Anatomy of a smear: ESPN goes after Raiders, (again); NBC Bay Area; KNBR-Singletary; KSFO and Bay Area Media Notes

ESPN doesn't have particular love for the Oakland Raiders; no big news there; the Bristol sports contingent has tried for years to practice decent sports journalism, but where it lacks and looks bad, it looks, we'll, bad, and it lacks.

A little over three weeks ago, Napa DA Gary Lieberstein, ruled that he would not proceed with charges against Raiders coach Tom Cable and his alleged assault with assistant coach Randy Hanson, because of insufficient evidence.

Soon after that, ESPN reporters and producers began calling various Bay Area media outlets, (TV/radio/newspapers) inquiring of Cable's past. The calls were significant enough that a producer at a local TV station e-mailed me. I didn't think much of it until I had heard on his radio show, that KNBR/KRON4's Gary Radnich was also called about Cable.

Last Sunday morning on "Outside the Lines", ESPN's Colleen Dominguez interviewed Cable's ex-girlfriend and first wife. Both asserted that Cable was physical with them. With prompting from Dominguez, the ex-wife had said that "he hit me." Dominguez wasn't satisfied. "He what?--he hit you?, 'swatted you?" "He 'punched me", said the woman.

Outside the Lines host Bob Ley then went to correspondent Chris Mortensen, who said the league would "look into the matter.", but offered nothing more specific. Ley read a last-second "response" from Cable. In a statement, he acknowledged a past of problems with his wife, but maintained much of the allegations were short-sighted and that he'd address them in the future.

Let's examine this issue from the very beginning. I don't know Cable and have never interviewed him. I don't have any axe to grind one way or the other. As I said the other day the idea of hitting a woman is abhorrent and if Cable is culpable, then he should be dealt with accordingly.

It is curious that ESPN would go back over twenty years to seek some dirt on Cable, particularly when he was legally cleared of any charges in the Napa case with Hanson. That didn't rule out a potential civil case involving Cable and Hanson, nevertheless it's pursuit of Cable is quite revealing and only reinforces the image of ESPN's inherent bias against the Raiders.

Mortenson, for one, has a history of anti-Oakland bias in his tenure in Bristol. And Bob Ley? Would it not have been prudent of Ley and Dominguez to give Cable a chance, (on-air) to respond the allegations? Forget "prudent"; what about fairness? And did it occur to Ley and Dominguez that the TIMING of this "exclusive report" would be curious? Hell yes.

For the so-called "World-wide leader" to delve deeply more than twenty years into a guy's background, you'd think the Bristol brats would cover all its bases. It hasn't here and the results are quite embarrassing and speak volumes about ESPN's motives.

Again, I'm not saying what Cable did, (allegedly), should in any way be condoned. Domestic violence is a serious issue and continues to be prevalent in today's society, (most notable in the US), but that's another issue.

ESPN, to me, was looking for a convenient target to fortress its Sunday morning program. In Cable, it found a very convenient and mother-of-all villains; a coach that will probably get fired sooner or later and a guy that isn't particularly popular in the local media. There's something inherently bad about that.

Making matters worse, the local media 'haters piled high on top of the ESPN reports with a barrage of utter glee. KNBR, minus Radnich, was downright giddy. The afternoon guys, (Razor and Mr. T--Barbieri in particular) spent almost all of Monday's show highlighting Cable's 'issues. In the evening, Damon Bruce went front and center in the ESPN allegations without any attempt to get the other side's story. Surely, he could have at least tried.

Others in the print/on-line contingent were equally gleeful. Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Merc "twittered" the first account of the ESPN report with his usual fervor. Mike Silver of Yahoo detailed it in his column. None of these so-called "journalists" at any time questioned the validity of the accusations, nor did they explore or mention ESPN's history with the Raiders.

I'm NOT on the Raiders payroll and the Raiders don't need me to defend them. This isn't about X's and o's and has nothing to do with on-field activity. It DOES have to do with a man's name and reputation. Cable might be a horrible coach and probably has lost his team over the game plan with San Diego and the Jets. But that's an ON-field issue and he will no doubt suffer the consequences of this latest wasted Raiders year. But again, that's a different issue.

For an enterprise as huge as ESPN to go after Cable in such a malicious manner is both troubling and embarrassing. For "sports writers" to pile on high, without checking any facts involving a LEGAL story is also extremely sordid and thoroughly unprofessional at best. And the fact it involves the usual suspects speaks for itself.

**The Mike Singletary-KNBR weekly interview is uneasy on the ears; for one, Singletary doesn't say anything, (for the most part) and interviewer Brian Murphy, while persistent, is obviously semi-intimidated by the 49Er's coach. That's not a knock on Murphy, who in spite of annoying sound drops by his partner and occasionally obscure references to his UCLA past and pop culture, manages to try to delve deeply into Singletary's M.O.

A. I'm not sure the stoic coach has any public personality worth searching. B. I'm damned sure he doesn't offer any real insight into any form of 49ers/Jimmy Raye thinking, (like many NFL coaches) and C. who really cares whether or not the game plan vs. Indy was sound? What? Like Singletary's going to admit on the airwaves that Jimmy Raye is a doofus? Right.

PS: If Singletary were coaching the Raiders, would NOT KNBR be all over him? I rest my case. (Read: boring)

**MORE KSFO hate in the morning: KSFO all-hate, right-wing radio man Lee Rodgers is a well-known Obama hater. (Its a requirement), but his act Wednesday morning was 100x over the top even by hate-filled KSFO standards. Rodgers referred multiple times to the POTUS as a "crypto-'Communist" and all Obama supporters as "Obamunists." How subtle and cute.

Not to be out of the loop, his partner, "Officer Vic" was ticked that Obama refused to take part in the 20Th Anni. of the Berlin Wall take-down. "He was probably watching basketball," uttered OV. Reminded me of the old rep that refereed to KSFO as "KKKSFO."

**NBC Bay Area is getting near the KTVU rep as a quality news reputation. Great anchors, solid reporters, and two excellent newscasts at 6 and 11PM...NO, I didn't take a two-day hiatus. My phone line was shut down two days thanks to "construction in the area", thanks AT%T for the lovely service...KCBS's Steve Little announced the other night that he's taking two months off. No reason given and news to the local CBS brass...

**Follow me daily on Twitter.