Phil Barber who covers the Raiders for the Press Democrat wrote an important blog while we were at the Niner/Raiders game Saturday night. (If I could find his blog entry I'd link to it here but I can't find it. My bad.)
He called for caution in this Cable case, the allegation Cable attacked assistant coach Randy Hanson and broke his jaw or broke some kind of facial bone. Phil points out the preponderance of evidence, if you can call it evidence, comes from one media outlet, the National Football Post, and everything they write seems to come from a single source. Usually you want at least two sources.
It's possible Hanson himself is the source. Who knows? So, yes, we all should exercise caution before we convict Cable in the media. A policeman from L.A. emailed me and advised just that. He said cops rarely send fist fights for prosecution and he had the funny feeling Hanson was setting up Cable so he can get a big money settlement.
But one thing still troubles me about this whole deal. Hanson really did get hurt. He went to the hospital and because he had a serious injury -- broken jaw or broken facial bone -- the hospital notified the police as required by law. So someone hurt Hanson. Maybe he broke his own jaw but that seems unlikely to me. The broken jaw or whatever it is doesn't prove Cable clocked him, but it sure raises questions. And I point out that the hospital's action is independent of the NFP and its one soure. It seems to be an objective fact. And it keeps Cable in the picture.
My source told me they were playing Madden and Hanson won't give Cable the controller. Then Hanson went with the Kawakami Maneuver.."What? You gonna hit me?"...I will own a piece of the Raiders..."
Maybe it's a good time for everybody to pace themselves. I do not see the Raiders taking any actions.
They could at least make some form of a statement that could possibly defend Cable.
It appears that they are going to take the path that this really didn't happen and they are probably hoping that this all blows away.
Probably the ultimate embarrassment would be - Tom Cable getting suspended by Roger Goodell. Head coaches are subjected to the same rules of conduct as the players are.
I did get a little nauseous last night - late in the 4th quarter, Greg Papa, went out of his way to say "what a nice guy Tom Cable is..."
I know it's just pre-season, but giving up 275 yards on the ground is a joke. It's pretty obvious that the rest of the NFL scouts took notice, and it's probably gonna be a long year for the Raiders and their run defense.
Lowell, I read somewhere that after the alleged incident, Hanson spoke to Al expecting to be returned to his position. He had a conversation. I can imagine how difficulty it must have been speaking to Al with a broken jaw. Secondly, mandatory hospital reporting for a broken/fractured jaw? What is the section requiring notification? Finally, just because Hanson was injured does not mean he was injured without cause.
Oh, nice article Lowell. Thanks! I look forward to you stuff each day.