East Oakland, Oakland, California USA

“heart and soul of the bay area’s African American Community” per Wikipedia

Newsday’s Bob Glauber hits the nail on the head with this now & then analysis of Al Davis’ career in yesterday’s issue.

Davis dooms his Raiders to failure

On Jan. 22, 2009, Al Davis will celebrate a dubious anniversary, one that says all you need to know about how out of touch the Raiders’ managing general partner has become.

On that day, it will have been 25 years since the Raiders last won the Super Bowl. On Jan. 22, 1984, Davis’ Raiders routed the Redskins, 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII.

Since then, Davis’ franchise has wallowed mostly in misery, with the owner himself the root cause of all that has afflicted the team he affectionately refers to as the Raiduhs.

There is little hope of a turnaround anytime soon. In fact, Davis, 79, sunk to a new low Tuesday when he held a news conference announcing the firing of yet another head coach – Lane Kiffin – after only 20 games.

Read the whole article here.

The Oakland Raiders continue to ignore the old saying, “Loose lips sink ships”.  Every sports report is running the dramatic back and forth within the Raiders ranks of staff and management.

Exhibit A

The Raiders were outplayed in the second half today in their loss to the Chargers.  Here is the CBS recap:

Another blown fourth-quarter lead for Oakland led to yet another San Diego win over the Raiders. CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz and Phil Simms recap all the action from Oakland.

According to the Oakland Tribune, Bip Roberts sister Rubie Daniels has taken over the old Walt’s Hickory Pit and turned it into A Soul Food Experience.

The menu sounds very authentic and the proprietors

Daniels and Roberts said they hope their restaurant in East Oakland will bring more business to the area and help with the city’s larger goal to revitalize Foothill Square, on Foothill Boulevard near MacArthur. The restaurant will add some spice to the retail plaza, which has sat has sat bland and mostly empty for years, they said.

The article also details some upcoming improvement plans:

Longs Drugs store and Lucas Harvest grocer are among a few of the new retailers in talks with the city to possibly move to the site

A major makeover is planned to begin sometime next year.

To read the whole Oakland Tribune Article Click Here