Straight from the Sports Desk

For a while there, it looked like JaMarcus Russell was once again going to be held on a very short and tight leash.

Taking on the Tennessee Titans on Friday night in the second preseason game of the young season, the Raiders' quarterback threw dump offs and a simple slant route to start off the contest.

It looked like Russell was bound to another lackluster performance --- i.e. the one he had against the 49ers a week earlier.

However, head coach Lane Kiffin opened up the playbook a little bit more.

Actually, Kiffin allowed himself to turn past the table of contents and the introduction page.

But nonetheless, Russell was allowed to stand in the pocket, roll around and toss the pigskin. Something that was lacking against San Francisco.

While his success was intermittent at best, Russell ended his night 10-for-17 for 75 yards and a touchdown. He did have some very questionable throws -- a super high pass that sailed over Javon Walker's head leaving him high and dry for a DB to wallop, a short screen to Ronald Curry on 3-and-8 that resulted in a loss of one and fourth down -- but his receivers also had some drops -- back to Walker who showed absolutely no desire to play.

Lane Kiffin allowed his quarterback to actually mingle and play quarterback and Russell showed a few good results. Kiffin promised Russell would see more time and he did.

Baby Steps.

The Raiders' offense isn't going to score 30 points a game and while Raider fans may hate the little steps Kiffin is giving his QB, in the long run, it will be for the best.

Russell is basically a rookie this season and easing him into the job is the proper approach.

While Russell showed off the zip in his arm, the offensive line contained a very stout Titans' front four. Again, like I've said many times, you cannot really judge a team's performance in preseason, but keeping Russell's jersey clean against a tough defense is an achievement the Raiders -- a comically bad team the last few years -- can be proud of.

Posted by Ray Aspuria at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (672)

... About being a sports editor and designing pages while watching the Olympics.

You usually find out who won a highly anticipated event before they appear on "live" television.

Going through the Associated Press wire looking for the daily Olympic Roundup on Friday night, the result for the men's 100-meter Butterfly was posted as urgent/breaking news.

And tada!

Michael Phelps wins again -- barely.

About 20 minutes after I saw the story, grabbed the photos and placed it on the front page of Friday's Times-Standard, the event was "live" on NBC.

Some of the thrill and anticipation was taken out of the event due to finding out who won without seeing it on TV, but it was still a sight to behold.

Especially the final stretch when it appeared Serbia's Milorad Cavic had beaten Phelps and ruined his chase for history. Several replays were so close and the crowd ... oh man ... the crowd thought Cavic had indeed won as there was a rolling hush and sigh throughout the arena.

But after officials watched several replays, Phelps' name went up No. 1 on the board and he won yet again. Keeping his chase to beat Mark Spitz's record. Now all he needs to do is to come out with the gold in his final event -- a team event -- on Sunday in Beijing and he adds to an already glorious Olympic performance.

His reaction after the race on Saturday, however, was priceless.

A shrug, a sigh and a smirk.

Classic.

Posted by Ray Aspuria at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (591)

U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps is just that ... simply amazing.

Sitting in the office and checking the AP's Olympic Budget, Phelps topped the story list.

His quest to become the all-time medal leader in an Olympic outing as a swimmer is fun to watch. He needs nine to surpass fellow American Mark Spitz record of eight and the 23-year-old Phelps is well on his way.

Designing the sports section on Tuesday night, I had to make changes a total of three times on the front page for Wednesday's edition of the Times-Standard.

The lead story went from the Williams sisters fantastic three-win outing on the tennis portion of the Beijing games but once Phelps won his fourth medal to become the all-time winningest Olyjmpian (he had 10) after capturing Gold in the 200m butterfly, so that became story numero-uno.

Grab a picture of Phelps, change the design, insert story, done right?

Wrong.

Phelps went on to win gold with in the men's relay with his U.S. teammates and once again, design change.

But it didn't bother me one bit.

Phelps is breaking records and taking medals like they were candy being given out for free and he was a sugar deprived kid.

I just hope he can keep it up.

By capturing medal after medal and chasing Spitz mark and the mounting anticipation and pressure, Phelps has made swimming a must-see in the Olympics.

It would be a crying shame to see him fall short of his goal.

But then again, he's done so much already at such a young age.

Watching him scream in pure joy at the end of the relay, one has the impression nothing's going to stop him.

If he does past Spitz, Phelps will have added on to his legacy, one that might never be reproduced again.

