Raider Nation - Hold Your Head High

They just don't understand. When it comes to being a fan of the Oakland Raiders, you're all in. Real fans never quit their team. There is no switching allegiance to another team or colors. You might disagree with team decisions and possibly even boycott them, but the love remains intact. Because you are a proud member of a silver and black fan base that's loyal to the core. You've got history with your team.

Raider Nation is more than just followers of a football team; it's a collection of humanity who've found integrity in slogans like "commitment to excellence" and "just win baby." It's a group of individuals coming together to share in what it means to support an idea, a vision, a cause and a community. It's a membership that can't be bought, borrowed or bartered for. You can only earn membership with love & loyalty. And as with most relationships of commitment there's times when it hurts. Times you wish you'd maybe not gotten so seriously involved. Times when you question whether to stay in the relationship or just walk away, because of the pain. But you stay because you know you'll never find another like it. The pain makes you stronger. 

Then you remember the good times, the "One Nation" feeling that only a stadium full of screaming silver & black fans can give you. You smile with thoughts of witnessing the most unpredictable wins and unlikely outcomes. Thoughts of clutching fellow fans as the Raiders pull off another classic win at home are etched in your game memory scrapbook. You warm to the idea that you have been and continue to be a part of sports most committed and recognizable fan base, regardless of how villainous others might perceive you. The warmth brings about a radiant glow of pride in your face and stoic victory in your heart. You hear the late John Facenda narrating lines to the "Autumn Wind" poem and you're ready to strap on a helmet and run through a brick wall. Because YOU ARE A RAIDER. And there's nothing like it in the world of sports.

So Raider Nation, should anyone question how you can remain loyal to a 4-12 team that's about to move to Las Vegas and leave you football homeless, you tell'em they'll never understand what it means to be part of something bigger than the NFL. Bigger than sports. You tell'em there's nothing on this earth next to God & Family that fills you with a love and loyalty so powerful it takes your breath away. You tell'em what it means to be a part of Raider Nation. Then ask if their team and fan base makes them feel anything like what you've just described. Chances are they've never experienced anything like Raider Nation. And as fans of other teams they likely never will. How could they? 


Say Goodnight to the villain -

Put Yourself In Mark Davis Shoes

Sharing A Relic in Oakland

Occupying A Palace in Las Vegas

What Oakland really needs to be upset about are the politicians and/or city officials who waited until the fourth quarter to try making serious adjustments in the game to keep the Raiders in Oaktown. Then with the clock winding down they fumbled the ball, turning it over to the opposing team.

Hell yeah, somebody dropped the ball. But the play has been reviewed and the ruling on the field stands. 

Now they want to throw a red flag and challenge the call on the field long after the game ended and the final whistle was blown? Come'on Man!

What NFL owner in his right mind would have his team play another season, much less another game, in a town or county that has brought a lawsuit against him for seeking better pastures? 

I'm just glad they returned from L.A. in the 90's and stayed long enough for me to become a part of Raider Nation. I've enjoyed the Raiders from the time they returned right up until last weekend's incredible comeback win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don't know what the future holds for me and the Raiders personally, but I can't go hatin' on Mark Davis for wanting to improve his business prospects. And anyone with any business sense knows that its "Just Bizness,' nothing personal.

I'm gonna miss the Raiders in Oaktown. What I would like to see the folks threatening a lawsuit against the Raiders do is put together a plan to replace the Raiders with a new team and new stadium in Oakland. Show the NFL the revenue potential of investing in Bay Area sports. Show Oaktown's willingness to be a partner instead of a plaintiff. That's how you attract good business. Stop playing the victim and start envisioning victorious dealings with the NFL. It's a new day; time for a new attitude. Continue holding on to old ways of doing business and you might find yourself out of a baseball team next. 

The Mills of God Grind Slowly

Which means that no matter how long it takes, he who needs to be punished will be punished. God watches all, and the day of reckoning will come.


From the book "Retrospection" by Hubert Howe Bancroft (1912):

Pray the gods that their mills may be kept running until the superstition and chicane which govern our courts shall be ground out, when justice and judges shall be something more than mechanisms chained to the Juggernaut of form, when right shall precede precedent, when lawyers shall not be allowed to insult men and torture women on the witness stand, when competent and responsible judges shall do the work of ignorant and stupid jurymen, when accusers shall be required to act promptly and make good their accusations or drop it, when court routine shall be conducted more upon the principles of common-sense and common honesty, more work and less delay being required of judges who should dispose of their cases in one-fifth of the time now taken, when justice shall be considered before law and the spirit of the law before the letter of the law, when rich and poor shall be treated alike, and insanity, informality, or other like trivial pretense shall not shield a convicted criminal.

