“I’m never angry. I’m too blessed to be stressed,” the Baltimore Ravens linebacker said when told that he seemed angry. “You can use a different word. You can use the word agitated because I’m here to win the Super Bowl. I’m not here to entertain somebody that doesn’t affect that one way or another. The word agitated is probably better.”

On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated reported that Lewis sought help from Sports with Alternatives to Steroids (SWATS) — a company that makes the unorthodox deer-antler spray, which is supposed to be sprayed under the tongue — to speed his recovery from a torn right triceps. Lewis missed 10 games with the injury.

“Our world is a very secret society. We try to protect our world as much as we can,” Lewis said. “When you let cowards come in and do things like that, to try to disturb something. I’ve said it before and I’ve said a million times, the reason why I’m smiling is because it’s so funny of a story.

“I’ve never, ever took what he says I was supposed to do. It’s just sad that someone can have this much attention on a stage this big where the dreams are really real. I don’t need it, my teammates don’t need it, the 49ers don’t need it. Nobody needs it because it just really shows you that people really plan things and try to attack people from the outside. It’s just very foolish. The guy has no credibility. He’s been sued four or five times over this same BS. I just truly believe he doesn’t have the privilege for me to speak about it ever again.”

Ravens team president Dick Cass told ESPN that the Ravens’ top brass met with Lewis on Tuesday night and urged him to issue a strong denial on Wednesday, to repeat what he told the organization on Tuesday: that he never used any of the substances he was accused of using in the SI report.

“We wanted him to issue a strong denial at media day; he didn’t do that. He was very strong with us yesterday, and last night. We met with him last night and talked about issuing a strong denial today,” Cass told ESPN.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday morning that he spoke with Lewis, and the linebacker “knows there is nothing to it. He understands it’s something he’s never been involved in.”

“He laughed about it,” Harbaugh said, referring to Lewis. “He told me there’s nothing to it. He’s told us in the past and now that he has never taken any of it.”

Lewis said the Ravens aren’t distracted due to the report.

“I’ve been in this game for 17-plus good years, and I have a heck of relationship and too much respect for the business and my body to ever violate like that. For me and my teammates, I promise you that we have a strong group of men that don’t bend too much and we keep pushing forward. So it’s not a distraction for us,” he said.

The NFL Players Association said the league does test for IGF-1, the banned substance found in deer-antler extract, but the NFL said it is not detectable with the league’s current testing methods.

SWATS co-owner Mitch Ross detailed his interaction with Lewis in an interview Tuesday with ESPN Radio’s “SVP and Russillo Show,” saying he texted Lewis shortly after the linebacker was injured against the Cowboys on Oct. 14.

He told ESPN Radio that Lewis “used every product that I had.”

“I even developed an armband that I developed to strengthen his triceps, and some liquid wraps that would help him heal as well,” he said.

When asked why Lewis is denying using his products, Ross told ESPN Radio: “I guess [Lewis] is scared of Roger Goodell.”

However, a professor at Johns Hopkins University told the Baltimore Sun that, despite SWATS’ claims, there isn’t an acceptable scientific way that IGF-1 can be delivered orally.

“If there were, a lot of people would be happy that they don’t need to get shots anymore,” Dr. Roberto Salvatori told the newspaper. “It’s just simply not possible for it to come from a spray.”

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Welker’s wife, Anna Burns Welker, took to social media site Facebook to take a few shots at Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis on Sunday night after the Patriots’ 28-13 loss to the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game.

“Proud of my husband and the Pats. By the way, if anyone is bored, please go to Ray Lewis’ Wikipedia page. 6 kids 4 wives. Acquitted for murder. Paid a family off. Yay. What a hall of fame player! A true role model!” Burns Welker said in a since-deleted post on her personal Facebook page.

Burns Welker released a statement to sports blog Larry Brown Sports apologizing for her remarks:

“I’m deeply sorry for my recent post on Facebook. I let the competitiveness of the game and the comments people were making about a team I dearly love get the best of me. My actions were emotional and irrational and I sincerely apologize to Ray Lewis and anyone affected by my comment after yesterday’s game.

“It is such an accomplishment for any team to make it to the NFL playoffs, and the momentary frustration I felt should not overshadow the accomplishments of both of these amazing teams.”

