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85-429: Jessica Ofelia Mendoza (born November 11, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former softball player. Currently, she serves as an analyst for ESPN 's coverage of Major League Baseball and Los Angeles Dodgers coverage on Spectrum SportsNet LA . As a softball outfielder , Mendoza was a collegiate four-time First Team All-American and two-time Olympic medalist. Mendoza played from 1999 to 2002 at Stanford and

170-847: A remote broadcast television studio away from the sports venue. In North America, the on-air personality based in the studio is called the studio host . During their shows, the presenter/studio host may be joined by additional analysts or pundits, especially when showing highlights of various other matches (e.g. in 1985, Jim Nantz was the studio host for The Prudential College Football Report in Studio ;43 in New York for CBS Sports , and during his four-year tenure there [1985 through 1988 college football seasons], he had Pat Haden [in 1985] and Ara Parseghian [in 1987 and 1988] as his co-hosts/pundits). Various sports may have different commentator roles to cover situations unique to that sport. In

255-494: A .400 slugging. In 2008, Mendoza was again an outfielder for Team USA and led in almost every category on the "Bound 4 Beijing" Tour. She hit .495 with 107 RBIs and a .971 slugging. At the Beijing Olympic Games , she drove in 4 RBIs vs. Chinese Taipei on August 14. In the finale, Mendoza was again shut out and her team won the silver medal, losing to Japan on August 21. In addition, Mendoza went directly onto

340-506: A Final Four appearance in 2013 . The team has also won one WNIT championship, in 2010 . In 2009–10 , under Joanne Boyle , the Bears's top-10 recruiting class and star senior Alexis Gray-Lawson ) rebounded from a rough start to their season to win the WNIT . The championship game against Miami (FL) was the first ever championship game held at Haas Pavilion. Gray-Lawson ended her career as

425-523: A broadcaster is particularly renowned ( Rick Jeanneret 's hockey telecasts, for example, were simulcast on radio and television from 1997 until his 2022 retirement). The analyst or color commentator provides expert analysis and background information, such as statistics, strategy on the teams and athletes, and occasionally anecdotes or light humor. They are usually former athletes or coaches in their respective sports, although there are some exceptions. The term "color" refers to levity and insight provided by

510-614: A cost-cutting measure, though the team would have continued to represent the university as a "varsity club sport." A large group of rugby supporters organized to oppose the relegation. On February 11, 2011, the administration reversed its decision on rugby and two other sports, thus continuing them as sponsored varsity sports. Men's soccer began intercollegiate competition at the University of California in 1906 and has won no national championships and 4 conference championships. The team currently plays its home games at Edwards Stadium and

595-422: A play-by-play announcer for WWE since 1999, has also portrayed this role for most of his announcing career. From 2010 to 2012, Cole served as a heel announcer, showing arrogance and contempt for faces and more sympathy for the heels (partially due to bullying from other face wrestlers, and jealousy from on-screen authority figures and other commentators). However, after Lawler suffered a legitimate heart attack on

680-827: A rematch with the Bandits, who ultimately won 10–3 on August 21. Once again, Mendoza and the Pride made the Cowles Cup Championship but lost to the Chicago Bandits . Mendoza was shut out but walked twice. Mendoza works for ESPN and was a color analyst on Sunday Night Baseball telecasts. She also is an analyst for the Women's College World Series and has worked as a sideline reporter for ESPN College Football coverage. On June 30, 2014, Mendoza began working on ESPN's Baseball Tonight . She appeared on

765-488: A reporter. Mendoza later backtracked and took to Twitter to clarify her comments. Amid concerns about a potential conflict of interest over her Mets role and the controversy of the Fiers comments, she later resigned from her role as Mets advisor and was dropped from Sunday Night Baseball , but signed a contract extension with ESPN on February 7, 2020, to remain a baseball analyst with the network. In October 2020, Mendoza became

