Matt Birk

UPDATE: Check out a photo gallery of images from Joe Flacco's wedding here. The photos can also be found on the website of photographer Jason Prezant , but the site has been inaccessible due to the high interest in the Flacco pictures. . Joe Flacco's wedding photos have been posted out in the blogosphere, and simply put, they are amazing. The photos, which were published to the blog of wedding photographer Jason Prezant, shed a little light onto what the Ravens quarterback is like away from the television cameras and our microphones.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Former Ravens center Matt Birk, a Minnesota native, threw out the ceremonial first pitch Saturday night before the Orioles faced the Twins at Target Field . Birk also took part in a pregame Pepsi home run contest. Birk came in second, hitting two softballs over the wall (from a center field plate). The Twins mascot, T.C., won. Birk, 36, retired from football after helping the Ravens to the Super Bowl title this year. His former teammate Haloti Ngata threw out the first pitch at a game at Camden Yards earlier this week .

Ravens center Matt Birk missed practice for a fourth consecutive day Thursday. The reason for his absence has not been disclosed, though head coach John Harbaugh said on Tuesday that the 36-year-old is at the stage of his career where he doesn't have to practice every day. Rookie Gino Gradkowski has been filling in for him at center. There was still no sign of defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (hamstring) and offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie (back). Neither has practiced in training camp so far, though Harbaugh said Wednesday that Ngata is getting closer.

Let's get the last name out of the way first. It's Juszczyk. Somehow, from that lonely vowel and thicket of consonants, comes a pronunciation of YOOZ-check. Don't feel bad if you don't say it right the first time. No one ever does. No, check that. One guy did. "We had a Polish card-swiper at our dining hall" at Harvard, said Kyle Juszczyk, the rookie fullback the Ravens selected in the fourth round (130th overall) of the NFL draft. "And he actually nailed it on the first try. But he's the only one. " Instead, Juszczyk picked up a nickname that made life simpler.

If Ravens center Matt Birk has decided to retire, he hasn't announced it yet. Birk has, however, decided to go zip-lining with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Birk, a candidate for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, is in Indianapolis for the Super Bowl and hanging out with The Commish. This photo is courtesy of the NFL. Birk, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and Bears cornerback Charles Tillman are among the finalists for the award that recognizes a player's off-the-field community service as well as his playing excellence.

Ravens player Matt Birk's remarks on gay marriage were timely in relation to the vote coming up next month, but they are wrong ("Strengthening marriage," Oct. 8). Gay people are not asking for special rights but for society to acknowledge that gay couples deserve the same rights everyone else has. Everyone else is allowed to legally marry, such as couples of different races and divorced people. These marriages used to be against the law. As a gay Christian, I have known my whole life that I am different and that it was not my choice.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh just met with reporters following practice and provided an update on several of his injured players: Cornerback Jimmy Smith, who left practice early yesterday, had his back lock up on him. Harbaugh said that it is a muscular issue that Smith also dealt with while playing at the University of Colorado. "It takes a couple of days usually for that to resolve," Harbaugh said. Center Matt Birk missed his fifth straight practice today and Harbaugh essentially ruled him out from next Thursday's preseason opener in Atlanta.

On Nov. 6, Maryland voters will decide on whether to change the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples. The potential implications of this amendment for our society are profound. Same-sex marriage is a polarizing issue and, in some instances, has deteriorated into an "us against them" debate. We must respectfully consider all viewpoints, which evoke strong emotions from both sides, because we cannot afford to get this wrong. It should be less about who is right or wrong and more about what is best for our society today and going forward.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Former Ravens center Matt Birk, a Minnesota native, threw out the ceremonial first pitch Saturday night before the Orioles faced the Twins at Target Field . Birk also took part in a pregame Pepsi home run contest. Birk came in second, hitting two softballs over the wall (from a center field plate). The Twins mascot, T.C., won. Birk, 36, retired from football after helping the Ravens to the Super Bowl title this year. His former teammate Haloti Ngata threw out the first pitch at a game at Camden Yards earlier this week .

Veteran Ravens center Matt Birk said Wednesday he will appeal a $5,000 fine from the NFL for failing to wear a microphone under his jersey as prescribed by the new collective bargaining agreement. Birk said he had problems with the microphone in warm-ups before the Jets game and when he couldn't get it corrected, he took the mic off. “When I went out for warm-ups, the microphone came loose and was jabbing my neck,” he said. “It was tucked in there pretty tight and I couldn't get it back in there, so I just took it off. Then I was notified that I'm not supposed to do that.” Birk received a letter about the fine on Monday.

