oakland raiders coaches fightTom Cable, the burly coach of the forlorn Oakland Raiders, knows where to go when he needs to diffuse a situation: ESPN. After reports circulated yesterday that Cable clocked assistant coach Randy Hanson with a punch, sending him to the hospital, the Raiders coach hastily called a press conference to diffuse the situation. Except he never denied throwing the punch, only saying, “It’s an internal issue that we are dealing with, and that’s all I’m going to say.” His next move, of course: go to ESPN.

And Mark Schlereth and Adam Schefter were more than willing to carry water for the beleaguered coach, even as beat writers worked sources and conducted actual reporting.

If you asked some other folks with knowledge of the incident, they’d tell you that it was Cable who clocked defensive assistant Randy Hanson earlier this month, a punch that sent him to the hospital … “Cable, Bumaye!” some players chanted while stretching on the grass before practice. That’s a reference to the “Ali, Bumaye!’ chant from the Rumble in the Jungle bout in Zaire with George Foreman in 1974. Bumaye translates to: “Kill him.”

Of course, nobody has gone on record about what happened; not bloody likely as long as Al Davis remains alive. But if nothing happened,”why not say it again in front of cameras and recorders?” The guess here: Goodell gives Cable a one-game suspension, yet Cable still refuses to confirm anything.

Raiders’ Cable punches assistant (SF Chronicle)

Update: This guy says that Cable flipped Hanson’s chair over and Hanson flew into a wall, injuring his jaw.