Dick Cass

A new policy announced by the NFL on Thursday will prevent Ravens fans from carrying most bags into M&T Bank Stadium this season unless they are made of a clear material. The change follows a national trend toward increased security measures at sporting events, including the Preakness, in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing. Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev allegedly used bombs made from pressure cookers concealed in backpacks to kill three people and injure 264 near the finish line of the race.

A new policy announced by the NFL on Thursday will prevent Ravens fans from carrying most bags into M&T Bank Stadium this season unless they are made of a clear material. The change follows a national trend toward increased security measures at sporting events, including the Preakness, in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing. Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev allegedly used bombs made from pressure cookers concealed in backpacks to kill three people and injure 264 near the finish line of the race.

The Ravens rewarded John Harbaugh for one of the best starts to an NFL coaching career, signing him to a contract extension Monday that is believed to put him in the middle tier of highest-paid coaches in the league. Although the team declined to announce the terms of the deal, a league source said Harbaugh signed a three-year extension worth about $12 million. Harbaugh's average salary of $4 million makes him the second-highest paid coach in the AFC North, just behind the Pittsburgh Steelers' Mike Tomlin, and on the fringe of the top 10 in the league (the Chicago Bears' Lovie Smith, who is 10th, receives $4.8 million annually)

The Lombardi Trophy will make its first public appearance in Maryland since the Super Bowl parade when some Ravens players visit the Maryland State House Thursday.  Lawmakers will honor the Super Bowl Champions with a resolution presented to team president Dick Cass.  A Ravens official said one or two players will also visit, though he would not identify which players will come. House Speaker Michael E. Busch joked that the team wanted to thank the legislators for their crucial support, which pulled the Ravens to victory.

It was well past midnight, and Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti was ready to sign off after his team's second straight exhilarating victory over arch rival Pittsburgh Steelers. But Bisciotti had one last thought to share with friend and adviser Ron Shapiro. "I want to bring the Lombardi Trophy to Baltimore so much!" he texted. The missive provides a glimpse of the exuberance the publicly reserved billionaire draws from his most famous property. It also channels the hopes of a city and the urgency felt by this year's Ravens, who will play the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon for a trip to the Super Bowl.

The four new LED boards will give Ravens' fans constant updates of out-of-town scores and fantasy football stats, along with different vantage points on replays. Two new high-definition boards will greet those who enter M&T Bank Stadium from Gates A or D, showing live game broadcasts and Ravens' highlights. The lower concourse will have a completely new look with open-kitchen styled concession stands, expanded team retail stores, wood and steel columns and purple lighting. The upper concourse will undergo a similar transformation one year later.

What a wonderful piece of news the citizens of Maryland received when the Ravens announced they will not be increasing their tickets prices ("No rise in ticket price for Ravens," Feb. 4). This is the third straight season they have done so. Dick Cass and the Ravens management understand what Gov.Martin O'Malleychooses to ignore, namely that most Marylanders are struggling in these tough economic times: "We know that fans are stretching financially to buy our season tickets. " Though we came up short of the big prize, you made our city and state proud.

The Ravens announced today that the team will hold its annual “State of the Ravens” press conference Wednesday at the team's practice facility in Owings Mills. The annual season-review press conference, which starts at 2 p.m., is our rare opportunity to chat about all Ravens topics with owner Steve Bisciotti, president Dick Cass, general manager and executive vice president Ozzie Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh. Last year, Bisciotti told media that he liked offensive Cam Cameron “under fire” and he endorsed Joe Flacco as their franchise quarterback.

The Lombardi Trophy will make its first public appearance in Maryland since the Super Bowl parade when some Ravens players visit the Maryland State House Thursday.  Lawmakers will honor the Super Bowl Champions with a resolution presented to team president Dick Cass.  A Ravens official said one or two players will also visit, though he would not identify which players will come. House Speaker Michael E. Busch joked that the team wanted to thank the legislators for their crucial support, which pulled the Ravens to victory.

The Ravens and the NFL will open up their 2013 regular season on the road after failing to find compromise in a scheduling conflict with the Orioles and Major League Baseball. Both the Ravens and Orioles released statements Friday saying that logistical issues will prevent the possibility of a baseball/football doubleheader on Sept. 5. The Orioles are scheduled to play the Chicago White Sox at 7:05 at Camden Yards that night while the NFL had also hoped to stage its annual kickoff game across the parking lot at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Ravens and the NFL will open up their 2013 regular season on the road after failing to find compromise in a scheduling conflict with the Orioles and Major League Baseball. Both the Ravens and Orioles released statements Friday saying that logistical issues will prevent the possibility of a baseball/football doubleheader on Sept. 5. The Orioles are scheduled to play the Chicago White Sox at 7:05 at Camden Yards that night while the NFL had also hoped to stage its annual kickoff game across the parking lot at M&T Bank Stadium.

