Al Davis Is Dead

 Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, whose rebellious NFL legend began 60 years ago as an assistant with the Baltimore Colts and was punctuated with a 1992 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in Canton, has died at 82.

The team's website released the news Saturday morning, posting a simple tribute with his name in large silver letters above "July 4, 1929-October 8, 2011."

The Raiders said the team will issue a statement later Saturday. No cause of death was released, and it was not immediately clear when and where he died.



"Based on personal achievement, team achievement and contributions to the game, no one has had a more profound and lasting impact on professional football," Davis' biography says on the team's website.



It was Davis' willingness to buck the establishment that helped turn the NFL into THE establishment in sports -- the most successful sports league in American history.



Davis was charming, cantankerous and compassionate -- a man who when his wife suffered a serious heart attack in the 1970s moved into her hospital room. But he was best known as a rebel, a man who established a team whose silver-and-black colors and pirate logo symbolized his attitude toward authority, both on the field and off.



Davis was one of the most important figures in NFL history. That was most evident during the 1980s when he fought in court -- and won -- for the right to move his team from Oakland to Los Angeles. Even after he moved them back to the Bay Area in 1995, he went to court, suing for $1.2 billion to establish that he still owned the rights to the L.A. market.

Reports surfaced in April that Davis had been hospitalized, but the team dismisssed them then as rumors, saying Davis was in good health and was preparing for the NFL draft.
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Another solid effort by the Pats last night as they beat Lethbridge 5-4 in a shootout in a game that was shown on Access 7. The Pats will be back in action tonight against Prince George. I'll be checking that one out. This team is showing you that they are more than worthy of your support.
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You can't get much better than what you got from Game 5 of the two NLDS series as they wrapped up. Milwaukee beats Arizona in extra innings after blowing the lead in the 9th inning. Ex-Regina Pat Nyjer Morgan delivering the game-winning hit and then delivering a series of F-bombs on TV after. If you haven't gathered it already, Morgan is a different cat.  The other game saw the Cardinals get a run off of Roy Halladay in the first inning and it held up thanks to Chris Carpenter who threw a complete game 3 hitter as St. Louis upsets the Phillies 1-0 to move on. I wonder how Jays fans felt seeing two former aces go head-to-head with one another.
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Great column by Rob Vanstone in today's LP about Darian Durant bashing. I couldn't agree more.
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The Ti-Cats allowed fans to vote for their first play from scrimmage last night. It turned out to be a play-action pass that got a first down. Why do I think that if that option was offered to Rider fans, some would boo the selection. Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor actually were surprised that the call wasn't to send everyone deep. I think a lot of people were surprised. I would have laughed hard if the first call would have been a shotgun draw.
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