The world moves. We may be sure that a change will come, that our courts of law will  not always be courts of charlatanry, and that administrators of the law will be something else than images cast in bronze set up for the embarrassment of the people. 
pages (192-193)

Old technology: Millstones for grinding grain are seen at the Lacey Green Windmill

When The Cover-up Exposes the Crime

I’ve been outta the loop politically since the first African-American was elected President of the United States. My understanding of his tenure was that he courageously fulfilled his obligations as Commander-in-chief through two terms, fighting tooth and nail against an opposition political party that attempted to hinder his every move. Now I’m tuning in and watching a fiasco unfold with a President and his associates who represent that same political party that opposed the first African-American President. Yes, the same man who stoked the angry flames of the birther movement.

Now let me get this straight. The President’s personal lawyer was sentenced to 3 years incarceration for lying to congress about hush money payments made to women the President had extramarital affairs with years ago. Well why would a lawyer lie about that? I wouldn’t call a pornstar and playboy playmate credible witnesses that could hurt the President politically. Oh, the money was paid during the 2016 Presidential campaign? Did the campaign report the money as an expense? I see. And did the President know about these payments? Well if the President says he didn’t know anything about it, let the loyal lawyer take the fall, what’s the problem?

What! The lawyer confessed? What made him do that? So, you’re saying the raid on the lawyer’s office turned up evidence that proved him guilty of lying about the payments? And why should the President be concerned when he has said all along that he knew nothing about the lawyer’s payments to the pornstar and the playboy playmate?

Is the President heard referencing the payments on the recordings? Don’t the lawyer’s recordings fall under attorney-client privilege material? I see, so the lawyer cut a deal claiming everything he did was under orders from the President.  I wonder what made the lawyer paranoid enough to not only record conversions with the President but to keep the recordings in his office for years. Yeah, it does kind of sound like a low-level mobster insurance policy. Guess I would feel Untouchable too with evidence like that in my possession? Ever heard of J. Edgar Hoover? He had something on just about everyone.

And please tell me again, why was the lawyer initially questioned about the President? Russia? You mean the lawyer was trying to do business with Russia on behalf of the President? The same Russia that United States intelligence organizations have confirmed interfered with the 2016 Presidential Election? I see, so the lawyer is just the pawn protecting the business King from being prosecuted for collusion with Russia in U.S. election interference. Why would the President collude with a sanctioned country like Russia? Yes I know of the President’s business organization. You say the President’s business org. was working on a billion-dollar deal to build a hotel-casino in Russia? No they didn’t! They actually threw-in a free penthouse suite for the Russian President as a bonus if the deal went through? Now I get the picture. 

So when the President started advocating removing U.S. sanctions on Russia, his motive was to get rid of the U.S. imposed restrictions preventing American businesses like his from doing business there. That sounds like a bigger plan than one man or one business could pull off. Is there anything I might’ve missed? I would begin coming unhinged too if a day after my personal lawyer was sentenced for lying for me, that National Enquirer newspaper, under threat of prosecution, finally admitted this:

The company that publishes the National Enquirer admitted that it paid $150,000 in hush money to silence alleged mistresses of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump prior to the 2016 election, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The publisher, American Media Inc., will avoid prosecution by stipulating that it worked with Trump's campaign to buy the silence of women — who have identified themselves as adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal — ahead of the vote two years ago, prosecutors said.

So the National Enquirer bought and buried the pornstar story as an agreement with the President’s 2016 campaign, that’s rich. Who knew that when an enhanced and aging pornstar came forward with allegations of a tryst between her and the President, that the story would kick up dirt exposing illegal actions taken by the President to influence the election and possibly pave the way for him making lots of money in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Its so true that the cover up is always worse than the crime.

You mean the President of the United States has been implicated in a felony? And his business organization, per the prosecution, is documented as paying back the felonious lawyer money he paid National Inquirer who in turn paid the playmate? I swear you just can't make up stories like this. You do think we'll see indictments for the President and family members running his business organization, right? Wow...…….

