Ravens LB Ray Lewis sat down with SI.com about his thoughts on the current lockout situation. Lewis thinks that the NFL and NFLPA meeting face to face is better than any other form of communication, otherwise you “lose steam” in getting a new deal done.

Lewis gets real preachy (what’s new) when talking about how the two sides should come together and settle their differences. But in speaking about his NFL peers, Lewis says that the players as well as other athletes, “are here for one thing. To make the world a better place. If we here to be the role models for these kids then give us the opportunity to be the role model for them, that’s all every athlete is saying…….”

Ummmmmmmm………….

Ray, I know you mean well, but I don’t think athletes should be where kids look to as role models. It’s not that I don’t think there are tons of positive athletes out there. It’s the media perception that concerns me. The media likes to point out the negatives, especially with athletes. With the recent arrests of Hines Ward and Adam “Pacman” Jones, I’m not sure this is a bright idea.

I love Ray Lewis, but I think he truly believes he’s the NFL Players Ambassador (a lot of that has to do with the close relationships he has with so many players). It’s kinda hard to speak for everyone, especially when you know there are players who don’t give a damn about being a role model. I’m sure Aqib Talib doesn’t think he’s the best role model for children, and he’d be right. I understand you want to get back on the field and would use any reason to get there, though. But that’s a reach

Check out the video in it’s entirety

He’s baaaaaaaaaaccccckk.. in jail that is. Bengals CB Adam “Pacman” Jones was arrested early Sunday morning for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, here’s what happened:

Police responded to 639 Walnut St. for a report of a fight while working a detail at the location. Police said inside the bar Jones was disorderly and shouting profanities. He was escorted outside and asked to calm down but continued being disruptive, police said.

Police told Jones he was under arrest but he resisted, tightening his arms and pulling away.

Pacman Jones and trouble seem to go hand in hand. Since entering the league in 2005, Jones has been questioned, named or arrested in connection with at least 14 off-field incidents. However since joining the Bengals, Jones was pretty quiet when it came to the law.

The reason for the neck brace in the mugshot is due to a football related injury. Jones had surgery last season and went from a hard to the soft neck brace (pictured), last April.

He needs to sit his ass down somewhere, especially in that brace.

Okay, the title of my post is pretty harsh, but you have to admit it’s pretty fitting for the this morning’s news. Steelers WR Hines Ward was arrested early this morning by Georgia Police for driving under the influence.

According to ESPN, Ward was booked into the DeKalb County jail in suburban Atlanta at 3:41 a.m. and charged with driving under the influence. He was released on $1,300 bond.

Ward was the Super Bowl XL MVP and just recently won Dancing With The Stars.

TMZ.com has posted Ward’s arrest picture…. Hines isn’t smiling, and I don’t blame him this time:

I’m not really sure if this tarnishes anything, to be honest. Ward is entering his 14th season with the Steelers and is on the sunset end of his career. He has 2 Super Bowls under his belt plus the MVP honors. As much as I’d like to crack a few Ward jokes at his expense, I can’t because I don’t think this will be relevant in about 2 months. What I am interested in, however, is how the Rooney family handles this sitcho. They tend to be a stickler when it comes to their players and behavior (except for that one guy….. you know who……rhymes with Jig Jen)

The way players are going, the NFL may not have available players by the time they end the lockout. They need to get a deal done SOON!

Cardinals DT Darnell Dockett LOVES his Twitter account. He tells us everything, including his current run-in with the police. This time, he shared that he has purchased a pet alligator by the name of Nino.

Well, it didn’t take long for the Animal Loving Attention Wh*res AKA PETA found out about it and sent him a letter, expressing their displeasure in his choice of pet. Here’s a look at the letter sent to Dockett:

Dear Mr. Dockett,

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was alerted this week to media reports indicating that you recently purchased a baby American alligator from the Florida Everglades and that you intend to keep him as a captive pet. Please know that Florida heavily regulates the keeping of alligators and that it’s unlawful to keep an alligator as a pet anywhere in the state of Arizona without a special permit. These prohibitive laws and regulations exist because, in addition to posing a threat to public safety, wild animals suffer greatly in captivity.

