On Thursday, when I talked to Ravens running back Ray Rice on his line up for the upcoming, “Ray Rice Day” events, Rice slightly got off topic and talked briefly about his path in the NFL.

Ray Rice: “I’m excited about it.. At this point in my career, I should be living the life, like most guys would. But football isn’t about living the life for me. For me, football is about providing for my family…..”

Coming from a 25-year-old  running back  at the peak of his career in the National Football League, that tells you how mature and ahead of his time Rice is. He extended that sentiment by having his 1st Ray Rice Day in Baltimore this past weekend.

About 700 children attended Saturday’s events at Calvert Hall that included a football clinic. A plethora of Rice’s teammates came to support the cause, including FB Vonta Leach, WR Torrey Smith, CB LarDarius Webb and OT Michael Oher, to name a few. On such a beautiful day, The event was a success. Rice didn’t disappoint in getting involved with the kids.

Perhaps Rice is taking over the helms of “Big Ray” Lewis, who has been a stature in the Baltimore community since being drafted by the Ravens in 1996. But Lewis is in the sunset stages in his career, and it’s a pretty fair assumption that Rice is now the BRIC (Big Ray In Charge) in Charm City. He’s younger, personable and a rising superstar in this league. To choose to hold his event in Baltimore now is perfect timing in transition.

This event isn’t just a photo op for Rice. It’s clear based on his interaction that he loves the kids. ”Look at these kids, they’re nothing but smiles,” Rice said. “I love the kids, I love being active in the community. I kind of feel bad for the kids that didn’t get in. To see the smiles on these kids’ faces is priceless.”

Rice is as genuine as they come. One parent lost their child in the midst of the excitement and was frantically trying to find her daughter. Rice ended up being the one finding the little girl, and brought her back to her mother, holding the little girl’s hand. The mother was so elated that she embraced Rice affectionately- and he returned the gesture. Some things you simply can’t fake.

For many players of Rice’s age and popularity, partying and bottle popping is usually a top priority. But after our conversation it became clear to me that Rice has a bigger, better plan. It would be wise to see the Ravens re-sign Rice (the Ravens have used their franchise tag on him), not only for what he can do on the field, but for all the things that he does off as well.

Note: This is the 1st year Rice has held his event in Baltimore. He has previously held his event in New York, and revealed that he will hold events in both cities.

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

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.

Ravens LB Ray Lewis just wrapped up his 7th annual Rays Summer Days weekend, but not without giving ESPN Sal Paolantonio a lot of sound bytes before it was over.

In an interview, Lewis talks about the NFL Lockout and how it will affect the crime rate (Lewis says crime will increase if no season), how close the Ravens are to a championship (he says minutes away) and being called to speak if needed, regarding the mediations for a new agreement.

My first thought was that Ray Ray was crazy to think that crime would go up. But the more I think about it, it’s not as far fetched as we think. People spend hours at their TVs on Sunday, from pre game shows to ending highlights. Not enough time to do hoodrat stuff with your friends after a long day of watching football. Hopefully it doesn’t get to that point and football will resume soon.

It’s that time of year again! Ray Lewis hosts his annual Ray Summer Days weekend in Baltimore, which helps support the Ray Lewis Foundation.

In past Ray’s Summer Days events, Lewis has brought out All-Star celebrities such as Deion Sanders, Magic Johnson, Ed Reed, Michael Irvin and Carmelo Anthony.

If you don’t have a rundown of this weekend’s events, check it out here:

You can purchase tickets online for the events by clicking here. Enjoy!

Ravens LB Ray Lewis and former CB Reggie Howard hosted an event in New York this weekend for 10-year-old La’Shaun Armstrong, the only surviving victim when his mother drove her car along with her children into the Hudson River.

Howard is the president of the United Athletes Foundation, who hosted the fundraiser on Saturday night in the boy’s honor. Ray Lewis heard about the situation and reached out to the boy, wanting to help. Both Lewis and Howard pledged $10,000 for Armstrong’s relief fund.

When asked about how he was doing, Armstrong said,

“I feel sad sometimes. [But] I feel happy because I have my family and Reggie Howard and Ray Lewis to help me with stuff.”

More than ever, children look to athletes as role models. To have Lewis and Howard lead by example is a great chance for children as well as adults know that there are plenty of athletes that can rise to the occasion.

With the Al Davis’s, Jerry Jones’s and Daniel Snyder’s of the football world, I feel like my Ravens has one of the most laid back, coolest owners in Steve Bisciotti. He’s a Bawlmer (Baltimore) native, he stays behind the scenes, and he has a Rick James aura-like tan that is out of this world!

Bisciotti sat down with Baltimore Sun’s Jamison Hensley about the CBA, his thoughts on Tom Zbikowski and why playing the Steelers is similar to getting, “beat up by your big brother”.

On the belief that the labor negotiations have turned off fans- Yeah. I think that a public fight over money turns off everybody. I think it’s a whole new ballgame if we don’t give them football. I know that we are sold out. I know that our fans are renewing their season tickets at basically the same rate as our prior years. We’ve always enjoyed a renewal rate of 98 or 99 percent. If we were to miss football, all or part of this season, then it wouldn’t surprise me in the least for 2012 to come in at our lowest level ever. Our fans have loved football for 20, 30 and 40 years. If the fight screws up the season, shame on both sides. We’ve got to get this done. If we turn off our fans, then shame on us.

On his feelings of Tom Zbikowski’s fighting- I think it’s awesome. I wanted to walk him into the ring but I’m not allowed to communicate with him. I would get the Don King hair going.

On possibly attending one of Zibby’s fights- Yes. Under a new CBA, he might not be allowed to do it. But I really am not allowed to communicate with him. I would love to be there. But I don’t feel like flying for one minute, 45 seconds [the length of Zbikowski's last fight]. Until they get someone who can put up a fight against my boy, I don’t necessarily want to do all that traveling for a minute and a half.

On what it’s going to take to beat Pittsburgh in the playoffs- see video below

While it really hurts to hear Biscuit say that the Steelers are like the big brother who wins, he’s absolutely right. I have no idea what the Ravens need to do, but they better figure it out, because the Steelers OWN them at this point.

Bisciotti also talks about Ray Lewis and his career after football, Terrell Suggs’ 2010 season, 3-man pass rushes and possible re-seeding for the playoffs. It’s a great interview, and you can read the rest by clicking here.

I don’t know if this commercial is even real or not… but it’s pretty funny. The commercial takes place at a resort where the Ravens LB and Saints QB are vacationing. Then, the Pepsi Maxx bottle takes over the resort.

This is a far cry from those God awful Old Spice commercials that you know I’m not a fan of. This commercial is a little more thought out and better scripted. Maybe because it’s Pepsi.

No matter what Ray Lewis says or does, I always think of a preacher when he opens his mouth. In any event, it’s an upgrade for Ray Ray and Breesus Kryst.

Thanks to MASNSports for the video

With the 2010 Divisional Playoffs ready to kickoff this weekend, it’s hard to ignore that the top 4 teams remaining in the AFC are division rivals. The Ravens head to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers, while the Jets head to snowy New England to face Brady and the Pats. Four teams that can’t stand each other, whether it be quietly or to publicly, looking to advance to the AFC Championship game. To say this may be one of the most exciting playoff weekends in football would be well deserved. But this is more than just a playoff game to these 4 teams. Way more.

There is a different energy lurking between the 2 rivals, and for different reasons. The Ravens and Steelers have become one of the top rivalries over the past decade, while the Jets and Patriots have a renewed spark after the hiring of Rex Ryan. How these two rivalries operate are a bit different.. but not far off from each other. Allow me to break it down.

