ed reed

Ravens camp highlights: Flacco's throws have zip, Cundiff makes long kicks

Ravens highlights for Aug. 5

Until Thursday, the competition to replace Dawan Landry, a free agent who left for Jacksonville, was between Tom Zbikowski and Haruki Nakamura, both of whom arrived in the 2008 draft. Then the Ravens signed free agent Bernard Pollard to a two-year contract and it became a three-man competition.

Safety Bernard Pollard giddy to be joining Ravens Hard-hitting former Texan feels he's a good fot for this defense

During a red-zone exercise, the offense picked on free safety Tom Zbikowski, who was participating in his first practice of training camp and filling in for seven-time Pro Bowler Ed Reed.

Ravens rookies look forward for their first practice in front of fans Working out at M&T Bank Stadium will make Saturday an 'emotional day' for newcomers

Ravens: Center Casey Rabach returns to Ravens. After six seasons with Redskins, he's back in Baltimore as insurance policy for Matt Birk.

After helping the NFL and its players lift the lockout and craft a new collective bargaining agreement, Domonique Foxworth is ready to get back on the field.

As they head toward Baltimore, players prepare for unique training camp experience

NFL players are expected to recommend the labor deal Monday, which would move the league one step closer to ending the lockout. That's good news for Ravens free agents such as Josh Wilson who are waiting for the end of the lockout to make their career move. ... Ed Reed thinks Hines Ward is a dirty player and said he has told him. ... The Orioles wasted another quality start from Jeremy Guthrie on Sunday, losing to the Angels, 9-3. ... There is growing speculation that Koji Uehara will be moved before the July 31 trade deadline. ... Dundalk native Bucky Lasek made history Sunday night, winning his Dew Tour-record 10th skateboard vert final.

The NFL players' leadership is expected to recommend the labor deal Monday, which would move the league one step closer to ending the lockout. Josh Wilson, though, will believe it when he sees it.

NFL players association members and league representatives made significant progress toward a resolution this weekend, according to reports

NFL owners unlocked the doors Thursday, but the players are reviewing the proposed 10-year collective bargaining agreement. The players now have until Tuesday to agree or pass on the proposal. ... After taking a couple of days off to rest his shoulder, Orioles left fielder Luke Scott continued his rehab assignment in Bowie and hit a pair of home runs. ... Meanwhile, Brian Matusz was knocked around for eight runs in three-plus innings while pitching for Norfolk. ... The Ravens were interested in hiring former Colts coordinator Tom Moore as a consultant.

We have countless awesome sports photos in the archives here at The Baltimore Sun, and I have decided to share one with you each week in a regular feature called "Throwback Thursday." Ed Reed has been a popular topic the past 24 hours. One reason is that he said he wants to retire as a member of the Ravens.

As we have seen the dozen or so times Ed Reed gets his hands on the football every fall, the Ravens safety is a tough guy to track down.

Jake Arrieta turned in his first quality start in more than a month Wednesday, but the Orioles were held to two hits in a 4-0 loss to the Red Sox. ... The Orioles are playing the waiting game with their unsigned draft picks, but they have had talks with Dylan Bundy. ... Ravens safety Ed Reed declared himself "full go" for training camp Wednesday, but he hopes the Ravens will "be smart" with his reps this summer. Reed also clarified last month¿s comments about wanting Rex Ryan as coach over John Harbaugh. ... Maryland President Wallace D. Loh has created a committee to examine the athletic department's finances after recent financial losses.

Veteran safety Ed Reed hopes he'll see light work during summer drills so he can stay fresh

With Prince Fielder launching a three-run home run and Roy Halladay setting the pitching tone with two perfect innings, the National League posted a 5-1 victory over the American League in Tuesday night's All-Star Game. ... Matt Wieters' first All-Star Game performance was not so memorable. ... With another Orioles season derailed, the organization is again looking ahead to the future. ... Baltimore's late television newscasts are shifting their focus away from sports.

Last month, Ravens safety Ed Reed made an interesting remark about Jets coach Rex Ryan, saying that he and other unnamed players had hoped Ryan would get the Ravens head coaching gig in 2008. Recently, in an unfiltered interview with Pro Football Focus, Jets inside linebacker Bart Scott, who followed Ryan to New York in 2009, tried to explain where Reed was coming from when he made his Ryan comments to ESPN.

