to realize is whom we are really dealing with. These people in the Sixties helped bring the war in Vietnam to an end, a very noble cause which I salute them for. Now they abuse their power to dominate the UC, because they just happen to live nearby and are keenly sensitive to their property values. I suppose if anyone still had respect for them they would be protesting the war in Iraq. Sadly as no one does, they attack the UC. An institution founded on and dedicated to the education of people around the world. An institution dedicated to environemntal awarness and social justice!

We are living in dark times, reminiscent of the dark ages. Fueled by innuendo and lies, the Panoramic Hill Association has officially hijacked the Memorial Stadium Master Plan. Their property values are more important than the needs of the most populous state in the country. No wonder the rest of the country laughs at us. Who is willing to do what is right? To fight for truth and justice? Start today by letting these special land interests know how you feel. Go to the grove and voice your grievances directly! In a democracy such as ours, such things are still legal. Though, I will warn you, they are not a friendly bunch.

I will be posting a response to these most recent fabrications soon. Remember, never lose hope! Sometimes JUSTICE and the TRUTH can win. Though, with a well funded PR team employed by that of the Panoramic Hill Association, justice and truth for the first time may be in doubt.

2007-02-16T11:38:00.000-08:00

A letter from Athletic Director Sandy Barbour.

Finally some truth in a sea of torrent lies!

Dear Friends of Cal Athletics:

I want to ensure you that despite a recent ruling granting a preliminary injunction against the entirety of the Southeast Campus Integrated Projects, including the proposed Student-Athlete High Performance Center , we remain completely committed to the project. We fully believe it is only a matter of time before our state-of-the-art facility is completed adjacent to historic Memorial Stadium.

We consider Judge Barbara Miller's decision to postpone work on the project until a summer trial only a temporary setback and that we will succeed on the merits of the case. The suits brought by the City of Berkeley, the California Oak Foundation and the Panoramic Hill Association are only serving to delay building a center that will improve the life safety and everyday conditions for the hundreds of Golden Bear student-athletes, coaches and staff who use Memorial Stadium on a daily basis.

The court, which had only a few days to review a large set of complex issues, had concerns about the project's conformity with CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) and APZA (Alquist-Priolo Fault Zoning Act). Compliance with these two state statutes has been at the forefront of our planning process from the very beginning. With our team of expert geologists and engineers, we believe we have fully complied with the law and will prevail when the court case is heard.

Last week, after a short hearing in Superior Court, Judge Miller finalized the Preliminary Injunction prohibiting us from “taking any further action to implement the Southeast Campus Integrated Projects including … the Student Athlete High Performance Center, if such action would result in change or alteration to the physical environment.” This ruling does allow us to continue the essential design, planning, soils testing, contracting and bidding elements of the High Performance Center and preserves the University's authority to manage and operate the site as it has done for decades.

The High Performance Center was designed with a budget of $125 million, and we have raised nearly $100 million so far. Over the ensuing months, we will continue our planning and fundraising for the High Performance Center so that when we do get the go-ahead, we will be ready to move forward as soon as possible. Once we are able to break ground, we anticipate construction lasting 20-24 months.

We cannot let the plaintiffs' actions or the preliminary injunction slow down our momentum for this important first phase of the Memorial Stadium renovation. However, with construction costs in the Bay Area constantly rising, the delay means an increased cost to the project, although it is hard to give an exact figure at this time.

We are currently developing a new Web site for the stadium project that will contain press releases, frequently asked questions, renderings, video statements from UC staff, and updates on fundraising and naming opportunities. This site will be accessible through CalBears.com, and we expect to have it completed by the end of the month.

If you have any questions concerning the Student-Athlete High Performance Center , please contact the Athletic Development office at (510) 642-2427 or via email at bearback@berkeley.edu.

Go Bears!

Sandy Barbour

Director of Athletics

F.A.Q

What does the preliminary injunction issued by Judge Barbara Miller Jan. 29 mean to the Student-Athlete High Performance Center ?

We are certainly disappointed in Judge Miller's decision to issue an injunction and move the case toward the trial phase. We believe that the campus has done very thorough work with regards to seismic and environmental impact issues, and that we will eventually prevail on the merits of the case. It is unfortunate that we are going to be delayed starting on a building that will improve the safety and the everyday conditions for the students, student-athletes and staff who use Memorial Stadium on a daily basis. We will continue our planning and fund raising for the new facility so that when we do get the go-ahead, we will be ready to move forward as soon as possible.

Why did Judge Miller issue the injunction?

Judge Miller is concerned about the project's compliance with CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) and APZA (Alquist-Priolo Fault Zoning Act). Compliance and adherence to these two state statutes have been at the forefront of our planning effort from the beginning, and we believe we have met and exceeded these requirements in all cases. Our engineers, using modern materials and designs, are steadfast in their convictions that this building will be safe, even with the proximity to the Hayward Fault. The judge was asked to rule on a complex issue in a short amount of time – the campus will prepare up to 45,000 pages of documents for the court to certify for the trial phase – and we trust that a full review will confirm our belief that we have fully complied with the law and will be able to proceed with the project.

What is the primary issue contested by the plaintiffs?

The City of Berkeley has provided documentation to suggest that there may be a question about the seismic activity at the extreme edges of the High Performance Center's footprint. Our experts maintain that the footprint is clear of active faults. We will further explore the remaining 5 percent of the footprint that is in question to solidify our position that the site is seismically safe. All of the work that we are performing is being done with safety as the driving force.

What are the next steps in the case?

The court's ruling means that the case is headed towards trial. After close consultation with the Office of General Counsel and appellate court experts, the university decided not to appeal the decision. An appeal, if accepted, would likely take a year or more to resolve, during which time the trial court hearing and resolution would be on hold awaiting the appellate court decision. We expect the case to be heard in early to mid-summer and a ruling issued shortly thereafter.

Does this ruling jeopardize the Student-Athlete High Performance Center?

No, the recent ruling granting an injunction only sends the case to the next stage of the legal process. We remain steadfast in our belief that we will prevail on the merits of the case when they are presented at trial.

How much will the ruling delay the project and add to its cost?

Unfortunately, the judge's ruling means that there will be a delay in moving our student-athletes, faculty and staff into a facility that will improve their everyday and life-safety conditions. Once we are given the go-ahead, we anticipate construction lasting 20-24 months. With construction costs in the Bay Area constantly rising, the delay will mean an increased cost to the project, although it is hard to give an exact figure.

What actions can take place during the injunction?

Although the ruling prevents the University from taking any action that would implement the project at the site, it does allow us to continue the essential design, planning, soils testing, contracting and bidding elements of the High Performance Center and preserves the University's authority to manage and operate the site as it has done for decades.

What is the recent construction activity at Memorial Stadium?

Geologists dug a short trench at the south end of Memorial Stadium Feb. 1 and several borings will be drilled near the northwest edge of the site as part of a focused investigation to compliment existing data. The testing is being done to confirm the suitability of the entire site for the High Performance Center and is specifically allowed under terms of the preliminary injunction.

What is the budget and how much money has been raised for the project?

We currently estimate that the Student-Athlete High Performance Center will cost $125 million. To date, we have close to $100 million gifts and pledges and expect to raise the balance in the very near future.

Why is it important to build Student-Athlete High Performance Center next to Memorial Stadium? Why can't it be built some place else?

A high priority was put on placing the center close to where student-athletes train, practice, compete and study, more effectively integrating their athletic and academic endeavors and ensuring efficient use of their time. Specifically, the selected site will become the hub of student-athlete activities and provide an ideal geographical relationship with Maxwell Family Field, Witter Rugby Field, Levine-Fricke Field, the Golden Bear Recreation Center and Memorial Stadium.

In recent years, the university looked extensively at other sites; these included Witter Field, below ground east of the stadium, the site of the Athletic Ticket Office at 2223 Fulton St., near Golden Gate Fields in Albany, and within the current west wall of the stadium. The selected site best serves students and best meets the goals of the project. It also solves important issues of access and circulation around the stadium by creating a broad plaza atop the student-athlete center. The planned center is about improving conditions for the success of our student-athletes and ensuring the life safety of the students and staff who use the stadium 365 days a year.

Why not put the center on Maxwell Family Field?

Future development of Maxwell Family Field will address parking and sports field needs identified and approved in the campus 2020 Long Range Development Plan. Further, Maxwell Field is intensively used by students in intercollegiate programs, club sports and intramural activities, as well as for pick-up soccer and other games.

Wouldn't it be safer to build the student-athlete center someplace else?

UC Berkeley — and much of the Bay Area — has to deal with building near earthquake faults. The structural engineer for the project reports that the design requirements for seismic safety for a building on this site are no different than if the building were in downtown Berkeley. Haas School of Business was built just across the street from the stadium, and UC Berkeley's newest, most modern science building (Stanley Hall) is just down the street, also close to the fault. Proximity to faults — and designing to mitigate the hazard — is a reality of living in the Bay Area.

Why do so many trees need to be removed from the site?

The campus cares deeply about its trees. Our first priority, however, is the safety of our students and staff. The new Student-Athlete High Performance Center will move student-athletes into a modern facility that will be engineered for seismic safety. Unfortunately, some of the trees on the site will have to be removed to make way for the center. Nearly all of these trees were planted by the university when the stadium was built in 1923 – it is not an ancient grove as has been erroneously reported – and the campus will plant three new trees for every specimen removed as part of the plan for the new center.

What should be understood about the oak trees?

In developing any project, you have to weight costs and benefits. The Student-Athlete High Performance Center is about improving conditions and life safety for student-athletes, coaches and staff who will use the facility. After weighing all of the priorities and looking at many different options, the planned center is clearly the best and only viable option. In order to mitigate the loss of trees being removed for the project, the plan calls for three trees to be planted for every one removed; 142 new trees will be planted around the stadium. Of those, 61 trees are to be planted at the site of the High Performance Center.

Is this an old-growth oak grove? How old are the oldest trees?

No, this is not an old-growth oak grove. As part of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), the campus had an historic landscape report done. It found that most of the trees in the area were planted when the stadium was built in 1923. Before that, the site was part of a residential garden, a cultivated landscape. Four trees on the site — three oaks and one redwood — are believed to pre-date the stadium.

How are seismic safety concerns related to the stadium being addressed?

By building the student-athlete center first, we are addressing the most significant life-safety threat by moving the students-athletes, coaches and staff who train and work in the stadium every day into a new, safe building. It is the necessary first step in future plans to renovate the stadium. The Hayward Fault does run through part of Memorial Stadium, and the second phase of the master plan for the stadium addresses seismic safety and other improvements to the stadium.

2007-02-15T12:48:00.000-08:00

DOES THE TRUTH STILL MATTER?

NOT IN THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF BERKELEY

The extremely wealthy land interests of Berkeley, in collaboration with the despotic city regime and rash hippies, have fabricated many malevolent lies about the University and this project. Their reasons for doing this are clear; stop the University from fulfilling its duty as a sovereign public institution of higher education. By degrading the image and standing of the University they become able to control it by proxy. These nefarious elements are set on this end and will stop at nothing.

The motto of the City of Berkeley

I hope to dispel some of the popular misconceptions surrounding this project. My sources and means of compilation are unimpeachable, and I gladly welcome anyone to argue otherwise.

LIES, LIES, AND MORE LIES

Fabrication #1: These trees are part of an ancient Oak Grove.

Answer: Contrary to the popular misconception spun by the well-funded legal team of the Panoramic Hill Association and City of Berkeley, this is NOT an ancient or otherwise old growth forest. Actually the University artificially planted this grove in 1922, shortly after the stadium opened. It was designed to be simple landscaping, and to that end they have served their purpose exceptionally well.

So where do the attorneys and advocates of rich land interests get off telling us this is an ancient grove? This tells me is they are under the impression that most people are either apathetic to the situation, or too stupid to know better. Either way they disrespect every Californian. The silent partner in this, that is perhaps more guilty than all parties is the mainstream media that sits by and feeds us this garbage. Freedom of the press apparently only applies to those with ultra liberal policies and deep pockets. What about the common good?

