One streak stayed intact, one streak ended, and one streak never got off the ground.

All of which spelled the usual bad news whenever the Kansas City Chiefs invade Oakland.  Make it six straight for one of the Raiders' oldest- and perhaps bitterest- rivals at the comfy confines of the Coliseum.  Not since December 28, 2002 have the Silver & Black defeated the Chiefs at home; no team has ever demonstrated such dominance on their turf, regardless of where their turf has been.

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Some things just never get old.  Even if they are, well, old.

Such is the case with the bitter rivalry between the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs.  How far back does this hate affair go?  Before yours truly was born.  Hell before any player on either current roster was born.  Before the stadium they are playing in this weekend even existed.

(For more on Raiders-Chiefs, click here)

The very first time they met on a football field (September 16, 1960), they belonged to the American Football League, and the Chiefs were known as the Dallas Texans.  Al Davis was an offensive end coach for the Los Angeles Chargers.

The bitter rivalry continues this Sunday in Oakland.

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Who were those guys disguised as our lowly, yet lovable Oakland Raiders, sending a loud-and-clear message to the Denver Broncos and putting an exclamation point on my son’s 16th birthday on Sunday? 

Looks to me that for one throwback-kind-of-afternoon those were my father’s Raiders. 

I am neither strategist nor statistician so I will leave the analyzing to the more qualified.  But I have watched enough football to know that the Silver & Black has been sorely lacking in the all-important pride department, which in this writer’s opinion is at least partly responsible for the number of times this season the Raiders have waken up on the wrong side of the even-more-important point category. 

See for all those silver linings where the Raiders were "that" close, there have been the debacles.  Denver on opening night.  New Orleans, Baltimore, and back-to-back stinkers at home against Atlanta and Carolina.  Not that there are any pushovers in that group but when you lose those games by a combined 145-33, it has “forgot my manhood at home” written all over it. 

Oh sure it’s a young team, and there is constant adversity and turmoil, and you don’t know how long the coach is staying.  And almost every team has a stinker or two during the season.  But five? 

All of which makes yesterday so shocking.  And it wasn’t just the score.  It was causing a turnover in the red zone.  It was going 2-for-2 in challenges. It was actually getting a couple of calls (although two of the roughing-the-passer flags against the Raiders were so blatantly incorrect that Randy Cross was moved to spout something about physics). 

But more than anything there was the pride.  Check that.  For a day at least, let’s dress it up in caps and call it Pride.  Since Week One the Raiders had to live with the stinging sensation of the 41-14 Monday Night Massacre stamped into their memories.  And there was emotion.  I loved- LOVED- watching Coach Cable run over and embrace McFadden after his first touchdown.  I got a kick out of watching Russell point to the sky after his back-footed dart to former Bronco Ashley Lelie.  Dare I say there was even a little swagger evident among the troops, especially on defense? 

And in the end, the Raiders displayed some class.  With an opportunity to run up the score, Russell genuflected on the enemy turf, having gone 2-for-2 on the road against division rivals, a rarity in itself. 

Yes, for once the good guys were to the right side of the stinker.  It couldn’t have come at a better time, and certainly not in a better place.

"If you could split him in two, you’d have two Hall-of-Famers."

- Bill James, on Rickey Henderson

I ask you, how does one turn down a request like this? 

1. Short answer: one doesn’t.
2. Long answer: keep reading.

Rickey Henderson burst onto the big-league scene in the summer of 1979. He was a breath of fresh air to an A’s team that was headed to a 108-loss season, and a fan base starving for a superstar since Reggie was traded to Baltimore in 1976.  For a certain 12-year old, Rickey represented something greater: hope.  Over the next quarter-century, we saw the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly that characterized his career.  One thing it never lacked for was excitement. 

To ensure you get your money’s worth, this epic- even by my standards- tribute features a story within the story, beginning with Oakland’s favorite son hanging out at his home-away-from-home (plate). 

Enjoy. 

The famous Topps Rickey rookie card.

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The schedule-makers screwed this one up big-time.  With a chance to play up the 40th anniversary of the “Heidi Game”, we get the Browns versus the Bills tonight instead.  Nice.

For those of you who slept through Raider history class, the “Heidi Game” featured Oakland versus the New York Jets, American Football League powerhouses in 1968, and bitter rivals.  Then again, the Raiders were bitter rivals to everyone in those days.

What Oakland witnessed...and what nearly everyone else saw.

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Halloween has come and gone, but there is still plenty to "be afraid" of if you pledge allegiance to the Silver & Black.  And while our dear owner has been likened to this guy, it seems the culprit for this unrelenting madness is a monster of a different breed. 

Hey, if Chicago Cub fans can blame a goat for a century of ineptitude, why can’t the Raider Nation pin these last five-plus seasons on the departure of a head coach whose very nickname is a source for horror?  

"Chucky’s Revenge", anyone?

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As mikesd1981 so duly reported, Steve Corkran painted an interesting, if somewhat far-fetched, picture of the future of the Raiders in his column yesterday.

Says Corkan:

JaMarcus Russell is in the shotgun formation, barking out the signals. To his right stands second-year running back Darren McFadden. To his left is a man who once roamed the NFL landscape, someone who accomplished things no other has done in the history of the game.

Could it be? No, it can't be. Russell shakes his head, blinks his eyes, does a double-take. Are you kidding me? In a Raiders uniform? Yes, it's possible.

In the good old days, Al Davis had the Midas touch when it came to reclamation projects, but this is clearly a different era for Raider football, and Vick is surely more than just a proud player considered washed-up by his previous employer.

While his former teammates that now call Oakland home appear to be all for having Vick on their side again, are Raider fans so desperate for a winner to give Vick a new leash, er, lease on life? Wackos like "Kick 'em in the Head Ted" and the "Tooz" are one thing, but sponsoring a dog-fighting operation is an entirely different beast.

I, for one, am a firm believer in second chances. But this is not so cut-and-dry. My concern is what is it exactly we are teaching our youth if Vick can commit such a heinous crime and be back playing football- and earning an enormous salary, to boot- in the time equivalent to a slap on the wrist?

On the other hand, the football fan in me- correction, the Raider fan in me- salivates at the prospect of a rejuvenated (and hopefully remorseful) Vick doing his thing for a team that begs for imagination and change on offense.

What are your thoughts?

OK, class, this kind of thing might become more difficult with a team like, say, the Broncos, but since the Raiders and Falcons have only done battle eleven times before, I think I can manage to hold your attention long enough.

There will be a test. Someday.

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Enjoying a rare-off day from work and taking a breather from domestic responsibilities, I thought I would take a cue from salb918 (who took a cue from someone else for his latest blog), by taking a cue from ESPN. OK, maybe not the best site to copycat, but whatev.

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Hey everyone, this is my first post on Silver and Black Pride. Just a quick background; my family's fandom goes back to 1960, and I have been attending games since 1974. I have held season tickets for the last eleven years. And while this might be the kind of information you can find on the team website, I tend to add a personal twist. So without further ado:

The Raiders-Ravens rivalry is a short one, but hasn't exactly worked out well for the Silver & Black. Baltimore has won three of four regular season games, plus a certain playoff contest that I am certain most of us would like to forget.

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