Baltimore Ravens ‘Ultimate Franchise Player’ Selection

January 31, 2012 By 1 Comment
ray-lewis-baltimore-ravens

This is the third post in Kurt’s epic quest to identify the NFL’s Ultimate Franchise Player. For an explanation of his methodology for choosing each franchise’s ultimate franchise player, and then how you and he will choose the NFL’s Ultimate Franchise Player from that list, click here.

To see all the category page for this series, of which there will be one for every franchise, click here.

Previous selections: ARI | ATL

Quoth the Raven, nevermore.

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride – at least recently. (Never mind that no Maid of Honor could ever possibly look bad in purple and black with some gold thrown in, but I digress…)

Just merely getting deep into the playoffs has gotten old quickly for the Baltimore Ravens, whose Super Bowl 35 win now seems like a lifetime ago – and whose close loss in the recent AFC Title Game in New England is just the most recent and painful in the franchise’s attempts to get back to the big game, let alone win it.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: NFL, NFL's Ultimate Franchise Player Tagged With: Baltimore Ravens, ed reed, joe flacco, nfl ultimate franchise player tournament, ray lewis, ray rice

Baltimore Ravens-New England Patriots 5 P’s: Preview, Point Spread, Pick, Prediction, and Poll

January 22, 2012 By 6 Comments
tom-brady-ray-lewis-baltimore-ravens-new-england-patriots

In this afternoon’s first conference championship game, the top two seeds in the AFC face off as Baltimore travels to Gillette Stadium to face the Patriots.

For Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (the subject of a recent MSF photo story) this is a big opportunity to show that he belongs in the discussion of the upper tier quarterbacks in the NFL. For Patriots superstar Tom Brady, today provides an opportunity to avenge a playoff drubbing at the hands a Baltimore a few years ago with a win propelling the Brady-Belichick duo to its fifth Super Bowl appearance.

Here is all the basic info you need to know, what MSF’s writers have said about the game this week, and a poll so you can take your pick.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: NFL, NFL Playoffs Tagged With: Baltimore Ravens, joe flacco, new england patriots, patriots-ravens, ray lewis, tom brady

Houston Texans-Baltimore Ravens 5 P’s: Preview, Point Spread, Pick, Prediction, and Poll

January 15, 2012 By 2 Comments
ravens-texans-baltimore-houston-preview-prediction-point-spread-pick-tv-time-announcers

The Houston Texans won their first ever playoff game last week, following the lead of Arian Foster while T.J. Yates managed the game effectively. Playing the Bengals at home is far different from playing the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore, however.

In today’s first game, Houston will attempt to reach the AFC Championship Game against New England…but they’ll have to beat Ray Lewis, Ray Rice, and the mighty Ravens in their home stadium where the defense typically balls so hard.

Here is all the basic info you need to know, what MSF’s writers have said about the game this week, and a poll so you can take your pick.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Game Previews, NFL Tagged With: Baltimore Ravens, houston texans, nfl playoffs, ray lewis, texans-ravens

Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers Preview and Prediction

December 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
ravens-chargers preview prediction point spread baltimore san diego sunday night football

The Ravens head into San Diego tonight looking for a win to stay in a good spot in the tightly contested AFC playoff race and also maintain their lead over the Steelers in the AFC North. At the same time, the Chargers are looking for a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Game Previews, NFL Tagged With: Baltimore Ravens, philip rivers, ravens chargers preview, ravens playoffs, ray lewis, san diego chargers

GIF: Watch Marshawn Lynch break Ray Lewis’ ankles

November 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
ray-lewis

I’ve decided to make it my new Sunday night mission to find the best of the best animated GIFs to share with you here at MSF.

