Got a visit from Ryan Forehan-Kelly this weekend.

Ryan, his wife Melanie, and their son Jalen had come north for a Napa County baptism in Melanie's family. They came to Berk yesterday and we went to the restaurant Ryan always wants to come to when he visits the East Bay: Everett & Jones. We tried to go to the Jack London location, but it was mobbed with post-Raider game fans, so we hit the one on San Pablo in Berk, and sat outside on the picnic tables.

It's pretty cool watching Ryan play dad to Jalen -- who's now 30 months old. Jalen's at the point where he jabbers away at everything that catches his attention: a blinking neon sign, a fire truck, a doggie, and other babies. Melanie is 7 months pregnant with Jalen's future sister, and he has some sort of clue that a baby is coming. The kid is extremely bright -- they did a small explanation of how the baby is now in Mommy's tummy but will be born in a few months, and Melanie told me that every so often Jalen will stick a doll under his shirt, and then give birth to it -- that's pretty advanced for a 2 and a half year old.

Ryan is still playing -- in Asia and Europe -- and he reported that Gabe Hughes just left for Japan with his family (wife & 2 daughters) for a season there. Ryan's kid brother is now a financial guy with Merrill Lynch in Los Angeles, after earning his business degree at Pepperdine.

Ryan and family are in Irvine right now, but he always plans to settle back here in the Bay Area when he's ready to settle down. When he visits the East Bay, he loves to go up to Panaorama Way and check out the view and speculate on his return. It'll be nice having him return -- by the end of our time together, Jalen was calling me Uncle Sherm -- I definitely can get into that.

Sherman.

drunkoski;584422 said:

---

ok

---

What's your problem? Some of us care about the well-being of our former Cal athletes who have entertained us over the years.

I always loved RFK's game. He was fundamentally sound, he got better every year, and he is a class act. Best of luck to him and his family!

"Are you sure Ryan wants his life story on bearinsider?"

Yeah, Drunk. I am.

Ryan and Tashaan's mom used to post updates all the time. I think her old handle was RFK&TFK'sMom -- or something to that effect.

There's a lot of stuff I never post about, Drunk -- especially on current players. But Ryan and Tashaan were always favorites on this board -- probably because Mom Lissa posted a lot. So yeah, I'm comfortable with posting this story.

Ok?


Sherman.

Rfk a great golden bear. Thanks for sharing

Awesome. Any story on the Forehan-Kellys is welcome here. As is any story that gives us the human side of our current players or Old Blues. If we're lucky, we'll be able to tell the entering class of 2026 or so, as Jalen takes the court at Haas, "If you think he's something, you shoulda seen his dad!".

Go Bears!

seems like the logical spot - RFK update on the football board makes about as much sense as a Joe Igber posting on the basketball board

Fyght4Cal;584484 said:

---

Awesome. Any story on the Forehan-Kellys is welcome here. As is any story that gives us the human side of our current players or Old Blues. If we're lucky, we'll be able to tell the entering class of 2026 or so, as Jalen takes the court at Haas, "If you think he's something, you shoulda seen his dad!".

Go Bears!

---

I remember my first introduction to his talents back in the 98-99 season. I remember he came off the bench as a substitute player and cooly sank two free throws

I checked the box score and his bio:

http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/022899aaa.html
http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/forehan-kelly_ryan00.html

The bio says he came in with 22 seconds left against ASU and sank two free throws. The box score says that Carl Boyd and an ASU player were ejected for fighting. Both were T'ed up, so they must have offset.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1999/02/28/SPORTS10683.dtl

The Chron says that he went in for Boyd, who would have been at the line if he hadn't been ejected.

I remember the free throws. I think it was the first meaningful minutes for him. Coach Braun must have had confidence to put him in a situation like that, and he came through.

Cool that he's still playing, and still likes the bay area.

I also love Everett and Jones!

That's great for Ryan. I remember when he first came on. He was ok, but by the time he left, he was one of our better players and a solid starter. I played with him a few times at the RSF, very nice guy. Judging by his mom and brother, looks like a great family.

bearister;584433 said:

---

I always loved RFK's game. He was fundamentally sound, he got better every year, and he is a class act. Best of luck to him and his family!

---

Definitely the best former walk-on we've had in the Braun era. Definitely more talented than Mule Man and Pribble, although both of these guys played with heart too.

Great kid off the court and he was a producer on the court - very nice with the kids who attended basketball camp. Remembered my son from camp a year later when he saw him on the streets. He is great with kids! Glad things are going well for him.

Thanks for the update.

Re best former walk-ons, don't forget Morgan Lingle. He provided some decent minutes (and was also a great kid off the court).

Thanks for a nice report on RFK. It is always great to hear that our Bears go on to a good life and continue to love Cal.