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NEW YORK -- Legions of die-hard Star Wars fans braved a dip in the April weather as they anxiously awaited the opening of select toy retailers for the midnight launch of toy lines from "Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones."The adult spiderman costume toys "r" us of times square store in new york city threw open its doors at 12:01 a.m., filing approximately 200 fans toward its second floor star wars display. the retailer outfitted its largest special feature shop as a star wars museum of sorts, complete with an authentic spiderman and costume luke clients can hang out with some of nickelodeon''s popular cartoon characters or their favorite super heroes while staying at universal orlando this spring and summer.the nicktoon spring fling (valid for travel through june 27) and the super hero summer vacation (valid for travel between june 30 and sept. 1) both feature five days'' unlimited admission to universal studios and islands of adventure, front-of-line access to all universal orlando attractions and city walk party passes. and the victory will elevate the raiders'' owner to the top of the league once again, where be can sneer at the commissioner''s office and snicker at those who thought he had lost his fastball years ago. it was davis, and no one else, who put together this unusual roster of youngsters and plus-30 of stars. and it is he, and no one spiderman else, who saw in gruden''s replacement, bill callahan, the mettle of a championship coach. "you look at how costume al fixed up his roster with these older guys and you think, `this guy has gone off the deep end,''" says bills general manager tom donahoe. "but when you study these guys, they still could play. and to me, this is their last shot. they are supposed to be way of over the salary cap next year. and he even changes coaches and they still make it this far. amazing."but of course, davis never has spiderman had much use for coaches. "he has always thought players win championships," says ron wolf, the former packers general manager who started his nfl career costume under davis in oakland. of "that is what he will think about all this." and that is why he let gruden bolt to the bucs last offseason, but spiderman only after extracting a king''s ransom: four draft choices and $8 million. it is so tempting to project the demise of the raiders, this brooding franchise with its paranoid owner and obsession with greatness and slights, real and imagined. you can hear it now, the way they will proclaim ad nauseam their virtues and achievements, ignoring costume how they haven''t been to a super bowl since the 1983 season--a lapse that threatens their self-labeled "team of the decades" boast.they will drag with them the worst fans in football, weirdos who buy tickets for the right to act as if they come from some faraway planet covered in silver and black. these strange folks are reason enough to wonder about a raiders win.yet win they will. of there is something to how planets align at times, falling nearly into place even in the nfl universe. this is the raiders'' time, the next step in their progression. beaten by the ravens in the afc title game after the 2000 season, by the infamous tuck rule in last season''s playoffs, they have cleared away all but one obstacle this season. and it just happens to be, of all folks, jon gruden, the admired chucky whose national persona, of course, was molded as the coach of these very same raiders spiderman.
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