Last week it was pointing and laughing at Mark Sanchez’s now-infamous flinch. This week, we head to Seattle where Marshawn Lynch stabbed Ray Lewis’ ankles and then obstructed justice on Jarret Johnson afterwards.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Funny, NFL Tagged With: Baltimore Ravens, marshawn lynch, nfl gifs, nfl week 10, ray lewis, Seattle Seahawks

Baltimore Ravens v Jacksonville Jaguars: Monday Night Football Preview and Prediction

October 24, 2011 By 4 Comments
ravens-texans-baltimore-houston-preview-prediction-point-spread-pick-tv-time-announcers

This week’s Monday Night Football game will feature the 4-1 Baltimore Ravens taking on the 1-5 Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars are looking to break a five game losing streak and add another win to their less than impressive record, while the Ravens expect to continue their dominance after rolling over the Houston Texans in week 6.

Let’s take a look at what’s in store for your Monday night entertainment.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: MNF, NFL Tagged With: Baltimore Ravens, blaine gabbert, jacksonville jaguars, joe flacco, Maurice Jones-Drew, Monday Night Football, ray lewis

Sunday Night Football Preview and Prediction: New York Jets at Baltimore Ravens

September 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
jets-ravens preview prediction point spread pick

This Sunday night’s game between 2010 playoff teams the Jets and Ravens is actually an anticipated matchup compared to the game last week, even though the Colts didn’t do too badly. (Or did the Steelers just do that bad? Either way, the Colts are 0-3 and Curtis Painter is their starting quarterback. He’s no Ryan Leaf, but at the same time he is no Peyton Manning…)

Let’s take a look at this game, which will feature Jets head coach Rex Ryan going up against the future Hall of Famers he used to coach in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Game Previews, NFL Tagged With: Baltimore Ravens, jets-ravens prediction, jets-ravens sunday night football, joe flacco, new york jets, ray lewis, rex ryan

Who Is Your Sports Version of Captain America?

July 23, 2011 By 2 Comments
peyton-manning-super-bowl

Captain America came out in theaters on Friday, and it got me thinking: if I had to choose my sports version of Captain America, who would I pick?

I am not talking about someone who is a physical specimen like Captain America. I am also not just talking about athletes like Jim Thorpe, who might have actually been the real “Captain America.”

Instead, I am looking for an athlete who I would be proud to announce as an American athlete if someone from another country asked me who our country’s best athlete was. For example, I would take character into account (which automatically disqualifies LeBron James).

In looking for my candidate I decided to break it down by sport, picking one or more athlete(s) from each of the major three sports.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Random Stuff Tagged With: Brian Urlacher, Captain America, derek jeter, Kevin Garnett, kobe bryant, landon donovan, peyton hillis, ray lewis

Video: Joshua Cribbs interviews Ray Lewis

February 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
ray-lewis-josh-cribbs

A lot of the things that happen during Super Bowl week are overhyped and blow way, way, way out of proportion. (Case in point: this.) But one thing about Super Bowl week that I always enjoy is when great football players interview other great football players.

It’s not so much that the interviews are ever particularly hard-hitting or revealing – they aren’t – but I enjoy watching the interaction between guys who are arch rivals on Sundays but who are friendly off the field. Below is a great example, courtesy of the fine folks at YardBarker.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: NFL Tagged With: Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, joshua cribbs, NFL, ray lewis, video, yardbarker

2010 NFL Season Preview: AFC Division Breakdown and Playoff Predictions

September 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
afc-playoff-predictions-2010

Labor Day has come and gone. Summer is literally over and the young minds are back in the classroom, which means fall is upon us and another football season is about to begin.

Are you excited? Ready to cheer on your favorite team? Have your war paint or favorite jersey in front of you?

Well, enough with the questions, it is officially time for Noontime Sports to serve up our divisional winners and Super Bowl predictions.

In this particular blog post, we have provided our AFC breakdown and playoff predictions.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: NFL Tagged With: afc, Baltimore Ravens, NFL, NFL predictions, ray lewis

NFL Play of the Day Video: Ray Lewis Stuffs Darren Sproles and Jerry Jones Picks His Nose

September 21, 2009 By 1 Comment
ray-lewis-stuffs-darren-sproles

video - ray lewis stuffs darren sproles on 4th and 2 | video - jerry jones picking noseLast week, there were two nominees for the NFL Play of the Day from Sunday: Adrian Peterson’s stiff-arm romp against the Browns and Brandon Stokley’s improbable TD catch to lead Denver to victory over Cincinnati.

