Trending: Phelps, Rolling Stones on MNF

September, 10, 2012
9/10/12
11:00
AM ET
By Bill Speros | Special to ESPN.com

From brendon310 via Instagram



Michael Phelps, the Rolling Stones, Ice Cube and Gene Simmons will be sharing the stage with the Ravens, Bengals, Raiders and Chargers when the 43rd season of "Monday Night Football" begins at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Muhammad Ali, meanwhile, stole the spotlight in Baltimore on Sunday when he surprised players and coaches with a visit to Ravens practice.

Entering tonight, there have been 660 "Monday Night Football" games. MNF opens 2012 with a new Rolling Stones-generated soundtrack, a budding rivalry in the AFC North, and an old-school AFL battle that goes back to 1960 when the Chargers were in Los Angeles. The Bengals and Ravens kick off from Baltimore at 7 p.m. Game 2 of the opening-night doubleheader features another intra-divisional rivalry when Oakland plays host to San Diego at 10:15 p.m. The Bengals and Ravens have played only one other time on MNF (Cincinnati won the 2007 opener 27-20). Meanwhile, the Chargers and Raiders have played each other nine times on MNF.

Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps will be an honorary captain in Baltimore, although one member of the Chargers is not impressed.

It's been an emotional week for the Ravens.

The team held a memorial viewing for Art Modell, who died last week at 87, on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium as hundreds of fans turned out to pay their respects. Modell, who will also be honored tonight, moved the Browns from Cleveland to Baltimore in 1996 and was instrumental in the expansion of the NFL on television -- including the creation of "Monday Night Football," which featured the Browns versus Jets in its 1970 debut telecast. On Sunday, the team's spirits were uplifted and several Ravens took to Twitter after Ali showed up at the Ravens' facility and met with players and coaches following their morning walk-through on behalf of his charity, Generations Ali.



Both the Bengals and Ravens reached the playoffs last season -- with the Ravens reaching the AFC Championship Game before losing to New England.

There's always plenty of optimism in Week 1:



The Raiders and Chargers underwent substantial changes in the offseason -- with the Raiders hiring a new coach (Dennis Allen) and new general manager (Reggie McKenzie) and the Chargers losing Philip Rivers' top target (Vincent Jackson) to free agency and Tampa Bay.

There will be plenty of music after the "Rolling Stones" intro, as well:



It won't be all mean and ugly in the stands in Oakland:



The Raiders lead the all-time series with their long-time AFL/AFC West rival 58-45-2.



Why can't we all just get along? Because it's Raiders versus Chargers, that's why.

If you see any offbeat links from your favorite sports site or catchy tweets that might be of interest to others, pass them along to me @billsperos or bsperos1@gmail.com.
Tags:

Bryant McKinnie, Muhammad Ali, Michael Phelps, Monday Night Football, Rolling Stones, Gene Simmons, Ice Cube, Shaun Phillips, Bobby Rainey, Shannon Tweed, MC Hammer

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