850-536: A role with Team USA , Mendoza signed with the USSSA Pride . In her two seasons with the Pride, Mendoza hit .284 and .377, respectively. The same two years, her teams made the Cowles Cup championship, winning the title in 2010. Mendoza was shut out against the Chicago Bandits ' trio of Kristina Thorson, Nikki Nemitz, and Jessica Sallinger. In the other finale, Mendoza was 2/4 with a double off Monica Abbott in

935-534: A single-game career high four hits off pitchers Corey Harris, Tammy Millian and Jamie Bagnall. Later that month, for the week of March 8, she was named National Fastpitch Coaches Association Player of the Week after hitting .631 (12/19) with 11 RBIs, 4 home runs , a triple and two doubles for a slugging percentage of 1.473. As a sophomore, Mendoza again earn First Team citations for the NCAA Division I and

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1020-460: A slugging of .842. Mendoza continued her success for the Cardinal with her third All-American and All- Pac-10 citations. She posted top-10 season records in virtually every category, still currently ranking second in single-season home runs and stolen bases. Mendoza helped lead Stanford to their first-ever Women's College World Series appearance in 2001. The Cardinal were ousted on May 27 by

1105-414: Is Haas Pavilion , which was constructed atop of the old Harmon Gymnasium using money donated in the late 1990s in part by the owners of Levi-Strauss. The program has seen success throughout the years culminating in a national championship in 1959 under legendary coach Pete Newell and have reached the final four two other times in 1946 and 1960. The 1926–27 team finished the season with a 17–0 record and

1190-558: Is a general term for any type of commentator in a sports broadcast. It may also refer to a sports talk show host or a newscaster covering sports news. In video games , and particularly esports , commentators are often called shout-casters ; this term is derived from Shoutcast , an internet audio streaming plugin and protocol associated with the Winamp media player. They are also sometimes referred to as simply casters . While sports broadcasts took place from 1912, Florent Gibson of

1275-544: Is a much less distinct division between play-by-play and color commentary, although two-man commentary teams usually feature an enthusiast with formal journalistic training but little or no competitive experience leading the commentary, and an expert former (or current) competitor following up with analysis or summary. There are however exceptions to this—most of the United Kingdom's leading cricket and snooker commentators are former professionals in their sports, while

1360-526: Is an ACHA Division II program, competing in the Pacific 8 Intercollegiate Hockey Conference . The team is coached by Chris Linden, who took over as head coach in 2018. The University of California department of athletics sponsors a varsity women's volleyball program without a men's equivalent program at the NCAA/varsity level; therefore, California only competes in intercollegiate men's volleyball at

1445-485: Is married to Adam Burks, with whom she has two sons. She is a second-generation Mexican-American, as stated in an ESPN article by Aimee Crawford published on October 11, 2011. Mendoza is a trustee and past president of the Women's Sports Foundation . She is an athletic ambassador for Team Darfur and board member of the National Education Association . For their first match of March 2019,

1530-460: Is the primary speaker on the broadcast. Broadcasters in this role are adept at being articulate and carry an ability to describe each play or event of an often-fast-moving sporting event. The play-by-play announcer is meant to convey the event as it is carried out. Because of their skill level, commentators like Al Michaels , Brian Anderson , Ian Eagle , Kevin Harlan , Jim Nantz , and Joe Buck in

1615-434: Is typical for there to be multiple pit reporters , covering the event from along the pit road. Their responsibilities include covering breaking news trackside, probing crew chiefs and other team leaders about strategy, and commentating on pit stops from along the pit wall. On occasion in motorsport, the reporter on the sideline is an understudy to the lead commentator, as Fox NASCAR has used this tactic numerous times based on

1700-639: The Monday Night Football booth in 2001 caused what Miller himself described as a "maelstrom" of perplexed reviews. Although the combination of a play-by-play announcer and color commentator is now considered the standard, it was much more common for a broadcast to have only one play-by-play announcer working alone. Vin Scully , longtime announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was one of the few examples of this practice lasting into