And one final question or two if you don’t mind. What, besides the unhinged blowup on national tv to shutdown the Government if he doesn’t get his wall , has the President said of late? I know the President continues to call the Russian election interference investigation as nothing more than a “witch hunt.” And I'm not surprised he has labeled his once trusted and good-fellow lawyer with one little word, “weak.”

How does the always elusive White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders feel right about now?

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Tuesday that she hopes to be remembered as being “transparent and honest” when her tenure in the role comes to an end.

Transparent – clear, crystal clear, undisguised, evident, apparent, unmistakable

Honest – truthful, sincere, open, candid, frank, authentic, impartial, trustworthy

And now for the scary question I'm sure many Americans are wondering tonight.

Who's carrying the football and the codes?

Raider Nation Wipes A$$ With Terrible Towels

You damn right we did! We fans of the Silver & Black came to our Oakland Coliseum on Sunday only to find ourselves outnumbered by a boisterous, yellow-towel toting fan base of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Our first thought was "what the hell is going on here, did the NFL fly them in with Franco Harris to remind the Raiders of the Immaculate Deception?

But instead of hatin' on Steelers fans we welcomed their passion and commitment to their team. They're as loyal a fan base as Raider Nation. But it was hard watching all those yellow terrible towels being swung around in our house. It was even harder seeing our offense having to execute silent plays because of the disruptive noise the Steeler fans tried to impose. Just who the hell did they think they were and who's house did they think they were in? This isn't Denver or Santa Clara (49ers) for chrissakes, this is Oaktown, home of the Panthers, home of the Silver & Black. 

So we did what any Raiders fan base would and should do; we shouted them down in the stands (verbally) and our team broke them down on the field (physically) as the Raiders overcame penalties, bad calls and the hard fought efforts of a championship caliber opponent. In the stands those terrible towels became nothing more than a "butt wipe" once the game clock struck 00:00.

The Raiders had to win this game for the fans. The team came to the stadium knowing they would be competing against a tough opponent. But we Raiders fans were caught totally off guard by the overflowing Steelers fan contingent. Dressed in their yellow and black, they were cheering and rooting and laughing it up as if the stadium belonged to them. And had the Steelers won it...……….I can't even think of what it would have felt like. Bottom line, nobody comes into our house like that and is allowed to walk out unbloodied and smiling, not even the towel toting Steelers fans.

Nope, Not Up In Here!  You can say that Raider Nation saw the enemy Sunday and the enemy was ours. This from a famous quote of American naval commander Oliver Hazard Perry after a stunning victory over British battleships.

"We have met the enemy and they are ours"

Thank you Oakland Raiders for turning the Ben Rothlisberger led Pittsburgh Steelers away in defeat once again (Rothlisberger is 0-4 in Oakland). With a 2-10 record coming in, the Raiders didn't have much to play for other than pride. It turned out to be enough encouragement. So let this be a lesson to playoff bound teams and their fans; when visiting a team who has no chance of making the playoffs and nothing to prove, be careful not to awaken a sleeping panther lying in its lair, hungering for a juicy win and the pride that comes with it. Because nobody wants to be robbed of their gold by what they thought was a harmless pushover. 

The Autumn Wind is Still a Raider!

Final Score

Steelers 21

Raiders 24

One World

A scene from the martial arts movie "The Grandmaster." The push hands lesson symbolizes the higher realization that martial arts philosophy can lead to. It is a practice to be shared with men and women of the world. A Youtube commenter (see below) explains it very well. We can be limited by our independent styles and visions or we can become limitless by joining in our styles and visions. One World!

crawlFace 2 years ago (edited)

(Part 2 of 2)

Ip realizes he cannot or should not actually or directly break the cake.  His greater understanding of the situation is that a torch and legacy is being passed on to him through the grandmaster, so the same understanding is applied to the technique to break the cake: the grandmaster must break the cake or through the grandmaster or together with the grandmaster the cake can be broken.

What Ip realizes is not the limitation of the grandmaster’s skill but how the cake naturally limits and restricts the grandmaster.  In ideology/theory, the grandmaster is bound by the cake.  Ultimately the grandmaster has to hold the cake and keep it from Ip.  Ip realizes he will not go for the cake but he will go for the grandmaster.  This is why on Ip’s third consideration he readies his hand past the cake and in challenge of the grandmaster.

