Lewis Story Line to Take Center Stage

Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis has wanted to put it behind him, but now the complex issue of what happened the night of the Super Bowl last year will be one of the main story lines of this Super Bowl.

Lewis was arrested and charged with murder in the stabbing of two men outside an Atlanta night club, but the charges later were dropped when he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.

Two other men Lewis testified against were acquitted. No one has been convicted of the murders.

“My teammates said, ‘It’s over now,’ ” said Lewis, who later was fined $250,000 by the NFL. “ ‘Keep that distraction where it’s at, because that’s a closed chapter.’ ”

It’s not going to be a closed chapter in the media onslaught at the Super Bowl, however.

Nor was it forgotten at Network Associates Coliseum.

“Atlanta P.D., Inmate No. 52, Guilty,” one sign read.

Another played to the familiar quest to draw the eye of a CBS camera: “Can’t Beat this Sentence.”

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Baltimore tight end Shannon Sharpe, who signed with the Ravens after a 10-year career in Denver, will play in the Super Bowl for the third time.