Ray Lewis

NFL Free Agency 2013: "Dead Money" Overview

As a concept, the NFL salary cap is a fairly easy one to understand. Unlike the NBA, with its myriad of loopholes, exceptions, and fine print that allow teams like the Lakers and, well, almost everyone else to zoom past the artificial "cap", the NFL is a simple hard cap. What you spend is what what ... More >>

The Sounds of H-Town

Cactus Music wants your help with a "Community-Curated Playlist."

So, Who Should Play the Super Bowl Halftime Show Next Year?

This past weekend, I was honored to cover the Super Bowl XLVII festivities and game in New Orleans for the Houston Press and local TV outlet KIAH (Channel 39). Great fun, if not for locals in NOLA, who were ravaged by drunken football fanatics puking onto their 49ers and Ravens jerseys in the street ... More >>

Super Bowl XLVII: 4 Winners, 4 Losers

"Ain't about redemption. Ain't about that. It's a business. The Texans gave me my chance out of Lane College, and now I'm a champion." -- Jacoby Jones On a night where the only thing standing between Jacoby Jones and the Super Bowl MVP award being a yeoman's performance from Joe Flacco was the seco ... More >>

Surviving The Great Blackout Of Super Bowl XLVII

Last night's Super Bowl blackout in New Orleans went something like this. At first, the lights dimmed in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome after Jacoby Jones' 100-something yard kick return. Just like they had done in preparation for Beyonce's pyro-laden halftime show. Then, the screaming scoreboards an ... More >>

God Pondering What To Do Now That Ray Lewis Has Retired

No longer shackled with the burden of managing Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis' Super Bowl run, God the Almighty is looking for a new gig. "I may never find something as important as my Ray Lewis Project, but I'm hoping the Middle East can keep me occupied, God said. Other offers He is consi ... More >>

PEDs: On The Differing Treatment of A-Rod and Ray Ray

There were two major non-Super Bowl related sports stories last week. They both involved big name athletes using PEDs. There was the story from our sister paper Miami New Timesinvolving Alex Rodriguez and numerous other baseball players. And there was the bizarre story with Ray Lewis and deer antler ... More >>

Someone Help This Nun Get Into The Super Bowl -- She'll Make It Worth Your While

Sister Mary Tarcisius from Lafayette has a problem. The spunky nun from just down I-10 needs a ticket to the Super Bowl. She went in 2009, but would like to go again this year. I encountered Sister Mary at the NFL Fan Experience on Thursday evening, chatting with a group of friends who took her to ... More >>

Super Bowl XLVII: Five Prop Bets And Game Prediction

We are about there now, that time of the week leading up to the Super Bowl where everybody is getting antsy and we all just want the game to get here. I've been on Radio Row in New Orleans the better part of the last three days (humblebrag alert!), and all the signs of "anticipation fatigue" are set ... More >>

The Harbowl, Colin Kaepernick, Ray Lewis Dominate Super Bowl Media Day

On Tuesday morning the sports media world centered itself on the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and Super Bowl Media Day, with the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers diving into the days' orgy of interviews on the stadium floor. Media from all over the world were present to ask players the toug ... More >>

New Orleans Braces For Super Bowl XLVII Onslaught As Future Of The Game Is Debated

Excited tension hung heavy in the air in New Orleans on Monday evening as the coming Super Bowl XLVII super-storm of tourist dollars began to filter into town. Most streets downtown near convention center are already cordoned off. There are NFL banners blanketing the city. The Mercedes-Benz Superd ... More >>

Football! NFC and AFC Title Game Best Bets

Last weekend, when we were down to eight teams left standing in the NFL playoffs, on my radio show I placed the remaining starting quarterbacks into three distinct "buckets": ELITE (3): Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning These three all were secure in their legacies regardless of the outcome ... More >>

Guy V. Lewis Back on the Basketball Hall of Fame Ballot. It's Time He Was Inducted Once and For All

There has been a lot of talk about various halls of fame this week with the retirement of Ray Lewis, the baseball Hall of Fame inductions to be announced on Wednesday and now word that, for the first time in five years, legendary University of Houston basketball coach Guy V. Lewis will return to the ... More >>

Why Is Ray Lewis Worshipped and Barry Bonds Vilified?

