Retired Ravens ILB Ray Lewis was unable to take part in a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro this week because of foot swelling and a fever. Lewis is in Tanzania to raise money and awareness about the need for clean water in East Africa. Prior to the climb, Lewis and a philanthropic team have been providing hearing aids to children in a nearby village as part of the TackleKili mission. The trip includes Doug Pitt, the brother of actor Brad Pitt and retired Bears defensive lineman Tommie Harris. The climb is expected to be done by Sunday.

Ravens placed ILB Ray Lewis and C Matt Birk on the reserve/retired list. With the transaction, the Ravens save $6.4 million against the 2013 salary cap, which is now officially set at $123 million, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Birk announced his retirement last Friday, and Lewis made it known that he was retiring prior to the playoffs. Lewis is a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Ray Lewis strongly denied banned substance allegations Wednesday.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the deer-antler spray Ray Lewis allegedly obtained from sports science company S.W.A.T.S. is unlikely to have contained a banned substance. Lewis is accused of using a spray that contains banned substance IGF-1, but a doctor who studies growth hormone deficiency for Johns Hopkins University says that's not possible. "It's just simply not possible for (IGF-1) to come from a spray," Dr. Roberto Salvatori said. "If (it) were, a lot of people would be happy that they don't need to get shots anymore." The story will likely continue to be propped up as a distraction ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl, but it's a non-issue for the soon-to-be retired Lewis.

According to Sports Illustrated, Ray Lewis contacted the sports science company S.W.A.T.S in October to help with recovery from his torn triceps. The owner of the company, Mitch Ross, allegedly recorded conversations between himself and Lewis. A program that included a deer-antler spray that includes IGF-1, which is on the NFL's list of banned substances, was prescribed. "Just pile me up and just send me everything you got, because I got to get back on this this week," Lewis said. There figures to be an investigation, but it won't wrap up until after Sunday's Super Bowl. At that point, Lewis will be retired.

Ray Lewis said he is not having any second thoughts about his impending retirement.

Ray Lewis (triceps) led the Ravens with 13 tackles in their Wild Card round victory over the Colts. Playing with a brace on his elbow, Lewis was beaten in coverage a couple of times and dropped an easy interception. It was an impressive performance nonetheless for a player who hadn't attempted a tackle since early October. Lewis went the whole way while the Colts ran 84 plays and held the ball for nearly 38 of 60 minutes. Paul Kruger was the defensive star for Baltimore, racking up 2.5 sacks while harassing Andrew Luck.

Ray Lewis (triceps) is active for Sunday's Wild Card playoff game versus the Colts. As expected. Lewis has said that he will retire at the end of the season, so Sunday's game could potentially be his last game in an NFL uniform. Lewis hasn't played since tearing his triceps since Week 6. The Baltimore inactives are: LG Jah Reid, S Omar Brown, CB Chris Johnson, OLB Adrian Hamilton, OL Ramon Harewood, WR Deonte Thompson, and DT Bryan Hall.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Ray Lewis "should be full-speed" against the Colts in Sunday's AFC Wild Card matchup. Lewis hasn't played since suffering a torn right triceps against the Dallas Cowboys in mid-October. Harbaugh said that Lewis could have returned in the regular season, but the team didn't want to take that risk. "We felt like we could get our positioning in the playoffs and then bring Ray back when the injury had the best chance to be completely healed, which is 12 weeks after the injury. He's ready to go. He's going to play in this game," said Harbaugh.

Sources tell SI.com that Ray Lewis is close to signing a multi-year contract with ESPN. This confirms that Lewis wasn't just blowing smoke when he announced his retirement Wednesday. He's expected to have a "significant" role on Monday Night Countdown and other ESPN platforms. Per SI.com, "some believe Lewis can have a Charles Barkley-like impact in the studio."