"Is the author an intern? It seems like this is something they'd dump on her."

She looks young in that thumbnail, and I've never seen her byline before, though I'm not conscious of bylines unless it's someone who is a competitor.
I don't know how much of a house engine Raiders.com is since Davis died, but it used to be pretty bad. Stuff like "Kerry Collins' fourth quarter touchdown pass highlights closer-than-the-score-indicates 38-7 loss to Broncos."
A couple of years after I got out of college, there was an opening for a writer at a monthly magazine published by the Raiders, and my knee jerk reaction was to apply. It would have been everything I wanted - a job in California, working for the team I've followed almost since the day I became aware of what a football was, but after about 10 minutes of thinking it over I decided against it. Not that I was in any way qualified to be considered for the job, but knowing the way Davis micromanaged every aspect of that organization and treated people like they were disposable, I would have had to have been the NFL's version of Baghdad Bob. And sooner or later I would have done something to piss off him or one of his lieutenants, been fired, and I would have had him stapled to my resume for the rest of my working life.

forsberg_us wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

"Is the author an intern? It seems like this is something they'd dump on her."

She looks young in that thumbnail, and I've never seen her byline before, though I'm not conscious of bylines unless it's someone who is a competitor.
I don't know how much of a house engine Raiders.com is since Davis died, but it used to be pretty bad. Stuff like "Kerry Collins' fourth quarter touchdown pass highlights closer-than-the-score-indicates 38-7 loss to Broncos."
A couple of years after I got out of college, there was an opening for a writer at a monthly magazine published by the Raiders, and my knee jerk reaction was to apply. It would have been everything I wanted - a job in California, working for the team I've followed almost since the day I became aware of what a football was, but after about 10 minutes of thinking it over I decided against it. Not that I was in any way qualified to be considered for the job, but knowing the way Davis micromanaged every aspect of that organization and treated people like they were disposable, I would have had to have been the NFL's version of Baghdad Bob. And sooner or later I would have done something to piss off him or one of his lieutenants, been fired, and I would have had him stapled to my resume for the rest of my working life.

You?  You've always struck me as a bit of a conformist.  (grin)

LOL. Yeah, but this was a rare moment of clarity back in the day. It's hard to describe now how nutty I was for the Raiders then. If they lost on Sunday afternoon, I couldn't sleep Sunday night. After they lost in Denver on the blown call in the '77 playoffs, I didn't want to go to school the next day. The Foxboro Snow Job has made me far more cyincal about the NFL in general and the Raiders' haplessness of the past decade has tempered my enthusiasm, but I used to be a closet case.

tkihshbt wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

a job in California

Unless one is seeking employment in the adult entertainment biz, I don't know how a job in California is desirable. I've always been partial to Florida.

Depends upon where in Florida you're talking about. I could live in the Miami area. The further north you go, the pace gets slower, and it comes to almost a complete stop anywhere beyond Orlando.
And those Palmetto Bugs freak me out. They're the size of Volkswagens. I swear one swooped in and nearly took my wife away, like the flying monkeys took Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

tkihshbt wrote:

I visited Tampa eight years ago and came to the conclusion I could stay there forever. It felt like a warm-weather St. Louis with more older people and less danger.

Also, you're right about Orlando being slow. Traveling there from Tampa felt like a trip through the awfulness that is southeastern Missouri.

I've never been to Tampa. One of the guys on my basketball team played baseball at the University of Tampa and refers to Tampa as "God's waiting room."
Then there's the heat. I realize I'm writing this to a guy who lives in a place where it's been 100 degrees almost every day for the past month, but Florida heat is different. Eight months of the year, Florida is a sauna. You can't breathe. It feels like Rosie O'Donnell is sitting on your chest. I've lived in Phoenix in August and spent a week in Orlando in September and I'd take Phoenix in August.

tkihshbt wrote:

I can take the heat better than most. A little rain every now and then would be nice since every day there's an enormous brush fire somewhere, but I'm not that phased by it.

Oh I'd take heat over cold every day, but there are limits.
I went to a football game in Miami a few years ago in either late October or early November and even then it felt like I was five feet from the sun. I can't imagine what it was like being in that stadium watching a baseball game on a Sunday afternoon in July.
No wonder the Marlins used to draw 600 fans.

APIAD wrote:

Fuck the heat.  Id take Nov and Dec wintery weather.

