BearTalk

The last couple regular season practices of the season are winding down at chilly Memorial Stadium. The Bears will have more practice time for the bowl game, but there is something significant about the end of the regular season, especially for the seniors.

The first part of bowl practices typically are for the younger players, as coaches use the bonus practice time to get a head start on the future. This is one of the last times the seniors will practice in the conventional sense on their home field.

“It’s the last time those guys are going to be able to compete here in this stadium and walk down that tunnel,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said after practice tonight. “As we get closer to the end of the week, that stuff will start to really resonate with them and have a lot of meaning.”

Catching up on the injury front, safety Brett Johnson has returned to practice after missing the Big Game with a shoulder injury. He’s still in a yellow jersey but figures to be back Saturday. Whether he starts is another story. We should know more about his status tomorrow.

Not much more to report on the bowl front. Emerald Bowl executive director Gary Cavalli said today that he is “very close” to coming to an agreement with the Las Vegas Bowl. It’s unclear whether that agreement involves a guarantee that Cal will play in San Francisco. Cavalli said he would like that to be the agreement, but wouldn’t divulge any more specifics.

An official announcement of bowl assignments can’t come until after the games are done Saturday because in the unlikely event that UCLA upsets USC, things could change. That would put Oregon State in the Rose Bowl, USC in the Holiday Bowl, and likely Cal in the Sun Bowl (Oregon played in the Sun Bowl last year and the bowl likely would invoke its no-repeat clause and take the Bears over the Ducks). But, of course, this is not a likely scenario.