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Baltimore Ravens

There’s no "I" in "team," but there is in "fight"


The Baltimore Ravens minicamp is a scary place to be these days. Not because Ray Lewis is there or because they’ve slipped from Super Bowl champs to the oblivion of 5-11 in 2007 or because Brian Billick is absent after spending the last nine years coaching the squad. The reason Baltimore Ravens minicamp is scary is because it appears to be more WWE Royal Rumble meets COPS than the gelling of a cohesive unit.

The Baltimore Ravens are doing more than merely fighting for jobs at their first mandatory minicamp under new coach John Harbaugh.

They’re fighting each other, too.

Nearly all 85 players in camp were involved in a squabble Saturday that began when offensive tackle Oniel Cousins and defensive tackle Amon Gordon threw punches after running back Allen Patrick was taken down hard on a burst up the middle. All the players surged toward the middle of the field, and it was nearly two minutes before peace was restored.

“Guys are competing, so tempers flare a little bit,” Harbaugh said.

Later during practice, which was held indoors because of rain, defensive backs Corey Ivy and Frank Walker came to blows during a blocking drill.

“Don’t grab me, man!” Ivy yelled.

After the players were separated, veteran cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle spoke with Walker, who signed as a free agent during the offseason after playing with Green Bay in 2007.

“Chill out, man,” Rolle said. “There’s too much at stake.”

Fights are bound to happen when guys are literally on the field, playing for their jobs. It’s no biggie really, but it would be fun to watch. We can only hope the Dallas Cowboys show this level of dysfunction during their preseason drills.

Links:

[Yahoo!]: Harbaugh’s Ravens brawl at minicamp
[BaltimoreSun.com]: Team showing fight under Harbaugh

Categories
Baltimore Ravens

If Ray Lewis says it was scary, it was scary dammit!


Ray Lewis is usually a pretty scary and intimidating guy, but apparently when he’s not engaging in full-contact collisions with other enormous men, he’s not really all that tough.

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis says it was one of the scariest experiences of his life.

He had to endure an unnerving ride aboard a helicopter during fog and rain Tuesday afternoon. Lewis was on his way back to Baltimore from New York when the fog enveloped the chopper and it became impossible to see.

Lewis says he put on his headphones and started praying. The pilot descended and finally found a safe place to land in a field in Cecil County.

From there, Lewis rode with police Baltimore where he appeared at a Christmas Party for 600 children.

Wait; you almost lost your career and your life to the correctional institutions of America for murder, but a little turbulence has you tucking your head between your legs and kissing your butt goodbye? Not that we wouldn’t be doing the same, it just seems that after a beating a homicide rap and lasting over ten years as a head-hunter in the NFL that he’d just laugh off a little fog. We’re just saying. After all, after O.J. got off, he thought he was damn near invincible.

Links:

[WJZ.com]: Tough Linebacker Endures Scary Flight

Categories
Baltimore Ravens

We hope the men get different uniforms


We’ve never been to a game in Baltimore but apparently they have male cheerleaders on their stunt team. The Ravens recently held tryouts for the squad.


Many of the men participating in Sunday’s tryout had good experience, said Dan W., a new participant. Most of them were cheerleaders in college and grew up playing sports. A big part of their job description includes lobbing their female counterparts high into the air and catching them. Dan W., 24, cheered for three years at University of Notre Dame and played lacrosse in high school

This is exactly what’s wrong with male cheerleading. (“There are 10 things men should never do and cheerleading is 9 of them.”) Most decent high school athletes who can’t make the leap to the next level just accept their lack of athletic ability and go on with their lives and once in a while think back on glory days. However, a small percentage decide that this isn’t good enough and feel the need to be in the spotlight — but as a cheerleader.

The defense for male cheerleaders are “well, they are always looking up the cheerleader’s skirts”. Listen, who cares. They are after the athletes. You are like a eunuch who claps his hands real loud. And besides, it’s just not worth it. The mascot is cooler than you. Have you ever seen a male cheerleader and thought, “yeah that guy is cool, I want to hang out with him”?

Links:
[Examiner]: Ravens cheerleader tryouts attract men, women

Categories
Baltimore Ravens

Sep 14 in Sports History: Jamal Lewis predicts record


In 2003: Jamal Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens broke the single-game NFL rushing record with 295 yards in a 33-13 win against the Cleveland Browns. Lewis carried 30 times for a ridiculous average of 9.8 yards per carry and scored on touchdown runs of 82 (on the second play from scrimmage) and 63 yards. Another 60-yard TD run was nullified by a holding penalty. Lewis went on to rush for 2,066 yards in the 2003 season, second most all-time behind Eric Dickerson. Lewis’s performance in Baltimore surpassed Corey Dillon’s 278 yard effort in 2000. Most impressive though was that Jamal Lewis predicted his record setting day during the week leading up to the game.

In 1994: Although it was a foregone conclusion to many, baseball owners voted 26-2 in favor of officially cancelling the remainder of the season as a result of the then month-old players strike. It was the first time since 1903 that there would be no World Series. The strike did not end until the following April. (baseballlibrary.com)

In 1930: The Detroit Lions franchise played their first NFL game (as the Portsmouth Spartans). They defeated the Newark Tornados 13-6. Although they started 3-0-1, they would finish their first season 5-6-3. They officially became the Lions in 1934, when they also began the tradition of playing on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. The Lions have an all-time record of 485-542-32 (with a 21-60 record under the Matt Millen regime). (Courtesy of the ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia)