Sublime

Al Davis at Oakland (and by default, the great Sid Gillman under whom Al had served in San Diego with the Chargers);

At Oakland, Al Davis introduced me (and anyone else on his staff who cared to pay attention) to an approach to preparation and execution unlike anything I’d ever seen. He was obsessed with achieving superior organizational performance and professionalism. His devotion to quality became Oakland’s official team motto: “Commitment to Excellence.” And

A man and a woman came out of the party and walked past her, laughing. “Don Cheadle,” the woman was saying. “I’m telling you. Don Cheadle.”

“Datsun or nothing,” D.L. iterates to the two, and Mark Nechtr grits his teeth, producing a fine tight smile. D.L. is seen only in Datsuns. It’s a neurosis, for sure, but one so powerful as to dictate acquiescence in many amusing instances we haven’t time for.

His devotion to quality became Oakland’s official team motto: “Commitment to Excellence.” And it wasn’t just a marketing slogan. Al Davis was deeply dedicated to achieving it; he didn’t just mouth the motto, he personified it.

From 1983 to 2001, 19 straight seasons, Gwynn walked more than he struck out.

Fouts, handed the ball to Donny Reynolds, who made one cut on his Nike waffles and . . . took it to the house. Ducks 7, Nike 7, Beavers 0. Fouts, closing out a brilliant college career, was out of his mind that night. He passed for three hundred yards,