Wes Welker led the Patriots in receiving Sunday with 117 yards and a touchdown on eight catches in the loss, but could have played his last game for New England as he is set to become a free agent this offseason.

Lewis, who announced weeks ago that he would retire at the conclusion of Baltimore’s season, led all players with 14 tackles.

The post Anna Burns Welker, Wes Welker’s wife, apologizes for Ray Lewis comments appeared first on IdealCapper.

“(We) shut them out in the second half! Tell them to have fun at the Pro Bowl!” he shouted as he exchanged congratulatory hugs and high-fives with teammates as they walked into the locker room. Seven Patriots were selected to play in the Pro Bowl, which is slated to be played Sunday. Players on teams that reach the Super Bowl do not play in the Pro Bowl the weekend before.

A few minutes later, an excited Suggs explained how his Ravens had an edge even though they were nearly nine-point underdogs playing on the road against a Patriots team most predicted would win.

“Y’all gotta understand, we had an advantage on any team that’s ever walked into Foxborough, because we’ve been here before and we’ve also won here before in a playoff game,” said Suggs, who was on the 2009 Ravens team that upset the Patriots in Foxborough in the playoffs and on the team that nearly knocked off New England in last season’s AFC title game.

Patriots receiver Deion Branch was more subtle with his jabs when informed of Suggs’ comments after the game.

“I don’t know. I think,” said Branch, before a long pause, “they won the game. I’ll leave it at that. Champions carry themselves a little different. If you talk to Ray (Lewis) it might be a little different. If you talk to some other guys, they are champions. That’s not how a true champion talks, regardless of whether you win or lose. It just doesn’t work that way. But congratulations to the Ravens.”

The bad blood between Suggs and Tom Brady, in particular, dates back a number of years. In 2010, a season in which Brady was named NFL MVP, Suggs said he voted for Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick over Brady for the Pro Bowl. He also called Brady’s three Super Bowl titles “questionable” because of the “tuck rule” game in 2001 and the Spygate scandal that surfaced in 2007.

After Sunday’s game, he was more complimentary of the Patriots’ quarterback.

“You can’t take anything away from 12 (Brady),” Suggs told ESPNBoston.com. “You gotta play perfect to beat him, and we played perfect. I mean, a second-half shutout is pretty good.”

Suggs, however, saved his biggest pat on the back for his own signal-caller, Joe Flacco, who threw for 240 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions Sunday.

“I can’t wait to hear what Skip Bayless (of ESPN’s “First Take”) says tomorrow because Joe once again, two years in a row, outplayed the great No. 12, and he showed just how ‘Joe Cool’ he is,” Suggs said. “But he still has one more to get. We’re not satisfied by any means. We’re going to celebrate tonight, and tomorrow it’s back to work.”

The post Terrell Suggs of Baltimore Ravens tells ‘arrogant’ New England Patriots to enjoy Pro Bowl appeared first on IdealCapper.

While New England was in the process of defeating the Houston Texans on Sunday to set up an AFC Championship Game rematch with Baltimore, Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo ripped the Patriots on Twitter, particularly criticizing their no-huddle offense.

“New England does some suspect stuff on offense. Can’t really respect it. Comparable to a cheap shot b4 a fight,” Ayanbadejo tweeted.

Ayanbadejo will get an opportunity to see New England’s offense in person next Sunday when the Ravens visit the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game for the second consecutive season. New England won last year’s meeting, 23-20, thanks to a missed field goal by Baltimore’s Billy Cundiff as time expired.

The Patriots gained 457 yards of total offense in Sunday’s 41-28 victory over the Texans, as Tom Brady passed for 344 yards while orchestrating a hurry-up offense that confounded Houston throughout the contest.

But Ayanbadejo was unimpressed, referring to the Patriots’ approach as “a gimmick.”

“Are you watching the game pats vs texans?” Ayanbadejo tweeted. “If so you see the hurry snap offense catch em b4 they set up. It’s a gimmick.”

He later tweeted: “Their offense is good enough to be successful with out that.”

Ayanbadejo proceeded to make a critical reference to the Spygate scandal and Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s decision to cut wide receiver Tiquan Underwood one day before Super Bowl XLVI.

SN: AFC Championship Game

SportsNation For the second straight year, the Patriots and Ravens meet with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Which team is headed to New Orleans? Cast your vote!

