Here’s a quick edition of 17 points to ponder, in honor of Joe Flacco’s 17-for-23 effort on Sunday at Miami.

1. I’m sure glad Tampa Bay beat the Red Sox.  My disdain for all things Philly would have forced me to root for “Bah-stun” in the World Series and that would have been tough to do.  I was so sure the Sox were going to win Game 7 that I bought a “Pedroia for President” t-shirt Sunday morning.  I still have the receipt, thankfully.

2. Tampa Bay in six games.  Buh-bye Phillies…

3. How come David Price of the Rays – picked in the ’07 draft – could pitch meaningful games in September and be a hero in the ALCS and the O’s couldn’t bring up Matt Wieters for a dozen games in September that didn’t matter?  Oh, that’s right, our team’s cheap.

4. Ravens 24 – Oakland 3. 

5. I think we’ll have another fund-raiser for Maryvale later this week.  What do you say?  Winless Lions vs. Redskins on Sunday.  It worked a few weeks back when the Rams whipped ‘em in DC. 

6. Is Jared Gaither having a terrific season or what? 

7. If I had to make a pick right now, today, I’ll say Titans vs. Giants in the Super Bowl, but it’s very rare that the two #1 seeds make it to the big game(assuming they both finish as #1 seeds…).

8. As long as that game in Tampa doesn’t feature Pittsburgh vs. Washington, we’re all OK.  Could you imagine the heartache of THAT scenario in the Super Bowl this February? 

9. The best NFC team no one is talking about right now is Tampa Bay.

10. Maryland 38 – NC State 16.  In Raleigh, it could be a steamer-in-the-making, but in College Park, the Terps will roll and move Bob Haynie ever so close to that steak dinner he keeps talking about from Rob Long.

11. Two guys who might be available in the off-season would make good Ravens next year:  Steve Smith (WR, Carolina) and Joey Porter (LB, Miami).  If Ray-Ray, Suggs and/or Bart Scott jump ship, Porter would be a nice fallback…that’s if he doesn’t stick it out in Miami.  I’ll trade Smith for Clayton and DWilliams right now.

12. Merton from Indianapolis is a good egg.  Even when the Colts get slapped around, he still calls in.  Gotta give him credit for that, at least.

13. The Capitals’ offense looks decent so far.  I’m still not sold on Jose Theodore in goal.  But they’ll win a lot of games this year ‘cuz they’ll score 5 goals or more on a lot of nights.

14. Bob Haynie made a great point today on his show.  So I’ll use it here with a nod to him.  The last time the O’s had a winning season (’97), the Tampa Bay Rays weren’t in the league yet.  Yeah, it hurt me to hear that too.

15. What’s with all the necklaces these pitchers are wearing?  One…OK.  Two…I guess.  But why 3, 4 and 5 of them?  Why?

16. Janikowski’s 57-yard field goal to beat the Jets in OT yesterday would have been good from 67…at least.

17. The Rams are still alive in the NFC West.  Seriously.

It’s time for another edition of Tuesday’s Top 7, where I give you my top seven players from the most recent Ravens’ game and provide the “season tally” after two games in 2008. A player getting the #7 position gets ONE point in the standings, the 6th player gets TWO points, etc. – and the player ranked #1 gets 7 points.

Sunday vs. Cleveland

7. Ed Reed — His 3rd quarter pick and return for a TD was part of a frenzied minute where the Ravens put the game away. Still looks like he’s favoring his training camp injury…but he’s always been a game-changing player and Sunday was no different.

6. Chris McAlister — Another Sunday, another big-mouth wide receiver (Edwards) leaves with his tail between his legs. CMac was also “right man, right place” on the 3rd quarter interception. If he’s healthy, no one in the league gets over on him.

5. Jared Gaither — The Ravens ran for 151 yards…about 120 of it behind Gaither and Ben Grubbs. Flacco’s passing success (13/19) can be attributed to Gaither’s protection skills, as well. Don’t look now, but maybe, just maybe, the Ravens have found their NEW left tackle to replace J.O.

4. Le’Ron McClain — Two TD’s for L-Mac and another solid game bullying his way through the opposing defense in the 4th quarter when the Ravens punished the Browns interior line.

3. Jim Leonhard — Burst onto the scene Sunday with exceptional special teams work in place of injured Yamon Figurs — and then contributed mightily in the secondary when Dawan Landry was hurt. He was everywhere Sunday and certainly earned his keep against bigger, stronger pass catchers.

