When Baltimore Raven owner Art Modell came...

When Baltimore Raven owner Art Modell came to town, an old friend, Oakland Raider owner Al Davis, called him. “He asked if he could do anything for me,” Modell said. “I told him, ‘Yes, don’t show up Sunday.’ ”

Like the good friend he is, Davis complied. His Raiders didn’t show up for much of the game.

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Raven linebacker Jamie Sharper, whose key interception killed the Raiders’ last hope of victory, says no team can adequately prepare for the Baltimore defense.

“Nobody knows what they are in store for until they play us,” Sharper said. “You can see us on film, but you just don’t know.”

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Add Sharper: It was much the same for the Ravens with the Raiders’ infamous fans. Sharper and his teammates had heard about them, but they didn’t realize how intense those fans are until the Raven bus pulled into Network Associates Coliseum.

“They were throwing things at our bus,” Sharper said. “Eggs, beer cans. First we were shocked, then we were upset.”

Turns out getting the Ravens mad was the worst thing those fans could have done.