Fabrication #2: The tree sitters have done a great service; they are respectful and never belligerent.

Aleast this tree sitter had the courage to tell the truth. Apparently he has been hired as one of the full time "protesters."

Answer: Well to those of you who actually believe this all I would ask is that you take a trip to the grove. There (after the police leave) you will see drug usage of the most hardcore kind, in front of young children. Alcohol drinking into the wee hours of the night. And a belligerence towards the opposition that can only be described as tyrannical. No, they have not done a great service; they have in fact done a great disservice, to not only their own kind but also the one University that has for years defended them. This is the way you show your gratitude?

Fabrication #3: The tree sitters are all students, these are not street people or professional protesters.

Yeah, that sure looks like a bunch of students.

Answer: Dead wrong. I have been to the grove on numerous occasions and each time I have been there I have never seen a student. Aside from I house down the way there are not even any students in the vicinity. On one occasion when I asked who among them was a member of this “student protest” none came forward. They later grew angry and asked why I was asking. They stopped short of attacking me or forcing me to leave, but I have a good idea this merely because of the watchful eye of the UCPD.

Fabrication #4: The UCPD is harassing the tree sitters.

Answer: Well this would be laughable if it were not such a serious matter. The UCPD has done everything in its power to accommodate this blatant disregard for the law. The tree sitters have responded by taunting, spitting, and jeering at the officers. The tree sitters apparently feel they are above the law, and as such not subject to law. It is sad that because of the negative media the police have had to force themselves to violate the oath that they swore to uphold, which is the law.

Fabrication #5: This center can easily be moved somewhere else.

This is a lie that the rich land interests have done a great job of legitimizing. See the real deal with the tree sitters is the fact that they are paid insurgents of the land interests. The land interests have no problems with the facility being constructed elsewhere, so long as it is not put near their homes. Meanwhile, more houses have been constructed near the stadium over the past few decades. They continue to encroach on what precious few parcels of land that are left for the flagship of higher education in the most populous state in the Union.

Don’t believe the lies of this consortium of injustice. The University has done thorough studies that have determined there is no suitable alternative, despite what the land interests claim. Furthermore, this land was set aside as land for the higher education system of this state. This is not a retirement playground for old radicals. Furthermore the mission of the UC has never been to be a wildlife refuge, not that this small parcel of land could ever be confused as such. The rich land interests would like you to believe that.

Fabrication #6: The hippies are just trying to save some trees. It is not like there are any other trees in the area of significance facing destruction.

These Redwoods in the Santa Cruz mountains stand to be felled. Yet there has not been one word from these so called "environmentalists"

Answer: No, that would not be true at all. In fact there is a major Redwood forest in the Santa Cruz mountains that awaits destruction as we speak. In this case we are talking about many, many acres of a truly ancient grove. Instead these so called environmentalists are attacking a small grove that was planted about ninety years ago. This is the part where you are supposed to become enlightened and realize wow, this is just the rich land interests.

Due to a severe lack of time and patience, I am unable to elaborate further on the above falsehoods. However, I encourage with the greatest enthusiasm anyone from the special land interest bunch to try and debunk my factual conclusions. I hope to make this a regular segment of the blog. The people have a right to know the truth. Special land interests and a city government bent on domination can only hold down the people for so long. Stand up and demand the truth!

This is about money, power, and domination.

Some things never change in Berkeley.

2007-02-14T22:39:00.000-08:00

Parallel Realities

Attorney Stephan Volker has done a wonderful job of misleading the public. From telling us repeatedly that this is an "ancient Oak grove" to now telling us how a Judge ruled, he has sought to deceive the public. Well, he has done a terrific job thanks to a lazy media unwilling to vet out lies.

One based on fiction, the other in fact.

As lawyers go, Stephan Volker is not a very good one. Somehow he has greatly misconstrued what Judge Miller clearly stated. While the Judge said no permanent structures could be constructed near the site, she left open the option of erecting a temporary fence to keep out the lawbreakers. Attorney Volker though interpreted it as a clear cut victory. This from the same individual who has continually labeled this modern Oak Grove planted by the UC, an ancient one.

Wow! This is an “ancient Oak Grove?” How do you figure that Mr. Volker? It seems you have failed to read the guidelines by which truly ancient groves are governed. Aren’t you supposed to seek out justice as an officer of the court? Instead you have perpetuated lies that have caused irevocable harm to the University and this state. Your ego is bigger than Memorial Stadium.

As stated by CBS 5 News:
“Volker said Miller, following a two-hour court hearing last week, refused to limit the scope of her preliminary injunction to bar only "permanent" changes to the environment.The order therefore prohibits the university from barring the public from the oak grove by building a "temporary" fence.Miller's original preliminary injunction was issued on Jan. 29.”

Interesting, nowhere did I interpret the ruling to mean no temporary fence could be constructed. Apparently Mr. Volker specializes in adding insult to injury.

Cal Media relations director Marie Felde had a decidedly different interpretation of the ruling, backed up by UC attorneys. "The judge did not accept the petitioners' proposed language that sought to limit the university's entry into contracts and rejected their language that sought to restrict the campus from securing the site by installing temporary fencing or other temporary means.”

This is very interesting. The question becomes who can you trust? A not so slick talking lawyer out to make a name for himself, or a selfless campus official tasked with defending the truth? I'll let you decide.

Tell us Volker, who is really funding your smear campaign? Is it the tree sitters? No, I seriously doubt the bunch together has much more that thirty seven cents. No, it must be these rich folks. The protectors of property values. Whatever happened to doing something for the greater good? You make me sick!

Now what makes this so upsetting is the fact that the mainstream media gladly perpetuate these lies by offering the attention seeker Volker the spotlight. Rather than accept the truth, they seek sensationalist stories, such as the ones Volker is only too happy to offer.

This is merely the opening salvo of justice that will seek to hold Mr. Volker and his woefully malicious falsehoods in check. Someday the truth will be known and people like Mr. Volker will have to seek fame elsewhere.

2007-02-06T21:48:00.000-08:00

IS RADICAL NIMBYISM

DESTROYING AMERICA?
I know, the picture is confusing. Allow me to explain, the artist hoped to convey how even on the moon, the nimbies would oppose development. Basically, no matter how removed from significance (or earth) a nimby always seeks to have their will obeyed at the expense of the majority needs.

Not In My Back Yard!

A CURSORY EXPLORATION

In today’s world we live in an environment where any small group with a neighborhood association and significant financial backing can hinder, impede and stop outright vital progress. From basic infrastructure upgrades to facilities as vital as Memorial Stadium and hospitals, all have been stopped by the radical voices of the few.

You see the core affair that must be clarified is the fact that these rich people in the Canyon (all of whom moved there way after 1921) support the idea of building the center somewhere else. That is the classic definition of a nimby. For they have no objections to building it elsewhere; in fact they have gone to great lengths to propose irrational alternative sites that suite neither the needs of the athletes or the University. The only needs they serve are that of the selfish few.

Now the really interesting thing to note is the mutation with which the phenomenon of nimby has grown. When the first cases of “not in my back yard!” where reported they were often times to stop commercial development i.e. Wal Mart, Home Depot etc.

Recently though numerous cases have been documented where wealthy and influential neighborhood associations have stopped the vital construction of fire stations, police stations, schools and yes even hospitals for the sick and dying.

This brave sole hoped to construct a hospital to help the sick and dying, his efforts were blocked by a neighborhood association. As a result residents in the area with life threatening ailments must be medivaced to a far removed hospital. Several people have died as a result.

This is a very scary trend that is being set and perpetually supported by the likes of the people in Berkeley. As long as it does not affect their view and property values, they say, “go ahead and build!” The minute any development is proposed in their spheres of influence, regardless of merit or imminent need, they stop it.

In so doing they put the lives of every American at risk. I can tell you this, I am not afraid to die, when my time comes, it comes. Still for something as preventable as a major quake at Memorial, I am horrified that due to their objections myself along with 70,000 other Cal fans may die very soon.

Take a look at the many houses above Memorial, all of which post date the Stadium. These people are what stand between life and death for the 70,000+ of us who attend each home game. If their efforts succeed, the stadium will either eventually colapse, with only the athletes and UC employees, or all 70,000 + of us could die on game day.

I feel the issue of Nimbyism is one worth exploring further with great depth and acumen. Stay tuned for a large expose on the radical sect that is extreme nimbyism. However, to the Nimbies out there fighting the good fight against corporate America and the big box stores, more power to you. Maybe you could teach your dim friends in Berkeley what it means to pick and choose their battles. This is a silly fight that needs to end.

Berkeley is supposed to be our friend. Why are they trying to murder us? Maybe someday (way too late) they will realize that by the time Safeway tries to put that new store near campus they will have spent all of their political capital. So instead of stopping the construction of Safeway, or Memorial Stadium for that matter, they will have only achieved the irrevocable staining of their cause. How predictable. Come on Berkeley, do the right thing...

2007-02-05T23:58:00.000-08:00

The Stadium Debate

in a Nutshell

Here we see beautiful California Memorial Stadium, which with any luck from the City and rich land interests, will crumble during the next major quake. How insulting that the City claims their main concern is safety! If that were truly the case the athletic center would already have been allowed to be built.

You see the longer the players are forced to train at Memorial instead of the Athletic High Performance Center, the greater risk the quake will hit while they are training, killing them ALL. This could potentially be the hub of collegiate athletics in California, as it should be. Instead rich people want to keep their property values high while we all suffer.

We must also bear in mind that this stadium was constructed in 1921. None of the current houses or residents in question predate the stadium. They constructed their houses of their own free will, well after Memorial stadium had been there. I suppose being as arrogant as they are, they figured they would eventually succeed in evicting the stadium. I am here to tell them that they will have to KILL me before I ever allow that to happen. And I have been seeing some strange Volvo's around the house so who knows...

A Study in Imagery

RICH LAND INTERESTS

If you look closely here you will see the twenty to thirty rich land owners who are at the root of the opposition to build the athletic center and upgrade memorial. Some speculate that they are hindering the upgrade so that when the next quake does hit, they will be able to lay claim to the ruins of Memorial. Other reasons and perhaps the more accepted views, are that they are protectors of property values. Julia Butterfly Hill, who organized the hippie protest, is said to own one of the houses in this image. She is also a supposed member of this neighborhood attack force.

One other thing that I think is of the utmost importance in this case is the following; These land owners are no better than people who move next to an elementary school and complain of recess bells, screaming kids and the noise and traffic from parents picking up their children. If this is not one of the most selfish acts imaginable, I would be hard pressed to find a more egregious example.

THE SO CALLED

"OLD GROWTH FOREST"

Wow, as anyone with even half a brain can see, this is no old growth forest. These are trees that were planted by the UC when the stadium was first constructed as simple landscaping. If this qualifies as an old growth grove, why is the huge forest in the Santa Cruz mountains about to be felled with absolutely no opposition? Are you guys starting to get the picture? Do you understand just a little bit better why the claims of the hippies that these trees are "irreplaceable" is preposterous? I sure hope so.

More satellite image

analysis to come...

2007-02-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

GREAT ARTICLE FROM Opinion

OFF BASE...with Ryan Gorcey

The hippies think they won. Sends shivers down your spine, doesn't it? As liberal as I and many other students on this campus are, “hippies winning” is just a contradiction in terms. It would be like the San Francisco Giants winning the World Series. It just doesn’t work.

This week, the Berkeley Ewoks somehow pulled one out. Or at least, they think they did. The injunction preventing the commencement of construction on the athletic training center adjacent to Memorial Stadium was not—I repeat, not—to protect the precious coastal live oaks. It is because the entire plateau on which the stadium site sits is still miraculously straddling the Hayward Fault after 83 years. Coach Tedford may have been able to raise the dead, but unfortunately, plate tectonics isn’t part of his new contract.

