The Post Mortem

The Last and Ten ways that Lane Kiffin is trying to get fired on your left is fiction. Kiffin ordering the Raiders to wear white jerseys at home was not. In fact, that seemed like such a reach, that Kiffin photoshopping Al Davis' head on a buxom bikini-clad body holding a rifle seemed more realistic. Because nobody would be so egregious as to wear white at home because that would be worse than anything on that list.

In fact, there was once an NFL editor who was upset that the Raiders photos in the Super Bowl 37 program had the Raiders in white jerseys. Or so the legend goes. (But was a common practice in most Super Bowl programs to show the team in the jersey they were going to wear in the game.) Mainly because Al loves the black jerseys.

And yet, there's Kiffin having the team in white uniforms at home. What's next, the flesh colored body suit?

However that Raiders commitment to choking is still evident no matter what color uniform the team wears. And we at The Hater Nation, need to offer a mea culpa. We ripped the Raiders last week for having JaMarcus Russell throw only three passes. We realize now that the Raiders were using him too much in the second half of the Bills game.

BTW, was Kerry Collins ever a Raiders quarterback? Because he seems to be doing pretty well. Not to say the Raiders would have been better off with Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis or Joe Thomas. Those players would have required coaching and there's no way they would get that in Oakland.

And speaking of coaching, Norv Turner was out there showing what he was made of. That dumbfounded look must have been too familiar to the Raiders. But mainly because he thought he was in San Diego when the Raiders rolled out in those white unis.

BTW, official explanation was that Kiffin wanted the team to wear white because of the heat. And hey it helped as the Raiders lasted all the way into the fourth quarter before melting down.

• Another possible way to get fired THN overlooked -- attempting a 76-yard field goal attempt.

• Congratulations to Scott Linehan. The moment you are fired in St. Louis, board a jet bound for Oakland -- they have a job waiting for you. Honestly, wouldn't that be awesome if the Raiders and St. Louis FC just traded coaches? That would be awesome.

• The hit on Anquan Boldin and the players surrounding his lifeless body was a little too reminiscent of the day Avengers lineman Al Lucas died. That Jets guy who leveled Boldin is going to be in for the fine of a lifetime. Especially under Mr. Goodell's edict to take the violence out of the game. What's funny, if the NFL really wanted to curb head injuries, they would get rid of the helmets. Seems foolish, but watch a rugby match and notice that the players actually know how to make a tackle. Not blindly throw a helmet into a guy running full speed.

• Kurt Warner treated my fantasy team much like he treated stem-cell researchers in the first half of that game. Negative points. But in pure fantasy value, he brought it back to respectability.

• Did anybody see Brandon Lloyd try to fake an injury in the Sunday night game? Even soccer fans were embarrassed by that performance.

• Hope the Chiefs win over the Broncos doesn't hurt all of the sports talkers in Denver making their Super Bowl plans.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Florida wasn't impressed by USC losing on the road to a conference opponent, so they lost to a mid-card curtain-jerker at home. That will show them. Georgia spent the first half debate whether they should be wearing red or black uniforms while Alabama built a 31-point lead.

And of course, they will try to sell this as the SEC being so tough.

What it means is that BYU is getting closer to No. 2, and USC was able to stay in the top ten. (Special thanks to Wisconsin for that, too.)

And here's a surprise, Oklahoma isn't bad. In fact, they are real good. They made a pretty good Texas Christian team look pretty foolish in the first half. Texas was so good against Arkansas, Bobby Petrino already is looking for a new gig. The Big XII is impressive so far.

AND FINALLY
Reader Matt P. points out that ESPN baseball preview has given the Angels no chance against the Red Sox. That they should pull the John McCain and try to pull out of the AL Divisional Playoffs. And there is a recent history of Angels failure that you can't deny.

However. The Angels have a couple of new components with Mark Teixeira, Torii Hunter and Garret Anderson. That's a huge upgrade over last season. On the flip side, Jason Bay is good player, but he's not Manny Ramirez. If there's ever a year the Angels should put it all together, this is it.