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Cal Poly junior cornerback Kevin Britt. Tribune file photo

It’s been nearly a year since Kevin Britt has been a factor at Cal Poly football practice.

But in case anybody forgot the junior cornerback’s name, he got it called in Saturday’s spring game.

The former Nipomo High standout came up with an interception of quarterback Dano Graves that had to have some saying, ‘Oh, yeah, Kevin Britt.’

He was on track to becoming a key contributor in the defensive backfield before a lower back injury forced him to the sidelines last spring.

Now, he has to make sure he isn’t forgotten again.

“I’ve just got to prove not only to coaches but players, too, that I didn’t lose a step,” Britt said. “I deserve to be on the field. I’m ready wherever they need me as long as my body’s ready.”

Britt has spent most of the past calendar year performing therapy in the form of pilates and other core-strengthening exercises, hoping to stabilize his lower back, where a vertebrae tear and bulged disk were revealed by tests shortly before the 2012 season opener last fall.

He’s rid of the shooting pain that traveled from his back down through his legs, but he’s still been dealing with back stiffness at Cal Poly’s early morning practices.

But if Saturday’s performance was any indication, his back is ready for action.

Shadowing a nearby defender, Britt made a quick reaction on a pass tipped by another receiver and caught a ball he barely had time to see.

He regretted losing his balance and falling to the ground while completing the catch but was happy about the way his back held up.

“Spring practice was pretty rough,” Britt said. “My body’s getting adjusted to the little things, so I had to stay on top of it with ice baths, stretching two or three times a day.”

But Saturday, “it felt so good, better than any practice. It’s great to be out here taking advantage of every rep.”

Continue reading »]]> When Drake U’u makes a play during a men’s basketball game in Mott Gym, public address announcer Mike Moreno lets you know it by emphatically booming out the Cal Poly senior guard’s last name: “You-youu!”

But all this time, have we been mispronouncing U’u's name (which is Samoan in origin)?

According to the Hawaii broadcasters – experts at pronouncing Pacific Islanders’ surnames – during last week’s game in Honolulu, we have been. But then again, they also tagged a Pomona on the end of Cal Poly a time or two.

I set out to clear up any remaining confusion on how to properly say Drake’s last name in my latest video, and it ended up being a fun tandem interview with fellow senior Chris O’Brien, who has some nickname pronunciation issues of his own.

See the duo play in their final home game in San Luis Obispo at 7 p.m. on Saturday (March 8, 2013) against visiting Cal State Fullerton in the second half of a doubleheader with the women’s team.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Tribune file photo by David Middlecamp. Cal Poly’s Drake U’u drives past Isaac Fotu of Hawaii earlier this season.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser basketball beat reporter Brian McInnis came on the Scrogcast to give you everything you ever wanted to know about the Rainbow Warriors, the Warriors, the Rainbows, the Bows and the Rainbow Wahine.

We talked about Hawaii’s fit in the Big West, the home court advantage on the islands, a little recruiting and a little Star Wars.

Hope you enjoy, and follow me on Twitter at Twitter.com/SLOcollegebeat for Cal Poly men’s basketball updates.

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NCAA Division I Baseball Map – Source: Wikipedia

The map above is the problem with NCAA baseball postseason credentials in the world of Cal Poly baseball head coach Larry Lee.

West of the Rockies, there are a lot fewer teams to play, and most of them are at least decent. In the interest of travel budget, good teams have to play good teams. In the East, there are so many more teams to choose from, the good teams don’t have to play each other outside of conference play. That makes it easier to pile up wins.

If you’re a good team in the East, why would you want to play Cal Poly when there are a bunch of no-name states, directional schools and last-name private colleges to slap around nearby?

Florida State, for instance, starts this season off with a 15-game home streak. LSU plays 15 of the first 16 at home. Take a peek at their opponents. Stanford on the other hand, plays Rice, Fresno State and Texas in the first three weekend series. Arizona State plays a series with Long Beach State. Oregon plays Cal State Fullerton for three.

In the end, you can’t fake it in the CWS, but the road to regionals seems easier in the East, an aspect of college baseball that can frustrate bubble teams from the West.

Continue reading »]]> For those of you looking for news on former Cal Poly defensive tackle Kevin Hess, who has been in the hospital with head injuries suffered in a skateboarding accident, there has been some encouraging developments.

Hess’s sister Lindsey posted the following on Kevin’s Facebook page:

Update on Kev: He has been awake for short spurts over the last few days. He is able to speak, which is a good sign but he is still very groggy and confused. It is too soon to tell how much of his behavior is from the medication and how much is from the injury. Overall, we feel things are moving in a positive direction and the doctors seemed pleased with his progress. Will keep everyone posted, as we know more….keep sending the love and positive thoughts, it seems to be working!

Kevin Hess

Continue reading »]]> Former Cal Poly football player Kevin Hess is in intensive care at a San Luis Obispo hospital after sustaining a head injury in a skateboarding accident, former teammates confirmed Saturday.

Hess, who was a senior during the 2011 season, still lives in San Luis Obispo and has a job on campus at Cal Poly, Mustangs head coach Tim Walsh said.

“I really think he loved Cal Poly, and that’s why he was still here,” Walsh said.
“We in the program want to support Kevin as much as we can. It’s kind of a hang-out-and-see-what-happens thing.”

