BearTalk

Ben Enos on our staff confirmed tonight that Campolindo HS senior Griffin Piatt has chosen to play Cal football next fall as a preferred walk-on.

Here’s Ben’s blog report.

Former Cal quarterback Steve Bartkowski, who led the nation with 2,850 passing yards in 1974, then was the first overall pick of the 1975 NFL draft, was elected as a member of the 2012 College Football Hall of Fame Football Bowl Subdivision Class.

Bartkowski is among 14 former All-Americans and three coaches who make up the 2012 class.

“It’s an absolute honor, and I’m humbled by it, especially now that I hear some of the guys that are along with me in this class,” Bartkowski was quoted in Cal’s news release. “I’m absolutely thrilled. It’s one of the highest honors I’ve received, and I’m grateful for it.”

So, where does Bartkowski rate among the greatest Cal QBs?

It’s difficult comparing players from different eras, but starting an argument is the whole point of these lists, right?

So, let’s hear from all you.

Before you send me your top-10 list, here’s mine:

1. Aaron Rodgers (2003-04): Great college QB, great pro QB.

2. Steve Bartkowski (1972-74): Cal’s only No. 1 overall NFL draft pick delivered.

3. Troy Taylor (1986-89): Efficient, tough QB produced with limited help.

4. Mike Pawlawski (1988-91): Tough-guy leader of ’91 Citrus Bowl winner.

5. Pat Barnes (1993-96): Threw for school-record 3,499 yards, 34 TDs as senior. 

6. Craig Morton (1962-64): Good enough to be All-America on 3-7 team.

7. Joe Kapp (1956-58): Forget the rest – he was most recent Rose Bowl QB.

8. Joe Roth (1975-76): Directed a magical offensive unit in ’75.

9. Dave Barr (1992-94): Cool Concord kid was underrated, maybe even by me.

10. Rich Campbell (1978-80): Has to be a place for 7,174 yards, 64.5 percent.

   Honorable mention: Paul Larson (1951-54), Gale Gilbert (1980-84), Kyle Boller (1999-2002).

Cal senior Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton) was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week after throwing a complete-game shutout in the top-ranked Bears’ 5-0 title-clinching win over Arizona State last Saturday.

Arioto, 20-2 on the season, struck out 11 and walked just one in the victory that locked up Cal’s first outright conference title since 1987.

Cal opens play in the Berkeley regional of the NCAA tournament on Friday against Iona. First pitch is 7 p.m. at Levine-Fricke Field.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who left Cal for the NBA after one basketball season, doesn’t really need a college degree. After all, he earned somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million playing professional basketball, and a bachelors degree won’t really change that that equation.

But that’s exactly what Abdur-Rahim, 35, will be awarded on Monday morning in ceremonies at Zellerbach Hall.

And here’s what I think of that: Nice going.

Abdur-Rahim was the most gifted scorer I’ve ever seen play for Cal. He walked in the door and scored at least 30 points in each of his first three college games. He averaged 21.1 points per game as a freshman.

Then he left for the NBA, and was the third player picked in the 1996 draft. If the purpose of attending college is to prepare for a career, Abdur-Rahim did that better than most.

But he wasn’t content to attend classes for just one year, then begin collecting his NBA paycheck. Now an assistant general manager for the Sacramento Kings, Abdur-Rahim said in a statement that finishing his degree always has been his intention.

According to Jason Jones’ blog in the Sacramento Bee, Shareef compiled a 3.8 grade-point average on the path to his sociology degreee, which will provide a tremendous example to Atlanta area youth involved with his Future Foundation in his home state.

“Receiving my degree will be an extremely proud moment for me and my family,” Abdur-Rahim said. “I hope it will also help inspire many of the students our foundation proudly serves and encourages.”

Abdur-Rahim averaged 18.1 points during a 12-year NBA career. He was an All-Star. He won a gold-medal at the 2000 Olympics.

But his most impressive achievement may be the one that is being recognized Monday morning at Zellerbach Hall.

It’s the one he didn’t need to accomplish, but did anyway.

UPDATED

The Cal softball team (50-4) has earned the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA tournament and will host a regional, beginning Friday at Levine-Fricke Field.

The Pac-12 champion Golden Bears will face Iona (25-24) in the first NCAA tournament game played at Berkeley. Game time is 7 p.m.

Arkansas (27-26) and Boston U (40-14) also are headed to the Bay Area.

The double-elimination regional runs Friday through Sunday.

The winner of the Berkeley Regional will play the champion of the Seattle Regional, which features No. 16 seed Washington (36-17), Harvard (33-13), Maryland (34-20) and Texas Tech (40-15).

If the Bears win the regional, they also will host the Super Regional a week later. 

 All-session passes will go on sale Monday at 9 a.m. All-sessions passes cost $55, $40 and $25 (for senior/youth tickets). Tickets will be available through www.calbears.com.

Here’s the Cal official news release.

The Cal women’s rowing team swept the varsity eight, second varsity eight, varsity four and novice eight races to capture their fifth straight Pac-12 Conference championship.

