Shoulder

The Ravens, intent on adding yet another upgrade at wide receiver, are closing in on a one-year agreement with free agent Billy Davis, team sources said.Davis, a fifth-year player who has played his entire career with the Dallas Cowboys, stands to make a $400,000 salary plus incentives.Davis enjoyed a breakthrough season in 1998 by catching 39 passes for 691 yards -- 17.7 yards per reception -- and scoring three touchdowns. Along with veteran Webster Slaughter, Davis would become the second late addition to a position the Ravens have been determined to improve before training camp opens on July 28.The Ravens like Davis' speed and his ability to accelerate.

Pro Bowl linebacker Peter Boulware will return to the Ravens' starting lineup for the final preseason game Friday against the New York Giants.Boulware, who practiced last week but did not dress against Carolina in what was a game-time decision, missed most of training camp with an injured right shoulder. He said he could have played against the Panthers but the Ravens decided to scratch him as a precautionary measure."I'll be out there this week," Boulware said. "I need to get at least one preseason game in to knock the rust off. I'm going to give it all I have this week in practice and hopefully I'll be ready for the opener."

CINCINNATI -- Ravens coach Brian Billick sounded surprised that linebacker Peter Boulware had lasted nine games without re-injuring his right shoulder enough to threaten his playing time seriously.Boulware could be facing that scenario after coming out of yesterday's 34-31 victory over Cincinnati early with another dislocation of his right shoulder.Boulware appeared to re-injure the shoulder during the Bengals' second possession. And after Cincinnati had taken a 7-0 lead with 7: 12 left in the first quarter, Boulware slumped on the Ravens' bench, with his left arm wrapped heavily in ice.He was replaced by Cornell Brown, and Boulware watched the second half in street clothes on the sidelines.

One false move, that's all it will take now. Peter Boulware's right shoulder is so loose, he dislocated it last week in Cincinnati without even making contact. One swing of the arm, and it could pop out again.Imagine how difficult it is to play linebacker with one shoulder in a harness.Imagine how difficult it is to tackle when you know the hit could cause severe pain."That's been the hardest part, especially this week after dislocating it a couple of times, just getting my mind to say, 'I guess I can go out there.

Kate Bancroft, 9, claims sweaty and achy shoulders are the only side effect of lugging around her large, fluorescent orange L.L. Bean backpack. But as another school year begins, her family is more worried."

When manager Ray Miller said earlier this week that he was projecting Mike Mussina to start tomorrow's game against Cleveland, he stressed that the assignment was written in pencil.Yesterday, Miller broke out the eraser.Mussina hasn't been given medical clearance to begin throwing, causing him to miss a third consecutive start because of a bruised right shoulder and further sabotaging his quest for a first 20-win season.Mussina hasn't thrown off a mound since being struck by a line drive during an Aug. 22 game against the Chicago White Sox at Camden Yards.

If outside linebacker Peter Boulware plays against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, he will not do it with a full week of practice behind him.Boulware, who left Sunday's 34-31 victory in Cincinnati in the first quarter after suffering another separation of his right shoulder, had his shoulder X-rayed yesterday. The tests showed no bone damage, according to head trainer Bill Tessendorf, who said Boulware would be listed as questionable for the rematch against the visiting Jaguars."There's some soreness and tenderness in there.

Now that Ravens strong safety Kim Herring has one preseason game under his belt, the rest of the season should be a snap, even though that's a sound he doesn't want to hear.After two shoulder separations a year ago forced him to miss more than half of the 1998 season, Herring has rebounded well. There is no hesitation as far as run support. He can stay with almost any tight end in the league on a pass pattern.The signature of his return may have been when he ran down a Philadelphia Eagles running back last Thursday night after a short pass in the flat for no gain, and then talked a little trash.

One can see the disappointment in his eyes and face after every practice, but the smile appears when the conversation turns to the start of the 1999 season. That's when the Ravens will turn outside linebacker Peter Boulware entirely loose.Until then, Boulware is on restriction. Doctor's orders."This most definitely has been frustrating," said Boulware after yesterday's morning practice. "You look out there and watch everybody getting ready, and you're not out there because you can't push it. But I also realize that once the season starts I'll be ready.

Orioles second baseman Jerry Hairston said he'll know by next week whether arthroscopic surgery will be necessary to repair a slightly torn labrum in his left shoulder.Hairston, who batted .269 in 50 games with the Orioles, said he began feeling discomfort in the shoulder during the season and it gradually got more intense. He tried to play winter ball in Venezuela at the suggestion of former general manager Frank Wren, but returned home after three games when the pain became "unbearable."

Left-hander Rich Hill said he has been pitching with a torn labrum in his shoulder all year, but the Orioles said they weren't aware that he was dealing with anything that could hamper his ability to perform. Hill, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday to make room for newly promoted starter Chris Tillman, said he will have an arthrogram today to determine the severity of the injury and whether surgery will be needed. "I've been pitching with a torn labrum pretty much all season, so it's kind of something that I think it's either gotten worse or it's still the same," said Hill, who was 3-3 with a 7.80 ERA in 14 games, including 13 starts.