Blasphemy. You know what winter is good for? People sneezing and coughing all over the place. Having to wash your hands 20 times a day because you don't know if you just touched the remnants of a snot rocket on a door knob. The flu. Snow. Snow that sticks to the roads and in some cases causes innocent people to die because Harry Hardass thought it would be comical to drive fast so he collides with another driver. Cars having big chunks of dirty snow stuck to the bottom. Having to wash your car repeatedly because it's covered in salt. Bringing snow into your home because it's on the bottom of your pants. Having wet stocks. Wearing boots that take five minutes to put on. Wearing several layers of clothes. Having freezing winds blowing in your face so hard that it goes numb. Dealing with St. Louis traffic, which treats a one-inch snowfall like it's Armageddon. Waiting on MoDOT or county road crews to come plow the roads. Waiting on the car to heat up, which takes forever. Cleaning the snow off your car. Praying that a freezing rain doesn't knock out power.

You know what I wore when I went out to eat the other night? A t-shirt, gym shorts and Cardinals flip-flops. That's it. There was no hassle of putting on an undershirt, a sweater, a coat, a scarf, a hat, gloves and warm socks. I didn't have to wait 10 minutes for the car to get bearable.

Winter can suck it. It is absolute hell.

tkihshbt wrote:

APIAD wrote:

Fuck the heat.  Id take Nov and Dec wintery weather.

Blasphemy. You know what winter is good for? People sneezing and coughing all over the place. Having to wash your hands 20 times a day because you don't know if you just touched the remnants of a snot rocket on a door knob. The flu. Snow. Snow that sticks to the roads and in some cases causes innocent people to die because Harry Hardass thought it would be comical to drive fast so he collides with another driver. Cars having big chunks of dirty snow stuck to the bottom. Having to wash your car repeatedly because it's covered in salt. Bringing snow into your home because it's on the bottom of your pants. Having wet stocks. Wearing boots that take five minutes to put on. Wearing several layers of clothes. Having freezing winds blowing in your face so hard that it goes numb. Dealing with St. Louis traffic, which treats a one-inch snowfall like it's Armageddon. Waiting on MoDOT or county road crews to come plow the roads. Waiting on the car to heat up, which takes forever. Cleaning the snow off your car. Praying that a freezing rain doesn't knock out power.

You know what I wore when I went out to eat the other night? A t-shirt, gym shorts and Cardinals flip-flops. That's it. There was no hassle of putting on an undershirt, a sweater, a coat, a scarf, a hat, gloves and warm socks. I didn't have to wait 10 minutes for the car to get bearable.

Winter can suck it. It is absolute hell.

You just reminded me why I like winter even more.  Except the cold thing but I dont sick often.

This is just bad, bad football.

Terrelle Pryor isn't any good, but watching him run around like he's playing kick the can is a lot more exciting than watching Carson Palmer throw into double coverage.

artie_fufkin wrote:

I didn't get to the remote quickly enough to avoid ESPN's breakdown of that fiasco. Herm Edwards actually said the Raiders are looking to improve their defense from last year, and Darren McFadden needs to stay healthy. I don't know how much they're paying Herm, but with that kind of analysis, it's not enough.

Well, he did say "you play to win the game." He's obviously no Nomar.

tkihshbt wrote:

3-0? 3-0?!

It was one of the worst exhibitions of professional athletics I've ever seen. The score really isn't indicative of a well-played defensive game. The offenses were beyond putrid.
McFadden saw the field for the first series, and then they got him out of there to forestall his annual season-ending injury. He had two decent runs and a nice gain on a bubble screen before Palmer threw an interception to end the drive. That's about it for offensive highlights.
Denarius Moore didn't play, but even with him they don't have a receiver who can run routes over the middle. And they have no pass receiving tight ends. And I don't mean they have a couple of tight ends who will grab 1-2 passes a game. They have NO tight ends who can catch the ball.
And the Cowboys were worse. They had one nice passing play from Romo to Bryant in the first series, but after that it was a challenge for them to make it past the line of scrimmage.
I realize it's the first exhibition game, but I think New England's record for most points in a season is safe from both these teams.
You know who did look all right? Dominique Hamilton, the undrafted free agent out of Mizzou. He stuffed one play, and beat his guy on a couple of other plays.