Category: Beyond the Bison

 

Julian Dorey

Writer

“More with Less”

I haven’t called him “Tom” in years. To me, Tom Izzo is simply the “Wiz.” In his 18 years manning the ship at Michigan State’s basketball program, the credentials speak for themselves: 16 straight NCAA tournament appearances, seven regular season Big Ten Championships, six Final Four appearances, two national title game appearances and one National Championship in 2000. Izzo has made MSU synonymous with March folklore and he has continually turned over roster after roster successfully. What’s even more impressive is that despite all of that success over the years, he has only ever had one player become an NBA All-Star (Zach Randolph) which makes his accomplishments all the more impressive given the lack of superstar power his teams have had.

Instead, he has relied on coaching up smart, team-oriented leaders like Mateen Cleaves, Drew Neitzel, Kalin Lucas and Draymond Green. Seemingly every season, Michigan State receives love from the AP voters early on, sometimes without much more of a reason than “Izzo has to have something up his sleeve.” While they have spent many seasons fading from their preseason rankings, Izzo has repeatedly gotten his team clicking on all cylinders by February. By March, they’re deadly.

This year Izzo is at it again. After receiving a number three seed from the NCAA Tournament Committee, the Spartans opened up their tournament with a 65-54 win over Valparaiso, and then followed that up with a high-speed beat down of an athletic Memphis team 70-48. With a matchup against Mike Krzyzewski and second-seeded Duke on the horizon, Izzo seems poised for another “joke’s on everyone else” run through the bracket. The Spartans look like one of the most physical teams in the country right now, and they do not turn the ball over.

At this point, a fair question is certainly at hand: if Izzo can make it seven final four appearances and, dare I say, two national titles, will it be fair to call him one of the greatest of all time? Izzo is 439-177 in his 18 seasons as a collegiate head coach (all at MSU), giving him a .713 win percentage. Part of the reason his name is sometimes left out of the “legends” conversation is because guys like Krzyzewski, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim and North Carolina’s Roy Williams have had more seasons of head coaching, and thus have higher win totals. 

But history remembers greatness. Izzo has already matched Boeheim with one national title, and he has lapped him with six Final Four appearances to Boeheim’s three. With one more national title, Izzo will match Roy Williams in national titles and Final Four appearances, albeit in seven less seasons. Measurables like this surely will not be lost in the annals of college basketball history.

Sparty looks primed for another run at college basketball’s crown, and I don’t mind putting my money on Izzo.

 

Julian Dorey

Writer

“Misgivings.”

What has happened to the Philadelphia 76ers this year? It seems like the only news coming out of South Philadelphia is what hairstyle Andrew Bynum is sporting on a given day. What’s even more sad is that’s the only noteworthy effect the 25-year-old “All-Star” has had on the Sixers.

When the Sixers traded their longtime swingman Andre Iguodala, their promising European big man Nikola Vucevic and their first-round draft pick Moe Harkless for a proven “superstar,” something they hadn’t had since trading Allen Iverson in 2006, they most certainly had the word “contender” on their mind. Instead, they’ve dealt with bad hairdos, a media nightmare, a lost season and brittle cartilage in both of Bynum’s knees.

Immediately after acquiring Bynum in August, the big man (who had suffered from some chronic knee injuries in the past) mentioned that he would travel to Germany to receive the same anti-invasive knee procedure that Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods and Alex Rodriguez received. He was coming off a season in which he had not missed any significant time due to injury and in which he posted the best numbers of his career. Sixers fans didn’t have any reason to worry … until the first day of training camp.

Bynum showed up and said that he was “shutting down” any physical activity for three weeks, and he went on to say that he would be ready for the start of the season. Three weeks later, he changed his mind and said he wouldn’t be ready for the opening tip. Two weeks after that, he changed his status to “indefinite.” And now, all the way into March, after more episodes of prolonging his recovery and after assuring fans all year that he would indeed play this year, he has rescinded that sentiment and has said he may get surgery.

All of this after the Sixers went through hell and high water to get him, and with his looming free agency status coming this summer, the Sixers have some decisions to make. Well, I say there isn’t a decision at all. If a 25-year-old can’t get through a 30-minute shootaround without his knees flaring up, his future doesn’t look too promising. Moreover, the guy has taken the city of Philadelphia for a disastrous roller coaster ride, all while not seeming to care or understand the gravity of the situation.

