Cal (8-13, 4-6 Pac-12 | last game: 91-65 loss vs. Arizona) at Arizona State (11-10, 5-5 | last game: 71-62 loss vs. Stanford)

When: Saturday, Feb. 3 | 12 p.m. PST
Where: Desert Financial Arena | Tempe, Arizona
TV: Pac-12 Network | Jordan Kent (PxP) & Matt Muehlebach (Analyst)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP)

Cal is wrapping up its road trip with a visit to the Sun Devils after a tough loss against Arizona. The Bears were bested in just about every way against the Wildcats, finishing 91-65, and look to rebound against Arizona State. The Sun Devils are coming into the matchup on a three-game loss streak, last notching a win against USC Jan. 20. Since then, Arizona State was bested by Oregon, Oregon State and Stanford.

Join the conversation and follow along for updates throughout the game in this thread.

Cal has released its spring roster and all the newcomers that were expected to arrived are listed. UC Davis transfer Teddye Buchanan is the lone transfer to not be part of the spring roster.

The defensive back position is pretty full with 16 players among the group including starting cornerbacks Nohl Williams and Lu-Magia Hearns. Matthew Littlejohn and Craig Woodson also return in the secondary for the Bears.

Cal has three true freshmen among the inside linebacker group, and that trio should have a chance to at least get its feet wet this spring. Luke Ferrelli and Eze Osondu are the two newcomers who highlight the group.

As expected, Fernando Mendoza and Chandler Rogers are the only two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster for spring. There are only four quarterbacks total on the spring roster including walk-ons Belay Brummel and Brady Weingart.

Ashton Stredick is not listed among the running back group in a bit of a surprise. In all, the Bears have six backs listed on the roster highlighted by Jaydn Ott.

Cal has 14 receivers on its spring roster including newcomers Mikey Matthews and Tobias Merriweather.

There will be three kickers on the roster for the spring including UNC transfer Ryan Coe, Michael Luckhurst and Spencer Brien.

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Cal do-it-all wing Jaylon Tyson was previously named to the preseason watch list for the Julius Erving Award that goes to the top small forward in college basketball. Wednesday, the Naismith Hall of Fame announced the 10 members of the candidate list, and Tyson is one of the players still in contention for the honor.

Tyson leads the Pac-12 with 20.6 points per game while also averaging 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Bears.

The award will be handed out at a later date and players can be added to the list or removed before that time. Fans are also able to vote for the winner (fan vote will only be part of what decides the recipient) at hoophallawards.com beginning Feb. 2.

Washington's Keion Brooks, Jr. is the only other player from the Pac-12 represented on the initial 10-man list.

Cal (8-12, 4-12 Pac-12 | last game: 73-71 win vs. Stanford) at No. 11 Arizona (15-5, 6-3 | last game: 87-78 win at Oregon)

When: Thursday, Feb. 1 | 5:30 p.m. PST
Where: McKale Center | Tucson, Arizona
TV: Pac-12 Network | Ted Robinson (PxP) & Matt Muehlebach (Analyst)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP)

Cal is back in action this evening as it heads to the desert for the final time as members of the Pac-12. First up will be No. 11 Arizona, which is coming off a convincing win over Oregon on the road last week. The Bears played fantastic in the second half of the meeting between the two teams early in the season at Haas, but an early 31-point hole was just too much to climb out of for Make Madsen's team.

Above is a preview of tonight's matchup in Tucson, and as always I invite you to join the conversation and follow along for updates throughout the game in this thread.

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Cal has earned a commitment from San Diego-Cathedral Catholic offensive lineman Sam Bjerke today. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound tackle prospect picked up offers from smaller schools and had recently added preferred walk-on offers from the Bears in addition to Houston and FIU. He visited a number of other programs including Oregon and Miami throughout the process.

He'll join Cal as a PWO adding to a solid group in the 2024 class.

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2024 Cal football schedule​

Home games in bold

Aug. 31 – UC Davis
Sept. 7 – at Auburn
Sept. 14 – San Diego State
Sept. 21 – at Florida State
Sept. 28 – BYE
Oct. 5 – Miami
Oct. 12 – at Pittsburgh
Oct. 19 – NC State
Oct. 26 – Oregon State
Nov. 2 – BYE
Nov. 8 – at Wake Forest (Friday)
Nov. 16 – Syracuse
Nov. 23 – Stanford
Nov. 30 – at SMU
Dec. 7 – ACC Championship (Bank of America Stadium | Charlotte, North Carolina)

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Jackson Sirmon has earned a Senior Bowl invite today.

Jared Goff chants breaking out 45 minutes before kickoff.

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Hey guys, my preview is here. Videos are attached at the end in case you missed any of those. I got Cal by seven tonight: 80-73. Cal's getting better each week and I think the home court will make a real difference for them. Should be fun!

