The passing of late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis on Oct. 8, 2011, came so suddenly. His team responded with an inspired win the following day in Houston -- arguably Oakland's best game of the year -- and then held a public memorial in a sold out game against the Cleveland Browns.
And then those closest to Davis -- especially his son Mark -- got back to the business of a football season.
With some time to reflect and the first true break in the NFL calendar since Davis' passing, longtime friends and associates will get together in Las Vegas this week to memorialize him, according to Len Pasquarelli of the Sports XChange.
Davis' legacy will be talked about as long as there is the NFL. Some of his more controversial stances will be whitewashed over time, but that does a disservice to Davis. He would want to be remembered as a troublemaker; a solitary figure that often battled for what he thought was best for the game and the franchise he loved. Even when the rest of the NFL disagreed with him.
