SARASOTA, Fla. – Michael Crabtree needs to have a pregame sitdown, so to speak, with a referee before games. Preferably prior to Sunday’s meeting against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That way the Oakland Raiders receiver can explain that what he plans on doing should he score a touchdown is not, he repeats, not a throat slash. Because as explained in this space numerous times , Crabtree wiping his hand across his facemask is actually an homage to the fictional baseball character Kenny Powers.
Indeed, Crabtree is mimicking sniffing his fingers in celebration of getting his fastball back, as the former big league pitcher Powers did in the HBO comedy series “Eastbound & Down” after hitting a rival in the noggin and knocking his eye out with a pitch.