Georgia and three Big Ten schools are contending to land California Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza
The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top contenders to land a commitment from California Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza is considered a four-star transfer prospect.
247Sports ranks Mendoza as the nation’s second-best quarterback in the transfer portal and the No. 9 overall prospect.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound sophomore has two years of eligibility left. Mendoza helped California go 6-6 in their first season in the ACC and advance to the LA Bowl.
Mendoza passed for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2024. His QBR of 64.2 is ranked No. 53 in the country. Mendoza would bring experience to Georgia’s quarterback room. The sophomore was sacked 41 times this season with Cal and would likely get much better protection at UGA.
He’d compete with Gunner Stockton for the starting role at Georgia. Georgia’s 2023 starter, Carson Beck, suffered an elbow injury in the SEC championship. Beck has one year of eligibility left, but he was expected to enter the 2025 NFL draft prior to his injury.
Indiana, UCLA and Wisconsin are all also contenders to land Mendoza.
One of the top amateurs speaks about his experience at the LIV Golf Promotions event.
Sampson Zheng was one of four amateurs to tee it up last week in the 2023 LIV Golf Promotions event, but his resume was the deepest of them all.
He won the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Kiawah Island last summer and finished as a co-medalist at the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills. A senior at Cal, Zheng is also in the PGA Tour University rankings for 2024, which gives top college seniors a chance at PGA Tour membership as well as eligibility and starts on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Americas.
However, last week Zheng traveled to Abu Dhabi and played in the LIV Golf Promotions event. He was exempt into the second round and was one of 20 players – and the only amateur – to make the 36-hole final. He finished T-11, one shot out of earning status on the Asian tour.
Zheng spoke with Golfweek about his decision to play in the LIV Golf Promotions event, his experience last week and more.
The winner gets an exemption into the 2024 Masters as well as the Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Sampson Zheng didn’t let gusty winds affect his pursuit of perfection.
The senior at California carded one of only two under-par rounds Saturday at the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur at Royal Melbourne in Australia, and he did so in record-setting fashion. Zheng shot 6-under 65, breaking the amateur Composite Course record to take a lead with 18 holes to play and major exemptions on the line.
Zheng began the day T-13 and six shots back. One eagle, six birdies and two bogeys later, he has a four-shot lead in pursuit of a life-changing victory.
Earlier this year, Zheng won the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball title and tied for medalist honors at the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club outside of Denver. Playing his best on the biggest stages is no surprise, but his performance Saturday stands out.
“It feels really nice,” Zheng said. “I mean, to be able to shoot 65 like I did in the condition like this today where everyone else is not having the best, it feels even more special.”
In August, Zheng was a part of the winning Asia-Pacific team to win the Bonallack Trophy in Spain. The person who held the Composite Course record at Royal Melbourne? Sir Michael Bonallack, as well as first-round leader Kazuma Kobori, who tied the 5-under 66 mark Thursday.
Zheng leads by four over home favorite Billy Dowling, who has four wins since August and is making his first appearance in the Asia-Pacific Amateur.
The winner gets an exemption into the 2024 Masters as well as the Open Championship at Royal Troon. They will also be exempt from qualifying for the Amateur Championship.
In wake of Raheem Layne’s season-ending injury, the Chargers claimed Jaylinn Hawkins off waivers from the Falcons.
To make room for Hawkins, Los Angeles placed Layne on the injured reserve list.
Hawkins, a 2020 fourth-round pick, had 124 tackles, four interceptions, nine passes defended, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery across 48 games with 22 starts, most of them coming last season (16).
Hawkins spent his collegiate career at California, where he posted 158 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, ten interceptions, seven pass breakups and three forced fumbles.
Hawkins can play the deep part of the field, come down in the box and line up in the slot.
With Alohi Gilman still dealing with a heel injury, Hawkins could see the field as early as this weekend against the Chiefs.
The campaign has raised more than $150,000 toward breast cancer research.
Nancy McDaniel found herself back in a hospital bed in July, battling cancer for a second time, and realized that she needed to get moving again. It started with a short walk down the hall.
“Anybody who would come visit, I would say, you have to walk me,” said McDaniel, the longtime Cal women’s golf coach, with a laugh.
At home, friends would come in the morning, at noon and at 5 o’clock to walk with her to the end of the street, and eventually, around the block. The walking helped her physically, but the connection meant everything.
So far, the Play For Her campaign, tied to this week’s Stanford Intercollegiate, has raised more than $150,000 toward breast cancer research. One of the longest-running tournaments in college golf, the Oct. 20-22 event is hosted by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, who lost her own mother, Angelena, to breast cancer in 1985.
McDaniel cried when Walker called to ask if they could dedicate this year’s event to her. Funds will go directly to McDaniel’s oncologist, Dr. Hope Rugo, and her research at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“We have 120 women in the field,” said Walker. “Statistically, one in eight women get diagnosed in their lifetime. You do the quick math on that … 15 kids in the field are going to battle breast cancer in their lifetime. So if we can educate them and make them more aware, maybe of those 15, a couple more will have better outcomes because they’ve had earlier intervention.”
First diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, McDaniel was high-fiving with her doctor last June about being cancer-free. Weeks later, she found out the cancer had returned in her stomach.
Nancy McDaniel enjoys a round of golf with her husband Jay and their kids Molly (24) and Tyler (26). (courtesy photo)
McDaniel, a 56-year-old mother of two, started chemotherapy again in August and took a leave of absence from coaching. She’s scheduled to return to work on Nov. 1.