Does he really think that the Sixers are just going to throw a max-contract at him in July? Does he understand what his absence has done not just to their team (currently one of the worst in the NBA), but to the quality of their brand? The Sixers already were the proverbial red-headed stepchild of Philadelphia sports even before Iverson left town. Bynum has only added to the lore of the team’s continuous embarrassments.

The team spent the offseason building a roster specifically around Bynum, an offense that runs through the paint and spreads the floor for athletic jump shooters. Without Bynum, the shooters are useless, the paint game is non-existent and players have been forced to play out of position. If Bynum acted at all like he cared or showed some sense of urgency this year, maybe I’d consider rolling the dice on him this offseason. Clearly his priorities are elsewhere.

As an old movie once said: “Adios, amigo.” But, for authentic purposes, let’s drop the “amigo” part.

 

 

Julian Dorey

Writer

“All Due Respect”

One of the looming questions heading into the 2013 MLB season is the future of Phillies pitcher, Roy Halladay. For five years or so, Halladay was considered the best pitcher in all of baseball. He had a nasty cutter, an over-powering fastball and a changeup that fooled the likes of Manny Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera every time.

Over his 15-year career, Halladay has a record of 199-100, a cumulative ERA of 3.31 and 2,066 strikeouts. Considering that he played on many bad Toronto Blue Jays teams for 12 seasons, not to mention in the American League East, the toughest division in baseball, those numbers are hard to believe. But then again, this is why experts considered him to be the best.

I am purposely mentioning “considered” in the past tense because of Halladay’s unfortunate 2012 season. After injuring his shoulder in the end of May, Halladay did not return to action until July and by his standards was largely ineffective for the final two-and-a-half months upon returning. His 4.49 ERA in 25 games started last season was by far the worst output he produced since the very beginning of his career.

At age 35, many fans and analysts alike have fairly brought into question whether or not the 6-foot-6-inch power pitcher has dominant velocity anymore. They question if his body is starting to break down, as it does for many other MLB players of a similar age. Halladay’s Phillies are an aging bunch on the back end of what has been a great run over the past six years, and 2013 may just be their last realistic chance to make a hard push for one more title behind Phillies greats like Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz.

In order for that to happen, Halladay must be his old self. It is critical that he enters the season healthy and ready to set the tone that he’s back to being the same old “Doc” (as he is affectionately known) Halladay. With perennial Cy Young contenders Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels joining him in the rotation, a dominant year from Halladay could mean a boatload of Phillies wins coming from this loaded pitching staff.

Halladay’s progress is off to a good start in spring training where he made his first exhibition start this past Sunday against the reigning AL Champion Detroit Tigers. In two innings of work, Halladay worked his way through the Tigers’ batters with just 22 pitches and had solid velocity on the fastball that had everyone so worried at the end of last season.

New Tiger and long-time AL All-Star Torii Hunter called Halladay’s stuff “filthy” and added that “If [Halladay] gets better from here, it’s scary.” That’s some quality praise for a guy who is looking to put a subpar year behind him.

Spring training games are just underway and the regular season opener is still a month away, but if Halladay can continue to progress, stay healthy and show the old life he had on his fastball not so long ago, then look out. Because the Phillies will be giving the NL all they can handle.

Julian Dorey

Writer

“That all there is to it?”

If you don’t stop and take a look, you just might miss it. American basketball fans are spoiled, and I’m not sure they realize it. Right now, two players are playing the game on a level that begs the question as to whether or not they are, indeed, human.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant seem destined to battle each other for supremacy for years to come. After facing off against each other in the NBA Finals last year, the older James came away with his first title, while the young buck Durant realized just how far his greatness could take him, and how close he already was to living a championship dream.

Common sense would say that with the incredible athletes that exist across the NBA, James and Durant would continue to be the best players among many great ones. In fact, they have been even better. James has followed up his first championship and what was his third MVP campaign with perhaps his best season of all. With career stats of 27.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 6.9 APG, James’s current averages of 27.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG and 6.9 APG certainly do not jump off the page at you. But the ways in which he has single-handedly taken over games and completely carried his team at times have put me and many others at a loss for words.

And from an efficiency stand point? Well, for someone who generally plays from the wing as a point-forward, James’s 56.2 field goal percentage is absolutely insane. By comparison, Shaquille O’Neal had a 58.2 field goal percentage for his career, and most of his shots were within two feet of the basket.

James is doing it all and making it easy. His combination of incredible size, power and speed makes his post moves too strong for a small forward to defend and too fast for a center. He might only have one ring right now, but he’ll get more as his legend continues to rise.

