"What's beef?" Christopher Wallace once asked. Is beef having a ceremony to celebrate the Super Bowl champions, but not having anyone within the organization show up?
The question stems from the Orioles declining to move their Sept. 5 home game so the Ravens could host the NFL Kickoff game -- an honor typically reserved for the world champs. The Ravens will begin the season on the road. The two stadiums are so close that it would have been a logistical nightmare to have the games going on at the same time. The Orioles are scheduled to host the Chicago White Sox at 7:05 p.m. ET that day. The team was willing to move the time of game, but the Ravens and the NFL passed.
Did the Ravens hold a silent protest and boycott the Orioles' ceremony?
"Due to conflicts of schedule and prior commitments for each person, unfortunately, today didn't work out," Ravens spokesman Patrick Gleason said in an email to The Baltimore Sun. "It was determined that those invited would try to reschedule an opportunity to attend a different game this season."
Neither team said who was invited and the Orioles gave a "no comment" when asked about the situation.
This should be settled "Anchorman"-style on the Inner Harbor. Joe Flacco gets to chuck the trident at Nick Markakis outside of the Rusty Scupper. (Would an Omar Little-Stringer Bell analogy be more appropriate here?)
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
