BearTalk

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.

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.

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.

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.

The top-ranked Cal women’s softball team rode a six-hit pitching performance by Valerie Arioto to a 5-0 win over No. 2 Arizona State, clinching its first outright Pac-12 championship since 1987. Cal shared the conference title in 2005.

The Golden Bears (50-3, 21-2) also almost assuredly wrapped up the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Cal has been ranked No. 1 in both polls for seven consecutive weeks, and now owns back-to-back victories over the Sun Devils (45-7, 17-4).

The teams meet a third time on Saturday at noon at Levine-Fricke Field, but the league championship race has been settled.

Arioto (Foothill High), whose walk-off, 2-run homer in the seventh inning provided the Bears a 4-2 win on Thursday, struck out 11 and walked one while improving to 20-2.

Cal scored single runs in the second and fourth innings on RBI singles by freshman Danielle Henderson. The Bears added three runs in the fifth on a 2-run single by Elia Reid and a sacrifice fly by Danielle Henderson, who had a three-RBI day.

Pleasanton’s Valerie Arioto’s two-run, walk-off home run with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning carried No. 1 Cal (49-3, 20-2 Pac-12) to a 4-2 win over No. 2 Arizona State (45-6, 17-3) to open their three-game series at Levine-Fricke Field in Berkeley.

The Bears can clinch their first outright Pac-12 title since 1987 and likely the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA tournament with a win over the Sun Devils on Friday afternoon.

ASU led 2-0 before Cal scored twice in the bottom of the sixth on consecutive bases-loaded walks to Danielle Henderson and Victoria Jones to tie the score.

In the seventh, Jamia Reid led off with a bunt single and scored when Arioto hit the second pitch for a homer, pushing her single-season school-record total to 22.  

Arioto has 53 career home runs, just two off the all-time record held by Veronica Nelson (2000-03). She also has 183 career RBIs, eight shy of the school record.

Junior Jolene Henderson struck out eight and posted the victory, improving her record to 30-1.

Friday’s game begins at 3 p.m. The teams close the regular season Saturday with a noon game.

The NCAA tournament field will be announced Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.

The top-ranked Cal women’s softball team begins a three-game series vs. No. 2 Arizona State on Thursday at Levine-Fricke Field above Memorial Stadium.

Ten years after the Golden Bears won their only national championship in the sport, is this team actually better?

Meanwhile, athletic director Sandy Barbour believes it’s “a no-brainer” that Cal will be chosen Sunday for the first time to host an NCAA regional. “How do you deny the No. 1 team in the country if we meet the criteria?” Barbour said.

Finally, Cal stars Valerie Arioto and Jolene Henderson are finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. Arizona State’s Katelyn Boyd is also among the 11 finalists.

Pac-12 Conference football coaches won’t know what to think about a proposed four-team national championship playoff until they get the details.

“The questions all of us had are how are the teams going to be picked,” Oregon coach Chip Kelly said on a Pac-12 coaches teleconference Tuesday. “No one really has that answer. Until you get that answer, I reserve judgment on whether it’s good system or a bad system.”

New Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said the topic was discussed at length during Pac-12 meetings last week in Arizona. “The biggest thing is how is it going to get voted on, who’s going to make the decision on who’s 1 through 4?” he said.

The tide seems to have turned from the much-criticized Bowl Championship Series format to a playoff. A proposed four-team playoff would begin in 2014.

Until the nitty gritty is hammered out, most coaches aren’t quite sure what to think.

“There’s a lot of questions that need to be answered,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said.

Tedford is among the coaches who favor an eight-team playoff over a four-team setup.

“One of the sentiments is an eight-team playoff probably gives everyone an equal chance,” he said. “I don’t know if you’re ever going to have a situation where everyone is happy.

“If we’re going to do the playoff thing, let’s do it whole-heartedly and go after it.”

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