SPORTS N STUFF

Warriors sign coach Nelson to contract extension. The Golden State Warriors signed Don Nelson to a contract extension Wednesday, hours before the veteran coach opened his 30th NBA season against New Orleans.

The club refused to divulge terms of the deal, but Nelson said last weekend he had all but agreed to a two-year extension to his current deal, which expires after this season. Nelson also said the financial terms were roughly the same as those in his first contract, meaning he’ll make roughly $12 million in the new deal.

“Thanks to the Warriors for having faith in me,” Nelson said before Golden State took the court against Chris Paul and the Hornets. “It’s not taken lightly by me, I assure you of that. I’ll try to coach well.”

The 68-year-old coach is 1,280-954, trailing only Lenny Wilkens in career NBA victories. Nelson’s new contract almost certainly will allow him to surpass Wilkens’ 1,332 wins, but the thought doesn’t exactly thrill Nellie.

“He’ll always deserve it, as far as I’m concerned,” Nelson said of Wilkens, his good friend. “I hope I never get the record. Let’s bring him back for a couple of years and let him coach a good team and get another 100 wins. That would make me happy.”

Nelson has plenty of worries to handle before then, including top basketball executive Chris Mullin’s shaky relationship with ownership, a roster that lacks a proven point guard – and now an unhappy starting forward. Al Harrington publicly reiterated a trade request that he made to Warriors management during the offseason.

Nelson still kept Harrington in his starting lineup against New Orleans, and he has no plans to curtail Harrington’s playing time while the club considers the possibility of a trade.

“I think he felt he was played inconsistently last year, and he wanted to be on the floor more,” Nelson said. “I told him, ‘I don’t think that will be a problem this year. You’ll be begging me to come out.’ He’ll be on the floor a lot.”

Despite the problems, Nelson seems content to finish his lengthy coaching career by the Bay, a relatively short flight from his offseason home in Maui.

After stints with Milwaukee, Golden State, New York and Dallas, Nelson rejoined the Warriors in 2006 and immediately led the club to its first playoff appearance in 13 years and a stunning first-round upset of the Mavericks. Nelson followed with a 48-win season last spring, Golden State’s best record since 1994 and the NBA’s best record for a non-playoff team in 25 years.

Mullin, who played for Nelson during the coach’s first stint with Golden State, signed his mentor in 2006, and they’ve worked together well. But Mullin appears to be on shaky ground with the franchise in recent weeks while president Robert Rowell asserted his authority in Mullin’s responsibilities.

Rowell disagreed with Mullin during the summer on a contract extension for Baron Davis and a punishment for guard Monta Ellis, who is suspended without pay until early December after injuring his leg in a motorized scooter accident. In both cases, Rowell got his way over Mullin, who’s widely thought to be finished with the club after his contract ends next spring.

“We’re elated that Don has elected to sign an extension,” Rowell said. “He has proven to be one of the most successful and innovative coaches in the history of our game, and his continued presence on the sidelines is certainly a prominent asset for our team and organization. Our fans and players enjoy his entertaining style, and we all look forward to the day he establishes the NBA’s all-time wins record for a coach.”

Wednesday National Basketball Association Capsules.
TORONTO 95, PHILADELPHIA 84

PHILADELPHIA Chris Bosh and Jermaine ONeal combined for 44 points and 19 rebounds and opened things up for a hot shooting night from the perimeter as the Toronto Raptors rolled over the Philadelphia 76ers, 95-84.

Bosh led the way with 27 points and 11 boards as the Raptors defeated their Atlantic Division rivals for the eighth time in their last 10 meetings. ONeal added 17 and eight in his Toronto debut.

Philadelphias highly anticipated Elton Brand-Andre Iguodala combination, however, got off to a much shakier start.

Brand, who signed a five-year, $80 million deal this offseason, registered a double-double with 14 points and 13 boards but shot just 5-of-14 from the field. Iguodala was just 5-of-17 and finished with 15 points.

After falling behind big in the second half, the Sixers staged a 7-0 rally – punctuated by Louis Williams three-point play – late in the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to 88-82. But Bosh answered on the other end with a long jumper and Jason Kapono drained a 3-pointer from the left corner to effectively put the game on ice.