Posted by Ray Aspuria at 12:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (496)

The Raiders appear ... keyword ... appear ready to take on the regular season with a running attack that should feature three running backs: Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden and Michael Bush.

But what about the air attack?

It might have been the initial foray into the 2008 year, but what Oakland showed against the 49ers last Thursday isn't going to cut it.

Legs can take you only so far. The Raiders are also going to have to rely on quarterback JaMarcus Russell's arm.

Head coach Lane Kiffin admitted to keeping Russell under wraps against the 49ers concerned that the QB might take unnecessary hits.

Unnecessary? Really?

Isn't that what the preseason is for? To hit and be hit?

Russell only attempted five passes completing two in very limited work. Known for his cannon, Russell was subject to quick slants and dump offs.

At a media conference call, Kiffin said Russell would be given more chances to showcase his apparent skill. Plain and simple here, Kiffin needs to give Russell as many opportunities he can get since he is by all rights, essentially a rookie this year after missing last preseason due to a lengthy hold out.

And from all indications during training camp, Russell has been off and on. Not a good sign heading into September.

Sure, Oakland can gain yards on the ground behind their zone-blocking scheme, but what then? Teams stack the box and tada, the run is probably stopped. They'll need to take to the air and thus far, Russell/Kiffin/Oakland hasn't shown it can take flight and attack with an aerial assault.

Their next preseason game, against Tennessee on Friday at 5 p.m. (the game will be on Fox, I set my DVR) should give Russell and crew to see if they can make an impact through the passing game.

It will also give Oakland a chance to see if their run defense can plug opposing offenses.

After watching Titans' rookie tail back Chris Johnson burn the Rams defense for a tantalizing 60-yard burner, Oakland should get excellent competition to see if they stand a chance. Johnson, if you remember, was the fastest rookie running back during the combine.

This one should be fun.

Posted by Ray Aspuria at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (511)

Just a quick entry folks.

Don't have DirectTV or satellite and can't watch any preseason action on the tube?

No worries.

NFL.com has you covered.

The site offers highlights from all the games for free (technically, if you pay for internet service, it's not free but ...) of all the preseason games the next day and it appears the site will do the same for the 2008 regular season.

Posted by Ray Aspuria at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (392)

It may have been the first game of the 2008 preseason. It may have been against the San Francisco 49ers. It may mean little to nothing in terms of what's going to happen during the regular season.

But from early indications, the Oakland Raiders look set to pound the ball with its running game.

Running backs Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden, Michael Bush and Louis Rankin did an adequate job in the ground against the 49ers. The zone-blocking scheme that offensive line coach Tom Cable has installed has transformed the Raiders into a decent running team. The Raiders gained 248 yards on the ground against San Francisco.

Granted, McFadden didn't have a run longer than 10 yards in his appearances -- far from the home-run hitter he was billed to be -- but the rookie showed he can take a pounding by running in between the tackles. Of more dire importance, DMC showed he can hang on to the ball. Fumbling was one of his blemishes during a great collegiate career at Arkansas.

Forget about McFadden's performance for now, Bush -- after not hitting a football field for a game in two years -- showed nimble feet and a knack for making a play.

Whether it was a 23-yard screen pass or a nifty/bruising five-yard touchdown plunge on fourth-and-one, Bush gives Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin a familiar back. Kiffin, the offensive coordinator for USC when the Trojans featured Reggie Bush and LenDale White as the tailbacks, has the potential to use Fargas, McFadden, Bush and quite possibly Rankin as a thunder-and-lightening combo like Bush and White. Fargas and McFadden providing the speed with Bush handing out the punishment as a bruiser.

Ranking, an undrafted free agent out of Washington, had a 72-yard scamper against the 49ers' third-string defense and is a long-shot to make the roster. Practice squad appears more suitable, but after showing what he can do in the open field, Oakland might want to see what he can do on kick returns. He did return a kickoff for 28 yards.

Lost in the running back carousel is perhaps the lead blocking of fullbacks Justin Griffith and Oren O'Neal. Griffith provides Oakland a pass-catcher out of the backfield along with his blocking abilities while O'Neal is the classic hammer as an escort for tail backs.

But once again, this was the preseason opener, and while the performance was adequate, it was in a game that doesn't count.

The passing offense, however, is another matter.

More on that later.

Posted by Ray Aspuria at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (579)