has occurred in regard to JaMarcus Russell, a youngster of staggering principles who somehow has resisted the massive riches that would be forthcoming to him and has stubbornly remained a holdout in a posture that leaves one shaking his noggin in bewilderment. Obviously, the hassle is over money, with Russell and his trio of agents reportedly seeking at least a $30 million signing bonus, while the Raiders would like to keep it in the $28 million range with a series of guarantees also not appetizing to the Russell camp. With his powerful arm and commanding presence that made him such an impact at LSU, Russell is quite a prospect, but what impresses me most about him at this early date is the fact he's not in a hurry to become a multi-millionaire.

I mean, he's either independently wealthy, or fiercely headstrong, since there are few 22-year-old human beings alive who would take the stance he has this summer with the Raiders, who aren't exactly offering him chump change. Still, the JaMarcus Russell contract dispute reflects graphically the decline of the Raiders, since there was a time when the team had the reputation of being the biggest spenders in the NFL. Indeed, there was a time when Al Davis routinely overpaid his players to keep them content, but those were the long ago days when the Raiders were one of the most successful franchises in the sport and were generating a lot of revenue.

That's no longer the case in their Oakland incarceration, as the team has faltered badly in recent years and as its attendance has diminished dramatically at the McAfee Coliseum. In fact, there is widespread conjecture that the Raiders no longer are even turning a profit, which would explain the team's hardball stance with Russell. For the time being, the Raiders will open today against the Detroit Lions with Daunte Culpepper as their starting quarterback, a veteran with a bum knee who was a dud last season with the Miami Dolphins.

Now Culpepper might be an upgrade over the guy who was in that position at this time a year ago, Aaron Brooks, not to be confused with Mel Brooks, whose comedic film work wasn't as hilarious as Aaron Brooks' bumbling gridiron antics. But Culpepper is nothing more than a stopgap fill-in at this ravaged staged of his career, and doesn't figure to turn the Raiders into a .500 team, much less a serious playoff contender.

Eventually, the Raiders will sign Russell, but one wonders if they did their pre-draft homework and consulted with Russell's agents about the feasibility of signing him, as is custom with other NFL teams in such situations. The Raiders never do anything in a customary manner, as was evidenced once again in the selection of their latest coach, Lane Kiffin, a 32-year-old former USC offensive coordinator who accepted the job after another Trojan assistant, Steve Sarkisian, declined it. Kiffin replaced Art Shell, who holds the distinction of not only being a Hall of Fame offensive tackle for the Raiders but also the team's only head coach to be fired twice by Davis.

You might recall Davis gave Shell the foot after the 1994 season when the Raiders went 9-7, but Davis always felt that decision was a mistake. So Davis brought Shell back to succeed Norv Turner, who he ousted after two dismal seasons and who he hired despite Turner being thrown out by the Washington Redskins. Well, Al Davis wound up detaching Turner, too, and he soon also had regrets about the regrets he had about firing Shell 12 years earlier because he wound up firing him again after a most disastrous season.

Now it's Lane Kiffin's turn to endure the Al Davis gauntlet, and Kiffin already has experienced its perils with the way the organization has handled its negotiations with Russell. The Raiders do figure to improve this fall. It's takes a lively imagination to envision the team not winning more than two games, since it does have a fast, aggressive defense and since Kiffin has injected some desperately needed enthusiasm into his troops.

But there are still ominous signs lurking in Raiderland like, well, being the only NFL team opening the season without its top draft selection on its active roster. Doug Krikorian can be reached at doug.krikorian@presstelegram.

com has occurred in regard to JaMarcus Russell, a youngster of staggering principles who somehow has resisted the massive riches that would be forthcoming to him and has stubbornly remained a holdout in a posture that leaves one shaking his noggin in bewilderment.