Cal (7-12, 3-5 Pac-12 | last game: 81-75 win at Washington State) vs. Stanford (10-8, 5-3 | last game: 90-80 win at Washington)

When: Friday, Jan. 26 | 7:00 p.m. PST
Where: Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, California
TV: FS1 | David Gascon (PxP) & Casey Jacobsen (Analyst)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP) & Theo Robertson (Analyst)

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It's time for the 283rd meeting between the Bears and Cardinal on the basketball court. Both teams have had some extra time to prepare for tonight's matchup at Haas with Mark Madsen set to face his alma mater for the first time as Cal's head coach. It should be a good crowd and there should be a competitive atmosphere in Berkeley tonight.

I'll have updates throughout the game, so I invite you all to join in the conversation and follow along throughout the evening.

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Cal DB Patrick McMorris has accepted an invitation to the 2024 NFL Combine. The San Diego State transfer finished second on the team with 88 tackles and was tied for third with 5.5 tackles for loss plus he tied a team-high 6 pass breakups.

Recently committed to Ohio St…hmmm

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As the offseason continues, here is another position assessment, this time for the inside linebackers. With defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon at the helm of the inside linebacker position, the room is integral to Cal’s defense and has some solid talent, from young players to collegiate veterans.

The Bears lost Kaleb Elarms-Orr to TCU and are losing Jackson Sirmon to the 2024 NFL Draft after he used up his final year of eligibility, but are set to have two freshman linebackers as well as UC Davis transfer Teddye Buchanan for the spring.

I was in attendance for Mark Madsen's presser on Wednesday. My notes and thoughts along with video is here. I still need to tell him my church ball story.

I was in attendance for Jalen Cone's presser on Wednesday. My thoughts and notes are here along with video.

Let's raid Michigan's roster!!!!!!

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Cal is beginning to make a run with PWO recruits for 2024, and the latest member of the commitment list is Petaluma-St. Vincent de Paul defensive lineman Jack Olyphant. The 6-foot-4, 260-pound senior picked up a recent offer from Sac State and Dartmouth also offered him an opportunity to play there. The University of San Diego offered him earlier in the process.

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Cal investing more into the special teams group for 2024. Franklin (Ohio) Bishop Fenwick has committed to the Bears today following an official visit to Berkeley. He's the third specialist from the Hammer Kicking Academy to join Cal this offseason alongside North Carolina transfer Ryan Coe and punter Bobby Engstler, who committed last week as a scholarship player.

According to Kohl's Kicking, Morris had been one of the top unsigned specialists in the 2024 class. He ranks 21st among all kickers in the class on that site and is No. 91 among punters. Army and Navy both offered him and he had interest from Washington as well.


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I know @horsemon has missed my insights into Mormon church ball, so I have one more church ball story to share:

When I was an LDS missionary in Minnesota, we once had a pick up basketball game on our day off. I was serving in Minneapolis at the time. It was the spring of 2009.

I still remember which building it was. It was at the LDS church building in Crystal, Minnesota. They had the nicest gym I’ve ever seen in an LDS church. Break away rims, the court looked like it was brand new, and it was of course a full court. A church basketball player’s paradise!

As I walked into the gym, I noticed someone who was much bigger than everyone else on the court throwing down dunks. I thought to myself that’s a really large missionary. I haven’t seen him before.

As I got closer, I soon realized it wasn’t a missionary. It was Mark Madsen! This was his final season with the Timberwolves. He introduced himself to me as “Brother Madsen” and was super down to earth. Really a kind, gentle giant.

He spent the afternoon playing basketball with us and was super encouraging of everyone that was playing. I remember him telling guys “good move” and the like. He was all about building us up and making a positive impact on our day.

I remember asking him how many championships he had won with the Lakers and since this was my first time meeting a professional athlete, I was of course star struck. But as I look back on my time meeting him, what I am most struck by is the kindness that Madsen showed in spending that time with us and also what a genuine, down to earth guy he is. He is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

One of his former players at Utah Valley who I know from church told me about Madsen: “Dude he really is the nicest most genuine guy. It’s been amazing getting to play with him.”

That’s the kind of guy Mark Madsen is. He is truly a man of the people. He’s very humble, kind, and down to earth. He was always involved in the Minneapolis community, giving signed shoes to kids, etc. He truly embodies what it means to be a good human being.

I am looking forward to Friday’s game. Hopefully Haas Pavilion will have a good crowd!

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Cal will get to see Tim Plough in the first game of the season. He’ll make his head coaching debut for UC Davis against the Bears on Aug. 31.

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Remember are not paying Wilcox in a lump sum but annually. So it’s incremental cost that matters.

Btw I’m really looking forward to that $4 mil a year of nil we were promised would happen if we didn’t fire Wilcox

There has been and will continue to be some Justin Wilcox to Arizona buzz today. Still working to get it fully confirmed but there have been some whispers about the Cal head coach interviewing for the job already.

I do know Arizona has been looking to go more defensive-minded with this hire, so some of the pieces do fit.

Let the fun and dominos begin

I thought this deserved its own thread.