TomBear said:

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bearister, I agree with you that the MM version was superior. It was produced by Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone and I'm not sure of this but I think Van Dyke Parks was recruited to play the keyboards. Jan Errico, the drummer, was also the drummer for The Vegetables who had a very similar sound and a hit a year or two before with a song called "I still Love You", also a great pop gem.

Football-wise, I think someone pointed out that Cal has a great advantage over some other schools thanks to the JC system here. I'm not sure of this, but I think Oregon only has one JC still playing football (if that). I'm not aware of any JC football in Washington. So strictly from a west coast perspective, all Laney, Diablo Valley College, CCSF, Santa Rosa JC and Contra Costa JC players who qualify should be high on Cal radar.

There was a period where Cal got lots of Laney players, all of whom turned out to be great Bears. Especially in the late '60s as I recall. They helped make Willsey's teams special.

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Those were the days when Cal "stashed" players at Laney. In essence, guys who didn't qualify for Cal out of HS were steered to Laney with the proviso they would attend Cal after a couple years at Laney. Not really legal, but hey, those were different times.....

http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a33445743/coach-john-beam-last-chance-u-laney-interview/

okaydo said:

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http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a33445743/coach-john-beam-last-chance-u-laney-interview/

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I love great coaches... at any level. Coach Beam is a great coach and apparently a better person.

Season 5 of the show was a bit ho-hum, but I think it really highlighted the players in a different way. I don't think any of the featured players were D1 tossbacks. It was definitely a very different environment than the other LCU schools we've seen. It was neat to get to know Beam a bit, and to watch the informal assistant coaches meetings.

If you are a fantasy book nerd there is some unexpected content there.

You can also see Marshawn has helped outfit them with some of their workout gear.

TomBear said:

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bearister, I agree with you that the MM version was superior. It was produced by Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone and I'm not sure of this but I think Van Dyke Parks was recruited to play the keyboards. Jan Errico, the drummer, was also the drummer for The Vegetables who had a very similar sound and a hit a year or two before with a song called "I still Love You", also a great pop gem.

Football-wise, I think someone pointed out that Cal has a great advantage over some other schools thanks to the JC system here. I'm not sure of this, but I think Oregon only has one JC still playing football (if that). I'm not aware of any JC football in Washington. So strictly from a west coast perspective, all Laney, Diablo Valley College, CCSF, Santa Rosa JC and Contra Costa JC players who qualify should be high on Cal radar.

There was a period where Cal got lots of Laney players, all of whom turned out to be great Bears. Especially in the late '60s as I recall. They helped make Willsey's teams special.

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The great Ken Harvey transferred to Cal from Laney. He was an absolute beast, totally focused and chiseled. Ran into him at checkout at the grocery store as two students pushing shopping carts. His was loaded with healthy whole foods. Mine, not so much. We had a laugh.

MoragaBear said:

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I've enjoyed the season and only have a couple episodes left.

Beam's a great guy and a great coach (legendary at Skyline HS, too) but that man can cuss a blue streak. Didn't let the cameras slow that down one bit.

Dancy played at Laney in 2018 and CJ Anderson before him.

They were actually considered national champs in 2018. They lost a ton of talent from that team so the 2019 team we're seeing really has to scrap, especially with all the QB injuries.

The main guy Cal looked at last year was DB Rejzohn Wright. Didn't really come off as an OKG, especially before his injury.
[url=https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/rejzohn-wright-251676][/url]

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The first episode you could see how athletic Wright is. You could also see he is not the type of guy Wilcox will recruit. I hope he (Wilcox) stays this way. It was Tedford's undoing as we all know.

82gradDLSdad said:

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MoragaBear said:

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I've enjoyed the season and only have a couple episodes left.

Beam's a great guy and a great coach (legendary at Skyline HS, too) but that man can cuss a blue streak. Didn't let the cameras slow that down one bit.

Dancy played at Laney in 2018 and CJ Anderson before him.

They were actually considered national champs in 2018. They lost a ton of talent from that team so the 2019 team we're seeing really has to scrap, especially with all the QB injuries.

The main guy Cal looked at last year was DB Rejzohn Wright. Didn't really come off as an OKG, especially before his injury.
[url=https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/rejzohn-wright-251676][/url]

---

The first episode you could see how athletic Wright is. You could also see he is not the type of guy Wilcox will recruit. I hope he (Wilcox) stays this way. It was Tedford's undoing as we all know.

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From what we saw, I think this is unfair. Yes, he talks a lot. Yes, he's cocky. If you think some of our guys don't talk a lot and aren't cocky, you're not paying attention. But consider this: Wright was commuting each day from Stockton to Oakland. That has to be 4-6 hours a day in the car. After he got injured, he'd have every reason to stop showing up, but he didn't. He was at games and practices. I thought that showed a team player.

82gradDLSdad said:

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MoragaBear said:

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I've enjoyed the season and only have a couple episodes left.

