Ray Rice

The mourners followed the coffin of 15-year-old Grace McComas out of the church and into the morning sunlight of a beautiful Easter season. Christine McComas carried her child's stuffed toy in the crook of her arm. Grief made her look almost wistful. As Grace's parents and her three sisters left the crowded St. Michael's Catholic Church in Mount Airy a year ago, they weren't thinking that their journey of grief would take them to Annapolis. But the determination of that grief-stricken mother to tell her daughter's story - powered by a Ravens player, Maryland's first lady and a state legislator - resulted in "Grace's Law," which Gov. Martin O'Malley is scheduled to sign Thursday.

Two guns and cash were stolen in a weekend burglary at the Reisterstown home of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, Baltimore County police confirmed. Police said surveillance video showed that a man entered through a rear window at Rice's home in the northwestern Baltimore suburbs and made off with two guns and $2,000 in cash after ransacking the home. Cpl. Cathleen Batton, a police spokeswoman, said the break-in occurred some time between 8:30 p.m. Friday and 12:50 a.m. Saturday, and was reported to police about 1:20 a.m. Rice was not home at the time, Batton said.

Ray Rice is showing off his chess skills in a new online ad campaign. The increasingly marketable Ravens running back has been unveiled this week as not only the newest pitchman for Xenith football helmets, but the face of the company's player safety campaign. As part of the arrangement, Rice stars in the Massachusetts-based company's online ad to introduce the "enlightened warrior. " The minute-long online commercial for the safety campaign has a chess theme. It opens with Rice explaining how he's been playing the board game since he was 9 years old. He says: "Chess helps me stay focused.

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice will be the first player featured during the upcoming season in USA's "NFL Characters Unite" campaign, the cable channel will announce later today. Rice will also announce an expanded relationship between the NFL and USA at the upfront TV presentations in New York City later today. Here's the release from USA: NEW YORK - May 16, 2012 - USA Network announced today that it is expanding its Characters Unite collaboration with the National Football League.

While Ray Rice continued to bask in the glow of his 29-yard, catch-and-run on fourth-and-29 against the San Diego Chargers, quarterback Joe Flacco admitted that he didn't do any reflecting on the play and he didn't plan to. “We got away with one and I'll be glad. I could have looked like a big-time idiot if we don't get that play,” Flacco said. “I kind of went out on a limb there to check the ball down on fourth-and-29. We don't get that, everybody is crushing me: 'What the hell is he doing checking the ball down on fourth-and-29?

The status of the contract negotiations between the Ravens and Ray Rice will loom over the offseason and that will remain true whether the Pro Bowl running back shows up at organized team activities later this month or opts to stay home until a deal is done. Rice told reporters Tuesdayin New York at Nike's official uniform unveiling, he still hasn't decided what he is going to do as he waits to see if negotiations with the Ravens result in a long-term contract extension or him playing the 2012 season under the franchise tag. “Me and my agent (Todd France)

On occasion, Ray Rice likes to exchange sweaty jerseys with opposing players that he admires, and he already knows which Cleveland Browns player will be in his crosshairs after the final whistle blows Sunday afternoon. Rice plans to seek out rookie running back Trent Richardson, who looked up to Rice and other backs while weaving his way to the NFL. But the respect is mutual, as Rice has been a “huge fan” of Richardson, the third pick in April's NFL draft, since watching Richardson run over and around defenders while he was at Alabama.

Ravens running back Ray Rice talks about this Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Ray Rice rushes in to help Ellicott City. Get ready for 27 for Old EC. For 27 days, beginning Friday and running through Oct. 10, participating merchants and restaurants will offer themed specials featuring Rice's jersey number, 27. Then, 27 percent of those sales will be donated to benefit community recovery efforts from the derailment. There will be an online auction on the 27forOldEC Facebook page featuring donated Ravens football items in addition to the various specials offered by the businesses.  Follow Baltimore Diner on Twitter @gorelickingood

Some form of the question is asked pretty much every time Ray Rice goes behind a microphone or faces reporters. After all, he has to crack at some point, doesn't he? Five months after signing a contract extension that made him one of the NFL's highest paid running backs and seemingly solidified his status as the focal point of the Ravens' offense, Rice is on pace to finish with his fewest rushing and receiving yards since his rookie season. Barring a dramatic workload increase over the final two regular season games, Rice will have his fewest carries since 2009, his first year as a starter.

Unless you are a football junkie, you probably don't know or don't care that the Kansas City Chiefs hired Chris Ault, the man who invented the Pistol offense and coached Colin Kaepernick at Nevada, to a consulting gig. But it might interest you that the Ravens reportedly expressed interest in adding Ault to their coaching staff. According to Dan Hinxman of The Reno Gazette-Journal , Ault's agent, Bob LaMonte, said that Ault received interest from a handful of NFL teams , including the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings and the Ravens.