This week, I think it’s safe to say that there is only one.

While there were certainly plenty of highlights yesterday, as there always are on Sundays, no play was more impressive or important than Ray Lewis’ amazing 4th and 2 stop of Darren Sproles.

The stop sealed the road win for Baltimore over San Diego, which moved Baltimore to 2-0 on the season, and proved that Ray Lewis still has at least a little bit of gas left in the tank.

Something tells me that this was not the look on Philip Rivers’ face as Ray Lewis stuffed the Chargers’ chances of winning.

Follow the link to StubHub for great deals on all 2009 NFL tickets.

The video is below.

Video: Ray Lewis Stuffs Darren Sproles on 4th and 2

Coming in a close second for Play of the Day has to be Jerry Jones, who dug hard but probably did not go deep enough to get what he was looking for (booger or victory, you decide).

video - ray lewis stuffs darren sproles on 4th and 2 | video - jerry jones picking noseHonestly, this video is not really all that big of a deal, and wouldn’t even merit a mention if it weren’t for Jerry Jones. For a guy who is so obsessively consumed with his own image, and that of the Cowboys, I can’t imagine he’ll be happy to see this video floating around.

Add in the fact that it came on perhaps his most important night as an owner — the opening of his immaculate shrine to himself (where the Cowboys will also play their home games) — and the irony makes it funny.

Hat tip to MoonDog for his video:

Video: Jerry Jones Picks His Nose as Cowboys Lose to Giants

Filed Under: Featured Column, Funny, NFL Tagged With: Baltimore Ravens, dallas cowboys, darren sproles, Jerry Jones, Jerry Jones picks his nose, ray lewis, Ray Lewis stuffs Darren Sproles, san diego chargers, video

Ray Lewis Ballets Around in Tights During Lizard Lake 3D Super Bowl Ad by SoBe

February 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Lizard Lake 3-D Super Bowl Ad | Ray Lewis, Matt Light, Justin TuckRay Lewis is one of the baddest men on the planet.

He has spent one Super Bowl Sunday winning the MVP award and leading his team to a Super Bowl championship. Matt Light and Justin Tuck, Ray Lewis’ partners in a crime in one of the more ironic Super Bowl commercials you will see this year, have also spent Super Bowl Sunday securing their rings.

Ray Lewis, of course, also infamously spent another Super Bowl Sunday being part of an entourage that got into a fight with another group of men that resulted in someone’s death. (He was charged with obstructing justice but got off.) It makes for an interesting juxtaposition thinking back to the images of Ray Lewis in his orange jail jumpsuit, and then seeing the advance photos from SoBe of Ray Lewis frolicking around in tights.

This Super Bowl Sunday, Ray Lewis, Justin Tuck, and Matt Light will have a decidedly different set of moves broadcast to billions: dancing a pas de trois in white tights to the tune of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”. The players’ national ballet career debuts this evening during the Super Bowl in the first set of ads after the 2nd quarter. According to the official website, you can pick up 3-D glasses to view “Lizard Lake” at various outlets where Pepsi or SoBe water is sold. (I just have one question: where exactly is Pepsi or Sobe water not sold?)

Anyway, here is the “Lizard Lake” ad, which was released online early:

Lizard Lake 3D Super Bowl Ad | Ray Lewis-Matt Light-Justin Tuck

The SoBe ad also doubles as a promo for an upcoming animated film: Monsters and Aliens. My favorite part of the ad has to be the gangsta lizard that is wearing a “SoBe” grille (pictured to the left).

SoBe also provides an interesting Behind-the-Scenes look at the making of the “Lizard Lake” commercial:

Follow the link to see some other pretty sweet Super Bowl commercials from year’s past.

Filed Under: NFL Tagged With: NFL, ray lewis, super bowl