Beam's a great guy and a great coach (legendary at Skyline HS, too) but that man can cuss a blue streak. Didn't let the cameras slow that down one bit.

Dancy played at Laney in 2018 and CJ Anderson before him.

They were actually considered national champs in 2018. They lost a ton of talent from that team so the 2019 team we're seeing really has to scrap, especially with all the QB injuries.

The main guy Cal looked at last year was DB Rejzohn Wright. Didn't really come off as an OKG, especially before his injury.
[url=https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/rejzohn-wright-251676][/url]

---

The first episode you could see how athletic Wright is. You could also see he is not the type of guy Wilcox will recruit. I hope he (Wilcox) stays this way. It was Tedford's undoing as we all know.

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That was not the reason for Tedford's undoing.

calumnus said:

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82gradDLSdad said:

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MoragaBear said:

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I've enjoyed the season and only have a couple episodes left.

Beam's a great guy and a great coach (legendary at Skyline HS, too) but that man can cuss a blue streak. Didn't let the cameras slow that down one bit.

Dancy played at Laney in 2018 and CJ Anderson before him.

They were actually considered national champs in 2018. They lost a ton of talent from that team so the 2019 team we're seeing really has to scrap, especially with all the QB injuries.

The main guy Cal looked at last year was DB Rejzohn Wright. Didn't really come off as an OKG, especially before his injury.
[url=https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/rejzohn-wright-251676][/url]

---

The first episode you could see how athletic Wright is. You could also see he is not the type of guy Wilcox will recruit. I hope he (Wilcox) stays this way. It was Tedford's undoing as we all know.

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That was not the reason for Tedford's undoing.

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Ok great. Thanks

GMP said:

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From what we saw, I think this is unfair. Yes, he talks a lot. Yes, he's cocky. If you think some of our guys don't talk a lot and aren't cocky, you're not paying attention. But consider this: Wright was commuting each day from Stockton to Oakland. That has to be 4-6 hours a day in the car. After he got injured, he'd have every reason to stop showing up, but he didn't. He was at games and practices. I thought that showed a team player.

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Yeah, for all his 'swagger', Wright seemed like a pretty committed and hard working team guy to me. He was about work ethic and playing hard for that W. Honestly, I think OSU where he can play with his brother is probably the best fit for him anyways, seemed like a good positive influence and tandem.

Just finished the season. I really enjoyed it.

The dichotomy between these JC kids who have to commute hours each day, pay for their own roam and board, while juggling jobs vs. the P12 athletes receiving $50k/year in benefits, earning college degrees and professional opportunities, and despite all that they're forming unions demanding even more is really thought provoking.

TomBear said:

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"... There was a period where Cal got lots of Laney players, all of whom turned out to be great Bears. Especially in the late '60s as I recall. They helped make Willsey's teams special..."

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It may have been called Oakland Junior College "The Tunderbirds" at that time (1965-66) ... pre-Merritt, pre-Laney, pre-Col of Alameda, pre-Vista/Berkeley CC, and pre-Feather River College.
Big John McGaffie (@ Cal 1967-68).
__

OJ CCSF (1965-66; @$uSC 1967-68).

PtownBear1 said:

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Just finished the season. I really enjoyed it.

The dichotomy between these JC kids who have to commute hours each day, pay for their own roam and board, while juggling jobs vs. the P12 athletes receiving $50k/year in benefits, earning college degrees and professional opportunities, and despite all that they're forming unions demanding even more is really thought provoking.

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What thoughts are they provoking? That cali JUCO kids should have more resources? That scholarship athletes should be allowed to advocate for their health and safety and a share of the massive $ pie that has grown obscenely over the last 25 years with nothing allocated to them? Seem like even more reasons for player rights and advocacy.

What about the dichotomy between these kids and the exponential growth in Power 5 coaching salaries, including multi-million dollar buyouts? About the facility arms race? There is always money for those things, but the players should be grateful for their scholarship and get none of the money that is flying around, off of their product. Pretty thought provoking indeed.

TomBear said:

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bearister, I agree with you that the MM version was superior. It was produced by Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone and I'm not sure of this but I think Van Dyke Parks was recruited to play the keyboards. Jan Errico, the drummer, was also the drummer for The Vegetables who had a very similar sound and a hit a year or two before with a song called "I still Love You", also a great pop gem.

Football-wise, I think someone pointed out that Cal has a great advantage over some other schools thanks to the JC system here. I'm not sure of this, but I think Oregon only has one JC still playing football (if that). I'm not aware of any JC football in Washington. So strictly from a west coast perspective, all Laney, Diablo Valley College, CCSF, Santa Rosa JC and Contra Costa JC players who qualify should be high on Cal radar.

There was a period where Cal got lots of Laney players, all of whom turned out to be great Bears. Especially in the late '60s as I recall. They helped make Willsey's teams special.

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Of course, Cal got away with "stashing players" in that era. It was against the rules then and is against the rules now.