NEW YORK 120, MIAMI 115

NEW YORK Jamal Crawford scored 29 points and Zach Randolph added 20 and nine rebounds as the New York Knicks were triumphant in coach Mike DAntonis debut, holding off the Miami Heat, 120-115, in the season opener for both teams.

Wilson Chandler scored 17 points off the bench for the Knicks, who fired coach and team president Isiah Thomas after last seasons 23-59 finish.

Quentin Richardson scored 16 points and David Lee collected 16 and 11 rebounds for New York, which led by as many as 22 points in the second half and did so without the services of former starters Eddy Curry and Stephon Marbury. The maligned duo were the only dressed members of the roster to not play.

Dwyane Wade had 26 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for Miami, which won just 15 games last season and did not fare well in the debut of new coach Erik Spoelstra.

PHOENIX 103, SAN ANTONIO 98

SAN ANTONIO Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 103-98 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the regular-season opener for both teams.

Steve Nash had 13 points and 13 assists and Shaquille ONeal added 15 and 13 rebounds to help make Terry Porter a winner in his coaching debut for the Suns.

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker each scored 32 points for the Spurs, who won a five-game series over the Suns in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs last season.

ATLANTA 99, ORLANDO 85

ORLANDO, Florida Joe Johnson scored 25 points and Josh Smith did a little bit of everything to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 99-85 victory over the Orlando Magic in the season opener for both teams.

Johnson was 11-of-20 from the field and added seven rebounds. Smith had 17 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and four steals.

The Hawks jumped out quickly, taking a 24-13 lead. They opened up the second half in similar fashion, outscoring the Magic, 27-15, to take a 74-55 lead.

Dwight Howard had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic, who were 4-of-25 from the arc.

NEW JERSEY 95, WASHINGTON 85

WASHINGTON Vince Carter had 21 points and Yi Jianlian added 17 to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 95-85 victory over the Washington Wizards in the teams season opener.

Yi, a 7-footer who played alongside Yao Ming for the Chinese National Team in the Beijing Olympics, shot 7-of-11 from the field on an assortment of 3-pointers, mid-range jumpers and dunks. The Nets acquired Yi and Bobby Simmons from Milwaukee in an offseason trade for Richard Jefferson.

Carters jumper from the right wing gave the Nets a 90-82 lead with 1:02 left. Devin Harris scored six points in the final 1:45 to help secure the victory.

Former Wizards forward Jarvis Hayes turnaround jumper gave the Nets an 86-80 lead with 3:42 remaining. Hayes, who appeared in 82 games last season with Detroit, signed with New Jersey as a free agent in July.

MINNESOTA 98, SACRAMENTO 96

MINNEAPOLIS Al Jefferson had 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves held on for a 98-96 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Rashad McCants scored 15 points and Randy Foye and Ryan Gomes added 12 each for Minnesota, which nearly saw a nine-point lead disappear in the closing moments.

Jefferson hit an 18-foot jumper and Kevin Ollie split two free throws to give the Timberwolves a 95-86 advantage with 3:40 to play. However, Sacramento came on late thanks to John Salmons, who finished with 24 points.

Salmons had six points on a 10-2 run, including an 18-foot jumper that cut the Kings deficit to 97-96 with 1:02 remaining. Yet, Mike Miller split two free throws with 25 seconds left and Salmons missed a putback at the buzzer, ending a late flurry by Sacramento, which had two looks in the closing moments.

MILWAUKEE 98, OKLAHOMA CITY 87

OKLAHOMA CITY Charlie Villanueva scored 20 points and collected 12 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks spoiled the first regular season game for the Oklahoma City Thunder by posting a 98-87 victory.

Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson added 20 points apiece for Milwaukee, which bounced back from a 108-95 loss in Chicago on the NBAs Opening Night Tuesday.

The Bucks never trailed in the game and were paced early by Andrew Bogut, who scored eight of his 14 points in the first quarter.

Chris Wilcox collected 15 points and seven rebounds for the Thunder, who lost in their regular season debut after moving from Seattle this offseason.

Kevin Durant scored 12 points and Russell Westbrook added 13 off the bench for Oklahoma City.

DETROIT 100, INDIANA 94

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan Tayshaun Prince scored 19 points to lead a balanced attack as the Detroit Pistons won Michael Currys coaching debut, 100-94, over the Indiana Pacers.

