When Best, the Golden Bears' star back, vaulted over Cameron Collins into the end zone, he guaranteed himself a place on highlight reels. And when he tumbled midair, coming down on his shoulder and neck, he pretty much guaranteed I will never ever let my children play football.

Scarier still were Best's limbs going stiff, as an analyst explained that "abnormal posturing" is a sign the brain has lost contact with the body. That's a phrase you never want to hear on an injury report. But oddly enough, that was reassuring, as it's a reaction seen in many a boxing and MMA knockout victim. And sure enough, Best suffered only a concussion, and not any spinal injuries.

As Best's uniform was literally cut off of him, and he was wheeled off with an oxygen mask as players on both sidelines prayed, we could be forgiven for fearing the worst.

I've never seen anybody that high in the air on the football field," [fullback Brian] Holley said later. "The way he fell, I knew immediately he had to be hurt. I saw his face and nothing was there. He had a blank stare and his arms were stiff."

This is Best's second concussion in eight days, which means that, despite the surprisingly good prognosis, he probably should be nowhere near a football field for the rest of the season. But at least the spectacular video can be shown on Deadspin, and not Faces of Death.

Scary Injury In Another Loss To OSU [SF Chronicle]

Hi, my name is Rob from Blazing With Phelps and I'm blogging into you LIVE from beautiful Annapolis, Md. I hope you like my attempts to look funny. If you don't, then my name is Greg from Blazing With Phelps.

I'm also going to attempt the Sussman Special of the little pictures with the score thing. So we'll see if my degree of difficulty can offset some of my execution score.

This is a game between the streaky team I root for in Maryland and a Cal team that just seems really boring. Cal brings guard Jerome Randle, who is very good at three-point shooting, and we counter with Greivis Vasquez, who is good at talking trash and having rosy cheeks. Certainly the matchup to watch in this game. Let's get it on!


*********

Postgame: Well, that's it and that's all. Thanks for following along, and if you liked my liveblog, please check out my site and have all your friends check it out as well. Also, if you happen to go to Maryland, you should read my columns in the newspaper. I think that's all I've got as far as pimping myself out.

I'd like to especially thank Suss for orchestrating all of this today and putting up with my roughly 43 e-mails I sent him asking if I was doing this right in the past few days. Truly an American hero.

5:07 PM: The Vivacious Venuzuelan Sensantion is named the player of the game with 27 points. But how about Adrian Bowie's 12 and 7 assists? Next up is a date with Memphis. Final score: 84-71.

5:05 PM: Before I could even click "save," Greivis scored five points. Yikes. 82-71, Cal's not fouling, we'll see you in the round of 32.

5:04 PM: This game isn't over. Cal fouls the "Guy You Don't Want to Foul" (Hayes) and he naturally misses one. Then some long-haired man named Gutierrez hits an and-one and it's an 8-point game. 1:27 left, hopefully we'll jst grin and "bear" it!!234.

5:02 PM: 2:11 to go and the Terps are holding on, 76-66. This game has made me believe that Cal and Maryland are basically the same team, because Cal has played Bad Maryland Basketball.

4:59 PM: What's up with the Craig Ferguson "they told me not to play basketball or I'd break this vase" ad? Is he supposed to look badass because he broke a vase? Is this funny? I'm so full of questions. Maryland by 11.

4:56 PM: Dave Neal was left wide open for the dagger but missed it. Terps by 13 with 3:32 to go and we're on commercial. 13 isn't too much when playing a team that can start drilling threes though, so this is by no means over. Also, we're Maryland, so 50 isn't too big a lead.

4:53 PM: Holy crap, Dino brings the God-damned thunder just now. "That's what Dino Gregory brings," say the announcers. This is horribly untrue but I will take it. Maryland by 15.

4:52: Maryland is starting to pull away. 72-59 and even legally dead Dino Gregory just made a great hustle play and got a tip-in. It's Terp ball, too.

4:49 PM: Great play all-around just now as Bowie scrambles and makes a Scheyerface while recovering a loose ball to Greivis, who gets the and-one to bring the lead back to 10 (Apparently there was a Randle 3 I missed). Neal jersey-dirts a shot in and it's 68-56. I can't even barely keep up right now; a 3 from Cal makes it 68-59.

