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What is happening to us, and what can we do about it? Confronting violence starts with confronting our anxiety about it.I know, the world is a violent place. But doesn’t this summer, and the last few weeks, seem especially so? From the global scene to the most personal, we seem to have settled for violence as the “new normal” at every level. This week, we observed the 13th anniversary of 9/11. That terrible day affected all of us, each of us being able to describe where we were and what we felt as the Trade Center towers fell. Yet, 13...

When the Baltimore Ravens released Ray Rice earlier this week, the NFL followed suit with its own punishment and suspended the running back indefinitely. How long that suspension may last is unclear, but it sounds like Rice plans to fight it. Citing multiple media reports, NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk says Rice intends to file an appeal Monday that "will be handled by the NFLPA and by an outside lawyer retained by Rice." Initially, Rice received a two-game suspension in July, after an initial video showed him dragging his unconscious then-fiancee, Janay Palmer, out of a casino elevator in New...

Following the release of new footage that seems to show now former-Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his then-fiancée in the face, it’s important to remember that the prosecutor who let Rice off with a slap on the wrist is now trying to throw the book at a young mother of two who tried to protect herself and her family from violence. Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain approved an application for admitting Rice into New Jersey’s Pre-Trial Intervention program that allowed the NFL star to avoid jail time. Instead, Rice has to undergo counseling and will be immediately incarcerated...

Four sources close to Ray Rice have told ESPN [link at URL] that the former Ravens running back acknowledged to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell during the league's investigation that he punched Janay Rice in an Atlantic city elevator, knocking her unconscious. If that is the case, it would seem to contradict Goodell's statement to CBS this week that Rice's account of the February assault in the Revel casino to investigators was 'ambiguous'. "Ray didn't lie to the commissioner," one of the sources said on ESPN's "outside the Lines." "He told the full truth to Goodell - he made it clear...

Did the NFL suspend Ray Rice indefinitely after he was given an initial 2 game suspension because A.) they saw the video inside the elevator, or B.) because we saw the inside-the-elevator video? If it is because of A, then why did they formulate a 6 game suspension to be followed by banning for a second offense and not apply the 6 game rule to Ray Rice? If this is because the inside-the-elevator video surfaced, then will the NFL have a system for those who are caught by video and those not caught by video? In the end, IMHO, Ray...

One day after Ray Rice was cut loose from the Baltimore Ravens following the release of a video showing him striking and knocking out his then-fiancee, his wife is defending her husband and blasting the media for the pain caused to her family. In an Instagram post apparently written by Janay Rice, she said she felt like she was "mourning the death of my closest friend." "I woke up this morning, feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend," Janay Rice wrote in the post. "But to have to accept the...

(CNN) -- Janay Rice, wife of suspended NFL player Ray Rice who was released by the Baltimore Ravens, apparently posted a statement Tuesday on Instagram calling the situation a "nightmare." "To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass off for all his life just to gain ratings is a horrific (sic)," she wrote. The actions against Ray Rice were taken Monday after a video surfaced showing him knocking her out with a punch in February. The Instagram post, reported by various media, appeared to be authentic.

Breaking -- because of new footage inside the elevator, Ravens have released Ray Rice.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage is not thrilled with the way the NFL has handled the suspension of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, and said today on a radio show that he intends on boycotting the NFL and will be sending NFL Commissioner Roger Gooddell a letter criticizing the relatively light punishment Rice received for beating his fiancé unconscious. "They care so little about our women and our children that they’re going to hire these barbarians who go and hit their wives and their kids and they’re gonna get a slap on the hand? And some guy got a year...

Baltimore Ravens fans gave running back Ray Rice a standing ovation as he jogged onto the field during training camp practice on Monday, according to the team's website. Rice acknowledged the cheering fans by pointing to the crowd. Rice was seen on video in February dragging his then-fiancée out of an Atlantic City casino elevator. He was charged with third-degree aggravated assault after Janay Palmer, whom he later married, was left unconscious following the incident. Rice agreed to enter into a diversion program to avoid a jail sentence. More: Lenient penalty for Ray Rice troubling proof of where NFL's priorities...