1785-728: The Pittsburgh Post newspaper broadcast the first sports commentary in April 1921, covering the fight between Johnny Ray and Johnny "Hutch" Dundee at the Motor Square Garden , Pittsburgh. One of the highest-paid sportscasters in the United States is Tony Romo , a former NFL quarterback and professional golfer who serves as lead color analyst for the NFL on CBS ; Romo earns $ 17,000,000 per year for his contributions to

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1870-564: The 2017 NLDS , her first MLB post-season series, on ESPN Radio with broadcast partner Dave Flemming . On March 5, 2019, the New York Mets announced that Mendoza joined the club as a senior advisor to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen . This led to conflict of interest concerns, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to block Mendoza from entering their clubhouse as a media member before Dodgers games broadcast by ESPN in

1955-707: The Arizona Wildcats despite wins over California Golden Bears and LSU Tigers . Mendoza was named to the All-Tournament Team for hitting .250 with an RBI and a double. For her final season, Mendoza earned First Team citations for both conference and the NCAA . With her fourth straight honor from the NCAA , Mendoza joined elite company as only the fifth player to accomplish the feat then. That year she also tied her home run record and ranked top-10 in almost every other category. The week of March 4, she

2040-835: The Cleveland Cavaliers . The current women's basketball head coach is Charmin Smith . Notable alumni of the team include first-round WNBA draft selections Layshia Clarendon and Kristine Anigwe . Anigwe holds the team's all-time scoring and rebounding records. In 2002, the Cal softball team won its first national championship against Arizona. Some notable players include Candace Harper, third baseman, and Jocelyn Forest, pitcher, both of whom were team captains. The 2002 Women's College World Series took place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Softball began intercollegiate competition at

2125-661: The Cubs – Dodgers game on Sunday Night Baseball . Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta pitched a no-hitter in the game. John Kruk , Dan Shulman and Mendoza called the 2015 American League Wild Card Game on October 6, and Mendoza became the first female commentator in MLB postseason TV history. On January 13, 2016, ESPN announced that Mendoza would join the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast team full-time, with Shulman and Aaron Boone . On October 6, 2017, Mendoza commentated for

2210-744: The ISF Women's World Championship , hitting .500 with 5 home runs and 16 RBIs. In 2008, she was named to the Canada Cup All-Star Team. Mendoza declined an invitation to play for the US in 2011 to focus on National Pro Fastpitch . Mendoza joined the National Pro Fastpitch in 2005 with the Arizona Heat . She hit a league best (though in limited playing time) .491 her rookie year. After returning from maternity leave and

2295-548: The NCAA all-time), triples, RBIs and walks are still top-10 records. She was also named Pac-10 Player of the Week three times, a top 25 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year , and the Speedline Invitational Tournament MVP. Mendoza graduated from Stanford with a master's degree in social sciences and education . In 2004, Mendoza was a starting outfielder for Team USA at

2380-579: The Pac-10 . She added conference Player of the Year to her collection and broke her own record for batting average with a then-school and career-best .474, which also led the NCAA . She also claimed new records for hits, home runs, doubles, slugging, and stolen bases , which still rank top 10 for a season at Stanford . From February 29 through March 22, 2000, Mendoza went on a school-record 19-consecutive-game hit streak. She batted .561 (32/57) to accompany four home runs and 15 RBIs, striking out just once with

2465-532: The playing field or court . The sideline reporter typically makes live updates on injuries and breaking news or conducts player interviews while players are on the field or court because the play-by-play broadcaster and color commentator must remain in their broadcast booth. Sideline reporters are often granted inside information about an important update, such as injury because they have the credentials necessary to do so. In cases of big events, teams consisting of many sideline reporters are placed strategically so that

2550-413: The "heel sympathizer" for color commentary in wrestling. Jerry "The King" Lawler later made a successful transition into the same role, though Lawler has since shown more sympathy for faces, partially due to his popularity with fans after a forty-year career. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Macho Man" Randy Savage pioneered the "babyface sympathizer" for color commentary in wrestling. Michael Cole , as

2635-408: The 1950s. At that time, the national event required five firing members per team, one alternate, a team captain and a coach. The national championship competition consisted of ten shots per firing member at 50 feet, indoors. The Golden Bears rugby team has won 33 championships since the national collegiate championships for rugby began in 1980. Current head coach and Cal alumnus Jack Clark took over

