Pro Bowl

OFFENSE Pos. Player Jamison Hensley's comment QB McNair 3,050 passing yards last season was 2nd-best total in team history. RB McGahee Cracked 100 rushing yards only three times in last 22 games with Bills. FB Green Replaces Ovie Mughelli just 10 months removed from blowing out knee. WR Clayton Could become team's top receiver; has 97 catches in past 23 games. WR Mason 11-year veteran wants to show he can keep pace with younger receivers. TE Heap Remains McNair's top red-zone target after team-best six TD catches.

Don't be surprised if Rav ens outside linebacker Bart Scott plays in the Pro Bowl, replacing Ray Lewis, who was named an alternate Wednesday. Lewis became an injury replace ment for the Denver Broncos' Al Wilson, but apparently has an in jury of his own. Word is that Lewis could play, but would pre fer that Scott go in his place be cause Scott had an excellent sea son and it would give Scott more recognition. It's a great move by Lewis be cause this would have been his eighth Pro Bowl.

This offseason was supposed to be the time when Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle focused on rebuilding his confidence after suffering the worst year of his career. But football soon became the least of his worries. During an African safari with his wife and NFL players Fred Taylor and Lito Sheppard, the door of their single-propeller plane opened while traveling at 6,000 feet. Some panicked. Others prayed. Everyone feared for their lives. "I put my shirt over my head and I was like, `Oh no, tell me this isn't happening,' " said Rolle, who was seated two rows in front of the unexpected opening.

MIAMI -- Forget Dan Reeves vs. Mike Shanahan. Ray Buchanan and Shannon Sharpe took an insurmountable lead in the Super Bowl name-calling contest yesterday.Buchanan said Sharpe looks like Mr. Ed, and Sharpe said Buchanan should put away his high heels. The war of words worthy of pro wrasslin' was waged by two players separated by 20 miles but linked by a media eager to fuel the feud."Shannon can always win, because he can talk," said Buchanan, the Atlanta Falcons' Pro Bowl cornerback. "But Shannon looks like a horse.

Middle linebacker Ray Lewis said the day he stops thinking he can improve on the football field is the day he stops playing the game.As the heart of the Ravens' fine defense, Lewis is progressing well enough to play in his third straight Pro Bowl game in Honolulu on Feb. 6. Lewis will be starting for the AFC for the first time.Lewis, along with four teammates -- offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden, outside linebacker Peter Boulware, safety Rod Woodson and right defensive end Michael McCrary -- were named to the AFC squad yesterday.

Kurt Warner's storybook season has him on pace to become the 10th NFL quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns in the same season.What has gone overlooked is that Steve Beuerlein has the chance to become the 11th.Warner's rise from Arena League quarterback to the Pro Bowl for the St. Louis Rams has been remarkable; Beuerlein's rise from the scrap heap of NFL journeymen to the Pro Bowl is almost as surprising.Beuerlein assumed his starting days were over when, with the Phoenix Cardinals in 1994, Buddy Ryan benched him for one of his old favorites, Jim McMahon.

Two NFL general managers and one pro personnel director who anonymously critiqued the Ravens agree that they are a young and talented team that could win as many as eight of 16 games this season.They didn't mention the playoffs, but said the Ravens should be competitive in the AFC Central and might finish as high as second."Realistically, that's not that strong of a division," said one NFC general manager. "Jacksonville, rightfully so, is the class of that conference. Pittsburgh is traditionally tough, but this is not one of their better teams.

Opinion: If the Maryland Terrapins win their last three regular-season games and lose to Duke in the ACC tournament final, they could draw a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. A 27-5 record normally wouldn't be good enough, but three of the losses would be to Duke and few other teams can match the Terps' record. Hey, it sounds crazy, but it could happen.Fact: Had Tamir Goodman played for Maryland this season, he would have missed five of 29 regular-season games for religious observances.Opinion: Highly recommended reading: David Remnick's "King of the World," about the two Ali-Liston fights; and Steve Rushin's hilarious "Road Swing," about a car trip taken in pursuit of the soul of American sports.

PHILADELPHIA -- Brian Billick, you're not in Minnesota anymore."I appreciate you all showing up for that massive offensive explosion," the new coach jokingly told reporters last night after the Ravens' 10-7 victory over Philadelphia in their preseason opener.You're a genius, right, Brian?"I've got to be to get 10 points on a night like that," Billick said, smiling again.As the Vikings' offensive coordinator, Billick had Randall Cunningham throwing to Randy Moss and Cris Carter. With the Ravens, he has Scott Mitchell throwing to well, Billick isn't exactly sure.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The rivalry wouldn't cut it in the WWF, and it's an anomaly in today's NFL.No staring, no posing, no taunting. No name-calling, no finger-pointing, no trash-talking.Just respect.Just two warriors staging 578-pound collisions on snap after snap, then acknowledging each other's passion and skill when it is all over.They actually had breakfast at the Pro Bowl, Michael McCrary and Tony Boselli did. They actually share a mutual admiration, one as genuine as it is rare.McCrary: "He just loves to play the game.

