Ray Lewis' Support Of Ravens Scapegoats Is Touching

Many people despise Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis' tough-talk and brutal play on the field but yesterday— after his team was defeated by the New England Patriots, 23-20, when a dropped touchdown pass and missed field-goal cost them a chance at winning the  AFC Championship in the waning seconds— they have to admit that the poster-boy for NFL helmet-to-helmet football sounded, well... sensitive.

A bobbled TD catch by Lee Evans— which could have won the game— and then a missed 32-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff with 15 seconds left that could have sent it into overtime were at the center of Lewis' Dr. Phil moment.

After the game, the 16-year veteran came to the defense of the team scapegoats and told reporters,"We win as a team.  We lose as a team."

As for the two dejected players, Lewis said they should "move on as men" and he would reach out to them.

Comforting words from a man who has had his own dark days.

Lewis should know about being some sort of a pariah because he is no stranger to scandal on the field or— more importantly— off of it.

Lewis' touching display of forgiveness can't help but remind people of a dark side to his own past.

Early in his career, Lewis— who is often called heroic on the gridiron— paid a settlement to the families of two homicide victims in a still unresolved double-murder after.

In that 2000 case, Lewis copped to an obstruction of justice plea after the stabbing incident at a post-Super Bowl party outside an Atlanta nightclub.

Yesterday, Lewis said, "There's no one man that's ever lost a game."

As for the uplifting support of his teammates, the man just wants them to know there are bigger things in life to cope with.

Eli Reaches Out To Plaxico: Ex-Giant Goes From Lockdown To Lockout

Plaxico Burress is on course be released as scheduled from an upstate New York prison on June 6 and the former-Giants player has a big supporter in Eli Manning.  The Giants quarterback believes his former-wide receiver has paid his dues and could still be a productive member of an NFL team.

Too bad for Burress the labor dispute between the NFL owners and the NFLPA has dragged on and is in it's third month of stalled talks.  The freed Burress could be going from lockdown to a lockout.

The Giants aren't the only team showing interest in the rangy wide-receiver.  The New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens have also expressed interest in talking with Burress.

Manning, who threw 25 interceptions and had to deal with injuries to his two top receivers Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith, thinks the Giants would gladly welcome Burress back to the Meadowlands.  After all, the Giants owner John Mara paid a visit to Burress while he was in stir last year.

"I think the Giants will still look hard into that," said Manning.  "Obviously, he knows our system.  It hasn't changed."

The Giants' system will be a welcome change from the "system" Burress is getting freed from.

Burress caught the winning touchdown pass from Manning in the 17-14 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.  Later that year, in November 2008, Burress was arrested for accidentally shooting himself in the leg outside a New York City nightclub with a gun tucked in his waistband.

The talented, but troubled, Burress will be released after serving 20 months of a two-year sentence for a gun possession charge.  He becomes an unrestricted free-agent after he is sprung from prison.

Manning, who has been working out with Giants players at a Hoboken high school, is hopeful for the 34 year-old Burress's return to a normal life.

"Obviously, he's served his time, plus some," said Manning.  "To throw him into the mix would be a good thing.  I'm looking for him to get back into football."