“You know the same organization that did spygate and cut a guy the day b4 the Super Bowl,” he tweeted.

Ayanbadejo also referred to the Patriots’ 2007 season, when they completed the only 16-0 regular season in NFL history but lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

“18-1,” he tweeted.

The Ravens rallied past the Patriots for a 31-30 victory in Week 3 this season. Ayanbadejo, who did not record a tackle in that contest, posted several tweets stating that he “Can’t Wait!” for the latest rematch between the rivals.

The post Brendon Ayanbadejo rips Patriots appeared first on IdealCapper.

“He’s ready to go,” Harbaugh said. “He’s going to play in this game and he should be full speed.”

It’s uncertain how much Lewis — who has missed the last 10 games since suffering the injury on Oct. 14 — will play.

It’s possible that Sunday could be the final game of Lewis’ storied career. The two-time defensive player of the year and former Super Bowl MVP announced Wednesday that he is retiring after this season.

Sunday will also likely be Lewis’ final game in Baltimore even if the Ravens win because of their No. 4 seed entering the playoffs. He is also close to signing a multiyear contract with ESPN to join the network as an NFL analyst, according to an SI.com report.

Lewis, 37, returned to practice on Dec. 5. For him to be eligible for the playoffs, the Ravens added him to the active roster later in the month.

The post Ray Lewis to return against Colts appeared first on IdealCapper.

Lewis said, “It is time for me to create a new legacy” after 17 NFL seasons.

He intends to play for the first time since tearing his triceps two months ago when the Ravens host the Colts in Sunday’s wild-card game, saying: “There is no reason for me to not play,” according to The Baltimore Sun.

Sunday likely will be Lewis’ final game in Baltimore even if the Ravens win because of their No. 4 seed entering the playoffs.

“I talked to my team today,” Lewis said Wednesday. “I talked to them about life in general. And everything that starts has an end. For me, today, I told my team that this will be my last ride.”

He returned to practice on Dec. 5, and for him to be eligible for the playoffs, the Ravens added him to the active roster later in the month.

Colts coach Chuck Pagano, Lewis’ defensive coordinator last year, said, “I thought, shoot, the guy could play forever and would play forever. Great person, great man, great player, just an unbelievable human being — what he’s done for that organization, that city and for that matter, so many people. He’s obviously a first-ballot Hall of Famer and will be sorely missed.”

Lewis has gone to 12 Pro Bowls, been named first-team All-Pro seven times and been voted NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice. He led the Ravens in tackles in 14 of his 17 seasons, the exceptions being those years in which he missed significant time with injuries (2002, 2005, 2012).

According to Stats & Information, only four players in NFL history have been to more Pro Bowls than Lewis (Bruce Matthews, 14; Jerry Rice, 13; Reggie White, 13; Tony Gonzalez, 13).

“I never played the game for individual stats. I only played the game to make my team a better team,” he said.

Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs, who is almost always upbeat, said of the announcement: “It was sad. It affected me, because for the past 10 years of my career, I’ve been sitting right next to the man and going to war on Sundays. It’s going to one hard last ride, and we need to make it one to remember.”

Lewis led the Ravens to the 2000 Super Bowl title when he was the key figure on a defense that set the NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game season.

Lewis had hinted at retirement previously. He said last summer that he couldn’t see himself playing past age 37. Lewis turned 37 in May.

Lewis wants to spend more time with his two sons. While working to return from his injury, Lewis watched them play on the same high school football team, and he intends to watch Ray Lewis III perform as a freshman next year for his alma mater, the University of Miami.

“God is calling,” Lewis said. “My children have made the ultimate sacrifice for their father for 17 years. I don’t want to see them do that no more. I’ve done what I wanted to do in this business, and now it’s my turn to give them something back.”

Which means he’ll pull off his No. 52 uniform for the last time after the Ravens are eliminated or win the Super Bowl.

“It’s either hold on to the game and keep playing and let my kids miss out on times we can be spending together,” Lewis said. “Because I always promised my son if he got a full ride on scholarship, Daddy is going to be there. I can’t miss that.”

Lewis could have made the announcement during the offseason, but thought it best to do it now.

“I think my fans, my city, I think they deserved for me to just not walk away,” he said. “We all get to enjoy what Sunday will feel like, knowing that this will be the last time 52 plays in a uniform in Ravens stadium.”

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