Al Davis Has Gone the Leonard Tose Route

Al Davis has terminated the contract of Lane Kiffin. Al says this is done with cause, and he will not pay Lane the balance due for this season.

Al Davis has officially lost it.

A Hall of Famer for his work in the 1960s through the 2000s: coach, head coach, commissioner, and owner with multiple championships. Those days are long behind Davis and the Raiders.

For those who do not understand the Tose comment, it goes back to radio host Jim Healy, who would play the sound bite when referring to someone with questionable mental faculties, like the former Eagles owner, who suffered a breakdown stemming from a gambling addiction. Truly a sad story.

When did Al start to lose it? Could it have been when he drove a future Hall of Famer and the team's most talented offensive weapon away—Marcus Allen? Could it have been when he became more interested in winning in the courtroom instead of the gridiron? When he traded Jim Lachey for Jay Schroeder?

How 'bout moving back to Oakland and putting the ticket sales in the hands of the government? Bringing back Art Shell a second time?

So many signposts, plenty more left unsaid. It doesn't really matter though; the fact remains: Al cannot run the Raiders like he used to run them. Successfully, that is.

Al has done the worst thing that can happen in professional sports. He has given his team an excuse to lose. It's a lock that any team that has an excuse to lose will lose. They are so busy looking over their shoulder for a knife in the back, they can't properly prepare and play to win.

Al isn't going anywhere on his own. His ego, an asset for so many decades, is now his albatross. Will the commissioner take action? Unlikely, given the passes he keeps handing out people like Bob Kraft. Roger Goodell would rather let the ship sink than point out the faulty operation and keep it afloat.

So Raider fans are stuck with some choices, none of which are palatable. Keep supporting the team with the full knowledge their owner/operator is incompetent, find safe harbor to wait out the raging storm and hope for a change at the top, or jump ship like a rat and leave the distressed hulk behind.

As for me, I'm pulling into a safe harbor. While still wanting the Raiders to win, I will cut of any form of financial support until such time as there is a replacement at the top. The power of the pocketbook is the only vote available, and it shall be exercised.