James’s play makes it easy to ignore Durant’s greatness in Oklahoma City. Despite the Thunder trading one of their “Big Three” in James Harden before the season, Durant and co-star Russell Westbrook haven’t allowed the team to miss a beat.

Durant’s height (6 feet, 9 inches) and length (7-foot-5 wingspan) qualify him to be a power forward in today’s NBA. But, as skinny as he is and always has been, Durant has molded his game in a very different light. He’s deceptively fast and, at age 24, he’s already the purest scorer in the game. He can drain a 30-footer on demand or he can cross you over and fly through the lane. His defensive skills have improved drastically each season and his basketball IQ is amazing.

In a recent study done by grantland.com on Durant’s season-by-season shot sheet, they found that Durant had improved his field goal percentages at every single spot on the court since entering the league. In some areas, like inside the paint and outside the arc, his percentages have increased by 10-20 percent. The kid is simply incredible.

James is going to keep adding to his mounting legacy. Durant is only going to keep getting better. Kobe Bryant is still averaging 27.4 PPG and yet somehow isn’t even considered to be one of the two best current players in the game, which should tell you all you need to know about these two superstars.

First there was Wilt and Russell. Then there was Magic and Bird. Then there was Jordan.  Now, there’s a man named James and slick kid named Durant. Buckle up and enjoy it.

 

Julian Dorey

Writer

“Clarifications”

On Sunday, win or lose, the greatest linebacker to ever set foot on a football field will walk away from the game once and for all.

Ray Lewis has no need for regrets. He did it his way. Through all the ups and downs of his 17-year career, Ray was Ray. To many in the general public, Lewis was real. Amid all his high-level play and his incredible wisdom that he imparted onto others over the years, Lewis stood up to and defeated the most difficult opponent a man could ever face. Himself.

With Lewis’ retirement set to happen late Sunday night, many football fans have decided to bring up his infamous involvement in events surrounding a double homicide in January of 2000. For the record, charges of murder were dropped against Lewis, and the two other men originally accused of the crime were both acquitted. Unfortunately, when your name and “murder” are stated in the same sentence, the stigma will forever be there.

I believe the entire ordeal was the greatest thing to ever happen to Lewis. He was a young and talented, yet reckless and self-destructive star in the NFL. He gave everything he had when playing football, and did not seem to care about his reputation or the consequences of his actions off the field.

“You don’t want to be Ray Lewis when he was 27,” Lewis said.

While Lewis was suffering through the process of clearing his name in the murder investigation, he looked in the mirror. He didn’t like what he saw, so he decided to change. He decided that what was done was done. He knew his reputation in the eyes of some could never be fixed, but he also knew he could make a positive difference in the lives of everyone he encountered from that point forward. 

He opened numerous charity organizations. He took his team’s home city, Baltimore, a community mired in poverty and crime, under his wing. He took it upon himself to mentor every single young player that walked into the Ravens’ locker room. And he did all this while becoming the face of the NFL, a Super Bowl champion and the greatest linebacker in the history of football.

You can say that Lewis’ past makes him a questionable figure. Heck, you can say whatever you want. But in this country, the last time I checked, the law states that someone is innocent until proven guilty. The prosecution didn’t even try to prove Lewis guilty.

Lewis’ personal battle against himself has served as an inspiration to millions of people. That is what I’ll remember most about Lewis after he walks away from the game in less than 48 hours. Lewis’ legacy truly has no need for clarifications. The facts are there, and so is a great man.

 

Julian Dorey

Writer

“You play in dirt, you get dirty.”

Last year, there was Albert Pujols. Pujols was considered the best baseball player in the world when his services were up for bidding at the 2011 Winter Meetings (and while he had a quiet year this past season, he most definitely is still one of the best). There were plenty of other big name prizes up for grabs as well: Prince Fielder, C.J. Wilson and Hanley Ramirez to name a few.

This year? Not so much. The 2012 MLB free-agent class is much weaker. There are smaller names, and thus there will be smaller numbers next to the dollar totals on the contracts they will all eventually sign. However, there is one very interesting and big name out there: Josh Hamilton.

Yes, Hamilton, perhaps the biggest lightning rod in all of baseball. Just about every fan knows his story at this point. He was the number one overall pick in the 1999 MLB draft and shortly after spiraled out of control with drug and alcohol addictions. The addictions landed him on the unemployment line from 2004-2006, and only then did he get his life in order. After doing so, he worked his way into a major league lineup the hard way, and eventually landed with the Texas Rangers in 2008, where he finally showed his true ability and became a perennial all-star.