2. Terrell Suggs — Two sacks and a couple of tackles — always at his best when he’s wreaking havoc on the edge and making life tough for the other team’s quarterback. His energy helped the Ravens defense turn the game around in the 3rd quarter.

1. Ray Lewis — Any doubt about this one? None. Changed the game with his hit on Kellen Winslow and continues to show – despite what some people think – he hasn’t lost a few steps. He’s just playing smarter these days, that’s all. Still a wrecking machine. As the Browns found out.

Overall Points Leaders through 2 games in ’08 –

5. Jim Leonhard – 5 pts
    Jared Gaither – 5 pts
    Joe Flacco – 5 pts
4. Ray Lewis – 7 pts
3. Chris McAlister – 8 pts
2. Terrell Suggs – 9 pts
1. Le’Ron McClain – 11 pts

Just after 6 pm, the NFL released this statement to the media: Due to the importance of allowing the Houston area to focus on its recovery from the expected arrival of Hurricane Ike on Friday, the Houston Texans’ home game Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens has been re-scheduled for Monday night at Reliant Stadium at 7:30 pm Houston time (8:30 pm ET).

The game originally was scheduled to be played on Sunday, September 14 at 3:15 pm Houston Time (4:15 pm ET). The Texans-Ravens Monday night game will be televised on local CBS stations in the primary and secondary markets of the Texans (Houston, Beaumont-Port Arthur, and Bryan, Texas) and the Ravens (Baltimore; Washington, DC; Salisbury, MD; and Harrisburg, PA).

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Our thoughts and prayers go out to the folks in Texas as this storm bears down on the coast over the next day. Here is how the day unfolded out at Owings Mills …

4:50 pm: The Ravens have informed us that they have been told that the NFL will have a statement around 6 pm as it relates to the status of Sunday’s scheduled Ravens-Texans game.

Here is a blog about the situation from NFL.com, with quotes from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

I just do not see this game being played on Sunday. There would be way too many issues with getting things cleaned up after the storm and being ready to go for the game. If things can get cleaned up, cleared and ready to go for a game on Monday night, I would guess the Ravens would get the front end of a Monday Night Football doubleheader with the Eagles at Cowboys taking the main stage that evening.

It also has not been ruled out that the game could be played on another day next week, but that is to short of a turnaround for both teams.

Hopefully we will have a final answer coming in the next 45 minutes.

4:41 pm: Make sure to check out the audio vault on the WNST website to listen to Ian Eagle’s take on the current status of the Ravens–Texans game. As of now, there is still no word from the Ravens. The team is still waiting to hear word from the NFL as to what will happen.

4:10 pm: There is no news yet as far as the game goes, but here is the Ravens’ injury report for Thursday:

Did Not Participate
Brendon Ayanbadejo (leg)
Yamon Figurs (hamstring)
Kelly Gregg (knee)
Troy Smith (illness)
Fabian Washington (neck)

Limited Participation
Jared Gaither (ankle)
Trevor Pryce (back)

Full Participation
Chris McAlister (knee)
Jason Brown (ankle)
Todd Heap (back)
Corey Ivy (ankle)
Le Ron McClain (ankle)
Willis McGahee (knee)
Ed Reed (neck)

2:40 pm: Although no new news on the Ravens–Texans game, the University of Texas postponed its game against Arkansas until Sept. 27. Here are some sports event changes that have been made due to Hurricane Ike and its impact.

Also, here is an update from the Houston Airport System as it relates to flights coming into Houston.

1:43 pm: Still nothing official from the Ravens, but here is something to thing about. The Ravens game could be moved to Atlanta. The Falcons are on the road at Tampa Bay late Sunday afternoon, and the baseball Braves are in New York to face the Mets.

12:24 pm: The latest here officially from the Ravens is that the club was notified that they will be told something this afternoon or tonight as it relates to the game in Houston. The Ravens have been told to be ready to plan accordingly.

The Ravens have not been told about the possibility of the game being moved to Baltimore. That seems to not be an opition as there was so much fall out over the move of the 2005 Saints-Giants game that Chris Pika blogged about due to Hurricane Katrina.

9:30 am: The Ravens are monitoring the path of Hurricane Ike this morning and may be making alternate plans for the game Sunday afternoon. The Houston Chronicle is reporting that the game could be moved to Monday night.

The University of Houston has had to move their game Saturday versus Air Force to Dallas (at SMU’s stadium). There are some reports that flights into Houston may be put on hold starting tonight or Friday. That could possibly cause the Ravens to have to leave sometime in the next 24 hours.

More as word comes out here at 1 Winning Drive.