The city halted construction because, despite over 45,000 pages of documentation by the university, it still believes that the project would be unsafe. But this is not really about safety. I’ve dealt with the neighborhood associations (the Panoramic Hill NA was part of the group which requested the injunction). If all the students were swallowed up by the fault—namely all of us Greeks—they wouldn’t bat an eye. Frankly, the university is this city. Without the school, Berkeley would be some backwater Bay Area town (like Palo Alto), and a mere country-cousin to San Francisco that no one ever heard of.

Without Cal football, the city wouldn't rake in the cash that it does from parking tickets and hotel revenue. Take away the 70,000 that fill Memorial Stadium each fall Saturday, and this town would be dead. The university—the athletics program in particular—shovels in buckets of revenue for the city, but the instant the school wants to expand its facilities just a little bit in order to compete with other programs for recruits (Oregon has two practice fields and one indoor facility), the city council and the neighborhood associations scream as if someone thrust a knife through their eye.

And God forbid we incur the wrath of those righteous dissenters, the true unwashed masses hanging in the oak grove like monkeys in the Amazon. Come to think of it, I’d like the monkeys’ company better. More intelligent conversation. I don’t mind hippies with cogent, well-reasoned arguments, but one of the many problems with Berkeley hippies is that they are so far removed from the agonies of real life that they take up the most ridiculous and foolish causes just because they're groovy, man.

Here’s something to stick in your bong and smoke, my hemp-bracelet friends: This isn’t even an old-growth oak grove (gasp!). Most of the trees in that area were actually planted by the university when the stadium was built in 1923. Only four trees—count ‘em, four—three oaks and a redwood—pre-date the stadium. If the university planted them, it has the right to turn them into kindling. Hippies more wood!

How many of these self-righteous tree-bags have ever been outside the one-tank radius of their Toyota Prius? If cutting down these trees is such an egregious violation of the natural order of things, why don't they try asking a Sudanese child soldier how much a coastal live oak means? Or how about going to Middle East theocracies and asking a woman who had her clitoris cut off and her labia sewn shut if she wants to join in the protest to save a few trees? Chat with a Tibetan who has been shot while trying to cross the border into India to find religious freedom if a grove of oaks matters in the grand scheme of things. I’m sure you’ll get great results, my little Berkeley Ewoks.

You’ve never seen real injustice, and you’ve never really felt real hunger, searing pain, deathly thirst or anything that people—yes, people, not plants—have felt and continue to feel around the world while you sit in your tree houses (made from wood, mind you). Before you go thinking you’ve won, look around you. You wasted your time on trees, trees that are most likely going to be cut down anyway.

And that little injunction? It was for seismic safety reasons—for people. So people could be safe. Not trees. Great job, you crusaders for truth and justice. You rule.

If trees could talk, tell Ryan what they’d say at sports@dailycal.org

2007-02-05T17:33:00.000-08:00

I am sorry, but this post on the Bear Territory Blog was just so good that I had to re post it here. It deals with the definitions of what an "Old Growth" tree actually is.

Matt Gibbs Says: February 4th, 2007 at 10:51 pm

Hey Ken here is that post again,Here is a list of defintitions for old growth…as you will see the oak trees do not come close to matching any of these.

1. Old-growth forest - “An ecosystem distinguished by old trees and related structural attributes. Old growth encompasses the later stages of stand development that typically differ from earlier stages in a variety of characteristics which may include tree size, accumulations of large dead woody material, number of canopy layers, species, composition, and ecosystem function. More specific parameters applicable to various species are available in the USFS, Region 6, 1993 Interim Old Growth Definitions (USDA Forest Service Region 6, 1993). The Northwest Forest Plan SEIS and FEMAT describe old-growth forest as a forest stand usually at least 180 to 220 years old with moderate-to-high canopy closure; a multi-layered, multi-species canopy dominated by large overstory trees; high incidence of large trees, some with broken tops and other indications of old and decaying wood (decadence); numerous large snags; and heavy accumulations of wood, including large logs on the ground (USDA, USDI 1994a).” Record of Decision and Standards and Guidelines for Amendments to Survey and Manage, Protection Buffer, and other Mitigation Measures Standards and Guidelines [2001] Pg. 79 [2001 S&M ROD/S&Gs]

2. Old-growth forest - “Old-growth forests are forests that have accumulated specific characteristics related to tree size, canopy structure, snags and woody debris and plant associations. Ecological characteristics of old-growth forests emerge through the processes of succession. Certain features - presence of large, old trees, multilayered canopies, forest gaps, snags, woody debris, and a particular set of species that occur primarily in old-growth forests - do not appear simultaneously, nor at a fixed time in stand development. Old-growth forests support assemblages of plants and animals, environmental conditions, and ecological processes that are not found in younger forests (younger than 150-250 years) or in small partches of large, old trees. Specific attributes of old-growth forests develop through forest succession until the collective properties of an older forest are evident.” [pg. 45] Committee on Environmental Issues in Pacific Northwest Forest Management, Board on Biology, National Research Council. 2000. Environmental Issues in Pacific Northwest Forest Management, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. 280 pp. [2000 National Research Council] Read online at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/4983.html

3. Old-growth forest - A forest stand usually at least 180-220 years old with moderate to high canopy closure; a multilayered, multispecies canopy dominated by large overstory trees; high incidence of large trees, some with broken tops and other indications of old and decaying wood (decadence); numerous large snags; and heavy accumulations of wood, including large logs on the ground. Record of Decision [1994] for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl Standards and Guidelines for Management of Habitat for Late-Successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl. F-4 [1994 NFP ROD/S&Gs]

4. Old-Growth Forest - A forest stand usually at least 180-220 years old with moderate to high canopy closure; a multilayered, multispecies canopy dominated by large overstory trees; high incidence of large trees, some with broken tops and other indications of old and decaying wood (decadence); numerous large snags; and heavy accumulations of wood, including large logs on the ground. FEMAT Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Managment of Habitat for Late-Successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl. Vol. 1, Glossary 11 [1994 FSEIS NFP]

5. Old-Growth Forest - A forest stand usually at least 180-220 years old with moderate to high canopy closure; a multilayered, multispecies canopy dominated by large overstory trees; high incidence of large trees, some with broken tops and other indications of old and decaying wood (decadence); numerous large snags; and heavy accumulations of wood, including large logs on the ground. FEMAT Thomas, T.W., et al. 1993. Forest Ecosystem Management: An Ecological, Economic, and Social Assessment Report of the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team. US Government Printing Office 793-071. IX-24 [1993 FEMAT]

6. Old-growth conifer stand - Older forests occurring on western hemlock, mixed conifer, or mixed evergreen sites that differ significantly from younger forests in structure, ecological function, and species composition. Old growth characteristics begin to appear in unmanaged forests at 175-250 years of age. These characteristics include (1) a patchy multilayered canopy with trees of several age classes, (2) the presence of large living trees, (3) the presence of larger standing dead trees (snags) and down woody debris, and (4) the presence of species and functional processes that are representative of the potential natural community. Definitions are from the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Experiment Station Research Note 447 and General Technical Report 285, and the 1986 interim definitions of the Old-Growth Definitions Task Group. Thomas, T.W., et al. 1993. Forest Ecosystem Management: An Ecological, Economic, and Social Assessment Report of the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team. US Government Printing Office 793-071. IX-24 [1993 FEMAT]

7. Old-growth Forest - “Old-growth forests in our study area vary widely in their age and ecological state (for example, in composition and structure) which reflects a similar wide variability in their history and physical environments. Old-growth Douglas-fir forest are from about 200 to over 1000 years old; they undergo gradual but significant autogenic change during those centauries of existence and may also be subjected to varying number and intensities of disturbance events, such as windstorms. As a consequence, old-growth Douglas - fir forest can differ substantially in their degree of “old-growthness” –that is, in the degree to which they express the various structural and functional features associated with these forests; this variability must be considered in efforts to define and manage old growth.” Franklin, J.F. and T.A. Spies. 1991. Ecological Definitions of Old-Growth Douglas Fir Forests. Pp, 61-69 in: Wildlife and Vegetation of Unmanaged Douglas -Fir Forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-285. Portland, OR: USDA, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. [1991 PNW-GTR-285]

Bravo for bringing this vital information to light Mr. Gibbs.

2007-02-04T23:22:00.000-08:00

It’s Time for Renovation and Rebirth

Note: I wrote this article a long time ago and it is no longer relevant to the immediate debate. Still, I felt it offered at least one differing view from that of the hippies and rich land interests and the domineering desires of the City of Bezerkkeley.

In recent times, the University of California at Berkeley’s football team has enjoyed unparalleled success. For the longest time the team was the laughing stock of the Pac 10, a real bottom dweller. Today, now that the team has enjoyed success, many have called for a renovation of aging Memorial Stadium.

First constructed in 1921 at a cost of only 1 million dollars, the stadium in its current state is severely dilapidated. Perhaps of more concern to the coaching staff and school administrators is the state of the athletic training facilities which the student athletes must condition under. In fact, Head Coach Jeff Tedford was so concerned that when his contract was renegotiated at the end of the 2004 campaign, he had escape clauses written in so that should renovations not proceed, he would be allowed to leave.

In today’s ever competitive venue of Division I football a team can be severally hindered in both their recruiting purposes and their revenue gathering capacities without adequate facilities.

There are opposing foes to the expansion and renovation of Memorial stadium. Most are city folk who have traditionally opposed any expansion of the University regardless of merit. With California continuing to grow at breakneck pace, and with no let up in sight, renovation and expansion of the campus as a whole has become imperative to maintaining the standing of the University as a first rate educational outpost. Memorial Stadium and all of the athletic support facilities must be of at least standard class to foster a competitive environment.

Today’s most competitive division I football teams Texas, USC, Tennessee, Oregon, Notre Dame - all have excellent, first-rate facilities. Despite having among the worst facilities in the country the Cal football team has somehow managed to remain competitive. In 2004, they finished the season ranked number nine in the end of season Associated Press Poll. In 2005, based largely on a shaky performance by their QB, they dropped to number 25.

As we look ahead to the 2006 season, ESPN has already predicted them to be the number one team of the Pacific Ten Conference. With the official announcement of the construction of the Student Athlete High Performance Center and the Memorial Stadium Master Plan, the University has signaled its commitment to remaining competitive not only in the near future, but also for years to come.

The plan in general terms has many key upgrades that will happen in a series of stages. As laid out on the UC Berkeley website, "Construction of the first step of the stadium plan -- the student-athlete high-performance center -- is scheduled to begin in December 2006, pending environmental review and approval by the UC Board of Regents. It is to be ready for the 2008 football season. It is estimated to cost between $100 million and $125 million." The effects of a state of the art training facility for the student athletes cannot be minimized.

In today's intense recruiting battles, often times the facilities in which the student athletes will be training play a large part in deciding which school they will choose to attend. One thing of particular interest is that all funding for the stadium will be from privately donated funds and not one tax dollar, a serious feat that not many public institutions can meet. The plan goes on to lay out future upgrades to the stadium itself, as well as seismic upgrades that are necessary to maintain the structural integrity of the stadium, which rests directly along the Hayward fault.

Having discussed the many positives of the proposed stadium renovation master plan it is only fair that we examine another side to this story, namely, the locals, who tend to shy away from any physical progression of the University of California’s most prestigious campus. Their reasons, while valid, all tend to hint at a bit of personal selfishness and a failure to heed the calls of expansion that are necessary to maintain the University of California’s standing as a world leader.

In a recent San Jose Mercury News article one concerned citizen stated that, "this is our city, not the universities, and our needs of the community outweigh theirs." The article went on to state that their main concerns were, "about the impact of the parking structure on traffic, the planned removal of a popular oak grove, and what they believe will be a loss of historic character." Their main argument is that a new stadium should be built somewhere else. However, it has already been determined by a UC fact-finding panel that a stadium built anywhere else would increase the cost nearly five-fold. More importantly the stadium would have to be moved off campus, thus severing the vital link of the stadium to the university and the students.

