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I have it from a good unnamed source that the Oakland Raiders -- rumored by some to leave after the current lease expires in five years -- plan to remain in Oakland through 2016, when the original Raider bonds expire. The news comes as welcome on the day that Oakland opens a sold-out Coliseum and hosts the hated Denver Broncos. But the obvious question of if the Raiders retention will mean a new stadium is not settled. As the current Coliseum is vastly behind schedule for an upgrade and a mostly-privately-owned stadium could bring big bucks to the "Coliseum Redevelopment Area" surrounding the Complex, combined with corporate sponsorship, the targer appears to be an ungrade of the stadium. It's also clear that what I told GAP Founder and Oakland A's owned Don Fisher two years ago is coming to pass: the Fremont A's deal is a loser because of its design based on land-sales performance. While that scheme works in a great economy, it becomes more and more te

I want to be the first Oakland blogger to affirm Chip Johnson's article today charging favoritism in the City of Oakland. My response is that it doesn't start or stop at the CAO's office or with Deborah Edgerly herself, and a really complete look should go back 10 years, not just 2004. Look, I was treated so terribly by the City of Oakland when I was trying to bring the Super Bowl here , that my own mother -- who's still cancer-free by the way -- observed that "Between Blacks who are jealous of you and Whites who think someone White should be doing what you're doing, you're going through a terrible place." She was right. Oakland's government has a long history of hating well-educated Black men who don't follow the normal ethnic stereotypes. I remember 1998, when all of us from Elihu Harris' office -- I was economic advisor -- were being placed in various departments of the City of Oakland after Jerry Brown won a landslide victory to

Javon Walker, the wide receiver the Oakland Raiders attracted from the Denver Broncos, and to which the hopes of a revived passing game were placed, was found in Las Vegas unconcious according to MVN.com . The report states that... The main problem for the Raiders is that he has an orbital fracture and this could be a serious injury. Kirby Puckett, the great Minnesota Twin outfielder had his career ended by an orbital fracture in the early 90’s due to double vision. Besides his legs and his brain, Javon Walker’s eyes are very important if he plans on being an NFL receiver. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Walker was last seen dousing patrons of the club Tryst with 15 bottles of Dom Perignon. Tryst is located at the Wynn casino. Walker, the former Bronco who was in the back of the SUV that Darrent Williams was shot and killed in was thought to have been an innocent bystander in the incident. Over this summer, rumors have leaked out that the entire scuffle had been started by

I found a website by Conde Nast called Portfolio.com and which shows the baseball stadiums that have the best -- and worst -- heath code records. The title of the article is "Foul Ballpark" and the subheading is "even the rats and flies have pretty good seats". If that's the case then one of the places with the best seats for Rats and Flies is The McAfee / Oakland Coliseum, home of the Oakland A's and the Oakland Raiders. According to the article, the home of these great teams had 493 Heath Code Violations In 2007. The website points to various online articles as the source for its conclusions. The website has Oakland front and center as a major violator in this area. It reports that food storage was so bad that food was exposed to "overhead leakage" and that "dirt, insects, rodents, and chemical contamination" was found. What's so embarrasing about this is that it happened 493 times in one year. There are only 365 days in the

I met with Oakland's elected City Attorney and my friend John Russo the day after election day to talk about his unopposed win for a third term, how Oakland has changed, Oakland Politics and the District Three Council race, who Senator Obama should pick as his VP, what Russo's is proudest of with the evolution of his office, and the talks between the City of Oakland and the Oakland Raiders. Russo explains that the talks are between the Raiders and the Oakland / Alameda County Joint Powers Authority and that they're going well. He also confirmed that Raiders Manager of The General Partner Al Davis is not in good health and has not attended all of the meeting. As to the possibility that the Raiders would get a new stadium, he said no, but they're in agreement on the matters of concern to the Raiders. Given what I know from trying to bring the 2005 Super Bowl to Oakland (we lost to Jacksonville), that means we should expect to see an upgraded Coliseum at some point i

Patrick McCullough is an Oakland hero. In 2005, he stood up to attack by drug dealers -- a gang that he reported to Oakland police, but who were still at large at the time. In defending himself against the gang, Pat shot and wounded one of the gang members. Mr. McCullough was found to have been acting to defend himself, and thus the D.A. did not press charges. Pat is one who was and is trying to take back his neighborhood. The ultimate action is the one he's taking today: running for Oakland City Council. This blog post in an endorsement of an Oaklander who can and has made a difference. It's not a matter of being against the incumbent Jane Brunner, but for a remarkable and remarkably brave person in Pat McCullough. A person with a resolve and will to stay in Oakland and help make it better. Oakland Residents For Peaceful Neighborhoods tells McCullough's story: Patrick McCullough: Triumph of a Hero Patrick McCullough, the north Oakland resident who stood up

I am in New York City for the NFL Draft. As part of our partnership with KRON TV Channel 4, San Francisco, we created these video interviews of Oakland Raiders First Round Pick Darren McFadden. You can see more of our coverage at http://kron2008nfldraft.com Agent Ian Greengross On The Thursday Before the Draft talks about character and the chance of a holdout should the Raiders draft McFadden. Agent Greengross after the Raiders pick McFadden and McFadden Press Conference Darren McFadden Interview after press conference