4:47 PM: Vasquez's game is feeling like he's been slighted by someone and feeding off of it. I'm on the record that I've never been a huge fan of his, but the guy shows up to play every day and he plays his heart out. You don't have to like him, but I respect him.

4:44 PM: Greivis steals, drives, lays in. Gives the old "shush" sign to the crown, which sounds like it's really pro-Maryland. But you tell 'em, Greivis. Terps, 63-53.

4:43 PM: We get lots of guys in foul trouble. And then Vasquez shoots an airball. Sheesh. He is emotional and rosy-cheeked about it.

4:42 PM: Apparently I ripped the Nic Cage hate from Saberhagendaaz. Have I mentioned his awesome post on Avoiding the Drop?

4:39 PM Gawker just did something weird, so sorry if there's some shady thing happening on this page. I was typing a whole ordeal about Maryland's current 9-0 run. Eddie Munster hit a wide-open three, gobbled up a rebound on the other end, and then Milbourne mademe look stupid for saying three minutes ago that he couldn't hit threes. Hustle plays 59, three-ball 51.

4:37 PM: The referees in this game have called a ton of travels. Milbourne thinks about a three and then remembers he can't shoot those. Bowie hits a crazy angle layup and it's Terps by 2.

4:34 PM: Speaking of that Nic Cage movie, when his kid goes "are we going to die?" And Nic Cage goes "I would never let that happen." I mean, really? Like, everyone dies. Your kid is immortal? You're a bad movie parent, Nic Cage, and I hate you.

4:32 PM: And we're back from Purdue evening up my bracket. This has turned out to be a pretty interesting game. Cal takes the lead, 51-50 at the 12-minute mark. Their shooting seem to be shaping up. "Dave Neal keeps opportunities alive. He does the grunt work." Milbourne to the line after yet another commercial. Oh, hey Nic Cage. Kill yourself.

4:30 PM: Robertson converted and Bowie missed on the other end. Cal ball with a chance to take their first lead.... and they do. Jumper from Boykin. What a great time to switch away, CBS. Great. 47-46 Cal.

4:26 PM: CBS has switched over to Purdue-UNI unannounced. Holy crap, what a game this is. Robertson's basket counted for Cal and the foul was on Mosley. I legitimately think that they called a TV timeout in the Maryland game to switch over to Purdue. "Hey guys, this game's interesting. Stop playing for a sec ad check this out."

4:25 PM: Here come the threes. Greivis is answered by Robertson. I'll tell you what: If Cal starts hitting any small amount more of three pointers, the Terps are in trouble. Sugar Sean with a lay-in, 46-42 Terps with 15:17 to go.

4:22 PM: Dave Hustleplay gets to the line after picking up a ball that Sugar Sean Mosley couldn't grab. Then he hustles down the court an hacks Robertson so he can't get an easy dunk. Hustlehustlehustle dirty uniform hustle.

4:20 PM: Vasquez makes a layup off of a Neal screen. Man, Neal does all the small stuff like screens and going for loose balls and drawing walks.

4:18 PM: Handles McRandle gets an and-one after Greivis bricks a three. If you picked this game based on whose cheerleaders are hotter, your team is currently down 36-34. Anyways there have been lots of charges in this game.

4:17 PM: Second half just started and that was a scary moment where my whole liveblog erased because the internet hates me. The guy I partied with in high school just hit a shot and we're up 36-31 with the ball, under a minute gone in the half.

Still halftime again: Also from that game against Cal, I was sitting right next to the visitors' section and all the Cal fans kept doing something that looked like the Florida Gator chomp. Anyone know what the idea behind that is? The best I could think of was that it was the "bear trap," but why would Bears fans want to do a bear trap? Anyways, the second half is starting in a minute.

Still halftime: If you're enjoying this... thanks. Also thanks to everyone who has checked out my blog lately. Which reminds me, this game is an important matchup between probably the two best state flags in America. On one side we have the badass Maryland flag. What could be cooler than that? How about a ferocious bear, ready to strike? I say the winner of this game gets the "best flag" recognition.

Halftime: Hey, speaking of Cal-Maryland, remember this? Jahvid Best doesn't. I was in the stands and the sound that hit made was just sickening. Sickeningly awesome.

