I will weigh in on this although I have not practiced in some time. Generally speaking the player assumes the risk of an injury that is reasonably expected could happen in the course of the athletic contest. So in volley ball, a poke in the eye, a crash injury at the net, even a broken leg, or any sort of injury the player should reasonably expect as part of the game he or she is playing, could be raised as the defense of “Assumption of the Risk” to the claims of negligence by the defendant, i.e. Oregon in this case. But here, a loose umbrella in the wind that had previously been removed from the court, and then put back on the court by the assistant coach which then became loose again and severely lacerated the face of the athlete,, that would not be a risk that the volleyball player would reasonably assume as part of the accept risks of the contest. So, no “Assumption of the Risk” defense in this case IMHO.

I am far from an expert on such matters but I remember reading somewhere that the basic strategy for an FBS team to win versus a FCS team, no matter the skill Level is of the FCS team, is to wear them down with your depth. In the fourth quarter try and get the FCS team so worn down that the win is an easy one, as they usually are. So for the Aggies, they better be in tip top shape against Cal or its going to be a long, long day in the Bay for our Ags. No doubt our coaches are very aware of this.

I wondered the same thing but probably it is a very pricey location for what is basically a sports bar. It is in a prime location and a valuable asset for Amazon to keep hold of (which they apparently are). God knows that Amazon is not hurting for cash so maybe a deal could be worked out. Brand it : ”The Amazon Ballroom.’” OK I’m a little nostalgically impaired at this point. Please give slack. . .

Well, when we see the average rents we will actually know. For now I am skeptical that this is “primarily a student residential project”.

Is this new student housing or not? Probably not, It’s likely an upscale senior living community. You can see this trend all over the country. Seniors want to live in college towns. Not just the college towns they went to, but just “a college town”. Why? The activities, the students, the youthful ness, the activities, the sense of being somewhere significant, and generally, they are very nice places to live. Which is now also Davis, California. Didn’t you see all the big new development proposed for around the Sutter West Hospital. The expansion of University Retirement Community is very well on its way to getting done. Hey, i would apply.probably not get in. The costs are very expensive. These tend to be very wealthy people.

Doesn’t look like Sheffield was forced out but that he wanted to pursue other goals related to the next Olympics. Does anyone know if he was offered to re-up?

Pele Gianotti’s Heidelburg BasCats team won their league title this year. This means they move up to Germany’s Bundesliga 1 level. According to their coach “Pele had a great year!” Good job Pele and we are very proud of you!

I was wrong on two major points in my last post. 1) the new waiver rules are not allowing just “crybaby stuff.” They do require some new documentation and evidence not required before; example: a player who wants to transfer due to an ailing relative must document that with medical evidence and that the institution they are transferring to is within 100 miles of the relative; and more but still some crybaby stuff- see ESPN article above. 2) the new TP rules are NOT open to public view. Only the coaches and the ADs can see them. This is the next controversy that will come out of this whole issue. The NOT Open view is based upon the so-called “blow back” problem. This is the expected hostile retaliation felt by the TP athlete by the administration and their team mates which “must be avoided.” The OPEN position is obvious: truth must and should always come out and the NCAA and colleges are not a secrecy oriented operations. Look what secrets leak our of our own government. And, as to Yanez, what did her team mates feel when they found out, after the fact, that they were playing their hearts out for a TP player? Not real good! Anyway, our old friend Gary Patterson put it this way: “its the beginning of the end”- free agency for college athletes. Anyway sorry for my less than accurate former post. Research before you post. Violated my own rule.

So now this issue is finally being picked up in the main stream media. The Enterprise article was extremely wanting in its coverage or depth but at least it put it out. Best site to really get a handle on this whole thing is the NCAA website under “Transfer Portal. (TP)” But guess what its not about softball. It’s about football. About 400-500 football players are now on the TP. They are mostly all QBs and RBs who really want to get their game “out there” for all to see and up their visibility for the pros. The new waiver rules will allow a transfer without a 1 year sit if they “qualify” i.e. “my coach left the team coaches don't let me play enough my coach disrespected me etc. some very crybaby stuff. .Every one from Nick Sabin and others have condemned this change. The TP will be completely public so every player on a team will know when one of their team mates wants to transfer out. This is not good for a teams cohesiveness or strength. NCAA admits “downsides;” players will object to TP teams mates and will not play for them or will exclude them from social activities. My guess is that this is why Juarez announced on the last day of classes. Aggies not happy with their one time star who they played their hearts out for only to leave for “better pastures’.” Again not a really good move by NCAA. Your thoughts?