With his contract up and his power bat set to hit the market, Hamilton should be getting a seven-year deal worth $200 million plus, right? Wrong. While Hamilton has been a great story and an inspiration to many, his battle with alcohol and drugs is very real and will be an ongoing struggle until he takes his last breath. During his “story-book” tenure with the Rangers (that included two trips to the World Series), Hamilton had several relapses that brought negative attention to the team.

Last year specifically, after the team hired a traveling mentor/counselor to work with him and be his “sponsor” of sorts, Hamilton still relapsed, and after a monster start to his season, cooled off and hurt his team down the stretch.

Hamilton’s body has taken a beating (through no one’s fault but his own). Though he is only 31, you have to wonder if his body will hit a wall soon because of his past. Throughout much of the season, he sulked about not having a new contract from the Rangers, something that many members within the organization believe contributed to his decline in play during the season.

He is a great player, but he is also a burden. One mistake could literally kill him. It’s sad, but that is the harsh reality of being an addict.

Hamilton wants the big contract over many years, but I’m not sure he’s going to get it. The Rangers have already said they will not commit beyond three years.

To me, Hamilton is not worth the aggravation. He is a great player with a rare five-tool skill set, but his baggage may outweigh what his body will be willing to produce on the field in the next several years. Should the Rangers not retain him, one would have to assume it would be because another team is willing to commit big money beyond three years. To whatever teams are considering the idea, thinking they can swoop in and steal an MVP player, I’ll say this: be careful what you wish for.

Julian Dorey
Writer

It’s time.

After what will be 14 seasons of both good and bad times, the Philadelphia Eagles must part ways with Andy Reid.

Another season is preparing to come and go without much hope for a mere playoff birth.  The team has tuned him out, making the same amateur mistakes week-in and week-out. Turnovers, penalties, lack of fundamentals, poor blitz-pickups, etc. The laundry list of repeated issues has been growing for the past several years.

Calling for Reid to pack his things and walk out the door isn’t meant to paint him as a bad football coach. In fact, he’s a good one, and if he can find a way to put a ring on his finger one day, he’d be a great one.

No, calling for Reid’s job is simply a task in applying a simple “law” of human fallibility: he’s been coaching in one place for too long.

Reid is an Eagles institution. His West Coast offense, his ability to develop quarterbacks and his many winning seasons will eventually be recognized by Philadelphia faithful with respect and gratitude one day. But right now, every fan’s primary wish is to start over with a new Eagles hierarchy next season.

For years, Philadelphia has been fed the idea that their team is “this close” or “on the verge” of winning the big one. Talented Pro-Bowlers like Donovan McNabb, Brian Dawkins, Jeremiah Trotter, Hugh Douglas, Troy Vincent, Brian Westbrook, Terrell Owens, Asante Samuel, Trent Cole, Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy have played at the highest of levels for Reid at Veterans Stadium, and later Lincoln Financial Field. But the team trophy case lacks the most important one of all.

How can an owner who at least claims to be so hungry for a championship prove to the rest of his organization that he means it? He can start by moving out the winningest coach in franchise history. You know why? Because wins don’t mean much in the long run when you can’t win the big one.

Let’s face facts here. I mentioned earlier that Reid’s teams have seemingly tuned him out at times over the past few seasons. The results would reflect that. Since the 2008-2009 season, the team has appeared in just two playoff games over three seasons (not including this year’s seemingly hopeless 3-6 squad) and lost both of them. Since a Super Bowl appearance in 2004 that followed a streak of four straight NFC Championship game appearances and five straight trips to the playoffs, Reid’s teams have returned to the postseason just four times over seven plus seasons, and they’ve won a grand total of three postseason games. If you put those stats up next to other NFL coaches’ stats over the past seven years, you would find them to be middle-of-the-pack at best.

For all of Reid’s great qualities, his same issues have persisted. He is a poor clock manager, he fails to make in-game adjustments and his play-calling is about as hopelessly unbalanced as it gets.

With another season ready to come and go without so much as a winning record, it’s time for owner Jeffrey Lurie to come to his senses and start anew with a coach that will wake the players on the Eagles’ roster up.

If you ask me, Reid doesn’t have the ability to do that anymore.

 

Julian Dorey

Writer

“No one wins. One side just loses more slowly.”