While his Orioles teammates were bound for Seattle after Sunday's 9-6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, reliever Chris Ray was returning to Baltimore to have team doctors look at his right shoulder. Ray entered a 6-6 game in the seventh inning Sunday with the bases loaded and no outs, and walked both batters he faced. "My arm slot was down," Ray said after the game. "I could feel it. I just couldn't get [my arm] up. That's why everything was going off the outside corner." Ray declined to comment later when he was asked whether he felt fine physically.

Orioles designated hitter Luke Scott will have a magnetic resonance imaging performed on his left shoulder Monday to determine the severity of an injury that forced him out of the game and into a sling. Scott hurt the shoulder sliding headfirst back into first base on Joba Chamberlain's pickoff throw in the first inning, and he acknowledged after the game that he's concerned the injury could keep him out for an extended period. "It hurt to the point where I can't swing a bat," said Scott, whose first-inning single raised his average to .303 to go along with five homers and 15 RBIs.

Marriotts Ridge pitcher Tim Blair stood behind the dugout fence at a recent game and joined his teammates in heckling the opposing pitcher. He seemed anything but bored and couldn't care less that he and his Mustangs teammates sounded like a gaggle of distressed geese."

The difference really hit Troy Patton on Thursday, after the fifth inning of his second start for Double-A Bowie. His shoulder was still loose. Patton went back out for the sixth and again threw a scoreless inning, extending his streak to 11 to start the season. Not bad for a guy who was self-proclaimed "unpitchable" before having labrum surgery in March 2008 and missed an entire year of development. "It goes back to ... 2007; it was always a battle to get loose," Patton said. "It was just so tight every time I shut it down.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -Jim Johnson, perhaps the Orioles' best pitcher last year, will be shut down at least a week because of a right shoulder impingement, the latest injury to affect a pitching staff that is thinning by the day. Johnson felt his shoulder tighten while throwing his final few pitches during his latest outing Wednesday. He expects to be ready for Opening Day in three weeks, but the injury is alarming because it's the same one that knocked him out for the final month of 2008. "We're trying to figure it out so it doesn't become a problem during the season," said Johnson, who confirmed that a magnetic resonance imaging taken recently on his shoulder showed no structural damage.

There is no doubt that Terrell Suggs is hurting. But the extent of his shoulder injury remains a mystery. With his right arm in a sling, the Ravens' linebacker was noncommittal whether he would play in Sunday's AFC championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. "I really can't honestly answer the question," he said. "It would be really unfair to tell you guys one thing right now and do another on Sunday." Suggs said his availability would be a game-time decision. "I have never missed a game here," said Suggs, who has played in 100 straight games (including the postseason)

Today ARIZONA AT NEW ENGLAND CARDINALS: Out: LB Clark Haggans (foot), DE Travis LaBoy (ankle). Questionable: RB J.J. Arrington (knee), WR Anquan Boldin (shoulder), WR Early Doucet (hamstring), WR Sean Morey (shoulder), LB Pago Togafau (knee), S Adrian Wilson (toe). PATRIOTS: Out: LB Tedy Bruschi (knee). Questionable: LB Gary Guyton (ankle), CB Ellis Hobbs (shoulder), T Mark LeVoir (ankle), T Matt Light (shoulder), LB Vince Redd (ankle), S James Sanders (abdomen), S Raymond Ventrone (ankle)

Today RAVENS AT DALLAS RAVENS: Out: R Marcus Maxwell (hip). Questionable: S Ed Reed (thigh), RB Ray Rice (calf), CB Samari Rolle (ankle), CB Fabian Washington (thigh). Probable: T Willie Anderson (ankle), T Jared Gaither (illness), P Sam Koch (back), WR Derrick Mason (shoulder), K Matt Stover (right ankle), LB Terrell Suggs (thigh), T Adam Terry (knee). COWBOYS: Out: LB Bobby Carpenter (knee, calf), G Montrae Holland (ankle). Doubtful: CB Alan Ball (ankle). Questionable: RB Marion Barber (toe)

Today WASHINGTON AT RAVENS REDSKINS: Out: LB Marcus Washington (ankle). Questionable: DE Andre Carter (foot), LB London Fletcher (foot), DT Kedric Golston (ankle), DT Cornelius Griffin (shoulder, abdomen), RB Clinton Portis (knee, neck), CB Shawn Springs (calf). Probable: G Pete Kendall (knee), T Chris Samuels (knee), G Randy Thomas (neck). RAVENS: Doubtful: DT Lamar Divens (shoulder), G David Hale (ankle). Questionable: T Jared Gaither (shoulder), WR Derrick Mason (shoulder), S Ed Reed (thigh)