New Orleans

Minutes before Monday's flight to New Orleans, Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco was seen with his favorite treat: Haribo Gold-Bears. The original gummi bears are Flacco's go-to choice while prepping for the big game. Known for his sweet tooth, Flacco's favorite flavor is Pineapple. This has been a 4-minute Ravens-related post. Follow Baltimore Diner on Twitter @gorelickingood  

The Sun is recruiting fans to be the voice of Ravens Nation throughout our Super Bowl coverage . If you're traveling to New Orleans, we're interested in getting your thoughts, observations and photos before, during and after the big game to go in our fan diary. To inquire about contributing Super Bowl Week dispatches, email coordinators@baltsun.com .

Ravens inside linebacker Ray Lewis met the media for the first of several times this week and he said his "hunger" to win another Super Bowl is "probably off the charts. " "I was 25 when I won my first Super Bowl. To be 37 and back here and have a chance to win another one in my last year, there's no greater hunger that I have," Lewis said. "I'm going to give my teammates everything I have and not just on Sunday. Starting today, I'm not going nowhere. I'm sitting in my room and I'm studying and studying and studying.

Wearing a dark suit and a purple striped tie, an outfit that he said his wife picked out, Ravens coach John Harbaugh met the media for the first time here and set the tone for his team ahead of Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. His message was simple: the Ravens will enjoy all that comes with playing in the Super Bowl but they will be ready to play Sunday. Harbaugh joked with reporters, playfully encouraging them to ask repetitive questions to his younger brother, Jim, the head coach of the 49ers.

The first thing you need to know about the Big Easy is that it was a lot easier to get here than the last time I visited New Orleans. Got a cheap flight into Jackson, Miss., and the difference in fare for driving a couple of hours paid for the rental car for the whole week and - if I can get a reservation - dinner at Emeril's restaurant in the warehouse district. My previous trip, in January 1976, was quite a bit more involved. I drove here from Southern California with two friends during winter break with the intention of visiting the Crescent City and then continuing on to Miami to scare up some tickets for Super Bowl X. For some reason, I can't possibly expect to remember, we decided to stay in New Orleans, probably because of all the great libraries.

Ray Lewis took the microphone and said one word three times: "Baltimore. " Staring out at thousands of people crowding the Harborplace Amphitheater, most of them holding cell phones or cameras aloft to capture the moment, the second player ever drafted by the Ravens launched into a short speech. The team was making a pit stop Monday on its way to the airport to fly to New Orleans for Sunday's Super Bowl, so these would be Lewis' last public comments in Baltimore as a member of the franchise he has come to personify.

The Ravens are scheduled to land here this afternoon. By watching the footage of the San Francisco 49ers' arrival last night and then by attending their news conferences, I was a little surprised how nonchalant and business-like they were. It fits coach Jim Harbaugh's desire to treat this like a normal work week. I don't see that as a good or bad thing, mind you. I was just a little surprised that you didn't see players walking off the plane in fancy suits with video cameras pressed to their faces.

Of the 53 players on the Ravens' active roster, only four have been to a Super Bowl. And only one was there last year. James Ihedigbo was a starting safety for New England, and as the Ravens spent last week gearing up for meeting the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3, the memory of that 21-17 Patriots loss to the New York Giants almost a year ago was still fresh in his mind. "You don't ever want to be on the other end of it, the loser's end," he said. "Coming into this whole week, it's preparation, it's understanding the type of offense the 49ers run, the things they do on special teams, how they want to attack us, and how do we want to attack them.

The NFC-champion San Francisco 49ers arrived in town Sunday night a full week ahead of their Feb. 3 matchup with the Ravens, vowing to enjoy the experience but not get caught up in the Super Bowl XLVII hype. "What we've done - and it's been successful so far - our team has been really focused on winning, focused on the unity of the team," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said at a news conference at a downtown Marriott hotel that will serve as the team's headquarters this week. "I think it's the best focus on unity and winning that I've ever seen and been a part of. This week, we tried to make it like a normal week.

A return for the Sonics Barry Stavro Los Angeles Times David Stern is ready to give whoever buys the Kings a get-out-of-jail-free card and bless a move to Seattle. With an inevitable change in zip codes coming, it's also time to ditch the Kings as a name. Truth is this franchise, in existence since 1949, has hardly been Kings-like. This will be its seventh straight losing season and it's been more than a decade since the team was a title contender. And after previous stops in Rochester, Cincinnati and Kansas City, this franchise has only a single NBA title, back in 1951 as the Rochester Royals.