Sports Illustrated’s Super Bowl Commemorative Issue On Newsstands Now
Posted: February 7, 2013 Filed under: NFL | Tags: baltimore ravens, nfl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl Champs Comments Off
(NEW YORK – Feb. 7, 2013) – Sports Illustrated has published a special collector’s issue commemorating the Baltimore Ravens’ second Super Bowl title. The 80-page magazine has arrived on newsstands and at area retailers—including Giant, Safeway, Royal Farms, Mars, Wegmans, Shop Rite, Superfresh, Martins Foods, Food Lion, Shoppers Food Warehouse, Costco, Walmart, Sams Club, Target, Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS, Books A Million, Barnes & Noble and News Center—throughout the state of Maryland.
The special edition, which will be sold at the price of $7.99, features star quarterback Joe Flacco, running back Ray Rice and linebacker Ray Lewis on the cover with the billing BRINGING IT HOME: HOW BALTIMORE BATTLED TO WIN ITS SECOND TITLE.
Highlights for the commemorative edition include:
A Journey The City Could Love (page 10)
At times bowed but never broken, the Ravens bonded and rebounded for an unlikely championship run.
- The Playoffs (page 28)
Two blowouts and a miraculous last-minute play paved the way to New Orleans and the hoisting of the Lombardi Trophy.
- AFC Wild-Card Round – Ravens vs. Colts: An inspired defense shut down Indy (page 30).
- AFC Divisional Game – Ravens vs. Broncos: Flacco to Jones: A Mile High Miracle (page 34).
- AFC Championship Game – Ravens vs. Patriots: A total effort avenged last year’s title-game loss (page 38).
- Super Bowl XLVII – Ravens vs. 49ers: Big plays bring it home for Baltimore (page 42).
- Joe Flacco (page 56)
As Good As His Word: People may laugh, but the Ravens’ quarterback was right- he really is among the NFL’s elite.
- Ray Rice (page 60)
A Mover And A Shaker: Overlooked for his diminutive size, the running back may be Baltimore’s biggest asset on offense.
- John Harbaugh (page 64)
After Patience, The Payoff: The cerebral coach came to share the spotlight with his brother and biggest advocate.
- The Book Of Ray (page 70)
As told in this 2006 SI classic, Ray Lewis embraced a divine belief that carried him. In his eyes the trials he faced are part of a master plan.
- First Person: Jonathan Ogden (page 80)
An original Raven, and new Hall of Famer, reflects on the team’s early years and the foundation for greatness.
As with all Sports Illustrated Presents commemorative issues, this special collector’s edition is separate from the current weekly issue of Sports Illustrated, which is dated Feb, 11. 2013.
Baltimore Ravens’ Wide Receiver Jacoby Jones on the Cover of This Week’s Sports Illustrated
Posted: February 5, 2013 Filed under: NFL, Peter King, Sports Illustrated Cover, Uncategorized, Weekly Issue, Weekly Press Release | Tags: baltimore ravens, Jacoby Jones, nfl, Peter King, Super Bowl Comments Off
Baltimore Ravens’ wide receiver and kick returner Jacoby Jones, who opened the second half of the Ravens Super Bowl XLVII victory over the 49ers with a postseason record 108-yard kickoff return for a TD, is on the cover of the Feb. 11, 2013, issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, on newsstands Wednesday.
This is the first time that Jones, who appears above the headline: “Fear the Bird. Revere the Bird”, has appeared on the SI cover and the 12th time that a member of the Ravens has appeared on the SI cover. You can purchase this week’s cover here.
Jones, a New Orleans native who also caught a 56 yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco in the first half, set a number of Super Bowl records in Baltimore’s 34-31 victory over San Francisco, including most combined yards in a game (290) and longest play (his 108-yard kickoff return). Jones also tied a record with two plays of 50-or-more yards. Senior writer Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) writes:
“In the span of two game minutes, Jones had touched the ball twice, gained 164 yards, and scored two touchdowns.” (PAGE 31)
The Maddest 2 Minutes in Sports
Posted: January 30, 2013 Filed under: Austin Murphy, NFL, NFL Playoffs, Uncategorized, Weekly Issue | Tags: Andrew Luck, baltimore ravens, Colin Kaepernick, Eli Manning, joe flacco, san francisco 49ers, Super Bowl Comments Off
In four of the last five Super Bowls, the game has been determined by a turbulent, exciting final drive. In this week’s SPORTS ILLUSTRATED senior writer Austin Murphy (@si_austinmurphy) takes us through the history of the two-minute drills that make NFL games, especially Super Bowls, so memorable. From Unitas to Montana to Manning (Eli, that is), Murphy breaks down some of the most iconic drives. The piece also dives into the drill’s evolution, such as communication between quarterback and coach via headset, the growth of hurry-up offenses and the intense preparation of all the possible late game scenarios coaches stress to get ready for games.
