no category 25 Jul 2007 10:45 am
Castoffs, outlaws, malcontents.
In football, I root for the Oakland Raiders because they hire castoffs, outlaws, malcontents, and fuckups, they have lots of penalties, fights, and paybacks, and because Al Davis told the rest of the pig NFL owners to go get fucked. Also, they don’t have a lot of Christians kneeling down to pray after touchdowns. Christians are ruining sports. Someday, the Raiders will be strong again, and they will dip the ball in shit and shove it down the throats of the wholesome, white, heartland teams that pray together and don’t deliver late hits.— George Carlin, Braindroppings.
Now that the Michael Vick case has grown large enough that even the pompous windbags at On Frozen Blog will begrudgingly give the item its proper due, I wonder if the story has Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis rolling over in his grave.
the Raiders finished 2-14 last year and earned the top pick in the 2007 NFL Entry Draft. team executives spent months wringing their hands, trying to decide between LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell — with plans to team him with the jersey-selling Randy Moss — and Georgia Tech receiver Calvin Johnson, effectively ending the experiment with Moss before it picked up. somehow, when the dust settled, the Raiders — as only they can — ended up pulling both strings, selecting Russell, then trading Moss to New England.
Davis has been hunting quarterbacks for years. Rich Gannon was a bit of a surprise, but even without his life-threatening head injury, he had kicked around the league and would have been retired by now. now, with Michael Vick dogfighting story consuming all sports news outlets, Davis must think he is cursed. as good as Johnson can be, Russell may have been a great selection, too. except when you hear that a player like Vick could suddenly be available for pennies on the dollar. Vick’s current boss, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, is patiently waiting for the NFL brass to try, convict, and execute his franchise player on charges of, among others, animal cruelty, gambling, cornrows, and an overwhelming unwillingness to stay in the pocket and actually throw the ball.
Vick being available on the market before next season is a mere formality. in this blogger’s mind, only one player — Bill Romanowski — has ever worn the Silver and Black and not washed most of the stink off himself in the process. I really wonder where Vick will find himself next.