Raiders’ new coach brings hype

Soon we'll find out if the Oakland Raiders' actions speak as loudly as new coach Hue Jackson's words.

After losing 11 games or more for an NFL-record seven consecutive seasons from 2003 to 2009, the Raiders rallied to finish 8-8 last year. So owner Al Davis changed coaches again.

The Raiders' regular-season win total is lined at 7 at Las Vegas sports books, but Jackson is thinking much, much bigger.

"Some people think you shouldn't make a bunch of noise. I look at it the other way: I talk boldly and carry a big stick," Jackson told Yahoo! Sports columnist Michael Silver. "We have an expectation of greatness, and we're not gonna back down from that."

Jackson added that the rest of the league is "scared" of the sleeping giant waiting to ambush opponents in Oakland. "This is a giant. We have, in my opinion, some of the greatest talent in the world," he said.

Silver was easily convinced, based on what he wrote:

"I haven't made any formal predictions yet for the 2011 season, but I'm going to throw one out there before the preseason games begin: The Raiders will win their division, and they're going back to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 2003."

Oakland has lost two stars to free agency -- cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (Philadelphia) and tight end Zach Miller (Seattle) -- and still starts Jason Campbell at quarterback.

"Call me crazy," Silver wrote, "but come January, I suspect all of Raider Nation will be squarely in Jackson's corner, and Oakland will be awash with playoff fever once more."

OK, you're crazy.

■ A LITTLE SURPRISING -- The Dallas Cowboys looked like a Pop Warner team last season, but they hit a lower point Thursday.

Pee-wee Herman made a surprise appearance at Cowboys training camp and posed for photos with owner Jerry Jones, coach Jason Garrett and quarterback Tony Romo, among others.

■ GIRL GONE WILD -- ESPN's Michelle Beadle disputes rumors that she behaved badly last month after the ESPY Awards show in Los Angeles.

In an interview with Deadspin.com, Beadle admitted that her boss at ESPN confronted her about tales that she was drunk and said something inappropriate to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers at a nightclub where the two were seen together.

Her boss, according to Beadle, said "she heard I had apparently blurted out in front of him, 'I just wanna get (sex)' very loudly."

Beadle called the accusation "ridiculous" and added, "It makes me so angry."

The story had a happy ending for Rodgers, as it went on to detail his "alleged fling with Beadle's nemesis, Erin Andrews," last year.

■ LOSING BATTLE -- In a feud between two oddballs, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen is taking on Sean Penn.

Guillen, who is from Venezuela, ripped Penn after the actor defended Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and criticized the U.S. government for labeling Chavez a dictator.

"Can I say what I feel about him? He's a loser," Guillen said of Penn.

After watching this year's White Sox team, Guillen should know a loser when he sees one.

COMPILED BY MATT YOUMANS
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL