So much to dislike about the Baltimore Ravens

Ugh. The entire loathesome Baltimore Ravens organization wouldn't even exist if they hadn't been the Cleveland Browns not so long ago.

Ravens fans proudly sporting
woman-beater Ray Rice's jersey

From bottom to bottom ... from the slimy, smarmy owner, Stephen J. Bisciotti, to the double-talking PR flack, Kevin Byrne (Sr. VP, Public & Community Relations and Chief Apologist in the Ray Rice woman-beating ugliness), to the unctuous, egotistical, obnoxious, insufferable John Harbaugh, to their legacy of miscreants, criminals and loathsome cretins (Ray Lewis and Ray Rice), to the current crew that includes thuggish blowhard Terrell Suggs, the hard-partying, misogynistic Twitter-idiot Will Hill the mouthy push-off artist Steve Smith, Sr. ... and let's not overlook the wooden statue Joe Flacco, ugh, Joey Porter's Pit Bulls despise and detest the Baltimore Ravens.

Never did like 'em. Never will. And that goes for their ignorant fans, too.

Addendum: Now we learn of reports emerging this week from The Baltimore Sun's Baltimore Crime Beat that Baltimore Ravens Director of Security Darren Sanders is being officially charged with a sex crime. Their director of security. Nice little operation you have there, Baltimore Ravens.

Just what will Terrell Suggs never forget?

For so many Americans, Sept. 11th is a solemn and poignant day; a day of reflection and mourning.

Sept. 11, 2001 carries a special significance and resonance.

So do the words, "We will never forget."

Given that tonight's NFL game in Baltimore is actually on Sept. 11th, it is unfortunate but still callous and ignorant that the Baltimore Ravens' Terrell Suggs decided to co-opt, trivialize and debase the statement, "We will never forget" by placing it on his stupid t-shirt aimed at lampooning Mike Tomlin for stepping on the field last year during Jacoby Jones's punt return.

In the great scheme of things, we have to ask, "It's that important to you, eh, T-Sizzle? Just what will you never forget, Terrell?"

To say Suggs is tone-deaf and ignorant is an understatement.

Suggs's sheer ignorance is evident, too, in his choice of selecting Monday, the day the Ray Rice news broke, to Tweet out the photo of his "We will never forget" t-shirt. In fact, the Ravens' own Twitter account publicizes and promotes the t-shirt, as well, as if to distract the public from the Ray Rice disgrace.

Suggs has a history, too
In light of the timing, Suggs's lame attempt at humor was especially tone-deaf, given his own documented history of having been accused of assaulting his longtime girlfriend,  Candace Williams.

In 2009, Candace Williams filed court papers and a request for a protective order. Suggs was alleged to have punched her in the neck and dragged her with his car.

Related to that case, according to court papers and as reported by the Baltimore Sun, 

"Williams said Suggs threw a soap dispenser at her head, hit her in the chest with his hand, and held a bottle of bleach over her and their 1-year-old son, which spilled on them and caused a rash. Baltimore City District Court Judge Ronald Alan Karasic wrote that a laceration was visible on Williams' chest."

In December 2012, the Baltimore Sun reported on a court order that required Suggs to turn over his collection of firearms after a series of ongoing domestic disputes and two 911 calls made from Suggs's address the previous Nov. 21.

Terrell Suggs will wear the black and purple of the Baltimore Ravens tonight.

The Baltimore Ray-vens

Here is all you need to know about Ray Rice and the Baltimore Ravens AND Roger Goodell and his NFL:

Ray Rice -- ELEVATOR KNOCKOUT ... Fiancee Takes Crushing Punch [Video] - Watch More Celebrity Videos or Subscribe

From one Ray-Ray accused of murder, to Ray Rice, shown in the video above.

And all the apologists surrounding this very ugly Ray/Janay incident.

It's time for Roger Goodell to resign.
From the way Goodell handled the New England Cheatriots' "Spygate" B.S. to the way he failed to handle the New Orleans Saints' "Bountygate" crap, to the rules changes, the over-saturation of the NFL on TV, all the way through the toothless drug policy, HGH, PEDs testing, to Richie Incognito, to the disingenuous and backpedaling domestic violence policy, and now this.  Goodell's got to go.