3:54 PM: With a second left, one Maryland player throws it off another and out of bounds. Fortunately, Cal is stupider than we are and Robertson tries to ball fake with a second left and never gets the shot off. 34-31 at half. I'm going to try to get my funny little pictures to work.

3:52 PM: You know, for the best 3-point shooting team in the country, Cal sucks at free throws.

3:50 PM: Just seconds remaining in the first half. If I know Maryland, here comes a layup from Cal and we miss our shot so all our hard work ends up as a halftime tie.

3:47 PM: The announcers for the game are revealed as Tim Brando and Mike Gminski. Is it a rule somewhere tthat a former Duke player has to broadcast every Maryland game? Screw Mike Gminski.

3:46 PM: The scoring is picking back up as Cal hits a 3. 32-30, good guys. Bad guys going to the line.

3:45 PM: The announcers are referring to ave Neal as "Dave," like he's their buddy that just got picked up into this game and doesn't belong. Which is an apt description. "I don't think opponents respect him," they say.

3:42 PM: So much for Chattanooga. Someone with a scary facemask just hit a free throw.

3:39 PM: TV timeout. This game started pretty well, but both teams have looked pretty sloppy as of late. Dino Gregory is in the game, which scares me because he's not talented at basketball. He did take a solid charge though, so there was that. But offensively, both teams could be looking better. Cal is just 2/10 from three right now.

3:37 PM: I love when refs get really pumped about a charge and throw the arm out all dramatically. HELL YEAH, GOING THE OTHER WAY BROTHER!!!!

3:35 PM: Vasquez tries his shot I clued you in on earlier, except it doesn't go. That came off of a Dave Neal Hustle play. Dave Neal is the Eckstein of Maryland basketball. He loves getting his jersey dirty.

3:33 PM: Maryland is such a weird team this year. Nobody on the team actually has a legitimate basketball position. We don't have a point or a center. Everyone's just kind of like, 6'6" with a good midrange jumper. Also, we're killing ourselves in this game right now with turnovers. 24-23 and Cal ball.

3:30 PM: Another commercial break, still 24-21. Terps have walked the past two times down, which also counts for the first two times travelling has been called in a basketball game since 1984. Greivis and Handles Randle both have 9 with 7 and a half to go in the first.

3:28 PM: Eddie Munster spots up for two. A weird white guy for Cal tries a shady shot and hits the side of the backboard. Turtles 24-21 before Landon "D.J. Strawberry" Milbourne walks and turns it over. When Strawberry and Milbourne were on the same team, it must have been confusing as hell to people. I mean, they look exactly alike.

3:26 PM: Big alley-oop for Cal. I wish there was a stat on giving up momentum-shifting plays. We do it more than anyone in the country. Remember Gerald Henderson's thunder dunk in the second game we played against them this year? Yikes.

3:24 PM: "The handle for Randle!" Apparently Maryland-Cal is a 1940's championship boxing match. Greivis hits a 3, it's 22-17 couch burners.

3:22 PM: Looking at the comments, I have to agree with The Boy Wonder's nickname for Greivis, "the headcase who becomes less than useless once you get him frustrated." But you forgot to mention that he's from Venuzuela.

3:19 PM: Cal opens up the 3-pt arsenal with a deep one from Patrick Christopher. 17-15 Terps at commercial with 11:38 left in the half.

3:17 PM: The Venezuelan Vanguard hits two free throws and it's Terps by six. The leading scorer right now is Dave Neal, who showed up at a party a friend of mine threw in high school. This was a big moment for me.

3:15 PM: Okay, what's up with this "Vivacious Venuzuelan" shit? Why is the media trying to force it on us that he has some weird nicknames like that? ESPN said he is "known as the Venuzuelan Sensation." Is that supposed to rhyme? God, I hate all of these people.

3:12 PM: Alright, I think I've worked it out. Unfortunately, my funny pictures won't show up right. It's been a wide open game so far, which happens when nobody is taller than 6'8. Commercial break, 14-10 Terps.

3:08 PM: Sorry this has been getting off the ground kind of slowly, my computer is taking forever to upload this post. It's been a sloppy first three minutes. Watch for Vasquez's move: He cuts right, drives through the lane, and lays it in off the glass. Ugh, what an awful time for technical difficulties on my end.