Matt Wieters, who has emerged as a leader for the Orioles, will make his All-Star Game debut on Tuesday night. Buck Showalter believes the experience will be good for his young catcher. ... ... Roy Halladay and Jered Weaver are the starting pitchers for the All-Star Game. ... Robinson Cano won the Home Run Derby on Monday night. ... Orioles left fielder Luke Scott and pitcher Justin Duchscherer were examined by team orthopedist John Wilckens. ... Gale Sayers said the NFL and its players could have done more for former Baltimore Colts tight end John Mackey, who passed away last week. ... Ray Rice got into a Twitter fight with Pittsburgh's Ryan Clark.

Incumbent starting corner vows to keep his job even as touted rookie joins team

Last Thursday, the topic in this space was the worst moment in Ravens history. We got more than 2,000 votes -- thanks for that -- and 56 percent of you picked the three painful playoff losses to Pittsburgh. Let¿s go with a rosier topic this time around: What has been the greatest moment in franchise history to date?

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis made two appearances on the finale of NFL Network's list of the top 100 players for 2011. The first, of course, was when he was revealed as the fourth best player in the league -- and the highest defender on the list -- according to his peers.

After one of the worst outings of his career in a loss to the Cardinals, struggling starter Brian Matusz was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday night. ... After the game, Matusz was relatively upbeat about his demotion, saying he will use it for motivation. ... The Orioles will recall a reliever from the minors for Friday¿s game in Atlanta, and the most likely candidate is Double-A Bowie left-hander Pedro Viola. ... Three local sports talk show hosts -- Stan "The Fan" Charles, Jerry Coleman and Rob Long -- were without a home at radio station WVIE (1370 AM) as of Friday morning when the station started moving to a mainly network news/talk format.

While drinking my thermos of coffee and doing my daily morning roundup, I surfed upon an interesting item on Pro Football Talk.

Derrick Mason made his regular appearance on ¿The Norris & Davis Show¿ on 105.7 The Fan on Monday morning, and since NFL Network will release on Sunday the top 10 players of 2011 according to a poll of players, Mason was asked by hosts Ed Norris and Steve Davis to name his pick for the best player in the NFL.

While most agree on the top three Ravens of all time, there's room for debate after that

ESPN¿s Ed Werder tracked down Ravens safety Ed Reed at his annual football camp in Louisiana this week, and Reed said that when he entered the NFL, he planned on playing until he was 35. But after suffering a hip injury and a nerve impingement in his neck in recent years, he isn¿t sure how much longer he will play.

Westminster became one of the early casualties of the NFL lockout Wednesday when the Ravens canceled this year's training camp at McDaniel College. ... With Blake Davis' decisive error in the fifth inning Wednesday, the Orioles had their defining play on a disappointing road trip and an easy scapegoat in their 5-4 loss to the Pirates. ... Jake Arrieta's next start will be pushed back four days as he deals with inflammation in his right elbow. ... Reliever Jeremy Accardo has cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. ... Maryland will play two more football games at M&T Bank Stadium, against West Virginia in 2013 and Virginia Tech in 2014. ... Baltimore native Josh Selby is focused on becoming a steal in the NBA draft.

Jeremy Guthrie allowed six runs Tuesday night and the Orioles couldn't dig out of that early hole in a 9-3 loss to the Pirates. ... Second baseman Brian Roberts was not cleared to begin baseball activities during his third appointment with a concussion specialist, a development that pushes back his return until after the All-Star break. ... Orioles pitching prospect Dan Klein has been diagnosed with a shoulder injury that won't require surgery but could end his season. ... Ravens safety Ed Reed still isn't "100 percent" healthy. ... The next time NFL owners meet over labor, there is hope it will be to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with the players.

After missing the first six games of the 2010 season, Ravens safety Ed Reed returned from the Physically Unable to Perform list in Week 7 and picked off eight passes in the final 10 games of the regular season.

Nnamdi Asomugha is atop the offseason wish list of many Ravens fans, and understandably so. Adding a Pro Bowl player such as Asomugha, who has been one of the NFL¿s top cornerbacks the past few seasons, would give the Ravens a difference-maker at every level of their defense. With Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata, Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Asomugha, the Ravens would again have the makings of a truly elite NFL defense.

