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When the Ravens have the ball Ravens offense WR: 87 Williams LT: 74 Oher LG: 66 Grubbs C: 77 Birk RG: 73 Yanda RT: 64 Cousins TE: 86 Heap QB: 5 Flacco FB: 33 L. McClain RB: 27 Rice WR: 85 Mason Bears defense DE: 93 Ogunleye DT: 91 Harris NT: 95 Adamsl DE: 96 Brown OLB: 53 Roach MLB: 92 Hillenmeyer OLB: 55 Briggs LCB: 33 Tillman ...

The past seems ever-present in Brad Paisley's music. One of country music's biggest stars, Paisley has filled his songs with sentimental snapshots from times gone by. His first single, "Who Needs Pictures," opens with Paisley singing about an old Kodak camera in his closet. That was more than 10 years (and 14 No. 1 singles) ago. Paisley's new album, "American Saturday Night," finds the 36-year-old West Virginia native sharing his childhood love of water sports and playing Pac-Man down at the arcade.

The first comprehensive study of the nation's charter schools was published recently by the Center for Research and Educational Outcomes at Stanford University. The findings make it clear that students in traditional public schools do as well academically or surpass their charter school counterparts. According to the study of charter school students, 37 percent scored significantly lower in reading and math than similar students in traditional public schools; 46 percent were comparable to the local public schools; and 17 percent showed better results than students in the traditional schools.

In dueling speeches given moments apart Thursday, President Barack Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney offered radically different visions of what's needed to protect the country from foreign terrorists bent on killing as many Americans as possible. One looked to chart the future, while the other sought to justify the past. About the only thing they agreed on was that any official inquiry into reports of prisoner mistreatment in the fight against terror would only distract attention from the dangerous threats that lie ahead.

Given the urgency of teams at the top of the draft to trade back, there was a lot of talk about the draft-value chart. Personnel director Eric DeCosta said the Ravens don't follow the chart but use their own as a guideline. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/ravensblog)