Ray Rice

Ray Rice was in elementary school the first time he sat down in front of a chess set. He was 9-years-old. His fifth grade teacher, Calvin Heyward, believed this small boy from New Rochelle, N.Y., was capable of great things, but Rice - whose motor never stopped running - needed structure. He needed guidance. He had a wonderful mother at home, Janet, and she worked tirelessly to provide for her family all by herself after Rice's father was killed in a drive-by shooting when Rice was just a year old. But even a woman as strong as Janet Rice could not make her son sit still for long stretches.

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?

Neither Ray Lewis nor Ray Rice will be on the cover of the next “Madden,” if you care about this sort of thing. Both players were eliminated in the Sweet Sixteen of the 64-player bracket to determine who will be on the cover of “Madden NFL 25,” which is the 25th anniversary edition of the popular pigskin video game franchise. Lewis, who retired after the Ravens won the Super Bowl in February, was knocked out of the “old school” bracket by former Detroit Lions back and fellow NFL legend Barry Sanders, who got 67 percent of the fan vote.

Ravens running back Ray Rice, who has campaigned passionately against bullying, is throwing his weight behind a Maryland bill that would make cyber-bullying a minor crime. Rice alerted his online fan base Wednesday that he's supporting Baltimore County Del. Jon Cardin's proposal. While he won't be able to make Thursday's bill hearing in Annapolis, he has sent written testimony and he hopes his followers will show up in person. "I WOULD LIKE AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO SHOW UP IN PERSON AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!"

By now, you've all probably seen the key play of the Ravens' 16-13 overtime victory over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday several times. With the Ravens trailing by three points and facing a 4th-and-29 at their own 37-yard line with 1:59 to play in the game, quarterback Joe Flacco looked downfield and didn't see anything he liked. He also didn't want to throw a Hail Mary, so he dropped the ball off to  Ray Rice in the right flat and then watched the Pro Bowl running back make one of the more memorable plays in several seasons for the Ravens.

Before Rex Ryan had a chance to say anything to his players in the visitors' locker room of O.co Coliseum, nose tackle Sione Pouha said the defense was already “sulking.” But after yielding 234 rushing yards in the 34-24 loss to the Oakland Raiders, the Jets' most critical task is turning last Sunday's disappointment into this Sunday's improvement. “You make sure it's a cleansing type of sting,” Pouha said. “It's a productive cleansing. You learn from it, and you move on.” The Jets don't have any choice with the Baltimore Ravens, and dynamic running back Ray Rice, on the calendar in three days.

This offseason the Ravens made needed changes on offense in terms of personnel and philosophy, replacing wide receiver Derrick Mason and tight end Todd Heap with young, sleeker, faster alternatives in order to stretch the field vertically with the passing attack. But they kept one key chapter in their playbook: The part about getting the football into the hands of Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice often and by any means necessary. Ray Rice has averaged 22 touches per game this season, which is funny because in our weekly gameday chat that I do with Kevin Van Valkenburg, Kevin asked our chat-goers whether Rice would touch the ball more than 22 times against the Houston Texans.

A lack of big plays in 2010 prompted the Ravens to overhaul their passing attack (again) this offseason. They cut ties with veterans Derrick Mason, Todd Heap and T.J. Houshmandazeh; brought in speedy veteran wide receiver Lee Evans; drafted a pair of rookie wideouts in Torrey Smith and Tandon Doss; and went with youth at tight end, where second-year players Ed Dickson and Ed Pitta have both spent time with the first-team offense. But the absence of explosiveness wasn't limited to the passing game.

Looking back at it three and a half years later, the 2008 NFL draft produced a strong crop of running backs. Darren McFadden, Matt Forte, Rashard Mendenhall and Jamaal Charles are all starters now. Jonathan Stewart, Tim Hightower, Felix Jones, Tashard Choice and Steve Slaton have each had their moments. And then there are Ray Rice and Chris Johnson, two of the very best runners in the NFL, whose skills will be on display Sunday afternoon when the Ravens travel to Nashville to take on theTennesseeTitans.

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.