Richard Hamilton added 15 points and Chauncey Billups had 13 and seven assists for the Pistons, who have reached the Eastern Conference finals in six straight seasons.

Curry replaces Flip Saunders, who was fired after the club lost in the conference finals to the Boston Celtics last season.

Detroit led, 60-50, at the break and never trailed during the second half, despite not being able to put Indiana away.

Danny Granger scored 33 points to lead the Pacers, who cut a 16-point, fourth-quarter deficit down to four with 24 seconds remaining but were unable to get any closer.

HOUSTON 82, MEMPHIS 71

HOUSTON Yao Ming scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Tracy McGrady added 16 points as the Houston Rockets defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 82-71, in the season opener for both teams.

Ron Artest scored 16 points in his debut for Houston, which shot 37 percent (28-of-76) from the field.

Memphis had a 65-64 lead with 9:06 remaining in the contest but the Grizzlies went without a field goal for more than five minutes as Houston took a 71-66 edge with 4:23 left.

Houston maintained a slim lead until Rafer Alston drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing with the shot clock winding down to give the Rockets a 78-71 advantage with 37 seconds left.

Rudy Gay scored 20 points and rookie Darrell Arthur had 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench for Memphis. Fellow rookie O.J. Mayo had 10 points on 5-of-20 shooting.

UTAH 98, DENVER 94

SALT LAKE CITY The Utah Jazz survived their first night without star point guard Deron Williams, escaping with a 98-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets in the teams season opener.

Williams is likely out until next week with a sprained left ankle and was replaced in the starting lineup by Ronnie Price. With 20 seconds remaining, the fourth-year backup found Carlos Boozer under the basket for a soft floater from the baseline to give the Jazz a 93-90 lead.

The teams traded points over the next few possessions, but the Nuggets could not get over the top. Kenyon Martin missed a potential game-tying 3-point attempt on Denvers final possession.

Boozer led the way for Utah with 25 points and 14 boards, while Andrei Kirilenko added 16, six boards and two blocks.

Denver was without All-Star Carmelo Anthony, who was serving the first game of a two-game suspension stemming from his drunk-driving arrest in April. Allen Iverson and Martin paced the Nuggets with 18 points each.

LA LAKERS 117, LA CLIPPERS 79

LOS ANGELES Kobe Bryant scored 16 points to lead seven players in double figures as the Los Angeles Lakers claimed a 117-79 romp of the Los Angeles Clippers.

It was the second game in as many nights for the Lakers, who defeated the Portland Trail Blazers by 20 points on Tuesday. The reigning Western Conference champions didnt look tired at all, building a 15-point lead by halftime and cruising to their second victory in as many games.

Bryant led the team in scoring for the second consecutive contest, making 5-of-12 shots from the field while grabbing eight rebounds. Guard Derek Fisher poured in 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.

The Lakers began the game with a 12-4 run, but the Clippers came back with a 13-6 surge to cut the deficit to one, punctuated with a three-point play by Al Thornton after Davis stole the ball from Bryant.

NEW ORLEANS 108, GOLDEN STATE 103

OAKLAND, California Chris Paul had 21 points and 11 assists to the lead the New Orleans Hornets to a 108-103 victory over the Golden State Warriors in a see-saw season opener for both teams.

Corey Maggette, who scored 27 points, hit two free throws with 28 seconds left after being fouled by Paul on a scramble for a rebound to give Golden State a 103-102 lead.

Paul came back and drove to the hoop and hit a layup to put New Orleans back on top 104-103 with 17 seconds left. Prior to the hoop, Paul had been 1-of-7 from the floor and 1-of-2 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors committed a turnover with 14 seconds left as an inbounds pass from Stephen Jackson to Maggette went awry and out of bounds.

Party kicks off for Thunder home opener.
Desmond Mason went through opening night for Oklahoma City’s first NBA team, the displaced New Orleans Hornets.

Now that Oklahoma City has a team to call its own in the Thunder, he expects crowds to be even more frenzied than they were during the Hornets’ two-year stay.

“It’s hard to try to put in words what’s going to happen tonight,” said Mason, a former Oklahoma State star who joined the Thunder in an offseason trade. “The atmosphere out there is going to be unbelievable.”

