Ed Reed

Ten days before the NFL draft, the amazing transformation of the Ravens continues. Rolando McClain is just the latest new piece of the puzzle. And I wouldn't bet he's the last free agent the Ravens sign, not with the team still $4.1 million under the salary cap and several gaping holes in the lineup still to be filled. But by signing the volatile linebacker after the Oakland Raiders dumped him, the Ravens reaffirmed that they're willing to take chances on players other teams wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole.

I mentioned this on my Twitter account, but I wanted to go into a little more detail here. Eight of the nine oldest Ravens - and the six oldest overall - from the team that won the Super Bowl two months ago are no longer under contract with the team. That group includes Ray Lewis (37, retired), Bobbie Williams (36, released), Matt Birk (36, retired), Brendon Ayanbadejo (36, will be released), Ed Reed (34, signed with Houston), Ma'ake Kemoeatu (34, free agent), Bryant McKinnie (33, free agent)

Wedding date: Feb. 9, 2013 Her story: Rebecca Bressi, 28, grew up in Middle River. She is a senior business analyst for T. Rowe Price. Her mother, Barbara, is an executive secretary at Alban Tractor and her father, Joseph, co-owns Portside Pub in Essex. His story: Eric Wozniak, 28, grew up in Edgemere. He is a crane operator at the port of Baltimore. He was raised by his aunt and uncle - Pam and Victor McQuay, who also work at the port of Baltimore. Their story: Rebecca and Eric were introduced through mutual friends in fall 2006.

Bernard Pollard has a new team in the Tennessee Titans, but he is still talking about his exit from the Ravens. In a recent interview with Houston radio station KILT-AM , Pollard, who was cut by the Ravens a few weeks after he helped them win the Super Bowl, was asked about his surprising release a couple of days into free agency. The conversation shifted to that heated team meeting in October when he, fellow safety Ed Reed and other players voiced displeasure about practicing in pads two days after a blowout loss to the Houston Texans.

Two months after winning the Super Bowl , the Ravens are in position to have a good draft and make another serious run at a championship. Even though there was a mass exodus of players in free agency, which began last month, the Ravens have made solid acquisitions by adding outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil and defensive linemen Chris Canty and Marcus Spears. With 12 picks in the NFL draft later this month, the Ravens have plenty of ammunition to sign several quality players in a draft that most experts consider very deep.

The significance of replacing Ed Reed resonated strongly with new Ravens free safety Michael Huff, a feeling he imparted to the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Before Huff officially signed his three-year, $6 million contract, he texted Reed to let him know that his old job was in good hands. Reed left Baltimore and joined the Houston Texans last week when the nine-time Pro Bowl selection signed a three-year, $15 million contract. “It means a lot,” Huff said Thursday afternoon during an introductory news conference at team headquarters.

Every Monday, Baltimore Sun blogger and reporter Matt Vensel will rank the most significant athletes and events in Baltimore sports that week based on accomplishments on and off the field. Because, well, why not? The big story last week was a not-so-satisfactory resolution to the scheduling conflict between the Ravens and Orioles, but there was some positive news for Ravens fans, as well as Terps fans and a notable Hopkins grad. THE BOTTOM TWO 100. The Orioles and Ravens: There were no winners in their scheduling conflict.

Ed Reed doesn't want to say goodbye, but he does want to say thanks. The former Ravens safety took out a full page ad in the Sports section of today's Baltimore Sun  to deliver a message to the fans who have cheered him for more than a decade. The ad reads:    Ravens Nation, My eleven seasons in Baltimore were more than I would have ever imagined, which is why I have such deep love for you all. I will forever cherish my time with the Ravens and the chills that ran down my spine when I finally kissed the Lombardi Trophy.

As the Orioles and Ravens try to work out a scheduling conflict that has put in jeopardy the NFL's hopes of opening up the regular season on Thursday, Sept. 5 at M&T Bank Stadium, the relationship between the two downtown neighbors has again come under scrutiny. That's a shame because over the past year or so, the synergy between the Orioles and Ravens never appeared better. Ravens players wore cartoon bird hats and frequently brought up the Orioles during their playoff run. When the Orioles played the New York Yankees at home in Game 2 of their playoff series, half the Ravens' roster was at Camden Yards.

The sight couldn't have been easy for Ravens fans: Ed Reed wearing a Houston Texans' hat and later holding up a blue No. 20 jersey. For Reed, a Raven for 11 seasons and one of the franchise's best ever players, it wasn't an easy decision either. At a news conference Friday in Houston in which he was introduced as the newest Texan, Reed called leaving the Ravens “probably the hardest thing ever in life.” “It's not so much as leaving, because like I said, I'm going to be part of the community, and I'm going to be part of this community.