3:04 PM: If basketball games were four minutes long, Maryland would be a 1-seed. Bowie takes the tip right to the hole, Cal gets an over and back, Milbourne cans a J. Neal hustles a 3 in. Let's try the pictures!

They don't work. It was 7-0 at this point.

3:02 PM: Here we go, CBS has switched over to our game. And already one of Cal's players has been called a "mighty mite." I knew the center square should have been "smallball."

Pregame III: Just a couple minutes until tip now. I'm learning how the cold efficient machine of Gawker works. Apparently I don't need the br tag. This saves so much time for activities.

Pregame II: It seems like a lot of people are picking Maryland in this one, but I'm telling you it's a coinflip. Two really streaky teams without any real size. It could be a blowout either way, it could be close, who knows. So if you're Gary Williams, you're really going to be "sweating" this one out!!!12.

Pregame: The Memphis- CSN game pushed our tip time back to 3:03, so we've got 13 minutes of that awkward getting-to-know-you phase. How're your brackets doing? Mine already sucks. Also, apparently Cal has recruited a chicken to play power forward next year. So there's that.

2) Jerome and P.C. in Berkeley Randle, who's roster height of 5'10" was clearly measured while he was suspended in mid-air, is perhaps the fastest and most athletic player in the PAC-10 (sorry Darren Collison). When he
keeps himself under control, he can take over a game with flashy cross-overs, lightning-quick slashes and no-look dishes. And lest you sag off to try to give yourself an extra step, he'll bury you with a deadly three-point barrage (he went 8-11 from deep against Arizona in Tucson last Thursday, and is at 46.7% for the year). Christopher (who looks like LeBron James after a prolonged South Beach Diet), meanwhile, contributes his own perimeter game and has transformed into one of the premier defenders in the conference. He has scored in double-digits 24 times this season, and broken 20 in eight of those games.

3) The Supporting Cast Powerful wingman Theo Robertson (12.8 PPG, 49.5 3PT%), Jamal Boykin (Duke transfer and former California High School Player of the Year), Jodan Wilkes (7-foot senior in the middle), Harper Kamp (classic "glue-guy" and the object of Bobby Knight's undying affection) and Jorge Guttierrez (3.2 Reb, 1.6 Ass, 0.8 Stl in 16 Min/G) round out the "Fightin' Monties". They don't run particularly deep, but with great team speed and athleticism and the leading three-point shooting team in the nation (43.8% as a unit) they will never be out of a game. — Noah Frank

MARYLAND TERRAPINS

1) Fear la Tortuga An impressive ACC Tournament performance negated the bad losses to Morgan State and Virginia to send #10 Maryland to face the #7 California Golden Bears in Kansas City on Thursday. The two teams met this past season in football, where the Terps beat the Gatorade out of Cal, 35-27. Junior guard Greivis "Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario" Vasquez, the only player in the nation to wear eye black, leads the team in points (17.2), rebounds (5.5) and assists (5.1) per game. The fiery Venezuelan played high school ball with Kevin Durant at Montrose Christian in Rockville, MD. Eric Hayes, Maryland's other starting guard, always looks like he's about to turn the ball over, causing me to yell at my TV and out my window. But then he'll knock down a big three, and all is forgiven … for now. Oafy, yet lovable Dave Neal, whom Terp alum Scott Van Pelt dubs "The Mayor" for some reason, holds his own despite looking like a cross between Paul Blart and Kevin James. The lone senior leads the team in 3-point percentage and SABs (Smiles After Buckets). He's the Jimmy Fallon of basketball. Interchangeable parts Landon Milbourne, Adrian Bowie, Sean Mosely, Cliff Tucker and Dino Gregory have had their moments, but the team's success is dependent on the play of Vasquez. In Maryland's 20 wins, Vasquez averaged 19.3 ppg; in losses, he averaged just 11.5.

2) Fun Gestapo Best known for burning couches, Scheyerface, and throwing batteries at Carlos Boozer's mom, Maryland's fans can be a little rambunctious. But at least we do it in unison! So it was sad to see our Commie utopia disrupted when the university shot down the contest-winning nickname for the Comcast Center student section. Campus buzzkills deemed the name "Red Army" offensive to Eastern Europeans, proving once again that Native Americans are the only people colleges can still publicly disparage.

