Super Bowl Notebook: Ray Lewis denies use of banned substance

While many in the national media are turning Baltimore’s fairy tale run through the NFL playoffs into a swan song for Ray Lewis, one outlet is accusing the Ravens linebacker of being a fraud.

According to Sports Illustrated, Lewis used deer-antler spray to help heal the triceps muscle he tore back on Oct. 14. The magazine has obtained a recorded phone conversation between Lewis and Mitch Ross, the owner of a company called Sports with Alternatives to Steroids (S.W.A.T.S.), where they discuss how to apply holographic stickers, deer-antler velvet extract and other banned substances.

At one point, Lewis asked Ross to “just pile me up and just send me everything you got, because I got to get back on this this week.”

Since Tuesday was also Super Bowl Media Day, Lewis immediately squashed the allegations.

“Two years ago, it was the same report. I wouldn’t give that report or him any of my press. He’s not worthy of that. Next question,” Lewis told reporters.

Lewis was referring to a 2011 story that Sports Illustrated ran. The Ravens, through a PR spokesman, said that Lewis has never failed a test for banned substances.

Lewis also took a shot at reporters asking about his guilty plea for obstruction of justice in connection to a murder case back in 2000. Lewis has turned the page, and so should everyone else.

“Nobody here is really qualified to ask those questions,” Lewis said. “At this time, I would rather direct my questions in other places. Because I live with that every day. You maybe can take a break from it. I don’t. I live with it every day of my life and I would rather not talk about it today.”

Moss thinks he’s the ‘greatest’

Meanwhile, Randy Moss was trying to steal some of the headlines from Ray Lewis and the Ravens by declaring himself as the greatest receiver in NFL history.

“Now that I’m older, I do think I’m the greatest receiver to ever do it,” Moss told reporters at Media Day. “I really think I’m the greatest receiver to ever play this game.”

Moss, who has been relatively quiet this season, both on- and off-the-field, for San Francisco, has 982 receptions for 15,292 yards and 156 touchdowns in a 14-year NFL career. Moss reportedly wants to play at least one more season.

The all-time leader is Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, who tops the list with 1,549 catches for 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns.