Ray Rice: Future Pro-Bowler? {thanks, THE BALTIMORE SUN}

We had a tasty sports smorgasbord in Baltimore again this week, with the Ravens steamrolling the Lions and the O’s filling out their roster. Who else made headlines?

[1] Three Ravens — LB Ray Lewis, FS Ed Reed and FB Le’Ron McClain — lead their positions in AFC Pro Bowl voting, but Ray Rice, the team’s most indispensable player this season, is fourth among AFC running backs. This is a crime, people. If not for the play of Rice, who all season has turned simple running plays and dump-offs from Joe Flacco into monster gains, Ravens fans would be worrying about draft position instead of a potential playoff berth. So log onto NFL.com and rock the vote. Unlike Lewis and Reed, who look to be going to South Florida (not Hawaii) based on their names alone, Rice has actually proved on the field that he deserves to be honored.

[2] Former Ravens coach Brian Billick, who led the team to its only Super Bowl title in 2001, will be calling Sunday’s game against the Bears for Fox. Lewis and his fellow players didn’t seem interested in answering questions on Billick, and coach John Harbaugh says he and Billick have a “great relationship.” But if you ask me, Billick hasn’t gone anywhere. His spirit lives on in those clever Coors Light commercials. “Go Ed! Go Ed!”

[3] The O’s continued their magical stopgap-signing tour, inking reliever Mike Gonzalez and 3B Garrett Atkins to short-team deals this week. Hey, at least they are finally addressing needs. I like the signing of Gonzalez, a slick lefty. But Atkins is nothing more than a one-year fix until Brandon Snyder and Josh Bell are ready for the show.

[4] There has been a lot of talk about Ravens LT Jared Gaither and RT Michael Oher swapping spots on the line. Hall-of-Fame tackle Jonathan Ogden supports the move, but not for this season. I’m with Ogden. Switching these guys during the playoff stretch is not a smart idea. In the offseason? Maybe. Although if Gaither can’t stay healthy enough to play, it’s a moot point, isn’t it?

[5] The Ravens will wear black jerseys Sunday for the first time this season, but they’ll be wearing white pants. Harbaugh doesn’t like the black-on-black unis. Sorry, for knocking your fashion sense, John, but the Ravens’ blackout look is sick.

[6] O’s great Brooks Robinson is getting a statue near Camden Yards that depicts him making a throw to first base. Perfect.

[7] Fourteen Olympic gold medals, the most ever, weren’t enough for Michael Phelps to be named AP’s athlete of the aughts (Tiger was No. 1)? What a joke.

[8] Troubled Bengals WR Chris Henry died Thursday after falling out of the back of a pickup truck during a fight with his fiancee. Sad news about a talented player who just could never seem to get it together.

[9] WR Chad Ochocinco wants to fight Chargers LB and former Terp Shawne Merriman over a Twitter beef. Chad has no chance, but I’d pay more to watch that than MMA.

Matt Vensel is a content creator for b. E-mail him at matt@bthesite.com.

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