Al Finally Pulled the String on Chucky

Skip Bayless of the San Jose Mercury News, on Raider owner Al Davis:

“Like Scrooge, Davis has seen a ghost the past four seasons--his. For the first time since he took over the Raiders in 1963, Davis was, in effect, forced off the stage by his head coach.

“When Davis asked the mirror on the wall who was the slickest of them all, it said, ‘My man Chucky.’ Jon ‘Chucky’ Gruden became the snarling face of Raider Nation. Raider fans finally had the perfect poster-boy coach--one who looked like the homicidal horror-movie doll. Players loved Chucky almost as much as the fans.

“But Chucky turned on his master. Davis lost his leverage in the locker room and on talk shows. Davis became the doddering 72-year-old who got in Gruden’s way. No more.”

*

More Bayless: “Al Davis reclaimed front-and-center control of his ‘Raiduhs.’ Not only did he get rid of Gruden, but he 1) fleeced Tampa Bay for two first-round picks, a second and a third, and $8 million; 2) said all the right things about Gruden, while Gruden said the wrong things about Raider fans, alienating many; and 3) replaced Gruden with the un-Gruden, Bill Callahan, the perfect low-ego coach for Davis.”

*

Trivia time: Who holds the men’s NCAA West Regional single-game record for blocked shots?

*

Attention! Florida officials removed a fan from the first day of spring football practice after he refused to stand to watch the Gators. New Coach Ron Zook has instituted a rule requiring coaches, players and spectators to stand throughout all practice sessions.

*

More Zook: The Orlando Sentinel reports that not long after he was hired, he told Athletic Director Jeremy Foley, “You need to get me a cell phone that works in the shower. That’ll give me 10 more minutes to recruit.”

According to that paper, he is so hyper that when a reporter asked him how much coffee he drinks, he chuckled and said, “Are you kidding me? I drink coffee when I want to come down.”

*

Next question: Texas Tech Coach Bob Knight, commenting on his new workplace: “My wife has said, ‘Nowhere in the world will people understand [you] more than in West Texas.’” Asked by a reporter what that meant, Knight said, “I don’t try to interpret my wife. Do you interpret your wife? That may be why I get along better with my wife than you do with yours.”

*

Space lady: Nancy Lopez, who announced she’s retiring as a full-time LPGA Tour player after this season, grew up in Roswell, N.M., where some people believe a flying saucer crashed in 1947.

She told USA Today a fan drew a connection between her and the “incident.”

“This lady walked up to me and started staring at me,” Lopez said. “Then, she says, ‘Are you an alien?’”

*

Trivia answer: Shaquille O’Neal of Louisiana State, 11, against Brigham Young in 1992.

*

And finally: University of Mississippi guard Dave Sanders on his eating habits: “We don’t have any McDonald’s All-Americans. Now, I do love to eat at McDonald’s. If they counted all the money I spent at McDonald’s, then I’d be an All-American.”

McDonald’s should, at least, reward Sanders’ loyalty with a free Big Mac and fries.

*

Mal Florence