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis announced last week that he was retiring from football. ESPN immediately signed him to a contract to become one of their analysts on their nearly unwatchable pre and post-game shows. Commentators, many of whom appear to have never seen Lawrence Taylor play, stat ... More >>

Football! This Weekend's Best Bets, NFL Playoff Edition

Best bets time and after going 5-1 last week, just in time for the holidays I might add, we are all even now heading into 2013! 50-50-2! People who are into hobbies like to talk about conducting those activities under optimal conditions. Skiers enjoy skiing with four feet of powder on a sunny day. ... More >>

Ray Lewis To Retire At Season's End (w/ VIDEO)

When news broke late this afternoon that Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker and future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis would be retiring at season's end, I asked my two sons (ages 14 and 13) what the first thought was that came into their head when I mention Ray Lewis. James, the older one, said, "Best mid ... More >>

Trail Of Slime: Tommy Tuberville Bolts Texas Tech For Cincinnati, Skips Out On Dinner Tab

This past Saturday night at the Heisman Trophy presentation ceremony in New York, ESPN host Chris Fowler was interviewing Notre Dame senior linebacker and Heisman finalist Manti Te'o about his mostly amazing, sometimes tragic senior season. Ever the positive thinker, Te'o at one point in the convers ... More >>

Texans-Ravens: NEW BATTLE-DRINK Bingo Drinking Card (a/k/a "Jacoby's Revenge")

I think you probably realize that when I put this Battle-Drink card together each week that many of the entries are done with tongue firmly planted in cheek. I don't expect B.J. Raji to eat Toro, or for Toro to crash his four-wheeler, or for Jon Weeks to get a tackle. That's why I put these in the r ... More >>

Aggies, Texans, LSU: Football! This Weekend's Best Bets, Helping Impoverished Greek Soccer Teams

Ironically, I lead into this weekend's football bets with a story of a poor Greek soccer team trying to stay afloat financially. Courtesy of the Soccernet area on ESPN.com: Players on a cash-strapped Greek soccer team now wear pink practice jerseys with the logos "Villa Erotica" and "Soula's House ... More >>

AFC Playoff Projections, Week 7: First One Onto The Colts Bandwagon!

When Peyton Manning and the Broncos stormed back with 35 unanswered points in the second half of their 35-24 Monday night win against the Chargers this week, they accomplished a few things: 1. They tied an NFL record for the largest comeback win by a road team in NFL history. 2. They evened their ... More >>

Why the NFL Got Boring (for Me) and How to Get Over Your Football Addiction

Last Sunday, a strange thing happened. I woke up, did some reading, worked on a few stories, talked to some friends on the telephone for a while, went to the gym, made dinner and got back into bed, thinking, "Not a bad day." And then I realized it: I hadn't watched football. Hadn't even thought to. ... More >>

The Mean, Evil, Bored & Ashamed Faces on 13 NFL Team Logos, Ready for Their Close-Ups

Our long national nightmare, otherwise known as the football offseason, is nearing an end. Exhibition Preseason games are in full swing, for better or worse. (If you watched all -- or even most of -- the Cowboys' 3-0 win over Oakland Monday, seek help.) Still, the appearance of the pads and unis i ... More >>

Exotic Prop Bet Mania: Profiting Off The Madden Curse

When the average sports fan hears the word "wagering," for the most part they equate it with football and basketball, betting on spreads and total points scored. But if you read my work in this space, you know that the occasional prop bet is a fun diversion and oftentimes a chance to have more long ... More >>

Texans Fans: 5 Reasons to (Try to) Hate Baltimore

On the other hand....​The Houston Texans travel to Baltimore Sunday for the biggest game in franchise history, a game that could take them to the AFC championship. So we need to build up a big hatred of Baltimore, right? Turns out that's not so easy to do. Five reasons to hate Baltimore and ... More >>

