LITTLE ROCK — Davis’ son can fume like father
The late Al Davis was known for his motto “Commitment to Excellence” when he ran the Oakland Raiders.
His son, Mark Davis, channeled his father after the Raiders’ 38-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in Oakland, Calif.
“The Los Angeles Raiders’ No.
1 fan walked out of the coaches room and into the locker room, standing up in the minutes after his team had let him down,” Oakland Tribune columnist Monte Poole wrote.
“ ‘I’m embarrassed,’ Mark Davis said. ‘I’m p+++++ off. I’m not happy.’
“The managing partner had witnessed his team’s latest travesty, 191 minutes of mostly uninspired, ineffective football that left fans alternately frustrated and fuming.
“The booing that rained down upon the Raiders after their 38-17loss Sunday to New Orleans could not have been clearer, though it would have been louder had the team’s abysmal performance not chased away so many of the 56,880 long before the end.
“ ‘I apologize to them,’ Davis said, referring to the fans who stayed and those who fled this eyesore before its conclusion.
“Davis, however, stayed until the very end. The first-year boss witnessed Oakland’s third consecutive defeat, each decisive, wrecking a season that through seven games showed a glimmer of hope.”
The Raiders fell to 3-7 and travel to Cincinnati on Sunday.
“ ‘I’m not happy,’ Davis reiterated, maintaining an even tone. ‘Why should I be? Why should anybody in this [locker] room be?’ ”
Just get angry, baby.
Going off
Florida Panthers left wing Kris Versteeg is the latest NHL player to take a shot at Commissioner Gary Bettman.
“I’m really frustrated,” Versteeg told CHUM-AM in Toronto on Monday. “It’s not good. You do try to look at the best-case scenarios moving forward once the CBA [Collective Bargaining Agreement] does get done, and you gotta look for the cancers and you gotta cut out the cancers and I think that when you look at [deputy commissioner] Bill Dalyand Bettman, they’ve been looting this game for far too long.” Cluttered mind
From Greg Cote of the Miami Herald:
“Tiki Barber has founded a company, Thuzio, that allows fans to rent athletes. Most are retired, but some are not. One name that jumps out at us: [Ryan] Tannehill. Seriously. You can pay the Dolphins’ quarterback $5,000 to have dinner with you or attend your fantasy draft. You can pay him $7,500 to play a round of golf or attend your kid’s bar mitzvah.
There also is a category called ‘Custom Request.’ Here’s mine: I’ll pay Ryan $10,000 to quit throwing so damned many interceptions!”
“Florida International and Florida Atlantic, a combined 5-15, battled for the [Don] Shula Bowl trophy Friday night. Anybody else think it strange that the NFL’s alltime winningest coach is aligned with these schools? Sort of like the Sir Laurence Olivier Regional Dinner Theatre.”
“Rapper T.I. joined the Atlanta Hawks’ broadcast team for last week’s game against the Miami Heat. Turnabout is fair play, so what’s next? Marv Albert on stage hyping at an Eminem show ?”
Quote of the day
“Well, my thoughts are, boy, I’d sure like to go out with a win.” Arkansas football Coach John L. Smith on coaching the Razorbacks on Friday against LSU
Sports, Pages 18 on 11/20/2012