AP fileThe Oakland Raiders blasted a report by Sports Illustrated that former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo and team president Carmen Policy are interested in buying the team and moving it back to Los Angeles, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday.
DeBartolo said the Raiders are vulnerable for a takeover because of falling attendance and possible failing health of owner Al Davis, SI reported.
DeBartolo, 59, has looked into buying the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but was spurned by owner Malcolm Glazer, who is recovering from two strokes, the magazine reported. SI also said the DeBartolo-Policy team explored a purchase of the New Orleans Saints in the wake of the city being trashed by Hurricane Katrina last summer.
DeBartolo, who owned the 49ers during their heyday in the 1980s, and Policy are "piqued by whispers that Davis, 76, is ill. He has been using a walker because of a leg ailment and did not show up at February's scouting combine or a recent minicamp," the magazine reported.
"For Al Davis to miss the combine, that's unusual,'' DeBartolo said in the article.
However, Raiders CEO Amy Trask firmly denied that the Raiders are for sale or that Davis is in failing health.
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DeBartolo has become a billionaire in real estate, while Policy owns a vineyard in Napa County.
"The only look those two are going to get at this team is if they want to watch it on television,'' Trask also told the Chronicle. "Al Davis currently has, and will continue to have, total control of the Raiders. And that will continue in perpetuity.''
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"The rumors about his health are false. Al is as healthy and as vital as ever,'' Trask said. "First of all, he had no reason to attend the combine when we had people in place there and he could watch the workouts on the NFL Network.
"Second, he has not gone to the May minicamp for the last five or six years, at least. So why is that an issue all of a sudden?''
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
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