In a recent Oakland Tribune article, student Vicki Sims voiced a concern that resonates among nearly all students, "they have proposed moving the stadium, and yet they have no idea where else to put it. More importantly, a vast majority of the UC Berkeley student body does not drive, how are we to get to these sporting events in the first place if they move off campus?"

It is terribly unfortunate that these local citizens - rather than seeking plausible solutions to the situation - want only to place blame on the University for the expansion to protect their own desires. Rather than accepting what is clearly a need for the people and the state of California, they seek to protect their own wishes, wishes of the few. It should also be noted that all of the land that the proposed renovations and modifications will take place on are public lands, owned by that state of California, not the city or private citizens of Berkeley. Rather than exercise issues of eminent domain, which would have undoubtedly led to legal land seizures, the University was able to incorporate the plan to fit preexisting land allotments.

Ultimately, only time will tell which side will prevail. However, I believe it is our duty as residents of California to see this project through for the good of not only our immediate needs, but for the needs of our children and grandchildren. Societies throughout time that have stagnated at the expense of the few rather than expand for the good of the many have resulted in doom, in either a literal sense or metaphorical sense. For the University to continue to enhance not only its sports standing but also its academic and overall image, this stadium renovation is mandatory. The needs of the many, clearly in this case, do outweigh the needs of the selfish few. It’s time for renovation and rebirth that all Californians can be proud of.

2007-02-02T23:41:00.000-08:00

ALTERNATIVE CAUSES

If you are looking to recapture magical moments like this, you had better get a worthy cause that enjoys public support.

THESE ONES MIGHT ACTUALLY DO SOME GOOD FOR THE WORLD

It seems the hippies are rather confused and lack perspective when it comes to championing causes worthy of protest. They tell us to explore alternative sites? I tell them to explore alternatives causes. I have compiled a list in hopes of helping to educate the hippies, and also to assist them in breaking out of bondage from the rich land interests.

CAUSE #1: GENOCIDE IN DARFUR

I realize this picture is very hard to look at. The mere sight of it breaks my heart. These are causes that need people who are passionate (but misguided) like the hippies. MILLIONS of people have died at the hands of ethnic death squads and millions more are dying of starvation, yet nothing is done.

Why is that? Is this tree sit a sign of just how screwed up our society has become? When we have hippies in trees crying bloody murder and a world away a government allows the unmitigated mass murder of an entire race? Get some perspective folks, please, I beg of you.

CAUSE #2: THE IRAQ WAR

My God people, with all the insanity going on in Iraq I really have to question your motives for protesting the removal of a few contemporary trees that were originally planted for simple landscaping. Please get a grip! Thousands of our brave American troops and countless Iraqi civilians have been killed. How can you waste your time and energy during such monumental times? Could it be the rich land interests are controlling you?

IF IT IS TREES YOU WANT TO SAVE

WE GOT UGHM!

CAUSE #3: MORE TREES TO SAVE IN THE BAY

Here we have a case of Big Lumber about to fell a truly old growth forest, yet no one fights for these trees. Why is that? Help these trees, this truly is an ecosystem worth protecting! Also of note is the fact that these trees are right here in the bay area off of highway 17.

CAUSE #4: SAVE THE RAINFOREST

Whatever happened to saving the rainforest? Have we become so overpowered by selfish rich land interests that a cause as notable as saving trees can be taken to the illogical extreme they preach today? Apparently so, for everyday thousands of acres of the rainforest are cut down and not so much as a word comes out of the Berkeley. Could it be the rich land interests have supplied our hippies with too much dope? Who knows, something isn’t right though, clearly!

LAST WORD

If this argument were really about doing the right thing these protests would never have taken place. This isn’t about doing the right thing though, its about protecting property values and resale values. The people who chose to live near Memorial Stadium did so after the stadium had been there for many years.

Now they seek to dominate UC policy and they use the hippies as their childlike pawns. Hippies, I personally implore you, do the right thing! Take up one of these worthy causes and make history by doing something for the good of man and not the selfish few rich land owners. This land is for all of California and not their private retirement community of burnt out radical has beens.

2007-02-02T22:38:00.000-08:00

THIS IS WHAT WE’RE UP AGAINST

Wavy Gravy is back. After remaining in relative seclusion since the sixties, he has resurfaced. It is rumored that he returned soley out of hopes of regaining the notoriety he once held.

GOD HELP US

So there has been a lot of controversy with the stadium debacle in Berkeley. People are upset, angry and feel utter despair. We are being held hostage by a few radical voices. When I say radical I mean exactly that. I am no perfect straight as an arrow citizen, but I sure as heck have more sense than these folks. Honestly it is really sad, I almost feel sorry for the hippies, they have after all merely been used as pawns in this struggle.

Who is pulling their strings you ask? Simple, take a look at the rich neighborhood land association who tirelessly incite these behaviors and openly fund them. Julia Butterfly is actually the president of one of the land associations and she is credited with having started this whole tree sit situation. Why does the mainstream press never point this out? Well, I guess that’s my job. Anyway sit back, relax and try not to get too upset over what you are about to see.

THIS IS SAD

One really almost has to feel sorry for this girl. It is shameful how the special land interests have misused and abused the hippies. Hippies, take back your minds and do the right thing, if you are capable of that. When I first saw this video I wondered if this was some sort of joke. Well I did some checking and this was apparently a serious interview, how sad.

BERKELEY'S ELECTED OFFICIAL OVERSEEING LAW BREAKERS AND ENCOURAGING THEM TO CONTINUE TO BREAK LAW

In this video we see a councilmember from Berkeley tell us why this is such a bad plan. I am sorry but I just can't seem to take this lady seriously. I mean, really now, who are you to tell the State of California how its citizens should govern their land. You after all only represent a small district, this state has over forty million people. Those people are going to have kids and they are going to need a place to send them to school!

NO RESPECT FOR THE LAW

Now I don't know about you guys, but I was at the grove recently and was troubled by what I saw. Hard core drug usage, not just the marijuana that we have all smoked, but acid and cocaine. They did it in broad daylight as if to flaunt the laws. Making matters worse there were children nearby.

Here we see a UC Police officer trying to do his job and the tree sitters try to egg him on to get a response out of him. They didn't want him filming because of all the illegal stuff they are up to. What a joke, arrest these people already! If these were Arab guys or Mexicans up in the trees they would have been haled off long ago. Yet because these special interests have so much money they are able to influence the judiciary and the media at will, with little threat of being checked for their blatant lies. When will it end?

As usual stay tuned; this fight is far from over. The peoples voices will be heard!

2007-01-31T16:56:00.000-08:00

RUNNING WOLFE FOR DICTATOR 2007

Profile of Treesitter Zachary RunningWolf

This guy’s a real gem.

This man professes to hate Cal football and finds football in general meaningless. Some have said he advocates the entire removal of UC Berkeley to establish a hippie combine. This is the truth folks, Cal is in a lot of trouble. All of you should feel shame for not doing more to help, including myself!

He never went to Cal; he simply graduated from Berkeley High School. For those who support Cal but have never attended, that is fine. This guy though seeks the destruction of UC Berkley, he has stated as much according to others. He’s 43 and proudly notes “I have already been surviving without getting paid (economically) for the past 11 years.” When he ran for mayor last year, he called for a hunger strike against UC to “get the downtown back,” as well as protests against UC for involvement in genetically altered food. He demanded that all Berkeley buses run on vegetable oil, and was against RFID tags in Berkeley public libraries, as they apparently prevent people like him from stealing books. He’s active in the “Free Mumia Abu-Jamal” movement (insisting on the release of a convicted cop killer).

From EastBay Express:

RunningWolf was charged with misdemeanor vandalism for defacing a stop sign at Fourth Street and Bancroft Way. Police also nabbed him back in December 2005 for allegedly spray-painting other stop signs, a transgression the district attorney's office says violated the terms of RunningWolf's probation. That's right, probation. The 43-year-old candidate was on probation for a 2003 misdemeanour conviction.

According to court documents and police reports, RunningWolf's December run-in with the cops went down like this: A witness driving westbound spotted a guy with a ponytail and a red bandanna spraying the word "driving" on a stop sign at Bancroft and West. The witness called the cops; while waiting for them to come, the witness watched the ponytail guy tag another stop sign. When two officers later confronted RunningWolf, he was "immediately hostile to us, saying we were racially profiling him, that he had been stopped before and harassed," the police report says. "He stated several times he was an 'Indian Warrior' and would 'put a foot in our ass.'" He also denied defacing the signs, even though police spotted a stencil that said "DRIVING" sticking out of his courier bag, and found a can of white spray paint in the bag.

A few weeks later, another cop on patrol spotted RunningWolf kneeling near a stop sign on Fourth Street putting a "DRIVING" stencil in his bag. If that wasn't incriminating enough, the sign was freshly spray-painted and RunningWolf had white paint on his fingers.

We can thank Cal Football news for that nice article! If we could get the real names of the other tree sitters we could run background checks on them. If they have, as I suspect, commited numerous felonies, we can change the tide of battle!

It is amazing that one deranged and domineering individual can hold so much power over the masses. This is what the world is coming to, one day only the fanatics will rule. You can all thank yourselves for this sad fact… By not coming together to challenge people like Running Wolfe, you effectively tell them, “go ahead, go ahead and rule me, rule my mind. Make all the vital decisions based on your disturbed whims.”

I for one look forward to some of us being brave enough to tell Running Wolfe that we are our own people, and we will do what we feel is right, and not what you tell us is!

Open your minds people, this project is as environmentally sound as any plan could ever be. Yet still, people like Running Wolfe hold supreme power, for in Running Wolfe’s sick world, he is the “decider.” Funny, didn’t George Bush say that too? Running Wolfe is no better than Jim Jones!

RUNNING WOLFE FOR DICTATOR 07

2007-01-29T16:08:00.000-08:00

California Golden Bear Football and Anything Else Of Relevance

FOOTBALL IS DEAD IN BERKELEY

MORE NEWS TO FOLLOW

2007-01-27T21:19:00.000-08:00

It is sad that in this day and age the voices of a few bent on domination over the majority can reign supreme. In the city of Berkeley at this time the University of California fights for the right to exist. Those who oppose this right to existence are the City and people of Berkeley.

The City of Berkeley has become infested with nefarious sects bent on needless protests of anything they view outside their interests. For example, in the present future the City has successfully aligned environmental radicals against the University of California. The City has long held a position of domination over the massive campus, a campus that is the flagship of higher education in the state of California.
The very sovereignty of this great State of California has been challenged at its most basic cores. Why is it that a city of only 80,000 at the most can hold dominance over a University that benefits the world? The truth to that is the fact that the press holds these fellows to be the guardians of all things correct. Stop this domination now, let your voice be heard.

2007-01-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

California Golden Bear Football and Anything Else Of Relevance

Folks, out of concern to the current sittuation in Berkeley with the tree sitters, this blog will immediatly come out of retirment! Expect the best info on all of the many lies spread by the tree sitters and rich land interests of Berkeley! The truth is out there! Stay Tuned!

2006-10-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

MORE STORIES TO COME SOON...

I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING OFF LINE FOR SOME TIME. GREAT COVERAGE OF CAL BEARS FOOTBALL IMMINENT!

2006-10-07T01:08:00.000-07:00

CAL TO DESTROY OREGON

"Tell me this, if a Bear were to fight a Duck

in the wild, who would win?"

Seth

I am very sorry to say that I have been absent lately. I know, many of you would love to hear from me more. Well, there is really not a whole lot that I can say this week folks. The Oregon game is huge. After we defeat them we will all be heroes! I stand by my predictions that Cal will destroy and overrated Duck team! You just wait and see, I said you just wait and see!

CALIFORNIA 42 OREGON 28

I promise to run a big, I told you so post after the game!

2006-10-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

MAJOR BREAKING NEWS

There is a new Sheriff in town, different from last year!

CAL V. OREGON

Note from editor:

Hello all!

