Dan Bait: "The worst moment that any team has experienced since 1987."

PFT picking the wost moments for each franchise. Tuck Rule.

Hater of the Week: Chris Chase

Thanks to Ginger Jesus for forwarding this link to Chris Chase's little blurb about Overstock.com securing naming rights to the Coliseum:

The whole naming deal may be a gross miscalculation by Overstock.com, as it presupposes that Raiders fans know how to use the Internet and/or have a credit card. (Kidding. The biggest obstacle will be getting past the prison's web filters.)

Because Raiders fans are Stupid and Poor and in Jail. Get it? A lot of them are probably minorities, too, and everybody knows they caused the economy to crash with their bad credit. At least Hosting.com gave Raiders Fans more respect than that by implying we're dangerous internet hackers.

Hater of the Week: Donald Rumsfeld

There are known unknowns, unknown knowns, and unknown unknowns. And then there's war criminal and Hater of the Week, Donald Rumsfeld:

"Nobody could support the Raiders. They're evil."

So there's North Korea, Iraq, Iran, and Oakland. Awesome.
(h/t Jerry)

We are losers again

Two days after his team wrapped up its most successful season since 2002 - and by far the most gratifying for fans - Al Davis decided to fire coach Tom Cable. Couldn't stand the faint whiff of success? Angry that the Team of the Decades couldn't extend its NFL record 11-loss streak into this decade? Miffed that he never put out a press release about how great Jacoby Ford will be? Still irked that he slept through the first day of the draft this year?

More plausible, but still crazy, was that he couldn't risk the chance that the 49ers would one-up him by stealing his prized Hue Jackson. And of course "a source" even says that Cable's post-game comment, "We're not losers anymore" apparently did not go over well with Al Davis. The implication being that this somehow contributed to the decision.

Perhaps Hue Jackson will get the job and everything will go swimmingly next year. History doesn't favor that outcome, but we can hope. In the meantime, the first positive vibes in many years are gone. Here's some player reaction, courtesy of Jerry:

Shane Lechler: After stating that Gallery and Bush will be gone in free agency, "It's going to be a huge setback...It's hard to understand why the decision was made...we finally felt like we were headed in the right way, and the owner goes and pulls the (plug)."

Robert Gallery: "I think this is going to hit 99 percent of the locker room really hard because people respected how he dealt with us and where we were headed. It's definitely a step back from what we've done going forward the last year or two."

And the fans lose again.

Dublin Down

Look who Jerry ran into at Safeway in Dublin. Dave, please tell me you got me some memorabilia! The fact that he has two rings means he must have recovered the one after his emergency dental work in Reno several years back. Great to hear Lester is still able to get into his trademark stance, and nice to see he's donating some cash to fight breast cancer.

PUT HIM IN THE HALL OF FAME ALREADY!

Feeling Good

Hopefully Al Davis can say the same this weekend. It's been a long time since the Raiders have been 5-4. I've found myself marveling at the unfamiliar look of that combination of numbers all week. Raiders, 5-4. Nice.

What's also nice is this SI article courtesy of Jerry. Definitely a feel good article about Richard Seymour and the resurgent Raiders defense. The maturation of Matt Shaughnessy and reemergence of Tommy Kelly have turned around the run D 180 degrees. When reading the article, though, I do get that funny feeling that something doesn't add up. How can they just try a little bit harder and suddenly be a great D? Despite my previous distaste for him, Warren Sapp's analysis of the run defense continues to echo in my mind. Scheme must be important.

But then I remember Rich Gannon. Gannon came into the challenging organizational world that is the Raiders and willed that team to greatness. Perhaps Seymour is doing the same with the defense?

For the past 8 years or so, bye week has been welcomed by saying, "Well, at least the Raiders aren't going to lose this week." This year we can simply say, "5-4."

Al Davis taken to the Hospital

I just got a Skype message from a friend in Oakland who has a friend who works at a cardiologist's office across the street from Summit Hospital that Al Davis pulled up in a limo in the VIP lot. He was taken into the ER by his own cardiologist.

We'll keep you posted if we hear anything else.