A sellout crowd of about 19,000 – many wearing blue Thunder T-shirts given away to commemorate the occasion – jammed the Ford Center to watch their new, permanent hometown team take on the Milwaukee Bucks.

After getting a taste of the NBA during the Hornets’ stay that ended in 2007, Oklahoma City fans are eager to have a team to call their own.

“Yes, I’m excited to be here, and yes, I think this team is going to do well here,” said NBA commissioner David Stern, who recognized the fan support for the displaced Hornets by vaulting Oklahoma City to the top of the league’s relocation list.

When the Seattle SuperSonics – with an Oklahoma City-based ownership team led by Clay Bennett – declared their intentions to relocate, Stern supported the move. He said that the NBA’s history has shown that teams in other markets with only one major-league team – such as Portland, Salt Lake City and Sacramento – have been successful.

“You get a sense in a smaller market that the presence of a major-league franchise is a unifying element,” he said.

Outside the arena in the hours before the game, the team held a block party, complete with live music, inflatable figures, sport courts and BMX stunt shows. Fans sat in chairs provided by the team, hoping to buy one of the 200 tickets the team held back for game-day sales.

Near the front of that line was 7-year-old Christian Alvarez, who wore an Oklahoma City Thunder shirt and held a sign with a simple request.

“Please give us tickets! Today is my Daddy’s birthday! We have proof!” the sign read. “Go OKC Thunder!”

The Thunder sold out its 13,000 season ticket packages in five days and individual tickets for the game also sold quickly, but the franchise formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics pledged to always have tickets available on game night.

Lucinda Lopez, Christian’s mother, deemed the chance to attend the Thunder’s first-ever regular-season game as a good enough reason to allow Christian to skip school.

“This is history, because this is happening in Oklahoma City,” she said. “I brought my son out here to realize what we’ve got now. This is special for Oklahoma.”

Banners from each NBA team lined the street outside the arena for the first regular-season NBA game since the New Orleans Hornets ended a two-year stay in Oklahoma City in 2007. A large sign noted that it was “Opening Night” for the Thunder.

About four hours before the game was scheduled to start, Clay Bennett – the chairman of the Thunder’s ownership group – walked out of the Ford Center, looked around and smiled, then gave the fans waiting in line for tickets a thumbs-up before going back into the arena.

Another fan, Charlie Heatly, couldn’t stop smiling while looking at the scene outside the arena. Long retired from his career coaching girls basketball in Lindsay, Heatly thought back decades, to when hosting an annual holiday college tournament was considered one of the biggest things in Oklahoma City.

“This just means a lot to our state,” said the 74-year-old Heatly, who bought season tickets for the Thunder, just as he had for the Hornets. “I think people will take to this team just as they took to the Hornets.”

Dustin Iliff brought a group of six, including four students, from Woodward, a 139-mile one-way drive from Oklahoma City. The 32-year-old restaurant general manager – wearing a Thunder shirt with reigning Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant’s No. 35 – said he’d done the same thing 51 times when the Hornets were in town and that he probably would make 25 to 30 trips this season to watch the Thunder.

Wolves exercise options on Foye, Brewer. The Minnesota Timberwolves exercised team options for point guard Randy Foye and swingman Corey Brewer on Wednesday.

Foye’s fourth-year option is worth nearly $3.6 million. After missing the first 41 games with a knee injury last year, he returned to average 13.1 points, 4.2 assists and 3.3 rebounds.

Brewer’s third-year option is worth nearly $3 million. He struggled on offense as a rookie last year, averaging just 5.8 points. However, the Wolves have been pleased with his defense on a team that has had trouble on that end of the floor.

That defensive prowess earned him a spot in the starting lineup of the team’s season opener on Wednesday night against Sacramento.

Oden out 2-to-4 weeks with foot sprain. After missing all of last season because of knee surgery, Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden injured his foot in his first regular-season NBA game and will be sidelined two to four weeks.

The team said Wednesday that MRI and computerized axial tomography scans confirmed Oden has a mid-lateral foot sprain.

Oden was injured in the first quarter of the Blazers’ 96-76 season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

“I was trying to go get a rebound, and kind of came down on Derek Fisher’s foot on like the third play of the game. I kind of fell and didn’t think twice about it,” he said after the game.

Oden missed four field goals and two free throws in 13 minutes of play. So he is still searching for his first NBA point.

