Want Nasty?

[thewarden86]

[url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=garber_greg&page=HotRead18/Ravens-Steelers"]ESPN Article[/url]


<[i]snip[/i]>

Walker, for his part, admitted he had slimed Berger -- "It was just a slobber moment," he said -- although he denied it was intentional.


Replays were inconclusive (you think we're kidding), and Walker was not disciplined by the league. Berger, however, might have been scarred for life.

"I kept spitting for 24 hours," he said. "I kept brushing my teeth. To have another man spit in your mouth like that -- it was gross."


Walker said he didn't care whether the Steelers believed him.

"I hate Pittsburgh," he said.

Welcome to the Ravens-Steelers rivalry, arguably the nastiest in all of sports. If a punter and a little-used cornerback can create this kind of smear and loathing, what happens when you throw the irresistible force that is Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward and the immovable object that is Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis onto the same field?

Breathtaking hits, some of them late. Woofing. Pathos. Chaos. And maybe even some more phlegm. It is not the longest rivalry in the history of the NFL, but it is the most intense. The teams meet for the 28th time Sunday in the AFC Championship Game.

"What else would you expect -- us and the Ravens," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Sunday after the Steelers handled the Chargers 35-24. "It would be a big game if it was a scrimmage. It just happens to be the AFC Championship Game."


Familiarity between these two AFC North teams breeds, well, something beyond contempt. There have been alleged late hits, reported bounties and even not-so-veiled death threats.

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[Chi_Town_Raven]

nice post, good article

[thewarden86]

[quote name='Chi_Town_Raven' post='134334' date='Jan 16 2009, 06:48 PM']nice post, good article[/quote]

That was a GREAT article. I'm pumped up now!

[THEFairwindFarms]

Great article, makes you realize this is really one of, if not the biggest rivalries in all of sports.

[PuRock]

Who's this Hinez Ward chap everybody keeps talking about?