Rarely, if ever, am I hit with the inspiration that I posses right now to sit here and write this story! I am talking about the Cal v Oregon game man! This is huge, freaking HUGE! To the non Bear fan you cannot understand! You simply cannot!

"THIS IS OUR CHANCE AT REDEMPTION FOR THE TENN DEBACLE!"

Seth

STORY TO FOLLOW SOON...

2006-09-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

Great job Bears!
CAL 41 OSU 13

2006-09-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

CITY UP TO OLD TRICKS

Plans for U.C. Berkeley Memorial Stadium Upgrade Threatened

Well I suppose it comes with little supprise the City Council of Berkeley has threatened to retain outside council and derail the Stadium Master Plan. They may succeed and in so doing doom the Cal football program. This is a continual case of “bitting the hand that feeds you.”

I suggest you email these old, tired out of date councilmember’s and let them know how you feel. They love the spotlight and media attention. They will therefore never give up on this issue. The more contentious it becomes the more they like it. If they had their way the U.C. would never be allowed to expand.

EMAIL THE CITY COUNCIL
AND LET THEM KNOW HOW YOU FEEL
Mayor Bates: mayor@ci.berkeley.ca.us
District 1:Linda Maio lmaio@ci.berkeley.ca.us
District 2:Darryl Moore dmoore@ci.berkeley.ca.us
District 3:Maxwell Anderson manderson@ci.berkeley.ca.us
District 4:Dona Spring spring@ci.berkeley.ca.us
District 5:Laurie Capitelli lcapitelli@ci.berkeley.ca.us
District 6:Betty Olds olds@ci.berkeley.ca.us
District 7:
Kriss Worthington kworthington@ci.berkeley.ca.us

(Kriss was only member to abstain in the 8-1 vote to stop the U.C. plans)
District 8:Gordon Wozniak GWozniak@ci.berkeley.ca.us

2006-09-24T02:35:00.000-07:00

IS THIS FOR REAL?

Marshawn and company looked, well, breathtaking against ASU. I was one of the negative people who thought this was going to be a tough game. Man, what the hell is going on here? We are kicking everyone’s ass. Like Desmond Bishop said, 8 times out of 10 we come away victorious in Tennessee, and I really believe him now!

PLEASE!

DO NOT WAKE ME IF I AM DREAMING

CALIFORNIA 49 – ARIZONA STATE 21

Well let me just begin by sending a special thank you to the gentleman in charge of the Cal Football News Blog. He was kind enough to give, and I mean give, me his tickets v ASU because of the whole fam thing interfering.

They were looking for me all right! Fastest man alive to never get a ticket!

Now, having said that, the drive down to Berkeley from Sacramento was for the most part pleasant, but there were a few moments that were a pain in the ass, like when the CHP would cruise by and traffic would then slow to a crawl. Other than that, it was great! Oh, yeah, spend some serious cash on I-80, needs major improvement!

The game itself, well, that was another matter. Since I was given these GA tickets, I pretty much roamed from section to section until I found an appropriate area to observe the events of the field. I found a section in the Blue Zone so empty that I was able to stretch out, it was great.

While all Cal fans are great and I love them very much, I am a personal space guy. Thankfully, I found a spot where I could stretch and just feel great about what I was seeing. I almost wanted to cry! Unlike this spot!

Nate the Bear was great for his third consecutive week. Is it not nice to not worry about who will head the helm at QB in Berkeley? Things are so much happier in life these days!

The offense pretty much clicked on all cylinders today. Nate played extremely well for the thirdweek in a row. Marshawn appears to have shaken off all ill effects from the ankle sprain he suffered against Tennessee. All wide receivers made spectacular plays. There were however, on at least two occasions, instances in which a tide end dropped a pass. Out of respect for the team, I will not name names, but you know who you are. Practice harder or go play for Stanfurd, it is really that simple.

Yeah, run Sam out of town, this is what you get. I would call you a different name but I am trying to go mainstream!

The defense, man, the defense! Great job guys! I keyed in with the binocs on Syd but he performed rather well as well! Ha, what a concept. The hitting was intense as every Bear defender put a hat on somebody out there. The wonderful interceptions were like early Christmas presents topped of with a great stocking gift, the TD’s!
Damien, or Dante, as they say he likes to be called, played great. If we are to go anywhere we will need him more than every against Oregon.

Special Teams, they were spectacular. This Andrew Larson kid is definite NFL pedigree. How lucky we were to snag him, he is arguably better than David Lonnie. He seems to have a special penchant for getting the ball right were it needs to be, even with a fast rush closing in. Desean, well, you are the man. I have to admit that when that guy cheap shotted you, I was furious. However, being as I had driven from Sacramento I had no intention of spending the night in the Alameda County Jail, so I let it alone, for now. I really believe that deserves review and a definite two game minimum suspension. Deseasn could have been paralyzed with a hit like that!
Look at the murder in this foos eyes. They tried to kill Desean. I am disgusted by the lack of retribution. I plan to personally petition the Pac 10 commissioner to see some fucking sanctions imposed!

Well I know I have stated in the past that come this game we would finally be able to better evaluate the level of play. However, after watching the game it looked no different than Minnesota or Portland State. The only difference being in the number of blue chippers and the fact it was Pac 10 play against a top 25 team. The results were the same, CALIFORNIA kicked their collective asses, and did so impressively. Relax coach, but only for tonight. We have much to accomplish and you are our Captain.

The only concern I have going into the Oregon game is this; can this all be too good to be true? I mean think about it guys, we really committed butchery today out there. We chopped their heads off!

We will make USC pay, once and for all. Look at the crap they make. It shows one thing though, fear. USC really does fear us, and I would think, they should!

At face value we appear to be a true USC contender, alas! If we beat Oregon, I have a friend who lives in LA. He has a decent but modest apartment. I figure we can smash about 15 to 20 people in there somewhere or another. So, if you are poor and want to go to the game, start making plans with me after the Oregon game!

AS USUAL GO BEARS!

2006-09-24T01:18:00.000-07:00

CALIFORNIA KICKS ASS AGAIN

#21 CALIFORNIA 49

#22 ARIZONA STATE 21

Dirk buddy, I hate to say I told you so, but I did. You should have known better than to come into our house and try and play smash mouth football. You will personally be hearing from me following your failure to bench the thug who mauled Desean! I have AZ contacts, please believe me when I tell you that I do!

MUCH MORE COVERAGE TO COME SOON...

2006-09-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

PORTLAND ST. WRAPUP Nate the snake looked great. Though perhaps snake is not the best description, I would be willing to settle for a bear though.

Game was fun but all a BEAR blur...

CALIFORNIA 42 - PORTLAND ST. 16 (I think? Is this Minnesota?)

Well I am sure that what few readers I have may have wondered, “what the hell happened to this guy?” Or perhaps on a more sinister note, you wished I were dead. In any event I am not dead, still here, still ticking. The delay can be attributed to the newfound world of bars, and, I dated a couple of girls.

These events taught me two lessons: That bars are no place for sobering up alcoholics. Secondly, that none of the girls to date that I have dated match up to Maria. These are sad, but true facts. Now what does this have to do with the Bears you might ask, sadly, absolutely nothing.

Here is my abridged and sparse version of events of that Saturday blue v. Portland State.

Game started. Cal came out and kicked ass. P St. never really had a chance. Cal kicked ass by middle of second Q. All backups for Cal by 3rd Q. Score, 42-16. Some mistakes to work on. Game over.

Ah, see, they should send that out over a text message, it is so simple and to the point.

Predictions for next weeks game: EXPECTED BEFORE FRIDAY NIGHT – SERIOUS DELAY DUE TO PERSONAL DIFFICULTY…

2006-09-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

CALIFORNIA TO BE CHARGED WITH MURDER

Arizona’s Attorney General, Terry Goddard, has threatened to charge the Bears with capital murder charges.

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ARIZONA VS CALIFORNIA

The Attorney General of the State of Arizona, Tom Goddard, took the unusual steps today of filing capital murder charges against the California Golden Bears football team. This before the alleged attack has even taken place.

“I felt that in light of the murderous tendencies of this football team on ASU and Arizona, this merited the preemptive action. Last year California massacred Arizona 28-0. Many of the Arizonan's never even made it home."

The anger still resonates amongst local Arizonan's. Jimmy Castro, a retired Arizona rancher lost a son in Berkeley last year. "We gonna (sp) make them sums (sp) ah bitches pay!"

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer vowed to commit all resources available to him to defend the Bears.

In other news relating to the case, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said any attempts to charge the Bears would prove fruitless.

“This game is in California this year, and I would be dead before I would allow any extradition of this Bear team."

He went on to ad, "The Bears are a great asset to our state, the Governor and I, and I believe the Californian people, stand firmly behind them. Not only in the football arena, but the legal arena as well!”

Governor SCHWARZENEGGER was spotted flying into Oakland earlier this afternoon. He apparently wanted to meet personally with both Coach Tedford and Sandy Barbour to ensure them the charges are bogus, and not recognized by the State of California.

Governor Swarzenegger threatened to pardon the team outright, along with the coaching staff. Such a move would be unprecedented. Many liberal pundits cite it as a gimmick to attract the liberal vote.

Meanwhile rumors are abound that the California team will take no prisoners so at to leave no witnesses in potential future legal proceedings.

STAY - TUNED

FURTHER COVERAGE PENDING

2006-09-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

Attention Cal Alumni

Attention Friends of Cal

Make Your Donations Now!

"Everyone needs to make their donations to ensure this wonderful University remains the number one public institution in this great nation of ours!"
Seth

Alumni click this link to donate.

Friends of Cal click this link to donate.

2006-09-11T22:11:00.000-07:00

CAL RESPONDS WITH GOOD OLD FASHIONED SMACK DOWN

Nate Longshore and the Cal offense looked spectacular against the overmatched Minnesota. We may yet find a solution to the QB quandary this year.
AS I SAID BEFORE – ALL IS NOT LOST

NOR WAS IT EVER
CALIFORNIA DEFEATS MINNESOTA 42-17

GOD BLESS ALL WHO PERISHED ON 9/11 AND THEIR FAMILIES

Well, to be honest, let me just start by saying great job Bears! What a solid performance if I have ever seen one. The truth is I feel a little bit like an ass this week. In hindsight it makes perfect sense that Coach Tedford stuck with Nate all along. I mean Jesus, he looked like Joe Montana out there at times. This is what Cal football is supposed to be all about! He had a great all around game with key support from his receivers.

Both Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett had terrific afternoons. Marshawn rushed for 139 yards on 27 carries and had two touchdowns. His ankle, which he injured against Tennessee, appears healed.

The running game was phenomenal. The tandem of Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett appears to be just as good, if not better, than was advertised. Whatever in the hell went so terribly wrong in Tennessee appears to be worked out. This team was out there playing with authority, with intensity, with passion. I just did not see that in Tennessee.

The Cal defense came through big and had its way with Minnesota all day. This poor Gopher never had a chance.

The other key issue to look at is the defense. We had all been led to believe in the preseason that this was a defense that could hang with any team in the country, and Saturday they looked every bit the part. They stuffed Minnesota left and right. They hurt them. If you looked into the eyes of the Minnesota running back, the big guy that used to be a linebacker, I really do not feel that he even wanted the ball in the second half. I think they were hitting him really hard and it really showed. That is the way this defense is supposed to play.

Now, in light of all this, the one thing that we cannot afford to do is get overconfident. Too many times Cal has played great, only to go out and have a setback. So I am trying to remain positive and not read too much into this victory, yet. I think we will get a real feel for this team when they open up conference play at Memorial in a couple of weeks.

Coach Tedford, and not myself, is an expert.
Another thing – I am clearly no expert, not like Coach Tedford. Coach, I am sorry for the whole election thing. This team clearly runs much better as a dictatorship. I got your back man, I got your back!

OFF SUBJECT – WHY THIS BLOG

MAY BEGIN TO SUCK

I am a very sad and pathetic man these days. Note the unkempt beard and disheveled hair. I also have not brushed my teeth or showered in days.

