Fellas. It was awesome!! D' ... Thanks from Mil' & Myself for everything.
You are DA MAN and I hope to make the pilgrimage with you for many years to
come.
Iz'... What can I say ... Nothing better than discussing football with
people who have the inside scoop & actually know what they're talking about
(King). You're too kind with regards to my situation & Mil' thanks you for
the compliment but Mil' says wait 6 months & then take a look. ;-) Sorry we
couldn't stay for lunch ... But I'm sure the "ham hocks & green beans were
great as well as the service" ;-)
Folks ... It was a wonderful experience & I'm now officially hooked on
camping. I think we are going to be in for a real treat in the coming years
& I believe that you will be pleasantly surprised this year. Coach Kiff' is
the shit & the O is quick tempo & should produce. Culpepper was moving well.
Iz' may have a bad back ... But the guy is as trim and ripped as I've ever
seen him. As Mil' & I reviewed the pictures last night that was clear & it
emphisized the fact that we are both horribly out of shape and over weight &
need to get back into workout mode (dusted of the bikes last night). We both
have gained almost 30 lbs over the last year so "we beez lookin' kinda
piggly" (Shut up Doc) Thanks to D' for the photos that help to motivate.
We'll be working on it.
Speaking of photos ... Here is one that suggests that Iz' may be the long
lost son of Buddy Ryan ... Look @ the resemblance between himself & "Coach
Rob" ... Especially the eyes!!
I woke up bright (Save the sarcasm bitch) and very early at 4 am this
morning and I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I rolled up to Sac D's
place at 6:30 and saw his Raider shrine. Very nice!
He tried to get me to hop into his little roadster for the trip down to
Napa. I tried to be cool about it, but when I tossed my heating pad in the
seat and stood there looking for a way to ease myself into he suggested
that maybe we should take my SUV. I have recently become incapacitated
with a disc problem in my lower back that's had me laid out flat. I wasn't
going to miss this adventure for nothing, and as of Monday morning I was
literally falling out of bed and looking for a way up off the floor. I was
so desperately wanting to hang with the boys that I even considered
renting a wheelchair for the day. Enough of the whining....
Dean and I were just about to the Marriott when he sprung the Pirate
surprise, icing on the cake. Pirate's lady was the definitely the candles,
cause she was causing my boy to seriously light up. Homeboy has got
himself a real yummy.
So we got the spiel at the gate about our behavior, a warning that Mr.
Davis was on the premises, and in we went to the hallowed ground. About
the first thing I heard was Rob Ryan barking out directions to the D, and
that followed by an even louder barking by the new OL coach Tom Cable. His
exact words were, "GET THE FUCK BACK OVER HERE AND DO THAT AGAIN!" The man
must be fearless, because later I was standing next to Robert Gallery and
I now know what it's the world of a jockey is like. That mofo is HUGE.
We watched QB's doing some foot drills and then a bit later wondered over
to the other side of the practice field and got to see some live action.
To be honest, I wasn't paying real close attention to the outcome of
things, I was keying in on certain players. I wasn't tremendously
impressed with Frampton, he got turned around in zone coverage twice and
left his man free. All the hype over Echamandu and BJ Ward seems to be
warranted.
The one thing I did notice was the coaching staff. There was nothing
wasted out there. The coaches were coaching, and Kiffin let's them. He was
involved, but not showing his ass like he was the BMOC, ala Gruden. I'll
leave it to Sac D to give you the comparison between Shell's camp last
year, and what he saw this year. We three allowed Peter King of Sports
Illustrated to hang with us for awhile and he had some positive things to
say about Kiffin, he also told us the NFL is quietly behind the Raiders in
standing up to Russell's agents. If the Raiders cave on this it will set a
bad precedent. John Clayton was there. FYI, he has man boobs. Probably a
34B. Greg Papa was there. He and Sac D were the only two on the entire
field dressed like they were ready for a Luau. You're in good company Dean.
We got a lot of pics with players after practice. I mistakenly called Paul
McQuiston *McNasty* He looked down at me and kind gave me a half smile
sneer. Stuart Schweigert is a really nice guy. He took pics with us, made
sure we were happy, then stopped to tell everyone around to be safe
driving home. Dean had told me about this, and once again he was spot on.
Rob Ryan is my new favorite. He's the kind of guy you'd love to sit and
have a few beers with. As soon as I locate my cord for my camera I'll send
my pics off to Dean for posting. I also got a small video of Kirk Morrison
staying after practice to working on some technique. Ryan came over and
worked with him for a bit. Chris Carr was really showing his ass out there
today.
If Sac D feels so inclined, he and P should have some good pics up for the
perusal of the regs at some point.
All in all it was a great day. Got to hang with my bros and be part of the
in crowd. I think we were witnessing something pretty special. At this
point I'll just say fuck the naysayers. All the talking will be done on
the the field......and I think the 2007 Oakland Raiders have something to
say.
