WESTMINSTER, Md. -- Snoop Dogg was in da house at the Baltimore Ravens training camp Thursday, watching from the sideline before helping the team end practice with a chant he borrowed from linebacker Ray Lewis.
Snoop arrived at the morning session with an entourage that included a man who held an umbrella over the rap star's head. Snoop made himself comfortable on the sideline and watched for about an hour before joining the team in the middle of the field after the drills were done.
Snoop Dogg led the Ravens through their favorite chant -- one Lewis calls "Dogs in the House" -- before practice ended with a whoop from the players.
"None of us woke up this morning saying Snoop was gonna break us down today," running back Le'Ron McClain said. "It's crazy, but it's a great feeling."
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Snoop posed for pictures with several of the Ravens before Lewis introduced him to the media.
"We got a new coach out here today. We called him in last night," Lewis said with a mischievous grin. "We been good friends for a long time, and now we decided try to work together."
Snoop Dogg, who runs a youth football league and used to attend practices at Southern California, sought to get a firsthand look at the famous Ravens defense.
"This like heavyweight boxing match whenever I see them play, and I wanted to come see it up close and personal, live and in high definition," he said. "I wanted to look at them and see what it feels like before they take battle. It's real cool to come out and see them go to war."
Ravens coach John Harbaugh is a no-nonsense kind of guy, but he got into the spirit of things by letting Snoop on the sideline and onto the field.
"It was neat having Snoop out here," Harbaugh said. "I was down there woof-woofing with everybody else, just trying to keep the beat."
Snoop most enjoyed watching Lewis, a 10-time Pro Bowler.
"Ray Lewis is one of the greatest linebackers ever to play the game. A personal friend of mine," Snoop Dogg said. "I love his story, I love his hustle, I love his attitude, his enthusiasm, his whole git-down.
"It's inspirational to see how he can inspire his whole team, how he can turn the level up and how they go out there and just become dogs. They're just nasty on the field. Ah, I love it."
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press