Raiders' firing of Greg Papa latest indignity for Oakland sports fans
Sporting Green // Scott Ostler
Scott Ostler July 23, 2018 Updated: July 23, 2018 4:13 p.m.
Oakland Raiders radio play-by-play announcer Greg Papa prepares for the game against the New England Patriots in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008.
Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle
Oakland is doubled over, having taken yet another low blow to the low-blow region.
Greg Papa confirmed Monday that he has been fired as the Raiders' radio play-by-play man by owner Mark Davis.
The Warriors are leaving Oakland in a year, the A's continue to jerk around their fans with ballpark fantasies, and the Raiders are vacuuming out the pockets of Oakland fans to help finance the team's move to Vegas.
Now Papa. Ooof.
Davis has been mad at Papa for three years because he publicly slammed Davis for interviewing Mike Shanahan for the head-coaching job. Papa railed on air that Mark was disrespectful to the memory of Al Davis, who hated Shanahan.
Mark Davis couldn't wait two more years to fire Papa?
Maybe Davis got blindsided by the opportunity to hire Brent Musburger for radio play-by-play. Papa for Musburger? Quick, somebody phone Ray Sadecki or Orlando Cepeda for comment.
Musburger not only can't carry Papa's jock on play-by-play, but ol' Brent has some odd personal beliefs. In 1968, he wrote that Tommie Smith and John Carlos were "black-skinned stormtroopers," and Musburger has not backed off or apologized. Last NFL season, Musburger cleverly mocked the 49ers on Twitter for their role in the take-a-knee movement.
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Good thing the Raiders don't have many African American players or fans. Maybe Musburger's catch phrase will be "Shut up and tackle."
You Raiders fans who are bummed about losing Papa, give yourselves an assist. You treat Mark "Viva Las" Davis like a rock star, when all he did was inherit his dad's football team. And move it.
Typical scene: Davis made an appearance at Jon Gruden's fan party Friday at Ricky's Sports Theatre & Grill. Fans slobbered all over themselves to get selfies with Davis.
I get it. Those slobbering fans are also thanking Davis for hiring Gruden. But let me state this again, for those who missed the bulletin: Mark Davis is moving the RAIDERS AND JON GRUDEN to Las Vegas.
Greg Papa will stay here. So not every shred of what remains of the Raiders' soul will have left the building.
Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler
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Scott Ostler has been a sports columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle since 1991. He has covered five Olympics for The Chronicle, as well as one soccer World Cup and numerous World Series, Super Bowls and NBA Finals.
Though he started in sports and is there now, Scott took a couple of side trips into the real world for The Chronicle. For three years he wrote a daily around-town column, and for one year, while still in sports, he wrote a weekly humorous commentary column.
He has authored several books and written for many national publications. Scott has been voted California Sportswriter of the Year 13 times, including six times while at The Chronicle. He moved to the Bay Area from Southern California, where he worked for the Los Angeles Times, the National Sports Daily and the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
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