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Awaiting the verdict Ravens expecting NFL to punish linebacker Lewis
Posted: Wednesday May 17, 2000 08:32 PM
A highly placed source inside the Baltimore Ravens organization tells me that even though the team is convinced that linebacker Ray Lewis will be acquitted of double-murder charges, they're just as convinced that he could face an NFL suspension for any peripheral role he may have played in the crime. If Lewis is found not guilty of all six charges he faces in the Super Bowl-night murders, he'll be in training camp in July. If he is found guilty of a lesser charge of obstruction of justice, the hope in the Ravens' organization is that NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue would hit Lewis with a short ban -- say, two games. But the NFL might view the Lewis case as an opportunity to send a message to its players to divest themselves of sordid off-field friends. Even if Lewis is acquitted of the most serious charges, the league could respond to a torrent of bad press by giving Lewis a tough, four-game ban -- or more.
Warner plans to honor commitmentIn St. Louis, the Rams expect quarterback Kurt Warner to resume normal training by early June after an appendectomy this week. Fortunately for Warner and the Rams, doctors were able to perform microscopic surgery on the Rams' MVP quarterback instead of opening him up, removing the appendix in a manner very much like arthroscopic surgery. Here's how good Warner feels in the wake of the surgery: He's still planning to be a featured speaker at a religious event Saturday at the TransWorld Dome in St. Louis.
Reed may saddle up with ColtsOn the unwanted player front, wide receiver Andre Reed could find himself a home -- for minimum salary -- with old friends in Indianapolis, where GM Bill Polian thinks Reed can still be a third or fourth receiver.
Company working to Net former Jets coachFinally, word is Bill Parcells rejected an ESPN deal worth about $1.5 million annually in part because ESPN wanted to tie up Parcells' Internet rights. Why would that stand in the way of a deal, you ask? Because Parcells is negotiating with an Internet company -- which wants to put his words, voice and video all over its site -- for something in the range of seven figures. Funny, I didn't even know Parcells likes to surf. Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL for the magazine and appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN's NFL Preview.
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