As he stood in front of hundreds of kids last year at his football clinic at Calvert Hall, Ray Rice made a promise to those in the crowd. “When I make promises, I like to keep them,” the Ravens running back said today. “I made a special promise. We said that we were going to bring a Super Bowl back to Baltimore.” The comment was met with loud cheers by those who attended the second annual Ray Rice Day in Baltimore. “Being involved in the community is just something that, winning the Super Bowl or not, I know I'd be out here doing Ray Rice Day again and I'd be telling the kids the same message every day,” Rice said.

The NFL Network has started to slowly reveal its list of the top 100 players of the 2012 season. But knowing how little thought some players give while filling out their ballots, I have a hard time taking that list seriously. The list that interested me more was the top 101 players of 2012 from the guys over at Pro Football Focus . Six PFF analysts put together the list, and they say they based it not on the reputation of players but solely on how they played in the 2012. They also tried to treat each position equally so the top 20 guys aren't quarterbacks.

I couldn't help but notice a trend with Baltimore's 2013 draft class, especially because Ravens officials made a point to mention to reporters that both of their second-day picks were “red-star” players on their draft board. The Ravens, as much as ever, seemed to put a premium on character when deciding whom to pick this year. “The biggest thing is we have a great understanding of the type of football players that [coach John Harbaugh] wants in his locker room, that he and his coaching staff want to work with,” general manager Ozzie Newsome said Saturday.

The mourners followed the coffin of 15-year-old Grace McComas out of the church and into the morning sunlight of a beautiful Easter season. Christine McComas carried her child's stuffed toy in the crook of her arm. Grief made her look almost wistful. As Grace's parents and her three sisters left the crowded St. Michael's Catholic Church in Mount Airy a year ago, they weren't thinking that their journey of grief would take them to Annapolis. But the determination of that grief-stricken mother to tell her daughter's story - powered by a Ravens player, Maryland's first lady and a state legislator - resulted in "Grace's Law," which Gov. Martin O'Malley is scheduled to sign Thursday.

The Ravens did us beat reporters a minor disservice on Saturday afternoon, drafting Harvard fullback Kyle Juszczyk, whose surname will leave behind many red squiggly lines as we learn to spell it, in the fourth round. It's too soon to say that this did a disservice to Pro Bowl fullback Vonta Leach, whose future could be in doubt . “I couldn't ask for a better mentor,” Juszczyk said Saturday. “I think he's been the best fullback in the league.” As we have seen for two years, Leach is probably the best blocking fullback in the NFL, and he has the dented facemasks to prove it. But Juszczyk appears to be a better fit for the future as the Ravens, with quarterback Joe Flacco, continue to modernize their offense.

Two guns and cash were stolen in a weekend burglary at the Reisterstown home of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, Baltimore County police confirmed. Police said surveillance video showed that a man entered through a rear window at Rice's home in the northwestern Baltimore suburbs and made off with two guns and $2,000 in cash after ransacking the home. Cpl. Cathleen Batton, a police spokeswoman, said the break-in occurred some time between 8:30 p.m. Friday and 12:50 a.m. Saturday, and was reported to police about 1:20 a.m. Rice was not home at the time, Batton said.

Some lucky school is going to have a pretty cool segment of show-and-tell soon: A visit from Ravens star Ray Rice. The Greene Turtle sports bar and Sports Radio 105.7 are sponsoring a contest where one school in the Baltimore region, a kindergarten through eighth grade one, will win face-time with the running back. To get in the running, parents, kids or teachers have to go to one of the 14 Greene Turtle locations and fill out an application. They don't have to buy anything. Kids -- if any kids are reading -- can you imagine how popular you'd be if you were the one to bring Ray Rice to school?

If he had it his way, Kelechi Osemele wouldn't be moving anywhere. The Ravens would re-sign free agent left tackle Bryant McKinnie and the offensive line, minus the retired Matt Birk, would start the 2013 season like it ended last year. "It would be good to have that same lineup but things change and you have to be able to adapt," Osemele said Tuesday. After just one NFL season, Osemele has learned that lesson already. A second-round pick in 2012, Osemele started all 16 regular-season games for the Ravens at right tackle, a position that he hadn't played extensively in several years.

Ray Rice was one of three Ravens who took a break from the team's offseason workout program Tuesday to chat with reporters. He appeared to be wearing black pajama pants, so maybe a nap was next on his agenda. Before he took off, he was asked about Torrey Smith, who is expected to be the team's top receiver in 2013. In his second NFL season, Smith caught 49 passes for 855 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns. His 17.4 yards-per-catch average was among the highest in the league in 2012.