The grandmaster can defend the cake but not truly or entirely defend himself.  In harmony with this and the grandmaster, engaging, Ip reaches the position where he is able to make contact with the grandmaster and transfer the energy/chi through to the cake.

Technically Ip never actually/literally breaks the cake.  It was the energy/chi transfer from Ip through the grandmaster that breaks the cake. Or it takes both the grandmaster and Ip together to break the cake.

Through this process, Ip understands how to answer the riddle:

“The world is a big place; why limit it to North and south?”  the next sentence is key:

“It holds you back”.

(The limitation of having to hold on to the cake and defend the cake and treat the cake so specialized, the same limitation of only seeing North and South and country when ultimately it is all part of life everywhere)

“To you this cake is the country; to me it is much more.”

“If the Southern arts go far, what boundary is the North?”

-Meaning: since the north and south are each other’s border, each is as large or small as the other.  If one is large then so is the other.  No matter how far one expands they will still be together as borders of each other.  Ultimately: there is neither without the other.

The grandmaster confirms our analysis of Ip’s understanding and answer to the question:

“Well said.  All my life I have been the victor; my technique has never failed me.”

** “I never thought I’d see the limits of my own vision.”

-I was through those limits that Ip was able to effectively solve the riddle.  The grandmaster was bound by the bread, connected to the bread, so through the grandmaster the bread could be broken.

If Ip would have tried to directly break the bread itself he would have failed the riddle.

Raiders Show Up Against Chiefs

No, the silver and black didn't upset the division leading Kansas City Chiefs today. But, and that's a big Butt, they put some serious doubt into the Chiefs reputation as an unstoppable juggernaut. With the Chiefs releasing their rushing leader due to a damaging TMZ released video this week, all eyes were watching to see if it had any impact on the teams' on-field execution. Well, they still scored 40 points, so I guess not.

What did impact the Chiefs play today were the feisty homefield (2-9) Raiders bringing their A-game to the show. On paper the team stats are almost even, but for that glaring turnover box. The Raiders had 3 fumbles that left them fighting an uphill battle most of the day. None by the QB, which is an improvement. As good as Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is, the Raiders helped them win today. But I ain't mad at my Raiders. They competed and gave us fans watching from the cool, autumn windy Coliseum seats something to cheer about; 33 points. The defense broke a few times but also had some dominant stops.

The game today was one of the best I've seen the Raiders play in quite some time. I was skeptical of some of the play calling but understood that Carr's compromised pocket protection dictated him getting rid of the ball quick. 

Special teams blocked an extra point attempt today, Hooray!

As I realized this could be one of the final three Raiders games I'll see at the Oakland Coliseum, I felt a ping of emotional nostalgia bubble up in me for a second. I was able to swallow it down and shout out my curses like the sour-mouth sailor we silver and black pirates are known to be when watching our Raiders. It felt really good to release all that pent up "leaving Oakland" stuff. What's the word I learned, "Cathartic" (purging, purifying).

Yes, today Raiders game was Carthartic. That's what keeps us sports fans coming back for more; win, lose or tie...……. 

Final Score
Chiefs 40
Raiders 33

Thunder in the Heart

Thunder in the Heart (1954 edition)

By John Lee Weldon

I just finished a southern novel that pulled me into its unsettling 1930’s atmosphere. The author wrote the story in a semi-looking back style and it worked perfectly, revealing suspected secrets as it strolled along to its fulfilling conclusion. A love starved woman pleading for her married lover to stay, and giving all the reasons why, is the narrating voice that accompanies the drum march in "Thunder of the Heart."

What this - making of a prostitute - story shares is how incidents in an innocent young life can leave scars that never stop haunting, even into adulthood. It is what can happen when one holds onto a dream that in-reality was shattered many moons ago.

Listening to the young woman Zalphia at the end of the story think about love and the security of having her own man was kind of sad. You realize that she might have given in to the mental illness that caused her father to do what he did to become an unrecognizable victim of circumstance.

What made reading this novel so enjoyable, grabbing me completely, were the characters and the build-up of their explosive circumstances. The blowup was inevitable. Like watching two armies spending days preparing for the big battle that will leave some dead and many scarred and knowing that the survivors must somehow find a way to go on living with their scars.

