efore the leg injury. Outfielder Curtis Granderson,

BALTIMORE -- Jonathan Ogden spent his entire 12-year career with the Baltimore Ravens, played in 11 Pro Bowls, won a Super Bowl ring and earned a berth in the Hall of Fame. And Ozzie Newsome saw it all coming -- long before Ogden made his debut as one of the finest offensive linemen in NFL history. Newsome was in charge of the Ravens draft in 1996, the teams first season in Baltimore after moving from Cleveland. The Ravens desperately needed an impact player with the fourth overall selection, someone who could steer the transplanted franchise on a course to greatness. "That was not a pick we wanted to end up three years later going, Good God Almighty, what the heck did we do?" recalled David Modell, the son of then-owner Art Modell and a key front-office component. "That pick had to be good." Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips, a troubled but talented star, was an option. So was Ogden, a 6-foot-9 offensive tackle out of UCLA. The day before the draft, Newsome made it clear: Ogden was the choice. "Ozzie said, Jonathan Ogden will be a perennial Pro Bowl player, will play for this franchise for his career and will have a decent shot at going into the Hall of Fame," Modell said. "What a Babe Ruth call that was." Ogden was the first player drafted by the Ravens, and Saturday he will formally become the teams first entrant into the Hall of Fame. "Hes going to be the Ravens golden child forever," said Edwin Mulitalo, who played guard alongside Ogden for eight years. How appropriate that Newsome will serve as Ogdens presenter at the Hall of Fame ceremony. "He brought me in to Baltimore," Ogden said. "I could always go talk to him, be honest with him. Hes just one of the people that I really respect in the business. It just kind of made sense to me." Newsome, in turn, owes a debt of gratitude to Ogden for justifying his decision in the Ravens inaugural draft. Although the team was in dire need of a running back and already had two solid offensive tackles, Newsome chose Ogden because he was the highest-ranked player on Baltimores board. That philosophy remains in place today and has enabled the Ravens general manager to produce two Super Bowl champions. Newsome often considers what might have happened if he picked Phillips, who totalled 35 games for three different teams over a dismal three-year span. "I could say 17 years later, I probably wouldnt have this job. Its as simple as that," Newsome said. "Lawrence had some productive years, but he didnt pan out. And I dont know if we would have been able to provide the structure he needed. We felt like we could have, but I dont know if wed have been able to do it." As a rookie, Ogden played left guard between veteran tackles Orlando Brown and Tony Jones. In his second season, Ogden became an immovable force at left tackle and remained there the rest of his career. Ogden was a star on the field and a leader within the locker room and on the sideline. He didnt have the bluster of the Ravens other first-round pick in 1996, linebacker Ray Lewis, but the big man showed enough emotion to be noticed by his teammates -- especially after being asked to repeatedly drop back to protect the passer. "He was a great pass blocker, and he was a very technical player," Mulitalo said. "But man, he loved to run block. There were times he got frustrated on the sideline, and most of the time it was because we were getting a little pass-happy. Whenever we switched to the run, he was like a little kid. Maybe the most fun playing next to him was when we actually run-blocked. He took pride in doing that." Many of Baltimores biggest games during Ogdens tenure came against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The majority of those duels were gritty, helmet-banging affairs perfectly suited for Ogdens old-school mentality. Along the way, he made a very favourable impression on then-Steelers coach Bill Cowher. "Jonathan is, without a doubt, a Hall of Fame player who is one of the very best left tackles in NFL history," Cowher recalled. "We couldnt beat him with speed rushers, and he would just engulf power rushers. Those long arms, the great feet, the strength -- he has it all." Ogden wont be talking much at the induction ceremony this weekend. He never did much like boasting about himself. "J.O. is one of the more humble guys Ive ever played with," said Jamal Lewis, who ran behind Ogden plenty of times in 2003 on his way to compiling a franchise-record 2,066 yards rushing. "He led by example and was never outworked. Ive never seen anybody protect the left side the way he did." Ogden was only 33 years old when he quit the game after the 2007 season. He had been fighting a nagging foot injury for years and finally had enough. "He could have continued playing," Mulitalo said. "His 75, 80 per cent was probably better than most of the players in the league. But when youre that good, you hold yourself to a different standard, you know?" Current Ravens coach John Harbaugh had just replaced Brian Billick in January 2008 when Ogden dropped by to talk. "I was really excited to meet him," Harbaugh recalled this week. "And then he told me he was going to retire. After I wiped the tears off my cheeks, I hugged him, and I begged and pleaded, Can we get one more year out of you? But he said no." Harbaugh didnt get the chance to coach Ogden, but he knows enough about him to assess his place in NFL history. "Probably the best left tackle that ever played football," Harbaugh said. "Hes one of the two faces on the Ravens Mount Rushmore, for sure." The other, of course, being Lewis, who retired after last season and is a virtual shoo-in to join Ogden in the NFL Hall of Fame. But Ogden will always be the first pick in the history of the franchise, and the first to have his bust in Canton, Ohio. "It feels great," he said. "When I was playing, I was just out there working. I couldnt help the fact that I was the Ravens first pick. It just kind of happened, and in my mind, all I wanted to do was go out there and help the guys win. So I dont look at it in that perspective. When I do step outside of myself and look at it, its like, Wow, that guy, he had it pretty good." Buy NHL Jerseys 2020 . