I have kept away from the keyboard for a while, waiting for the dust to settle on the whole Kiffin-Ryan-Davisgate thing.Mainly due to the fact that my position on the whole thing seemed to change on a daily basis, flip-flopping from the Al camp, to the Kiff camp, and back again.The changes of opinion tended to be swayed by the latest scoop, or titbit of information that was given to us by the reporters covering the situation.
The story, or stories, have certainly split the RAIDER NATION down the middle, as it had split my reasoning, you're either with Al or Kiffin, and the level of Al bashing has risen to new heights.This is what it was like in the English Civil War, forced to choose, father against son, brother against brother,only with less facial warts and violence (so far).
It seems as though every gentleman and lady (and Nancy Gay) of the press has had something to say on the matter.As it continued one phrase seemed to pop up on a regular basis, "a source close to the Raiders".But who is this source?Who is it that is so close to Al and the organisation that he/she is privy to the most clandestine of internal RAIDER decisions, yet continuously gets away with leaking information to the press on a regular basis?
It took some investigation, painstakingly undertaken, but I can reveal the name of the mole at 1220.RAIDER NATION I give you FANNY ADAMS, SWEET FANNY ADAMS.There you go, there she is revealed to us all, anytime that the Schefter's or the McDonald's of this world need a big story on the most secretive NFL team in the league, run by an owner that trusts few, who is coached by a man that won't even give you the name of a starting QB on a friday, they just call upon FANNY.As if by magic she will have been present to witness a lot of things, Oh yes, FANNY misses nothing.
Don't get me wrong, there is often no smoke without fire.I can believe that Davis and Kiffin had a difference of opinion on the future of Rob Ryan, after all the media had decided after the San Diego game that he was gone so it was obvious when the Ryan firing didn't happen, that there must be a story there.FANNY!
Lane Kiffin and Rob Ryan only spoke about the initial rumours once during the build up to the North South game.LK "Rob has a contract with the RAIDERS and he'll be back, he'll be our co-ordinator and we are excited about that".RR "Everything's been cool.Some reporters don't know shit, so they make up a story out of nothing.I'll be back absoloutely.If they want to win a championship, they need to keep us together."
But that didn't deter the intrepid newshounds.
FANNY had seen a letter of resignation.It was drafted by Al Davis, who then requested that it be delivered to Lane Kiffin, who refused to sign.Isn't that something that Al would pull?, after all we have been told of his vindictiveness many times before.FANNY confirmed its existence, in fact FANNY had delivered it herself and it wasn't in an envelope or anything.And who did FANNY decide to give this information to?That bastion of sporting journalism BS sorry ESPN.
Things were sort of dying down a bit in Kiffin-Ryan-Davisgate, it was becoming too quiet in fact.FANNY!
Out she came, to the rescue of Jerry McDonald once more, a reporter has to make a living you know.What could she have unearthed now?.Apparentley James Lofton, despite being interviewed by Lane Kiffin and Greg Knapp, had been hired by the RAIDERS but the hire was done by someone other than Kiffin.Really? You mean the HC interviewed Lofton to come on board as WR coach and then left it to the front office to come to a contract agreement?Thats a disgrace.Hang on that sounds like possibly the way a hire would come about.FANNY!
Oh yeah, well, no-one told Lane Kiffin that Lofton had been hired, he had to hear it from a third party who was not affiliated with the RAIDERS, said FANNY.
John Herrera responded by saying that Lane knew that if the organization could agree to terms that James would be on board," we haven't finalized an agreement. We hope to in the next few days." And why wouldn't Kiffin himself respond to all the great stuff that FANNY had leaked Mr Herrera? "He doesn't want to get in a situation where he is more caught up in responding to rumors than he is coaching the football team."
While the McDonald's, Miller's, Gay's, and Dickey's were either pulling their FANNY out at any given moment, or just using the opportunity to put another boot into Al Davis ( good old Nancy Gay re-writing the Randy Moss trade) there were some like Steve Corkran and Dave Del Grande who were reporting the facts from the only established information that had been given out by any of the parties involved.Del Grande even saying "Use common sense before before accepting as gospel everything you hear or read."
So where are we at?Well the facts are:-
1. Al Davis is still the ownwer of the RAIDERS
2. Lane Kiffin is still the Head Coach of the RAIDERS.
3. Rob Ryan is still the DC of the RAIDERS.
4. James Lofton is still to be confirmed as a member of the RAIDERS coaching staff.
5. Kiffin has hired a new strength and conditioning coach, Brad Roll( the front office again amazingly handled the contract details).And FANNY didn't come up with that name either, it really is true.Although my own FANNY tells me that the RAIDERS are currently scouring the nation for a coach named P. Soup to assist him.
During the many debates that have erupted within the NATION over the last few weeks the Anti-Al camp have used the term sheeple for those of us that have chosen to believe that maybe Davis wasn't as senile as some would have it.Who knows, I may indeed be a AD sheeple, BAAH.But at this point I prefer that to being a FANNY sheeple.As far as I can see, the facts listed above relate little to what the FANNY sheeple were led to believe, so at this point my flock is at least dealing in fact.
I don't like everthing that Al Davis does, if we get into a discussion on the merits of his drafting in recent years for instance, me and Al are going to fall out.I also don't agree with everything that the RAIDERS do, or how they do it.But the recent hysteria aimed at making Al, Lane Kiffin, and the RAIDERS in general look stupid, for me is starting to make those who have had their collective FANNY'S out look pretty stupid.If Al Davis goes and fires Lane Kiffin next week, which I doubt, then I will have to re-evaluate again, because it would then be fact.Until then....
Elsewhere............
It was such a shame that the New England Patriots could not complete a perfect season on Sunday.Not.
Do the Patriots now apply for a 19-0 trademark for next year?Some bandwagon jumping, Brady gameshirt wearing types may suggest that a fan of a 4-12 team should not be poking fun at a team that won eighteen straight games in the same season.But I haven't laughed so much since, well since San Diego lost a couple of weeks ago.
To the quitter that is Randy Moss, it was great to see you standing on the sideline realising that it had all been for nothing, that's Karma Mr Moss.
To the Patriots organisation, caught cheating but relatively un-punished, that's Karma Mr Belichick.
Roger Goodell looked as if he was going to be physically ill as he handed the Lombardi to the Giants.Shellshocked I think the word is.That wasn't supposed to happen.My golden boys were supposed to create history, who knows maybe Arlen Specter would have let it go in all the hoopla.That's Karma Mr Goodell.
