Ravens

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Anquan Boldin doesn't expect to feel a sweeping wave of emotion Thursday night when he walks onto the field for his first game with the Baltimore Ravens. The three-time Pro Bowl receiver will save that kind of sentiment for the regular season. The Ravens obtained Boldin and Donte' Stallworth during the offseason to bolster a passing attack that last year ranked 18th in yardage and featured only one wide receiver with more than 34 catches. After spending his first seven years in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals, Boldin will informally launch the next phase of his career in Baltimore's preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers.

HAGERSTOWN -- The Baltimore Ravens Nest 12 honored four high school individuals with varied goals during their annual banquet on Saturday evening at Hager Hall. Those four -- Denton Marshall and Josh Short of Greencastle, Nick Harvey of Hancock and Lucas Redick of Berkeley Springs -- were awarded $750 scholarships each during the 11th annual event. In addition, the Nest named Ravens defensive lineman Haloti Ngata the NFL team's Player of the Year. Marshall, who was recognized as the True Grit Scholarship winner, has a roadmap set for his future, which will begin in the fall at Montana State University.

"This is to all the people complaining about the headline for the South High graduate who killed his father. Come on people, The Herald-Mail was not pointing out South High, they were just trying to say that he was from this area. Perhaps they should just have said he was from Hagerstown but this headline sure got a lot of recognition, so I say it worked. Good job Herald-Mail. " - Washington County "You know, I've been watching TV about the plane incident where the guy tried to blow the plane up, and I've been thinking, we've got a real bunch of inept (people)

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- There's still a tomorrow for the Pittsburgh Steelers, all they could have asked for only days ago. There's also a next week for the Baltimore Ravens, or exactly what they didn't want. Jeff Reed's 38-yard field goal put Pittsburgh ahead with 5:25 remaining and the Steelers finally preserved a fourth-quarter lead, beating rival Baltimore 23-20 on Sunday to further jumble the complicated AFC postseason race. The Steelers (8-7), their season seemingly ended by a late-season five-game losing streak, followed their last-second 37-36 victory over Green Bay with another tight victory helped by Reed's three field goals and Rashard Mendenhall's touchdown run. Now, their final regular season game at Miami will have some meaning, although the Steelers could win and still be eliminated.

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- They are the two most visible faces of tough-guy football, as personified by James Harrison's snarling and Ray Lewis' meanness. Fittingly, the weather routinely is cold and nasty when they meet, or much like the attitude each carries for the other. Toughness isn't an option when the Ravens and Steelers meet, it's a requirement. Located in adjacent states, the franchises are equally close in mindset and personality, style and identity. A season ago, the Steelers delighted in keeping the hated Ravens from going to the Super Bowl.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) -- Corey Ivy has a unique perspective on the rivalry between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. After spending the previous three seasons in Baltimore and one game this season with the Steelers, Ivy returned to the Ravens' roster just in time for Sunday's pivotal AFC North showdown. "In this game, you never know what's going to happen," Ivy said Wednesday, one day after being re-signed following a tryout that included former St. Louis Rams second-round cornerback Travis Fisher.

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Baltimore Ravens aren't quite yet a playoff team. They sure are playing like one, though. Joe Flacco threw a career-high four touchdown passes, and the Ravens capitalized on six Chicago turnovers in a 31-7 rout on Sunday. Baltimore (8-6) led 14-0 after 13 minutes and 31-7 after three quarters. The victory solidified the Ravens' hold on the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC and improved their record against teams currently with losing records to 6-0. "The game looked like one team was playing for something and the other one really wasn't," Bears coach Lovie Smith said.

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Third-string quarterback Dennis Dixon was doing a fine job for the Pittsburgh Steelers in his first NFL start -- until he was forced to work overtime. An interception by rookie Paul Kruger set up a 29-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff with 6:42 left in the extra session, giving the Baltimore Ravens a 20-17 victory Sunday night. Dixon started because Ben Roethlisberger was sidelined with a concussion and backup Charlie Batch had a broken left wrist. Dixon had thrown only one pass in two seasons before getting the nod against the Ravens.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Done with all the drama, the Bengals are grinding their way into the playoff conversation. Cedric Benson topped 100 yards again on Sunday, and the Bengals scored on their first three possessions, setting up a 17-7 victory over Baltimore that kept surprising Cincinnati atop the AFC North and undefeated against division foes. With a win next Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Bengals (6-2) would be in position to make the playoffs for only the second time in the past 19 years.