His voice cracking with emotion, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice acknowledged Friday that he “failed miserably” and apologized for the actions that led to his arrest on assault charges. Rice was arrested following a Feb. 15 altercation in Atlantic City, in which he allegedly struck fiancee Janay Palmer. The couple married in late February, and both went to the stage at the team training complex for their first public comment since the arrest. “I failed miserably, but I wouldn’t call myself a failure because I’m working my way back up,” Rice said. Rice was accepted Tues­day into a diversion...

the NFL has performed 'an aggressive review' of the play in question, where Tomiln appeared to intentionally get in the path of Baltimore kick returner Jacoby Jones on a could-be touchdown, forcing Jones to alter his route and run towards a Pittsburgh defender. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was caught by television cameras Thursday night with a big smile on his face after his positioning on a third-quarter kick return from Ravens receiver Jacoby Jones — in which Tomlin had part of his right foot on the field as he watched the return on the video board with his back to...

According to TMZ, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones was hurt early Monday morning when a stripper named Sweet Pea smashed a giant champagne bottle over his head during a brawl on a party bus. I know, I know, it sounds outrageous. But according to the gossip site, the story is legit — and becomes more believable when you consider the company Jones was with. Per TMZ, this is how it went down:

Retired six-time Pro Bowl center and former Viking Matt Birk skipped the Baltimore Ravens' visit to the White House on Wednesday for political reasons. Specifically, the St. Paul native took issue with President Barack Obama's support of Planned Parenthood. Birk is a staunch Catholic father of six children who's against abortion and has taken a strong pro-life stance. Birk has also spoken out in the past in favor of traditional marriage prior to same-sex marriage becoming legal last year in Maryland. "I wasn't there," Birk said in an interview on KFAN-FM. "I would say that I have great respect for...

Citing President Barack Obama’s recent call for God to “bless” Planned Parenthood, former All-Pro Ravens’ Center Matt Birk declined to attend a June 5 White House ceremony honoring the Super Bowl-champion Ravens. In a June 6 interview with Minneapolis-St. Paul’s KFAN Sports-Radio FM-100.3, Birk said he had “great respect for the office of the presidency,” but could not endorse Obama’s statement “in any way.” The president made the invocation during an April 26 speech at the Planned Parenthood Conference in Washington, D.C. “Planned Parenthood performs about 330,000 abortions a year,” Birk said. “I am Catholic, I am active in the...

Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo was released by Baltimore this offseason, and on the heels of comments earlier this week where he suggested that he was cut in part because of his outspoken stance on gay rights and equality issues, Ayanbadejo clarified himself to the Baltimore Sun on Friday. During an hour-long interview he made it clear that he harbors no resentment for the Ravens, and respects them for the support they offered him throughout his career both on and off the field. But that's not all. ...Ayanbadejo had this to say: "I think it will happen sooner than you think,"...

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Baltimore City police had their hands full managing the huge crowds of celebrating Ravens fans who took to the streets after Sunday night’s victory. In Fells Point, thousands of people danced in the streets.

Super Bowl XLVII, February 3rd, 2013 New Orleans Mercedes Benz Dome, CBS-TV, Westwood One radio, 630pm EST Baltimore Ravens v San Francisco 49ers (-4.5, O/U 47.5)

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis may have used a banned substance to recover from his torn triceps in order to come back and play this season. According to a report in Sports Illustrated, Lewis contacted a company to obtain a "a deer-antler velvet extract after tearing his triceps in October."

Akron, Ohio — She disappears into a back room to find her hat and gloves. Nearly 13 years have passed since someone killed Priscilla Lollar’s oldest child, and in that time, she says, she has never visited his grave. She has thought about what that moment would be like, and deep down she knows it is something she needs to do. But she’s afraid that pain would soon follow, and so instead, Priscilla has chosen for years to feel nothing. Early on Jan. 31, 2000, Richard Lollar and a childhood friend, Jacinth Baker, were stabbed to death in Atlanta. This...