BearTalk

Jeff Tedford will coach his 100th game at Cal on Saturday. Only two other coaches in Cal history have coached more — Pappy Waldorf (103) and Stub Allison (102).

Tedford downplayed the significance of the milestone.

“When we win 100 games, that might be significant,” he said. “The 100th game is great and I’m very proud to be here and excited to be here. That’s great, but it really plays no significant role in the game.”

Also, with a win Saturday, Tedford will tie Waldorf for most wins by a Cal coach in the modern era. Tedford currently is 66-33 in his eight-year career. Waldorf went 67-32-4 from 1947-56.

“The game is for the players, for the seniors,” Tedford said. “It has nothing to do with me. It’s more about what their accomplishments are.”

If you go back before the modern era, Tedford ranks fourth all-time at Cal. Andy Smith is first with 74 wins from 1916-25, James Schaeffer is second with 73 (1909-15) and then Waldorf.

Good news on the health front tonight for the Bears. It looks like nose tackle Derrick Hill will finally return after missing the past three games with a stinger. Coach Jeff Tedford said Hill will be limited but will “be in uniform and ready to go.”

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This report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal listed Cal offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig as a possible candidate for the UNLV head coaching job. Ludwig said tonight that he has not been contacted about the job and isn’t interested.

“I have no reaction to it,” he said. “Nobody has called me. I haven’t talked to anybody from the university.”

And when asked if Ludwig would be interested if he was indeed contacted, he said: “Not at this time in my career. I’m just trying to beat Stanford.”

Wanted to give you a quick feel for yesterday’s Guardsmen Luncheon, which was held at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. As always, comedian Bob Sarlatte was the emcee and was entertaining. In attendance on the Cal side were coach Jeff Tedford, athletic director Sandy Barbour, left tackle Mike Tepper, safety Brett Johnson and radio announcer Joe Starkey. Stanford had coach Jim Harbaugh, athletic director Bob Bowlsby, safety Bo McNally, tight end Jim Dray and radio announcer Dave Flemming.

Both bands and cheerleaders took turns providing entertainment during the hour-long reception before the lunch. After lunch, each radio announcer did short interviews with the players and we heard from both coaches.

The highlight of the luncheon came after Johnson told Starkey he was majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in human sexuality. Sarlatte didn’t waste any time taking advantage of that little tidbit of information. When he took the podium the next time, he informed the crowd that Johnson would be “putting on an extra credit seminar downstairs in the Tonga Room.”

A sampling of what Jahvid Best had to say yesterday during his first full meeting with the press since his injury against Oregon State on Nov. 7:

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• Jahvid Best speaks extensively for the first time since his injury.
• If you have DirecTv, you might want to consider going somewhere else to watch Saturday’s game.
• Pete Carroll apparently doesn’t get as much of a kick out of his relationship with Jim Harbaugh as Harbaugh does.
• ESPN.com’s Ted Miller weighs in on the Big Game.

Jahvid Best held his first full media session tonight since his scary injury against Oregon State on Nov. 7. He had spoken briefly with Versus TV before Saturday night’s game against Arizona, but tonight was the first time he spoke at length since the injury.

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Our weekly live chat is Thursday, 1-2 p.m. Hope to see everyone there.

Some believe Cal will be facing one of the best, if not the best, quarterbacks in the country on Saturday.

Here’s my story from this morning on Cal’s excitement level in anticipation of playing Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

One correction, though, courtesy of Cal radio man Roxie Bernstein, who reminds me that senior forward Jamal Boykin played at the Garden when he was at Duke.

– Marcus Simmons shows he’s ready to provide USC with an offensive boost.

– Arizona State has its own trip to Madison Square Garden on the calendar, and the Sun Devils are amped.