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BALTIMORE -- Jonathan Ogden spent his entire 12-year career with the Baltimore Ravens, played in 11 Pro Bowls, won a Super Bowl ring and earned a berth in the Hall of Fame. And Ozzie Newsome saw it all coming -- long before Ogden made his debut as one of the finest offensive linemen in NFL history. Newsome was in charge of the Ravens draft in 1996, the teams first season in Baltimore after moving from Cleveland. The Ravens desperately needed an impact player with the fourth overall selection, someone who could steer the transplanted franchise on a course to greatness. "That was not a pick we wanted to end up three years later going, Good God Almighty, what the heck did we do?" recalled David Modell, the son of then-owner Art Modell and a key front-office component. "That pick had to be good." Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips, a troubled but talented star, was an option. So was Ogden, a 6-foot-9 offensive tackle out of UCLA. The day before the draft, Newsome made it clear: Ogden was the choice. "Ozzie said, Jonathan Ogden will be a perennial Pro Bowl player, will play for this franchise for his career and will have a decent shot at going into the Hall of Fame," Modell said. "What a Babe Ruth call that was." Ogden was the first player drafted by the Ravens, and Saturday he will formally become the teams first entrant into the Hall of Fame. "Hes going to be the Ravens golden child forever," said Edwin Mulitalo, who played guard alongside Ogden for eight years. How appropriate that Newsome will serve as Ogdens presenter at the Hall of Fame ceremony. "He brought me in to Baltimore," Ogden said. "I could always go talk to him, be honest with him. Hes just one of the people that I really respect in the business. It just kind of made sense to me." Newsome, in turn, owes a debt of gratitude to Ogden for justifying his decision in the Ravens inaugural draft. Although the team was in dire need of a running back and already had two solid offensive tackles, Newsome chose Ogden because he was the highest-ranked player on Baltimores board. That philosophy remains in place today and has enabled the Ravens general manager to produce two Super Bowl champions. Newsome often considers what might have happened if he picked Phillips, who totalled 35 games for three different teams over a dismal three-year span. "I could say 17 years later, I probably wouldnt have this job. Its as simple as that," Newsome said. "Lawrence had some productive years, but he didnt pan out. And I dont know if we would have been able to provide the structure he needed. We felt like we could have, but I dont know if wed have been able to do it." As a rookie, Ogden played left guard between veteran tackles Orlando Brown and Tony Jones. In his second season, Ogden became an immovable force at left tackle and remained there the rest of his career. Ogden was a star on the field and a leader within the locker room and on the sideline. He didnt have the bluster of the Ravens other first-round pick in 1996, linebacker Ray Lewis, but the big man showed enough emotion to be noticed by his teammates -- especially after being asked to repeatedly drop back to protect the passer. "He was a great pass blocker, and he was a very technical player," Mulitalo said. "But man, he loved to run block. There were times he got frustrated on the sideline, and most of the time it was because we were getting a little pass-happy. Whenever we switched to the run, he was like a little kid. Maybe the most fun playing next to him was when we actually run-blocked. He took pride in doing that." Many of Baltimores biggest games during Ogdens tenure came against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The majority of those duels were gritty, helmet-banging affairs perfectly suited for Ogdens old-school mentality. Along the way, he made a very favourable impression on then-Steelers coach Bill Cowher. "Jonathan is, without a doubt, a Hall of Fame player who is one of the very best left tackles in NFL history," Cowher recalled. "We couldnt beat him with speed rushers, and he would just engulf power rushers. Those long arms, the great feet, the strength -- he has it all." Ogden wont be talking much at the induction ceremony this weekend. He never did much like boasting about himself. "J.O. is one of the more humble guys Ive ever played with," said Jamal Lewis, who ran behind Ogden plenty of times in 2003 on his way to compiling a franchise-record 2,066 yards rushing. "He led by example and was never outworked. Ive never seen anybody protect the left side the way he did." Ogden was only 33 years old when he quit the game after the 2007 season. He had been fighting a nagging foot injury for years and finally had enough. "He could have continued