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2720-471: The 2004 Athens Olympic Games . Prior to the tournament, Mendoza hit .380 on the "Aiming For Athens" tour with 42 RBIs and 10 home runs. On August 14, Mendoza had two hits and two RBIs with a triple vs. Italy. She repeated her performance on August 19 against host Greece, with a double in that game. Team USA won the gold medal on August 23, though Mendoza was shut out by Australia. Overall, she went 5/20 (.250) scoring five times herself and hitting in 5 RBIs with

2805-439: The 2010s, as popularized by Fox, American football broadcasts began to increasingly employ rules analysts to explain penalties and controversial calls and analyze instant replay reviews to predict whether a call will or will not be overturned. This helps viewers who may not understand some of the rules or calls, understand further. These analysts are typically former referees . In North American English , sportscaster

2890-413: The 2017 academic year 80 percent of incoming student athletes were required to comply with the University of California general student requirement of having a 3.0 or higher high school grade point average. California's nickname originated in 1895 during California's dominant track and field team's tour of Midwest and Eastern universities. A blue silk banner with the golden grizzly bear, the state symbol,

2975-550: The 2019 season. The Dodgers had done the same with David Ross , who worked in the Chicago Cubs organization while also commentating for ESPN. On January 16, 2020, she created controversy when she criticized former Houston Astros pitcher Mike Fiers for admitting to stealing signs during the team's World Series title run in 2017 . The controversy surrounded the fact that she felt that Fiers should have reported his concerns to MLB authorities rather than simply share them with

3060-444: The 21st century until he retired in 2016. The three-person booth is a format used on Monday Night Football , in which there are two color commentators, usually one being a former player or coach and the other being an outsider, such as a journalist ( Howard Cosell was one long-running example) or a comedian (such as the before mentioned Dennis Miller). A sideline reporter assists a sports broadcasting crew with sideline coverage of

3145-420: The 21st century. Radio and television play-by-play techniques involve slightly different approaches; radio broadcasts typically require the play-by-play host to say more to verbally convey the on-field activity that cannot be seen by the radio audience. It is unusual to have radio and television broadcasts share the same play-by-play commentator for the same event, except in cases of low production budgets or when

3230-590: The Cal goal line in the 1929 Rose Bowl ; and The Play in the 1982 Big Game , a game-winning, five-lateral kickoff return as time expired. The program has produced numerous NFL stars, including: Current head coach Justin Wilcox began his tenure in 2017. California has participated in 25 bowl games, garnering a record of 12–12–1. The California men's basketball team has represented the University of California intercollegiately since 1907 and subsequently began full conference play in 1915. Cal basketball's home court

3315-810: The Division I level by the NCAA. The eight men's tennis titles won before 1946 were bestowed by the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association. The four women's tennis titles won in 1929–1931 were bestowed at the National Collegiate Girls' Tennis Championships. The four women's rowing titles won in the 1980s were bestowed by the National Women's Rowing Association. The names of the nine women who won the 1984 women's novice eights rowing title have not been retrieved. Including pre-NCAA men's and women's tennis and women's rowing California Ice Hockey Team

3400-580: The Division I level, plus 5 unofficial men's football titles claimed by the school. Results Below are 72 national team titles in current and former California varsity sports that were not bestowed by the NCAA: Below are 60 national team titles won by California club sports teams at the highest collegiate level in non-NCAA sports: As of March 25, 2023, California Golden Bears have won 290 all-time individual championships, including doubles, rowing crews and relay events, in sports currently governed at

3485-644: The Monday editions of the show. On June 16, 2015, Mendoza became the first female broadcaster in the booth for ESPN 's College World Series coverage with Karl Ravech and Kyle Peterson . On August 24, Mendoza was the first female commentator for a Major League Baseball game in the history of ESPN, during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Arizona Diamondbacks . Six days later, Mendoza filled in for suspended color commentator Curt Schilling for