The 7-foot center was the top pick in the 2007 draft, but before his rookie season started, it was postponed by microfracture surgery on his right knee.

Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan had not yet heard of the MRI results when he addressed reporters Wednesday at the team’s practice facility in Tualatin, Ore.

“You don’t want injuries, and he’s worked so hard throughout this summer to get himself back,” McMillan said. “And we tried to do everything we could to get him ready for the season and the opener, and he steps on a guy’s foot.”

Blazers guard Brandon Roy, who also spoke before the tests were complete, said the team will prepare to move forward without Oden for Friday night’s home opener against San Antonio.

“I feel bad for him,” Roy said. “I know this is a big year for him and he had a lot on his shoulders.”

The Trail Blazers also said in a release that Oden’s MRI revealed a couple of avulsions, or fractures, that “are not believed serious and do not require surgery.”

Oden could not immediately be reached for comment.

His first game was highly anticipated by Blazers fans, who had to wait to see the top draft pick. The team had not had a No. 1 pick since 1978, when it chose center Mychal Thompson of Minnesota.

After he was held out last season, Oden rolled his ankle in the first practice of the fall. That injury wasn’t serious, however, and he played during the preseason, averaging 11.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 23.7 minutes in six games.

Joel Przybilla will start for the Blazers at center against San Antonio.

Oden’s injury in the second to befall the Blazers’ starting lineup this season. Small forward Martell Webster had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot in the preseason.

Oden was expected to miss between six and 14 games.

In one season at Ohio State, Oden averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds, but he struggled with a wrist injury. He led the Buckeyes to the national championship game, scoring 25 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the loss to Florida.

Spurs exercise option on Mahinmi rookie contract. The Spurs exercised their third-year option on center Ian Mahinmi’s rookie contract Wednesday.

Mahinmi, who turns 22 next week and is entering his second season in San Antonio, is now signed through 2009-10. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Mahinmi began last season with the Spurs but spent most of it with their developmental league team in Austin. He finished among the league leaders in scoring (16.8 points per game), rebounding (8.0), blocks (1.7) and field-goal percentage (62).

The native of France was drafted in the first round by the Spurs in 2005 and signed with San Antonio two years later after spending four seasons in the French A League.

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Nuggets exercise option on F Balkman.

The Denver Nuggets on Wednesday exercised the fourth-year option on forward Renaldo Balkmans contract.

Under the leagues pay scale, Balkman now will earn $2.03 million in 2009-10.

Balkman, who was acquired this summer in a trade with the New York Knicks, averaged 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in four preseason games for the Nuggets.

In two seasons with the Knicks, Balkman averaged 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 133 games. He was selected by New York with the 20th overall pick in the 2006 draft.

Denver opens its season Wednesday night on the road against the Utah Jazz.

Spurs forward Fabricio Oberto will miss the first two games of the season. After undergoing treatment for an irregular heartbeat.

Oberto told Spurs trainers at practice Tuesday while he was lifting weights that he felt a fluttering in his heart. A heart test confirmed the abnormal rhythm, known as atrial fibrillation. He underwent a procedure Tuesday night to restore his heart’s normal rhythm.

“Luckily he’s very vocal about it,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We immediately set him down, and they did the procedure to get him back on track.”

The Spurs said Oberto will have daily heart tests for the next five days. If his heartbeat remains normal, he is expected to return Tuesday at home against Dallas. San Antonio opened the season Wednesday night against Phoenix.

It’s the second time he’s been bothered by the condition. After he was bumped in the neck during a game in May 2007, Oberto missed four days of practice before the playoffs after his heart was found to be out of rhythm.

“We’re going to be very cautious,” Popovich said. “When he feels great and if the doctors are confident, then we’ll go ahead and play him.”

The 33-year-old native of Argentina played in all 82 games last season, averaging 4.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

“If this happens again from two years from now, that pattern would start to give us pause,” Popovich said.

Saints sign kicker Hartley, punter Pakulak.
The New Orleans Saints have signed free-agent kicker Garrett Hartley and punter Glenn Pakulak, one day after cutting kicker Taylor Mehlhaff and punter Ben Graham.

Mehlhaff, who the Saints drafted last spring but cut after training camp, was brought back to replace injured kicker Martin Gramatica in Week 6. In three games, Mehlhaff was 3-for-4 on field goals and 9-of-10 on extra points.

