The Oakland Raiders are reporting that the NFL team's managing general partner, Al Davis, has died at 82. He was the rare team administrator whose personality was as compelling as the accomplishments of his players. Davis feuded: with his players, with his coaches, with municipal governments as he moved his team from Oakland to Los Angeles, then back again. But he did so with a smile, even as critics increasingly blamed his domineering style for his team's woes.

The wardrobe was as unchangeable as the catch phrase: the track suit and the mantra, "Just win, baby."

On memory lane, first, a 1990 interview in which Davis parries questions about his flirting with the two cities between which he moved the Raiders, Los Angeles and Oakland, and dishes about his dueling stars and the rising fad of the "West Coast offense."

And Davis delivering his signature line, in the afterglow of the Raiders' demolition of Washington in Super Bowl XVIII:

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Ted Mann