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These are sad days for Raider Nation. All those skull-and-bonestattoos seem for naught. Their leader, Al Davis, has lost it. As thelate radio mega-star Jim Healy used to say, he's gone the Leonard Toseroute, wrote Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Dwyre.His news-conference performance this week, in the firing of youngcoach Lane Kiffin, broke new ground in the category of bizarre. Theonly thing missing was somebody dragging a blindfolded Kiffin into theroom, putting him on a plank and making him walk it. Davis sat at atable and read a letter he had written to Kiffin. The same letter wasprojected 15 feet high on a screen behind Davis. The message was thatKiffin was a "flat-out" liar and was being fired "for cause." The "forcause" part meant that Davis didn't want to pay Kiffin what's left onhis contract. Lawyers throughout the Bay Area were choking on theirown drool.It is also difficult, quite frankly, to be critical of Davis at all,even though he took a couple of nice things out of our area in thelast several decades. One was a pro football franchise, the other agood portion of the cash flow of Irwindale. Still, to some of us, heis a hero in one very important category. He has consistently stood upto the single most arrogant entity on the planet today. That would bethe National Football League.The sad thing for Raider Nation is that success wasn't that long ago.The image of Davis, marching proudly to his box in San Diego justbefore the 2003 Super Bowl against Tampa Bay, is vivid. But so is thejob that Davis' former coach, the Buccaneers' Jon Gruden, did on theRaiders that day. Final score: 48-21, Tampa Bay.Davis hasn't just been an influential Raider, or a Raiders drivingforce, or the architect of the Raiders. He has been all of that andmore. He is the Raiders. Period. The Raiders reflect his image, style,approach, attitude. Everything. He is a Raider like Tom Lasorda is aDodger. There is no other team, no other way, no other life. And so,when you see it coming apart so badly, so publicly, and soembarrassingly, there has to be a tinge of compassion, no matter whatwent before.You want to shake him, tell him it is over. But tell him that hedoesn't have to stop being a Raider, just stop being the only Raider.
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Kimbo Slice doesn't have much on the line when he fights Saturday.Well, other than the very existence of the promotion he fights for –the struggling EliteXC. Not to mention the short-term future of mixedmartial arts on broadcast television, since CBS could pull the plug.And, of course, his earning power that comes mainly from perceptionand personality, not any actual body of work. At least not yet.A loss risks everything, since winding up flat on your back doesn'tmake much of a Nike commercial or a future as a pay-per-view draw.In terms of competitive excellence, Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock inFort Lauderdale, Fla. live on CBS isn't much. In terms of importancein the brief history of MMA, it may wind up significant.While it's unlikely EliteXC, or any other league, can ever mount aserious challenge to the UFC's immense popularity and market share,the possibility is non-existent if Kimbo loses.PAID POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTEliteXC's entire business model hangs on whether Slice, who gainedfame from YouTube videos of his street scraps, can prove to be even anaverage MMA fighter.It's bizarre business scenario.EliteXC has few name fighters and the conundrum of Slice. He's themost famous and popular fighter in the world yet he may not be a top50 heavyweight. He's fought professionally just three times and it'sunlikely he'd make it out of the first round with anyone in the UFC.Even his vaunted punching power – fearsome in boat yards and backalleys – isn't much by big-time MMA standards.If he was the devastating puncher he's sold as, Kimbo would have laidout his last opponent, James "Colossus" Thompson, long before acauliflower ear exploded in the third round. Fedor Emelianenko, thebest heavyweight in the world, may have needed just one punch to winthat fight.The Kimbo legend lives on though. It's the bearded, menacing, one-timehomeless man, one-time porn company security guard who gets the bigendorsement deals, not Fedor.It's Slice who can bring a nice Nielsen number, not anyone elseEliteXC employs (even femme fatale Gina Carano) or perhaps even anyoneon the UFC roster.The trouble is, if Kimbo were to lose Saturday, there may not be acompany on Monday – the promise of future ratings and pay-per-viewbuys gone if his famed ferocity is debunked.The likeable Slice is rightfully cashing every check as quickly aspossible. He's an only in America rags-to-riches story, only one thatwill explode like Colossus' ear at some point.So Slice will enter the cage against Ken Shamrock, a pioneering legendin MMA who also happens to be 44 years old and without a victory inover four years. He hasn't even made it out of the first round sincethen, a TKO loser in every fight.To say he's the ultimate set up for Slice kind of understates it(Kimbo is a 7-2 favorite in most sports books). Slice simply has to win.Shamrock's lack of recent success doesn't guarantee it though.Thompson had lost seven of his previous nine fights – "They got himout of the (expletive) morgue," UFC president Dana White laughed – andalmost beat Kimbo anyway.Slice's previous victory came against the colorful Tank Abbott, wholike Shamrock was an early star in the sport and comically billedhimself as "master of the ancient martial art of kicking ass." Don'tbe too impressed, Abbott has just one victory since 1998 and was bestserved in fake professional wrestling.Kimbo's only other fight was a knockout of journeyman Bo Cantrell injust 19 seconds, which is impressive even if Cantrell was once droppedin a seemingly impossible five seconds.To say there is a gap between Slice's perception with the causalpublic and reality with hard core fans doesn't begin to describe it.While it's impossible to hate Slice for capitalizing on his earningopportunity, it's just as impossible to approve of what he thus farrepresents to the growing sport.He's all sizzle, no steak.At 34, Slice is too old to become an expert in one of the chieffighting styles such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – which generally takes atleast 10 years to master. He will need to rely on heart, punching andrudimentary wrestling and submission defense skills to survive in hiscareer.This being just his fourth pro fight, it would be understandable tobring him along delicately as he continues to improve under famedtrainer Bas Rutten.Being the headliner on prime time CBS cards, Nike endorser, and likeit or not, the face of the sport, doesn't allow such patience though.He's paid and promoted as the toughest man on earth (in one of themost outrageous bits of sports hyperbole ever he was compared to noless than Tiger Woods in his last CBS appearance). At some point hehas to at least attempt to live up to anything near that status.The public loves a circus, but how long can they sell Kimbo as a starwhen he's only taking on the over-the-hill gang?EliteXC's problem is to step up the competition, which means a likelyloss, which means a likely end to the company. That's why a grudgematch with the solid Brett Rogers, who called Slice out after May'sCBS card, was tabled and Shamrock was dusted off.They may fight next on pay per view (along with Carano vs. Cristiane"Cyborg" Santos) to deliver some much-needed cash to an operation thatlost over $56 million the last two years.Or they might fight on CBS in hopes of getting an extension on itsoriginal four-fight deal with the network.Either way, the goal for EliteXC is to make it to a next time. Theyneed to tread water until some other stars emerge, they combine withanother outfit or Slice develops enough to become a legitimateheavyweight.Until then, this entire experiment is a house of cards, built on acharade of charisma and massive marketing.So Saturday, Kimbo Slice must win or it all comes tumbling down,sooner rather than later.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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