I would love to give a more in-depth analysis of the post mortem, but your beleaguered editor is not doing very well. I recently had the misfortune of going to lunch with an old girlfriend. When the arrangements were made it seemed like a harmless enough thing to do. Well, I got news for you, it really, really, was not. In fact, it was an incredibly stupid idea.

I had no idea the encounter would make me feel the way I did. Those feelings, the ones that tell me I love this girl, and now I cannot have her, have made me quite nauseas the past few days, hence the delay in coverage. As a result even the most satisfying things in life, like working on my blog or even watching a Cal football game have lost some of their collective luster.

Since the real Maria would probably never talk to me again if I posted her actual photo on here, I have found this fictionalized one to stand in for her. The likeness of the two is almost eerily unsettling, till you realize there both hot!

I tell myself I must be mad, for it was I who told her that I no longer wanted to be with her. Hell, I practically had to beg the girl to leave me alone. She would blow up my phone, and implore me to come back to her, and, tell me how much she loved me. So you know I figured I would go have lunch, no big deal really, just lunch.

Well, it was a little like the Tennessee game in that I am not sure what the hell happened. One thing that I am sure of, I have very deep feelings for this girl, still, I clearly am in love. She, however, has made it clear that she has moved on and would only like to be friends. Ah, the dreaded friend relationship. FRIENDS? What the hell am I supposed to do with that? I already have friends, and I do not need her as one!

Doesn't she know what an affect she is having on me and my ability to provide the best Cal football blog in the world to the world? No, probably not. She never really understood football, but she always let me watch it and never complained. Just a great, great, girl, a girl that was mine! All mine! Completely faithful!

Again, the resemblance is striking, all the way down to the suit. Maybe now you understand a little better why I am in such pain. Moreover, why I was such a stupid idiot as to dump her in the first place! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!

You know, maybe that is why I got tired of her and ditched her like a bad habit; she was just too nice and good to me. That niceness is now gone, replaced with cordiality, that cold, cold, demeanor. This realization, that she will not be with me, makes the world seem all the colder, and the Cal victory all the less special. Though, I must say, had Cal lost this would probably have been one of the worst weeks of my life.

I will do my best to not let Oski and the Cal faithful down. I have a steep order, please bear with me.

Cal deserves better, a lot better, and I will strive to overcome this and bring you a great blog. As it stands now, I am desperately trying to find the things that will make me get out of bed in the morning. Only one comes to mind, CAL FOOTBALL!

GO YOU BEARS! MAKE SETH HAVE A REASON TO CONTINUE LIVING!

2006-09-09T23:29:00.000-07:00

I AM SO HAPPY - YET SCARED AT THE SAME TIME

Ok, we won. We won convincingly. That was a great game, it made me very happy. I have more to say than many could possible begin to comprehend. In the meantime though, I am going to breath a sigh of relief and happiness.

GREAT JOB YOU BEARS!

2006-09-09T01:38:00.000-07:00

GOOD LUCK BEARS!

PLAY SMART TODAY!

WE ALL LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!

2006-09-08T01:32:00.000-07:00

2006-09-07T00:08:00.000-07:00

GOVERNOR TEDFORD

SUMMARILY SUSPENDS ELECTIONS

Governor Tedford announced to state media that elections would be canceled by way of executive order. Military preparedness was immediately lowered to DEFCON 3. DEFCON 3 was not ordered until 10/08/05 in the previous campaign. After being at DEFCOM 5, many military commanders fear DEFCOM 1 may be necessary for the first time since 11/12/05.

STREETS CALM IN BERKELEY

FOR NOW

Governor Tedford announced today that he would suspended elections for QB of Cal and would instead appoint Nate Longshore. The executive order prompted resistance from some of the more liberal and democratic leaning elements within the Territory. With the official announcement, Governor Tedford has effectively ended the Territories gradual move towards partial democracy.

Voters turned out in large numbers for campaign 2006. Their votes effectively never happened with the announcement by Governor Tedford that elections were suspended.

The people of the Territory had turned out in surprisingly large numbers to vote. Early returns put senior Steve Levy as the clear favorite of the people. However, this is not the first time the military junta has rebuked the will of the people.

Many observers believe the Governor disregarded the will of the people because it was held within the inner circles of Strawberry Canyon that the move would not spark the sort of riots witnessed last year. Those protests eventually led the leadership of Strawberry Canyon to install Steve Levy.

Residents of Bear Territory had mixed feelings, highlighting the fact that this is an extremely contentious issue that could eventually threaten the government. Said one resident, who along with all residents requested to remain anonymous, “Governor Tedford saved our Territory from destruction, he knows what’s best.

Reports from confidential sources say Oski was visibly shaken after learning the Governor had suspended elections. He learned the news while reading left wing publication Cal Golden Bears.

Others though held a different sentiment, “Governor Tedford has consistently gone against the will of the people. While it may have once been held that this was best for the Territory, that feeling began to disappear during the 2005 campaign. Residents are in fear of collapse of the whole Territory because of the QB issue.”

The effects from the strategic blunder in Tennessee have reverberated throughout the Territory. The fallout from Tennessee had figured to weigh heavily in balloting.

Indeed fear within the Territory has been rising since the Bears were defeated soundly by a mere Volunteer army from Tennessee. “This was supposed to be the year of expanded military expeditions and colonialism in which we made our foray into the south. Not only were we defeated, many good Bears were massacred in the Battle of Neyland. As a result I would say our defensive capabilities in the Pac 10 have been compromised,” said one military commander who wished to remain anonymous.

Whether or not that is true remains to be seen. One thing for sure, however, is that with the announcement of Governor Tedford’s suspension of elections many residents feel their voices are not being heard. As said by one resident, “it is amazing that in places like Iraq and Afghanistan you see the wonderful miracle of democracy taking hold. In the territory, shoot, you see revolutionaries like Seth pushing for reform but our votes are ultimately worthless. The military and the Governor hold ultimate authority, always, period!”

Soccer moms figured to make up a large block of the electorate for the first time in history. With the announcement of government crackdowns, their voices, allong with everyones, go unheard.

Perhaps though, the ones that have it the hardest are the ones who rarely speak up, as one single mother was particularly alarmed. “What is going to happen the next time UCLA or USC comes into Memorial. I have children to worry about; I believe QB Levy can better defend the homeland against these nefarious threats. Regardless of his moral character we need leaders who can defend the homeland.”

Governor Tedford meanwhile promised he knew what was best. Political pundits say that remains to be seen. A misadventure 2,500 miles away from home soil is one thing, a defeat on native soil could finally force democratic reform.

Recent satellite imagery shows a heavy buildup of military forces in Minnesota pointed west. The Territory is believed to be ill equipped to repel an attack at this time. Though one high ranking official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to discuss military issues with the press, says the Territory is more than ready to meet force with force, and, defeat Minnesota if need be. He added that the Governor had just appointed a QB to lead the potential operation.

MORE NEWS ON SUSPENDED

ELECTIONS IMMINENT

2006-09-05T22:38:00.000-07:00

VOLFANATIC

PSYCHOPATHS AND SOCIOPATHS

AMONGST US POOR CAL FAITHFUL

While many Tennessee fans were incredibly friendly, one was not. The real psychopath is this fellow from Tennessee who goes by the name of Volfanatic. I believe his real name to be Steve. He hates me and the Bears. Well, the picture sums up what I believe will happen to all Tennessee fans when they come to Berkeley next year. All of this text is a link to his site, click it and see why he is so insane.

2006-09-05T00:38:00.000-07:00

Campaign 2006 Heats Up

Governor Tedford has enjoyed overwhelming public support. However recent reports that he will not institute democratic reforms in the 2006 campaign has disappointed many.

In California

Governor Has Ultimate Authority

The early results of the 2006 candidacy for QB of Bear Territory has all the usual suspects. The incumbent senior from a year ago, Steve Levy, is the clear frontrunner at this point; he currently enjoys 55% of the popular vote. He is followed, not so closely, by senior Joe Ayoob and sophomore Nate Longshore.

The contentious campaign has left many tired, and just wanting it to end. Many observors say the campaign has just begun. Most residents, who all wished to remain anonymous, say the issues have transcended the entire Territory of Bears.

“After the Nation of Orange attacked, the people were shaken, they didn’t know who should lead our forces,” said one citizen.

The Territories recent military forays with super powers have resulted in heavy casualties. The Administration continues to maintain that they are all in Territorial interests. Many foreign observers feel it may be time for regime change in Berkeley at the QB position again.

“When our Territory was caught off guard by the attacks perpetrated at the hands of the super power bully Orange Nation, many wondered how long our territorial integrity in the Pac 10 could be maintained. People have definitely become a lot more aware about the elections,” said another resident.

What remains to be seen is whether the appointed Governor of the Territory, Jeff Tedford, will heed the calls for popular democratic reform. Many political pundits have already come to a consensus that the Governor feels he is not answerable to the people, and will therefore nullify the election results.

The move would not be without precedent. Unlike the alliances in the SEC conference and others, few West Coast Governors ever regard the will of the people.

A professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley who wished to remain anonymous sought to shed light on the situation: “You see, a lot of West Coast Governors have the full support of the Federal Administration. Whereas in many other conferences outside the Alliance of Ten democratic reforms have been enjoyed.”

Ceremonial leader Oski wants to hear your voice in 2006

He does concede that not all of the popular revolutions in the south have been successful. “To be honest, the results have been mixed. In some cases, decent Governors have been brutally overthrown by radicals. Many feel that the West Coach approach is much better suited to ensure the continuity of government, albeit not democratically.”

At this point, it is still unknown if Governor Tedford will accept the election results. Last year Governor Tedford continually invoked executive authority, effectively invalidating election results. After seditious unrest occurred at the battle of USC, he appointed popular leftist Steve Levy in the campaign to conquer Stanfurd.

When Governor Tedford instituted democratic reforms before the Stanfurd assault in 2005, he was widely hailed as a hero of the people.

Levy commanded a Territorial Bear Expeditionary Force into hostile Palo Alto. TBEF forces defeated Stanfurd, and retained possession of the Axe and reaffirmed Bear sovereignty.

In the Territories latest military incursion, Bear forces led by QB Nate Longshore invaded the Nation of Orange. The mighty Bear military machine was decimated by the end of the half.
QB Joe Ayoob replaced QB Longshore and led a dignified Bear retreat.

However, the Governor of Tennessee, Phillip Fulmar, in an act of mercy, called off the offensive bombardment of Territorial forces. He later said that had the invading Bears been a strategic threat similar to The Nation of Florida, he would have executed all the combatants.

The political appointment of Aaron Rodgers by Governor Tedford instead of senior Reggie Robertson stired no controvery in 2003. Political observers say that is because he won.

The Governor is expected to appoint another QB sometime this week. In California, the Governor enjoys broad authority. His say is final, and not subject to recourse. With the latest foreign debacle in which heavy casualties were sustained, many southern observers wonder how long the Governor can go against the will of the people. Many people optimistically hope the Governor will be more open to the idea of reform in 2006.
To exercise your voting rights as citizens of the Territory of Bear please vote now.

2006-09-04T23:55:00.000-07:00

2006-09-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

ANTICIPATION

Anticipation had never been higher than when Jeff Tedford re-signed with Cal.

Anticipation is a funny little word. It hangs with friends called: Expectation, Expectancy, Hope, and a guy named Eagerness. All of Anticipation’s friends were on hand for the sellout crowd at Neyland Stadium when then (and current until tomorrow) number nine Cal came to town to play number (not soon to be) 23 Tennessee.

Anticipation played the cool Joe when he showed up, but things soon got out of hand.

Anticipation’s twin brother was here in California with me during the game. He brought many cool people with him. Eagerness just would not shut up. Finally when the game kicked off they all started to calm down.

They were a sad bunch.

Midway through the fist quarter, they all started to get restless. Expectancy seemed the most unsettled of the bunch. In fact, at one point Anticipation and Eagerness had to calm her down. She just could not wait for Cal to tear apart this rebuilt Tennessee defense.