Do I think this novel was too depressing for the average reader to enjoy? Perhaps, especially if the reader is looking for an escape from pressures in their own life. But to the credit of this novel, I think it brings a deep understanding and empathy to readers who have experienced enough life to recognize the pressuring circumstance of at least one of the characters. 

Whether you’ve known: a young person scared and confused by their homosexual feelings; a bitter, alcoholic mother unable to love a weakly perceived husband and jealous of her physically blooming daughter; a protective father trying to provide the best he can for his family without getting too caught up in their emotional needs; or a daughter who is at an age where nature is introducing her to the beauty of love while her home life has become an ugly battlefield with enemies and victims, this book shows us this and much more.

And then there is Whit, the young Mulatto field hand who’s innocence is what the tragic episode in this story turns on. His true love is the gold standard by which all other loves in the story appear cheap, childish and unrealistic in comparison. And yet he unknowingly marches onto the battlefield to become prey. Tragedies almost always require a sacrificial lamb.

I give Thunder of the Heart 5 out of 5 stars for its engaging and entertaining happenings. It’s not only a creatively written style of a story, but what it shares of human interactions  and needs carries a truth in it that is all too familiar.

Note: I was attracted to this book partly because of the eye-catching George Salter cover art of a red lip-sticked, hazel-eyed young woman with an odd gaze in her eyes and dreamy smirk on her lips. 

After finishing the book I have a theory on what the female cover image was meant to reveal to would be readers; the woman looking into the mirror that was described in the story as once belonging to Zalphia’s mother is the embodiment of all three family members (mother, father, brother). There’s as much male facial features as female hidden in the portrait. On the outside there’s the appearance of innocent beauty; but you can see just below the surface a seductively, sinister and disturbing thing that seems out of touch with reality. I wanna say that Zalphia, who seemed to be the most normal and level headed of the family throughout most of the story, became the dreamy, haunted and unhinged byproduct of her disturbed family members. And all any of them really wanted was to be loved. 

What a price innocence must pay in life when searching just to be loved.

Art in Blue Black

 Sebastiano Tuccitto

Raiders Rookie Kicker Walk-Off Win

#8 Daniel Carlson

The banged up, one win Raiders played their butts off to pull off a courageous 23-21 comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals. They did it by utilizing some 13 or more rookies, including young kicker Daniel Carlson out of Auburn. Carlson went 3-for-3 on the night, nailing a 35-yarder as the game clock expired.

Not only is Carlson a rookie, but so are special teams place-holder #5 Johnny Townsend (Florida) and long snapper #47 Trent Sieg (Colorado State), not pictured in above photo.

The silver & black looked like a team that would not quit and was not gonna be denied their second win of the season. They outdid the Cardinals in first-downs, time-of-possession, total yards and would you believe it, less penalties (4-20)? 

It was a gutsy showing by a team riddled with injuries and scoring droughts. Hats off to Jon Gruden and his coaching staff for giving the squad a chance to show they haven't quit on him or us fans.  

In the post-game press conference coach Gruden said they'd talked about winning one for the California fire victims. Tight end Lee Smith said it best when he talked about trying to perhaps put a smile on the faces of fire victim families who lost precious pictures of their kids in the fires. Prayers to those families.

Congratulations and thank you Oakland Raiders for giving us air-quality challenged Californians something to smile about this sports Sunday. And now, back to Smoke Mask Monday!

Win, Lose or Tie!

Team Quits Competing After Opening Drive. Why?

Come'on Oakland Raiders. You coulda at least shown up for a game that meant bragging rights here in the Bay Area.  Last night's Battle of the Bay football game against the 49ers was an embarrassment to Raiders fans young and old, alive and dead. The 49ers came into the game reppin' a lowly 1-7 record to the Raiders 1-6. They started a third string rookie quarterback who was seeing pro action for the first time. 

It was a game that the Raiders coulda and shoulda dominated. But then again, these are your Jon Gruden led Raiders, the ones who are suspected of quitting on their newly installed head coach. The ones who seem to continually run out of gas in the fourth quarter. The ones who show flashing promise one week then look as inept as a teenage trombone player in a high school band the next week. Yes, those Raiders players and assistant coaches. 

The 49ers held up their end of the bargain, giving home fans plenty to cheer and high-five about. Their rookie QB looked like Brett Favre, throwing three touchdowns thanks to the keystone cop defense of the Raiders. Meanwhile, other than the opening drive, Carr & company were left resembling a bad "Wheel of Fortune" contestant in need of a vowel. They couldn't buy a first down much less score a touchdown. The patched up Offensive Line allowed 7 sacks on Carr. Not surprisingly, the Raiders defense produced 0 sacks of their own. Even the punter had a bad night.