Life in Canada was no different for the Orioles on Tuesday, as the Blue Jays won, 6-5, in 11 innings when Adam Lind hit a walk-off home run against reliever Koji Uehara. ... Mark Connor, who has been with Buck Showalter in each of his four stops as manager, resigned as pitching coach, citing personal reasons. ... The drumbeat of an NFL labor resolution grew louder with rumblings that a deal -- or at least the framework of one -- could be reached within the next month. ... Despite three transfers, two early departures and two academic casualties in recent weeks, Maryland football coach Randy Edsall remains positive. ... The MRI on Orioles pitching prospect Dan Klein's shoulder was inconclusive and he will fly to California for further testing.

Andy MacPhail acknowledged that the Orioles have had internal discussions about a potential extension for J.J. Hardy and he's hoping to initiate contract talks with the shortstop's agent next month. ... Although the namesake of the Brooks Robinson High School All-Star Game was unable to attend the annual event at Camden Yards on Monday, the Orioles legend wasn't far from the thoughts of those participating. ... When Mark Turgeon was asked about his frontcourt Monday, the Maryland men's basketball coach inhaled deeply like a swimmer about to take a plunge. ... Sergio Kindle says that he was cleared to resume playing football back in March.

Two weeks ago, we got Phil Simms¿ take on Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. On Tuesday, former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann gave 105.7 The Fan his two cents on Flacco.

Ravens safety Ed Reed threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Camden Yards before Friday¿s game against the Blue Jays. Stunningly, Reed didn¿t lateral it to the ball girl. Instead, he fired a strike to Adam Jones. I can¿t help but wonder how Reed would fare if he joined the Orioles bullpen.

Orioles notebook: Orioles manager Buck Showalter actually thought Nick Markakis looked halfway decent at first base when Baltimore's regular right fielder was asked to play there in a pinch during the team's final game against the Seattle Mariners.

Though he feels the Ravens defense, which finished third in points allowed and 10th in total defense in 2010, is overrated, ESPN's Matt Williamson said the defense "isn't far off" from being one of the best in the NFL.

NFL Network continues to reveal its list of the top 100 players in the NFL for 2011, which is determined by a player poll. NFL.com recently released a sneak preview of Terrell Owens hyping up Reed for the list, and the outspoken wideout said Reed is one of the best safeties in the game and a Hall-of-Famer.

Matt Stover will announce his retirement from the NFL on Thursday, formally ending the memorable career of one of the greatest players in Ravens history.

Kevin Cowherd: Kicker Matt Stover stands toe-to-toe with greatest Ravens of all time

If Marc Bulger leaves Baltimore as a free agent this offseason to become a starter elsewhere, the Ravens will likely be in the market for another able veteran to back up quarterback Joe Flacco. Might that veteran signal-caller be Donovan McNabb, who is on the outs in Washington?

The scouting combine and most pro day workouts have been completed, and with the NFL draft just a few weeks away, there has been a significant amount of shuffling in my third NFL mock draft of the offseason. So who will the Ravens pick?

Ravens safety Tommy Zbikowski returned to the boxing ring over the weekend and delivered a first-round knockout by landing a left hook into the belly of husky opponent Richard Bryant. "I knew I hurt him," Zbikowski said after picking up the second win of his professional career. "I love that I got a body shot for a knockout."

The Orioles split their split-squad games Wednesday, hammering the Twins, 11-2, and losing to the Red Sox, 2-1. ... Derrek Lee remains sidelined with a sore wrist, and Luke Scott is ready to play first base for the Orioles if needed. ... Brian Roberts insists his back is fine. ... Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Sergio Kindle has a chance to play in 2011. ... Harbaugh isn't concerned about the chemistry between Joe Flacco and Cam Cameron. ... The Capitals shut out the Oilers.

In the weeks leading up to April's NFL draft, I will highlight four players whom the Ravens could target at different stages in the draft -- from their top pick to their Mr. Irrelevant. In this post, I will focus on running backs.

My latest NFL mock draft, which went live on the blog yesterday, had the Ravens selecting Florida offensive lineman Mike Pouncey. I can't get enough of these mock drafts, so I've decided to round up a handful of other mock drafts that hit the blogosphere after this week's NFL scouting combine.

James Walker, who has a pretty sweet gig as ESPN's blogger for the AFC North, has put together his annual list of the top 40 players in the division. He has slowly been revealing his "Fab 40" all week, and he posted the final four players this afternoon. So who was No. 1 for 2010?

In what I hope will become a Friday staple at Baltimore Sports Blitz, I¿¿¿ll give you a top-five list for a Baltimore sports-related category to discuss. I'm feeling drafty this week, so let's tackle the best draft picks in Ravens history.