On deck

 Baltimore loves Ray Lewis, the retired Raven known as the greatest linebacker of all time. 

He still shows up at home games, comes out and does his "squirrel dance" to fire up the crowd, and gets a heaping helping of Baltimore love.

But there's a reason why he fought so hard to make the tackles and interception he made, and there's a reason why he wore jersey #52 for his entire career.

When Ray was young, his mother was in an abusive relationship, and this caused him grief, as he wasn't big enough to challenge the abuser.

So he asked his mom for a deck of cards, and every spare moment he had, he dealt himself a card. And then he did push-ups corresponding to the number on the card. 

I guess he wore out that deck of 52, but the exercise paid off. There came a time when Ray was able to confront the man who was tormenting his mom.

The man cleared out.

If you ever saw an angry Ray Lewis, you would have, as well.