Coffee Companion (8/18): Ray misses practices

Guthrie is stiff

Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with reading material to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday -- that way I'll have an excuse to do the same at the start of mine.

 Running it back:

Ray Lewis has been excused from the Ravens so the linebacker can deal with a family member's illness. ... Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday that Marshal Yanda's back injury is "not a serious thing." ... Harbaugh also said the Ravens are giving Joe Flacco more control at the line of scrimmage. ... The Orioles turned in another ugly performance in a 6-5 loss to the Athletics. ... Jeremy Guthrie is dealing with shoulder stiffness that could push his next start back a day or two. ... Cal Ripken Jr. is a good guy.

Hitting the links:

1. Whether he deserves it or not, Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron is going to need your patience [Ravens Insider]

2. The offensive line is off to a shaky start [AP]

3. Would the Ravens be interested in T.O.? [SI]

4. A Q&A with Lee Evans? [ESPN]

5. Lee Evans got paid before the trade [SB Nation]

6. The education of right tackle-in-waiting Jah Reid has turned into a frenetic crash course [Baltimore Sun]

7. Terrell Suggs wants Ozzie Newsome to pay Haloti Ngata [MASN]

8. Pernell McPhee has already distinguished himself with defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano [Baltimore Sun]

9. Arthur Jones wants to dominate [Ravens Insider]

10. Steve Bisciotti says the Ravens are on the hunt for free agents [CSN Baltimore]

11. It looks like Josh Bell is going to get another opportunity to prove himself with the Orioles [Baltimore Sun]

12. Breaking down a couple of Buck Showalter's decisions in Wednesday's loss [Orioles Insider]

13. Peter Schmuck's take on Brian Matusz's return [The Schmuck Stops Here]

14. Another take on Matusz [Orioles Post]

15. Matt Bradley called the Capitals "undisciplined" and criticized Alex Semin [Baltimore Sports Report]

16. How much does Semin care? This clever bar graph will help [Russian Machine Never Breaks]

Video of the morning:

Tennis star Novak Djokovic hit a reporter in the junk and laughed about it [via Hot Clicks]

Send me your funny and/or interesting links, photos, YouTube videos, blogs, Tweets, comments, emails, ideas, etc. and I’ll give you a plug. You can reach me at [e-mail] and twitter.com/mattvensel.