Just in case you needed another reason

Well, if you were thinking to yourself that you didn't have enough reasons to hate the Baltimore Ravens, you've come to the right place. After summarily kicking the crap out of the Steelers last weekend, Ravens' players, fans and media are still belly-aching about Joey Porter pushing down a defenseless Todd Heap late in the first half. To hear the story as it comes out of Baltimore you'd be convinced that Joey Porter was the guy on trial for murder.

Here's how it was described in the Baltimore Sun:

Almost everybody on the Ravens seemed upset by Joey Porter's questionable knockdown of a hurting Todd Heap during the team's 30-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday.

Ray Lewis did not want to talk about Porter at all, then added he would pray for him. And Chris McAlister used profanity during his news conference to describe what kind of person he thinks Porter is.

"Porter is an [expletive]," McAlister said. "That's the bottom line. There's no reason for anyone to take a cheap shot like that."

Said Lewis: "It just shows what type of character that guy has."

Hmmm, very interesting. To call the Ravens hypocritical here is like saying Jenna Jameson has a couple of boyfriends. I mean really, who in their right mind would have the balls to call out Porter for pushing Heap down legally when the Ravens have been accused of murder, bearing false witness, and trying to drop-kick opposing players (I'll get to that in a second).

And just in case you don't want to take the time to read about the false witness-bearer, I'll save you some energy. Of course I'm talking about the Reverend Deion Sanders and his shenanigans in his walk with the Lord. Specifically:

"As a part-time preacher, it has been alleged that Deion's offering plate looked more like a chafing dish. His walk with The Lord gained even more momentum when it was reported that Sanders refused to pay for car repairs because God had told him not to."

The Ravens complaining about something so unimportant only obscures the fact that they put a serious hurting on the Steelers. This whole thing is so contrived and ridiculous that I'm forced to agree with both Ron Cook and Mark Madden in the same post. Here's Cook's take:

Porter gets no criticism here for that play. If Heap didn't want to be hit, he should have stayed on the ground. Teams have been known to fake the spike play, anyway. Dan Marino beat the New York Jets once by doing that.

And here's what And Mark "Chubby Checker" Madden weighed in with (pardon the pun):

What Porter did to Heap was no big deal. Porter didn't hurt Heap any worse than he was. It's not like Porter took a sitting duck and knocked him into tomorrow.

Another thing, I like how Ray Lewis didn't want to talk about the incident in his comments above, offered his prayers for Porter than then chimed in, "It just shows what type of character that guy has." For the love of God Ray, you were on trial for murder, you should be doing all you can not to get quoted. Can you imagine what that prayer would be like?

"Dear Lord, this is your humble servant #52. I'm praying to you tonight to ask for super-human strength as I prepare to knock Joey Porter's (he's #55) head from his body in our December 26th rematch. I know that's the day after your son's birthday, but I hope you can tell from my yelling that this is very serious -- much, much more serious than my murder trial. And I know I said I wouldn't make anymore inane prayer requests, but after we signed Kordell Stewart, I think I'm due one. Thanks, and peace out."

OK, now back to that whole drop-kicking incident. Remember way back in 2002 when the Steelers were spanking the Ravens in Baltimore and after an interception, Chris McAlister and James Trapp apparently lost their minds as they tried to maim Plaxico Burress. If you don't remember, here are the gruesome details:

Trapp intercepted a pass late in the second quarter of the Steelers, 31-18, victory Sunday and was flung out of bounds by receiver Antwaan Randle El. Skirmishes broke out between Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister, Steelers receiver Hines Ward, safety Lee Flowers and others. Burress acknowledged he tried to defend some teammates when he was tossed to the ground. Trapp ran over and jumped on him with both feet, then ripped the helmet from Burress' head.

Well there you have it. James Trapp basically tried to end Plaxico's career, while Joey Porter legally pushed Heap down and Baltimore is in such a tizzy they may try to get Judge Judy involved. And if you still think that Porter's antics were dirty, consider what Ed Bouchette also said yesterday in the Post-Gazette:

I can understand the Baltimore fans' ire when Joey Porter knocked tight end Todd Heap down during a clock-killing spike. But why are Steelers fans so upset about it? Had Jack Lambert done that, they'd be toasting him. If it were illegal, a flag would have been thrown. Imagine, one football player knocking another down! I suspect if Porter were playing well, few Steelers fans would complain about it.

Here's something else to think about regarding that play. The Ravens, with no time outs left, were trying to kill the clock so they could score. Heap was hurt on the previous play and limped to the line for the spike. He was injured, he should have come out of the game but, of course, that would have wasted too much time, so he stayed in. Should Joey Porter reward the Ravens because they did not want to spare the time to let Heap come off the field? The Ravens were more concerned about scoring than they were Todd Heap's injury. Why, then, should Porter worry about it? All he did was shove him. Maybe the next time an opponent tries that, if it ever happens, they will remember what Porter did and take their wounded off the field.

If you can't tell, I've had about all I can take of all this Baltimore posturing. It's so disingenuous and hypocritical that it's not even close to being funny. And more than anything I'm furious because all this silliness has made me have to side with Mark Madden in an argument. In the paraphrased words of Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes": "Damn you Ravens! Damn you all to Hell!"