Deep thoughts, cheap shots & bon mots
I’m guessing that when Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich met just after the final buzzer of the season opener Tuesday, Kerr gave Pop a crisp bow and said, “Thank you, sensei.”
The Warriors’ road trip is off to a good start with Friday’s win, but no matter how much bonding, jelling and camaraderie-building they do on the three-game trip, eventually the Warriors have to return home and confront the cold reality and pressure of trying to win at Oracle.
Man, that was fast! The Raiders have gone from a domed stadium to a doomed stadium.
There’s an incredible backroom battle raging between Raiders owner Mark Davis and Las Vegas billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson (hereafter referred to as LVBCMSA). I call dibs on the movie rights to “Mogul vs. Moptop: Neon-Noon Showdown on the Strip.”
Memo to Michael Crabtree: Might be time to rest the fingers-to-the-face-mask TD-celebration gesture. It’s an homage to the Kenny Perry character in TV’s “Eastbound & Down,” but it’s X-rated and has cost you (and the Raiders ... the team you play for) two 15-yard penalties. Give Randy Moss a call and the two of you can come up with a gesture that’s a bit more tasteful and less damaging to your team.
If the Raiders wind up renting Levi’s Stadium, as I predict will happen, one downside for the 49ers (as if there were any upsides for the 49ers these days) is that the Raiders will badly outdraw the 49ers.
There could be some suspense if the Raiders and 49ers share Levi’s. Considering the challenges with stadium and parking egress, will the 49ers’ fans be cleared out in time for the Raiders’ fans to start their tailgating?
Among the class of inductees to the Black College Hall of Fame is Parnell “Paydirt” Dickinson, who should have made it on his nickname alone. Paydirt quarterbacked four seasons at Mississippi Valley State (Jerry Rice would come a decade later), then had a cup o’ coffee in the NFL (Buccaneers, Patriots). Predictably, in those black-quarterback-unfriendly times, his last-ditch attempt to stay in the NFL was by switching to wide receiver.