“There’s so much more emphasis on [hurry-up offenses]. Especially in OTAS and training camp,” says new Cardinals coach and former Colts interim coach Bruce Arians (PAGE 34), who helped rookie quarterback Andrew Luck become a two-minute maestro this season.
Murphy also poses the question of which Super Bowl quarterback has the better chance to lead a winning two-minute drill in this year’s game. Will it be Joe Flacco, who already has 10 fourth-quarter comebacks to his name, or the elusive Colin Kaepernick, who showed at Nevada that he has the potential to be a “future maestro of the 2MD”?
“Flacco’s guys know he can do it. They’re going to have a confidence that the 49ers can’t have because they haven’t done it,” says Randy Cross (PAGE 32), the former 49ers center who was a part of in the winning drive in Super Bowl XXIII.
Harbaugh Brothers, Frank Gore, Ray Lewis and Joe Flacco Featured on Special Four-Cover Series of This Week’s Sports Illustrated
Posted: January 22, 2013 Filed under: Austin Murphy, NFL, NFL Playoffs, Peter King, Weekly Issue | Tags: baltimore ravens, frank gore, jim harbaugh, joe flacco, John Harbaugh, nfl, Peter King, ray lewis, san francisco 49ers, Super Bowl Comments Off
Brothers Jim and John Harbaugh, San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore; Ravens linebacker and emotional leader Ray Lewis, and Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco are featured on a special 4-cover series of the Jan. 28, 2013 Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday.
The first three covers feature the headlines: “There Will Be Blood”, “There Will be Gore”, and “There Will be a Valiant Last Stand”. They lead up to the final cover, which predicts “There Will Be a Parade in Baltimore”. This is the 3rd time that both Lewis and Flacco have appeared on the cover and the 2nd time Gore has appeared on the cover.
This week’s Sports Illustrated includes12 pages of Super Bowl XLVII coverage, featuring “10 Things We Thing we Think”. Highlights include:
Senior writer Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) says that you must expect the unexpected from the unpredictable 49ers offense, as they have proven they can beat you in multiple ways (PAGE 40). However, King still picks the Ravens to defeat the 49ers, 27-23. King says: “I’ve doubted Flacco one too many times this winter, and I won’t make that mistake a third time (PAGE 49).”
Ray Lewis and the reinvigorated Ravens defense will contest the 49ers explosive offensive attack writes senior writer Austin Murphy (@si_austinmurphy). Murphy says: “Galvanized by hardships earlier in the season and rallying around spiritual leader Lewis, they are headed to the Big Easy brimming with the confidence that comes from confounding the doubters three weeks in a row (PAGE 42).”
They may share the same last name, but Jim and John Harbaugh have taken different journeys and approaches en route to leading their teams to the Super Bowl. Senior writer Michael Rosenberg (@Rosenberg_Mike) writes that while most Super Bowl storylines tend to overwhelm the game itself, this story—the HarBowl—is a worthy one will certainly live up to the hype. Rosenberg writes: “Two brothers, who were born 15 months apart and spent much of their childhoods sharing a room, will be coaching against one another on the biggest stage in American sports (PAGE 47).”
Download a high res image of the covers here
Upon Further Review, it’s Clear That the Replacement Refs are Inferior
Posted: September 26, 2012 Filed under: Weekly Issue | Tags: baltimore ravens, green bay packers, L.Jon Wertheim, New England Patriots, nfl, nflpa, Replacement Refs, Roger Goodelle, seattle seahawks Comments Off
They’re Really That Bad
The replacement officials, collectively, are the headache that won’t go away. Thanks to a labor standoff, the NFL has been using replacement refs who so far have shown themselves to be alarmingly mistake-prone, star-struck and shaky on the rule book. It’s easy to pick on the scabs and any casual viewer can snicker at the comedy of errors. But are these guys really that bad (page 48)?
