John Madden no more?
Damn, I thought the legend would broadcast until we all rode on Hoverboards, played Wii Holograms and owned Star Trek Teleporters..
I guess all good things must truly come to an end..
There was no one like Madden in the history of the sport.
He was everything a fan a Football had to be and ever was:
Passionate, energetic and never afraid to get his point across. (I can only try to mimic)

He also helped make video game Football into a sport in it’s own right.
Have you ever seen a game with the history, art, gameplay and audio that Madden Football had brang to the World?
Hey, I’ve been playing Football games since Nintendo Tecmo Bowl, and I’m telling ya..
Madden was (is) simply the best! Even the professionals still play!!
(I only wish they implemented my shape in the crowd..)

As a Broadcaster, he was electric, knowledgeable and hilarious.. all at the same damn time..
“BOOM!”
“POW!”
“He sure knocked the stuffin’ outta that guy!”
Hell, that ain’t going to do it for me. Just for the sake of knowing what exactly a Booth Legend the guy was, I’ve compiled a few of John’s greatest Quotes. Enjoy!

“That wasn’t a boom! Al, that was more like a WACK!”

“Don’t worry about the horse being blind, just load the wagon.”

“The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.”

“Coaches have to watch for what they don’t want to see and listen to what they don’t want to hear.”

“The fewer rules a coach has, the fewer rules there are for players to break.”

“If you see a defense team with dirt and mud on their backs they’ve had a bad day.”

“Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.”

“With all his tumid boasts, he’s like the sword-fish, who only wears his weapon in his mouth.”

“He feels the real pressure and the pressure imagined”

“I still don’t know how that referee changed that call. He was right there - the referee has one responsibility and that’s the quarterback - he’s the guy standing right behind the quarterback. He sees that play and called it a fumble - that was his call on the field. His call - not a back judge, a side judge or an umpire - the referee made the call. Now he’s the same guy that goes and looks at it during a challenge. On the field he made the call a fumble and I didn’t see enough evidence with the pictures to change that from a fumble to an incomplete pass. I know the “tuck rule” and the arm going forward - all that stuff - but I still didn’t think there was enough visual evidence for him to change that.”
(Yeah, I thought all of you might like that one..)

“I guarantee you one thing, Jack Tatum never hit anyone from behind.”

“When you get hit like that it’s like having a bumble-bee stuck in your helmet, you just can’t get rid of it!”

“The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else.”

…and a Champion was what you truly were, John…as a Coach and a play caller.
Thanks for the memories,sir. Hopefully we’ll see you at the Coliseum in the near future.

So I sense you are all aware of the all around talents of the Crab..
and of course, the speed of the J-Mac..
But what about the Raji’s and Bey’s of the world???

Keep studying the profiles, your Football life just may depend on it, kids…
(ok, not really..)

Coaches told Darrius Heyward-Bey after spring practice of his redshirt-freshman season that he might want to consider doing something else with his time at Maryland. A track star with nice size who played high school football to make friends, Heyward-Bey has certainly improved since that meeting, but is by no means a polished receiver.
He had the worst production of his career in 2008 after averaging 49 catches for 740 yards and four scores his first two seasons, but was still honorable mention All-ACC after leading the Terps in receiving (42-609-5). It was not all his doing, however, as Maryland’s entire offense was very inconsistent and defenses were wise to simply double the Terps’ big-play threat.
For all of the hype surrounding this year’s other playmakers, no other receiver in the 2009 draft can match Heyward-Bey’s combination of size and speed. Whether that combination will ever translate into his becoming Pro Bowl-caliber playmaker, however, is the significant boom or bust gamble teams will be forced to make on draft day. Had an arm span of 33 5/8 inches and a hand span of 9 inches at the combine.

Built like a Coke machine and almost as difficult to move, BJ Raji’s dominant strength inside makes him the elite run-stuffer of the 2009 draft. An immediate standout for the Eagles, Raji worked his way into the rotation as a true freshman and started 38 of his final 40 games. A second-team All-ACC selection in 2006, Raji was expected to be the dominant cog in the BC defensive line in ‘07, but didn’t fulfill his academic obligations and missed the Eagles’ magical season. The increased expectations that came with his return to the field in 2008 didn’t slow Raji at all. In fact, despite constant double-team attention, Raji emerged as arguably the most dominant defensive lineman in the country, registering 42 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and eight sacks. An even more dominant performance throughout the week of practice at the Senior Bowl made Raji a top-10 player on some boards.

In conclusion, I believe if we don’t get the guy Al wants and desires, at least there are other talented college players to grab. Whether or not our 2009 1st round draft pick is selected to a future Pro Bowl?
Now, that’s another story..

May the force be with us!!!

Peace and have a great week!
-Darth Raider

Greetings to the greatness of the Oakland Raider fanatics!!!!!! What’s good, peeps??!?!
Jeff Garcia as an Oakland Raider?
Impressive..most impressive..
His skills will only truly be utilized if something physically ever happens to JaM Russell..(gulp!)
or perhaps if he just stinks it up on the field again. (double gulp!)
Sure, I don’t want it to happen either, but realistically? A young team like ours needs a Veteran with the kind of leadership (and insurance) that the Gilroy product brings.