Associate coach Beverly Terry has taken over the reins in the meantime, with Katie Mitchell helping onsite at tournaments. Husband Jay, head professional at Claremont Country Club, helps out as a volunteer assistant, in addition to anchoring her support system.
“(Bev) is just a poster coach for compassion,” said McDaniel of Terry, now in her ninth season with the Bears.
Cal coach Nancy McDaniel played college golf at Washington for longtime coach Mary Lou Mulflur, now in her 41st year of coaching. (courtesy Washington athletics)
McDaniel was part of Washington coach Mary Lou Mulflur’s first recruiting class in the mid-1980s, earning All-American status and competing on professional tours around the world before becoming the founding head coach at Cal in 1994.
“I would take a thousand just like her in a heartbeat,” said Mulflur, who donated a sizable check to the Play for Her campaign.
McDaniel doesn’t want her players or her 24-year-old daugther, Molly, to have to worry about breast cancer. But she also wants them to understand the importance of being an advocate in their own health journey. To pay attention to toxins in their food, in cleaning products and in what they put on their bodies. And to stay ahead of screenings and self-tests.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and McDaniel wants the next generation to understand and embrace the platform they have around breast cancer and other important issues.
“This takes courage,” she notes, “and it is your opportunity to affect the bigger picture.”
Washington assistant coach Anna Temple chose to play for McDaniel at Cal because she wanted to get better. She knew McDaniel would create an environment that would challenge, and she learned to appreciate that even more when she returned to Cal to work for McDaniel as an assistant coach.
Now that she’s working alongside Mulflur at Washington, Temple sees where much of what has been passed down to her got started. The connection carries on through the generations.
This week at Stanford, all generations are working toward one goal that pushes beyond the scorecard.
“Golf is a very tight-knit community,” said Temple. “It’s not surprising to me at all that Anne is using this event for a purpose that’s bigger than all of us.”
Things have been awfully quiet with further conference expansion, but some sources think the Big Ten may not be done.
The college football landscape is continuously changing and the arrival of the super conferences sure seems inevitable. The Big Ten has already poached the Pac-12 for UCLA and USC, and all signs point to the Big Ten not being finished with its western expansion.
According to a recent article by Saturday Out West, a source stated they believe the Big Ten isn’t done poaching the Pac-12.
“If anyone thinks the Big Ten isn’t coming back for more, they’re not following along,” the source told Saturday Out West.
It’s hard to see a clear path for Pac-12 long-term relevancy, and it also makes sense the Big Ten would continue to add schools to make traveling a tad less harsh for its only two West Coast programs who are set to begin play in 2024.
The departure of former Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren makes this situation more intriguing and perhaps a little clunky. However, it still feels like a matter of time before we see the Big Ten add more out west. Cal, Oregon, Stanford and Washington have been rumored in the not-too-distant past.
(Me ever since the Oklahoma and Texas to SEC announcement …)
"But Marge, the Big Ten hasn't done anything lately in expansion. Look at it. It's going to do something and you KNOW it's gonna be good." pic.twitter.com/61HYRfJxQx
Just when you think nothing is going on with further expansion is usually the time when talks are going on behind the scenes. Could that be the case again?
The Golden State Warriors debuted their new uniforms on Tuesday, and many fans had the same reaction when they first saw the design.
Golden State’s new jerseys, which Rakuten sponsors, use a different color scheme than what you may expect when you think of the Warriors. These uniforms have a much darker blue than fans are accustomed to seeing from the reigning champions.
While these are only the “Statement Edition” uniforms, which means they won’t be a regular fixture for Golden State, it’s still a surprising choice for the Warriors.
Take a look and see if they remind you of anything:
If you were like me, you immediately thought of UC Berkeley. These reminded me a lot of the California Bears uniforms, which at least makes some sense because they’re one of the closest colleges to the Warriors in the Bay Area.
Even the official Twitter account for Cal Men’s Basketball agreed:
But many fans also associated this with the University of Michigan.
There is a reason why some people see the similarity, though. Both schools have the same shade of blue, Pantone 282, in their official brand guides. You can see Cal’s here and Michigan’s here.
Golden State guard Jordan Poole played college basketball for Michigan, so lots of fans made the same joke about how he may have had an influence in the design process:
Shaw played three seasons for the Badgers, totaling 28 games played, 202 carries, 938 yards and 10 touchdowns. His 2017 year as the compliment to then-freshman Jonathan Taylor was the most impressive, though a torn ACL forced him to miss the 2018 season and he never was able to return to his same role.
The Los Angeles Chargers have their eyes on a mid-round linebacker.
The Chargers could be looking to add more pieces to the linebacker room in the upcoming draft.
According to Draft Wire’s Justin Melo, Los Angeles has facetimed with former California linebacker Evan Weaver.
Weaver, the 6-foot-3 and 237 pounder played in 49 career games, starting in 31 of them. He started his collegiate career as a defensive end, but then moved to the linebacker position his sophomore campaign.
Weaver projects as a Mike linebacker at the next level. His ability to stop the run inside the box is what he will flourish at, along with his instincts in zone coverage.
In four seasons, Weaver was one of the most productive linebackers in the country, amassing 407 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 11 passes defensed, 8.5 sacks and two interceptions.
Weaver currently projects as a fourth or fifth-round selection.
Oh, hello. Evan Weaver laying the wood vs BYU. One of the top LBs in the Pac-12 and a name to watch in the 2020 NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/YK5JVK9oCI
