Al Davis Is a Cheap Bastard

If there's a lesson that can be learned from the rift that has erupted between Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin, and owner Al Davis, it is this: let the buyer beware.

Davis has completely ostracized Kiffin, barring him from team meetings, personnel decisions and the hiring and firing of his own coaching and administrative staff. Why would Davis so tie the hands of the man he's paying to run his football club? Well, the answer is simple: Al Davis is a cheap old bastard.

Clearly, Davis doesn't want Kiffin to continue as coach, so why not ax him? Well, coaches in the NFL (unlike players in the NFL,) have guaranteed contracts, so if you want to fire the coach you'll have to pay the remainder of the dollars owed. It's believed that Kiffin's contract is in the neighborhood of $1.7 million for next year, the final of the two year deal he signed prior to the start of last season. There's apparently an option for a third year, but it doesn't look too likely they'll opt for that. So, for Davis to show Kiffin the door it'll cost him a cool $1.7 million. However, if Kiffin quits first, Davis is off scott free.

Kiffin may be the youngest coach in the league, but he's not stupid. Valuing money over pride, when Davis presented Kiffin a letter of resignation for him to sign after the season, he thumbed his nose at Davis and stayed on board.

Of course, Kiffin is not totally without sin in this ordeal. The event which supposedly set off this powder keg was Kiffin putting his name out there for possible college head coaching positions that opened up this year. Hearing this, Davis decided he didn't want another Bobby Petrino on his hands, and went to work making Kiffin's life incredibly uncomfortable.

Now, some people may say, “Hey, it's Al's team, if he wants to fire the guy, who cares?” Well, this is true, Al Davis is the owner of the Raiders and it's his team. However, it's his cheapness which is ruining this once proud franchise. Davis won't open his wallet to hire a top tier coach, this is why he had to turn to a 31 year old man whose top coaching achievement was being the offensive coordinator for USC. Furthermore, despite Kiffin's attempt to bring some accountability to the team, Davis won't allow the firing of his coaching staff because he would have pay off their contracts.

Where will this go from here? Well, who wants to play for a coach living on borrowed time, putting in a half-assed effort just to get a paycheck? Who wants to coach a team when they know their days are numbered and they have no authority over anything except for whether or not to punt on forth down?

So, next year, look for the Raiders to again be not only the bottom feeders of the AFC West, but the NFL as well. At least Al Davis will have saved some cash.

A new football league with Eric Crouch and Tee Martin? This has to be a good idea.

When Vince McMahon created the XFL in 2001 he was naive enough to believe that the league could compete with the NFL. Less than a month after the conclusion of the first season, the league folded after being dropped by NBC and is considered one of the biggest jokes in sports history. Seven years later, a new league is about to begin play this spring...get ready for the All American Football League! (AAFL).

In case you haven't heard by now (and you probably haven't), the AAFL is a six-team league that will play a 10-game schedule running from April 19 to the championship game on July 3. The league consists of teams from Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Florida, Tennessee and Michigan. And the teams will be playing their games at college stadiums. Wait a minute, I've heard of this league before...it's called the SEC.

Michigan is the only team out of place being the only one from the north...don't worry though, they will be playing indoors at the climate-control environment of Ford Field. I don't know where Michigan (with their economy in the shitter) found money to waste on this league. Speaking of where they will be playing...can you imagine the capacity of the stadium on AAFL gameday. Think about it...six thousand people sitting in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville that holds just over 102,000. Yeah, that'll create a raucous environment for the visiting team.

The inaugural draft was held last weekend and if you hurry to the AAFL website you can watch the taped version of the draft with all 50 rounds hosted by Frank Frangie! (who?) There are some interesting rules to follow for the teams as they can protect players from their own region. For example, players that graduated from the University of Arkansas would be protected by Team Arkansas. No other team is permitted to take them. Players that graduated from LSU and weren't gifted enough for the NFL are also protected by Arkansas. Georgia players fall into the Alabama region and so on. An excerpt from the AAFL website states,

"The League teams will feature grads of the local university. For some players, the All American Football League will be a stepping-stone into, or back into the NFL. For many, it will be a chance to continue playing football on the campus of their alma mater in front of the loyal and enthusiastic fan base that has grown to love them."

Yeah so the theory here is a lot of players that played for these teams in college won't move on to the next level, so why not have them still play football in the very same stadium they played college football in and the locals will love it!

Great. That's all we need now, college athletes not good enough for the NFL hanging on, chasing the dream for another year instead of moving forward with their lives. I understand what they are trying to do, but besides families and friends, the "favorites" that the local fans remember and want to see again are being drafted in the NFL anyway.

