Some magazine called "Sports Illustrated" writes about women's basketball (what a concept!): "Bullish Bears: Cal is ready for a run at its first Pac-10 championship - if it can end its streak of futility against Bay Area rival Stanford."

A FEW YEARS ago, Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour began receiving e-mails—from Stanford fans, of all people—thanking her for resurrecting the Cal women's basketball program, which had gone 13 seasons without a winning record before finally breaking the string in 2005--06. But now that the Bears are ranked No. 11 in the AP poll and are again a threat to break Stanford's eight-year Pac-10 title streak? Barbour laughs and says, "I haven't had one of those e-mails in a while."