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    Beyond the Boxscore

    Ray Lewis pities the media fools, nurtures Arian Foster bromance as NFL playoffsget serious

    Chris Baldwin
    Jan 13, 2012 | 1:11 am
    • Ray Lewis
    • Arian Foster
    • Arian Foster ran for 153 yards in his first playoff game.
      Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com

    Ray Lewis is an angry man. The Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker bristles at the notion that he's not so fearsome anymore in his 16th season, that his fellow Miami Hurricane and longtime Ravens compatriot Ed Reed is afraid to tackle now, that these 12-4 Ravens are living off their defensive reps of the past.

    After all, it's the 11-6 Houston Texans who will come into Sunday's playoff game at Baltimore with the higher-rated defense. Texans rookie J.J. Watt is the one who pulled off the signature defensive play of the NFL playoffs' first weekend — that no-way, close-range interception and Pick 6 return.

    "I always tell people — even a fool is kind of wise until he opens his mouth," Lewis says. "Make sure your facts are in place before you speak like that. But like I said, you hear so many people trying to speak about what they think they know and they don’t have a clue, they really don’t have a clue."

    This bromance built on a few surprise words during the Texans-Ravens Monday nighter at Reliant Stadium and an impromptu LA chill session at the ESPYs.

    Lewis is speaking on a media conference call with Houston reporters, actually talking about a Baltimore columnist who urged Ravens coach John Harbaugh to bench Lewis and Reed for portions of these playoff games. But he could just as easily be trying to level Father Time with a forearm shiver.

    "It's impossible to get into that type of jibber jabber," Lewis says.

    Two hundred and twenty three games into his NFL career, No. 52 is still ready for a fight, still ready to challenge you for every inch. He'll milk this latest slight for all its worth, use it as fuel for a game in which the Ravens are heavy favorites — with the Texans being as much as a nine-point underdogs in some sports books, bringing a rookie quarterback into a stadium where their experienced quarterback took a beating in Week 6.

    It doesn't mater that the critics may be right. Ray Lewis isn't the same force at age 36. It doesn't even matter that he long ago pulled off one of the great American sports transformations, somehow emerging from being pulled into a Super Bowl murder trial (Lewis plead guilty to a misdemeanor obstruction of justice charge) as arguably the NFL player that fellow players respect most and a Madden video game cover star.

    Lewis still feeds off slights. Which is why he loves Texans Pro Bowl tailback Arian Foster. While Lewis seems to live and breathe football 24-7, Foster is one of the most unconventional thinkers in the NFL, a philosophy major whose tweets sometimes leave his fans wondering if they're in on the joke.

    Doesn't matter though. The differences are nothing. Because Foster has the fuel too.

    "He’s driven by a different burner inside," Lewis says of the one Texan with the power to shatter Baltimore's Super Bowl vision by being an outlier. "He was an undrafted guy with a lot of talent, so he is fueled by something different.

    "Anytime you add that type of fuel with talent you get Arian Foster.”

    Lewis isn't buttering up a man he wants to crush on Sunday. The Pro Bowl regular seems to hold a legitimate man crush on the 25-year-old who will become the unquestioned face of Bob McNair's franchise sooner than you think. Lewis calls Foster one of his "young ones."

    This was a bromance built on a few surprise words during the Texans-Ravens Monday nighter at Reliant Stadium last season and an impromptu LA chill session at the 2011 ESPYs in the lockout offseason.

    "We sat outside, at the ESPYs — it was at nighttime and you know after everything we kind of just bonded," Foster says. "Just sat outside relaxing and just chopped it up for a good couple hours and it’s just, those kind of moments are just priceless to me, because (Lewis is) just a great human spirit.

    "Anytime that you can be around people like that that inspire you, that’s what life's all about. Being inspired.”

    The Meeting

    Foster and Lewis have exchanged texts this week, with neither man trying to gain an edge as much as pay respect to the battle that's to come. If Lewis is made to look old Sunday, Foster is the Texan most likely to do it. It's his combination of quick cuts and quicker decisions that's most alarming to a Ravens team that believes its Super Bowl window is now.