Graham replaced Steve Weatherford, who was cut after the Saints’ loss to Carolina on Oct. 19. Graham’s only appearance for the Saints came last Sunday in London. He punted three times, averaging 42 yards.

“We were impressed with both Garrett and Glenn throughout the competitive sessions and we will continue to evaluate the positions closely throughout the remainder of the season,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said.

Hartley signed as a rookie with the Denver Broncos in April and was released prior to training camp.

The Seattle Seahawks signed Pakulak as a rookie free agent in 2003. He had stints with Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Oakland, Tennessee and Chicago but has not played in a regular season game.

The Saints also signed defensive back Tanard Davis to the practice squad.

Colts could have S Sanders, RB Addai against Pats. Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy said Wednesday that barring any setbacks, safety Bob Sanders and running back Joseph Addai could return for this weekends game against the New England Patriots.

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Sanders has missed the last five games since spraining his right ankle against the Minnesota Vikings on September 14. He also underwent arthroscopic surgery on one of his knees while recovering from the ankle injury.

Addai has been sidelined the last two games with a hamstring injury.

In addition to Sanders and Addai, cornerback Kelvin Hayden, who has missed the last three games with a knee injury, also may return.

Dungy said Wednesday that all three players are set to return to practice.

If everything goes smoothly, they should play, Dungy said.

The Colts (3-4) have a definite need to get healthy as they enter Sundays game against the Patriots trying to avoid their first three-game losing streak since the 2002 season.

Indianapolis already has fallen four games back of unbeaten Tennessee (7-0) in the AFC South.

Ex-Raiders coach Kiffin files grievance. Former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin filed a grievance with the NFL on Wednesday to claim the lost salary he maintains he is still owed by the team.

Kiffin was fired late last month for cause because of what owner Al Davis described as acts of insubordination and lying by his second-year coach.

Kiffin was still owed about $2.6 million from the three-year contract that he signed in January 2007. But Davis has refused to pay, leading to the grievance. Commissioner Roger Goodell will ultimately rule on the grievance, but there was no date for a hearing scheduled.

Raiders executive John Herrera issued a statement to The Associated Press refuting Kiffin’s claims, saying “Mr. Kiffin was terminated for cause. The grievance is without merit.”

The statement says that Kiffin’s grievance “completely ignores the fact that Mr. Kiffin repeatedly made reckless statements that attacked players, assistant coaches and the owner of the team and were damaging to the Raiders organization.” The statement also alleges that Kiffin made false statements to the media that damaged the Raiders.

The Raiders said that Kiffin’s grievance did not address provisions in his contract that required him to avoid any conduct that would “would embarrass, discredit or disgrace” the Raiders, as well as an NFL resolution passed in April that required coaches to “avoid actions that undermine or damage the club’s reputation or operating success.”

Kiffin’s agent Gary Uberstine said he looked forward to having the case heard by Goodell.

“Although I am disappointed that the Raiders continue to perpetuate the spectacle they created by inappropriately trying their case in the media, we will continue to adhere to our policy not to comment on a matter which is the subject of a pending legal proceeding,” Uberstine said. “Needless to say, we are anxious to present our case to the commissioner under a system in which the truthfulness of statements must be proven to an impartial arbiter. We are as confident as ever that the commissioner will conclude that Coach Kiffin was not fired for ‘good cause.”‘

At his news conference announcing Kiffin’s firing, Davis said the move was made because of criticisms Kiffin made of players like Javon Walker, coaches like defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, and the organization as a whole.

Davis also refuted claims Kiffin had made to the media saying that he had not communicated with the owner for weeks before his firing. Davis detailed a conversation between the two and a letter he had sent to Kiffin warning him to stop criticizing the organization.

Davis also refused to pay the remainder of Mike Shanahan’s salary when he fired him four games into the 1989 season. Shanahan won a grievance, but Davis has refused to pay him the approximately $300,000 that the Denver coach claims he’s owed.

Kiffin had a 5-15 record in just over one season with the Raiders, but Davis said his reasons for firing the coach were about his frequent public criticisms of the organization and some of its players even after he had been ordered to stop.

Kiffin was replaced by Tom Cable, who has lost two of his three games as interim head coach.