Raiders, Al Davis, etc.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

1. Trying to recall which Sooners became Raiders. I can recall Kenny King and Reggie Kinlaw... who else?

2. For the last ten years (or longer) Al Davis has been cursed by the Raider faithful. Now that he is dead, I think about the statement that Harry Truman made as a very old man, close to death, "Please remember me the way I was, not how I am now." Love them or hate them, the Raiders were Players in Al Davis' younger days.

3. The Raider-Texan game had as exciting end game as I've seen in a while. So happy for Hue Jackson.

4. Sebastian Janikwski has been all-world this year. He was 4 for 4 today - three of them over 50 yards. A 63 yarder earlier this year.

5. If the Raiders get control on the penalties, they may be playoff worthy.

6. If you are pulling for the Raiders, you had to root for Tim Tebow today to subdue the Chargers. He almost pulled off a miracle. Reasonable chance he starts next week.

[tulsaoilerfan]

Greg Pruitt played for them and so did Travian Smith

[stoops the eternal pimp]

My buddy Josh Norman went through a little camp wtih them but he didn't make the roster

[GreenSooner]

I grew up a Raiders fan in the East Bay. Then they moved to LA (which is to Bay Area folks what Texas is to Sooners). I've been a Niners fan ever since. It didn't help that, when Davis moved the Raiders back to Oakland, he ruined the Coliseum for baseball by building the outfield stands that everyone calls "Mt. Davis" (I was and am a huge A's fan).

Nevertheless, the first teams I lived and died for were the Raiders squads of the 1970s. And those teams were reflections of their owner like no other teams I've ever rooted for. Kenny Stabler. Cliff Branch. Fred Biletnikoff. Jim Otto. Dave Caspar. Ray Guy. George Atkinson. Lester Hayes. George Blanda. They were all Al Davis players. John Madden, a man of no small personality, coached those teams. But they still, first and foremost, were Al Davis's teams, not Madden's.

So though Al Davis later broke my heart, I'll join SanJoaquinSooner in thinking well of him right now. He's one of the main reasons I'm a huge football fan today.

[Blue]

I must have slipped into an alternate universe. I could have sworn ESPN hated this guy. Now there is a tribute every 5 minutes.

[StoopTroup]

Tim Tebow should hang up his cleats

[rekamrettuB]

I like all these shows, people, etc showing their respect and admiration for Al Davis who, no more than a few weeks ago, rip the man for many things he has done with the Raiders. I just wish they would have done this prior to his death.

[cccasooner2]

Vince Carter was drafted by the Raiders. Too bad he couldn't gain enough weight for the position. He played his whole FB life at center.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I think it was more his long list of nagging injuries that kept him from making the squad than his size...Poor Vince was a great one, but just couldn't stay healthy

[cvsooner]

The thing everybody was ripping Davis for is apparently about 10 years ago he lost his touch and should have turned over management of the team to somebody new. The teams since 2003 have been just awful...the decent start to this season nothwithstanding. Al Davis clearly did a lot to make modern day pro football what it is today, for better and worse. His dedication to the game and to his team and organization was also very evident, but he was well past his prime. RIP, Mr. Football.

[rekamrettuB]

The thing everybody was ripping Davis for is apparently about 10 years ago he lost his touch and should have turned over management of the team to somebody new. The teams since 2003 have been just awful...the decent start to this season nothwithstanding. Al Davis clearly did a lot to make modern day pro football what it is today, for better and worse. His dedication to the game and to his team and organization was also very evident, but he was well past his prime. RIP, Mr. Football.

Exactly. Do this while the man was still alive.