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3570-440: The NCAA national championship game in 2010, they have yet to win a national title. Some former Bears that have gone pro include all-time kills leader Hana Cutura, former US Olympian and all-time assists leader Carli Lloyd , Mia Jerkov, Lara Vukasovic, Jenelle Jordan, and Maddie Haynes. The team is currently coached by Sam Crosson. California's women's basketball team has made 14 NCAA tournament appearances, their best result being

3655-584: The September 10, 2012 episode of Raw , Cole broke character and continued to provide updates on his colleague's condition whilst simultaneously calling the action. His professionalism in the situation led to a slow babyface transition, which was cemented when the two men hugged in the ring upon Lawler's return to commentating two month later. In some cases, commentators are also active managers for wrestlers, usually following continuity as heels. Former Extreme Championship Wrestling color commentator Cyrus

3740-762: The U.S, David Coleman in the UK, and Bruce McAvaney in Australia may have careers in which they call several different sports at one time or another. Other main commentators may, however, only call one sport ( Joe Rogan for example announces only one sport which is Mixed Martial Arts, specifically the UFC organization and Peter Drury for the Premier League Football Association). The vast majority of play-by-play announcers are male; female play-by-play announcers had not seen sustained employment until

3825-606: The US team straight out of college . In 2003 and 2007, she was a gold medalist at the Pan American Games . She also won the silver medal at both the World Cup and Japan Cup. In 2006, Jessica was named the USA Softball "Female Athlete of the Year." She played for Team USA in the World Cup again in 2007, this time bringing home that gold medal. She went 11/18 with a double, three home runs, and 16 RBIs. Mendoza won

3910-533: The University of California in 1972. The team has won one national championship and 6 conference championships. The team currently plays at the 1,204 seat Levine-Fricke Field in Strawberry Canyon, and the current head coach is former Cal shortstop Chelsea Spencer , who was a member of the 2002 WCWS-winning team. Note: Both Cal and the NCAA consider appearances at the AIAW women's final tournament (which

3995-624: The University of California in 1982 and has won no national championships and 1 conference championship. The team currently plays at Edwards Stadium and the head coach (in his 5th season) is Neil McGuire. Notable alums include Olympic Gold Medalist and 2015 and 2019 World Cup Champion Alex Morgan , and Betsy Hassett of the New Zealand Women's National Team. The California Golden Bears women's soccer team has an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 16–25 through twenty-five appearances. Women's Water Polo began intercollegiate competition at

4080-534: The University of California in 1996 and has won no national championships and 2 conference championships. The team currently plays at the Spieker Aquatics Complex near Haas Pavilion and the head coach (in her 2nd season) is Coralie Simmons . The California Golden Bears competed in the NCAA tournament across 26 active sports (12 men's and 14 women's) 627 times at the Division I Level. The Golden Bears of California earned 43 NCAA championships at

4165-514: The White Sox in 2019 . San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin also played at Cal, having helped the team earn third place in the 1980 College World Series . Men's bowling was a varsity-level intercollegiate sport at the University of California in the 1970s and won a national championship in 1979, governed by the ABC (now the U.S. Bowling Congress). Crew (rowing) has a long and storied history as

4250-618: The act as violating the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution . The court ruled that the Yankees organization devise a plan to protect the players of their privacy while female sportswriters conducted interviews, suggesting the use of towels. After the access of allowing women in was put into effect, the Yankees organization allowed reporters to spend ten minutes interviewing players and

4335-547: The all-time Cal leader in three points made and games played. In 2012–13, under second-year head coach Lindsay Gottlieb , the Cal women reached a record AP and USA Today Coaches Poll #6 ranking at the end of the season, earning the 2 seed in the Spokane region of the NCAA tournament . The Bears reached the first Final Four in school history. In June 2019, Gottlieb became the first NCAA women's head coach to be hired to an NBA coaching staff when she became an assistant coach for