Here’s a few things from his bio you might not know
(..and knowing is half the battle: GI JOE! Lord, I’m old…)

Jeffrey Jason Garcia (born February 24, 1970) is an American football quarterback who is currently looking for work. Garcia’s professional career began in the CFL before signing with the San Francisco 49ers and starting for them at quarterback for five seasons (1999-2003). After disappointing seasons in Cleveland and Detroit, Garcia resurrected his career in Philadelphia and went on to play solidly for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Garcia is of Irish and Mexican descent.
(So for all of you fellow Latinos that thought we’d only win again with ANOTHER Mexican QB..
Al’s finally granting your wish! )

Garcia is one of only seven quarterbacks in NFL history that have achieved two consecutive (back-to-back) 30-touchdown passing seasons (2000 and 2001) at least one time in their career. The others are Steve Bartkowski, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Dan Fouts, Dan Marino, and Y.A. Tittle. He is also one of only eleven quarterbacks to throw a 99 yard touchdown pass.
Good to know…
After his run with the Eagles, Garcia signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on March 3, 2007, to compete for their starting position. Although his more familiar number 5 was available, Garcia decided to keep the number 7 he wore with the Eagles. In an ironic twist, Bruce Gradkowski, who was wearing number 7 with the Buccaneers, agreed to change his number to 5 in order to let Garcia wear number 7.
At the start of the 2007 regular season, Garcia was the Bucs’ starting quarterback and had the third highest quarterback rating in the National Football League. He also brought the Bucs to the playoffs. The Buccaneers lost to the eventual Super Bowl winning Giants 24-14 in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs on January 6, 2008 with Garcia throwing for 207 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. On January 24, 2008 it was announced that Garcia would be replacing Brett Favre in the Pro Bowl, making it his first Pro Bowl since 2002. Garcia suggested in 2008 that he might stage a holdout of the Buccaneers if they didn’t meet his contract extension demands. He was in the final year of the two-year contract. He was expected to make $2.75 million that season, including a $750,000 roster bonus.
Jeff Garcia stayed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and started in the 2008 opening game against the New Orleans Saints. After a poor performance, he was demoted to third string on the depth chart and placed on the inactive roster. However, following an injury to quarterback Brian Griese in fourth week of the season, Jeff Garcia started in his place. During a victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Garcia surpassed 40,000 yards for his career when combining his statistics from both the CFL/NFL; becoming the 20th player to accomplish the feat.
On February 16, 2009, the Buccaneers told Garcia they do not want him to return in 2009. He is currently a free agent and has no plans to retire. ESPN reported on April 4, 2009, that Garcia was negotiating with the Oakland Raiders.

Garcia is the third of seven children born to Bob and Linda (née Elder) Garcia. A pair of twin girls died before his birth. His younger brother Jason drowned on a family camping trip in 1977 when Garcia was seven, and fourteen months later his younger sister Kimberly died after falling out of a truck. His two surviving sisters, Jene and Melissa, were born after the deaths of Jason and Kimberly. Garcia has said that much of his drive stems from trying to make his parents happy after the deaths of his siblings. His maternal grandfather, “Red” Elder, was a football star at Kansas State in the 1940s; both played in the East-West Shrine Game while in college, the only grandfather/grandson duo to do so. Elder was a longtime coach at Gilroy (CA) High School. Garcia donated money to refurbish the athletic field at the school, and the field was renamed Garcia-Elder Field to honor both of them.
Garcia married Carmella DeCesare, the 2004 Playboy Playmate of the Year, on April 21, 2007 in San Martin, California. They have a daughter named Presley who was born on April 28, 2008. The couple is currently expecting their second child.

Anyone remember TO’s jabber when he was asked if he thought Jeff was gay back in the day?
“Like my boy tells me: If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, by golly, it is a rat.”
Lord, what an imbecile that punk b#$% was..
excuse me, is.
l now ask all non believers to please Google Carmella DeCesare…
Lord, have mercy.

Currently, there’s no new news on recent Mock Drafts. Almost every selection has us picking up Maclin (for his speed) or Crabtree (for his overall ability).
Does anyone think these choices will possibly change if the Raiders throw Plaxico Buress in the mix?
Yeah, I know most of you think this might be a bad pickup…
but the Lord of the Sith, Master of all evil can’t help but wonder though..
just how bad was that shot to the thigh?

Then again, he stupidly shot himself..ugh.
Do we really need another NFL player bringing his tech 9 to our beautiful bay area clubs and possible charity events?

Fine, I’ll stop amusing myself.

I encourage ALL fans to now look at our throwback uniforms/logos we will probably be rockin’ on our opening Monday night Football game.
I honestly am a HUGE fan of the old school stuff from the Otto 60’s era..
(notice Jay Cutler’s number is also displayed from the Donkeys..HA!)

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80f6bdd4&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true

Let the good times roll, Raider Renegades.. PEACE!
-DR