A REAL HATER

There is hate and then there is hate. There is, "I am kind of pulling for this team to lose," passive kind of hate. And then there is, "If this team wins, I'm going to become an alcoholic," piss and vinegar hate.

Kris Jenkins is a hater.

Jenkins, who missed most of the 2004 NFL season, told the Associated Press that he became dependent on alcohol when he saw Warren Sapp celebrate on the Carolina Panthers home field last year.

Jenkins didn�t pull any punches when it came to talking about Sapp.

"I hate him. Everybody says I'm supposed to be polite when I talk to you all, but I hate him," Jenkins said. "He talks too much, he doesn't make sense, he's fat, he's sloppy, he acts like he's the best thing since sliced bread. He's ugly, he stinks, his mouth stinks, his breath stinks, and basically his soul stinks, too.

"Not too many people have personalities like that and survive in life. I don't know how he does it."

Which of the 12-steps is forgiveness? Jenkins is our kind of guy and that's why he's been added to the Hater Nation All-NFL team along with inaugural honoree Kyle Turley.

Raiders fans were likely cheering this proclamation from Jenkins, but they likely should have commiserated considering the season that Sapp and the Raiders endured. Then again, most Raiders fans still believe that Oakland won the West last year.
Sapp wouldn't comment on the situation, which is ironic because Sapp likes to talk, a great length, about any subject especially himself. Maybe Sapp has turned a corner this season and is on his way to being a responsible human being. Heck, the proclaimed (and seemingly illiterate) "quarterback killa" even restructured his contract to receive the league minimum. Maybe he really has changed.

Nah.

If Sapp is making the league minimum, he is still being over paid, even by NFL standards. And we shouldn't be so quick to let Warren off the hook either. Remember, this is the same guy that called LaVar Arrington an "Uncle Tom" and referred to the NFL office as a "slave master" in 2003, all because they wouldn't let him skip like a little girl through an opposing team's pregame stretch. Sapp is the same guy that had a tantrum and meltdown with the Buccaneers high coach of the week, Mike DePue, because he "made eye contact" with Warren during a team practice. And who could ever forget when Warren tried to start a fight with Packers coach Mike Sherman after he threw a cheap shot at Chad Clifton.

Sapp is obviously a bully with older coaches and unprotected players. So we�ll sit back and enjoy a beer with Jenkins this season as the greatness of the Raiders continues to crumble.

RAIDER ELEMENT INVADES USC

It didn't take long for the vaunted Raider element to latch on to defending national champions, the University of Southern California. Like a proverbial plague of locust, the Raiders have latched on to the successful Trojans football program.

At least USC is not going to take it.

USC has banned the sale of alcohol in an attempt to bring a "family friendly" atmosphere back into the Coliseum. In other words, USC president Steve Sample wants to get rid of the Raider element (and Kris Jenkins). Intoxicated fans and in-seat brawls were a Coliseum staple during the Raiders run in Los Angeles.

It is good to see USC stand up against Raiders fans, but it also does a disservice to the rest of the beer drinking public. There are numerous USC fans that have the tolerance and capability to handle a few beers and a hot dog at the football game. Why must they be punished by the frontrunners that can't hold their alcohol?

The move will cost the Coliseum nearly $700,000, but it costs college football fans its freedom to enjoy a cold beer on a sunny, autumn afternoon.

The Raiders fans are ruining it for the rest of us, and that's not right.