I wrote my Thursday column about Al Davis’ vast influence on the Raiders’ draft this year. And believe me, even though Davis is gone, his influence is all over the place. The Raiders, as I write this post, do not have a pick until after the third round. That is because of Davis. Davis had a particular draft philosophy and he had personal needs, and those two things led to a depleted draft this year. Call this depletion Davis’ legacy… Read More »
Mike Silver, who used to work at the Press Democrat, published a fascinating column about Hue Jackson. He says Mark Davis fired Jackson because Jackson witnessed and knew how shabbily Al Davis treated his son Mark. That humiliated Mark and he did not want someone as coach who had seen all that. Silver also says Reggie McKenzie should not have fired Jackson. I disagree with Mike on the firing. I believe it was correct to fire Jackson. But disagreements happen… Read More »
From what I’ve read Al Davis’ funeral yesterday was a simple, understated, lovely ceremony. I have a question though. Before I ask the question I want you to understand I am not criticizing or second guessing. I’m simply asking. Does it seem to you his funeral came kind of late? Let me give the background as I understand it. Jewish people — Al, me — bury their dead “as soon as possible.” I looked this up on the internet and… Read More »
Bill Walsh told me this one not long before he died. He and Al Davis went out to dinner at a fancy restaurant — it might have been in Palo Alto. They were having a nice time until one patron noticed them and walked over to their table. The guy had been drinking a lot. He grinned at Walsh and Davis and said how nice it was to see these two rivals together. Davis and Walsh chatted with the man… Read More »
I attended Hue Jackson’s weekly news conference earlier today. Obviously, he spoke mostly about Al Davis. As I listened it occurred to me, with the passing of Davis, the Raiders have several crucial unanswered questions which pertain directly to the future of the team and the franchise. I wrote my Tuesday column trying to list the key questions — I don’t yet have answers. I don’t think anyone does. To read the column please click here.
My friend Jerry Kram — he went to Lafayette College with me and is a doctor in the East Bay and I’m having dinner with him Friday night — just sent me this note about Al Davis. Hi Lowell, Just read your Al Davis obit. Thought I ‘d remind you of an important interaction I had with him. Now many years ago, don’t remember exactly, his wife Carol suffered a cardiac arrest at home in Piedmont. His close friend and… Read More »
Here is my Sunday column on the passing of Al Davis. This is a serious subject about a serious man and I took it seriously. I tried to stay away from merely glorifying Davis the way people do when someone dies. They remember just one part of a person. Davis had a million parts, some good and some not so good. You know that. He was complicated and he was fascinating. I tried to capture some of his competing sides… Read More »
As I mentioned in an earlier Zohn post, Hue Jackson constantly referred to Al Davis as “Coach Davis” in his Thursday pre-draft press conference. I found the Coach Davis reference fascinating and I wondered what it means about Jackson. Is it reasonable to refer to Davis in public as Coach Davis? Is it a wise and good thing to do or does it indicate that Jackson is a kisser-upper? I addressed this conundrum in my Friday column. To read it… Read More »
I’m running out of the house now because I’m on Comcast at 5 pm — hope you can watch. When I get home I’ll write a column about Hue Jackson, who held his pre-draft media confab today. When he referred to Al Davis today, he only referred to him as Coach Davis. How do you feel about that?
My son Grant (Iggy) is learning to write satire. He wrote this piece in good fun about Al Davis’ morality, particularly as it seems to apply to sexual relations between men and women. I hope you enjoy it. Here goes: There’s Aristotle’s Ethics, and there’s Al Davis’ Ethics. I’m going with Uncle Al. We thought Al had only one ethic: Just win, baby. But at Tuesday’s press conference for Hue Jackson, when Uncle Al eviscerated his previous head coach Tom… Read More »
