Raiders’ Lawyer Sums Up Case

The Raiders were cheated out of hundreds of millions of dollars by Oakland Coliseum officials who lured them home on the false promise of a sold-out stadium, the team’s lawyer said Monday in closing arguments at Sacramento in the nearly four-month-long fraud trial.

Attorney Roger Dreyer said the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, its chief negotiator Ed DeSilva and the now-defunct accounting firm Arthur Andersen misled and defrauded the team in 1995 by not disclosing problems with ticket sales.

He also accused the coliseum of violating a good-faith agreement that prevented the team from moving to Baltimore, where it could have made more money.

“They’ve sacked one of the most prestigious sports franchises on the planet,” Dreyer said in the final moments of his 5 1/2-hour closing.

The trial, which began April 14, focuses on the negotiations to bring the team back to Oakland after 13 years in Los Angeles.

Raider owner Al Davis said his attention turned to Oakland after the NFL spiked his other option in Southern California, which led to an unrelated lawsuit the Raiders lost. That one is now under appeal.

Deliberations are expected to begin after the final closing argument scheduled for Wednesday in Sacramento County Superior Court.

The nine-woman, three-man jury can consider testimony from 45 witnesses and more than 600 pieces of evidence.

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Priest Holmes looked fine in a brief appearance, and so did Brett Favre as the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Green Bay Packers 9-0 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game at Canton, Ohio. The game was shortened because of lightning and torrential rain.

The exhibition opener for both teams had a sobering moment when Chief offensive tackle Willie Jones sustained a head injury late in the second quarter.

According to a Chief spokesman, Jones sprained his neck but had feeling in his hands and feet.

Kansas City had just taken a 9-0 lead on a 27-yard field goal by Jose Cortez with 5 minutes 55 seconds left in the third quarter when several lightning bolts hit near Fawcett Stadium.

After waiting 30 minutes, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue decided to cancel the remainder of the game with 5:49 remaining in the third.

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Baltimore Raven linebacker Bernardo Harris, who started 12 games last season after Ray Lewis was injured, broke his left leg at practice and is expected to miss four to six weeks.

The team also said that wide receiver Javin Hunter will miss the entire season because of a ruptured right Achilles tendon. Safety Ray Perryman dislocated his left shoulder and is out indefinitely.

Rookie quarterback Kyle Boller, who ended his holdout last week, completed his first full-scale workout with the Ravens on Monday.

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Five San Diego Charger wide receivers missed both practices at Carson, including rookie Kassim Osgood because of a broken thumb that will sideline him for at least four weeks.

Osgood, a free agent from San Diego State, was hurt making a one-handed catch Sunday.

Other wideouts missing practice were David Boston (oblique muscle), Tim Dwight (groin), Dondre Gilliam (knee) and Reche Caldwell (groin).

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Washington Redskin Coach Steve Spurrier was quick to dash any notion that Danny Wuerffel’s return is the first stop in yet another year of a quarterback carousel.

“We don’t have any problems,” Spurrier said. “Some of you [reporters] may want to create them, but there’s no problems on our team who the quarterback is.”

After making five starting quarterback changes in his first NFL season a year ago, Spurrier is going with second-year player Patrick Ramsey, at least for now.

The plan is for Wuerffel, who joined the team Monday morning at practice, to compete with struggling veteran Rob Johnson for the No. 2 spot.

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Newcomer Sammy Knight needed barely a week of training camp to dislodge Arturo Freeman as the Dolphins’ starting strong safety.

Knight was listed with the first team on the first depth chart released, and he’ll start the opening exhibition game Friday against Tampa Bay.

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Wide receiver Charles Rogers dressed in pads and took part in a few light drills for the Detroit Lions at Allen Park, Mich., nearly a week after he dislocated his left ring finger.

Rogers was the second overall pick in the draft.