Raiders also boring off the field

Could the Raiders’ image be in trouble?

Until the news that recently acquired Oakland running back Dominic Rhodes had been suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News was wondering if the Raiders were losing their “bandit mojo.”

The “end of their suit against the NFL in the Hollywood Park matter means that the Raiders have no major lawsuits pending for the first time in 20 years,” Kawakami wrote.

“They already have discarded Randy Moss, one of the last guys left on the team who could sustain a high level of controversy.

“They have turned to a young coach right out of Knute Rockne Jr. central casting.

“And their feared and worshiped owner is nowhere to be seen (I’m picturing Al Davis in the bunker, staring at NFL Network broadcasts 23 1/2 hours a day), apparently allowing his lieutenants to handle team business in a stunningly paranoia-free manner.

“It’s enough to give a team a good name!”

Trivia time

Ivan Rodriguez of the Detroit Tigers recently caught his 2,000th major league game. Who are the three other players to reach that milestone?

A Wie bit

of trouble

Michelle Wie wanted to take on the men, but now she’s taking it on the chin.

After withdrawing from the recent U.S. Women’s Open because of problems with her injured wrist, Wie, 17, hasn’t broken par in a tournament this year.

“The most troubling aspect of Wie’s downturn has been the departure of her beautiful swing, once one of the finest in golf but now as forced as her smile,” wrote Eric Adelson in ESPN the Magazine.

Many commentators are in part blaming her parents, saying they might be contributing to Wie’s seeming burnout by pushing her too much.

“But the fear for most everyone in golf -- and especially LPGA execs -- is that the glow that drew millions to watch and cheer on Wie may be lost forever,” Adelson wrote.

Coach Michelle

Wie is ineligible to play college golf, of course, because she’s a professional. But Golf World reported that Stanford, seeking to allow her to use its facilities without running afoul of NCAA rules, has contemplated making her a volunteer assistant coach.

Not biting

You remember IMG Academies, the Florida training juggernaut that includes the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy and the David Leadbetter Golf Academy.

But you might not have known about the Professional Fishing Academy.

Costs range from $850 for a three-day, non-boarding class to $41,100 a year if a student wanted to live on campus, attend school and spend the rest of the day fishing, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

So far, not a nibble on that one.

Oden vs. Durant

The Las Vegas summer league might have served up a nice bit of theater for July 15, when Greg Oden’s Portland team is scheduled to play Kevin Durant’s Seattle team.

Oden will miss Wednesday’s game against the Lakers because he will be traveling to Los Angeles to prepare for the taping of the ESPYs on Thursday and is to present an award on the show.

Trivia answer

Carlton Fisk, Bob Boone and Gary Carter.

And finally

Tom Watson, playing in the U.S. Senior Open, said after the second round that his legs felt like concrete.

“It speaks to the age of 57 years, basically. I’m just not very fluid. I look at a lot of swings out here, not too many fluid swings out here. There is a little chop here and a chop here. The bodies, they don’t react very well much anymore. The fluidity of the past, of the youth, is pretty much gone.”

Sure. But he said that after shooting a 66.

robyn.norwood@latimes.com