Should be committed...

What's the difference between Fidel Castro and Al Davis? They're both stubborn/crazy dictators who seem to defy human nature by avoiding death and reigning in positions of extreme power for all eternity. Yeah... I'm not seeing much of a difference. 

As harsh as this sounds, there's no stopping crazy Al Davis until well... he has a nice little visit with St. Peter. It seems like there should be someone (ANYONE) who can stop the antics of the craziest old man in professional sports. Al Davis is out of his rocker. 

First of all, some one needs to let Al realize that he's not a coach. He shouldn't have the authority to decide what plays are made, how they're made, and who makes them. Of course yeah, he hires the coaches. But it's the job of the head coach to be the king of the team. Whenever a coach is brought in, 9.5 times out of 10, it is the head coach that chooses his coaching staff. Unfortunately for Lane Kiffin, he falls in that .5%. He didn't get that option, and now it's costing him his job. 

Everyone in the world thought Ol' Al was crazy when he hired a seemingly inexperienced guy in his early 30s to take over one of the most storied franchises in the NFL. And now we think he's crazy to fire him. Yeah, so the Raiders look as good as a Bill Parcells in a swimsuit (eek), but hell, they do have a win on the season. That's more than what the Chargers could say after two weeks. Da' Raidas did beat a lousy KC team, but they played what appears to be a pretty good Buffalo team down to the wire. Look at their roster for heaven's sakes. They have basically a rookie qb and a true rookie rb. They're young and still in the process of rebuilding. And the players respect this "kid" they call "Coach."  They want to play for him.  

But Noooo, Al Davis gets in one little tiff and the noose is tied. It's only a matter of time before the floor comes out from undeneath Kiffin.  Until Davis realizes this is not the same team (or the same game for that matter) the Raiders of the 1970s and 1980s played in, Raider Nation has little hope for a story that has a happy ending. 

Davis hasn't been all so bad to Kiffin... at least in the past he wasn't.  It was in fact Al who established Kiffin's career by hiring him as a no name. And now he'll do Kiffin a favor by firing him. When (it better happen soon, I'm sick of hearing it everyday on every radio/TV sports broadcast) Kiffin is fired, he'll leave the Al Davis regime a rich and relieved man. And believe you me, he will have a job. 

And as for the poor bastard who takes Kiffin's spot, he and the city of Oakland will have little hope until Davis croaks. 

... and the same goes for Cuba. 

lucy, you have some 'splainin' to do...

When you hear catfish, you think sports of course. Yeah ok, so it makes absolutely no sense and it's kinda strange... but so am I so it all works. I was given the odd nickname (including many others) by my father as a kid, and it just stuck (only in my family that is... let's keep it that way.) I just figured that unless a person was writing a blog on fishing or spearing, I'd have a pretty unique name that's pretty easy to remember. I think it's a little better than "Caroline's Sports Blog." 

caught in the act

A good chunk of the media is liberal. It's just something that seems only natural these days. The idea of fair and balanced news is a sick joke, we all know that. But I've always said I wanted to do sports, because yes, politics are still involved, but not in the cruel and vicious way the big networks of Ted Turner and Rupert Murdock handle it. Unfortunately, that wonderful four letter sports organization we know too well, as shown their true colors. 

A few weeks ago, they aired an interview with presidential hopeful Barack Obama. In the interview, he is shown shooting hoops with Stuart Scott; one of the most famous and most recognized (not just because of that lazy eye) personalities. It proved to be an interview that would sure enough grab the viewer, whether or not you liked the guy or not. 

So tonight, I'm in my nightly routine of getting ready for bed/watching SportsCenter, the McCain interview airs. What does it consist of? One shot. No variety. Just McCain sitting, talking, and boring the audience, as Bob Ley (oh, what an attention getter!) asks him dry questions about boxing, steroids, and Palin. There's no other action, no excitement, no nothing. Now yes, I know McCain has quite a few years on Obama, and he probably couldn't handle getting in the ring to show off his favorite sport, but hell, at least let him walk in the park or something! And yeah, Obama is naturally more exciting than McCain, but they went ahead and let Obama do exciting things. I don't care if you're conservative, liberal, black, white, or purple... something just seems fishy.  

Now am I going to boycott practically the only television news I watch? Well of course not. The network is what it is for a reason, and it's still the place I want to end up some day. (Yeah I dream big, so what?) I can't help but wonder though if these packages were filmed/arranged/edited the way they were for a specific reason... just a thought. Blame my professors for my cynicism. I guess it's the journalist in me.