    If the younger man betters the 13-time Pro Bowler, even if it's a silly good highlight, don't expect Foster to gloat though.

    "Anytime you add that type of fuel with talent you get Arian Foster,” Lewis says.

    Not after Lewis sought him out in the middle of that Monday Night Football game last December — with the Texans mired in a season going nowhere fast — and told him, "I love the way you play." There are a lot of things an opposing player expects to hear from Ray Lewis during a game.

    You're nothing! You're done! You're dead!

    "​I love the way you play" doesn't exactly fit the frothing image. For an undrafted free agent who'd had his work ethic and professionalism dissected and questioned, it meant everything.

    "I was kind of just like, ‘You know, that’s Ray Lewis’ " Foster says of his reaction to Lewis' words. "I was still . . . it was still my first year playing in the NFL and I was having a little success, but you know he didn’t have to do that. But he did it and it was kind of surreal.

    The whole game I was kind of just like, ‘Ray Lewis said . . .' "

    Foster ended up gaining 125 yards on 24 touches in an overtime loss that night. He wasn't fazed as much as emboldened.

    "Once he puts his foot on the gas he never lets up," Texans left tackle Duane Brown says of Foster. Lewis has been playing like that since Bill Clinton was president. His pregame dances are much more well-known than Foster's post-touchdown Namaste bows or Dream Shake tribute moves.

    The star on the come and the star on the decline will seek each other out after this playoff game, no matter which one is moving on. Each man will pay his respects. Lewis will bristle at the media some more, challenge the doubters, win or lose.

    "It is pretty amazing that I used to watch Ray Lewis and those guys as a kid and now here I am playing them in the playoffs and they're still going strong," Texans rookie outside linebacker Brooks Reed says. "They're still a top defense.

    "I just wanted to make it to the NFL. They've been here forever."

    Forever ends sometime in pro football for everyone though. Does that day start this Sunday for Lewis, Reed and the Ravens?

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    pucker up

    Growing pickleball franchise smashes into Houston with 2 locations

    Jef Rouner
    Apr 29, 2025 | 5:30 pm
    Two men play pickleball on a Picklr court.
    Photo courtesy of The Picklr
    A Picklr court campus similar to the ones soon to open in Houston.

    Pickleball is one of the hottest sports sweeping the nation, and one of the biggest names in the game is setting up two new facilities in Houston. Picklr is scheduled to open indoor sports campuses in Cypress and The Woodlands in the coming months.

    “Bringing a pickleball facility to Cypress will not only provide a fun and engaging recreational outlet for residents of all ages, but will also foster a sense of community and promote a healthy and active lifestyle,” said Steve Nguyen, owner of The Picklr Cypress.“This facility will serve as a vibrant hub for social interaction, skill development, and friendly/competitive competition, enhancing community bonds and offering a welcoming space for everyone to enjoy.”

    Although the game is approximately 60 years old, pickleball saw a massive spike in popularity following the pandemic when people were looking for fun group activities with easy points of entry. Though a racket sport like tennis, it is far easier and slower thanks to using perforated balls, smaller courts, and lighter paddles. This means the game is open to players of all ages, and was originally most popular with retirees. Now, there are roughly 5 million players across America, with players under 24 making up the majority. Houston even has its own professional team, the Hammers (not the Texas Hammer; that's this guy).

    The court in Cypress will be located in the old ASI Gymnastics building at 8920 Barker Cypress. It's a relatively modest facility with only six courts including a practice court. By contrast, The Woodlands location will be much more opulent. At 66,517 square feet, it will have 20 courts, 4 private event spaces (one with an exclusive viewing area), as well as a shower, changing room, dry bar, and kitchenette. Picklr The Woodlands will be located at 16590 Interstate I-45 South.

    These locations are the first for Picklr in Houston. They have twelve locations all throughout Texas, including in Round Rock and McKinney, and many more nationwide. Picklr locations operate on a membership model similar to a gym. Memberships run $159 a month for adults and $89 for minors, with unlimited access to open play, league play, and tournaments , as well as four free clinics a month. Additional coaching is available.

    There is currently no set opening date for the two Houston-area Picklrs. Players interested in learning more may sign up for updates at ThePicklr.com.

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