playing," Mulitalo said. "His 75, 80 per cent was probably better than most of the players in the league. But when youre that good, you hold yourself to a different standard, you know?" Current Ravens coach John Harbaugh had just replaced Brian Billick in January 2008 when Ogden dropped by to talk. "I was really excited to meet him," Harbaugh recalled this week. "And then he told me he was going to retire. After I wiped the tears off my cheeks, I hugged him, and I begged and pleaded, Can we get one more year out of you? But he said no." Harbaugh didnt get the chance to coach Ogden, but he knows enough about him to assess his place in NFL history. "Probably the best left tackle that ever played football," Harbaugh said. "Hes one of the two faces on the Ravens Mount Rushmore, for sure." The other, of course, being Lewis, who retired after last season and is a virtual shoo-in to join Ogden in the NFL Hall of Fame. But Ogden will always be the first pick in the history of the franchise, and the first to have his bust in Canton, Ohio. "It feels great," he said. "When I was playing, I was just out there working. I couldnt help the fact that I was the Ravens first pick. It just kind of happened, and in my mind, all I wanted to do was go out there and help the guys win. So I dont look at it in that perspective. When I do step outside of myself and look at it, its like, Wow, that guy, he had it pretty good." George Blanda Jersey . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Howie Long Raiders Jersey . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. http://www.footballraidersmall.com/Youth-Clelin-Ferrell-Elite-Jersey/ .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Jim Otto Womens Jersey . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Ted Hendricks Jersey . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- A hard crash with 10 laps remaining in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway crumpled up?Carl Edwards Toyota as badly as his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship hopes.It also paved the way for Jimmie Johnson to claim his record-tying seventh Cup series title.Running second late in Sundays race, Edwards aggressively moved to block?Joey Loganos Team Penske Ford on a Lap 257 restart, only for the two cars to make contact as they speared toward the inside wall on the approach to Turn 1.Logano slowed but regained control of his car and continued with minor damage, while Edwards car shot backward up the track to be knocked slightly airborne by?Kasey Kahnes Chevrolet.Six other cars were swept in, including Martin Truex Jr.s Toyota, which briefly caught fire. None of the drivers were injured.The race was red-flagged for 31 minutes and 9 seconds.Edwards immediately radioed his crew to take responsibility for the accident, saying, Thats 100 percent on me.Edwards also stopped at Loganos pit to apologize to crew chief Todd Gordon and the No. 22 team.I just pushed the issue as far as I could because I figured that was the race there, Edwards said of the pivotal restart. Joey just timed it perfectly, he moved down. I was probably a little optimistic, but I thought I could clear him or force him to lift.I just thought I had just a little more time, but he drove down as far as a guy could be expected to drive down, and thats how it ended.Edwards was classified 34th, last among the four championship contenderrs in the Homestead race.dddddddddddd. Logano, meanwhile, pitted for repairs and fresh tires and quickly tore through the field from eighth place to third on the subsequent restart, only for the caution flag to fly again.Logano was not positioned well for the final restart, and he finished the race in fourth place, second in the championship to Johnson. Kyle Busch, the remaining title contender, ended up sixth in the race and third in championship.Anytime you put so much on the line and you have a late-race restart, you know its gonna get crazy. Then you add two or three [restarts] on top of that and its gonna get crazier, Logano remarked.I understand why he had to throw that block, and he understands why I had to make the move, because that was for the win, Logano added. Its the only move I had, and Im not going to look back at it and second-guess that move. That was the only play I had.Despite the damaged car, Logano still had a shot at winning the race and the championship thanks to quick work by his pit crew. But once out front, Johnson drove away to a relatively unchallenged victory.We just came up a little bit short, and it hurts, Logano said. When Carl and I got into each other there, it just pretty much parted the seas for the 48 [Johnson] to run through there and gain a couple spots and put himself in position to win.He was in the right place at the right time, and that was good for him. ' ' '