Golf cart runs wild after football game
Golf cart runs wild after football game, Golf cart goes astray after football game. Patrons at the 5A Division II State High School Championship football game in Texas witnessed the unexpected Saturday night when a golf cart got loose and ran over a group of people near midfield. A worker stopped the cart before it did more damage.
Ray Rice was preparing to face the Cleveland Browns last Sunday when he received a text message from Vonta Leach, his teammate on the Baltimore Ravens.
Leach was concerned about Rice's position on the NFL list of rushing leaders. Seeing Rice in 14th place was unacceptable, so Leach, a fullback, attempted to do something about it.
"He sent me a text before the game and it showed all the guys' rushing numbers," Rice said. "His text was, 'C'mon now, we've got to have a big one this week. Look where you're at.'"
Leach, who led Arian Foster to the NFL rushing title with Houston last season, said, "It was kind of motivation for him and myself."
Now in his fourth pro season, the 5-foot-8 Rice is Baltimore's biggest offensive star. He leads the Ravens (9-3) with 11 touchdowns and ranks second in the NFL with 1,473 total yards from scrimmage (14 yards behind Chicago's Matt Forte).
Quarterback Joe Flacco has done a fine job this year, but Rice is the key to the Baltimore offense. After the Ravens beat San Francisco 16-6 on Thanksgiving night, linebacker Terrell Suggs outlined Baltimore's best course of action for winning in December.
"As long as we always keep the game plan in our grasp and do what we do best, play Ravens football, feed every defense a lot of Rice, I think we've got a good chance of making a good run at this thing," Suggs said.
Suggs reiterated his stance this week as Baltimore prepared to face the winless Indianapolis Colts.
"The thing is, you want your best players with the ball," Suggs said. "When Ray is getting the ball, good things happen for us. I am not a coach, I am not an offensive coordinator, but I know what wins."
Since coming to the Ravens as a second-round pick out of Rutgers in 2008, Rice has developed into a dual threat. Sometimes he runs the ball, sometimes he catches it. Either way, opposing defenses have their hands full trying to account for him.
"He's been tremendous," Colts coach Jim Caldwell said. "To say he's an integral part of what they do is an understatement."
Rice broke into the NFL the same time John Harbaugh became Baltimore's head coach. Harbaugh always respected Rice's talent on the field, but over the years he's noticed the running back taking a commanding role in the locker room.
"He's become a tremendous leader as a young guy. But he's not a young guy anymore, is he?" Harbaugh said. "He's a premier player. He's a playmaker. He's a great guy, very mature, and one of the hardest working guys on the team."
Rice amassed a combined 2,041 yards in 2009 and earned a berth in the Pro Bowl, but he believes he's a better football player now because of the knowledge he gained from Leach and Ricky Williams, who has settled into the role of Rice's backup.
"Between Vonta and Ricky Williams, they've been the best thing that's happened to me since I've been a Raven," Rice said. "I learn a lot from Vonta and Ricky. Vonta, essentially, is going to take me where I need to be, and that's in the run game."
Leach made the Pro Bowl last season for the job he did in front of Foster, and Rice is all for seeing Leach make a return trip.
"I'm a fan of sending Leach to the Beach," Rice said, referring to the sandy shores of Honolulu.
Asked to compare Foster to the smaller Rice, Leach said, "Foster is more of an upright runner, and Ray has a low center of gravity. Both of them can be on the field for first, second and third downs. They make people miss, and that's a home run. I've had the pleasure of blocking for both of them. I'm the lucky guy."
Leach has provided holes for Rice to zip through, and Williams, 34, has given the 24-year-old Rice veteran guidance.
"With Ricky, he asks me questions and I ask him questions," Rice said. "We're always picking each other's brain."
But Williams has a hard time picking Rice's best quality.
"He's definitely a great running back, definitely a leader," Williams said. "He's strong, elusive and explosive. When you add all those things together, you understand why he's so effective."
Growing up in New Rochelle, N.Y., Rice often heard he was too small to play football. The refrain was repeated at Rutgers, and many wondered whether he could survive in the NFL.
The question has been answered.
"I've gotten over that part. That's part of the proving part," Rice said. "Look at (5-7) Jones-Drew. Nobody worries about his size anymore because he's packing a powerful punch. I feel like my situation was the same thing. Once you get known as a great football player, you just go from there."
