Free Republic

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis has died at 82, with the team's website posting a simple tribute with his name in large silver letters, saying "the Raider family will issue a statement later today."

Davis spent a larger portion of a more than 100-minute news conference explaining why he fined former coach Tom Cable $120,000 in the final year of his contract. Davis says he withheld the money from Cable’s last six checks because of the strain on the organization from lawsuits involving Cable assaulting a former assistant coach and a former girlfriend. SNIP “Can’t get the story,” Davis said. “You know, it’s like Gitmo. Trying to find out, did they waterboard those guys or not? No, really. It’s hard to believe. How many guys went in? Four guys went into the room with...

An 8-8 record, the Raiders' best mark since 2002, was not good enough for owner Al Davis, as he informed Tom Cable on Tuesday night that the team will not pick up the option in the head coach's contract. Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson will become the head coach, a source close to Jackson said. Raiders senior executive John Herrera, however, there was no second announcement coming.

The Raiders will be killing time Sunday against Baltimore, whether they win, lose or lose by a lot. The real story comes immediately thereafter when the lottery on Tom Cable's firing begins. The early betting is on Thursday, because Al Davis tends to wait for the internal postseason self-examination process, in which the coach who is about to get fired has to hear about why he's going to be fired. But it could come as early as Monday (six percent), Tuesday (21 percent) or maybe even Wednesday (nine percent).And if you like the long money, Davis could wait and make...

If ever there was a player meant to be an Oakland Raider, it was Tony Mandarich. He was 315 pounds of pectorals and trouble, a wild and crazy offensive tackle who lived life not just large but extra large, maybe even triple-X. Before he had pancaked his first NFL defensive end, Sports Illustrated anointed him "the best offensive line prospect ever." Scouts gushed that he was better than Anthony Munoz, the tackle against whom all were measured. You had Mandarich, the second player picked in the 1989 draft, reportedly admitting on Showtime's "Inside the NFL" that he was a steroid...

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP)—The Oakland Raiders fired Lane Kiffin on Tuesday just four games into his second season, bringing finality to a situation that had been simmering for eight months. Kiffin had a 5-15 record since being hired last year, losing his final game 28-18 on Sunday to San Diego. The decision on Kiffin was as much about his frequent criticisms of owner Al Davis’ franchise as it was the team’s performance on the field. Those critiques reached a peak when Kiffin distanced himself from the defense after a blowout loss in the season opener, saying that was under coordinator Rob...

WARREN SAPP addressed the subject, as did Jerry Porter, Stuart Schweigert and Chris Carr. Each was cryptic in describing his experience with the Raiders and an owner who hasn't achieved his desired goal in a quarter-century. As the 2008 Raiders, with a dramatically altered roster, begin workouts Thursday in Napa, the veiled references of springtime are history. What lingers is the insinuation that the organization is its own worst enemy. It's not that the Raiders can't succeed but that any chance to do so demands that the talent overcome a culture that is whimsical, cannibalistic and, naturally, fraught with anxiety....

There are lots of Republicans who will vote for the candidate they think can beat either Senator Clinton or Obama in November. "Just win, baby," is Al Davis' memorable phrase, and the need to keep the White House in center-right hands during the war and as four to six Supreme Court vacancies looms matters more than any particular issue. The GOP voter who wants the best shot looks at McCain and Thompson and thinks "Bob Dole." They look at Huck and think "We'd lose 45 states, maybe more." They wonder where Rudy went and if he'll be back. In Iowa...

SAN FRANCISCO -- The state Supreme Court denied a new trial to the Oakland Raiders today in the team's $1.2 billion lawsuit accusing the National Football league of forcing it out of Los Angeles in 1995 by sabotaging plans for a new stadium. The court ruled unanimously that the Raiders had failed to prove misconduct by members of a Los Angeles jury that returned a 9-3 verdict in favor of the NFL in 2001. The judge in the case had set the verdict aside and granted a new trial to the Raiders, finding improper conduct by at least one of...

Alameda, Calif. (AP) -- The Oakland Raiders canceled the final week of their offseason training program Friday after complaints from the NFL players' union about the intensity of the practices.

A state appeals court on Friday threw out a jury's $34.2 million award to the Oakland Raiders over accusations that managers of the Oakland Coliseum falsely promised a sold-out stadium to lure the team back to the Bay Area. The case dates to 1995, when Raiders owner Al Davis maneuvered to get his team out of Southern California after revenues waned, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum's foundation was shaken by an earthquake and a deal collapsed to build a new stadium and horse track. The Oakland deal, first inked in 1995 and renegotiated a year later, gave the Raiders a...

It's official. The deal that brought the Raiders back to Oakland 10 years ago is an unmitigated disaster. At Wednesday's news conference announcing the extinction of personal seat licenses, city and county officials smiled bravely. And why not? It's better than crying. As it stands right now, Oakland is clinging to the Raiders with a hope and a prayer, neither of which have proved to be an especially effective tactic in dealing with Raiders owner Al Davis. The team's lease on McAfee Coliseum expires in 2011, which means it has until then to complete one of the greatest marketing turnarounds...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Randy Moss has become known as much for his distracting antics as he has for his electrifying touchdown catches during his seven-year career. Sounds like Al Davis' kind of player. Dante DiTrapano, Moss' agent, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders had ``come to an agreement on Randy playing for Oakland next year.'' ADVERTISEMENT Davis, the longtime renegade owner of the Raiders, has always taken a certain pride in acquiring talented players with troubled backgrounds. And Moss is just the latest to join the Silver and Black. DiTrapano said Moss was...

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Seven-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Warren Sapp agreed to terms on a seven-year, $36.6 million contract with the Oakland Raiders on Saturday, ending his nine-year relationship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. ``The bad news is I won't be back with the Bucs,'' Sapp said by telephone from Miami. ``The good news is I'm a Raider.'' The surprise move came only a day after Sapp's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said the one-time NFL defensive player of the year was close to signing a four-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. Sapp's contract is expected to be signed within the...

SACRAMENTO - The Oakland Raiders scored a partial victory in court Tuesday, as a jury awarded the team $44.2 million and found Oakland coliseum officials had acted negligently when negotiating to bring the team back from Los Angeles by promising a packed stadium. The verdict in the team's suit was far less than the $570 million to $833 million it sought to compensate for low ticket sales and the declining value of the franchise by 2010 when the contract expires.

<p>Granted, there is upheaval in the world and there are battles where a great deal is at stake -- life itself. All the more precious, then, the minor skirmishes on the home front that mean a great deal in a small way and remind us of how lucky we are to feel innocent hatreds, from summer to summer, at the ballpark.</p>