There was no overhead projector this time, though Al Davis did get around to calling Lane Kiffin a "flat-out liar." Davis introduced his new/old coach, Tom Cable, on Wednesday, saying that Cable and another, unnamed candidate were the finalists.

Was Kevin Gilbride the other candidate? Davis wouldn't say. But the owner did offer that Cable won the "competition" largely by assembling a better collection of assistant coaches. Some of those assistants were purely hypothetical. But the Raiders have hired several (e.g. Dwaine Board and Lionel Washington) in recent weeks, and Davis said Cable was involved in those decisions.

So what you had was a team owner telling two different coaching candidates to assemble their staffs, while one of them was actually hiring people. You can form your own opinion on the process.

Cable sounded all the right notes Wednesday. He was enthusiastic, deferential to Davis and supremely confident in his team and his own coaching ability. Davis, as usual, was all over the map. Here are some highlights. I'll be writing about the hiring and the press conference for Thursday's Press Democrat, too.

Here's Al-

ON CABLE HIRING ASSISTANT COACHES:

"He hired every single coach. I just want you to know that. And I want the few doubters in here who think I hired the assistant coaches, that's not true. I never hired Lane Kiffin's. I never hired Art Shell's."

ON THE NEW MATH, WHILE DISCUSSING THE LATE-SEASON EXPLOITS OF JOHNNIE LEE HIGGINS AND CHAZ SCHILENS:

"If you take five touchdowns in two games, and even whittle it down to two touchdowns in 16 games apiece, we've got two guys who are catching eight touchdowns apiece."

ON TELLING SEPARATE COACHING CANDIDATES TO START RECOMMENDING ASSISTANTS:

"That's all that goes on in pro football. If you think that Todd Haley didn't hire his staff last week- If you think 90 percent of them don't, then you don't know a thing about football."

ON THE IDEA OF BRINGING IN A GENERAL MANAGER:

"I could say to you, 'It's filled,' but I don't want to. And I could say to you, 'It's a possibility,' and I would leave it at that. I'm just not ready. I just went through a long process here."

ON WHETHER THIS HYPOTHETICAL EXECUTIVE WOULD BE A PERSONNEL MAN, AS TOLD TO THE SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS' TIM KAWAKAMI:

"I haven't made up my mind exactly what I'm going to do. I thought of you, but John Herrera wouldn't OK you."

ON WHY THE RAIDERS GOT BLOWN OUT BY DENVER IN THE 2008 SEASON OPENER:

"DeAngelo (Hall) got picked on the first game of the season, we'd have won that game had we played the other guy. When we went back and played 'em again and played the other guy, we won the game. That's all it was. It was one guy that they took advantage of and beat us."

ON WHY MANY YOUNGER PLAYERS DIDN'T GET A CHANCE UNTIL LATE IN THE SEASON:

"Because he (Lane Kiffin) wouldn't do it. That's why he had to get fired."

ON LOSING HIS TWO COORDINATORS:

"I like Rob Ryan a lot, but it was time to make a change. - It's ironic, Rob goes to Cleveland and they're bragging on him. They got Rob Ryan. Greg Knapp, who had the worst pass offense in the league two years in a row, they're bragging on him in Seattle. Here, no one bragged on those guys."

ON WARREN SAPP BADMOUTHING THE RAIDERS ON NFL NETWORK:

"Well, you figure that one out. I gave Tommy Kelly $40 million and didn't give it to him. - The funny thing is, Sapp begged to have the preseason TV and I wouldn't do it because he's off the handle. You don't know what he's going to say. He made it up to me on his TV shows."

ON WHETHER LANE KIFFIN HAS RECEIVED THE MONEY HE CLAIMED DAVIS OWED HIM:

"(Bleep) no."