Claremore Daily Progress

Breaking News

Sports

January 13, 2013

AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF: Ray Lewis' last ride has at least one more stop

ASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press

DENVER — Deflated and nearly defeated, Ray Lewis slumped on the heated bench on the sideline, the hood of his heavy jacket pulled over his head. The final seconds of his brilliant career were slipping away, just like Demaryius Thomas had escaped his grasp minutes earlier.

"I've never been a part of a game so crazy in my life,'' he said.

Thomas' go-ahead touchdown had given Denver a 35-28 lead and now the Ravens were out of timeouts, deep in their territory. Under a minute to go, the "last ride'' about to make its final stop on a frozen field in the Rocky Mountains.

Joe Flacco was buying time in the pocket, about to throw the ball away and bring up fourth down at his 30. Peyton Manning was about to beat Baltimore for a 10th straight time, and Lewis was about to call it a career.

Then Lewis spotted Jacoby Jones sprinting past him along the Baltimore sideline. More importantly, so did Flacco, who lofted a high-arcing pass into both double coverage and the frigid Denver night.

Safety Rahim Moore leaped for the interception, only he was a tad too early and a bit too shallow. The football settled into Jones' arms and he pranced into the end zone, his 70-yard touchdown with 31 seconds left tying the game.

Baltimore (12-6) would win on Justin Tucker's field goal in the second overtime.

Lewis' retirement party will wait for another day.

"Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. He grew up today,'' Lewis said of Flacco. "He grew up today and in the tunnel I told him, `You're the general now. Lead us to a victory. You lead us today. I'm just here to facilitate things.'

"And to look in his eyes, he has something different about him today and I just wanted to encourage him. To watch what he did today is probably one of the greatest things I'll always sit back and remember.''

Reminiscing can wait for at least another week. Lewis gets to play again, against either at Houston or New England in the AFC championship game.

Flacco was the hero, but Lewis wasn't a bystander. He was right in the middle of things, providing his usual unyielding leadership.

Lewis made 17 tackles one week after he led the Ravens with 13 stops against Indianapolis while playing for the first time in three months after being sidelined with a torn right triceps.

"We wanted to get this win for Ray and I was going to do everything I could possibly do to get this win,'' said cornerback Corey Graham.

He did just that, picking off Manning twice, taking the first one back for a touchdown and setting up Tucker's winner in the game's 77th minute with his second interception.

Lewis had a fumble recovery in the third quarter that was negated by a questionable hands-to-the-face call on cornerback Cary Williams, but the Ravens, who were thumped at home by the Broncos 34-17 a month ago, shook it off.

The Broncos (13-4) became the ninth top-seeded team to lose at home in its first game in the playoffs, and to a team that was coming off a short week and playing at altitude, no less.

"When you look back at it and let the emotions calm down, it will probably be one of the greatest victories in Ravens history,'' Lewis said. "It's partly because of the way everything was stacked against us coming in.''

It was even better than his emotion-filled farewell to Baltimore last week, when he did his famous dance coming out of the tunnel and then again after lining up at fullback in victory formation.

"One thing about the playoffs,'' Lewis said, "the only way to top it is to win the following week.''

He said he spoke to his team last week about dismissing all those who said they had no chance.

"What if we do the impossible?'' Lewis recounted saying.

It wasn't just the lead-up to the game that was so daunting. The Ravens allowed Trindon Holliday to become the first player in NFL playoff history to return a punt and a touchdown for scores, and both his 90-yard punt return and 104-yard kickoff return were the longest in league postseason history.

"For us to come in here and win, nine- to 10-point underdogs, that's the beautiful part about sports,'' Lewis said. "That's the thing that, if I miss anything about my career, it will be to listen to what people say you can't do and then to go do it.''



 

Text Only
Sports
  • Gasso trusts that Ricketts will find her timing again

    Oklahoma pitcher Keilani Ricketts was not at her best on Sunday. The defending USA Softball Player of the Year didn’t give up a run in her two and two-thirds innings of work, but she was far from the dominant pitcher who tossed a no-hitter last week.

    May 20, 2013

  • Sooners claim regular season finale with win over K-State

    Oklahoma managed to end the regular season on a positive note Sunday. Kolbey Carpenter went 2 for 4 and drove in three runs to help power the Sooners to a 7-3 victory over Kansas State at Tointon Stadium.

    May 20, 2013

  • Chamberlain's curtain call only the beginning

    The chant reaching near-deafening levels, Lauren Chamberlain finally realized what she was supposed to do.

    Moments after blasting a three-run home run that broke open what had been a close regional final, the sophomore tepidly stepped up out of the dugout and waved to the home crowd, enjoying the first curtain call of her career.

    May 20, 2013

  • OU's dominant victory a shining example of how tough Sooners are in softball

    On the first day Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso thought it was better to go with Michelle Gascoigne over Keilani Ricketts against Arkansas’ bats, the Sooners beat the Razorbacks by five runs.

    A day later Gasso had the same thought. OU prevailed by 13 runs.

    May 20, 2013

  • Cowboys fall short in Big 12 regular season finale

    Oklahoma State University played catch up the entire game of Saturday’s series finale with West Virginia at Allie P. Reynolds, and never could quite get over the hump.
    The Cowboys would respond after each Mountaineer score but it wouldn’t be enough as they lost the finale 5-4 on Senior Day.

    May 20, 2013

  • Referees stop Lake Eufaula Classic with South on top

     It was an outcome unlike any in the 29 years of the Lake Eufaula Classic, and a bruise different than any player has ever departed with.

    Officials, following the second serious skirmish of the game, walked off the field and the game was called, the South leading the North 12-10 at Paul Bell Stadium.

    May 20, 2013

  • Grand Junction Bound: Connors State advances to JUCO World Series

    All season long, Connors State coach Perry Keith has said his team was winning a lot of ball games ugly.

    On Saturday, the game between the Cowboys and No. 1 Delgado (La.) was anything but as Connors beat the Dolphins 3-1 to capture the South Central district championship and a berth in next week’s NJCAA College World Series.

    May 20, 2013

  • Young Americans waste no time qualifying for Indy 500

    Bump Day at Indianapolis followed the script.
    No surprises, no drama and no drivers getting bumped.
    On a day devoid of tension and rumors, all nine drivers who made attempts on the second and final day of Indianapolis 500 qualifications made it into the 33-car field, led by two young Americans - Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal - who easily had the two fastest cars on the track.

    May 20, 2013

  • NCAA WOMEN'S BB: Texas Tech hires OSU assistant Candi Whitaker

    Texas Tech has hired Oklahoma State assistant Candi Whitaker to coach its women's basketball team.
    The school announced Monday that the former Lady Raiders player would return to her alma mater as coach. The move comes about a week after Kristy Curry left for Alabama.

    May 20, 2013

  • Pacers, Heat start bracing to square off again

    A year ago when Miami and Indiana faced off in the postseason, there were blood-drawing hits, flagrant fouls, technical fouls, choke signs being directed toward LeBron James and more than a few sharp-tongued comments.
    Here they possibly go again, at least on the comment front.
    The Eastern Conference finals between the Heat and Pacers won't begin until Wednesday night, but there's already signs that the animosity present throughout last season's Miami-Indiana second-round series will likely return this time around.

    May 20, 2013