Well to make a long story significantly shorter, I must say, spending the afternoon watching the game with this bunch was no fun at all. At the end of the day, they had all pretty much passed out from too much booze and other substances.

They even made me a little sick.

After the game was over and all was silent, I looked at the bunch; they really were a sorry sight. They had been my best friends since early last year and now it seemed like they were all just a bunch of jerks. I became angry with them, what were they all doing passed out at a time like this? I finally decided it was time for them to leave.

I allowed Hope to stay. I even let her sleep in my bed. I just cannot imagine life without her. She somehow managed to keep a positive attitude after the game. I consoled her as best I could.

Well as it was late and they were all wasted, it was near impossible to rouse them. One of the group finally woke up, Expectation. “I’m so sorry Seth. I never expected things to go this way,” he said.

“Ah forget about it, it could have been worse right? I mean the BCS computers won't know how bad it really was, right?” I chirped in.

“How the hell should I know, I'm wasted dude,” he said, “ask somebody who gives a fuck.”

Expectation was done.

And with that he fell back asleep. When I woke in the morning they were all gone. Everyone that is, except Hope.

2006-09-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

THIS JUST IN - URGENT NEWS

Nate Longshore will really have to improve, and quickly, if Cal is to have any hopes of beating Minnesota. He looked hurried and shaky in his true debut for Cal. His mobility or lack thereof was glaringly evident in the loss to Tennessee.

LEVY NOT IN RUNNING TO START THIS WEEK

With Levy now officially out of the running to start this week, this man too, Joe Ayoob, will need to really step up. He looked promising for brief moments against Tennessee, much like he did last year. However, he was still very rickety and missed many open receivers. His mobility may give him the needed edge to beat out Longshore.

Coach Tedford must really not like Steve Levy. If the guy threw a shot glass at someone’s head there is an excellent chance he is a jerk. However, given the situation in Strawberry Canyon this is no time to get moralistic. Steve Levy may in fact be our last best hope.
For now though he will have to wait. He is currently the clear favorite of the people in my Contra Costa Times Poll. Coming in second is Joe Ayoob, followed closely by Longshore.

MORE REPORTS OF SITUATION IMMINENT

STAY---TUNED

2006-09-04T01:28:00.000-07:00

TIME TO FORGET TENNESSEE

We Have Minnesota To Worry About

Do not be fooled by the Gopher. He is vicious, vindictive, bitter and, a pain in the ass. One would think that a Bear would kill any Gopher. However, after the Volunteers tagged and killed all the Bears anything is possible. In depth game coverage coming up!

2006-09-04T00:28:00.000-07:00

2006-09-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

2006-09-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

MUCH UNCERTAINTY AND FEAR LIE AHEAD

The Humbling Of a Program – Rebuilding Starts Today

Probably some of the less looked at results of yesterdays game deserve attention. Mainly, how does the team feel after such a loss. Well, if it is anything like it was in High School when we got our asses kicked, I am sure it was terrible. The plane ride back no doubt was filled with silence, each player replaying the game in their head.

Though there is probably no one I feel for more than Coach Tedford.

He is the man that has to go back to campus and face all the media and taunting questions from people. He is the one that has to deal with all of this nonsense. “Coach is it true your team was totally overrated and over hyped?” “Coach, should you have done more to prepare your football team?” “Coach, who will start at quarterback for the Bears against Minnesota?” “Coach, did you really put your team in a position to be successful?”

No doubt he will face all of these questions and more. I am not saying that these questions are unreasonable. No, I feel anyone in Tedfords position needs to be subject to heavy scrutiny by the press, but still, you have to feel for him.

I mean he went the whole off-season trying to rebuild what I feel was clearly broke last year. Anyone who tries to say that is was a mistake to tinker with the offense is not ready to accept reality. He took the radical steps of bringing in a new offensive coordinator and rebuilding the entire play book. He did countless interviews were doting reporters told him how great his program was. Now he has to wake up today, with that bad feeling, that terrible feeling.

That feeling is defeat, not just any defeat, it was a massacre.

Had it not been for the fact that I may or may not have been drinking, etc. allot, I am not sure how I would have reacted at the time of the event. As it was, I remained pretty calm and was sadly reserved to the fact that after half time, Cal had no hopes of winning.

It just hurt damn you, it really, really, hurt! Cal took a monumental “shellacking” as Howard Hughes said in that great movie, The Aviator. The problem is, while Cal took a pure physical beating, there is no way to measure how bad the mental beating was and what the lingering affects will be.

Either this Tennessee team is really good, or Cal could be in real trouble. Stay tuned, I am running a poll in the Contra Costa Times that seeks some answers in this mess. Please do your part and vote. We will get through this, we cannot begin to panic and question our existence. Plenty of great teams have been handed their asses in the first game of the season, only to continue on and achieve greatness!

2006-09-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

2006-09-03T01:56:00.000-07:00

CALIFORNIA NATIONAL TITLE HOPES

GO UP IN FLAMES

Poor Marshawn had a tough day, he still played well though. At one point I could swear I really saw the frustration in him. His Heisman chances are effectively over. Luckily he escaped major injury while rushing for an amazing 74 yards on only 12 carries.

ALL IS NOT LOST

I was struck like a gunshot wound to the head how thoroughly Cal was outplayed, and sadly, outclassed. There was no stopping the Vol offense and there was no challenging the Vol defense either. As a Tennessean would say, “there was no nothing.” As the game wore one it became clear that any chance of Cal winning the National Title were going down in a rare 4-alarm fire.

While this carnage was taking place I sat quietly and stoically on the couch. Last year when Cal would be blowing the big game (not the big game) I would get so upset and want to go crazy. This game though, (and hopefully this year) there was nothing like that. I have not the foggiest idea what caused the change of heart. Maybe deep down I just knew we were going to lose no matter how I felt.

FACTS OF LIFE

Fact: The Cal offense is clearly in a lot of trouble again this year. Granted, this was the opener and this Tenessee bunch in clearly quite good, Cal looked anemic. In a sense, the Cal offense could not have played more poorly today. By the time Ayoob came in and made the score a little more respectable, the game was long over.

QB Issues trail us into 2006: This is really scary, like last year there is clearly a bad situation brewing at the QB position. I just do not understand. Why is it even mediocre teams seem to have great QB’s and we cannot even find one. We have recruited some of the best players in the country. Why, damn you, why?

Fact: Defense is very soft, or at least they played that way: This was perhaps the scariest development in a terrifying afternoon. I have known for a while now that the Cal offense has its serious and evident shortcomings. The defense has been a pillar of stability in a sea of uncertainty. This afternoon though things were rough out there, poor tackling, bad reads, overcompensation, clear frustration. You saw it all, and it was all very painful to watch.

Secondary in trouble: I felt bad for Syd, I know he will be great someday, today though he was just burned. I think that TD he gave up right before halftime really solidified Cal’s collapse. I know he is a very fast guy and quite quick, but those Tenn players made him look slow. He clearly was not the only one though. In fact I hate to even single him out because he played with real heart. I am sure everyone will take a long hard look at the game film, as everyone made mistakes, again, everyone.

Special teams not so special today: This was another major cause for concern. I may have already said that above in some other intro but this one is not that bad. I guess we could not really evaluate the special teams too much as they saw-limited action. However, what I did see concerned me. Shneider clearly needs to work on his kick off abilities. His kicks were terrible and I think I saw at least two go out of bounds for penalties.

The return game did nothing to catch my eye. Marshawn had a decent run back to almost the thirty on the initial kick off but everything after that in terms of kick returns were a blur. I know that midway through the second quarter or early third Tedford stopped using Lynch for kick off returns.

THE FUTURE

Finally, I would like everyone to know that I stand in solidarity with all bear fans, students, alum, coaching staff, and, most importantly, players tonight. This is not the end of the world. Last year something like this would have freaked me out. While it should still freak some of us out, I have learned to take it with a grain of salt. I mean the odds are if it is a huge game, Cal is not going to pull it off. What I can say from that is this merely means we need to learn how to handle situations like this better. I hope that coach Tedford and the staff get back to Berkeley and begin an immediate post mortem. A lot can be learned from this, and no doubt a lot will. The Bears are a tough bunch, an underachieving bunch, (we all underachieve) but they can still be great. As a matter of fact, I KNOW they will.

2006-09-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

Rough Way To Start Season

CAL FALLS HARD 35-18

Well after watching the volunteer dismantling of the Cal defense I was left in shock. How could this be? How could it be that the Tenn people had predicted that this other kid from California would out produce our beloved Marshawn Lynch? Then in a cruel twist of fate he nearly did.

The other major concern was the offense. I understand that the SEC is a great defensive conference but CAL looked like a high school team out there at times. There were bad reads, bad handoffs and many drops. The passing game, even with Longshore in there, looks a lot like what we saw last year.

When Ayoob came in there seemed to be a little momentum that went the way of Cal but that was after Tenn started playing their second string. I applaud Tedford for bringing Ayoob in when he did though. Unfortunetly play with Nate was going nowhere.

This is where things get uncomfortable for me. Last year I berated Ayoob and did my best to see that he never succeeded at Cal. I did that because I thought he was playing terribly, which he was. However, after watching this game I am not sure that Longshore is ready to lead this team either. Likewise, I am still not sure that Ayoob is any more equipped than Longshore. Given his spread knowledge and quicker speed he may be our last best hope. That is unless of course coach Tedford would actually give Levy a shot.

In any event I am taking this loss a lot better than I had though I would. This is not the end of the world. We can still win the Pac 10 and go to a great bowl game. The Rose Bowl is still within reach, not without some major upgrades though. When I say upgrades, I mean the whole team. There was not a player (that I saw) that didn’t make a mistake on the Cal squad.

I will review and revisit this issue latter.

Seth

2006-09-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

California Golden Bear Football and Anything Else Of Relevance

More thoughts from the man who will be here to see Tenn next yr!

From the start of this game Tennessee had the upper hand. They out muscled and out finessed Cal terribly. The only question now really becomes how can we get better and whom do we play at QB?
Now, having said that I must warn u that we out here in California hold grudges for a very long time. No doubt every CAL fan is dying for next yrs rematch already. I can promise u that we will make all of u, I mean all of u, pay for this. Next yr u have to come out West, I promise u things will go differently. Just an odd fact to throw in too, California has the highest homicide rate in the country and by far the most violent crime, lol. We are not people to be messed with. I really cannot wait 2 c all of u next yr.
Take care, and may ur nation be prosperous and win the rest of their games so Cal saves some face.
And as our Governor would say, "we'll be back!"
Seth
NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR,
NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR, NEXT YR,

2006-09-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

California Golden Bear Football and Anything Else Of Relevance

From the start of this game Tennessee had the upper hand. They out muscled and out finessed Cal terribly. The only question now really becomes how can we get better and whom do we play at QB? Stay tuned for a full report on this terrible meltdown that really no one, not even the Vol’s, saw coming.

Seth

2006-03-14T17:15:00.000-08:00

It’s Time for Renovation and Rebirth

(Hi guys… I have just been killing time and was so bored that I decided to write this funny little story. Parts of it are true. Some of it is made up. I wrote it fast and it's really late so if there are errors so be it. If we lose to Tenn I am really going to be bummed. If ur bored, have a few minutes, and want to see Memorial renovated, read it.)

BEHAVE SELFISH LOCALS

D I

Sadly, in today’s ever-bloodthirsty venue of Division I football a school can be severally hindered in both their recruiting battles and their revenue gathering capacities without adequate facilities. There are opposing foes to the expansion and renovation of Memorial stadium. Most are city folk who have traditionally opposed any expansion of the University, regardless of merit. With California continuing to grow at breakneck pace, and with no let up in sight, renovation and expansion of the campus as a whole has become imperative to maintaining the standing of the University as a first rate educational outpost. Memorial Stadium and all of the athletic support facilities must be of at least standard class to foster a competitive environment.