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. Adidas NHL Jerseys 2020 . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. https://www.nhljerseys2020.com/ . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Wholesale NHL Jerseys 2020 . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Cheap NHL Jerseys From China . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick.TAMPA, Fla. -- A doctor retained by Alex Rodriguez for a second opinion -- one that contradicted the New York Yankees diagnosis of his leg injury Wednesday -- was reprimanded this year by New Jerseys board of medical examiners over steroid prescriptions. Rodriguez is one of more than a dozen players under investigation by Major League Baseball for alleged ties to a Florida clinic accused of distributing performance-enhancing drugs. The New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners filed an order of reprimand against Dr. Michael Gross on Feb. 13 for his conduct at his Active Center for Health & Wellness. "The board ordered and Dr. Gross agreed to be formally reprimand(ed) for permitting an individual who had completed medical school but did not have a medical license to participate in the care and treatment of patients at the centre and failing to adequately ensure proper patient treatment involving the prescribing of hormones including steroids at the centre," according to the disciplinary summary on the New Jersey Attorney Generals division of consumer affairs website. The orthopedist was fined $30,000 and ordered to pay $10,000 in costs. The New York Daily News first reported the reprimand Wednesday and said MLB would expand its drug probe to examine Rodriguezs relationship with Gross. Rodriguez was diagnosed Sunday with a strained left quadriceps on the final day of his injury rehabilitation assignment. At the time, the Yankees said the three-time MVP was examined by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where an MRI was performed. The team said Rodriguez had a grade one strain, which is the least severe type, and would return to Tampa for rest and treatment. But Gross said during an interview on WFAN radio Wednesday that he examined Rodriguezs scan earlier in the day. "To be perfectly honest, I dont see any sort of injury there," Gross said. "Its such a small thing that you might not see it on an MRI." He added: "I asked him does anything hurt? And he said no." Gross never personally examined Rodriguez and based his diagnosis on the MRI. He didnt return a telephone message left at his office. Under baseballs collective bargaining agreement, a player must inform his team in writing off his decision to obtain a second medical opinion.dddddddddddd The Yankees said Rodriguez retained Gross without notifying them. "As always, we will follow the rules and regulations set forth in the Basic Agreement, and will again re-evaluate Alex in Tampa tomorrow, as our goal is to return him to the lineup as soon as he is medically capable of doing so," general manager Brian Cashman said in a statement. Cashman said Rodriguez complained of "tightness" in the quadriceps July 12 "and therefore refused to consent to the transfer of his assignment" from Class A Tampa to Triple-A Scranton. He said Rodriguez complained of stiffness again Sunday, which led to the MRI. Rodriguez arrived at the Yankees minor league complex Wednesday and spent a little over four hours there. "I feel great. Thats all Ive got to say." he said when he left, rolling down a window of the SUV he was riding in. Then he rolled up the window, gave a thumbs up as it closed and departed. Rodriguez, who turns 38 on Saturday, had been recovering from hip surgery in January. He hit .250 (8 for 40) with two homers and eight RBIs in 13 minor league games before the leg injury. Outfielder Curtis Granderson, coming back from a broken pinkie, talked with Rodriguez in the clubhouse. "I saw him briefly as soon as I came in," Granderson said. "He wanted to come hit with us, but he had to get some stuff taken care of. Almost like a kid out at recess, they had to stop him. You cant go yet. But its all good signs knowing that hes eager and ready" to return. Granderson said Rodriguez was in a good mood. "Smiling, talking," Granderson said. "Doesnt seem any different than what Ive seen in the past." NOTES: Granderson, expected back in early August, says he will start a minor rehab assignment Thursday night with Class A Tampa and will be evaluated at the end of the weekend. ... INF Jayson Nix, sidelined by a hamstring injury, played third base in his first minor league game with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Yankees. He went 0 for 2 and was hit by a pitch. ------ AP researcher Barbara Sambriski, and AP Sports Writers Ronald Blum in New York and Stephen Hawkins in Arlington, Texas, contributed to this report. ' ' '