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4420-404: The analyst. The most common format for a sports broadcast is to have an analyst/color commentator work alongside the main/play-by-play announcer. An example is NBC Sunday Night Football in the United States, which is called by color commentator Cris Collinsworth , a former NFL receiver, and play-by-play commentator Mike Tirico , a professional announcer. In the United Kingdom, however, there

4505-427: The career of Cup lead Mike Joy, a former pit reporter. Those who made the switch included Steve Byrnes (Truck Series, 2014), Vince Welch (Truck Series since late 2015), and Adam Alexander (who did Cup for Fox-produced TNT broadcasts from 2010–14, Xfinity on Fox since 2015) did the same too. In British sports broadcasting, the presenter of a sports broadcast is usually distinct from the commentator, and often based in

4590-642: The club level. Along with the men's club volleyball program, there is also a women's club team separate from the women's varsity team. According to the UC Berkeley Recreational Sports page, the club men's volleyball program has won a total of six national championships. Occasionally, members of the club volleyball team will help the women's varsity volleyball team with practices and open scrimmages. The California taekwondo team has won 32 national team championships from 1976 through 2018 (includes 3 men's and one women's team titles prior to

4675-760: The first female World Series analyst on any national broadcast platform; she was on ESPN's radio platform. In 2021, she was part of the broadcast team for NBC during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In March 2022, it was announced that Mendoza would join the Spectrum SportsNet LA network to provide commentary for Los Angeles Dodgers games. She was a part of a group of network additions that included Eric Karros , Adrián González , José Mota , and Dontrelle Willis . The daughter of Karen and Gil Mendoza, Mendoza has one brother and two sisters. Her father played football for four years for Fresno State University . Mendoza

4760-478: The former Formula One racing commentator Murray Walker had no formal journalistic training and only limited racing experience of his own (he had come from an advertising background and his initial hiring was more of a comic double act than a traditional sports commentary pairing). In the United States, Pat Summerall , a former professional kicker, spent most of his broadcasting career as a play-by-play announcer. Comedian Dennis Miller 's short-lived run as part of

4845-553: The game-winning home run in the 14th inning of Game 3 of the 2005 World Series for the Chicago White Sox . Current Golden Bears in Major League Baseball include New York Mets outfielder Mark Canha , Texas Rangers shortstop Marcus Semien , and Chicago White Sox first baseman and left fielder Andrew Vaughn . Vaughn is Cal's highest ever MLB draft selection, having been selected third overall by

4930-698: The head coach (in his 12th season) is Kevin Grimes. Steve Birnbaum was the #2 pick in the first round in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft . The California Golden Bears men's soccer team has an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 14–19 through nineteen appearances. Doug Eisenman won the NCAA Division I doubles title with Matt Lucena in 1990. The California Golden Bears men's water polo team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 58–15 through twenty-nine appearances. The California Golden Bears women's volleyball team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 26–17 through seventeen appearances. Despite appearing in

5015-488: The league's founding in 1982 until its demise at the end of the 2014 season. The four NorPac members from California (Cal, Pacific, Stanford, and UC Davis) became single-sport members of the America East Conference starting with the 2015 season. The California Golden Bears women's hockey team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 1–10 through ten appearances. The 1980 Cal women's crew dominated

5100-461: The main commentator has many sources to turn to (for example some sideline reporters could be stationed in the dressing room area while others could be between the respective team benches). In the United States, sideline reporters are heavily restricted by NFL rules; in contrast, both the 2001 and 2020 incarnations of the XFL featured sideline reporters in a much more prominent role. In motorsports, it

5185-462: The men's locker room. Both were believed to have been the first women ever allowed to enter a professional men's locker room to conduct a post-game interview. Sport organizations began to follow in the NHL's footsteps and allowed for other female sportswriters to be given the same access as men sportswriters. It was not until the year 1977 when Melissa Ludtke , a sportswriter from Sports Illustrated ,

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5270-434: The national collegiate championships. They won the varsity eight, Cal's first ever varsity national championship in any women's sport, and also captured the varsity four and finished second in the junior varsity eight. The Bears also captured national titles in the varsity four in 1981 and the novice eight in 1984. The team won NCAA championships in 2005, 2006, 2016 and 2018. Women's soccer began intercollegiate competition at