The Big East Conference has reigned supreme over college basketball for years. The tradition, the urban settings, the old-school play and the over-integration of toughness has separated the league from the rest of the country.

In a way, that will all be gone come July 2013. Effectively, this upcoming season will be it for Big East basketball as we know it. Why?

Simply because the forces are shifting. The winds of the almighty dollar have broken the bonds of greatness that had no business being broken. This time next year, both Syracuse and Pittsburgh, two of the Big East’s most important teams, will have taken their talents to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). And, as if these two traditionally bruising basketball institutions leaving the league wasn’t enough, Notre Dame, another important school in the Big East basketball landscape, will also be joining the ACC within three years. In a shocking decision that came about in September 2011, Pittsburgh and Syracuse bolted for what they consider to be greener pastures, leaving the Big East’s brand name in question. Notre Dame followed suit shortly after.

For so many years we have heard coaches and athletic directors within the Big East rave about the special identity the teams within it share, that no other conference in college basketball can match. At the forefront of it all was Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.

Yet after starting with all of the politically correct comments about why he’s sad to leave the Big East after the news of Syracuse’s departure was announced, Boeheim finished off by saying, “We’re going to a very, very good basketball league, one that arguably has the best track record over the last 30 years.’’

So much for the Big East being above the rest, Boeheim. Now the Big East sits in limbo.  Half of its schools privately have one foot out the door because the league has lost its stability. And the kicker to all of this? It all started over one or two schools joining the Big East.

“There was uncertainty with the Big East with TCU coming in and rumors of adding Kansas or Kansas State or whatever. They could be losing West Virginia or somebody else. We needed to be in a stable league, and we had to be in a stable situation,” Boeheim said.

So let me get this straight, Jimmy boy. You’re advocating leaving a conference because you are worried about its “stability” (your word, not mine) when the new league you are joining is doing exactly what you are advocating against in adding your school to its league?

Talk about a paradox.

The truth is, no one wins here. Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame all lose because they leave behind a tradition that their geographically Northeastern roots could truly claim to be a part of. They join a more southern league with a finesse style of basketball and a totally different identity. That’s not to say the ACC isn’t special in its own right. It is. It’s just different from the Big East and, in my opinion, not quite as special.

In the meantime, the Big East has lost credibility. For years, the central hub of the league has been Madison Square Garden in New York City. For years, Syracuse has transformed the arena into a sea of orange during all of the big tournaments held there, including the ultra-competitive Big East Tournament. Pittsburgh and Notre Dame have also played in many special games within the confines of that holy basketball temple.

Now the league will expect the bottom feeders like DePaul, Providence and South Florida to step their games up to levels they have either never experienced or have for so long failed to reach, all while sticking to the same recruiting norms as Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. They will most certainly maintain a hold of their regular, successful recruiting areas. After all, it’s not like Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame are changing addresses.

Neither side is going to get a “W” in this one.

The question is: which one will look back in 30 years and say, “that move cost us our reputation forever”?

 

Julian Dorey
Writer

This NBA season may be the most important one in LeBron James’ career.

Last year, the King finally got his ring after a tiresome, impactful, controversial, trend-setting nine-year quest. The championship definitely provided him with some peace of mind and some long-lost self-assurance.

What it didn’t do for him is silence his greatest detractors.

James has one ring. Not two, not three, not four or five, but one. His physicality, ridiculous career numbers and three MVP’s to this point in his career do not put him in Michael Jordan’s company because his bling collection has only brought in its first item. At age 27 going on 28, he has plenty of time. After all, Jordan was 28 when he got his first. By the sheer wits of father time, James is right on track.

But once Jordan got one, he followed it up with two more in a row. After leaving the NBA for a short time in the mid-90s following his father’s death, Jordan came back and went on to another three-peat.

The moral of the story? James may need to start ripping off championships like Stephen A. Smith rips off stats from a box score if he ever wants to catch the greatest player to ever pick up a ball.

If James truly intends to hold himself to the standard of being the greatest player to ever play the game, as he told the AP last week, this season could be the most critical one of his entire career. Once James and the Heat can prove to themselves that they have the ability to reel off a couple titles in a row, there’s no telling how much their confidence and aspirations could collectively soar. They would enter next season with a real opportunity to establish a dynasty, and to be one of the greatest teams to ever play together.

Perhaps the Heat can be the NBA’s first true dynasty since the Spurs and Lakers earlier in this century. With Dwyane Wade healthy heading into this season and Chris Bosh finally sure of himself and his role as the third wheel on the team, there’s no telling how much better the Heat can get and how many more rings they can collect.