And through it all coach Jon Gruden simply looked lost. I almost felt bad for him. Almost! But as the saying goes, "you reap what you sow." And that crap he's feeding the media about other NFL players calling him all the time wanting to come play for the Raiders, sounds like one of those laughable childish Trump lies that the nation has grown so accustomed to. Maybe we Raiders fans should start wearing black caps with the silver words "Make The Raiders Great Again" printed on the front. Because the one thing I've learned from watching so-called leaders move their lips in front of a microphone is that P.T. Barnum was 100% absolutely right; "There's a sucker born every minute."

We're all just a bunch of suckers if we think Jon Gruden is going to lead this team to the promised land anytime in the near or foreseeable future. It's just sad, so sad!!!!!

Final Score
Raiders 3
49ers 34

Check out Jimmy Durkin postgame podcast

Highlights of the Game:
Terrell Owens half-time Hall of Fame ring celebration
49ers Cheerleader takes a knee during National Anthem

Coop traded to Cowboys

Today the Oakland Raiders traded wide receiver #89 Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2019 first round pick. Congratulations Cowboys! 

Seems like just yesterday that we were penning our future hopes on the Carr to Cooper connection. With a 1 win, 5 loss record, the Raiders are obviously in fire sale mode. Coop has been one of the promising players we fans have hung our hats on last few seasons. With him gone and RB Marshawn Lynch out indefinitely with a hip injury, the Raiders season is a wrap. And if they don't do something quick with the O-Line, I expect to see QB Derek Carr go down with a season altering injury. I don't wish it, but there's that familiar chilling feeling in the autumn winds swirling around Carr of late. Could it be Trade Winds?

As with my feelings toward Khalil Mack after his departure to the Bears; I wish Amari Cooper all the best as he gets to showcase his talents with a middle of the pack team in the (3-4) Cowboys. This is no Javon Walker or Darius Heyward-Bey we're losing at wide receiver; this is Amari 'Frick'in' Cooper we're watching depart. Feels like Randy Moss just left the building; worse! 

Always A Raider Coop! Always a Raider 

WR Amari Cooper 

and the beat is dope!

Painful to Watch Gruden Led Raiders Sinking

YouTube Video

So what can you do when your team performs as poorly as these 2018 Raiders? Just wish it into the cornfield son!

The Raiders looked abysmal against a spirited division rival yesterday. Against the Chargers nothing seemed to work consistently and the game plan could've been questioned by a five year old. Why are they doing this when the other team is doing that? Why aren't they utilizing this when the down and distance dictates that? Who's in charge?

Who's in charge is the man who ripped the heart and soul out of the defense; Jon 'Clucky' Gruden, that's who. He's the Head Coach who's proving that the game of football does pass by retired coaches looking to get back into the game. Every decision he's made this season has been questionable. And everything we see out of the team on the field adds questions to the questions.

One really big question of a question is what made Gruden think QB Derek Carr was ready to run his complex offense when Carr seems like he's still broken mentally from injuries suffered the past two seasons? If ever there was a high paid quarterback who looks lost on the battlefield more times than not, it's Carr. Love the guy for his passion, but it's performance that gets rewarded in sports. Carr is failing big time as a lead performer.

Is Carr's poor performance on him or is it on Gruden maybe putting too much in his head? Again, questions on top of questions. All I know is that the Raiders have much talent on offense and show promise on defense, but from the first regular season game they've come up short on game planning opponents for four quarters. They're as inconsistent in their play as the coaches are in calling plays. 

And what good might come out of all this inconsistency to date for the Raiders? They now know what they have in an unretired head coach that was once considered an offensive coaching guru and quarterback whisperer. Instead of installing a flexible and stabilizing rudder to steer the ship, the Raiders have purchased a $100 million anchor that's sinking them toward the sea bottom of the league. They're likely to be stuck in the muck and mire as a bottom feeder for the entire 10 years of the anchor's contract. 

So if the gambling folks thirsting for a football team in that oasis in the desert think they've discovered a sunken ship full of glittering pirate treasure, they should take another look. It's an old, dried up Ghost Ship, a relic, and it ain't floating nowhere near the surface of commerce and competition anytime soon. Captain Gruden has seen to that.