Alligators in the wild roam freely with members of their own kind, travel long distances, and thrive in the rivers and lakes that they call home. When confined, wild animals will exhibit neurotic and self-destructive behaviors because of extreme boredom, stress, and frustration at being unable to engage in natural behaviors. Keeping an alligator as a pet is simply unfair to the animal. It also poses grave dangers to you and others. By their very nature, these animals are unpredictable and can inflict serious harm. Reptiles are also common carriers of salmonella. You would be held liable for any damage, injuries, or illnesses caused by the alligator.

Respectfully, we ask that you carefully consider this information. Please know that we stand ready to help find a suitable habitat for this animal. May we please hear that you will do the right thing?

Sincerely,

Michelle Cho

PETA

Of course no one is surprised that PETA felt the need to share their displeasure to a celebrity/athlete.. that’s what they do. Not saying that don’t have a point, because alligators are dangerous animals. But I’m more concerned as to why he chose an alligator? Dockett went to Florida State… the Seminoles are rivals of the Florida Gators. Is there some undercover Gator love Dockett’s showing? I say yes. We accept you, Mr. Dockett, with open arms. You and Nino!

The lockout has been going on so long, that players have been finding ways to stay busy. This time, a collective group of players came together to do a spoof video in regards to their current situation.

Funny Or Die.com posted a “Field Of Dreams 2: NFL Lockout”, starring Taylor Lautner from the famous Twilight phenomenon. Tons of NFL cameos are in the video, including Ray Lewis, Tony Gonzalez, DeSean Jackson and Dwight Freeney, just to name a few.

Modeling off the popular movie, “Field Of Dreams” which starred Kevin Costner, Lautner hears voices which he interprets to building a football field on his Iowa corn field. Once he does, the NFL comes to him.

It’s a cute movie and a blog filler for folks like myself who live and breathe football news. Since I can’t count down the days to training camp or do actual team reviews because free agency hasn’t even started yet, this video will do.

With all of the players taking the time to get married during the lockout (Joe Flacco and Tony Romo have tied the knot already, while Ben Roethlisberger is set to be married the end of the month), one guy won’t be getting married and wants his ring after he- get this- proposed marriage through the mail.

Cowboys WR Roy WIlliams filed a lawsuit against Brooke Daniels (Former Miss Texas), for a ring he bought her in the amount of $76,000.

According to the Dallas News, Williams sent the ring in the mail to Daniels along with a recorded proposal. The proposal came as a pre-Valentine’s Day surprise along with $5,000 for bills and a baseball for Daniels’ brother. Daniels rejected the proposal and failed to return the ring, according to the affidavit.

According to Daniels’ father, Williams then allegedly told her to keep the ring because she would eventually come back to him. She didn’t. Now he wants the ring back.

Am I the only one that feels like Roy Williams stays losing in football life and now, real life? Williams has had scrutiny around him ever since the day Jerry Jones traded a 1st, 3rd and 6th round pick to Detroit for him. He’s never lived up to his high expectations since going to Dallas, allowing others guys such as Miles Austin to bypass him on the depth chart.

To add insult to injury, dude sends a ring and proposal in the mail, only to be shot down… that has to suck pretty bad….

I’m not helping right now, am I???

Keep ya head up Roy! Next time, propose in real life so if she says no, you can take it back right away!

Hey ladies and gents. I hope you’ve all enjoyed your holiday weekend as much as I did. I took the time to go tweetless this weekend (Shameless plug: Follow me on Twitter @theNFLchick). But in doing so, my brain was working non-stop with random thoughts about everything, from football to music to movies. While I could have tweeted my thoughts, I decided to collect them altogether and create a blog post, similar to Peter King’s 10 Things I Think I Think from his MMQB column. Hopefully it’s not TOO all over the place and you can enjoy (and understand) my thoughts.

Happy Birthday Al Davis!

How ironic is it that the Oakland Raiders owner shares the same birthday as America’s Declaration of Independence. While Al’s birth certificate says he turned 82, he looks as old as the 235 year-old document of our freedom from the British Empire. Al’s still here with us, and still running things in Oakland. Happy 235- excuse me-82nd birthday, Mr. Davis. Something tells me Skeletor will see a few more birthdays form now.

I’m On To You, SWV!

