Steve Bisciotti

Less than 10 minutes before the deadline that would help decide his football future in Baltimore, a smiling Ray Rice stepped out of the Ravens' training complex in Owings Mills and started exchanging hugs and handshakes outside his car. This is what the 25-year-old had waited for all offseason: a multi-year commitment from the Ravens, and a chance to report to training camp next week armed with a new lucrative contract and long-term security....

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.

Former Ravens and Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell is among 103 candidates eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012. Modell, who brought the Browns to Baltimore in 1996 and remained control of the team until selling to Steve Bisciotti in 2004, is among 18 contributors to the game eligible. That group includes former commissioner Paul Tagliabue, and owner Bud Adams Jr., Jack Kent Cooke and Ed DeBartolo Jr. Among 11 first-year eligible candidates are quarterback Drew Bledsoe, wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, cornerback Troy Vincent, and coaches Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells and Marty Schottenheimer.

Mr. Flip's rant Given that he spends a lot of time under his paper bag, Mr. Flip doesn't get out much. So it's not as if he hangs out with Steve Bisciotti. But let him offer an opinion about the timing of the Ravens' coaching hire and the club's owner. Mr. Flip would not necessarily say there was anything rushed about the decision to name John Harbaugh, but the move did occur with some alacrity after Jason Garrett left the Ravens standing at the altar. Now, think about just how much Bisciotti has been in contact with the media in recent weeks, something he almost never does.

For the sixth time in seven years, former Ravens majority owner Art Modell is among the 25 semifinalists for the Hall of Fame. The list for the class of 2010 will be cut to 15 finalists Jan. 7, and the selection committee will announce the inductees Feb. 6, the day before the Super Bowl. Modell's candidacy has been a hot-button issue with voters because of his unpopular relocation of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore in February 1996. Modell was a finalist for the Hall of Fame in 2001.

The Ravens are the 18th-most valuable sports franchise in the world, according to Forbes' list of the World's Most Valuable Sports Teams. The Ravens, who have made the playoffs the past four years and are owned by Steve Bisciotti, are valued at $1.09 billion dollars. The NFL, as usual, was represented well on the Forbes list. All 32 teams were on the list of 50 organizations, including two of the top five. According to the list, the Ravens are the 10th-most valuable NFL franchise, behind the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers.

The Ravens announced today that the team will hold its annual “State of the Ravens” press conference Wednesday at the team's practice facility in Owings Mills. The annual season-review press conference, which starts at 2 p.m., is our rare opportunity to chat about all Ravens topics with owner Steve Bisciotti, president Dick Cass, general manager and executive vice president Ozzie Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh. Last year, Bisciotti told media that he liked offensive Cam Cameron “under fire” and he endorsed Joe Flacco as their franchise quarterback.

At Wednesday's “State of the Ravens” news conference, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti was asked about Billy Cundiff's missed field-goal attempt against the Patriots, a 32-yard kick that could have sent the game into overtime. He said he “dies with” players who experience such struggles because they have become like family to him. “When you work as hard as you do to put a team together like this, this is like watching your kids in high school play basketball. You don't scream at your neighbor's kid because he's not passing it enough.

Joe Linta , the agent for Joe Flacco , will meet Saturday with Ravens Vice President of Football Administration Pat Moriarty and team president Dick Cass to begin discussing the framework of a contract extension for the quarterback. Flacco is set to enter the final year of his rookie contract and top Ravens' officials, including owner Steve Bisciotti , have said that it's an offseason priority to extend the quarterback before the start of the season. Linta is taking a realistic approach to the meeting, telling The Sun last week that he plans on discussing the framework for a deal but he doesn't expect to exchange salary figures with Moriarty, who is the salary cap specialist in the Ravens' front office.

Former Ravens owner Art Modell  has been hospitalized at Johns Hopkins Hospital  and remains there this morning, confirmed Kevin Byrne, the Ravens' senior vice president of public and community relations. There is no word about his current condition though Modell, 87, has been of fading health. Modell, who retains one percent ownership of the Ravens, bought the Cleveland Browns for $4 million in 1961 and moved them here three decades later, a decision that left him beloved in Baltimore but reviled in Cleveland.