I Repeat People, I'm NOT Evangelist Denise K. Matthews

One of the more amusing things that keeps happening is that for some reason, ever since I wrote the 50th birthday post wishing Evangelist Denise K. Matthews a happy birthday, every now and then I get people e-mailing stuff to me that is clearly meant for her.

I ended up writing a post that clearly stated that this is TransGriot and not Ms. Matthews' site, but it seems that some peeps failed reading comprehension back in their school days.

Peep the latest comment that got caught in my spam filter.

Hello blessed Ms. Matthews,
God bless you in all your works and endeavors in praising God's teachings and works. If you ever decide in your spare time to visit SW Florida, There's a few churches out here that are very spiritual . Feel free to contact me either in email: palomoiiijosej@yahoo.com, facebook, or by telephone (XXX) XXX-XXXX and when you're here I'd love to meet you in person and become your lifelong brother and friend in Jesus Christ. Anyway, keep up the blessed works and teachings you inspire to others. Looking forward to have a spiritual bondage and a mutual friendship with you. God Bless, Jose J. Palomo III

Hello Jose and 'errbody' else who can't read the TransGriot header at the top of this blog.  Although I deeply appreciate you coming to my cyberhome, this is not Evangelist Matthews' blog and I am in no way connected to her website.  

I primarily discuss transgender issues here in addition to other subjects including at times spirituality and religion.  If you wish to direct comments to her you need to surf in this direction.

As I said before, while I wouldn't mind looking like her, I'm Moni and I'm happy and comfortable with the skin I'm in,.and the feminine journey I'm traveling.  Would love to meet her one day as well and who knows, maybe that day might happen. 

She's living her life and walking in her pumps and I'm doing the same to the best of my ability.

But still people, if you want to contact Evangelist Matthews, do it on her website

Iconic Oakland Raider Owner Al Davis Dies

NFL pioneer Al Davis, the iconic owner of the Oakland Raiders has passed away at age 82   .

Love him or hate him, the mark that Brooklyn, NY born Al Davis left on the game of football and the NFL is undeniable. 

In 1963 he became the coach and general manager of a struggling AFL franchise that was playing at a high school stadium and finished 1-13 the year before he arrived.   He turned them into the intimidating force that was the winningest team in professional sports during the 60s', 70's and 80's and claimed three Super Bowl championships in 1976, 1980 and 1983.

If there's a controversial event or iconic play in NFL lore, the Raiders are involved.   Whether it's the 'Heidi Game', the 'Immaculate Reception', the 'Holy Roller', 'Red Right 88', or the 'Tuck Rule Game', the history of the NFL and the history of the game thanks to Al Davis has an unmistakable silver and black thread and swagger.  



And yeah, some of the innovations and rule changes you're familiar with in modern day NFL football are the result of the Raiders in many cases, too.  

When your team's offense employs a 'vertical' passing game or plays 'bump and run' coverage, thank Al Davis and his Raiders for popularizing it. 

He was one of the few owners left in the NFL who made his money strictly from the income of the team and was an equal opportunity employer when it came to finding the best players and people to play for, coach and run his organization. 

He was the first to actively scout and mine HBCU's for football talent.  He was the first to draft an African-American quarterback, hire an African-American head coach in the modern era with his 1988 hire of Art Shell in 1988, the second Latino coach in Tom Flores, and the first female executive/CEO in Amy Trask.   

And speaking of hiring coaches, he was responsible for the trend of hiring young coaches.  He had some great ones such as Hall of Famer John Madden, Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden and Lane Kiffin, but as they will all tell you, the real coach of the Oakland Raiders was Al Davis.


In 1966 he became the last commissioner of the AFL and aggressively pursued NFL star players even as Lamar Hunt and other AFL owners were negotiating terms for a merger of the two leagues favorable to the AFL.   Davis' bellicose posturing and aggressive stances led to a common draft, the AFL-NFL Championship game that later became the Super Bowl and by 1970 the unified league.

One of the things he didn't get was becoming commissioner of the merged NFL, which went to Pete Rozelle   That led to a decades long feud between the two men, which fed into the Raiders 'us against the world' chip on their shoulders team mentality.  He sued the NFL and won the right to move the team to LA in the early 80's, then moved them back to Oakland in 1995.  

But his feuds and innovations reshaped pro football over the last half century and fuelled its rise to become the most popular sport in the US.

“He is a true legend of the game whose impact and legacy will forever be part of the NFL,” current NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

One of the larger than life iconic personalities and owners of the league is gone, and will definitely be missed.