As I get older, I translate a lot of music that I listened to growing up, in a way that my immaturity didn’t allow me to before. This weekend, I learned that one of my favorite 90′s groups SWV (or Sisters With Voices) were great singers, but their biggest hits were always about chasing someone else’s man or was on some freaky ish to try and grab/keep one. Think about it…. “So Into You” and “You’re The One” were about men that were unavailable but they wanted to get with them anyway. “Downtown” was about freaky things you had to do to get some of their, “love”, while “Anything” explained that they would do just about anything to keep that [unavailable] man around. I had no idea how naive I was back then, but I’ve seen the light in 2011. I’m piecing the puzzle together. I’m on to you Coco, Taj and Le Le… I’m on to you……….

Transformers Was Great, But…………….

I love summer blockbusters. It’s part of the 19732836826 reasons why summer is one of the best seasons of all. Vacations, sundresses, cookouts and blockbuster movies all play a role into how awesome the summer season is. So when I went to see the 3rd installment of Transformers movie this holiday weekend, I wasn’t let down. It was excellent and definitely worth the $14.50 that was spent ( since when did movie tickets get so high before 6pm? 3-D my a$$!!). There’s just one problem: I’m an analytical maniac when it comes to movies and songs (see above for SWV analysis).

I usually pick out how parts of a movie make ZERO sense if it were a real life scenario. Now I know Transformers is from the old school cartoon (which, I’m proud to say I was an avid fan of the original back in the day. And don’t you dare judge my age), so of course logic goes out the door and this fictional tale is all about action. Aside from the fact that Shia LeBeouf should have died, I dunno…. 2 movies ago, I notice other things that just don’t quiet make sense.

For instance, Rosie Huntington- Whiteley (who portrays Carly, the girlfriend of LeBeouf in the movie) is beautiful without any question. But can someone tell me why was she beautiful the WHOLE DAMN MOVIE? Transformers was extremely messy.. lots of fire and destruction took place, yet Carly’s hair looked as good in the end as it did in the first scene she appeared in, early in the movie. While LeBeouf gets pretty dirty as the movie goes on, she’s still near perfect in the same duration. Her clothes looked clean, her hair was still in tact and oh… she was running full speed in Christian Louboutins for a good part of the movie. Now, I know what those shoes feel like. Man-made shoes are HARD on women’s feet. So you mean to tell me, she felt no need to kick her shoes off at any time once she knew she had to run for her everlasting life? Other than some dust on her cheek, she was almost flawless the entire movie. I know what you’re thinking.. it’s just a movie and you’re doing WAY too much right now… but this is how my brain operates. Pray for me, especially 10+ years down the road……..

The Awesomeness Of The 4th of July

Every year for the 4th, I go to my friend’s house for their annual cookout. At the end of the night, her family gets together and light up the fireworks for their own personal show. It’s become a tradition of sorts. So much, that the neighboring street now does fireworks of their own and the 2 streets have a “Fireworks battle”, going back and forth with who has the best fireworks display.

It’s pretty awesome (and illegal, since MD doesn’t sell most of the fireworks they had, but that’s not here nor there..), and it makes me appreciate my city a little bit more. If I had one day a year to love living in the city, this is the day. You don’t have to go downtown to see the big show, folks all around the area do their own shows. And in the process of doing that, friends come together, neighbors come together and communities come together. I know I sound preachy and you may not even buy what I’m saying but it’s true. Neighbors who barely speak to each other come out and talk about the fireworks beef and judge on who had the better display (which, by-the-way, my friend’s street lost BAD! The other street must’ve gotten their fireworks straight from the factory because I thought I was at Disney World). It’s a great chance to open lines of communication and getting to know the people you live by. And since going out on the 4th is becoming more and more dangerous, I look forward to kicking it around the neighborhood with my friends each and every year.

Reed vs Polamalu Debate

The NFL Network finally showed their final 10 players for their Top 100 NFL Players of 2011. Ed Reed went ahead of Troy Polamalu by 1 slot, going 5th overall. The ranking opened up a new Reed vs Polamalu debate that we’ve seen over the years. But this is where the debate should stop.

I’ve stated publicly that I’m not a big fan of the list. I believe that some players were ranked too high or too low or shouldn’t have been ranked at all. But one thing I think we need to realize is this: This list was ranked by their colleagues, other NFL players. Fans, analysts and coaches may think they have an idea, but none of us line up against these guys on Sundays. These guys see the players on the field, whether it be through tape or live action. Who better to rank our favorite NFL players than their peers?