Goodell's got some 'splaining to do.

Ray Rice Got Off Easy

What's up with Roger Goodell?  If there was a time to send a message ... but, no.

Ray Rice gets a two-game suspension for that?  Ravens fans must be happy.

Come on, Roger. Maybe Goodell figured a stiffer suspension might hurt sales of NFL merchandise, specifically Rice's $59.95 pink jersey styled for women.

Maybe Goodell figured that since, after all, Janay appeared at that ridiculous, theater-of-the-absurd press conference the Ravens staged a couple months ago -- the one where Janay actually somehow apologized for putting her face in the way of Rice's fist -- well, maybe Goodell figured that counts for something.

Ray Rice and Janay should both watch Will's Story, which is Steeler cornerback William Gay's account of how, as an eight-year-old, he lost his mother to an abusive step-dad.

The Ravens have had five players arrested this off-season. That's almost 10 percent of their roster. Ravens will be cheering Rice when he returns to the field in September.

Congratulations, Roger Goodell. You've fixed the NFL's image problem. Go ahead, brush the next incident under the rug.

Mike Tomlin Makes Easy Draft-Day Decisions

"It was an easy decision for me."
-- Mike Tomlin

Sunday's game at Lambeau Field will feature a pair of second-round rookie running backs who appear to be damn good players. The Steelers chose one over the other, and the more Mike Tomlin talks about draft-day decisions, the more he makes it clear that they are his decisions.

Tomlin made the following comment in response to a question this week about the decision to draft running back Le'Veon Bell with the 48th overall pick instead of Eddie Lacy, who went to to Green Bay with the 61st overall pick.  

“It was an easy decision for me. Again, probably because of the things that I talked about with his versatility that he’s displayed here but also at Michigan State. Obviously, Lacy is a top-quality back and rightfully so. He was a great back at Alabama. Obviously, he is over 1,000 yards and is proving his worth in Green Bay. Probably it’s just a matter of preference. Just like I am sure Cincinnati went through the same discussions and thoughts when they took Giovani Bernard in front of both of them.”

Got that? No mention of Kevin Colbert or anybody else ....

"It was an easy decision for me."

Who Makes the Decisions?

Tomlin has made similar veiled statements previously. Which raises the question: Who's been making key draft-day decisions since Tomlin's first year, 2007, when the Steelers selected Lawrence Timmons?

In 2008, was Tomlin's decision "an easy one" to draft Rashard Mendenhall over Ray Rice or Matt Forte or Chris Johnson?  There's not one player left on the Steelers' roster from that infamous, unfortunate draft class.  Nor is there is a single player other than disappointing first-rounder Ziggy Hood left on the Steelers from the wasted 2009 draft class.

Was Tomlin also the one who made the decision to draft, say ... Alameda Ta'amu, Chris Rainey and, oh, take your pick? 

We'd like to know, but we never will.

Those draft-day decisions -- those failed drafts, the whiffs and misses -- are a large reason why the Steelers are where they are today. 

For the Record
We like Le'Veon Bell and believe he'll be really good. And, if you watched last Sunday's Green Bay-Dallas game, you'll probably agree: Lacy played like a ferocious beast -- fast, powerful, explosive. He ran hard, determined, and was extremely tough to bring down. He has a presence that is impossible to ignore. We'll see if it lasts, but he sure was impressive in Dallas.

Repeating something we included in an earlier post ...

After battling early-season injuries, Bell has looked solid for the Steelers.

• Bell has 43 catches for 388 yards and 646 yards rushing on 96 carries. 

• Lacy has 31 catches for 236 yards and 1,028 yards rushing on 248 carries and is in a leading candidate for offensive rookie of the year. He had 141 yards rushing last Sunday vs. the Cowboys. 

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls like Bell a lot and wanted the Steelers to draft him -- but we also were surprised the Steelers took him in the second round. He'd been projected to go later (third or even fourth round), so selecting him in the second round seemed a bit of an over-reach. They believe in him, though, and we'd love to see him succeed. Both he and Lacy appear to be good players.

It's very early in their respective careers, and way too early for second-guessing.

Who's better? Just enjoy the show on Sunday.