We don't need an extension to college football to a semi-pro college football because that's what this is sounding like to me. If you want to pay these athletes then just do it in college since the schools are making millions off of them anyway. One of the executives during the draft described the reasoning for this league and said, "There was no middle level between college and the NFL." Hmm, I thought that was what the Arena League was for or the CFL.

The colleges are supporting the AAFL and allowing stadiums for use because of a league rule that players can only be in the league if they have a four-year college degree. Oh, well...what an idea, considering most of the players in the NFL don't have a four-year degree. Now we know these players in the AAFL really aren't good enough for the NFL.

So who will be playing in this league? Any big names? Well former Nebraska standout and 2001 Heisman winner Eric Crouch was drafted by Team Texas in the first round. Eric Crouch, the same guy who was drafted by the Rams and retired about two weeks into training camp because the coaches said he was too confused with the professional game...and this was in training camp. Oh yeah, this will be great.

Other notable names are Bryan Randall, Chris Leak, Clint Stoerner, Tee Martin (Tee Martin!!), Peter Warrick and Team Florida Head Coach Shane Matthews. Warrick, Martin, Crouch...how long have these guys been out of football? This is a league full of has-been college athletes playing in their college stadiums trying to channel that success and fond memories they had years ago against other washed up athletes. This is going to be a mess.

It seems the AAFL is still currently working on a deal with a network to broadcast the season, which isn't good that they do not have one solidfied yet. The XFL had a deal with NBC and they folded after a year so this will be interesting. Many leagues have tried to compete with the NFL and all that remains are gravestones. XFL, USFL, World Football League, etc. The Arena League is hanging in there, but they changed the rules so much that their game barely resembles an NFL contest. The NFL is the most successfully run sports league out there and I don't know why people keep pouring money into new leagues that just won't work.

This league does however appear to not be going for a direct competition with the NFL as they are not stealing players while taking in B, C, D-list players who have been out of football and they know it. With that in mind and the fact that the AAFL looks to be running with a little more integrity than McMahon and the XFL was running with, I think the league will stick around longer.

I give the All American Football League two seasons before the collapse.

Super Bowl Called Off- Patriots To Receive Rings Wednesday Afternoon At Ceremony Attended By President

With the 17th pick overall in this year's NFL Draft the the Minnesota Vikings are projected to select Calais Campbell, a junior defensive end from Miami. Sure, the Vikings could use someone to actually catch the football, but it's thought that they'll go defensive end to help shore up their pass rush.

How do I know all this? Well, thanks to an article on Fox Sports, which was posted on the MSN homepage Saturday January, 26th, I know all about the coming draft and how the Cowboys will be looking hard at Mario Manningham at 22.

I don't know what is more ridiculous, the fact that someone took the time to write this prognostic drivel, or that the lead NFL story on MSN is talking about a draft that won't take place for another three months. Hey, do you know what NFL event takes place even sooner than the draft? That's right, the Super Bowl. Maybe we could talk about that for a little bit.

Of course, despite everything on the line in the “Big Game,” there's not a buzz around this championship. The paparazzi has written more about this game than has the sports community, as they follow Tom Brady around Manhattan with his chick.

Another thing before I stray too far from Tom Brady. Have you ever heard of the starting quarterback of one Super Bowl team spending the bye week before the championship in the city of the team he's playing? I don't recall Ben Roethlisberger spending a week catching fish at that market in Seattle, or John Elway scoping out the Atlanta nightlife. What the hell is that about?

So, next week at this time we will have crowned a new NFL champion. That is, there will be an official crowning, the informal one took place in October when Chris Collinsworth called the Patriots the greatest team ever.

I guess it's just a forgone conclusion, the Patriots are going to win, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. It's such a lock, we can start talking about the draft. Don't worry about the Pro Bowl, the Patriots are going to win that too.

The Countdown crew over at ESPN agrees. Today, rather than actually talking about the Super Bowl and how the teams matchup, the guys batted around the idea of calling the Patriots the greatest dynasty of all time, and Bill Belichick the greatest coach of all time. Four championships in seven years certainly is impressive, considering the nature of the game- injuries, free agency, age. Yeah, that is a remarkable feat.

There's only one problem: the 2007 New England Patriots haven't won anything yet.

Maybe Super Bowl XLII isn't the match up the NFL wanted. Brett Favre will be at home, and the Giants are far from what could be called, “America's Team.” Still, this is the game that will be played, and the Patriots are going to have to convince the only 53 men in the NFL who haven't bought the hype, and don't think their win in a forgone conclusion.

This week, as the discussion revolves around comparing Brady to Montana and Belichick to Noll, could we maybe mention that on Sunday night there's a game to be played, and that maybe there are a few guys who call themselves the New York Football Giants who might have something to say about all this Patriots talk.

That's why they play the game.

No football. Now what?

