Oakland Ca Athletics

Don't do it, Al Davis. Don't go. You will regret it--maybe not now, but soon and for the rest of your life. Don't be tempted by visions of full houses. Don't be swayed by misty water-color memories of the way Oakland was. Those days are gone for good, Al, old pal. They've got 49er fever up there now. You don't want to walk in their shadows, pick up their scraps. Stay put and the Raiders will be the team, from San Luis Obispo to San Juan Capistrano. Don't say hasta la vista , baby.

A team of NFL executives and Hollywood Park officials, meeting in Denver on Thursday, drew closer to a deal for the construction of a $200-million football stadium in Inglewood, but one key player in the agreement is still missing. It is--who else?--Al Davis. The Raider owner did not attend the Denver meeting, causing league insiders to wonder for the first time whether he would walk away from one of the top three stadium deals in the league.

Oakland authorities Wednesday extended a written invitation to the Los Angeles Raiders to play next fall in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum if the earthquake-damaged Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum cannot be repaired in time for the season. Alameda County Supervisor Don Perata said the invitation was not part of an attempt to bring the Raiders back to Oakland on a permanent basis, but was an offer of assistance during a time of crisis.

For the first time since Denver's Bobby Humphrey began his holdout July 12, Coach Dan Reeves said the Broncos are actively seeking to trade the running back. The Broncos say they will not trade Humphrey within the AFC West. The trading deadline is Oct. 8. Oakland, which lost the Raiders to Los Angeles, formally joined 10 other cities seeking an expansion NFL franchise. A year from now, the league will award two expansion franchises to begin play in 1994.

Like twice-jilted lovers, Raider fans here accused owner Al Davis of bad faith--and worse--as word spread Tuesday of his abrupt decision to keep his franchise in Los Angeles after tantalizing Oakland for 20 months with the prospect of the team's return.

You know, of course, that President Bush has called a meeting with President Gorbachev at Helsinki for the purpose of discussing the residence problem of the Los Angeles Raiders, your oldest permanently established floating franchise. Bush isn't asking the Soviets to mediate. What he wants, most of all, is to tap their brains on this vital issue, threatening the sanity of those who follow professional football.

Oakland has extended by 30 days its deadline for Raider acceptance or rejection of the city's offer to return the football team to the Bay Area, authorities there announced Thursday. The original 45-day period had been scheduled to expire today. The disclosure by both Oakland and Alameda County officials discredits reports that the Raiders might seek an immediate termination of their contract to play in the Los Angeles Coliseum through 1991 so they could return to Oakland this season.

Quarterback Steve Beuerlein, at a stalemate in contract negotiations, can do something about it--for a price. "We have afforded him the opportunity to look for a trade," Raider owner Al Davis said Tuesday. "That was done 10 days ago." Beuerlein, who finished last season ahead of Jay Schroeder as the Raiders' starter, earned $140,000 and has rejected an offer of $500,000 from the Raiders. Schroeder makes in excess of $1 million.

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors became the last required Oakland-area governing body to approve a new offer to the Raiders to move back to the Bay Area city. The offer includes a total of $127 million in loans to the NFL team to renovate and expand the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and to finance the move from Los Angeles. The Raiders have 45 days to accept the offer or it will lapse.