No Weapon Shall Prosper against No Sleeves

After the best NFL game of the year Ray Lewis quoted the following Bible Passage 

Isaiah 54:17

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper,

And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,

”Says the Lord." ...

 

Words like : Talented,  Crazed, Fast, Heart, Vicious, Goon, Smart, Team Player, Thug , Leader, Bully , Inspirational , Intimidator, Family Man, and Warrior all describe Ray Lewis. People never look beyond the very serious fact that he was charged with obstructing justice in a double murder trial in 2000 when he tried to cover up the crimes of "his two friends".  That incident mars the fact that he is deeply religious family who is a leader both on and off the field. 

I went to catholic school for 13 years and am not deeply religious, but I also recognize the fact that in sports every person has their own inner source of motivation. For some like Ray Lewis and Tim Tebow that source is religion. What frustrates me is that Tebow is praised and commend for his religious values yet Lewis is just written off.  Is it racial? Is it the position they play? Is it media hype?  Probably all of the above. They are both called leaders and winners, yet we all know that Ray Lewis can play linebacker and Tebow cannot play NFL quarterback.  Sorry but when character is equal, then ability is the determining factor on who I want on my team. That being said I always Ray Lewis on my football team (hell even softball) as he can play and has the ability to make others around him better.

A sign of Lewis leadership came in yesterday's thrilling victory over the heavily favored #1 Seed Denver Broncos.
  

when he and most of his team wore NO SLEVEES in sub-zero temperature

while his opponent's body language looked cold and uncomfortable

During the broadcast the announcers commented that during their conversation with Lewis before that game they asked "So Ray are you going to wear long sleeves in the zero degree tempetures. Ray only looked at them like you’re kidding right?" Lewis believes in that tough focused no sleeves in cold mindset and so do I. No sleeves in the cold is a mindset that the weather is not going to stop you. 

Baltimore had that yesterday and Denver did not. As for softball, there are very few Ray Lewis types out there that combine ability and leadership, but I can think of one
 

whose team's journey will be told next edition of the insider. 

Suspicion brings Dishonor .. Not Right

Every real warrior, competitor, and softball player knows that death comes before dishonor. Your always trying to play the game the right way because your name, your pride, your self-respect; essentially your Honor is precious and irreplaceable.  A player is not a player without honor.

In Major League Baseball there is no greater honor to bestow upon a player than Election to the Hall of Fame. This year no one was elected. The writers sent a message and and made a good call regarding obvious and proven performance enhancing cheaters like Bonds, Clemens and Sosa

Feels right.

Unfortunately instead of following, explaining, or breaking a Hall of Fame story the so called most qualified people to decide the Baseball Hall of Fame, the baseball writers, decided to create a story by not allowing anyone to entered the Hall who played during the "Steroid Era (1994-2004). They let suspicion and suspicion alone deny great players like Piazza and Biggio  

the honor of being enshrined as all time greats just because of whispers and rumors. Fucking high school girls passing notes in class style. Weak and feels wrong.

Now I know you might be thinking Ricky is a Met fan and his judgement is biased, but as my friends know I was never a Piazza guy as I didn't like his defense and his unwillingness to move to first base because he was such a lousy catcher. But c'mon his right handed swing was beautiful and there was never ever any performance enhancing proof against him? I mean aren't we Innocent until proven guilty? The baseball writers don't think so as with them its "Guilty if Suspicious - no proof needed". Its gossip column, NY Post Page 6 style, sensationalist journalism/justice. A damn witch hunt with little or flimsy evidence at best. 

If the writes wanted to reward non nonperformance enhancing players why weren't Jack Morris and Tim Raines elected?

They were awesome. They weren't saints, but clearly were outstanding players. Obviously the writers just wanted to make a statement about the steroids than do their homework and recognize great players for their on the field accomplishments. Mistake.

What about going forward? Will Greg Maddux, Vladamir Guerrero, Pedro Martinez, Ivan Rodriguez, Jeff Kent, Ken Griffey, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Omar Visquel be punished b/c they played in the Steroid ERA? Some yes. Some no. Why ? Perception is reality. Baseball writers are bitches and should be removed from the Hall of Fame voting/selection process. How can men with no honor and sense of justice vote on baseball's greatest honor? The answer is simple : They shouldn't as they love the drama more than justice.