Every year the weekend before the Super Bowl is probably the worst weekend for sporting events ever. Why the NFL feels the need to have a week off before the big game, I will never understand. But anyway with the football season pretty much over that leaves the question...what to do with all that free time until baseball's Opening Day. If you're like me, you start banging your head off the wall come mid-February in what is by far the worst month of sports. But don't worry, here are The Wheelhouse's top four things (in no particular order) to help pass the time until March 31.

College basketball - Hey it's no football, but college basketball is still a solid sport to watch. It was a lot better when players actually stayed for three or four years, but there are plenty of unbelievable freshman to check out this year. Indiana's Eric Gordon, UCLA's Kevin Love, Memphis' Derrick Rose and USC's O.J. Mayo are just a couple of the freshman worth watching. ESPN does a stellar job of having games on all week along with CBS on the weekends. Plus with the regular season finishing in about a month, conference tournaments will begin followed by one of the most exciting couple of weeks in sports...March Madness. The opening rounds feature a plethora of games filled with upsets, exciting finishes, buzzer beaters and Bill Raftery catch phrases...the dagger! And another reason to tune in, it's not the NBA. My early Final Four is North Carolina, Kansas, Michigan State and Tennessee.

NHL - Ok, so the National Hockey League isn't the most popular sport around right now, but it's doing it's best to get back on its feet after the strike in 2004. The salary cap made the play more competitive (listening Bud Selig?), the play is more wide open and goals are being scored, shootouts have made overtime more exciting and a new group of young players are ready to take the league on its shoulders. Seriously, tune in if you haven't in a while...it's really not as bad as the media and ESPN portrays it. All you have to do is scour your cable channels to find Versus and you are set...that is, if you even have Versus.

Catch up on your 24 seasons - I've never been on illegal drugs before in my lifetime to experience an addiction or a withdrawal...until I had full seasons of 24 at my disposal. 24 is the hit show on FOX where Jack Bauer (played by Kiefer Sutherland) foils terrorists' plots while working for a counter terrorism unit in LA. With Kiefer currently behind bars for multiple DUI's and the writers guild on strike, I wouldn't expect a new season anytime soon. In the meantime, catch up on the six seasons. If you have not seen all the seasons, go buy one and enjoy. And even if you are an avid fan and seen every episode already...watch a season again. No time like the present to do so and you will not be able to watch just one episode in a sitting...it's impossible. I don't know how I ever went seven days before seeing the next episode because with the full season in front of you, the show consumes you.

Spring training - Even though it's hard to think about baseball weather with most of the country buried in snow and bitter temps, pitchers and catchers report to camp in only 18 days! MLB.com allows fans access to spring training games (with a small fee of course) as last year you could listen to any game and also watch games from your computer throughout March. And if you can't wait to see baseball in April and have an urge to get out of the cold, take a road trip to Florida or Arizona to see some baseball. Tickets are cheap, games are everyday and the sunshine is warm.

There you have it. Hope is not all lost after the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl so cheer up, get your 24 fix and get ready for a cold February to crawl along.

The Wheelhouse Is Open For Business

Welcome to The Wheelhouse! For several years this blog has existed only in the form of conversation over scotch and soda, talk of how great it would be to finally bring together all of our thoughts and have a discussion about all the things that make up our lives. However, for quite some time with jobs, life and everything getting in the way, we were starting to wonder if this idea would ever transpire into anything at all. Well, we're excited to say that The Wheelhouse has finally arrived.

The Wheelhouse joins the other thousands of blogs currently on the Internet today that cover various categories from sports to fashion to random happenings. What category does The Wheelhouse fall into and what can you expect to read here?

Well the word "Wheelhouse" in baseball terminology is described as,

"A hitter's power zone. Usually a pitch waist-high and over the heart of the plate."

Basically, if you put a ball in the hitter's wheelhouse it's going to end up in the bleacher seats for a 400-foot home run. In this Wheelhouse, you are entering our writing zone. The pitch is coming in slow-motion, we can see the stitches, the sweet spot and are ready to knock it out of the ballpark.

As you can tell from that we will definitely cover sports in this blog, but we are not tied into that category alone, as we will discuss plenty of the topics that make up life. From the little things to the big things, it's all on the table, and you're invited to join us.

Founded by two college grads with a writing background from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, The Wheelhouse will be bringing you fresh thoughts and ideas all the time as we work to raise the level of discourse. We're not experts, and don't claim to be, but what we will be is open, honest and unfiltered.

We invite you, the reader, to join in on our reindeer games. Comment, post, email us- participation isn't just welcomed, its encouraged.

Go ahead, bookmark us right now before you forget, and check back often. Better yet, shoot us an email and say hello, we want some two-way traffic as we travel down the highway of life.

Cheers,

Ryan Alexander

Todd Leight

Editors, The Wheelhouse