Final Score
Chargers 26
Raiders Lost At Sea

What's a Ball Hawk? Meet Zack Hample

When I came across one of Zack's "YouTube" videos I couldn't help but salute the man. He's a likeable baseball fan who has compartmentalized his passion for ball-hawking right down to a science. 

If Zack's visiting your ballpark with his baseball glove, you might as well have left yours at home. Because fly balls hit into the stands are likely to find the web of his glove by hook or (dare I say) crook. He's tenacious when it comes to retrieving baseballs in the stands. You see, Zack is a ball hawk. Whether it be a foul ball, home run or batting practice, Zack is on his game snagging ballpark gifts dropped from the heavens of baseball Gods. 

What you've gotta love about Zack is that he comes to a ballpark prepared. He'll switch from wearing the home team cap and jersey to the visitor's gear, depending on which is holding batting practice; whatever it takes to get a ball thrown his way. And the strategy works!

He'll climb, stretch, scramble, scrum and even dive to come up with a baseball that's left the field of play headed toward his section of the ballpark. And though he's fast and aggressive during the hunt, he never seems to cross the line of courtesy and consideration for others. 

Where Zack really earned my respect is when I saw him giving some of the baseballs he'd come up with to young kids in the stands. To have a passion for something and be able to share your earnings from that passion unconditionally is what being a fan of anything is all about; giving back. It's fans like Zack that gives fandom a sweet smelling aroma. We who are sports fans have a duty to pass our love and respect for the game on to future generations. There's no selfishness in baseball!

How unselfish is Zack? Well he gives tips to fans on how to snag major league baseballs in his book titled.....(wait for it)……."How to Snag Major League Baseballs." It appears Zack has a few published books to his credit. Take note kids, if you got a passion for something find a way to market it and make a few bucks.

Because Zack visits different ballparks and wears different team gear in his videos, I'm not sure what team he's an actual fan of. But I do know that he's a fan of the game of baseball, and that puts him in a category I share; that of a true sports fan.



If you've read this little blogpost about a special individual and wanna learn more, check out Zack's YouTube page and maybe give him a shout out.  Who knows, one day you might just catch him snagging baseballs in your home team's ballpark.


Zack at San Francisco's AT&T Park
Zack at Oakland Coliseum (diving catch)

MLB playoffs: Who is Zack Hample? Ball hawk denied by Aaron Judge at Stadium 

Oh No, Was I wrong about Zack Hample being unselfish? 

Maybe I was just late to the dance: Kershaw shuts down Hample Douche

HIPPOCAMPUS

hip·po·cam·pus

ˌhipəˈkampəs/

noun

Anatomy

noun: hippocampus; plural noun: hippocampi

1. the elongated ridges on the floor of each lateral ventricle of the brain, thought to be the center of emotion, memory, and the autonomic nervous system.

Body Language Analysis

Raiders Choke On Florida Humidity - Week 3

Again, we Raiders fans are forced to suffer a football game loss that looked full of promise early. Again, the Raiders were dominant through three quarters but couldn't close out an opponent. And again we are left to wonder "What If" Khalil Mack were around to pressure the opposing quarterback when it counted most, the fourth quarter.

So many questions, so few answers. The Raiders are a team that with a bit more discipline and a few more playmakers could be playoff contenders. Right now they are what their record says they are; a wobbly 0-3. After this most recent loss different players said that they're close to being a good team, just a play away from winning. Marshawn Lynch himself spoke to the media about how together this team is and how close they are to winning. But in the end you're still left struggling to understand how the team can go from contenders to pretenders in the same game.  You question whether the game ending collapses could be an indication of a conservative game plan approach after halftime by coach Jon Gruden. Coaching staff seem like deer caught in the headlights of oncoming traffic in all aspects of fourth quarter play.

Are opponents figuring out the Raiders schemes by halftime or do we blame the past two losses in the Rocky Mountains and Florida Swamps on weather conditions? Sure it was hot and humid during yesterday's game, but the opponent found ways to plow through it. I'm not sure where the blame lies in this loss. Maybe the solution is to score early and often when you're hot. The Raiders squandered a few opportunities to score touchdowns early, having to settle for field goals or worse; coming up short on fourth and goal from the 1-yd line. Score on that drive and you're up 14-0 midway through the second quarter.