I’ve said over and over, the Reed vs Polamalu debate is beyond stupid, mainly because they don’t play the same position and they both do different things for their respected squads. But let me say this: Just because one is more versatile or appears to physically do more than the other, doesn’t mean he’s better. I’ve seen a lot of debate about Troy being better because he does more, which is true. He lines up as a LB or in the defensive backfield. He always seems to be all over the field. But that in no way means that he’s more valuable or better than than Ed Reed. Reed changes the entire gameplan of a QB before he even steps on the field. Throws that QBs would make against other defenses,  now have to be thought about 3 times or more when the Ravens are the opponent with Ed Reed in the lineup. A lot of Reed’s game changing ability starts in the film room, with players try to find ways to play around him. That within itself is just as big as what he actually does on-the-field.

In the end, you could probably flip a coin either way on who should be ranked higher, but both are great players in their own right. Why debate about 2 guys who’s skills are so different they could actually coexist on the same team, if need be? Would you have a debate about a DT vs LB? If not, then the Reed/Polamalu debate is moot. Let it go. I’m talking to YOU, Ravens and Steelers fans!

Manning vs Brady

Final thought, and I’ll make it quick. Brady’s SB wins gets him the #1 spot hands down. He’s worthy of it because he’s pretty good in the QB dept…. damn good actually…. but I’ve seen Belichick win games without Tom Brady.. 10 of them in 2008 to be exact. I’d bet 3 years of my salary that that would NOT happen if Peyton Manning went down with a season ending injury. Manning on the Colts is irreplaceable. I can’t say the same for Brady. But rings talk and SB losses walk, so………………..

Another day in the lockout world, another player finding new hobbies. Players have WAY too much time on their hands when they should be thinking about training camp right now. SInce the lockout doesn’t allow them to, it’s open season on dumb stuff for them to do.

This time, it’s Bills WR Stevie Johnson, who created the, “Athlete’s Room”. The Athlete’s Room is a NFL version of “Marvin’s Room”, the popular Drake song that has been remixed a few times in the past few days.

I guess it doesn’t sound too bad, but I’m over players trying to be rappers. First it was Chris Johnson’s awful tone dial song, then Chad OchoCinco going to the studio with Lil Wayne and Birdman.

Let me know what you think about it

I feel bad for these players. They are usually getting ready to prepare for training camp around this time. Instead they are bored out of their minds because of the lockout. But Texans WR David Anderson has made light to a serious situation.

Anderson created a Lockout edition of “Cribs”, modeled off the popular MTV show. Anderson shows us around his *cough*little*cough* apartment, even cracking a few jokes in the process (his guest room is actually his living room, and his TV in the “master bedroom” doesn’t work.

I had no idea who Anderson was before this video. The 6th year player has been a lifetime backup, but in 2010 he contributed in 5 games, including against my Ravens… *shrugs*

In any event, this video is pretty funny. He channels his inner Reggie Noble and does a Redman-like version of Cribs.

S/O to the lovely @iLuvTerricka for the link

First off, let me just say that I wish the lockout would end ASAP!  Football talk is getting reeeeeaaaaal low these days. Anytime I’m posting interviews from guys that usually ignore the media, it must be a slow NFL day… which it has been since the lockout started 100+ days ago. End the lockout NOOOW, dammit!

Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let me get to my post. If you missed it this week, Ravens All Pro safety Ed Reed sat down with ESPN’s Ed Werder during his Eye Of The Hurricane football camp in Louisiana. Reed talks about how the lockout has affected his team, his current health situation, how he would play anywhere for Rex Ryan (nearly 3 years later, this is still a subject of convo) and responds to Steelers LB Lamarr Woodley, who’s had diarrhea at the mouth the past couple of weeks.

For Ed Reed, it’s a pretty good interview. He’s never been a fan of talking to the media, so under his standards, it gives us something to talk about. But I’m so over the Ravens and Steelers yapping at the mouth. Anytime Hines Ward doesn’t feed into it, you know this is boredom talk and folks just need to do something… ANYTHING… to keep football on their minds.