I did some quick research on this issue. This new softball transfer rule just went into effect Oct 15, 2018. It’s intent was to actually stop “tampering” or poaching players. It’s effect has been to cause “absolute chaos” according to Trisha Ford the head coach at Arizona State (which went to the 2018 WCWS). Ford has lost 7 players since the rule went into effect including AA pitcher Giselle Juarez to OK. That was particularly galling since she is a very charismatic and popular AZ local product recruited by Ford. If there is any satisfaction as it relates to our situation it may be that Oregon, the 2018 PAC-12 softball champion, has been hit as hard as ASU and has lost 6 players to the new transfer rule, including All PAC-12 pitcher Miranda Eilish to Texas. So, you can see what Oregon’s response to our situation will be: “Sorry, we feel your pain but we really aren't that sorry for your pain. Go out and poach for yourself!” Lastly, D1 softball allows for 12 schollies. UCD has a 25 person roster, Oregon 18. So most players are not on full schollie, EXCEPT (big exception here) very good pitchers!! So if Yanez was not on full schollie at Davis, I guess we all would have to say that she actually had little choice but to take the Oregon offer. It’s a whole other deal if we had her on full schollie. I’m afraid that we will never get to know the answer. Anyway, maybe the NCAA should give this rule another look at their next meeting. Any thoughts?

OK learned something new today. Still hope that Blue makes a phone call to voice his feelings about this poaching practice. Not good at all.

D-1 to D-1. How is she “immediately eligible in 2020”?

Yes this does indeed suck. We find her recruit her, develop her, support her, and then she leaves us and Oregon takes her away because she’s so good. But, she has to sit a year and maybe get a little fat and never come back to what she was here. Oregon is a tough place for a Yanez type person. In my humble opinion: very bad move for Yanez. Well i hope she does well. Who the hell knows? We just move on to our next star which we will have very soon.

YES, THIS COULD BE VERY DEPRESSING FOR THE TEAM. IS THIS A SCHOLARSIP THING? DID WE GIVE HER A FULL? DOES ANYONE IN WSB D1 GET A FULL? IT IS REALLY SORRY TO SEE A D1 PROGRAM LIKE OREGON TAKE ANOTHER D1 PLAYER LIKE THIS. NOT GOOD FOR THE SPORT IMHO.

We may be a bit behind the times. SEC just approved the general sale of alcohol at all league events. TAM to sell alcohol to the general public next football season; I guess just like going to a 49er game. League says this will be a benefit and will prevent “binge drinking” before games. OK, I guess so. . . . Only in Texas?

More on the Leslie Gottlieb- Cal WBB coach situation. Although she was mostly a well liked and admired coach, many Cal WBB fans are not that unhappy that she is leaving. She was a very highly paid coach of a non-revenue sport (maybe highest in the PAC-12?) and did very well in her first years at Cal, but in the second half of her tenure at Cal she was only 56-52 and all along had what was thought to be among the most highly talented and athletic teams in the PAC-12. Yes, the Cal job would be attractive to anyone, but it would be a tough job. Already there are some decommits and transfers out. As for the salary question, one Cal fan said it best Cal cannot pay it (Gottlieb’s salary) to the new coach because “we are broke!” Thats for another story, but it is true Cal’s entire athletic program is in big financial trouble and will effect the recruiting process.

Cal friend’s comment on this development: “Cal hires a Davis Coach? Give me a frig- - - break.” ; he later adds: “no. Never. They are way too petty and dumb to do something smart like that. Remember back in the day when Stanford actually considered hiring Jim Sochor as their new football coach? The alumni had a fit (led by John Brodie) said Jim was not “Stanford material.” Be forever grateful for unasked for stupidity that actually aids you.

UC Berkeleys Woman’s head BB coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, was just hired by the Cleveland Cavs. First woman to be an assistant coach in the NBA. This is great, but I am now extremely nervous with a vacancy like that so close our WBB program.

The only person who could find out why this actually happened is Bob Dunning and he seems not to be real interested. Actually, the lease could be why they were not making money and maybe was a way the present ownership could force them out. If so, very bad PR for the ownership people. Also, didn’t they have another place in Chico? Or am I confusing them with someone else. In any case, this is a very bad development for Davis and the student population. “The Grad” was an only in Davis type institution. I dearly hope someone will step up with a replacement; but the location was such a major part of its popularity and I guess that’s just gone at this point. Very sad indeed.

The divorce? The lease? Can’t be that they weren’t making money. Is there any hope someone else could take it over. So sad. Bob D. Never got on this. Bet he will new.