If in doubt, rip the Raiders; Cable affair brings out vultures; Update
By now, everyone on the sporting planet has heard about the Raiders head coach, Tom Cable's dust-up with assistant coach, Randy Hanson.
I say "dust-up" because I wasn't in the room when the two went at it a few weeks back and am relying on media/internet reports, which range from a real legitimate fight in which both had to be seperated, to a few which suggest that the affair was nothing more than two men engaged in a minor beef which got out of hand. Hanson's jaw was fractured so let's say it was indeed a hardended fracas, but over the years, having seen and covered a few training camps, when it's hot and tense, things can lead to situations like this Cable/Hanson deal.
Players routinely engage in very real physical fights every day; obviously, not to the extent that this particular incident offered up, but it happens. And yes, it even involves teams other than the Oakland Raiders. Coaches, and yes, even front office execs. The most notorious that comes to mind involves the late 49ers GM, Joe Thomas, who got into a fight with SF Examiner sports writer, Frank Blackman, back in 1978.
Back to the Raiders deal with Cable and Hanson. Is this a "big" story? Sure, sort of. Do the Raiders look bad here? Yes, but that's not the point. The usual "screw the Raiders" contingent are out in full throttle front and center. ESPN's NFL "insider", Chris Mortensen, a certified Raider hater since day one was all over the Cable matter, reporting in breathless staccato as if he were uncovering the remains of Jimmy Hoffa.
Mike Silver of Yahoo sports, another of the anti-Raiders sports pool, was also heavy in the mix, and KNBR's assorted tonsils and a few of their morning show yutzes performed their usual audio gadgetry. Ha Ha.
Look, this isn't to defend what took place in Napa. This isn't a rah-rah defense of the Raiders. Lord knows at times, they make it pretty easy and convenient. Over the years, I, myself, have taken shots at the organization, but have tried to be fair. Sure, take your shots when necessary, but try to be fair and accurate when you cover the team.
The fans of the Raiders have posted legitimate shots on message boards at the ESPN bolts and they have a point. From Mortensen down to Chris Berman, John Clayton, and radio hosts, Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, the Bristol brats have never been particularly objective when reporting on the Oakland NFL franchise. That's not to denegrate ESPN, but presumably, one would hope the World-Wide leader would try, hell, even fake, some degree of objectivity when covering an NFL franchise.
And by the way, how can anyone, any media outlet, really cover this incident without any real knowledge of the situation? Sure, we know an altercation took place and a coach's jaw was fractured. Cable allegedly blurted out "I'm going to 'kill you!'", but how many times have we all said that in a passionate, heated moment? C'mon! What led up to the fracas? Who was in the room? What was said in detail, and so on and so on? Facts would be nice here. And hopefully, the facts will come out soon enough to see if there's any legs to this story. Right now, other than Cable, Hanson, and the Napa police, we don't know a whole hell of a lot. I hope and assume the NFL will treat this incident in a fair and just manner. Roger Goodell seems like a fairly reasonable and decent man.
What we do know, and how tired and passe is this, is that the Raiders are the great whipping boy for those media folks who've always had an agenda against the Silver and Black. It's about time they buried their hatred and tried to report the facts. That always helps.
UPDATE: Napa Police have now reviewed the matter and are refering to it as a felony assault. This is not good news for Cable, but I'm assuming he's hired a lawyer and will answer to the criminal complaint at some future time. As they always say, let's wait and hear Mr. Cable's side of the story. Still a lot of leaks here; nothing factual yet.
| August 21 2009 at 09:05 AM
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