REPORTS OF RAIDERS RETURN TO L.A. CALLED "RUBBISH"

          Rumors that the Raiders "are contemplating" a return to
     L.A. "are groundless -- not to mention ludicrous," according
     to officials in both L.A. and Alameda County cited by Rick
     DelVecchio of the S.F. CHRONICLE.  L.A. City Councilmember
     Nate Holden, who said only that he was holding a press
     conference to discuss pro football in L.A., is being branded
     "as at best ill-informed and at worst a flake who could land
     the city in legal trouble for interfering with the Raiders'
     contract to play in Oakland for the next 13 seasons."  L.A.
     City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas: "On no occasion has
     [Raiders Owner] Al Davis or the Raiders organization
     indicated an imminent return to the Los Angeles market"
     (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/22).  NFL President Neil Austrian called
     the report "a lot of rubbish and rumor" (L.A. TIMES, 1/22).