EX-RAIDERS GET BRUTAL RECEPTION.

Byline: BILLY WITZ

OAKLAND -- Jon Gruden, Tim Brown, Charlie Garner and the rest of the Tampa Bay Raider-neers returned to the Black Hole for the first time Sunday as visitors and the locals made sure the Tampa Bay players felt at home with a true Silver-and-Black welcome: expletives, middle digits and plenty of venom.

``Timmy, Charlie and Chucky,'' read one sign above the first-base dugout at Network Associates Coliseum. ``Thanks for the memories. Now go to hell.''

Soon they did.

Oakland's 30-20 victory could hardly have been worse for the ex-Raiders.

It kept Gruden's club winless, Brown's streak of 177 consecutive games with a catch (currently the NFL's longest) was in jeopardy until the garbage time and former Raiders tight end Ricky Dudley left with a shoulder injury.

The most dreadful homecoming belonged to Garner, who was carted off the field in the second quarter when his right knee buckled.

``This is very humbling,'' Gruden said.

The return of Gruden and Brown, along with Oakland tackle Warren Sapp's first chance to knock heads with his former teammates, dominated the storylines all week and landed the game on national television Sunday night.

It also added plenty of juice to the atmosphere in and around the stadium all day.

Gruden once was the favorite son after lifting the Raiders from mediocrity to Super Bowl contenders in his four seasons as head coach. He became public enemy No. 1 of the Raider Nation when, after leaving for Tampa Bay after a dispute with owner Al Davis, he guided the Bucs to a 48-21 rout of Oakland in the Super Bowl two years ago.

Gruden dressed the part, wearing all black as he emerged for warm-ups - dramatically late - just 45 minutes before kickoff.

As he jogged through the tunnel onto the field with his trademark scowl, Raiders fans lustily booed him while Bucs coaches grinned. There were also Chucky dolls - the horror-movie character Gruden resembles - dotting the crowd, some of them with nooses.

``I thought some of them might come out of the stands,'' Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson said of the crowd.

Gruden, who downplayed his first trip to Oakland since he left, was hurt by the fans' reaction.

``I wasn't greeted very nicely, but I understand,'' Gruden said. ``I have a full understanding of the Black Hole. ... God Bless 'em. These are rough times for me. I tried to block out a lot of what they had to say.''

It was hard for many fans to work up too much animus for Brown, who had spent his entire 16-year career with the Raiders until he was released in training camp and hooked by the Bucs.

Princess Riegel, who greeted the Buccaneers buses as they rolled into the stadium with a sign that read ``Go home Gruden, your girlfriend Jeanne is waiting for you,'' wished him well.

When Brown came out for pregame warm-ups, he was embraced by Raiders punter Shane Lechler. Young receivers Doug Gabriel and Alvis Whitted came over to shake hands and Raiders coach Norv Turner soon sought him out to do the same.

``I don't make a habit of speaking to opposing players, but those are my boys, my family,'' Brown said. ``You don't treat your family like that. I was only out there for five minutes. I had to get my mind right.''

Before he left, Brown ran to the wall in the north end zone - near a sign that read ``Brown's Zone'' and slapped hands with several fans, some holding or wearing his old No. 81 jersey.

``He'll always have our respect,'' Ralph Staken said. ``If he went to Denver or the Niners, he'd be the sworn enemy. But Tampa's OK.''

Brown was held without a catch until early in the fourth quarter, when the Bucs trailed 30-6. Later he caught a 16-yard touchdown pass, the 100th TD reception of his career, in that end zone. As Brown jogged off the field with the ball, the fans rose and gave him an appreciative round of applause.

The only other time some Raider fans remember doing that for an opponent was last year when Packers quarterback Brett Favre took the field the day after his father died.

``I knew it would be tough for them to clap for me,'' Brown said. ``There's no better place (to make his 100th catch). The only thing that could have been better was for it to be the winning touchdown.''

Brown's touchdown and a subsequent one by the Bucs - their first offensive touchdown this season - couldn't mask another dreadful offensive night. And with the loss of Garner and Dudley, injured receiver Joe Jurevicius and holdout Keenan McCardell, it doesn't look like things will be getting better soon.

Things were looking considerably brighter for the Raiders. Behind a revamped defense, they've won two of their first three games after last year's 4-12 disaster.

When quarterback Rich Gannon suffered a neck injury in the first quarter, Kerry Collins stepped in and moved the offense all night.

The Raiders didn't punt until the final moments.