3) Midnight Madness On October 15, 1971, Maryland coach, Lefty Driesell, began the tradition of Midnight Madness in an effort to build up hype around his squad. At midnight, which marked the beginning of the first official day of team practice, Coach Driesell had his players run laps around Byrd Stadium's track. Reflecting on the day, Lefty said, "I got the word around campus and 500 or 600 people showed up. We didn't have (stadium) lights, so the guys ran by car lights." Not to be outdone, current coach and R.J. Bentley's frequenter Gary Williams has carved out his own Madness staple by entering the arena floor in increasingly ridiculous vehicles. A tank is considered a vehicle, right? Here's Gary in a Lambo; on a motorcycle; in a tank! — Brian Lucero

For now, according to Busted Coverage, Cal is taking a stand by pulling all visual evidence of Ms. Stokke off of its website to protect its star freshman from the millions of creepy men looking for a photo of her newly muscled physique.

Cal's message: You won't be masturbating to Allison on our bandwidth. Go elsewhere with your unwieldy erection, you pervert.

Allison Stokke Photos Pulled From Cal Track Site [Busted Coverage]
Allison Stokke [Cal Bears]

2. Some call him a poor man's Tyler Hansborough, but I call him a rich man's Kevin Pittsnogle. Whatever you call Ryan Anderson, he has been downright filthy in the Pac 10 this year, averaging 21.5 points and 10 boards and has been the key to all 16 of the Bear's wins this season, including a clutch late game three with two seconds left on the shot clock to seal the win over Washington in the first round of the Pac 10 tourney. And while Ryan Anderson was a first-team all-Pac-10 selection, Coach Ben Braun did the exact opposite.

3. Not just card stunts. From VIC-TOR-IA to clear-cutting,/A>, our student body will get in your dome (or under your tree) to try to distract our opponents just enough to make up for our lack of "athleticism" or "defense" on the court. Think we couldn't make Roy "tan Shawn Bradley" Hibbert cry or induce Mike Krzyzewski into going ape shit on national TV? Try us. — Mike Hutchinson

Let's see, we've got:

• Bonds.
• Neither the 49ers or Raiders have won a game in a month.
• The Warriors are the only winless team in the NBA.
• After a nice start, Cal has collapsed. And their fans are falling out of trees.

We're spending Thanksgiving with our sister in the Bay Area. We hope our plane doesn't crash.

Bay Area Is Officially In Sports Hell [100 Percent Injury Rate]

There wouldn't seem to be many ways a guy who had been sitting in a tree for a year could hurt himself. One of the protesters discovered the foolproof one.

The SAN JOSE MERCURY news reports a tree-sitter was injured when he fell 30 feet from his high perch. Nathaniel Hill was hanging on a suspended traverse when he slipped, suffering a broken arm & leg in the fall.

A group has been living in the trees for almost a year, in protest of the University's plans to cut the oaks down and build a sports training center.

They're about to be booted by the courts anyway, which just makes the fall more tragic and hilarious. We wish he would have worn one of those new throwback jerseys, though. At least the plummet would have looked cool.

Cal Players Had To Sign Confidentiality Agreements [Sports By Brooks]

Anyway, three Berkeley folks have been living in a tree for six months now, protesting University administrators' plans to build a new athletic complex. A Judge has put up a restraining order prohibiting any building on the site until the matter is settled. That's all fine and good, except that a bunch of crazy SEC football fans are streaming in this weekend, and there's no way to pen them in without a fence.

t's not clear if the barrier being put up today violates a temporary restraining order issued by an Alameda County Superior Court judge barring any construction on the site pending a hearing on a permanent ban scheduled to be heard in Superior Court in Hayward, beginning Sept. 19. The court will decide three lawsuits surrounding destruction of the trees and construction of the sports complex.

We love the idea of a bunch of amped up Tennessee boosters, screaming the lyrics to "Rocky Top," looking up in the tree and seeing three bearded, starving hippies. They'll have that tree ripped down before they're into their second bottle of SoCo.

Don't Fence Me In [Signal To Noise]

We did not see this over the weekend, but apparently, after California's win over Washington on Saturday, Golden Bears running back Marshawn Lynch got a hold of the motorized stretcher cart and went to town. This is yet another reason, as we all know, we need the bullpen car back.

