Lewis Directs Gritty Under Armour Ad
Have you seen that "Diddy Dash" Macy's commercial? The one where you find out that the reason Sean Combs, a.k.a. P. Diddy, accomplishes so much is because there are a million clones of him.
I swear one of these days we'll find out there are a million clones of Ray Lewis.
In his spare time between mentoring pretty much every NFL player, training for a Mount Kilimanjaro climb (which he ultimately had to drop out of because of injury), and providing hearing aids and clean water to East Africa, Lewis was able to direct a (rather cool) Under Armour commercial and star in an ESPY spot.
Lewis served as the executive producer of the new Under Armour ad called "Ready for August," a gritty football video depicting various young athletes rushing to practice under the Baltimore skyline on bikes, trains and trucks while staring each other down.
It ends with a linebacker blasting a running back – a fitting close to a creative ad that the company says reflects Lewis' own life.
"You show the pure football scenes, the look on their faces, and that will connect immediately with anyone who has ever played the game," Lewis said in a release.
The practice field in the spot was once used by Dunbar High School before Under Armour built the school a new facility. And the kids are players from Dunbar, St. Francis and Gilman.
Lewis contributed to scripting the creative, spent time on set and participated in editing sessions.
Senior Vice President of Creative Steve Battista said Lewis helped narrow the focus "to some of the most inspirational stories of his own life. ... He gave us a special perspective on a new storyline – the one-on-one battle within the team."
Additionally, Lewis tweeted a link to his new ESPY's video, in which he previews the "Breakthrough Athlete" category.
"There are some athletes that are household names," Lewis says in the spot. "Then there are the ones that just show up one day and bust your door down."
Cody Could Miss Start Of Camp, Optimistic For Season
Nose tackle Terrence Cody continues to rehab from offseason hip surgery, but he isn't sure he will be ready for the start of training camp on July 21.
He will likely have restrictions and will be eased into contact work, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun.
"I don't know yet," Cody told Wilson. "We'll know once it gets closer to camp time, but I think I'm going to take my time, though."
Cody was more optimistic when asked if he'd be full-go for the regular season, saying he'd "probably" be ready.
"I've been doing good," said Cody. "I'm doing a lot of work, rehabbing and getting back healthy."
The Ravens have reinforcements if Cody doesn't return in time for the season. The team drafted Missouri Southern State defensive tackle Brandon Williams in the third round. The defensive line will also enjoy a heavy rotation of players with newly added Chris Canty and Marcus Spears to go along with Haloti Ngata.
Ravens Have Offer On Table For Leach
The Ravens have an offer on the table for Pro Bowl fullback Vonta Leach, who they released from the roster last month, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
However, the 31-year-old veteran "wants to do better" than the Ravens' offer and appears to be waiting on the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to make a formal offer and have only discussed "general parameters" of a possible deal.
Leach's agent, Ralph Vitolo, hasn't ruled out any teams (which also include the Houston Texans, New York Giants, and Kansas City Chiefs), but believes his client will ultimately settle in Miami.
Sources say Leach likes Miami, but the "money has to be right."
Pierce Breaks Silence On Carjacking Incident
Bernard Pierce broke his silence since becoming the victim of a carjacking and armed robbery at gunpoint in Philadelphia in late June.
"One last thing," Pierce tweeted yesterday afternoon. "That robbery made me think for a sec that im ashamed of the city im from."
The second-year veteran's 2013 BMW was stolen when he was visiting friends and eating pizza. No arrests have been made.
Per Wilson, many players and agents noted that activity on Twitter and other social media can make players easy targets.
"If a player announces his whereabouts or plans or has the setting location for his Tweets turned on, that could alert someone intending to rob them." Wilson wrote. "Or it could simply let an opportunistic burglar know that they're not home. In Pierce's case, he doesn't have the location setting switched on his Twitter account."
Flacco Taking Exotic Vacation In … Jersey
After signing a six-year, $120.6 million contract you'd think that quarterback Joe Flacco would take an exotic vacation in some far off place like Italy, Brazil or at least somewhere in the Caribbean.
Nope, as can be seen in the pictures below, Flacco is staying close to home and spent his Fourth of July vacation week on a New Jersey beach.
The shirtless Flacco is showing off his farmers tan with some fans in the pictures below. Oh Joe, please never change.
Hat tip: Busted Coverage.
Quick Hits
- The Ravens uniforms advanced in the "Greatest Uniform in NFL History" bracket. Baltimore knocked off Cleveland's yucky uniforms, and now takes on Cincinnati in Round 2. The Ravens are up with 40,287 votes to the Bengals' 31,226. The Ravens original jersey has already been knocked out of the throwback bracket. [NFL.com]
- Dennis Pitta is ranked as the No. 7 fantasy football tight end. He is a potential break-through fantasy player, and you are advised to take him in later rounds. [NFL.com]
- @JameelMcClain: Did some extra work today that 150 test was real after them hills
- @mattvensel: We are less than three weeks away from the start of #Ravens training camp. Crazy.
- @torreysmithwr: Y'all don't understand how mad I am that I missed @WWE Raw in Baltimore smh #weddingproblems •
Check out @Orioles slugger and @WWEUniverse member @SimplyAJ10 with his new bling, a replica @WWE Championship! @MLB pic.twitter.com/wwZX654sdn — WWE (@WWE) July 8, 2013
