4
Feb
2013
Ray Lewis shares seat with Lombardi Trophy on flight home (PHOTO)
Assuming you’ve been pinned under something heavy for the past month, you probably hadn’t heard that Ravens LB Ray Lewis is retiring after 17 years in the NFL. And after yesterday’s victory over the 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, Lewis is going out in the best way imaginable, with a second Super Bowl championship under his belt.
Today, Lewis tweeted this photo of himself admiring the newly acquired Lombardi Trophy on the team flight home from New Orleans, along with the following message:
“My last ride.. Up in the clouds… This feeling is so real. We coming home with the crown Baltimore.”
(via @raylewis)
Regardless of the off-field controversy that seems to endlessly surround Lewis, you can’t deny his greatness as a linebacker, and his impact on the game during his career.
Am I nuts, or does it look like Lewis is flying coach here? Seems a little odd for the world champs to be slumming it in coach, no?
UPDATE: It appears that Lewis wasn’t the only one who got to cradle the trophy on the flight home … according to the Ravens’ Twitter, the Lombardi was passed around the entire plane:
The Lombardi Trophy was passed around the entire #Ravens team plane. Coaches, players, staff. Really cool!
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 4, 2013
4
Feb
2013
The night the lights went out in Louisiana (GIF & VIDEO)
Last night, Super Bowl XLVII brought us one of the more surreal moments in sports history, as the power in the SuperDome went out during the 3rd quarter last night, leading to a 34-minute delay in play.
(via deadspin.com)
The outage came shortly after the Ravens took a commanding 28-6 lead, and the lengthy delay seemed to allow the 49ers to regroup and regain some momentum once the lights came back on. And even though Baltimore was able to hang on for the victory, the conspiracy theorists are already out in force suggesting some sort of foul play.
CBS’s 60 minutes crew was on hand and had their cameras rolling in the NFL’s control room as the lights went out, and captured this remarkable footage of the outage and its immediate aftermath:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
31
Jan
2013
This picture of John and Jim Harbaugh as Little Leaguers is classic (PHOTO)
In advance of the much-hyped Harbowl (or “Super Browl”, if you will), Reddit brings us this absolute gem from the Harbaugh brothers’ childhood.
Check out young John and Jim decked out in their Baskin Robbins little league unis, with the elder John towering over the befuddled looking Jim:
(via reddit)
And after some incredible interweb sleuthing, we uncovered a few more classic shots from the Harbaugh family archives, which reveal that Jim has been making that same exact face since he exited the birth canal.
PS - how bout that local little league BR sponsorship still paying dividends 30+ years later, eh?!?
MORE HARBAUGH CHILDHOOD PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP
14
Jan
2013
Peyton Manning shares post-game moment with Ray Lewis (PHOTO)
By now this photo has made the rounds, but we couldn’t resist sharing a genuine, un-staged moment between two of the greatest football players of our time.
Following the Broncos devastating 38-35 playoff loss to the Ravens – more than two hours after the game had ended – Peyton Manning met up with Ray Lewis in the visitor locker room to congratulate him on the victory:
(Photo via @CSteele32)
They say a picture says a thousand words, and with Lewis taking his final run at the post-season, we can only imagine the stories these two warriors have to share from their storied careers as opposing forces in the NFL.
What we wouldn’t have given to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. Even though only Peyton’s young son was close enough to hear what was said, fortunately for us, Ravens media director Chad Steele was there to capture the moment and share it with the world.
3
Dec
2012
John Harbaugh shares awkward post-game handshake with Mike Tomlin (VIDEO)
(via usatoday.com)
In case you turned off the Steelers-Ravens game after the final whistle, you might have missed this post-game exchange between head coaches Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh.
After coming out on the losing end of a hard-fought 23-20 battle against their division rivals, John Harbaugh swallowed his pride and stepped toward midfield to congratulate Tomlin on the win. But Tomlin was having none of it, and tried to pull the ol’ drive-by handshake, barely even looking Harbaugh in the eye.
That’s when Harbaugh tightened his grasp on the Steelers coach’s hand, physically pulling him back into the exchange, so he could make sure that Tomlin really heard and appreciated his heartfelt congratulations. Watch for yourselves:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
23
Oct
2012
J.J. Watt has eaten bigger burritos than Ray Rice (VIDEO)
Houston defensive end J.J. Watt has been a dominant force for the Texans defense so far this season.
With a league-leading 9-1/2 sacks and 10 passes defended, Watt has clearly made his presence felt among opposing quarterbacks … and his 34 tackles indicate he’s also gotten up close and personal with some of the league’s best running backs.