5355-819: The network. Jim Rome being the highest paid sports Broadcasters in The United States, making over 30,000,000 per year, Jim also has his own Sports talk show called The Jim Rome Show syndicated by CBS Sports Radio. In 1975, the National Hockey League (NHL) made headlines when two coaches of the NHL All-Star Game in Montreal allowed Robin Herman ( The New York Times ) and Marcelle St. Cyr ( CKLM radio in Montreal) access into

5440-479: The oldest sport at the university, beginning with the formation of the University of California Boat Club in 1875. Competitive racing as known today began in 1893. In 1928, 1932, and 1948, Cal crews won gold at the Olympics while representing the United States. National champions: The University of California's intercollegiate cross country team is under the direction of head coach Bobby Lockhart, who took over

5525-416: The play-by-play announcer, who is more or less the "voice of the fans" as well as " babyface sympathizers " (or supporters of the "good guys"). Though both are supposed to show neutral stance while announcing, the color commentators (especially when they support heels) are usually more blatant about their stance than the play-by-play announcers. Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan pioneered

5610-480: The post-season a total of nine times, including five times in the College World Series ; Cal won the title in 1947 and 1957. The team is currently coached by Mike Neu , who took the helm in 2018. In September 2010, the university announced that baseball would be one of five sports cut as a cost-cutting measure. However, in April 2011, after receiving more than $ 9 million in pledges from supporters of

5695-486: The primary is usually to place them in position to interfere with the match they are calling, the second is to provide promoters with the opportunity to determine if this performer can speak well extemporaneously. California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley . Referred to in athletic competition as California or Cal ,

5780-497: The program in 2019 after spending time at UNC-Chapel Hill and Oklahoma State. The California Golden Bears men's cross country team appeared in the NCAA Cross Country Championships five times, with their highest finish being 16th place in the 2007–08 school year. Men's rifle began intercollegiate competition at the University of California in the 19th century and won 5 national championships in

5865-646: The program, the program was reinstated. In June 2011, the team made its most recent appearance in the College World Series. Perhaps the most famous Cal player was second baseman Jeff Kent , who led the Golden Bears to the 1988 College World Series, and would go on to be named the 2000 National League Most Valuable Player as a member of the San Francisco Giants . Shortstop Geoff Blum of Cal's 1992 College World Series team hit

5950-447: The stadium was being renovated; the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park that season. The Bears have five national titles bestowed retrospectively by "major selectors" — 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923 and 1937 (a contemporaneous selector in 1937 also chose California) — listed by the NCAA. The team also has produced two of the oddest and most memorable plays in college football: Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels ' fumble recovery and run toward

6035-408: The team in 1984, and has achieved prolonged success, leading the Bears to 28 national titles, including twelve consecutive championships from 1991 to 2002, five more consecutive titles from 2004 to 2008, and back-to-back titles in 2010 to 2011 and 2016 to 2017. Cal also has competed in the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC), the highest profile college rugby sevens tournament in the U.S., winning

6120-479: The title each year from 2013 to 2017. The CRC was held every June from 2011 through 2019 at Subaru Park in the Philadelphia area. Cal also reached the finals of the 2010 CRC, losing to Utah in sudden death extra time, and finished third in the 2012 CRC . Cal won the 2013 , 2014 , 2015 and 2016 CRC titles. In September 2010, the university announced that rugby would be one of five varsity sports cut as

6205-677: The university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I primarily as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and for a limited number of sports as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). In 2014, Cal instituted a strict academic standard for an athlete's admission to the university. By

6290-558: The women of the United States women's national soccer team each wore a jersey with the name of a woman they were honoring on the back; Andi Sullivan chose the name of Mendoza. Sports commentator The main commentator , also called the play-by-play commentator or announcer in North America, blow-by-blow in combat sports coverage, lap-by-lap for motorsports coverage, or ball -by-ball for cricket coverage,

