Ray Lewis

One thing quickly became clear while watching “Ray Lewis: A Football Life,” which will air Wednesday night at 8 p.m. on NFL Network -- Baltimore and the football world outside of this city have a lot of love for Ray Lewis. The crew of NFL Films followed Lewis throughout the 2011 season, and in Wednesday's hour-long look at the life of the Ravens linebacker, Ravens coach John Harbaugh; a giddy, purple-clad mom from Baltimore; an older fan who eventually lost his battle with cancer this year; and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady each tells Lewis that he or she loves him. “I mean that,” Brady said after the AFC championship game.

I don't know where this Sports Illustrated report that says linebacker Ray Lewis took a banned substance will eventually lead Lewis or this organization, but it might have enough force to lead the Ravens to the Lombardi Trophy Sunday night. There will be experts who say this type of report will be a distraction, but it will serve as a driving force. It will promote more team unity. The Ravens love Lewis, especially the younger players who listen to his every word. Whenever No. 52 is attacked, the Ravens rally around him. I assume that will be a major theme for the Ravens heading into the game with the 49ers.

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning hosted “Saturday Night Live” on Saturday night, and since I have little social life to speak of, I happened to catch his performance. Despite mostly awful and unfunny writing, Manning was solid, though he didn't come close to matching the laughs of his brother, Peyton, from a few years ago. And since Manning is a famous, Super Bowl-winning quarterback, of course there were a couple of skits loosely related to the NFL. One skit was about Manning awkwardly posing for touchdown celebrations for the new “Madden” game, and actors played New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow, Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz and Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.

As the Ravens ran out the clock in Sunday's 24-9 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the wild-card round, coach John Harbaugh sent linebacker Ray Lewis onto the field to be the last line of defense in the victory formation. “That was inspired from above, I guess. That was just an idea from a higher power,” Harbaugh explained. After quarterback Joe Flacco took a knee one last time to officially end the Colts' season, Lewis, who was playing his final game at M&T Bank Stadium, did his signature pregame dance near the middle of the field.

So some say Ray Lewis might have played the last game of his career Sunday in that shaky 31-29 Ravens' win over Dallas? Forget it. It's much ado about nothing. We'll find out later today, at John Harbaugh's 4 p.m. news conference, the extent of Lewis'  triceps injury. The fear is he could be done for the season. But even if he is, any speculation that this is a career-ender for the great middle linebacker is ridiculous. There's no way a proud man like Lewis would call it quits on a glorious, 17-year, Hall of Fame-bound career with a triceps injury.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Ray Lewis works as a motivational speaker in his free time. The Ravens' fearless leader has been seen many times barking last-minute instructions and words of wisdom at his teammates before they take the field. And this week, Lewis is in London “for a three-day minicamp with the London Warriors of the BAFA National Leagues,” according to a report by CBSsports.com. The Warriors brought in Lewis to hype them up in anticipation of their upcoming game against their crosstown rivals, the London Blitz.

Under Armour gave a sneak peek at its latest advertising campaign during last Thursday's season debut of "Jersey Shore," and you might have seen a 30-second "Footsteps" spot on TV or the Internet this week. The company's latest commercial, which is embedded at the bottom of this post, was directed by Peter Berg of "Friday Night Lights" fame. It features cameos by NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Cam Newton, and though Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis isn't seen in the ad, he narrates it in a very Ray-like manner.

He should ... but won't Aaron Wilson Baltimore Sun Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis' legendary career should logically end now because of a torn right triceps. Rather than subject himself to a strenuous rehab and rebuild his fading game at age 38 next season, Lewis should retire and start the five-year countdown to Canton, when he'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Lewis' pride will make him resist this course. He'll restore his arm. He'll want to rewrite the final chapter, not ending on a meaningless tackle of Cowboys runner Phillip Tanner.

When the Ravens made Ray Lewis their second-ever draft pick, they knew they were getting a highly productive player from the talent-rich University of Miami. What they could not have known is that Lewis would become arguably the greatest middle linebacker in history and one of the faces of his NFL generation. Through 17 seasons of controversy and excellence, Lewis' Baltimore ride has never been boring: 1996: On April 20, the Ravens select Ray Lewis with their second pick in the first round of the NFL Draft, 26 t h overall.

In the ongoing effort to fill cyber and print space space 24/7 and keep readers perpetually stirred up,  Sports Ilustrated has released an NFL players' poll that lists New York Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow as the most overrated player in the game. The bad news, at least if you're a Ravens fan, is that Ray Lewis shows up at No. 5 on the list. Yes, in a survey of 180 players, Baltimore's sainted middle linebacker and future no-doubt Hall of Famer was listed by three percent of the player vote as a guy whose reputation -- at least at 37 years of age, with 17 years in the league -- far exceeds his production.