Let’s begin this edition of Odds & Ends with the Sacramento Kings search for a new general manager and vice president of basketball operations and how well it isn’t really going for them if you ask me. Two candidates dropped out this past week: Trajan Langdon, the current general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans, Calvin Booth,the current general manager of the Denver Nuggets, and Adam Simon, the assistant general manager of the Miami Heat. Four candidates remain: Minnesota Timberwolves executive vice president Sachin Gupta, Houston Rockets assistant general manager Monte McNair, former general manager of the Atlanta Hawks Wes Wilcox, and Calvin Booth, the current general manager of the Denver Nuggets who was earlier announced as no longer in the running still is. Interviews are set to get underway next week.

Interim chief of basketball operations,Joe Dumars,however,is not conducting any of these interviews,but rather owner Vivek Ranadive and it may be giving clarity on why the former three candidates are now not interested in the position in Sacramento. 

It looks to me that the new general manager will have to answer to Ranadive instead of Dumars,who may not be there for very long. What this honestly tells me is that some promising candidates who very well could turn this team around are deciding on staying where they are or pursuing different positions because they don’t want to work for an owner who is very hands on when we all know he very well shouldn’t be as such. What needs to happen is to not only hire a new general manager,but someone above that person,too. Either that or Ranadive needs to step aside and let this person do their job. 

Proof that Dan Snyder is one of the worst owners in sports is piling up as he is possibly suggesting that the interim name of the Washington Football Team may possibly be the permanent one. 

“Sure, it’s possible!” Snyder wrote in an email to The Wall Street Journal.

“If the Washington Football Team name catches on and our fans embrace it then we would be happy to have it as our permanent name,” he wrote. “I think we have developed a very classy retro look and feel.”

The team formerly known as the Redskins for 87 years before ditching their name over the summer because of sponsors threatening to leave the team is conducting a new name search. However,it doesn’t sound like the search for a new nickname is going well if Snyder is just throwing up his arms and saying “Yeah,sure,let’s give it this name!”

Yes, the team is dealing with more than just a name change and a pandemic like the rest of us. They are dealing with a slew of sexual harassment allegations surrounding the team.

It’s kind of obvious to all of us that keeping the team name The Washington Football Team would be downright stupid and possibly the worst team name ever given should it be the permanent one. It tells all of us that you didn’t try hard enough to give your franchise a proper new identity when there are plenty of options right now that you could try and go for that I think would work well. 

In the end, I do think the team will have a much better name than the one they possess now come 2021. But to even suggest that fans will cozy up to the name that’s temporarily there is very naive. 

Staying with football and the possibility of football coming back to Oakland. Yes,really.

According to KPIX in San Francisco, a group of black business leaders heard back from the NFL about establishing a team in Oakland that would be wholly- or majority-owned by an African American, the leaders said Friday.

According to Ray Bobbitt, chair and spokesman for the African American Sports and Entertainment Group,the idea is in its preliminary stages but the group put forth three options to create the team and the NFL did not reject them.

“We are really excited about the proposals,” Bobbitt said. “The NFL could have outright rejected us.”

It is unknown if the NFL is even considering expanding to 33 or even 34 teams, but this proposal,if it comes to fruition,would see the league with its first black ownership. None of the league’s current 32 teams’ owners are black. 

Bobbitt said a franchise fee could be around $1 billion.

I’m actually glad that the league is keeping this in consideration because of their lack of black ownership currently. Not only that,but you would have a lot of fans who might embrace a new franchise in the Bay Area. I do,think,however, that you would need another team in the other conference to balance things out. San Diego comes to mind as the first city who should get a franchise. I also wouldn’t mind seeing an up and coming city get a team such as Austin,Texas. All I know is that the league not rejecting a proposal so soon after the Raiders leaving means the league is taking a closer look at this than we think. However, this proposal may be dead on arrival the moment a current team is sold to a black ownership group.

It was definitely upset Sunday in the NFL during its opening week. If you had Washington beating Philadelphia, Arizona beating San Francisco, Jacksonville beating Indianapolis,and the L.A. Rams beating Dallas, you best be getting some lottery tickets as soon as you’re done reading this (Hey,I said AFTER you’re done reading!).

If there’s a given about the NFL and pro sports in general, it’s that any team can be beaten at any time anywhere. I was shocked that a team that doesn’t even have a name like Washington was able to beat the reigning NFC East champions, the Eagles. Not that they aren’t well coached at all because Ron Rivera is a terrific coach, but the talent on the roster isn’t as good as Philadelphia, but they overcame a 17-point deficit to win their first game of the season. 

Meanwhile in Santa Clara, the Cardinals with Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins leading the way, showed their opponent the 49ers that they’re going to be a team that you may not be able to push around. Murray looked a lot more polished than his rookie year and his team was able to beat the reigning NFC champions at their home stadium. 

Jacksonville was probably the big surprise for me because I didn’t expect them to do much at all this year because they’re more than likely playing for the top pick in the NFL Draft next year, but they were able to treat their home crowd (the only team to have one yesterday) to a win over their divisional rivals, the Colts. It wasn’t a pretty win,but one nonetheless which I am sure the home fans enjoyed. I know Gardner Minshew enjoyed it!

And the Rams in the ugliest uniforms in the NFL were able to win their first game in their new $5 billion home in Inglewood over the Cowboys 20-17. 

I don’t know if the lack of crowds (save for Jacksonville) played a role in some of these games, but I do have a theory that it may be these teams that we weren’t expecting a win from just got better. I think that’s certainly the case with the Cardinals. It wouldn’t surprise me if that team was to sneak into a playoff spot with the weapons they have on offense.

Finally this week, I want to give Cam Newton a shoutout because after being passed over in free agency by team after team, he was signed by the Patriots and is now their starting quarterback. The former MVP did not disappoint against the Dolphins in Foxboro, scoring two rushing touchdowns and getting six carries for 75 yards. While his 155 passing yards were not shiny in any sense of the word, he did spread the ball around just like the guy who called the signals there for 20 seasons did prior, leading the Patriots to a 21-11 win. 

I’m going to be really honest, I wasn’t sure how Newton,31, would do with this team, but it seems like he has taken a liking to being there. He ran the offense very well and looks like a man who has a lot to prove. I don’t know how long he’ll be with this team, but I think he’s going to be fun to watch as he replaces the greatest quarterback who ever played the game. 

That’s it for this edition of Odds & Ends, we’ll catch you next time!