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Let’s check back in on the “State of Baltimore Sports Media” with Orioles sitting at 2-14 on NFL Draft Day

Nestor Aparicio

So this media situation is exactly what I tried to warn everyone about back in February. I spent a week with my “State of Baltimore Sports Media” blogs attempting to take 27 years of my knowledge as a kid from Dundalk who loved sports and journalism and has spent a lifetime trying to build a better platform for integrity and honesty in an effort to enlighten folks about why we think WNST.net is a great way to communicate in 2010. The Orioles are 2-14. It’s almost unthinkable — unimaginable given the “enthusiasm” that was sold by the corporate suits over at CBS Radio and the MASN “partners” of a 13-year running sham known as Peter G. Angelos’ Orioles. Don’t worry, the rest of the local media that takes checks from King Peter and the crew aren’t off the hook here, either, for hiding the truth and burying the story about last week’s Ripken blowup. The Orioles are 2-14 and there’s not a negative word – not anywhere. There’s no call for the manager’s head. The owner – completely unaccountable and in hiding longer than the guy in the cave in the Middle East – never answers questions. The Ripken story

Finale: Part 5 – What is the future of sports media in Baltimore?

Nestor Aparicio

“I will never, EVER “text” with you!” I screamed into my cell phone to my beloved son, Barry, during the summer of 2006 when he filled up my text inbox with messages that I had no idea how to access. “If you don’t call me on the phone, you won’t find me!” What’s that axiom? “It’s what you learn after you know everything that really counts!” Yet again, more words wasted and crow swallowed. It was just another humbling, woefully wrong prediction for my own actions and a future gone awry as I continue to grow in years and wisdom in my 40’s. If there’s one pearl of wisdom I’ve learned the hard way it’s this: the learning NEVER stops and the world never stops changing. I’ve committed myself to be a student of life and it’s what gets me out of bed and keeps me alive and vibrant during these tough times. The entrepreneur in me just got back from eight days in Fort Lauderdale at the Super Bowl watching all of the “big boys” do what they do – television, radio, newspapers, web entities, etc. It’s gone from old days of “Radio Row” to a hodgepodge of different

My last day on air at AM 1570: Goodbye to radio, hello to the brave world of the web!

Nestor Aparicio

As you probably know, beginning on Monday, we’re going to begin a week-long series on the state of Baltimore sports journalism. And where this is all going? And how this radio, print, television & “new media thing” really works. “A WNST Expose’ on Sports Journalism in Baltimore: Is this Medium Well Done?” will be an eye-opening look at the inner-workings of sports media here in the town that I’ve loved since 1968 told by a true insider – me! It’s more of a mini-series than a blog. It’s designed to separate facts from fiction of media past, present and future. It’s taken me about 26 years of living it and now that WNST.net is the No. 1 most-visited sports website in the region, I think it’s time that I’ve said a few things that need to be said about the state of this business and how much “times have changed.” It’ll be the true story of life in the 2010 world of Baltimore sports media that Ray Frager — a former boss and media “critic” of mine at The Baltimore Sun who publicly hated, doubted and discarded my show and my brand and my expertise, information and business for more

Giving Thanks to Baltimore coaches everywhere

Nestor Aparicio

Nestor gives thanks to all of the Baltimore sports coaches and managers from Gene Ubriaco to Brian Billick over his 25 years as a media member. “Coaches are my favorite people” he says.

My life with Bruce Springsteen and Friday’s miracle show in Baltimore

Nestor Aparicio

Let me get this out of the way: Springsteen is the only Boss I listen to … At 8:50 this Friday evening when Bruce Springsteen breaks out his harmonica and begins to tell the Baltimore audience about his 1975 opus, “Born To Run” – the album, not the song – some musical magic will enrapture the First Mariner Arena in a way that hasn’t been seen much lately this side of Bono or Mick Jagger taking the stage that Elvis Presley and The Beatles graced in the 1960s and Led Zeppelin and The Who lit up in the 1970s. This is Springsteen’s first foray into the Baltimore Street institution since 1973, when legend has it that he apparently opened for the band Chicago. In 1977, Bruce rocked the then-shiny-new Towson Center on the “Darkness On The Edge of Town” tour. But over the last 32 years – as long as I’ve been going to concerts — Springsteen has never, ever come near playing Baltimore in any way. In his heyday, the Capital Centre hosted all of Bruce’s legendary shows and week-long runs from 1978’s success of “The River” and beyond. And then, of course, he wound up playing R.F.K. Stadium

Want a better WNST purple fan experience?

