The Morning Haul: 11/2

I’m not a huge fan of media days. In both football and basketball, I mostly feel like it is a ton of coach speak and useless sports cliches spread together to last an entire afternoon of press coverage. Still, I think it’s worth mentioning that it’s awesome to see Abdul Gaddy in a total leadership role this year. This team will count on him, and I truly believe this team will go as far as Gaddy takes them. It isn’t just about his stats. He doesn’t need to score 15 points a game to be successful, he just needs to run the team, pass well, and knock down shots when momentum is swinging towards the other side. Even if he has been questioned by the fan base before, I think he’s ready to do just that this year.

Stories Especially Worth Reading:

Dawg Pound special teams review, the third part of a three part series previewing the Cal Bears.

An article covering the Pac-12 Media Day, as mentioned above. I know the media day was yesterday, but I honestly have to say, those things are outrageously useless in almost all aspects, so I’ll just pass on other information rather than trying to rehash it.

A pair of articles from Bob Condotta, one on how ideal Cal is as an opponent for the Huskies right now, and another his pick for the game. Both of them are moderately optimistic.