A Monster Bash
Recipe for a Halloween Party – Ravens Style:
*Take a pinch of Hulk Hogan and combine with one gorilla in a giant cauldron. Add a "Heap" of Scooby Doo characters. Sift in a plumber and his iPod. Let brew for 10 minutes before infusing a small dose of Kanye West. Cook with Appalachian flair. Should taste sweet – like victory. *
*Yields multiple doses of graveyard smash. *
The Ravens dressed-up in their Halloween finest for the 10th Annual Goodwill Gridiron Halloween Party hosted by Jarvus Jarvus (wide receiver **Mark Clayton**), Fred from Scooby Doo (tight end **Todd Heap**) and tackle **Michael Oher** who appeared as himself.
With the proceeds benefiting Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, many Ravens showed their support and helped judge the costume contest. It was a family affair with the Heap clan fully costumed as the mystery solving gang from Scooby Doo. Guard **Chris Chester** and wife Kirby came as Kanye West and Taylor Swift and guard **David Hale***and his wife Shelby dressed-up as Hulk and Linda Hogan. Mustachioed kicker **Steve Hauschka** channeled his inner plumber while tackle **Joe Reitz** *danced the night away as "that guy from the iPod commercial." Best disguise goes to cornerback **Chris Carr** who wore a full gorilla suit.
Lacking in costumes, but certainly not spirit, linebacker **Prescott Burgess**, wide receiver **Derrick Mason**, wide receiver **Eron Riley**, tackle **Stefan Rodgers**, nose tackle **Kelly Talavou**, wide receiver **David Tyree** and linebacker **Willie VanDe Steeg** mingled with guests, played games at Dave and Busters and took a few pictures, all while helping out a good cause. Overall, it was a fang-tastic Monday night.
School is "Ghoul"
Ravens' quarterback **Joe Flacco** remembered the ghoul old times of his youth while visiting Chatsworth Elementary and New Town Elementary on Tuesday. Flacco spent time with the students and stressed the importance of education and hard work in all aspects of life. With cheers of "Let's go Ravens!" and a sea of purple in the audience, Flacco asked for both schools' support as the team takes on the Denver Broncos this Sunday.
One Spook-tacular Story
Defensive tackle **Dwan Edwards*** *gets plenty of practice reading aloud at home to his three children. On Tuesday, Ms. Murray's fifth grade class at Quarterfield Elementary School saw, and heard, first-hand one of Edward's "outside of football" talents.
The Ravens 2004 second-round draft pick visited with the students and read* *a Michael Jordan biography, Salt in His Shoe: In Pursuit of a Dream. Edwards added to the book's message by sharing his story of perseverance.
Edwards joined the class during lunch to share more stories and to answer questions about life in the NFL. The captive audience learned that he has always loved sports, but was also competitive in the classroom. The towering defensive tackle shared his memories from his first game with the Ravens, which was coincidentally his first time at a professional football game. No bones about it, Edwards gained a whole school of fans that will be on the lookout for #93 on Sunday.
A Football Course to Howl About
Over 200 Baltimore youth dusted off the proverbial cobwebs and got active with the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday as part of Be Fit Baltimore: A Downtown Kids Month event. The evening of fitness featured activities aimed at getting kids moving including the Ravens skills and drills course.
Channeling their inner quarterback, linebacker **Antwan Barnes** and tackle Joe Reitz launched spirals to the participants and led them through a series of agility exercises. Running back **Matt Lawrence** and linebacker **Jameel McClain*** *helped with blocking skills while signing autographs and chatting with the kids. The course and the players were a hit, with participants completing each station's skill challenge multiple times.
Mayor Sheila Dixon also stopped by to check out the activities. Although she didn't practice her spiral, Mayor Dixon did thank the players for their efforts in keeping Baltimore's youth active. It was a great end to another fun and active Tuesday in the community.
