Davis Blasts Oakland for Fiscal Shortcomings

Raider owner Al Davis ridiculed the $198-million deal that brought his club back to Oakland last year.

In his first public comments since the start of the season, Davis, 67, also denied rumors of heart trouble and took verbal swipes at everyone from NFL referees to Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

“I was greatly concerned that Oakland could not handle the deal economically,” Davis said of his fears when he brought his club back after 13 seasons in Los Angeles. “A lot went wrong. The people in charge couldn’t get it done. They were kind of economically false.”

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Quarterback Steve Bono, ineffective in a 28-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers, was benched by Kansas City Chief Coach Marty Schottenheimer in favor of Rich Gannon for Thursday’s game at Detroit.

Gannon, who started 35 games for the Minnesota Vikings from 1990-92, went in Sunday for Bono after the Chargers had taken a 28-0 lead and led the Chiefs to two scores.