OCT 13 LEWIS BACKS DOWN OHER CTE CLAIMS Michael Lewis, the author of the book that eventually became the film “The Blind Side,” retracted previous claims about the story’s subject, former Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Michael Oher. In a prior interview with Samanth Subramanian of The Guardian, Lewis hinted that Oher’s lawsuit against the Tuohy family concerning profits made from the 2009 film starring Sandra Bullock was a “change of behavior” brought about by head/brain injuries from football.

Lewis backed down from that claim in a subsequent discussion with Brett Martin of GQ.

“I got pushed and I said something in anger that I probably shouldn’t have said,” Lewis said in the latter interview. “I don’t know what’s going on. I just don’t know. It breaks my heart though.”

When commenting on the evolving Oher situation, Lewis, known to be a friend of the Tuohy family, has often spoken out in their defense, blaming other factors such as Hollywood accounting for the alleged financial discrepancies. In the GQ article, Lewis stated he could understand Oher’s frustration with the movie but not his anger toward the Tuohys.

can understand him being upset with the movie. I have a problem with him accusing people of stealing money from him when all they did was give him money,” Lewis said. “He’s really upended these people’s lives who really never did anything but mean him well and love him and take care of him and I just felt like they needed defending because nobody else was doing it.”

OCT 12 JON GRUDEN AN OPTION FOR PITTSBURGH STEELERS Jon Gruden’s second return to the NFL may be closer than ever, and if rumors come to fruition, the Baltimore Ravens could be facing him twice a year.

Pro Football Talk reported Gruden and the NFL along with commissioner Roger Goodell will appear in Nevada Supreme Court on Nov. 7.

The Steelers (3-2) offense has struggled under current offensive coordinator Matt Canada. They were 26th in points per game last season and currently 29th through five games.

While hiring Gruden as an offensivsive coordinator would likely stir controversy, it could be a headache worth having for Pittsburgh if he can improve the offense and develop second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett.

OCT 9 RAVENS TO SPEND WEEK IN LONDON London’s calling the Baltimore Ravens a little earlier this time around.

Following a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers, head coach John Harbaugh announced that the team will spend nearly all of this week in London as they prepare to do international battle against the Tennessee Titans next Sunday morning (9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network).

Harbaugh said that the plan is influenced not by the 17-10 loss to Pittsburgh but rather by a 44-7 shellacking suffered when the Ravens faced the Jacksonville Jaguars in The Big Smoke in 2017. To date, it’s one of the most lopsided games on the NFL’s international ledgers.

“It’s mostly driven by the fact that we didn’t do well, so we did the opposite,” Harbaugh said, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN. “There’s no data, and we looked for it, to say when you should go out there and what’s the ideal thing. I’ll say this kind of in jest, what’s the science on that? As often is the case, they really don’t know. That’s just the way it is.”

Sunday’s game will mark the final installment of a British tripleheader on the NFL slate, which featured two Jacksonville victories. All other participants, including the Titans, have departed for England on the Thursday before their respective games.

OCT 5 ROQUAN SMITH’S “NOT A RAVEN UNTIL…” Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith is looking for another rite of passage, as the defender apparently refuses to acknowledge his purple-and-gold privilege until he beats the hated Pittsburgh Steelers again.