MVN: Most Valuable Network

Last night, I opened up my inbox to an email address I haven't used in a while and the first message that I saw was from Warren Sapp. Ok, it wasn't really from Warren, but it was from his website QBKilla. What? Yeah, I joined up shortly after he signed with the Raiders. I was looking for Raiders news and thought that I might get a little inside info from the notoriously mouthy defensive tackle. Unfortunately for players such as Sapp, they only talk when they and their respective teams are doing well, and since he and the Raiders have had their performance problems while he was inked, the site was rarely updated.

Sapp's party will be held at the Seminole Tampa Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on June 28th. The doors will open at 8pm and there will be musical entertainment provided by DJ Selfborn, upscale casual attire is expected. Being Sapp's retirement party, rest assured that there should be plenty of food as well.

The defensive tackle wasn't holding anything back in an interview that he gave to Rick Stroud and the St. Petersburg Times. In the interview he had some very interesting things to say about former coach Monte Kiffin and John Gruden, while also touting his time as a Buc.

Like many of the Raiders who have left recently, he had some disturbing things to say about the Raiders as well. Here is an excerpt of the Raiders portion:

How did you know it was time to retire?

There's no better way than me pulling the trigger on myself. It's no longer fun. It had nothing to do with where I was playing or the team I was playing for. It became a job. It was an absolute job. I was punching a clock. …

There's a lot of stuff going on in this league I don't believe in. You see it on television every day. I'm that old veteran guy. Guys come in and they're 21 or 22 years old. I'm more than a generation apart. …You see a kid come in the meeting room and he's sleeping and we need this guy on third down and I've got to play next to him? C'mon. No way. Uh-uh.

How would you describe your experience with the Raiders?

As dark as a black hole. Stuff went on in that organization that shouldn't go on in sports. I don't think there's one person who knows who or what is making the call. Let's just say the Oakland experience is unique. The phone rings quite a bit on that sideline. Insubordination is grounds for termination in any company.

Did you consider signing a one-day contract with Tampa Bay and retiring as a Buc?

When I talked to Al (Davis) about retiring, that was it. He had already put me on some list or something. I think he still has my rights. If that's the rules, then let it be.

Many believe you're a first ballot Hall of Fame player. What do you think?

When it's all said and done, my resume is rivaled by five other people that played the game. Four are in the Hall of Fame and the other will be: Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Joe Green, Jack Ham and Derrick Brooks. They went to at least seven straight Pro Bowls, Defensive Player of the Year and won a world championship. When you can bring up the ghosts of the game, it tells you where you are.

So was that young defensive end the penciled in starter sleeping during meetings Jay Richardson or the dearly departed Quentin Moses? If it was Moses, that would explain a bunch. Maybe it was Hawthorne, but whoever it was it wasn't something Sapp could control or else it sounds like he would've. Is that the problem that the Raiders run defense was suffering from last season? If it was, it's time for a few head slaps during meetings.

With the issues described by former players during this offseason, there is so much smoke that there is no question about the fire. If Davis wants to win two more Super Bowls, he needs to hire the coach, give him the power to be a strong coach, and he needs to stay away from the players unless he's giving them a slap on the behind or an earful about poor play. Until that happens, it won't matter who wears the silver and black and it definitely won't matter who coaches them.

Sapp's future is uncertain, but when asked about it, he stated that he didn't want to take trips to Bristol and be part of the ESPN crew. He did say that he wouldn't mind doing some radio and also had been offered a spot on the ABC hit show Dancing With the Stars.

Really? They've approached you about that?

Yeah, it's something that sort of came out of nowhere. But I enjoy the idea of training for something else. My whole life has been football. I could hang out in L.A. for a few weeks. My daughter would love it. There's nothing wrong with my smile. I don't think I speak Ebonics. I think I will (do the show)."

Tickets for Sapp's retirement party are limited. They can be purchased online at TICKETMASTER.com or by calling (813) 287-8844. For VIP Cabanas call (813) 500-2900.

Casting Call for wannabe reporters

Sharks executive, Kirk Berridge, just launched a site (www.fanmedianetwork.com) that gives fans a chance to cover their favorite Bay Area teams as members of the media. They are running a casting call that began yesterday - KTVU's Mark Ibanez is an advisor and talent evaluator.

I'm not all that confident in my visual abilities, so I won't be trying out, but if you're interested, you should visit this link: http://www.fanmedianetwork.com/index.php?option=team&change_Team_Id=23

Here's the press release they sent us:

FAN MEDIA NETWORK LOOKING TO TURN TALENTED BAY AREA SPORTS FANS INTO SPORTS REPORTERS

San Ramon, CA – Fan Media Network (www.fanmedianetwork.com), an independent news and entertainment media company featuring fan reporting for sports, has an open casting call for local sports fans to become fan video reporters and cover the professional and college sports teams in the San Francisco Bay Area, it was announced today.

Local sports fans now have the opportunity to upload video reports on their favorite Bay Area sports teams to www.fanmedianetwork.com. All editorial, technical and casting call requirements are listed on the website. Fans will join the Fan Media Network panel of judges, including Bay Area sportscaster Mark Ibanez and former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver JJ Stokes, to vote online and help determine the fan video reporters for each of the Bay Area teams.

Call it American Idol meets YouTube meets MySpace for sports.

"In sports, the fans are the ones who drive the values, but you don't see them in the media. We want to enable talented, knowledgeable fans to report on their teams as professional media," Fan Media Network founder and CEO Kirk Berridge said. "American Idol demonstrated there are some talented people in this country, YouTube let us distribute videos and MySpace gave us a place to connect with others but mainly around music. There is nothing like this for sports. Fan Media Network does this for sports."

"The movement of citizen journalism is intriguing and I am curious as a judge and as a member of the media to see what kind of talent is out there for sports fans who think they can report on their favorite teams," said Ibanez, who in 29 years at KTVU is the longest tenured sports reporter and anchor in the Bay Area. "Fan Media Network is taking a professional and organized approach to helping fans produce video reports. At KTVU, we get a lot of feedback from our viewers on their perspective as fans and this gives them a chance at sports reporting."

About Fan Media Network

Fan Media Network is an independent news & entertainment media company featuring fan reporting for sports. Similar to ESPN, but the reporters are fans - talented, knowledgeable, articulate fans that are provided organization, direction and tools so they come off as professional.