Sonnen Says He'd Smack 'Nerd' Ray Lewis
I'm not sure how Ray Lewis got dragged into this, but it's kind of crazy.
Outspoken UFC light heavyweight fighter Chael Sonnen was a guest on "Jim Rome on Showtime" ripping Lebron James, when out of nowhere Sonnen begins to insult retired Raven and future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis.
"Lebron's a nerd. You got this guy, Lebron's a wimp," Sonnen said. "You got this nerd named Ray Lewis. It's like, if I saw both of these guys I'd smack them in the face just on principle."
The best part was Rome's surprised reaction to a threat on Lewis.
"Did you just say that you'd smack Ray Lewis?"
Considering this show aired during his second NBA championship run, Lebron was an obvious topic of this roundtable discussion that included Lewis' former teammate and Raven Brendon Ayanbadejo. Perhaps Sonnen insulted Lewis just to get a rise out of Ayanbadejo, but his reaction wasn't recorded in the video below.
Sonnen is linked to the Ravens through another connection.
Just a few months ago, Sonnen was manhandled by light-heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones, brother to Ravens defensive lineman Art Jones. "Bones" notoriously suffered a nasty broken toe as he went to work on Sonnen.
Apparently (I didn't see the fight), Jones took Sonnen down "at will" and "kept going until Sonnen stopped intelligently defending himself, forcing referee Keith Peterson to stop the contest at 4:44 of round one."
You would think the beating would at least quiet Sonnen a little, but instead he's just taking his threats to NBA and NFL athletes.
Check out the video below.
Torrey Smith Voices Dislike For Patriots Fans
Torrey Smith has a history with the New England fan base, who he says taunted him after Baltimore beat the Patriots in the AFC title game in January.
At the time, Smith said that some of the rival fan base used racial slurs to insult him and his brother, Tevin Jones, who died in a motorcycle accident the day before Smith put on an inspirational performance in a 31-30 September win over New England.
"Played a lot of games since my brothers death and I never received as many rude tweets after a win than Sunday," Smith tweeted in January. "Yet NE fans cry about class."
Smith and the Patriots fan base are still feuding.
The third-year veteran was asked over the weekend by a fan on Twitter whether he was cheering for the Chicago Blackhawks or Boston Bruins in the NHL playoffs, and Smith jokingly replied: "I hate everything about NE except KG."
After getting a backlash from Pats fans, Smith said he was exaggerating, but his opinion is based off the experience of playing at Gillette Stadium twice.
He added, "I understand that every Fan base has bad fans what I'm saying is NE fans have more than others and think they are better than everyone else. As much as I dislike MOST of the fan base I can honestly say that I respect the coaches and ownership. .. Ok I'm done starting stuff before I get a phone call from our organization haha…no apologies I meant what I said. .. I'm done responding to fans who confirmed what I originally said…having 1 fan base out of 32 hate you isn't bad…don't need y'all see ya."
I follow Smith daily and can say he rarely gets caught up in controversy and generally avoids Twitter trolls. He likes to stay positive.
His fiancé seemed to remind him of that, and Smith has moved on.
"All done," he wrote. "The Mrs is mad at me for not taking the high road."
Flacco Doesn't Make List Of Top 2016 Quarterbacks
By the time the 2016 NFL season rolls around, some of the elite quarterbacks of today will either be retired or less productive in their twilight years.
So if Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Drew Brees, and Ben Roethlisberger are no longer considered the top quarterbacks of the league, the reigning Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco ought to be at the top of this list, right?
No? Well, at least he'll be in the top 10, right?
Not according to ESPN's Mike Sando.
"The [Super Bowl] performance enhanced Flacco's value in contract negotiations, but how much should it change our long-term opinion of him?" Sando asked. "Would you automatically project Flacco, now 28, to rank among the NFL's best in 2016, when he is 31?
"The Flacco question and others without easy answers complicated our efforts to project the top 10 quarterbacks for the 2016 season. Limiting the list to 10 players forced difficult choices, a positive reflection upon where the NFL stands at its most important position. Flacco was right around the periphery of this top-10 list, and he was in good company there."
But he didn't make it. Yet other unproven young signal callers did.
Some, like Aaron Rodgers, make sense as a 2016 top 10 quarterback. Others don't.
- Aaron Rodgers
- Andrew Luck
- Russell Wilson
- Matt Ryan
- Colin Kaepernick
- Cam Newton
- Matthew Stafford
- Robert Griffin III
- Ryan Tannehill
- Sam Bradford
Quick Hits
- Congrats!!! … @Huffy247: Looking forward to spending the rest of my life with @JKHeezy #shesaidyes!!!!!!!! [Twitter]
- @TorreySmithWR: RT @IPutOn13: @TorreySmithWR how come you don't wear a visor on your helmet?...I'm a plain guy don't wear anything to be cool...and it's hot [Twitter]
- Congrats again!!! … @JackCornell73: Taking off for Quincy! Next time I'm in Baltimore I'll be a married man! [Twitter]
- @RavensCommunity: More than 250 youth participated today at @i_amQUAN football camp! Thanks to all who came out! #Ravens [Twitter]
- @i_amQUAN: Successful camp had a great time with the kids. Appreciate @TyrodTaylor @TorreySmithWR @MichaelOher @DTLR and Justin Wells for showing love [Twitter]
- @alexmarvez: Congrats to @Ravens for winning @PFWAwriters Rozelle Award for best media relations staff in 2012. Kevin Byrne & Co. do a great job. [Twitter]
- I hear he can also play the piano … @Artj97: Man its been years since I last played the drums. Lil rusty lol [Twitter]
