4:44 p.m.

12 and a half innings. TWELVE and A HALF innings.

I tell ya, in 87 degree weather, wearing our navy blue uniforms, our girls dug so deep – coming back from a two-run deficit late in the game against one of the best pitchers in the country – that even as those of us in Oklahoma City have begun to scramble for flights back to the West Coast earlier than we ALL would have liked, I can honestly say that I have never been more proud to be a Cal fan than I am at this very moment.

Before I dive in too deep though, it’s time to shower and meet up with the team for one last blue and gold dinner. I’ll be back later with my in-depth daily report, which I assure you will include plenty of self-effacing humor surrounding the damn ESPN cameras that stalked me throughout the day. I swear, no money exchanged hands.

Until later tonight, I smell. Time for me to hit the showers.

GO BEARS…still!

2:01 a.m.

Nine hours and counting until the first pitch crosses the plate between the Bears and the ‘Cats and as I sit here typing in the late Oklahoma night I’m glad - to say the very least - that I slept so well at the Sheraton, for two reasons.

First off, because the traveling dreams that I mentioned in my last entry did in fact, come true. I have a room reserved at the WATERFORD for the next five nights, the Marriott two miles down the road. Thank you, thank you. Please, hold your applause.

Luckily, the crew has saved me for the evening and I’m currently shacking up in room #1422 at the Oklahoma City Marriott.

More importantly, despite the fact that the game doesn’t start until 11 a.m., there is much to accomplish before then. Tailgating and Tecate drinking are set to begin in-house at 8:30 a.m. Followed by cheer practice, led by yours truly, at 10:15 a.m. If you don’t hear the Cal contingent loud and clear on TV today, feel free to take back anything good you’ve ever said about me, for I will have failed as a Cal Mic Man. Hell, anything good you’ve ever thought too.

Anyway, I digress, back to the rest of my day. We left off pre-happy hour, while I was hanging out with K-Thor and Kaleo in Mike’s room. A few hours of doing nothing led us down to Russell’s – the in-hotel sports bar – around 6 p.m. Cheese fries, chips and artichoke dip, and chicken tenders made for an exquisite three-course dinner, and at 6:45 p.m. it was time to head over to the Amateur Softball Association complex to cheer on UCLA – talk about hard – because here in Oklahoma, it’s the Pac-10 vs. the world.

While at the field I did everything I could to distract myself from having to clap for the Bruins, and found funnel cakes and left fielder Lindsay James to be the perfect diversionary pair. K-Thor, meanwhile, didn’t have to find something to sidetrack herself from the game. The autograph eager softball youths in attendance took care of that for her.

After UCLA disposed of Tennessee 3-1 in the first game of the evening, I got my first peak at the NCAA Softball Player of the Year, Texas pitcher Cat Osterman - who the Bears will now face tomorrow night if and when they defeat Arizona in the first game of the day. At 6’2" she’s quite the physical sight. She even looked tall from my seat in the outfield bleachers. But as Michigan, the #1 team in the nation proved after knocking in three runs and knocking Osterman out of the game, she’s definitely hittable.

A few other tidbits from the complex before I hit the sack. The hairdo of choice for a number of young female fans at the tournament is one you’re unlikely to miss – much the same as you’d be doubtful to avoid it’s natural disaster namesake – the tornado. Not only have I been unable to figure out how the girls are making their hair stand up, but I’m more confused as to why exactly, they would want to do such a thing. I suppose they would say the same thing about the Calfornia faux hawks craze, but fashioning a hairstyle after a twister? I really need to get to the salon more often.

Oh, and Kelly Anderson is starting tomorrow against ‘Zona. I can taste the Tecate already. Until next time, thanks for reading. GO BEARS!

Full Name: Julie Meyer
Nickname of choice: Captain Blackbeard
Birth place and date: Trenton, NJ – November 14th, 1986
Place she calls home: Yardville, NJ
Family contingent in attendance: Mom, Dad, and Grandma
Year in school: Freshman
Major: Legal studies
Dream job: To do nothing…but still make money
Years left on the field: 3
Why she came to Cal: Far from home, good education, good softball program
What she loves most now that she’s here: The Bay Area in general (she’s from NJ remember)
Favorite Berkeley area dining establishment: La Burrita
If she could go to the Berkeley Area Prom her date would be A) a squirrel or B) a bum:
A squirrel
How she gets away from it all: heads up to the Clark Kerr track
What’s spinning on the iPod today: Rascal Flatts
Superstitious?: Yes
Must have/do pre-game ritual: Before she steps to the plate, she writes number 18 in the dirt in memory of a friend who passed away a few years ago, then enters the box the same way every time
First softball team: Hamilton Hurricanes
First position played: first base
Other sports played: Soccer, basketball, and dance (jazz, tap, and ballet)
Favorite sport to watch at the pro or collegiate level: Professional tennis
Favorite athlete: Andy Roddick
Favorite collegiate opponent: Too young to have one
Most hated opponent: Arizona
Hardest place to play on the road: Arizona
Best aspect of playing at home: The view of the Golden Gate Bridge (from first base)
Favorite Cal softball memory: Coming back to win two in a row at the Regionals in Fresno two weeks back after losing the first game
The one aspect that will put Cal over the top in the 2005 WCWS: Our determination

Full Name: Lindsay James
Nickname of choice: LJ
Birth place and date: Redwood City, CA – February 6th, 1984
Place she calls home: San Carlos, CA
Family contingent in attendance: Mom, Dad, and two Grandpas
Year in school: Junior
Major: Social Welfare
Dream job: to be an art curator in New York
Years left on the field: 1
Why she came to Cal: close to home, good education, good softball program
What she loves most now that she’s here: the diversity, Telegraph avenue, the food
Favorite Berkeley area dining establishment: Chaat-Am
If she could go to the Berkeley Area Prom her date would be A) a squirrel or B) a bum:
- LJ would go with her favorite Berkeley homeless man, the one who wears the Cal softball shirt that she left at People’s Park a few years back – aka – green sweater guy
How she gets away from it all: grabs a coffee and walks around Berkeley picking flowers
What’s spinning on the iPod today: Dave Matthews Band, The Killers
Superstitious?:  No
First softball team: San Carlos Tea Party
First position played: pitcher and shortstop
Other sports played: basketball, soccer, volleyball
Favorite sport to watch at the pro or collegiate level: Olympic swimming or gymnastics
Favorite athlete: J.J. Arrington
Favorite collegiate opponent: Arizona
Most hated opponent: Arizona
Hardest place to play on the road: Arizona
Best aspect of playing at home: the surroundings – the hills and the trees
Favorite Cal softball memory: Beating Arizona twice, freshman year at the WCWS
The one aspect that will put Cal over the top in the 2005 WCWS: Our heart