Ravens center Gino Gradkowski grabbed his phone as soon as he heard that Matt Birk was retiring last Friday, saluting the six-time Pro Bowl center in a text message. It wasn't long before Gradkowski heard back from his mentor, who ended his career to spend more time with his wife and six children after capping his 15th season winning a Super Bowl . "I was congratulating Matt on how awesome it is that he's going out on top because he really deserved that, and he got right back to me," Gradkowski said while traveling back to Delaware after visiting his older brother, Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, in Ohio.

As Matt Birk spent the past couple of weeks pondering his football future, his mind kept drifting back to the immediate aftermath of the Ravens' Super Bowl XLVII victory over the San Francisco 49ers nearly three weeks ago. For about 30 minutes following the Ravens' 34-31 win, the veteran center lingered on the field at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, huddling with his teammates, embracing family members and running and jumping around in a sea of confetti....

The Ravens arrived at their team facility in Owings Mills Monday morning, short on sleep but long on adrenaline and anticipation. It had been less than 24 hours since the Ravens' 28-13 victory over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in the AFC championship game, and the magnitude of their accomplishment and what lies ahead still hadn't completely sunk in. Veteran center Matt Birk, who has played 15 seasons and delayed retirement to...

Maybe it was the long odds that the Ravens overcame to defeat the top two teams in the AFC and advance to the Super Bowl. Maybe it was just the fact that they trounced the New England Patriots and gave them a taste of what Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have been cooking over the past decade. Whatever caused Ravens fans to spill out onto the streets of Federal Hill on Sunday night, the huge crowd of revelers proved that - despite the great bond they have developed with this inspiring team - there is a big difference in the way the fans and the players view this heady moment in Ravens history.

Although cameras will attempt to capture every move by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and other key players like Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, running back Ray Rice and inside linebacker Ray Lewis, the grunt work on the offensive and defensive lines figures to be pivotal in Sunday's AFC championship game. "Pretty much every game is decided in the trenches, and then by guys making plays," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "Whoever wins the trenches has a great chance to win the game.

Ray Lewis' last hurrah with the Ravens opened with a packed news conference on Jan. 2, was punctuated by his last dance in front of fans at M&T Bank Stadium four days later, and has led to a number of rallying cries citing his "last ride" comment. Matt Birk has witnessed it all, and the Ravens center said he doesn't expect that kind of farewell when he decides to retire. "A guy like Ray Lewis, you send him off properly - press conferences, all that stuff," Birk said after Friday's practice.

Predictably enough, Ravens center Matt Birk's opposition to same-sex marriage has caught the attention of Vikings punter Chris Kluwe. In response to an op-ed Birk penned in support of, as he wrote, “preserving marriage as the sacred union of one man and one woman,” the outspoken Kluwe published a six-point takedown of what he calls Birk's “logical fallacy.” The crux of Kluwe's response - which is far less profane than his...

As the Ravens await word on whether free agent left guard Evan Mathis will accept their multi-year offer, they addressed one spot on their offensive line Friday, agreeing in principle to a three-year deal with veteran center Matt Birk that is pending a physical. The re-signing of Birk, who has played the last three seasons with the Ravens, capped a busy day for the Ravens, who couldn't finalize a deal with Mathis before he returned home to Arizona to mull his options, and then watched two more of their free agents (reserve safeties Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski)

They're big. They're fast. They're strong.  And you can see something else in today's NFL players:  they're scared. Scared about what football might be doing to their brains. Scared about a possible lifetime of migraine headaches, light sensitivity, memory problems and dementia from all the blows to the head they've absorbed in this most brutal of sports. Did you see Haloti Ngata's revealing comments to reporter Childs Walker at baltimoresun.com and in today's Baltimore Sun?

Wide-eyed and mindful, Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell checked off all the traits that make Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller one of the league's most feared pass rushers, an NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and the biggest threat to blow up his game plan Saturday. “Speed. Power. Quickness. Finesse. He's got it all,” Caldwell said. “He is just an unbelievable performer.” Miller ranked third in the NFL during the regular season with 18.5 sacks as the Broncos tied for the league lead with 52. Miller led the Broncos with a team-high 86 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, and tied Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake for the most in the NFL. Miller did not sack Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco in Denver's 34-17 win in Week 15, but he led the charge as the Broncos harassed Flacco all afternoon.