Cal’s men finished second behind two-time champ Washington.

– TRACK AND FIELD: Junior Derek White finished second in the discus at the Pac-12 championships in Eugene, Ore. He threw 187 feet, 6 inches, a personal best by seven feet. Teammate Angelica Weaver finished second in the 400 hurdles with a personal-best time of 57.85 seconds that equals the No. 2 mark in school history.

– BASEBALL: No. 10 Arizona (33-15, 16-8 Pac-12) completed a sweep of the Golden Bears (25-22, 9-15) with a 7-4 win at Berkeley. Freshman Brenden Farney had a two-run double for the Bears.

By my count, Sami Eleraky will become the 17th foreign-born player to join the Cal basketball team over the past three decades. If I missed someone, I know I’ll hear about it.

Past experience suggests we can’t know what impact the 6-foot-11 center from Copenhagen, Denmark will have with the Bears.

The previous 16 get mixed reviews:

– Bak Bak: Still one year left for the Sudanese-born, Kenyan-raised forward to show what he can bring.

– Richard Chang: Born in Taiwan, he played on Kevin Johnson’s teams in the 1980s with marginal impact.  

– Francisco Elson: Quick and agile center from the Netherlands was more effective when he reached the NBA, where he has earned more than $12 million.

– Jordi Geli: Forward from Spain never was more than a practice player for the Bears, and even that didn’t last.

– Shahar Gordon: Rugged forward from Israel played two seasons as a reserve before returning home.

– Brendan Graves: Canadian center transferred to Santa Clara, where he became a solid starter.

– Jorge Gutierrez: Reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year from Mexico was Cal’s greatest hoops import.

– Nikola Knezevic: Excitable guard from Serbia-Montenegro always seemed poised to make a breakthrough. Never quite happened.

– Kari Kulonen: Was once described as “the Finnish Magic Johnson.” Never a good idea. He had five assists and 10 turnovers in his one season (1985) at Berkeley.

– Saulius Kuzminskas: If you even remember this one-season (2001) forward from Lithuania, consider yourself a diehard.

– Sean Marks: Skilled forward from New Zealand averaged 9.8 points as a senior in 1997-98, then collected NBA paychecks from six teams over 11 seasons, albeit mostly as a practice player. Nothing wrong with that.

– Richard Midgley: Shooting guard from England never topped the game-winning shot he made vs. NC State in the 2003 NCAA tournament opener, but he scored 1,176 career points for the Bears. 

– Emerson Murray: Canadian guard has transferred to the Seattle U after working hard but never carving out a spot with Bears. His departure helped create scholarship room for Eleraky. 

– Hartmut Ortmann: German forward played three seasons off the bench in the late 1980s.

– Amit Tamir: Soft-shooting Israeli forward scored 1,055 points in three seasons, including 39 in memorable double-overtime win over Oregon in 2002.

– Max Zhang: Huge fan favorite, the 7-foot-2 native of China was on the doorstep of figuring things out when the national team kept him home in the fall of 2010.

Cal sophomore Collin Jarvis won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Pac-12 track and field championships at Eugene, Ore. Jarvis ran a personal-best time of 8 minutes, 48.05 seconds.

Sophomore Hammed Suleman, formerly of Deer Valley HS, placed second in the long jump with a wind-aided mark of 25 feet, 5 1/2 inches. Teammates Jonte Grant and Chase Wheeler were fifth and sixth, respectively, at 25-0 3/4 and 25-0 1/2. Grant’s performance was a nine-inch personal best.

Linda Oseso placed sixth in the women’s hammer throw with a personal best toss of 193-11.

The meet concludes Sunday.

– BASEBALL: The Bears (25-21, 9-14 Pac-12) lost 4-1 to No. 10 Arizona (32-15, 15-8), despite Tony Renda’s fifth home run of the season.

Cal added to its frontcourt depth with the signing of Sami Eleraky, a 6-foot-11, 240-pound center from Copenhagen, Denmark, assistant coach John Montgomery reported on his Twitter account.

Cal discovered Eleraky last summer during its preseason tour of northern Europe. Eleraky did not play on the Danish national team the Bears faced, but the connection that led to his signing began at that point.

Eleraky, who will be eligible to play next season, averaged 4.5 points and 5.3 rebounds for the Danish team at the under-18 European Championships last summer. The year before, playing in the same event, he averaged 2.3 points and 5.9 rebounds, including a 10-point, 17-rebound effort vs. Luxembourg.

He played this past season for the Aalborg Vikings of the Danish league, averaging 6.0 points and 5.8 rebounds, according to the website Eurobasket.com.

Eleraky, who turns 19 later this month, also considered Texas, Marquette and Virginia Tech, according to Scout.com.

The day after clinching their first Pac-12 Conference outright title since 1987, the No. 1  Cal women’s softball team (50-4, 21-3) lost 5-0 to No. 2 Arizona State (46-7, 18-4) in the regular-season finale at Levine-Fricke Field. 

Cal junior pitcher Jolene Henderson lost for just the second time against 30 victories.

The Bears managed just five hits.