Ravens/Steelers

This rivalry is the new wave rivalry of the NFL, compared to Packers/Bears and Redskins/Cowboys. The Ravens have only been around 15 years, but many believe that Baltimore inherited the rivalry when the team moved from Cleveland (a longer, more known rivalry) after the 1995 season. While the Ravens weren’t too good the first few years of existence, they picked up the pace once they won Super Bowl XXXV. The Steelers have the slight advantage over the Ravens, with a 13-9 record since 2000 (including the playoffs). What makes this rivalry special are the similarities between the 2 teams. Both are known for their strong defense and good running game, along with a very good front office and ownership. Both cities are labeled, “blue collar” and carry inferiority complexes. Add the fact that the 2 cities have a history of being sports rivals (the Steelers-Baltimore Colts battles in the 70s as well as the Pirates beating the O’s in the World Series) and you have a recipe for a great rivalry. There was a point in time where this rivalry was downright ugly. Remember the Ray Lewis/Joey Porter feud?

Over the past couple of years, the Ravens and Steelers have quietly stopped their verbal attack and simply taken it on the field. They all say they hate each other, but some say it’s not as much hatred as you think. Coach Harbaugh and Tomlin talk during pregames, and Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu admitted once before that they text each other. The mantra as of late has been, “We hate each other, but we respect each other”. And while Hines Ward and Terrell Suggs and found ways to keep it funky with the little things they still do and say to the media, the trash talking has been put aside to actions speaking louder, with the blood bath they lay out on the field and even 3 times a year.

Jets/Patriots

This rivalry, while an older one, has become a renewed rivalry thank to the likes of  Rex Ryan. These two cities flat out cannot stand each other. Red Sox Nation can’t stand the Yankees and vice versa. People from New York don’t like people from New England. It’s a power struggle between the 2 cities that has been trickled down to sports. And from the day Rex Ryan stepped foot on the Jets podium as their head coach, he continued the trend.

The Jets and Patriots have a much closer rivalry record than the Steelers/Ravens (they are 51-51-1 overall), but there are those who still find the term laughable when discussing the 2 teams. The Patriots have dominated the past decade and has won 8 times in a row before the 2009 season. Rex Ryan has never met a microphone he didn’t like, and his blunt approach towards the Patriots has trickled down to his players. Darrelle Revis has made comments about Pats players in the past, and most recently Antonio Cromartie said Eff Tom Brady. Even Ryan took some shots at the Patriots star player. Nevertheless, Belichick and company respond to the Jets antics with predictable, robotic answers that are too boring to quote. They do, however, respond out on the football field. Case in point, the last time these 2 teams played, the Patriots dismantled the Jets in the 45-3 rout. While Belichick loves to hit you where it REALLY hurts, Rex is a sound byte genius when it comes to the pregame antics.

Four teams, 2 rivals, 1 weekend. The rivalries are different, but not by much. This is what we’ve been waiting for. And I, for one, cannot wait! Thank God for rivalries!

Not long ago, Ray Lewis launched his RL52 clothing line, complete with mens and womens fashion and accessories for your game day experience. Now the future Hall-Of-Famer wants you to name his snuggie.

Lewis has started a contest asking school children up to Grade 12 to name his snuggie. The student who comes up with the winning name for Ray’s Blanket with Sleeves will win a personally autographed RL52 Style prize pack and a special appearance from Ray at his or her school, where Ray will deliver an inspirational speech.

Students can enter by logging on to www.RL52Style.com with their parent’s permission beginning Purple Friday, December 10 through Monday, January 10 at 11:59 pm. Just click on the contest tab to enter. The winner will be announced on Purple Friday, January 14 and posted on the website.

I have come up with a few suggestions that the kids can use, free of charge:

The Grimace Snuggie

The Darkwing Duck Snuggie

The Purple People Eater (sorry, Vikings…. but it does fit)

The Ravenator

Okay, so they are all corny… but naming a snuggie isn’t an easy task. Good luck to all that apply for the contest. And I want notice if any of my ideas won!