Nestor Aparicio

We are two weeks into the new media revolution at WNST. For Week 1 vs. Kansas City and last weekend in San Diego, I was busy during the game actually Tweeting everything I’m thinking from the seats. It’s been a cathartic, engaging experience, summing up my thoughts as the games unfold. It’s almost like being the color commentator during the game, which at one point was something I thought I really wanted to do. Well, now, through the magic of social media and Twitter, I can. Per NFL rules, we are not allowed to give play by play on Twitter, but honestly, why would we? We’re ASSUMING you’re watching the game when we’re tweeting and giving feedback. We’re simply “joining you at the bar” and getting involved in the conversation of the game while the game is in progress. It’s really cool and revolutionary — especially for us “old guys.” So, if you’re on the couch — safe from the wet weather — and want a new experience in watching the Ravens, come watch them with us on Twitter and follow us while we chat about the game during the game. Everything we’re thinking at WNST is just a click

It’s official: WNST has become YOUR Baltimore news source

Nestor Aparicio

If you are perusing WNST.net today and say “something looks different” then we’ve done our job here on the World Wide Web. As you can see in the grey bar above, we’ve become a full-service website with AP news, scores, scoreboard, game stories and full information. Over the past year, it’s been no secret of our intention to become YOUR place for daily news, information, observation, feedback and audio, video and text service. As The Sun sets, WNST.net is rising not only on the web in Baltimore but against the competition in Baltimore per www.alexa.com. Our daily ranking today is 116,459 and we’re now ahead of every radio station — AM and FM — in Baltimore and surging toward football season with your readership, feedback and usage of this web platform at WNST.net. And the site will only continue to get better. So, poke around, read all of the AP stats and check out all of the new features WNST.net has to offer. Training camp is two weeks away and we are planning unprecedented live coverage of all things purple beginning July 27th. If you are a Twitter, You Tube or Facebook user, please feel free to friend or recommend

A weekend of MASN and Baltimore and Washington and “Battle of Basement”

Nestor Aparicio

Well, if they weren’t going to get the sweep at least they lost in dramatic fashion. Jamie Walker gave up a prodigious grand slam to Adam Dunn in the 7th inning and the Nats beat the O’s 8-5 to avert a sweep in D.C. Brad Bergesen pitched well enough. The Orioles battled and the game was pretty nip and tuck through the middle innings with lead changes, big hits and competitiveness. But it all unraveled in the 7th for the O’s bullpen after Bergesen hit the shower. I’ve spent all three days pretty much glued to the TV watching this series. I was just as amazed by all of the empty seats as I was the full ones. It looks like they sold a lot of tickets and many didn’t come. It was just weird looking at it for 30 innings over the last 45 hours. I’ve been wanting to write a blog all weekend but I thought I’d just do a “summary” here today about what I’m thinking as I watch all of this pretty-much lousy baseball. I’m also a little overwhelmed with MASN’s hodgepodge display of Nats and O’s as “friendly rivals” and how chummy the “Battle of

Changes coming to Monday Night Football and the World Series

Nestor Aparicio

A new addition to Monday Night Football and an overdue change to the Fall Classic should make many fans happy this fall. ESPN has announced former NFL coach Jon Gruden will replace Tony Kornheiser in the Monday Night Football booth this fall, joining play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico and analyst Ron Jaworski. Kornheiser, a longtime sportswriter, was maligned for not having a background as a player or coach, instead choosing to focus on the lighter side of the game.  It reminded too many fans of the failed Dennis Miller experiment that ABC tried at the beginning of the decade. While I enjoy Kornheiser with Michael Wilbon on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, he never found his place in the MNF broadcast booth.  He often seemed disinterested—if not in over his head—compared to the insightful analysis provided by Jaworski. Listening to Kornheiser provide color commentary reminded me of someone that tries to engage you in football discussion, but after a few minutes, you realize he just doesn’t know that much about the game.  While he is certainly an accomplished writer, his football insight left much to be desired. Kornheiser’s excessive discussion over Chad Johnson’s Hall of Fame jacket charade ruined the Ravens-Bengals telecast

Share the Game 7 madness with us tonight in Dundalk!