(Photo: Bob Levey/Getty Images)
And when Watt was mic’d up by NFL Films on Sunday during Houston’s 43-13 beat down of the Ravens, he delivered one of the best trash talk lines of all time to all-pro RB Ray Rice.
After the 5′-8″ Rice took a shot at the 6′-5″ beast, Watt told the diminutive back, “I’ve eaten burritos bigger than you”:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
Read the rest of this entry »
8
Oct
2012
Eric Winston rightly calls out Chiefs fans for cheering Matt Cassel’s injury (VIDEO)
Throughout Sunday’s Chiefs-Ravens game, the hometown Kansas City fans booed quarterback Matt Cassel as they watched the Chiefs’ offense stumble toward a 9-6 loss. And with some good reason. Cassel threw for only 92 yards, with 2 interceptions and 2 lost fumbles, as the Chiefs fell to 1-4 on the year. Fans had come brandishing anti-Cassel signs, and at one point, a banner flew over Arrowhead Stadium that read: “WE DESERVE BETTER! FIRE PIOLI - BENCH CASSEL!”
Now, your run-of-the-mill booing and banner-flying is one thing. But during the 4th quarter, some Chiefs fans crossed the line of what most would consider good taste and sportsmanship by actually cheering when Cassel was knocked out of the game with a concussion after getting drilled by Haloti Ngata (VIDEO HERE).
Eric Winston leans over his fallen QB (Photo: Bo Rader/kansascity.com)
After the game, Chiefs RT Eric Winston called out the Kansas City fans with a rant for the ages for what he called their “sickening” and “disgusting” behavior. It was an impassioned and eloquent statement by Winston, and is worth watching in its entirety (VIDEO BELOW) … but here are the money quotes (which is most of what he said):
“We are athletes, OK? We are athletes. We are not gladiators. This is not the Roman Coliseum. People pay their hard-earned money when they come in here and I believe they can boo, they can cheer and they can do whatever they want. Because I believe that. We are lucky to play this game. People … it’s hard economic times, and they still pay the money to do this.
“But when somebody gets hurt, there are long lasting ramifications to the game we play. Long lasting ramifications to the game we play. Alright? I’ve already kind of come to the understanding that I probably won’t live as long because I play this game and that’s OK, that’s a choice I’ve made and a choice all of us have made.
”But when you cheer, when you cheer somebody getting knocked out, I don’t care who it is, and it just so happened to be Matt Cassel — it’s sickening. It’s 100 percent sickening. I’ve never ever -and I’ve been in some rough times on some rough teams – I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life to play football than in that moment right there.
VIDEO OF WINSTON’S SPEECH AFTER THE JUMP
2
Oct
2012
NFL 2012 Quarter-Point “Jump To Conclusions” Mat
Every year, we try to refrain from pulling a Tom Smykowski from Office Space, and jumping to any conclusions about the NFL season prematurely. In a sixteen-game season, it generally takes several games for teams to figure out their identity, and a lot longer than that to determine a realistic playoff picture.
So while it’s tempting to draw knee-jerk reactions from a couple of games, we at least try to wait until the quarter-point mark to start making our hyperbolic and definitive statements about the season ahead.
Michael Bolton: That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard in my life, Tom
And even though many of these will undoubtedly prove wrong, we’re not afraid to draw these bold conclusions after just week four of the season.
So without further adieu, here are our top 5 observations on the 2012 edition of ol’ Jump To Conclusions mat:
27
Sep
2012
Watch Haloti Ngata destroy kids as an 18-year-old rugby player (GIF & VIDEO)
(via bleacherreport)
During tonight’s Ravens-Browns game, NFL Network treated us to some tremendous footage of Baltimore DT Haloti Ngata beasting on kids as a high school rugby player for Highland Rugby Club in Utah back in 2002.
We’ve known Ngata is an athletic freak for a while now, but the speed and quickness he displays for a man of his size is downright frightening. And we can only pity those poor suckers tasked with tackling Ngata – without pads, mind you – once he gets up a head of steam.
GIF & VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
12
Sep
2012
Watch Ray Lewis’ stirring eulogy to Art Modell (VIDEO)
Former Ravens owner Art Modell was laid to rest on Tuesday in Baltimore, and Modell got his send-off from one of the best in linebacker Ray Lewis.
Lewis has long been known as one of the most inspirational teammates in the NFL for his fiery, sermon-like pre and post-game speeches. And once again, Lewis delivered in his tribute to Modell, the visionary:
(via sportsgrid.com)
This man lived a life that should make every person in this room smile and find a different way to impact somebody along the way. Because once it all settles, and we all have to lay here one day, what will your legacy be? A legend, leaving a legacy of commitment, of sacrifice, of obedience. A vision, to honor a great man.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
