Straight from the Sports Desk

Oakland's Version of Dumb and Dumber

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:27:04 -0800

Just read the Oakland Tribune's Jerry McDonald's latest blog and it's really disheartening.

It's about Kiffin and the defense. And guess what?

He has no say in what the Raiders do defensively.

Surprised?

I'm not.

Just as expected, right?

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:02:07 -0800

Anyone that knows me knows I'm a Raider fan. They also know I was telling them that Oakland was about to get embarrassed on national TV. And tada! They were on Monday night.

Baby steps, right Kiffin?

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:54:16 -0800

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.

There's Just One Thing ...

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:45:35 -0800

... 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.

Simply Amazing

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:32:28 -0800

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

Passing ... Gas

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:28:52 -0800

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.

NFL.com, your source if you miss any preseason action

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:06:30 -0800

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.

Hitting The Ground Running

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:47:33 -0800

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.

Writing and racing to meet a deadline

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:47:21 -0800

Not having sufficient time to write a good game story is possibly my least favorite thing about being a sports reporter. Because so many events occur in the evening, sports reporters accept the reality that — depending on the starting time and length of the game — there may not be enough time to write a crisp, creative story. The process of writing the story, having it reviewed by an editor, making any necessary changes, and then finally giving the finished product to the layout & design maestro (who is saving space on a page for the story) in time to beat the newspaper's deadline — this can be challenging and frantic. This last-minute creative effort greatly differs than writing a weekly column, or researching and interviewing an ongoing story. Friday night — the opening night of the Crabs' Tri-State Western Tournament at the Arcata Ball Park — was a good example. Plan A was to type on my laptop during the Crabs vs. Nevada Bighorns game, but I could not find a good connection to the Internet, so I went to plan B: writing game notes while keeping a batter-by-batter scorebook and talking with friends and fans in the first-base section. Multi-tasking at its finest. The end result: (A) the game started 15 minutes late at 8:30 p.m. and ended at 11:08 p.m. (B) with no time to interview coaches and players, I hustled out of ballpark to my truck and drove safely south along U.S. 101, arriving at my desk back in Eureka at 11:22 p.m. (C) wrote my story!! ... handed it to the editor at 11:38 (D) made changes, gave to layout & design person by 11:45 p.m. (E) left the building at 12:05 a.m. (F) at home, decompressed from adrenaline rush and got to sleep by 2:15 a.m. (G) took dogs out at 7:25 a.m. (H) read the sports pages, hoping that I had not made major mistakes in my story (noticed one extra word) at 7:45 a.m.; (I) went back to bed for more sleep. Deadlines. Wow!

PacMan's outstanding ... no not the one you're thinking of

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:41:49 -0800

I always relish in the ability to watch boxer Manny "PacMan" Pacquiao get into the ring to do his thing.

Funny thing though, I didn't know he was going to fight on Saturday night until Friday evening. To make matters worse, I didn't even know he moved up to lightweight.

With all that, I wasn't aware there was all this hoopla regarding whether or not he is pound-for-pound the best boxer in the world today now that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is out of the sport.

I'm not even going to try and put my two-cents worth in that argument because of the sheer fact I'm just a casual boxing fan. When I was younger, I was all over it, but now, it's merely a treat to see a fight on television.

But, from what I saw of Pacquiao's beating of David Diaz on Saturday night, I just might get back into watching the sport regularly.

That was quick ...

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:16:48 -0800

Forget all the talk about a potential hold out.

The Oakland Raiders signed Darren McFadden to a six-year deal late Thursday night.

They're going to be left feeling Green

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:41:06 -0800

How do I think the Lakers/Celtics NBA finals will play out?

Try this on for size -- Lakers in 7.

There's no doubt about this one, Los Angeles will leave the Celtics feeling green.

Performances I'll remember

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:24:56 -0800

All I needed to see was an inning or two.

Long before I got up from my seat and headed back to the office to layout the pages, I knew, without a single shred of doubt, the game I was watching, was over.

That's how I felt while watching Arcata senior pitcher D.J. Hancock and St. Bernard's junior gunslinger Andrew Ayers go to work during the North Coast Section baseball playoffs over the past week and a half.

Getting rid of an old pair of Jordans

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:53:42 -0800

Many fans have been asking for it, and it appears, it's just around the corner.

Losing favor as quickly as he gained it, running back LaMont Jordan's time in Oakland is coming to an end.

Kobe, Kobe, Kobe!!

Thu, 29 May 2008 22:39:53 -0800

Yea, it's humble and PC to keep from gloating. No one is right all the time, right? Well, too bad. I'm right and the case I pitched over a year ago that Kobe Bryant is the best player ever is about to get a lot more easy to swallow.