PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT

Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Assn., visited the Raiders’ El Segundo training headquarters Wednesday to answer player questions about the salary cap.

“This is the first year of the system,” he said, “and there are so many misconceptions.”

Criticized for accepting a cap system, Upshaw feels vindicated somewhat by the similar demands being made by baseball and hockey owners.

“You can paint stripes on a donkey and call it a zebra,” Upshaw said, “but it’s still a donkey. You can call it revenue enhancement, but it’s still (a cap). Our guys are playing. We didn’t cancel our season.”