Rice on Losing End in His Former Home

Wearing black on a bittersweet occasion, Jerry Rice gave his longtime fans one last thrill.

Rice, who set every significant NFL receiving record in 16 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, returned to 3Com Park in San Francisco on Sunday, starting for the Oakland Raiders in a 20-17 exhibition loss to the 49ers.

Rice caught only one pass and played only three series, but he still was the center of attention in a well-played game.

Jonas Lewis rushed for an eight-yard touchdown with 13:11 to play, and the 49er defense stopped the Raiders three times in the final minutes to seal the victory.

Not ready to retire at 38, Rice signed a two-year contract with the Raiders after the salary cap-strapped 49ers released him in June. His brief appearance highlighted a hotly contested game between the Bay Area’s sometimes bitter rivals.

“This actually felt like a regular-season game,” said 49er receiver Terrell Owens, who caught a 38-yard touchdown pass to upstage his mentor one more time.

Looking sharp but strange in the Raiders’ black jersey, Rice took the field about 45 minutes before game time, jogging out of the visitors’ tunnel behind Tim Brown to scattered cheers.

He began warmup drills near the visitors’ sideline, standing about 10 feet from smiling Raider owner Al Davis while catching and throwing some soft passes.

Later, Rice jogged across the field to hug 49er Coach Steve Mariucci. Rice has said in recent months that he never felt comfortable playing for Mariucci, but both were all smiles when they met as opponents.

Pro Bowl center Jeff Christy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers probably will be sidelined three to five weeks because of a sprained left knee, raising the prospect that Tampa Bay will open the season with three first-time starters on the offensive line. . . . Left tackle Tony Boselli of the Jacksonville Jaguars collapsed to the turf because of an injury to his surgically repaired right knee, but the early diagnosis showed no cartilage damage. Coach Tom Coughlin said an MRI and a thorough doctor’s exam indicated a bone bruise, a much better outcome than anyone could have anticipated after the scene in the morning practice. . . . The Green Bay Packers signed free-agent defensive tackle Harry Deligianis and waived defensive tackle Matt Keneley, who needs an operation to repair a disc problem in his back.