6375-620: Was a member of the United States women's national softball team from 2004 to 2010. She won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She played professionally in National Pro Fastpitch and was named 2011 Player of the Year and currently ranks in the top 10 for career batting average and slugging percentage . Mendoza was a color commentator on ESPN 's Sunday Night Baseball from 2016 to 2019. She remains an ESPN baseball analyst. Mendoza

6460-521: Was also named and promoted as the "Women's College World Series"), prior to the first NCAA softball WCWS on May 27–30, 1982, to be equivalent to NCAA WCWS appearances. The California Golden Bears women's cross country team appeared in the NCAA tournament four times, with their highest finish being 9th place in the 1988–89 school year. Cal was a member of the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac) from

6545-548: Was displayed by the team during that tour. Since then, Cal's athletic teams have been known as the Golden Bears. Over the course of the school's history, California has won team national titles in 13 men's and 3 women's sports and 115 team titles overall. Cal athletes have also competed in the Olympics for a host of different countries. The California football team began play in 1885 and has played its home games at California Memorial Stadium since 1923, except for in 2011 while

6630-632: Was given the assignment to cover the New York Yankees playoff series but was denied entry into the men's locker room. Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn and other officials chose to discriminate against her based on her sex. Knowing that this would put Sports Illustrated in a disadvantage from other publishers, Time Inc. and Ludtke filed a lawsuit against Kuhn. The lawsuit was taken to the United States District Court in 1978 where Judge Constance Baker Motley ruled

6715-493: Was known for having dual roles as a heel manager and a somewhat neutral commentator, and continues to do so during his clients' matches in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling . Acting as a commentator has also been used to keep injured wrestlers – such as Samoa Joe on Raw between late 2019 and April 2021 – in the public eye while recuperating. Special guest color commentators serve two purposes:

6800-528: Was named NFCA's Player of the Week for a third time. She had hit .647 (11/17) with a home run, five doubles, and 1.117 slugging. Later that season, on May 8 with a 10–2 victory over the San Jose State Spartans , Mendoza drove in a career best six RBIs, four coming off her 50th career home-run swing with Carol Forbes pitching. Mendoza currently holds career records in average, hits, home runs, slugging, and runs. Her career doubles (ranked 7th in

6885-575: Was named by fans and experts to the Greatest College Softball Team as an outfielder, one of only three to achieve the honor. Mendoza, a graduate of Adolfo Camarillo High School , was named the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year in 1998. During her junior and senior years, she was named Camarillo High School's Female Athlete of the Year. Mendoza was also a member of the high school basketball team and

6970-806: Was retroactively named the national champion by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll . The current head coach of the California men's basketball program is Mark Madsen . Some notable NBA players that spent time playing in Berkeley include Jaylen Brown , Jason Kidd , Kevin Johnson , and Darrall Imhoff . The Cal baseball team plays at Evans Diamond , located between Haas Pavilion, the Recreational Sports Facility (RSF), and Edward's Track Stadium. Cal has appeared in

7055-571: Was the team MVP in her junior and senior years. Mendoza attended Stanford University and played college softball for the Stanford Cardinal . She began her career as a 1999 First Team All-American and All- Pac-10 Conference honoree. Included with her recognition, she was named Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year . She broke the Cardinal records for season batting average and runs batted in (RBIs) while ranking top-10 for her hits. On March 6, 1999, in defeating Illinois State , Mendoza had

7140-534: Was then asked to leave and wait. Male reporters were unhappy with this and blamed the women from keeping them out and not being able to do their job. In 1990, the issue made its way back into the headlines when Lisa Olson made a public statement revealing that players from the New England Patriots had exposed themselves while interviews were being conducted. This prompted other female reporters who had been harassed to come forward. Their credibility

7225-411: Was undermined by accusations that female interviewers appeared as being "too friendly" or conversing too long with players as though they were flirting. Thus, the issue of sexism was still present, despite the equal access to men's locker rooms. Though not always the case, in professional wrestling , the color commentator is usually a " heel sympathizer " (or a supporter of the "bad guys") as opposed to

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