Hey Kevin, I just want to let you know I think your an up and coming sports writer. You have depth of knowledge w accurate insights. You also, see sports problems and offer the, "constructive solutions" to improve. Most importantly, I sense a passion. don't ever lose that. Of course, I too can offer my opinion on how you can be better. (Only because I'm a former coach....lol.) btw, I think you are the same K.Abblitt that went to RB HS ?? Anyways best of luck.

Thank you, Kevin, for responding directly to me. Honestly, after the fun was over and really negative comments were rolling in, I felt bad for you. It had to suck. We live, we learn. I would have been pissed if it were me, and I imagine you were/are. If you have a Chargers icon on your profile, it's probably not good to post to a Raiders forum (there might be a whole article in just that). From backroom chatter, the word Conceded in your title is what got everyone upset. Conceded is to give up, and not even a high school team's fans want to hear someone say their team gave up. Perhaps if the article had been entitled, "Are the Raiders Still Relevant in the AFC West?" then people would have looked at differently. Don't know, but conceded is a harsh word. I admire you for sticking your neck out there and taking the flack though. I deleted my portion of trying to hit the point home to you on the board, and encouraged everyone to move on. Keep writing. Once your more established, go for the controversial pieces. We're not enemies, but competitor's. For me, without the Chargers, Bronco's, or Chiefs to play twice a year, football would be a lot more boring. We need each other in a way. Feel free to direct message anytime for Raiders insights, and I wish you luck establishing your career.

If you hope to be a respected sports writer, and not flagged out of existence by thousands of fans of a particular sports team you obviously have bias against, then consider Tim Spoonauer's advice. The majority of your Raiders article read like Faux news. It's not a depleted team, and if you truly followed them you would know...Routt was a pass interference penalty machine, Wimbley stunk against the run, Boss was injured/non-productive, and Bush was a nice back up, but he was a back up...we have others. Beyond that, it's pretty much the same guys there with the addition of a few others who rumor has it have talent too. The Raiders are 3-1 against every team in the division the past two years...why suddenly have they conceded the AFC West? They've been one of the youngest teams the past couple of years too, but they're maturing, and now many say they have the best coaching staffs in the AFC West too. Do you really think they'll get worse, or were you writing from emotion? Not a good thing for an aspiring sports writer. Dozens of people have replied to your article and are waiting for your response to justify what you wrote...

I mean no offense man but why would you write a raider article? Not to say you didn't have some well placed points but overall a reader can tell the article wasn't written by someone who follows the Raiders extensively. I wish your team the best of luck even though I hoe we crush you but there is a childhood saying that you may need to go by as a writer for a rival team. "If you don't got nothing nice to say don't say anything at all."

Thanks, always nice to get some recognition. Stay tuned, I've got plenty of olympic coverage coming in the next few weeks.

Hey Kevin, just wanted to thank you for fanning me.

I have no idea what is up with the fanning thing...I thought people were just reconsidering recently, but I actually think there's some kind of bug on b/r because some people that I've fanned recently were unfanned by...not me. Anyway! I think you're really cute, so I decided to give this whole thing another go.

Thanks for becoming a fan Kevin.

Hey, I fanned you briefly b/c I thought you fanned me...but apparently we were all mistaken. Best wishes though :)

Thanks man I appreciate that. I'm still in the R & D phase and I'm not the most savvy person when it comes to building a website but I'll definitely keep you in the loop.