Shanahan and others ready for Raiders

DENVER (AP) -- After coaching the Raiders for a little over a year and against them for the bulk of his pro career, Mike Shanahan has never stopped picking up little nuances that make the trips to Oakland easier.
"I learned it's better to hang out around the 10-yard line instead of the end zone during warm-ups," he said. "That way you don't get hit by the batteries."
Yes, it's "Raiders Week" in Denver, that twice-annual rite of passage that allows the Broncos and their fans to work themselves into a lather about the team they love to hate the most.
"I remember when I first got here, a lot of people came up to me and said, 'We don't care if you win any game, as long as you beat the Raiders,' " linebacker Al Wilson said.
League pattern
Of course, lines like that are uttered all over the league, anywhere a long-standing rivalry exists.
Just last summer, when Lovie Smith was hired as coach of the Chicago Bears, he said one of his main priorities would be to start beating the Packers again (he already has once this year). Before Steve Spurrier began his failed two-year tenure with the Redskins, he said beating Dallas would be at the top of his list (he went 1-3).
In Denver, though, it never really needed to be said -- not since the Broncos got good in 1977 and turned this into a rivalry, and especially not since Shanahan became the head coach 10 years ago.
Al Davis hired and fired Shanahan in 1988-89 and the firing left some lingering bitterness. Most notably, Davis still owed Shanahan $250,000 on his contract, but refused to pay it -- even after an arbitrator ruled in Shanahan's favor.
"I guess you could say I'm not on his Christmas card list," Shanahan said, repeating a statement he's made many times when asked about his relationship with the colorful Raiders owner.