Early Sunday morning, a drunk Purtz, with a friend who was pretending to be his "agent," entered a peep show club, reported that he was a Cal football player, entered a "video pornography booth" and began demanding to be presented with the sublime pleaure of prostitutes. When Purtz and his friend were informed that peep shows did not include actual women who have sex with you, he screamed at the management and called them "ni—er" and "faggot."

Our favorite part is, after Purtz is kicked out, a security camera shows "Purtz banging on the door and yelling at the employees inside for several minutes. At one point Purtz appears to shove his friend." Dude, you said that place had sluts! What the fungus??!!"

Football Player Suspended After Incident At Adult Club [Daily Californian]

CALIFORNIA

1. Powe Just Turned 22, Wondering What to Do. Power forward Leon Powe, en route to leading the Pac-10 in scoring and rebounding, often looked like a man among boys. That's because, as a mere sophomore, he's 22 years old, something he accomplished without a Mormon mission. At that age, most Cal fans think Powe is less likely to return to Berkeley than Pat Robertson is to get tenure there.

2. Balls, Not Braun. In January, the Oakland Tribune conducted an extraordinary interview with Powe, who complained about all the plays and sets coach Ben Braun was making them run ("I hate feeling like a Big East team") and his lack of minutes ("I'm going to have to talk to Ben"). If one of Bobby Knight's players had said "I'm going to have to talk to Bobby," he might come home to find his dog murdered.

3. V for Victoria. Fans in the Cal student section pulled a long-con on USC's Gabe Pruitt that concluded during Cal's season finale vs. the Trojans. A student posed as a UCLA hottie named Victoria and IM'ed with Pruitt all week preceding the game, a relationship which effectively ended with Pruitt handing over his digits. As he stepped to the free throw line in his game at Haas Pavilion, the students chanted "VIC-TOR-IA" and then yelled his phone number at him. When he realized he'd been punked, he clanked both free throws and went on to one of his worst games of the season. — Eric Meyerson

N.C. STATE

1. State's Backup Big Man Can Strike Your Ass Out. Reserve forward Andrew Brackman is a decent college basketball player, but he's an outstanding pitching prospect. At 6'10", Brackman is a mullet-less Randy Johnson.

2. Mascot Love. State has both male and female mascots, creatively named Mr. and Mrs. Wuf. They were married by the Wake Forest Demon Deacon mascot during halftime of a 1981 basketball game. Needless to say, this is strange and a little creepy.

3. Nobody Wants To Play For Herb Sendek. In a recent poll, 36 percent of ACC players said that Herb is the opposing coach that they'd least like to play for. — John Grant

Deadspin Printable Bracket (PDF) (JPG version)
Join The Deadspin Pool!
NCAA Tournament First Round Schedule [Deadspin]
Complete Deadspin First Round Matchup Previews [Deadspin]

2. Balls, Not Braun. In January, the Oakland Tribune conducted an extraordinary interview with Powe, who complained about all the plays and sets coach Ben Braun was making them run ("I hate feeling like a Big East team") and his lack of minutes ("I'm going to have to talk to Ben"). If one of Bobby Knight's players had said "I'm going to have to talk to Bobby," he might come home to find his dog murdered.

3. V for Victoria. Fans in the Cal student section pulled a long-con on USC's Gabe Pruitt that concluded during Cal's season finale vs. the Trojans. A student posed as a UCLA hottie named Victoria and IM'ed with Pruitt all week preceding the game, a relationship which effectively ended with Pruitt handing over his digits. As he stepped to the free throw line in his game at Haas Pavilion, the students chanted "VIC-TOR-IA" and then yelled his phone number at him. When he realized he'd been punked, he clanked both free throws and went on to one of his worst games of the season. — Eric Meyerson

Setting the scene. California hosting USC last Saturday. Trojans guard Gabe Pruitt steps to the free throw line. The crowd starts chanting, "VIC-TOR-IA! VIC-TOR-IA!"

Cut to earlier that week. Two Cal fans had set up an instant messager account for "Victoria," a "fictional UCLA hottie," and had been flirting with Pruitt all week. "Victoria" was supposed to meet Pruitt after the game for a rendezvous in Westwood.

Cut back to the free throw line. Not only do the fans start chanting "Victoria," they start reciting Pruitt's phone number back to him.

He missed both free throws. Obviously. We would have too.

Victoria, Not Victorious [rangelife]