The Slanch Report

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John Herrera is a senior executive PR man with the Oakland Raiders and he took some umbrage at Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami’s accusation that the Raiders organization is anti-head coach Lane Kiffin. Using the example of how someone on the Raiders staff, (according to Kawakami it was Herrera himself) handed out a recent ESPN.com article that was negative about Lane Kiffin to reporters, Kawakami asked Kiffin if he felt isolated within the Raiders organization. Herrera did NOT appreciate this line of questioning. After the press conference Herrera strode up to Kawakami and started belligerently yelling at him. Among his fun yelling claims was that Yahoo Sports football reporter Mike Silver is a pot head (OH NO!) and thus can’t be believed or trusted. Even when other reporters in the room tell Herrera that their paper’s received the anti-Kiffin article Herrera refuses to accept it. Way to really nail Silver’s credibility, I mean, if he blazes than certainly he is too stupid to even know how to read an article handed to him by a member of the Raiders. Besides, NO ONE in sports smokes pot, least of all the players, and CERTAINLY NOT on a franchise of such fine moral standing as the Raiders. I do however love the way in which Herrera tries to make it an insult, “so did your smoke pot, –smoke pot, –your smoking buddy Michael Silver.” BURN!

I simply cannot understand why this organization is doing so poorly. It simply doesn’t make sense to me. I see the behind the scenes things and it looks like one well-oiled machine. Sure, every week there is a rumor that that Monday the head coach will be fired. Sure the owner hates his head coach and regrets plucking an offensive coordinator from the college ranks who had no previous head coaching experience and giving him control of an NFL franchise. Sure the owner is a bat-shit crazy old man who shouldn’t be in charge of a Dairy Queen much less a major sports franchise. Sure their team is a collection of mostly never-wills and haven’t-beens but that doesn’t mean they can’t be successful right? Right? Or at least that’s what John Herrera believes I think. Anyways, that franchise is a fucking mess.

But anyways, so uh, Michael Silver of Yahoo, wanna hang out?