The Good News is that WR Jordy Nelson was featured in the offense big time with an early 66 yard play and a touchdown. But the woeful fourth quarter is so unkind to our quarterback. Another endzone interception thrown by Derek Carr during a crucial time in a game is of big concern.  Is it Carr that the defenses are figuring out late in games? 

It pains me to say this, but What Would Brady & Belichick do?

Another Sunday, Another Blown Save, Ongoing Disappointment. When will it end?

Final Score
Raiders Lose


Weekend Sports News - Tiger Wins as Crowd Cheers Him On

Raiders Run Out of Gas....Again!

Two games into the 2018 NFL season and our Oakland Raiders are looking offensively and defensively sound in the first and second quarters.  Fast forward to the third and fourth quarters and you see exactly why the team is winless; empty tanks. It's not only the players who look like their running on fumes, but also the coaching staff calling the plays.

Sure this week featured some of the hottest weather ever for a football game in Denver, but I find it difficult to attribute some of the miscues and questionable calls to heat and altitude exhaustion. The good news is that QB Derek Carr and WR Amari Cooper were in pro bowl form as they showed the high power production we expect to see from them. Marshawn did his thing on the ground and the defense all but shutdown Denver in that first half. Conley and Melvin are looking like the best starting cornerback duo the Raiders have had in ages. 

The problem with all the good today is that it withered away in the second half just as it did in week 1 at home on Monday Night against the Rams. The Raiders had their chances to put away the Broncos and simply ran out of gas. So their homework this week is to figure out how to keep enough fuel in the tank to put away an opponent in the second half of play. That or ramp up the points in the first half so that opponents are seen from your rearview mirror miles behind choking on your dust.

The question I have is can the coaching staff figure out a fix for the team before the season is past the midway point. The Raiders can't begin to move past the questionable decision to trade Khalil Mack until they begin winning games. The sting of seeing a defense struggle without Khalil is almost as hurtful as seeing the meltdowns of these past two games. Is it possible conditioning, or lack thereof, plays a part in their second half problems?  Time will tell. Problem is the team is leaving Oakland soon and time is of the essence to Raider Nation. We want more than what we've been getting from our team. Don't tell us you're a good team, show us!

And learn how to execute a measly Point After Attempt please.....


Score
Raiders Lose

The Raiders Don't Deserve Mack.....

Bears reach agreement to trade for Khalil Mack

Sure, it's just Bizness in the NFL. But us Raiders fans know from past bombs being dropped on us that this latest explosion was launched by the Raiders organization. I don't call it salary cap issues, I call it incompetence. You gotta get a deal like this done. Other teams coulda done it, why not you McKenzie & company.

Then to make matters worse you blame the victim. Come'on Man!

You can't treat a franchise type player like Khalil Mack as if he's just another helmet. And if you can't pay him like the superstar that he is then talk to him and tell him your pockets are short. Better yet, tell us fans. But don't go letting a newly hired coach take pot shots at him publicly, trying to degrade his importance to the team. Mack is our guy, our fearless leader. Don't hate on him because you can't afford or won't pay him his due. 

As a fan of the Oakland Raiders I'd much rather see our boy Mack get paid bigtime elsewhere than to see the team stiff arm him like they've done us fans with the future move to the desert. And as I've heard all week on radio talk, what big name superstar will want to come to the Raiders knowing that the price of superstar performance in Oakland buys you a one-way ticket to perhaps Chicago. 

Honor, Gratitude, Loyalty for services rendered to a team?????
That kind of owner/player relationship went out of style decades ago. Don't be hard on Mack Raider Nation. You ain't letting nobody stop you from getting paid, don't stop Khalil. 

Thanks for your Commitment to Excellence Khalil!

GONE

September 1, 2018

NFL News Headlines Feature Raiders Transactions

1. Mack agrees to a six-year, $141M deal with Bears
2. McKinnon suffers torn ACL during 49ers practice
3. Cuts tracker: NFL teams finalize 53-player rosters
4. Martavis Bryant cut by Raiders, faces suspension
5. Eagles planing to start QB Foles in season opener
6. Griffin survives cuts, make Ravens' 53-man roster
7. End of an era: Cowboys release kicker Dan Bailey
8. Newman is retiring, joining Vikings coaching staff
9. Trade! Raiders acquire QB McCarron from Buffalo