Described as one of the most popular players on the team during his five years with the football program, Hess was a key contributor at defensive tackle in each of his final three seasons and a primary backup at defensive end as a redshirt freshman.

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound Arcadia High graduate played in 41 career games, racking up 50 total tackles and five sacks.

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Gearing up for the Blue-Green Rivalry between the Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball teams this weekend, the Scrogcast features about 25 minutes with new media specialist Steve Chen from the Big West Conference office.

Also, I’ve also tacked on my one-on-one interview with Mustangs leading scorer and rebounder Chris Eversley to the end of the show. That interview took place Wednesday night after Eversley’s first practice following a leg injury in the previous game against UC Davis.

It seems like Eversley is questionable for Saturday’s big game, but you can also be the judge. In the promo video above, it looks like Musty the Mustang is breaking out some fancy footwork.

And Musty, in this case, is actually Eversley, sources say. I won’t out any of the other costumed characters (hint: they’re all players), but do check out Cal Poly basketball’s “Harlem Shake” then let me know what you think of this week’s Scrogcast!

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The folks over at The Poly Report (is that the official name?) requested an audio recording of the assistant coaches’ comments on signees from the Cal Poly football team’s Letter of Intent news conference on Wednesday.

Here it is. With a short introduction, it lasts fewer than 20 minutes. Hope you enjoy, and if you would like to hear more audio clips, please let me know. I record every interview I do and would gladly make much of that available if there was enough demand for the content.

Let me know by contacting me on Twitter. And be sure to check out my new social page at rebelmouse.com/JDScroggin. You can find a lot of Cal Poly content there, and I’m looking to feature other people’s social media there as well.

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Cal Poly point guard Jamal Johnson drives the lane against UC Irvine. Tribune photo by Laura Dickinson.

Tribune preps reporter Nick Wilson joined me to provide a preview of the All-County high school football team and the Player of the Year story coming out this weekend. Nick let a spoiler slip, and one player had his spot announced a little early.

I also had Owen Main from Fansmanship.com back to talk about Cal Poly men’s basketball. We update the status of the Mustangs’ season after a heart-breaking loss at UC Davis spoiled a perfect 3-0 start to Big West Conference play.

Nick also gives the scoop on his recent interview with four-time NBA champion and Arroyo Grande resident Horace Grant, and Owen and I go on a minor tangent about the wonders of a couple of rival defunct minor league hockey franchises.

And check out our new home for online multimedia coverage of college athletics in San Luis Obispo County. This blog will be mainly used to host podcasts in the future, but bookmark the rebelmouse.com site to stay up to date with all of our social media and coverage of Cal Poly and Cuesta College sports. And thanks for listening.

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Photo by Joshua D. Scroggin ©

As we get to know a little bit more about the Big Sky Conference this year, I’m taking the opportunity when I can to also get familiar with the eats in each new town on the travel schedule. With some time to kill before today’s Cal Poly football game at Sacramento State, I headed over to a local burger joint for the first of hopefully many food reviews.

The chosen spot today was Sacramento’s Squeeze Inn, an area chain famous for the melty, crispy cheddary skirt around its cheeseburgers. I first saw the restaurant featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” On my last vacation driving through Northern California, I tried to make it to a Squeeze Inn, but they were closed for the day. I knew this trip would be the perfect opportunity to see what I had missed.

Before the football game, I went over the nearby location on Power Inn Road, which seems to be one of the newest locations. It was only a couple minutes away from Hornet Stadium.

I got a Squeeze Burger with cheese (pictured above) and everything on it and a side of french fries. It was a little more than $11, and I drank water instead of splurging on a drink.

On a side note, I’ve given up drinking soda and most other sugary drinks, and I’ve had water at every restaurant I go to for close to two years, but I can’t help but thinking the tip-dependent servers always give me the cheapskate look when I say “just water for now.” Prospective servers, water is a lifestyle choice for me. Sorry in advance for 50 cents in tips you’re missing out on when you get my table.

That said, the Squeeze Burger was a little pricey compared to In & Out or The Habit. But for a treat, oh, say, once every two years on a road trip to Hornet Stadium, I can stomach the charges.

And the burger, which is far bigger than the counterparts from the places mentioned above, really was amazing.

Starting the bun, it was very high quality, moist and large enough to hold all the stuffing, which included deli sliced pickles, red onion, mayo, mustard, tomatos and a hearty beef patty.

As for the cheese skirt, it was the first time I’d had anything like it before. After breaking off a piece and eating it like a giant potato chip, I tucked the remainder back into the burger and enjoyed it that way.

The melted skirt on its own was a tasty mix of crispy, chewy and salty cheddar – good enough to eat on its own but a little too rich for me to eat the whole thing straight.

As for the fries, they were just OK. I got the small serving, which is really too much for one person to eat. I barely touched half of them and it was my first meal of the day outside of a couple granola bars and a Gatorade I had on the drive up from San Luis Obispo. The real star was the burger.

If you’re driving through or stopping in Sacramento, I’d recommend trying a Squeeze with Cheese at least once. Just make sure you have some time. I stopped in around 3 p.m. on Saturday, and the restaurant was pretty crowded for that in-between meal time. It’s probably like the DMV at peak eating hours.