There’s just one problem: this is not Jordan’s NBA.

When Jordan began his meteoric rise to the top of basketball’s Mount Rushmore, certain things fell into place. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were on the wrong side of 30 and their star-powered teams were shells of what they used to be. Some of Isiah Thomas’ key sidekicks on the infamous “Bad Boys” team in Detroit (Dumars, Laimbeer, Mahorn, Aguirre) were getting old. Great players like Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley and David Robinson did not have the sheer scoring ability that Jordan did, and also did not have the sidekicks he did. In other words, Jordan entered his prime right as the rest of the NBA entered a transitional period that would see the style of the game change. When Jordan already had three titles under his belt, came back to the NBA and began his quest for more, the only real threat to his Bulls were the Utah Jazz who bowed to “his Airness” in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals.

To be clear, none of that is to say that Jordan had it easy, or that he doesn’t deserve every one of the accolades he has received as a player. Jordan is arguably the most clutch player of all time and his accomplishments speak for themselves. However, with all of those listed factors in mind, consider what James has to deal with as he begins his mission to collect more trophies.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City. Kobe, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol in Los Angeles. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and a rising young roster representing the lesser-advertised team in Los Angeles. The Brooklyn Nets and Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s continued willingness to throw money at talent to build a champion. Even a young team in the Philadelphia 76ers has rising talent to possibly make them a force in years to come.

The point?

James has tough company. The NBA has evolved into a league of “super-teams.” Organizations feel that the only way they can compete is if they load up on franchise players. It started with James’ move to South Beach in 2010.

Now, as James enters the most important season of his career, a season that needs to end with another parade in Miami, he has to navigate past talented teams that he, albeit indirectly, created.

He could go down as the greatest of all-time, but he’s going to have to play at unprecedented levels to do so if the biggest measurement stick is Jordan’s six, levels that would eclipse Jordan’s playoff performances throughout the years.

Julian Dorey
Writer

For 17 years, Ray Lewis has been the face of NFL toughness and the face of his team, the Baltimore Ravens.

For now, that face won’t be taking the field.

In the Ravens’ week six game against the Dallas Cowboys, Lewis suffered a brutal triceps injury and was subsequently declared out for the season. While Lewis did confide in teammates that he would assuredly return for a potential postseason run, the Ravens must assume that the road to a Super Bowl will have to be traveled without their leader.

Seeing Lewis go down made me sad. This is a man who has defied reality by playing at the very highest level, at one of the most physical positions (linebacker), for an unheard-of period of time. This is a man who faced torturous adversity (when he was accused of a murder he did not commit in 2000) and handled it with utmost class. This is a man whose enthusiasm, energy and will to win have inspired millions for almost two decades.

Yet with one awkward landing, it could all be over.

Lewis already thought about retiring after last season. Now, after showing some signs of age and enduring a horrendous injury, the Ravens players, organization and fans are all facing the sad possibility that number 52 has played his last snap.

Unfortunately for the Ravens, the show must go on. Lewis can no longer be with them on the field and other leaders will need to step up. The 43-13 drubbing the team took from the Houston Texans last weekend certainly did not get the post-Lewis season off to a good start.

We all watched the New York Yankees crumble just a couple weeks ago when Derek Jeter went down with a broken ankle. Understandably, it’s very difficult to move on from a loss of that magnitude and focus on winning games immediately. Unlike the Yankees (who were in the middle of a playoff run when Jeter got injured), the Ravens have a solid record (5-2) to use as a “cushion.”

If anyone could return from a torn triceps injury in less than three months, it’s Lewis. Realistically speaking, it is an injury that requires a minimum of four months recovery. Despite Lewis’ claim that he will return for the postseason in January, chances are he won’t.

The underachieving Ravens defense must find a way to carry on and up their game behind great players like Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata. More importantly, someone on the defense needs to step up and assert himself as the “replacement” leader.

Championship teams respond head-on and positively to adversity. Losing the most valuable player on the team has created the biggest problem the Ravens have ever had. Their roster is deep, though, and the next nine games represent a chance for the Ravens to show just how good and resilient they are.

There comes a point where the great rise and the weak fall. The Ravens may not be far from that point. They might be missing their greatest asset, but their ultimate goal remains unchanged.

If they are truly capable of winning a Super Bowl, their greatness will reveal itself soon enough.