The TURK - Tuesday Morning Comes Early In The NFL Thanks To The TURK

One thing i know about football players: they never wanna hear " Coach wants to see you in his office, and bring your playbook."

That means your going home. One week from today, on the 15th at 4 pm, some men will have their dreams of making it in the NFL end when they hear that phrase. For some it may not be over, they may catch on with another team, or play another version of the sport(arena, CFL, NFL Europe, or a variant of Semi-Pro ball).

But for most others, when they hear those words,..it's over. Those who finished college have a chance to Teach, and possibly coach at some level. others wind up doing a "regular" job while they wait for a call to go back and try one more time.

Kurt Warner got the call while he was bagging groceries in a supermarket. It's a process that goes on each year. The person who bringsthe bad news has been called all sorts of names by many people, but he'll always be known as the "Turk." i wish all the rookies in camps right now the best of luck. When the Turk shows up, they will need it!

Zennie is....

Many things to many of us. But he's Simply an amazing person. He was a pleasure to work with last week, and I'm sure we will do so again in the near future. His grasp of the business issues surrounding Football is remarkable.

Condoleezza Rice Greeted With Racist Images By Palestinian Media

As my Mom says, racism is alive and well. I'm not going to post here the image used to greet Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, as you can see the story with a click here. But I will state that the Palestinian media does that country's efforts at building World support a lot of damage with this kind of crap, proving once again just how stupid and animalistic people can be.

Think about it. Isn't the smart move by Palestinians to curry favor from other minorities Worldwide? Pretty dumb for them to even allow this approach.

This also reminds me of a racist incident that happened to me at a bar called Easy in Oakland. After I wrote about it in my Oakland Focus blog, someone had the never to write that my attacker was Arab, and the implication that he was not capable of being racist toward me.

How totally ridiculous.

This Reporter Exploded On Manhole Cover

Look. You know and I know this is fake -- but it's hella funny. If you were a reporter who was doing a story on exploding manhole covers, would you stop and stand on top of one to give your report? Of course not. And if you did, the camera person should have stopped you. So that's two checks against that action.

Still, it's funny to watch. She just goes right into the air.

NFL Hall Of Fame Game (Video): Raiders 16 - Eagles 10 - NFL.com

The one glaring problem was my Mountain Mike's Pizza friend Robert Gallery getting beat on the Raiders' second series for a sack. Offensive Coordinator Tom Walsh can help him by installing three-step drop passes. But if the Raiders insist on force-feeding the deeper drops, it's going to be a long season for Gallery and The Oakland Raiders.

Game video:



NFL.com wire reports

CANTON, Ohio (Aug. 6, 2006) -- All Art Shell asked to see in his first game back as coach of the Oakland Raiders was some progress.

He got that, and strong placekicking by Sebastian Janikowski in a 16-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles as the NFL preseason began with the Hall of Fame Game.

Oakland forced five turnovers and Janikowski made field goals of 50, 51 and 24 yards.

"Coming up with turnovers was huge tonight," Shell said. "They are reacting to the ball."

Shell was rehired a dozen years after being fired as Oakland's coach. His mission: bringing back the glory of the franchise for which he was a Hall of Fame tackle.

In front of former Raiders coach John Madden, who was enshrined Aug. 5, Shell got off to a winning start.

"It feels really good to be back," Shell said. "And getting a win is huge, because no matter if it is preseason, everybody wants to win. Playing in this game, with Coach Madden inducted, it was very much a good thing."

Philadelphia's David Akers set a game record with a 55-yarder in the second quarter. And the Eagles' first-stringers were solid on both sides of the ball.

"It was good that the offense got a chance to get out there and get things rolling," Donovan McNabb said. "I felt healthy, so it's an exciting time right now."

Eagles RB Bruce Perry was carried off on a stretcher with 1:14 remaining, his head immobilized. He was tackled by rookie Timi Wusu on a running play. Players from both sides stood silently or kneeled in prayer before Perry was removed. Perry gave a thumbs-up as he was wheeled to an ambulance and taken to a hospital.

Eagles coach Andy Reid said Perry had a concussion and a team spokesman added X-rays of Perry's neck were negative. A CT scan also was normal and the team expected Perry to accompany it back to Pennsylvania.

"He had some loss of feeling in his arms and legs initially and the feeling started to come back," Reid said. "I don't know how far along he is now."


Brian Westbrook carried the Eagles into the end zone early, but the Raiders laughed last.
In his one-series series, Donovan McNabb hit all three passes for 29 yards on a 61-yard drive that ended with Brian Westbrook's 1-yard touchdown run. McNabb is returning from sports hernia surgery that cut short his 2005 season, a major reason the Eagles finished 6-10.

"We came with a different attitude," McNabb said. "This is something that's serious for us. We were prepared to come out and have a good showing."

Westbrook, coming back from a foot sprain that cost him the final four games of 2005, had 32 yards rushing and a 14-yard reception in his short night.

"I think as an offensive unit, we're out there trying to prove we can run the ball," Westbrook said. "We've certainly committed a lot of time to the running game and we did it out there in the first preseason game."

The Eagles made Oakland's starting defense look leaky in taking the 7-0 edge, and the Raiders did little on offense with their first-stringers until getting a break.

Three plays after Aaron Brooks ' wobbly pass was picked off by Roderick Hood, Jeff Garcia returned the favor. The veteran QB, brought in as McNabb's backup this year, made a poor pass toward another Philly addition, Jabar Gaffney. Fabian Washington intercepted and sped 40 yards down the left sideline to the Philadelphia 23.

"I was excited at the time," Washington said. "But then I realized I can't take this into the regular season."

LaMont Jordan gained 14 yards on the final play of the opening period, then Brooks hit Courtney Anderson in the front of the end zone to tie it.

"I actually thought I wouldn't get it, but you never know unless you try," Anderson said. "I threw my hands up there and caught it."

Akers untied it with his record kick.

Oakland's defense provided another superb chance in the third quarter when Grant Irons sacked Koy Detmer, who fumbled at his 13. The Raiders got nothing out of it when holder Shane Lechler bobbled the snap on an attempted field goal and Janikowski never got off a kick.

He did get off the 51-yarder in the third quarter to tie it, though. His 50-yarder early in the fourth period made it 13-10, and his 24-yarder finished the scoring.

Al Davis - Al Davis On NFL Network After His Speech

NFL Network's Adam Schefter talks with Oakland Raiders Owner Al Davis and is visited by Dallas Cowboys' Owner Jerry Jones. Davis reminds Schefter that he no longer works for The Denver Broncos.

John Madden's Speech To The NFL Hall Of Fame

This is John Madden's speech after being introduced by Al Davis at the NFL Hall Of Fame

Here's video part one:



..and video part two: