NAPA – The most impressive thing about Mario Henderson? No, it’s not the imposing figure struck by the 6-foot-7, 300-pound tatted-up offensive lineman with a beard so scraggly you half expect an unlucky cornerback caught in a sweep to fall out.
Nor is it how well Henderson played the final three games of last season for the Raiders at left tackle. Nor even the slick personal Web site Henderson picked up in signing with super agent Drew Rosenhaus.
Rather, it’s how smooth and easy Henderson moves with all that emotional scar tissue left courtesy of former coach Lane Kiffin and what seemed like a daily blasting/ripping/shredding of his personal whipping boy.
Before an exhibition game at Tennessee last season, Kiffin mocked Henderson, who would be going against Titans sack-happy defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, saying, “That should be interesting.” Yeah, it was that bad. Which makes it that much easier to root for Henderson to succeed.
Just don’t tell Henderson he got a bad rap from young Lane last year, even if he was caught in the crossfire of the Kiffin-Al Davis feud that produced major collateral damage.
“I’m not going to say it was too harsh; I’m going to take the blame,” said the soft-spoken Henderson. “Maybe I wasn’t doing what they were expecting of me, but … yeah, I took that as motivation. I would come out here every day and if I didn’t play, I was going to show them that one day they would be able to count on me … that I can play in the league.”
I jest, of course, about scar tissue from Kiffin’s constant tongue-lashings. But there is no joking about Henderson’s mellow mien and his ability to rise above the fray.
Even with Khalif Barnes out for up to two months because of a broken left ankle suffered in practice last week, Henderson blanches at the mention that he has won the starting spot at what many consider the most important position on the offensive line – protecting the quarterback’s blind side.
“I mean, the position still ain’t mine yet, technically, because I still got work to do,” he said. “I treat it like he was still here. I go out there and work hard every day, no matter who’s there, whether it’s a new guy or Khalif or whoever it is.”
Henderson complacent? He wouldn’t dream of it.
He’s your classic late bloomer, a guy who did not become a full-time starter until his senior season at Florida State.
That is why so many eyebrows were raised, both within and outside the Silver and Blackdom, when the Raiders traded up to take Henderson in the third round of the 2007 draft.
The reigning conspiracy theory is that Henderson was a Davis pick, meaning Kiffin would never accept him.
No matter, Kiffin is gone and coach Tom Cable is a grunt at heart.
“I have to continue to keep pressing him, keep demanding that he gets better all the time,” Cable said. “And he will. He’s young enough that he knows that he has a lot of improvement yet.”
I asked Cable what about Henderson impresses him.
“The maturity that he’s shown in the last year more than anything,” Cable said. “You knew that he had a talent. But maturity-wise, he has really grown.”

The Vikings’ quiet but fierce defensive leader is now less quiet, and younger teammates heed the words and wisdom of the seventh-year linebacker.

De’angelo Henderson was only a sophomore last year when he announced his intention to be the best running back in Summerville High School football history.

Family, friends and several former teammates gathered to honor the recent Hall of Fame inductee in an emotional pregame ceremony on ‘Rickey Henderson Night.’

Rickey Henderson soaks up the applause of A’s fans as he holds up a golden base. The team retired his number.
OAKLAND – The A’s retired Rickey Henderson’s No. 24 on Saturday night, honoring the prolific leadoff hitter less than a week after he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Henderson, who grew up in Oakland, repeated a line he used in Cooperstown, N.Y., saying he was “very, very humbled.”
During a ceremony before the A’s loss to Toronto, Henderson walked along a red carpet from center field to second, where he picked up a golden base and held it over his head.
Several of Henderson’s former teammates returned for the ceremony, including Jesse Barfield, Mike Davis, Mike Norris, Ken Phelps, Tony Phillips, Dave Stewart and Bob Welch.
It was the second-biggest honor of the year for Henderson. He said the best part of the Hall of Fame induction weekend was spending time with players he didn’t know.
“You never had the opportunity to play with some of the great ballplayers, but being that close around them, and being in the same category, was a great feeling, to feel that vibe of all the best players who played the game,” Henderson said.
Henderson became the fifth Oakland player to have his number retired, joining Dennis Eckersley (43), Rollie Fingers (34), Catfish Hunter (27) and Reggie Jackson (9).

COOPERSTOWN, NY—Baseball fans across the nation admitted to feeling “cheated” and “let down” by Rickey Henderson Sunday as the all-time…

RICKEY IS A CHARACTER

The baseball greats Rickey Henderson, Jim Rice and Joe Gordon were inducted before an estimated 21,000 fans at Cooperstown, N.Y.

His long and distinguished baseball career was filled with displays of raw emotion.   Hall of Fame special section | Slide shows: Induction ceremony| HOF Weekend