Texans-Ravens: Four Winners, Four Losers

It just feels like home to the Texans' ox.​Sometimes it's good to shake things up a little bit. We sit here every Sunday night for the last three football seasons and it feels like invariably we wind up saying the same thing -- "same ol' Texans." So this week, I took a trip to Chicago, and wa ... More >>

Texans-Ravens: Five Things to Watch

Photo by Marco TorresThe Texans face a tougher test this week.​"If the Texans are 3-3 after the first six games, then we'll be happy." -- Pretty much every same Texans fan The statement is a classic example of how the ebb and flow of a season can recalibrate expectations. The Texans are set u ... More >>

The New Normal

The Texans start operating like a bona fide NFL team.

Knocked Out

Medical effects of concussion far worse for kids.

Concussions: Avoidance, Protection and Better Helmets

Daniel Kramer​Justin Landers, head athletic trainer at Katy High School, leads me to a secret stash of football equipment. The attic-like room, which is only accessible by one skinny wood ladder, is floor to ceiling and wall to wall with hundreds of helmets and shoulder pads. Landers combs th ... More >>

Terrell Owens -- A Jackassery Video Anthology (with 6 videos)

It's always something​The part of me that's not a huge fan of athletes calling attention to themselves, sometimes at the expense of their team, is not a big fan of Terrell Owens. The part of me that needs several hours worth of content each week, the radio host part of me, is a huge fan of Ter ... More >>

Ray Lewis Predicts Crime-ageddon If There's No NFL

This is what society looks like without the NFL.​"Do this research if we don't have a season -- watch how much evil, which we call crime, watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game." -- Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis to ESPN's Sal Paolantonio Well, that's a new one. I've ... More >>

Twitter Follow Friday -- Antonio Cromartie (@A_Cromartie31)

Matt Hasselbeck quickly backs down in a Twitter fight​"I don't give a who about Ray Lewis or @ddockett talking about what I said. There's 10's of thousand ppl who will lose jobs. They taking our healthcare away and for players that have surgery can't even get rehab once March 3rd gets here." - ... More >>

NFL & College Football Best Bets -- It's Crime Time

Lennie knows all, eventually​To some of you this may sound obvious, to some it may sound weird, and to some it may sound deplorable -- I wish I had time to watch more television. With the advent of episodic television on cable channels like HBO and Showtime, the ante has been upped and the ne ... More >>

Dogging Michael Vick

Ladies and gentlemen, your Dancing With the Stars 11th runner-up.​I guess someone got tired of playing third fiddle to Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly: While setting up a segment on President Obama's recent telephone call to Jeffrey Lurie, the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles (wherein the pres ... More >>

NFL & College Football -- Weekend's Best Bets (with Tales of Deceit, Adultery and Ron Artest)

We see....FAIL in Ron Artest's future​Drayton McLane apparently has plans to sell the Astros. This comes as no surprise, those rumors have been swirling for some time. Now I don't know if he'll get his $800 million asking price, but I did call Drayton and make an offer and we now know that $9 ... More >>

Is Chris Brown Officially Unshunned?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn't a national holiday, Rocks Off will have some of them hear discussing issues relevant to their culture. Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​This Week's Panel: Yung Redd, Fat Tony, Thurogood Wordsmith, Kyle Hu ... More >>

Our Year

Will Texans make it to playoffs?

Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: Well, It Could Be Worse

Texans-Ravens: Just Why Exactly Is Houston Favored to Win?

Dog Abuse Bad. Cow Abuse Awesome.

Cock Fight: Pedro Martinez and Juan Marichal Throw a Couple of Chickens into the Ring

John Royal’s Friends’ Top Twenty Sports Moments of 2007, Part Two

Michael Vick Gets 23 Months. Too Bad He Didn’t Kill a Human.

Barry Bonds Indicted on Charges of Perjury and Obstruction of Justice

2007 NFL Preview, Take Two

In Defense of Michael Vick. Sort Of.

The Lord Taketh Away

Scoring the Super Bowl

NFL Films' music may be stirring, but these songs tell the real story of the big games