DOC'S PENALTY BOX

"THE SPORTS DOC"
ED POTHUL

 

 

I'M BACK!!

 

            Who needs to tweet when you have a Penalty Box?  It’s been awhile…but here’s to an attempt at more regular postings.

            Saturday the game of football lost one of its true pioneers, Al Davis.

            It’s sad that many football fans’ only image of Davis as the withered, angry, curmudgeon that ruled over the decline of one of the most successful franchises in NFL history.  Those of us who go back to the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s remember a different Al Davis—a man who was a renegade, a rebel, and a true football genius.

            When Davis took over the Raiders as head coach and general manager (at age 33) they were among the lowest of the low of the American Football League—playing their home games at a high school stadium and rarely winning games.   Davis immediately implemented the “vertical game” that became a trademark of the Raiders and led the team to a 10-4 mark in his first year.

            In 1966 he was named commissioner of the AFL and led the “other” football league to national prominence, stealing a number of high profile college stars from the NFL and forcing the merger of the two leagues in 1970.

            With the merger, Davis concentrated his entire efforts on his Raiders—hiring John Madden as head coach and establishing the team as a force in the NFL. 

            Davis’ mantras of “just win baby” and “commitment to excellence” were more than just idle catch phrases.  His players bought into the Raider mystique—the forgotten, discarded and unwanted players that made up the Silver and Black.  Players like: Ted Hendricks, Otis Sistrunk, Jim Plunkett, John Matuzak, Lyle Alzado, Jack Tatum, George Blanda and on, and on, and on.  A record nine Hall of Fame inductees chose Davis to introduce them at their induction ceremonies.

            But perhaps even more impressive was Davis’ loyalty to his Raiders after their playing days were over.  He often helped former players financially when the NFL refused to do so—paying for necessary surgeries or giving a guy a job or a break when he was down on his luck.  Davis was famous for hiring former players and coaches—keeping it all within Raider family.   He even offered to help opposing players who’d fallen on hard times—just ask Terry Bradshaw.

            He was also a pioneer in minority hiring.  He hired the first black head coach in the modern NFL era with Art Shell.  He hired the first Hispanic head coach in Tom Flores.  He also hired the first female CEO in Amy Trask.

            It is sad that Davis reigned over the collapse of the Raiders into an NFL also-ran.  And it was mostly due to his own making—becoming more a caricature of the man he once was—clinging to the past instead of embracing the future.  And his continual threats of filing suit against the league became tiresome.

            But that does not lessen the impact of the giant that once lived inside that man.

            The NFL is so much better off because of the man—and that is the Al Davis I chose to remember.

 

AND ANOTHER THING:

 

            Am I the only one sickened by the hypocrisy of the NBA and its players?

            This week NBA Commissioner David (Adolph) Stern made the announcement that the league was cancelling the first two weeks of the season—just days after cancelling the entire pre-season.

            It was an emotion-filled, dire, sober announcement that almost had you thinking Stern may actually have a molecule of sincerity.

            But, as the eternal cynic, I admit I nearly threw up a little in my mouth when he seemed on the verge of tears over the “thousands of support staff that rely on the NBA for a living”.  Stern seemed almost human—for a split-second—when he claimed to sympathize with the ball boys, ushers, vendors, cleaning staff, etc…that count on an NBA season.  Then reality slapped me in the face.

            Folks, I’m here to learn you, that David Stern and the NBA owners couldn’t care less about anyone or anything, other than lining their billionaires’’ pockets.  Just like the players who couldn’t care about anything less than lining their millionaires’ pockets.

            I’m equally insulted by the players’ contentions that they feel sorry for the “fans”.  Boo hoo hoo.  If the players were so concerned about the fans there wouldn’t be so many of them considering bolting to Europe for a quick multi-million dollar payday while the lockout is on.