Raider Way a Two-Way Street for Shanahan

Suggesting that his 20-game stint with the Raiders in the late 1980s wasn’t a total waste of time, Coach Mike Shanahan of the Denver Broncos is preparing for another run at the Super Bowl with a roster that includes 14 former first-round draft picks, eight from other organizations.

“There is another team with a long history of acquiring just these sorts of players,” wrote Sean McCormick in Pro Football Prospectus, as reported by Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post. “Quite simply, Denver did it the Raider way.

“Of all the torments that Shanahan has inflicted upon his former employer, the fact that he now consistently beats Al Davis at his own game -- loading up on talented discards -- must rank high among them.”

Trivia time: Who was the prolific songwriter who, in addition to “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “I Get A Kick Out of You” and countless other chestnuts, penned the Yale fight songs “Bulldog” and “Bingo, That’s the Lingo”?

Attention, Lakers haters: Luke Walton has gone Hollywood. Or, as the Sporting News reported it, “Lakers stud muffin Luke Walton makes his soap opera debut [Wednesday] on ‘The Young and the Restless’ with a game of one-on-one against whichever Sir Laurence Olivier knockoff plays Neil. Check your local listings, and, please, leave your tough-guy visage at the door.”

Stud muffin?

Life isn’t a marathon? Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, on sprinter Justin Gatlin’s agreeing to an eight-year ban on doping charges to avoid a lifetime penalty: “Bulletin: To a 24-year-old sprinter, an eight-year ban is a lifetime penalty.”

No sprain, all gain: As part of the Global Fashion Festival in Berlin, a 24-year-old student named Nadine Sonnabend outran 99 other competitors in high heels in winning the “Stiletto Run” on Saturday, covering 80 meters in 12 seconds.

“A lot of people are willing to give an arm or a leg to get into the modeling business,” editor Monika Fendt of sponsoring Glamour magazine told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. “All we’re asking is for them to run in high heels.”

If he can find a pair that fit, Gatlin may have a future.

Not a good sign: Of equipment manager Tony Eques, who is sometimes pressed into service by the Miami Dolphins to run routes in practice, Coach Nick Saban told the Miami Herald: “He’s the only guy that some of our guys can cover.”

For-what-it’s-worth department: Tiger Woods, who won the PGA Championship by five shots Sunday, has won his 12 major championships by a combined 56 shots. Jack Nicklaus won his 18 by a combined 44 shots.

Trivia answer: Cole Porter, a 1913 Yale graduate.

And finally: Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times, on New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman’s assertion that the bloated-budget team, which in 2009 will move into a new, $1.2-billion stadium, is a money-losing operation:

“Don’t know if they’re shedding any tears in other major league cities, but here in rain-loving Seattle there’s a 0% chance of precipitation.”