Bear Insider Cal Weekly Grab Bag – June 19, 2026

Our weekly walkthrough of some of the most interesting stories of the week. Mainly football and basketball. Not always organic to Cal but relevant to the program’s current and future state…Like Ron Rivera says, “It’s interesting but not important”…still, some of it is entertaining.

This week an interview with Tosh, a JKS sit down with Yogi, where Beast Mode was born, National Mascot Day, disaster averted in Lubbock, the U.S. Congress nearing paydirt or a turnover on downs, a Cal Football Coach tribute, new construction on campus and a Phil Steele/Cal moment – and it’s good.

Tosh and Damon Bruce get it rockin’ – Tosh’s return, the culture build and one of his specialties. No spoiler alert here.

Yogi Roth, college football analyst, and Elite 11 QB coach, meets with JKS. From under-recruited 3 Star to true freshman phenom, his development, the late night meet and greet with Tosh, the Cal QB legacy and the season ahead.

Marshawn Lynch is a legend. Nate Longshore knows it. So do we. Cal, the NFL, the memories and the one memory indelible to his legacy…a post-game drive. True Beast mode.

On National Mascot Day, its Oski v Tree in a special game. I don’t have to tell you how this turns out.

Texas Tech learned a lesson in brand management as Brendan Sorsby, their beleaguered QB, dismissed his lawsuit against the NCAA and is leaving Texas Tech for the NFL supplemental draft. An unforced error corrected, thanks to an early morning Big 12 nudge.

The drama in the U.S. Senate continued this week with markup on the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA). One side wants stability at a cost, and the other side is pursuing chaos.  We present both sides. The pro:

The con. Its ugly:

If the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA) is signed into law without P2 concurrence, it risks a breakaway by the B1G/SEC and not in the way the PCSA anticipated. A clause in the Bill prohibits expansion to conferences with annual media rights revenue above $700M (B1G/SEC/ACC). If included in the law, it could have the unintended consequence of hastening B1G/SEC expansion by contraction, building a new conference with select teams with the highest media value from both conferences and leaving behind the teams with modest media value. The timing is not knowable, but if pursued, why wait for the next media rights window in the early 2030s?

Talk about chaos.

Former Cal Hall of Fame WR and current Assistant WR Coach, Geoff McArthur, shares the prominence of Cal’s new WR coach, Ike Hilliard.  We got a great one!

Cal Beach Volleyball breaks ground on its new home! 

Phil Steele earned the ire of BI readers recently, but you will find his takes below a lot more favorable.