Superman is Cast, Let the Lois Lane Hunt Begin

Now that Zach Snyder has found the lynchpin of his Superman movie reboot - the titular man in blue, to be played by British actor Henry Cavill - it's now time to populate the rest of Metropolis. Which leads to the big question on everyone's lips:

Who will be Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen?

Until that's settled, we'll just have to amuse ourselves by running down the names that are swirling around the role of the Daily Planet's spunky ace reporter and the one woman who makes Clark Kent's glasses fog up: Lois Lane.

The biggest rumor involves an actress who knows a thing or two about flying around with aloof prettyboys - "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart. She has allegedly met with Snyder, but that could mean everything from "I want to be Lois" to "Excuse me, are you leaving or are you just getting something from your car?" So right now, file this under "unsubstantiated."

Another name getting play is "Prince of Persia" star Gemma Arterton, but would trying to get people to accept a British Lois be tougher than getting them onboard with a British Superman?

The rest of the field seems to be made up of idle speculation, left-field brainstorming, and utter nonsense - although more than a few of these ladies would be intriguing choices: Rachel McAdams, Rashida Jones. Maggie Q, Rose Byrne. Natalie Dormer (which would suggest Snyder has limited his casting sessions to "rewatching season one of "The Tudors"), Anna Paquin, and Snyder's "Watchmen" leading lady Malin Akerman.

Anne Hathaway's name has also been mentioned, as has Natalie Portman's. But seeing as Hathaway has just signed on to fight and/or romance Batman and Portman will next be seen snuggling up to a Norse god of Thunder, you can probably go ahead and scratch them off.

Raiders Begin Interviews for New Coach

The Oakland Raiders began interviewing candidates Monday to fill their vacant head coaching position less than a week after deciding not to bring Tom Cable back for a third full season.

Owner Al Davis decided last week not to pick up a a $5 million, two-year option to retain Cable. He spent much of last week reviewing the 2010 season, when the Raiders went 8-8 for their first non-losing season since winning the 2002 AFC championship.

Now the attention turns to finding the team's sixth head coach since Jon Gruden left for Tampa Bay following the 2001 season.

"The interview process has begun," senior executive John Herrera said. "No candidates will be named at this point."

While offensive coordinator Hue Jackson is believed to be a favorite for the job, Davis likely will take advantage of the opportunity to interview candidates from outside the organization to gain insight into how other teams are operating.

Jackson came over after last season and assumed the play-calling duties from Cable. The improvement on offense was the biggest reason why the Raiders won three more games than they had in any of the previous seven seasons.

Led by quarterback Jason Campbell, a breakout season from running back Darren McFadden and big plays from rookie receiver Jacoby Ford, the Raiders finished sixth in the league in scoring with 410 points. That was the sixth-most points scored in a season in franchise history and more than doubled the 2009 scoring output.

Jackson already is under contract for next season as an assistant. He interviewed for the San Francisco job last week before the 49ers hired Jim Harbaugh.

Cable lasted longer than any Raiders coach since Gruden, posting a 17-27 record since being promoted from offensive line coach to interim coach early in the 2008 season after Lane Kiffin was fired.

The Raiders made big strides to improve under Cable but fell short of making the postseason for an eighth straight season. Oakland became the first team since the 1970 merger to win all of its division games and not make the playoffs.

The Raiders went just 2-8 outside the AFC West this season, with five of those losses coming to teams with losing records.