OAKLAND, Calif. -- Ken Stabler built a Hall of Fame career on moments more than raw numbers.Stabler threw more interceptions than touchdowns, completed fewer than 60 percent of his passes, and posted a quarterback rating of 90 or better just twice in 15 NFL seasons.Yet Stabler was the offensive leader of the great Oakland Raiders teams of the 1970s, helping the team win its first Super Bowl and make it to four other conference championship games in a five-year span.Sometimes we forget how smart Kenny Stabler was, his former coach John Madden said. He was a brilliant quarterback with a brilliant football mind. He would set things up. Theres a thing that they dont even judge anymore, called field general. Ken Stabler was a true field general. The offensive players really believed and followed him. Anything that came out of his mouth, they totally believed.Madden called the shaggy-haired Stabler, whose wild style on the field and off helped earn him the nickname The Snake, the perfect Raider. Madden said if he had one drive to win a game and could choose any quarterback who ever played to lead it, Stabler would be his choice.The hotter the game, the hotter I got, and Kenny was truly just the opposite; the hotter the game, the cooler he became, Madden said.That calm demeanor helped Stabler play a key role in some of the NFLs most famous moments -- so much so they are universally known by their nicknames.Stabler scored the go-ahead touchdown in the Immaculate Reception playoff game against Pittsburgh in 1972 that ended with Franco Harris improbable touchdown and a Steelers victory.His late TD pass that Clarence Davis caught in a Sea of Hands helped knock out two-time defending champion Miami the next season. Stablers late Ghost to the Post pass to Dave Casper in the 1977 playoffs helped force overtime against Baltimore in a game Oakland finally won in the second extra period.And his heady play to fumble forward in the closing seconds of a regular-season game against San Diego in 1978 led to a touchdown by Casper on a play forever known as the Holy Roller that led to a rule change the following season.The cat was a cool, calm and collected guy, said his former receiver Cliff Branch. He was a chess player on the football field and he put people in checkmate in a minute on the defensive end.The only thing missing when Stabler is inducted into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 6 will be Stabler himself. The honor comes just over a year after he died in July 2015 died at age 69 from complications of colon cancer. Stabler also suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a form of repetitive brain trauma, according to his family.I told my wife, well just dig him up and prop him in a chair at the Hall of Fame so he can enjoy it, said former Raiders receiver Fred Biletnikoff. Im excited about it. I cant wait to go back there this year and go through that whole process and watch the excitement in his familys face.Stabler was elected in February by the Seniors Committee as the capper to a career that started when he was a second-round draft pick out of Alabama and the second quarterback selected by the Raiders after Eldgridge Dickey in the 1968 draft.After spending most of his first four seasons as a backup. Stabler became the starter in 1973. He was the NFL MVP in 1974, then won the Super Bowl following the 1976 season as he put the Raiders right up alongside Pittsburgh and Miami as the class of the AFC.Stabler is the Raiders all-time leader in yards passing and TD passes. He finished his 15-year career with Houston and New Orleans, but will most definitely remembered as a Raider.It took his death last summer for Stabler to get another shot at the Hall of Fame honor his teammates believe was long overdue.I always believed that Kenny should have been in the Hall of Fame before, Biletnikoff said. I know its a tough process for guys to get into the Hall of Fame. I was always disappointed that his name wasnt brought up to the top year after year. I know it was there, but it was never a big factor. This year with that happening, I love it. I know it means the world to his family.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFLCheap Custom Sabres Jersey . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Authentic Custom Sabres Jersey . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. http://www.customsabresjersey.com/custom-tim-horton-jersey-large-73h.html . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Wholesale Custom Sabres Shirts . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. Custom Sabres Jerseys . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. The BCCI has been allowed to pay expenses for the first three Tests between India and England by the Supreme Court but the board has been told to deal with contracted vendors directly and not transfer money to the hosting state association.At a hearing on Tuesday, the court said the BCCI could disburse INR 58.66 lakhs to conduct the first Test in Rajkot, which begins on November 9. The board was told to follow the same process until December 3 - the second Test is in Visakhapatnam from November 17 and the third in Mohali from November 26.The BCCI sought intervention from the court by filing an interim application on November 7, saying that unless it was allowed to enter into contracts the first Test in Rajkot would be in jeopardy. The Lodha Committee was asked to audit all the expenses paid by the BCCI.The board said it had approached the court because the Lodha Committee had not given directives after the interim order on October 21. In that order, the Supreme Court had told the BCCI to cease and desist from disbursing funds to state associations until they submitted a written undertaking stating acceptance of the Lodha Committee recommendations.The court had also asked the Lodha Committee to set a threshold value for all BCCI contracts and said that any contractt above the threshold value would need the committees approval.ddddddddddddThe committee was told to appoint an independent auditor to oversee all contracts from the tender stage.After the order on October 21, the BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke had sent several emails to the Lodha Committee seeking clarifications at the earliest to avoid problems with the staging of the England Tests. In its response, the committee made it clear that BCCI president Anurag Thakur would need to file an affidavit stating the BCCI would unreservedly comply with the October 21 court order.On Tuesday the Supreme Court was told by the Lodha Committee secretary Gopal Sankaranarayanan that neither the BCCI nor the state associations had agreed to comply with the court order of October 21The court asked the committee to appoint an auditor at the earliest, along with the set of experts including administrative officers and assistants, to vet BCCI contracts for domestic and international cricket, and the IPL.The hearing will resume on December 5, when the court will take stock of the progress made by the BCCI and state association in implementing the October 21 order. ' ' '