The four new LED boards will give Ravens' fans constant updates of out-of-town scores and fantasy football stats, along with different vantage points on replays. Two new high-definition boards will greet those who enter M&T Bank Stadium from Gates A or D, showing live game broadcasts and Ravens' highlights. The lower concourse will have a completely new look with open-kitchen styled concession stands, expanded team retail stores, wood and steel columns and purple lighting. The upper concourse will undergo a similar transformation one year later.

To hear Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti tell it, he learned very early that it probably wasn't wise for him to meddle in most player personnel decisions. As the Ravens prepared to make the 24 th overall selection in the 2002 Draft, it became clear that they would have an opportunity to draft one of the top remaining defensive backs left on the board. Bisciotti wanted Lito Sheppard , a cornerback out of Florida. General manager Ozzie Newsome and his staff, however, had their eyes on another player.

Ozzie Newsome circled the weekend more than a year ago. He knew that Jonathan Ogden, the first player he picked for the Ravens, would have a strong chance to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Feb. 2, 2013. Wouldn't it be something, Newsome thought, if the Ravens played in Super Bowl XLVII the next day? It was quite the fantasy, and it grew wilder still when Ray Lewis, the other potential Hall of Fame player Newsome selected in the first round in 1996, announced he would retire at the end of this year's playoffs.

After nine tantalizing seasons, Steve Bisciotti finally stood exactly where he wanted to be, encircled by jubilant Ravens players and cradling the hollow silver football that said his team was on its way to the Super Bowl. Bisciotti had just accepted the trophy from former player O.J. Brigance, whose fight against ALS has inspired the Ravens organization. As the king whose army had conquered the enemy's field, he could have basked in a nation's gaze. Instead, as is the Ravens owner's wont, he exited the stage quickly.

Ravens safety Ed Reed said that he was grateful that his one-game suspension for repeated violations of the rule prohibiting hits to the head and neck area of defenseless players was lifted Tuesday after his appeal. As a result, Reed will be on the field Sunday against the San Diego Chargers. However Reed was assessed a $50,000 fine for his hit on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in the third quarter of the Ravens 13-10 victory. defended his style of play, acknowledged that there is a “fine line” between protecting players and not taking away from the game and said the new rules and fines are creating a “flag football thing.” “The rules of the game have changed a whole lot since I got in the league,” said Reed after distributing turkeys to families of Booker T. Washington Middle School along with teammates Cary Williams and Anquan Boldin.

For Ravens center Matt Birk, education is as fundamental as pass blocking and calling audibles. Birk, the Ravens and the Baltimore County Foundation presented area students with $81,500 in college scholarships Thursday at M&T Bank Stadium. Ravens president Dick Cass also announced that the team is preparing to give out $500,000 in scholarships over the next nine years. The BCF received 180 applications for 10 scholarships this year. "It's important for me to give back, because I received a lot of help from people who didn't have to," said Birk, who signed with the Ravens as a free agent March 5 after 11 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

The Texans and Ravens spent as much time looking at weather radar screens as they did looking at video of their opponents during the week before the game scheduled for Sept. 14 at Reliant Stadium. Hurricane Ike was bearing down on Texas, and weather guessers and NFL officials were looking for answers. Would they be able to play? Would they move the game to another day? Would they move the game to another location? Would they move it to later in the season? On Thursday, Sept. 11, the NFL moved the game to Monday night.

Jameel McClain knows what it feels like to be "dinged," or hit so hard in the head that he felt dizzy. It was his rookie year with the Ravens, and he said he ran down the field straight into three offensive linemen. Team doctors kept him out of the game until he was more himself. But that caution was not always the way for the Ravens or the National Football League, where McClain said players have embraced the ethic of playing through pain. That has trickled down to many youth leagues where the long-term damage inflicted by concussions has also been ignored.

What a wonderful piece of news the citizens of Maryland received when the Ravens announced they will not be increasing their tickets prices ("No rise in ticket price for Ravens," Feb. 4). This is the third straight season they have done so. Dick Cass and the Ravens management understand what Gov.Martin O'Malleychooses to ignore, namely that most Marylanders are struggling in these tough economic times: "We know that fans are stretching financially to buy our season tickets. " Though we came up short of the big prize, you made our city and state proud.