Raiders are media's newest darling

By Sean Rogers Sports Central Columnist

Every year, in the preseason, there appears to be a team that begins getting the media spotlight and suddenly has a much larger bandwagon of followers.

Last year, that team was the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens had just ended the previous season strong, and while not many expected the Super Bowl performance they gave, many expected good things. Articles were abundant about coach Brian Billick. Tony Siragusa was the newest media darling. And several were saying that Tony Banks may become one of the best quarterbacks in the league. So, the Banks one didn't work out so great.

This year, it appears that the media darling is the black and silver, Oakland Raiders. The Raiders began to pick up steam in the playoffs, when they were rolling -- until they met the Ravens. The fans had gained great notoriety for how into the games they got, and coach Jon Gruden was suddenly one of "People" magazine's Fifty Most Beautiful People. Apparently, when you are in the media spotlight, fan's who once were accused of being thugs are now great fans, and the Raiders fan who stabbed a Charger's fan in October is forgotten. As for Gruden, not too many girls are exactly posting up Raiders posters in their rooms because they want to see Gruden every day when they come home from school.

This year, the steam is picking back up, and everyone is aboard. In the Bay Area, newspapers are covering two major things: the Raiders and Barry Bonds. As for the team that shares the Raiders stadium, the A's, let's just say the bay is trying to forget.

However, even on the team where the media is trying to make everything right, there are problems. If you thought you could read an entire article without Andre Rison, you were wrong. First, though, the good news. Rison is getting married again to his ex-flame (no pun intended), Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez. The life of an athlete. All misdeeds are forgotten as soon as the spouse gets another huge record deal.

Not everything is going so swimmingly for the scam artist formerly known as Brock Middlebrook (Rison once used this name to sign fake checks) though. The Raiders signed another wide receiver, Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, to complement Tim Brown. This was Rison's job. To add to the troubles, they extended James Jett for six years. Where does Rison fit in? Perhaps, an overpaid fourth wideout. For the million dollar salary that Rison may command, it would be much more affordable to get a young wide receiver looking to learn from Rice and Brown.

Charles Woodson decided to speak out, saying that he wanted Rison's flair to stay on the team. In truth, though, Woodson just likes having a guy to practice against like Rison. Woodson knows that Lisa Lopez has a better chance to "burn" him than Andre.

That's the latest episode on "As the Raiders Turn." Will the Raiders be able to overcome these controversies and ride the media spotlight to an AFC Championship? One must watch to find out.