The Man Who Never Stopped Hustling
Mark Marquess was one of those guys you thought might never die. He was the epitome of energy, enthusiasm, and positive vibes. The legendary Stanford baseball coach passed away Friday at the age of 78, and the news came as a real shock. Marquess coached the baseball team at his alma mater for 41 years (1977-2017). He took his teams to the College World Series 14 times and won back-to-back national championships in 1987 and '88, and finished second three times. He retired as
Gary Cavalli
1 day ago
Another ICE Murder; CFP Format Changes; Mendoza's Line: College FB On Fire; Basketball Eligibility Nonsense
Donald Trump' s untrained, trigger-happy goon squad continues to murder people on the streets of Minneapolis. And then lie about it. The DHS versions of these killings bear no resemblance to what is actually happening. Suddenly, we're living in George Orwell 's dark, dystopian 1984 , where "the party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears." So don't believe your lying eyes, folks. Instead believe the "let's-get-out-a- statement-defending-our-murderous-agents-an
Gary Cavalli
Jan 26
CFP Championship; Coaching Carousel; Stanford Staffing; Portal Updates
The college football season concludes tonight with the CFP National Championship game between Indiana and Miami. This is not a matchup anyone expected for the title game. When the season started back in late August, all the pundits and experts had tabbed Texas, Ohio State, Penn State and Clemson as the four top contenders for the national title. Only one of them (Ohio State) even made it into the playoff. It's become increasingly clear in the era of NIL and the transfer port
Gary Cavalli
Jan 19
Wide Open NFL Playoffs; College FB's Ups & Downs
The great thing about the NFL playoffs, which began over the weekend, is that there is no clear-cut favorite. No Indiana. The perennial favorites--the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens --didn't even qualify this year. The defending champions, the Philadelphia Eagles , were just eliminated by the injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers. It's the most wide open field I can remember in all of my years following the NFL, as evidenced by the down-to-the-wire nature of most o
Gary Cavalli
Jan 12
The Death of Truth and Decency
Tonight marks the first semi-final game of the College Football Playoff. Suddenly it doesn't seem so important. Yesterday morning, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was behind the wheel of a Honda SUV on a residential Minneapolis street. Her car momentarily blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) trucks. After two agents got out of the truck, one walked up to the SUV and yanked on the driver’s door handle, ordering her to get out, yelling, “Get out of the car. Get the
Gary Cavalli
Jan 8
CFP Semi-final Preview; Quick Fixes; Help Wanted
And then there were four. Not the four most of us expected, to be sure. In the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, three teams that have won four of the last five national championships and seven of the 11 playoffs that have been held- -Ohio State, Georgia and Alabama --all were eliminated. Two upsets, including one of the best games in recent memory, and two routs set the stage for this week's semi-final matchups pitting No. 5 Oregon against No. 1 Indiana in the Peach
Gary Cavalli
Jan 5
CFP Quarter-finals; Mike White; Random Thoughts on Coach Whit, Ebuka, Warriors, 49ers
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. So far the non-playoff bowls we recommended have all been thrillers: Hawaii 35, Cal 31 in the Hawaii Bowl; BYU 25, Georgia Tech 21 in the Pop Tarts Bowl; Virginia 13, Missouri 7 in the Gator Bowl; and North Texas 49, San Diego State 47 in the New Mexico Bowl. Bowl games still have a place in the post-season landscape, particularly if the stars come out to play. They're good for TV viewing and great for the players... more meaningful than
Gary Cavalli
Dec 29, 2025
Cal Wins Big; HeisMendoza; Toughest Job; Paul Wiggin; Bowl Viewing Guide
Cal football will be in good hands with former Golden Bear defensive lineman Tosh Lupoi as its new head coach. Lupoi is quite possibly the best recruiter in college football. He's also earned his stripes as a strong defensive coordinator at Alabama, Washington and Oregon , after earlier serving as an assistant at Cal. His appointment is rightfully being viewed by Bear alums with more enthusiasm than Stanford 's recent hire of Tavita Pritchard is being acknowledged by Card
Gary Cavalli
Dec 15, 2025
Playoff Selection Misery; Tavita's Debut; New Euphemism; White House War Crimes
The less said about yesterday's College Football Playoff Selections the better, but suffice to say they blew it. Notre Dame, winners of 10 straight games, and losers of two games to quality teams by a total of four points, got left out. Alabama , losers of three games, including an embarrassing early loss to Florida State and a humiliation by Georgia in the SEC Championship game, got in. Miami , which couldn't even qualify for the championship game in the weak ACC, got in
Gary Cavalli
Dec 8, 2025
Kiffin's Sordid Drama; Stanford's UnLucky Choice; White House Bully Bloy
Lane Kiffin and LSU were made for each other. The stench from Baton Rouge over the last few weeks has been overwhelming, given the firing of head coach Brian Kelly, the messy involvement of Governor Jeff Landry , the forced resignation of AD Scott Woodward, the ludicrous claim Kelly hadn't been "officially terminated" and subsequent attempt to change his firing to "for cause" to justify not paying his $53 million buyout. Not to mention the hiring of a new AD who was onc
Gary Cavalli
Dec 1, 2025