Less than a week after being honored by the AFC for his play at linebacker, Brendon Ayanbadejo's season has ended. The Ravens placed the Pro Bowl special teams player on injured reserve Tuesday, ending his season. Ayanbadejo didn't waste any time in flying to Birmingham, Ala., later in the day to meet with renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews and planned to undergo surgery on his torn left quadriceps tendon later today. "I want to be healthy tomorrow," Ayanbadejo said via phone as he boarded a plane Tuesday.

Michael Vick is returning to professional football with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he'll team with a respected owner, coaching staff and quarterback. ESPN first reported the contractual agreement Thursday evening, and two sources close to Vick confirmed the deal to the Newport News Daily Press in Hampton Roads, Va. A former Pro Bowl quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, Vick has not played football since 2006. He served 18 months in prison on a federal conspiracy charge related to a dogfighting ring and was suspended indefinitely by the NFL. Under the terms of his recent reinstatement, Vick is eligible to practice immediately.

Pro Bowl selections, Super Bowl champions and a host of other former NFL players and coaches shared their collective wisdom Saturday during Football University at the Severn School. The invitation-only football camp gave some of the region's top high school and middle school players a chance to learn techniques from seasoned veterans and gain tips for life outside of football. More than 200 players participated in Saturday's camp. Organizers aim to keep Football University functioning at an 8-1 coach-player ratio.

The Denver Broncos agreed Thursday to trade disgruntled Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears. The Broncos will get quarterback Kyle Orton in return, along with two first-round draft picks and a third-round selection. The Broncos get the Bears' top pick in this year's draft, which is No. 18 overall, and Chicago's first-round draft pick in 2010 along with a third-round selection this year (No. 84 overall). Denver also gave up a fifth-round pick this year. Cutler asked for a trade last month after new coach Josh McDaniels talked with other teams about trading his passer.

NFL owners, who broke their annual March meetings Wednesday in Dana Point, Calif., are warming to the idea of expanding the regular season to 17 or 18 games - with commissioner Roger Goodell raising the possibility of filling out an expanded schedule with neutral-site games. It could be two or three years before any changes take effect, giving the league time to restructure the season - such as dumping one or two weeks of preseason games - so as to allow teams ample time to prepare for games that count.

A few years from now, when Ray Lewis decides to retire, the Pro Bowl inside linebacker will be celebrated as a lifelong Raven and have a statue erected at M&T Bank Stadium in his honor. But yesterday, in fielding questions for the first time since re-signing with the Ravens, Lewis dismissed "flirtations" with other teams and repeatedly insisted that Baltimore was his first choice in free agency. "My family is Baltimore," said Lewis, who wore sunglasses and a yellowish-tan, open-neck shirt during the half-hour interview session.

Matt Birk doesn't know the exact moment when he felt like he was going to be the newest member of the Ravens, but the starting center remembered when he got the confirmation to sign with them. His wife, Adrianna, was on her way to catch a flight to Minnesota on Wednesday when she smiled at Birk and gave him a nod. "That was the last blessing that I needed," Birk said at yesterday's introductory news conference. In a life-changing move, Birk decided to leave his hometown team and sign a three-year, $12 million contract with the Ravens.

'Skins release Taylor over workout clause nfl Jason Taylor's disappointing tenure with the Redskins ended when he was cut by Washington yesterday for refusing to commit to the team's offseason workout program. The Redskins wanted to add a workout clause to Taylor's hefty contract, but the defensive end, 34, declined. The clause would have required Taylor, who was acquired from the Miami Dolphins in July, to take part in 25 days of offseason workouts. The 2006 Defensive Player of the Year had been considered a possible salary cap cut in Washington because of the value of his contract, which would have paid him a salary of about $8.5 million this season.

This could have been a great week in the life of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. He could have had one more big payday and a legacy in Baltimore that would have put him in the same class with John Unitas, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson and Cal Ripken Jr. But instead of celebrating a new contract and enhancing his iconic status, Lewis was embarrassed on the first day of free agency because none of the other 31 teams in the NFL offered him a contract....

If I were general manager of the Ravens, I would let Pro Bowl inside linebacker Ray Lewis become an unrestricted free agent. Forget all of this icon nonsense. If Jerry Rice and John Unitas could play in another jersey, so can Lewis. It's time for the Ravens to move on and allow this team to officially become John Harbaugh's. The Ravens might have taken a step in that direction yesterday by cutting disgruntled veteran cornerback Chris McAlister, or were they releasing McAlister to free up $8 million against the salary cap to re-sign Lewis?