COMPETITION

Today’s most competitive division I football teams: Texas, USC, Tennessee, Ohio State, Notre Dame - all have excellent, first-rate facilities. Despite having among the worst facilities in the country the Cal football team has somehow managed to remain competitive, no doubt a testament to the renaissance led by first time head coach Jeff Tedford. In 2004, they finished the season ranked number nine in the end of season Associated Press Poll. In 2005, based largely on a shaky performance by their QB, they dropped to number 25. As we look ahead to the 2006 season, ESPN has already predicted them to be the number two team in the Pacific Ten Conference. With the official announcement of the construction of the Student Athlete High Performance Center and the Memorial Stadium Master Plan, the University has signaled its commitment to remaining competitive not only in the near future, but also for years to come.

THE PLAN

The plan in general terms has many key upgrades that will happen in a series of stages. As laid out on the UC Berkeley website, “Construction of the first step of the stadium plan -- the student-athlete high-performance center -- is scheduled to begin in December 2006, pending environmental review and approval by the UC Board of Regents. It is to be ready for the 2008 football season. It is estimated to cost between $100 million and $125 million.”

THE EFFECTS

The effects of a state of the art training facility for the student athletes cannot be minimized. In todays intense recruiting battles, often times the facilities in which the student athletes will be training play a large part in deciding which school they will choose to attend. One thing of particular interest is that all funding for the stadium will be from privately donated funds and not one tax dollar, a serious feat that not many public institutions can meet. The plan goes on to lay out future upgrades to the stadium itself, as well as seismic upgrades that are necessary to maintain the structural integrity of the stadium, which rests directly along the Hayward fault.

THE LOCALS

Having discussed the many positives of the proposed stadium renovation master plan it is only fair that we examine another side to this story, namely, the locals, who tend to shy away from any physical progression of the University of California’s most prestigious campus. Their reasons, while valid, all tend to hint at a bit of personal selfishness and a failure to heed the calls of expansion that are necessary to maintain the University of California’s standing as a world leader. Given the Universities unique standing, its expansion is vital to California’s overall stability.

CONCERNS

In a recent (confidential,editedl) article one concerned citizen stated that, “this is our city, not the Universities, and our needs of the community outweigh theirs.” Hmm, how many people live in California? What is the most populous state in the Union? The article went on to state that their main concerns were, “about the impact of the parking structure on traffic, the planned removal of a popular oak grove, and what they believe will be a loss of historic character.” Their main argument (in so many words) is that a new stadium should be built somewhere else. However, it has already been determined by a UC fact-finding panel that a stadium built anywhere else would increase the cost nearly five-fold. More importantly the stadium would have to be moved off campus, thus severing the vital link of the stadium to the university and the students. In a recent (confidential,edited) article, student Vicki Sims voiced a concern that resonates among nearly all students, “they have proposed moving the stadium, and yet they have no idea where else to put it. More importantly, a vast majority of the UC Berkeley student body does not drive. How are we to get to these sporting events in the first place if they move off campus?”

MOST REGRETTABLE

It is terribly unfortunate that these local citizens - rather than seeking plausible solutions to the situation - want only to place blame on the University for the expansion to protect their own interests. Rather than accepting what is clearly a need for the people and the state of California, they seek to protect their own wishes, wishes of the few. It should also be noted that all of the land that the proposed renovations and modifications will take place on are public lands, owned by that state of California (i.e. the people), not the city or private citizens of Berkeley. Rather than exercise issues of eminent domain, which would have undoubtedly led to legal land seizures, the University was able to incorporate the plan to fit preexisting land allotments.

THE FUTURE OF CALIFORNIA

Ultimately, only time will tell which side will prevail. However, I believe it is our duty as residents of California to see this project through for the good of not only our immediate needs, but for the needs of our children and grandchildren. Societies throughout time that have stagnated at the expense of the few rather than expand for the good of the many have resulted in doom, in either a literal sense or metaphorical sense. For the University to continue to enhance not only its sports standing but also its academic and overall image, this stadium renovation is mandatory. The needs of the many, clearly in this case, do outweigh the needs of the few. It is time for renovation and rebirth that all Californians can be proud of.

Seth W. S.

(note: this story is partially accurate and part satire. i am not claiming that any of it is actual fact. however, some of it is. i hope i didn’t offend anyone with it, i.e. the locals. i really think that we need 2 c this through or Cal will really just fall off the map 2 yrs or so down the road! is that what u want?)

2005-11-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

A DAY WITH NO BEARS

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Hello my friends, today is Thanksgiving. It is so sad that we never have a serious college football game on this day, why not? What if the Big Game where on Thanksgiving, wouldn’t that be great? I mean that would be a chance to really take time off and watch a real game that made all of us happy. Levy's rise to prominence has been a rocky one and I am just so glad that he is finally getting a shot to show what he has. Even if Ayoob is better physically, the edge goes to the mental aspect which Levy commands.

JOE AYOOB – Happy Thanksgiving, I wish that things has gone differently this season, I hope though that you don’t somehow hold me accountable for your bad performances. Surely someone of your mental caliber knows that a little idiot like me spouting off at the mouth is not the culprit here. It was your inability to overcome the mental deficiencies that plague you. In the off season you may find a way to not think about the little things and just do them, like plant your feet for one.

Ok, must now take customary post meal-nap. I will write more later, in perhaps say two hours…

2005-11-23T01:09:00.000-08:00

THE RECRUITING BATTLES

Battles That Must Be Fought

I was disturbed today to see a posting in another California Golden Bear Blog that we bloggers had some how collectively harmed Cal's recruiting capacities with our adverse Ayoob posts. This type of naive thinking makes one look pretty stupid doesn't it?

Anyway, I thought that I would express my sentiments on such a ridiculous notion as the one this indigent gentleman explored. Were he a man of merit and conviction I might venture a guess that he will visit us here, though everything points to the opposite, this man is a coward and a liar. How pathetic...

I will have more to say on the ongoing recruting battles. They do appear to be going rather slow to date.

2005-11-22T15:32:00.000-08:00

The REALISTIC Future of the Golden Bear in CALIFORNIA

Well, while this season may have been a bit disappointing overall we can draw a lot from this for future reference. Perhaps if Coach Tedford had listened earlier on in the season our record would read differently, unfortunately he did not.

Whatever the future might hold one thing is more clear now than ever before, the Bears are in need of a long term solution at QB. The instability and the vacuum in competency and skill level that was created when Nate Longshore went down with the ankle injury has been glaring all season.

I am sure that next season many of the difficulties that we faced at QB this year will be resolved; at least, I pray to god they will be. They created many a stressful situation this year that led to an increased consumption of alcohol at Memorial Stadium that was downright dangerous. Here is next years QB situation as I see it now, I will update as relevant information becomes available.

guys, the line goes a little like this, VOTE NO ON AYOOB 06 or risk being tried in quasi cal bear backer courts. with puppet judges to convict u of being a sellout to your team. furthermore, u will be banished from all ucb property but not the uc system as a whole! you know, i really don’t think we need to get that worked up though, because CHECK THIS OUT...

NATE LONGSHORE - will be a sophomore and will be healthy. if u were one of the lucky many to be in berkeley on that beautiful afternoon, as i was, longshore looked spectacular before being brutally attacked!
elite 11 qb!

KYLE REED - this guy is scary. really, he is scary! i am scared of him. scared in a good way!
elite 11 qb!

KEVIN RILEY - from what i understand this young gentleman has already shown a great aptitude for digesting complex offensive formations, even at the hs level. he chose to come to cal over oregon and many other top schools, which makes me feel so warm and hopeful about the future of cal recruiting. i will be shocked if nike doesn't invite him to take the short trip to beaverton for the elite 11 qb competition later this yr. the biggest question on my mind, will he redshirt? to redshirt, or not to redshirt? that is the question...

joe ayoob - poor guy, just couldn't get it together. my heart really does go out to him because i know what it feels like to fail at something you think is more important than life itself. we have all been there joe, you will get over this. remember too when ur experience at cal is over u will have graduated with a degree from the number 1 public university in the country, for free! not only that, you will have become a stronger person. because anyone who can take some of the more hurtful things that you have gone through this season is going to be a better and stronger man. good luck guy... please, no hard feelings. i did what i thought was right for cal, i am a self righteous jerk off who needs to take a hike, i will...

ok guys, well that about does it, take care......

2005-11-22T10:50:00.000-08:00

Just and old thought too late to mean much...

well the email that probably only i looked forward to writing is finally here, the break down of the bear breakdown, in black and white. the bear’s most recent test of the season, the once seemingly easy opp of o. st. became a game of life and death for the bear’s once promising season. the game was painful to watch, many a bear fan no doubt began to question their very existence on this day. personally i haven't felt this bad since the summer of 2000 when i foresaw then too just how bad things would get in berkeley. oddly enough i found myself warning then coach tom holmoe what was about to unfold. he didn't listen to me either. he probably thought, "this idiots a punk kid, reject fan, some loser with nothing better to do than harass everyone surrounding anything about the program. but for me it goes so much deeper than that. for the better part of my life i grew up loving one professional sports franchise after another. i saw then just how terrible ignorance, stupidity and cockiness could make a man. from then on i went back to the simpler way of life, college football. the truly greatest thing america has to offer. when i watched the game against o. st. i wasn't having fun, it truly was painful to watch. this team however is still a threat, they are still contenders and despite all i have said to the contrary i still very much believe in them. the question that should have many of you up at night but doesn't is this, "can cal beat usc on 11/12 @ home?" YES, cal can and will beat usc! you mark my words, just as i foresaw the doom of the bears overall season, i think cal can and again will, beat usc, resoundingly on 11/12. however, in order for cal to be able to do that one very prickly issue must be dealt with. what can be done with or for ayoob to make him better suited to win games for this apparently inept cal offense? the answer to that is more complex than entire bilateral national treaty negotiations or full fledged armistices'. i can however answer it for you and having said that i will. being as cal is chary to remove ayoob they really only have one option (no pun intended). they must become a fully functional option team, similar to past navy and many current hs teams. ayoob had great success @ ccsf w/option. cal's run game will easily be bogged down for the rest of the season now that o. st. has laid out the magna carta of how to stop cal's entire offensive unit. o. st. db's are certainly not the most competitive bunch in the country so cal had no excuse for not advancing by way of aerial assault. the only assault was the one ayoob took, (kind of like a man i guess.) anyway, look, i am slowly loosing my focus so i must finish up here. being as ayoob cannot pass we must at least begin to explore our options of moving to the low intelligence style of stone age football. we MUST make ourselves a pre-callahan Nebraska if we are to WIN in 05! the last time i think i saw neb was when they beat cal 21 to 3 in berkeley. that game rocked in that i thought we held tough! god, is this a wordy email, i gotta go. here's the inside scoop, and you heard it from the man who predicted the big one back in 01 and this years demise. this team has gotta turn into an option team or dump ayoob off on the bench, or put him at flanker or hb as 3rd string. i don't know, i guess after writing this email i realized a very important thing, even i don't know what to do to fix this team, there-are-just-too- many-problems-this-year. i am already looking forward to the opener next yr. v. ten. i think that will be our year; this year guys, i think i was just a little tooooooo optimistic. i just hope coach tedford can make it through without going crazy or really losing confidence in his abilities, permanently, in such a way that he will no longer be able to function effectively as Mon’ Capitan in berkeley. i truly believe he is telling the players what they need to hear. they just aren't executing it the way they should be, due to, hmm, haven’t figured that one out yet, nor do i feel i ever will.

let me think some more and i will email you all again later tonight, all is not lost guys, remember this team can still be competitive!

seth

p.s. how sad, poor aaron was back and had to see the thrashing in person. it must have been just awful when he slowly came to the realization that he too played a large part in this by deciding stupidly to leave us early for gb, serves him right. i am almost as upset with him as i am with ayoob. i give up already!!!

p.s.s. sports editors, please keep heat on for now, it still is not time to turn it off, just yet anyway... prolonged heat of course could kill us!