Jonathan Ogden Retires

Jonathan Ogden has officially retired from the NFL. He played 12 arduous season with the Baltimore Ravens, in which he was nominated to 11 Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl. Ogden was the Ravens first draft pick in franchise history, picked fourth out of UCLA. After his rookie season, Ogden was moved from left guard to left tackle where he served as the anchor of the Raven’s offensive line for 11 years to follow. Ogden became labored because of injuries, the most debilitating of which was his big toe on his left foot.

Ravens fans are going to have to suffer through the fact that Jonathan Ogden will no longer be lining up to protect the backfield. It is impossible to replace a player of his caliber, but it is even harder to replace his character. He served as a symbol of stability as the franchise evolved. He portrayed himself as a versatile public figure that could be stoic, hard-nosed and whimsical when the situation called for it.

He will unquestionably be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. The mountain of a man from St. Albans High School in Washington, DC gave his career to the Ravens and will be remembered as such.

Ray Lewis to the Cowboys?

The Ebony Bird just posted a story about ludicrous rumors of Ray Lewis heading to Dallas to play for Jerry Jones. They credit hall of fame WR Jerry Rice with the story, who is clearly senile in his old age. Check it out...

Do you believe Tim Donaghy?

Former NBA referee, Tim Donaghy, will soon plead guilty to fixing basketball games for profit. Before he signs his name on the dotted line of purgatory he is making strong claims that he's not the only guilty member of the NBA. Donaghy asserts that other referees called games under ulterior motives, mainly that NBA front office officials instructed refs to call games certain ways. Donaghy argues that games were skewed and called certain ways to ensure that more popular teams and team owners won important playoff games.

My heart goes out to NBA fans. No fan should have to go through mental questions of whether or not your favorite sport is fixed. No fan wants to think that his or her sports heroes are rendered useless because they can't win unless the league allows them to. No fans should have to question his or her love and devotion to a player, team, or sport.

I hope these allegations are proved to be false. I also hope that this is a phenomenon pertaining solely to the NBA. I would hate to think the NFL also wants to fix games to allow more popular teams to win games. The one game that comes to mind in short memory would have to be the Ravens vs. Patriots on Monday Night Football, December 3, 2007. Obviously I am biased, but the calls at the end of the game were blatantly in the Patriots favor.

Dawan Landry is the talk of the town

John Harbaugh, Rex Ryan and every other person in Baltimore are raving about Dawan Landry. The consensus seems to be that he will become the star that the Ravens hoped.

Carroll County Times:
Landry ready to emerge as star

Baltimore Sun:
Which Raven has impressed John Harbaugh?

Baltimore Raven OT Jonathan Ogden expected to retire

Veteran OT Jonathan Ogden is expected to officially announce that he will be retiring from professional football later this week. Most everybody was already acting under the assumption that Ogden would say goodbye to the game, but it doesn't change the fact that he leaves a void in the offensive line. There is no replacing a sure hall of famer and one of the greatest offensive linemen in history.

It is a particularly tough situation with inexperience players in the backfield. The likes of Joe Flacco, Troy Smith and Ray Rice will have to perform without what would've been their greatest ally.

No words necessary

Baltimore Ravens draft class of 1996

The NFL Network recently ranked the top 10 draft classes in the history of the NFL. The 1996 draft class for the Ravens was ranked 5th with the likes of Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis, DeRon Jenkins, Jermaine Lewis, Dexter Daniels, James Roe and Jon Stark.

It is primarily because of Ogden and Lewis that this class is ranked as high as it is and because of the other draftees that it is ranked as low as it is. In other words, 5th is a fair and correct ranking for this class.

Here is the complete list:

10. Pittsburgh Steelers Class of '74
9. Dallas Cowboys Classes of '91 and '92
8. Chicago Bears Class of '83
7. Green Bay Packers Class of '58
6. San Fran 49ers Class of '86
5. Baltimore Ravens class of '96
4. Washington Redskins Class of '81
3. Chicago Bears Class of '65
2. Buffalo Bills Class of '85
1. Tampa Bay Bucs Class of '95

Kyle Boller's career

Below, you will find the story of Ravens QB Kyle Boller's career in picture form:


Boller and his posse on draft day. Who knew how wonderful his career would turn out??

Boller was thrown into the spotlight immediately. Here he is in all of his glory, with all his potential, proving white men can jump.

Boller begins to show his true colors not to long after putting on a Raven's uniform. A gunslinger that can't hold onto his gun.

It got worse. Boller thought he could change his fate by playing without a helmet. Even with the increased vision and mobility, Boller could get Humpdy Dumpdy together again.
Finally, Princess Boller was rescued by her knight in shining armor. Steve McNair's arrival in Baltimore meant Boller no longer had to suffer the degradation and defeat at the hands of Patriots, Bengals, Bears and other frightening beasts.
Finally, we have reached Boller's future. He is destined to ride the pine in 2008-09. The young upstart Buckeye, Troy Smith, will attempt to fill in admirably until he suffers the same fate as Boller and is pushed out by the even younger upstart, Joe Flacco.