Nestor Aparicio

Tonight in Washington D.C., a place where five years ago hockey was a rumor or perhaps a myth, the Capitals will host the Penguins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs’ second round. I don’t need to tell you that it will be one of the best sporting events of this (or any) year. I can all but guarantee it. Honestly, tell me another sport — other than an NFL playoff game, but even those are influenced by injuries, weather, weird bounces, blowouts, etc. — where you know you’ll be getting what you’re paying for tonight. It’s 3-3. The teams clearly don’t like each other. The penalties have been lopsided in the Penguins direction. The “one name” stars are all out — my man Jim Williams of The Examiner wrote about the incredible worldwide audience for this game — Ovechkin and Federov, Sidney and Malkin. Who’ll win? The pesky Capitals who have been outplayed dramatically but have been incredibly resiliant and realiably cardiac over the past three weeks certainly have a shot. They are the NHL team with nine lives at this point. A home crowd of 20,000 red maniacs, taunting Sidney Crosby and Segei Gonchar not to mention

State launches new marketing initiative

Nestor Aparicio

In a long-overdue announcement, the State of Maryland held a press conference this morning to announce that they’re getting serious about luring major events to the region with the formation of a joint coalition between the Governor, the Stadium Authority and a marketing group formed specifically to generate sports-related tourism and revenue here. I attended the press conference and will discuss it on “Limited Access” at 2 p.m. today. The basic premise was a website launch and an organized outreach that will lure events — both recreational and professional — to venues throughout the state. A good idea, I think. We’ll see what the benefits are beyond the obvious: AC Milan and Chelsea at M&T Bank Stadium on July 24. (By the way, they’ve sold 52,000 seats so far for the event!) Here’s the press release: STATE EXPANDS SPORTS MARKETING, LAUNCHES MARYLAND ‘HERE TO PLAY’ Cal Ripken Jr., State officials unveil comprehensive sports marketing database Baltimore, Maryland (May 8, 2009) – Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development Secretary Christian S. Johansson and Maryland Stadium Authority Chairman John Morton, III were joined by Cal Ripken, Jr. and more than 100 sports industry executives at Oriole Park at Camden Yards today

Getting fired in the Oriole Park press box

Nestor Aparicio

The stories of The Baltimore Sun’s firings are now circulating and the fallout are stories and blogs on the web with tales of the corporate bloodletting last Wednesday. Former Sun sports columnist and WNST.net contributor David Steele tells his tale on the web here about getting fired in the Oriole Park press box. Rick Maese checked in with me last week as well and said he’s taking some “down” time with his family. Both of these guys were true professionals and will be missed around town.

Watching “The Sun” set in Baltimore…

Nestor Aparicio

It’s been a rough 48 hours in our industry. Sports writing and sports journalism and careers going away at The Baltimore Sun, people we know and read and work with getting fired at an alarming rate. The economy is a mess, newspapers, radio and television revenue models are coming undone and sponsors and businesses are screaming for ROI (that’s “return on investment” for those who aren’t in the sales world). Here at WNST.net, we’re building a business model that works and one that we hope will be sustainable long after The Sun sets. And as The Sun sets, we continue to make our product at WNST better so that we can become the place you come to every day for your Baltimore sports news and information and analysis. When advertisers advertise their businesses here, we actually help get them business. We are accountable. We deliver results. We’ve been doing that for local businesses for 17 years. (If we didn’t, we’d have been gone a long time ago!) We’ve gotten so good at growing our business that last week I got the greatest “compliment” I could ever be given. Big ‘ole WBAL dropped a dime and forced the Ravens to stop

Unleash the fury…Harry Kalas and other “non-radio” tidbits

Nestor Aparicio

First, I hope Ray Bachman has fun doing the show from 2 til 6 today. (He won’t admit it, but he really loves talking sports and doing the show. And he loves when I’m not there.) I’m having a “business/strategy” day of respite and I’ve been catching up on sports since 11 p.m. last night when Bruce Springsteen walked off the stage at the Spectrum. (Set list here…) I watched the Washington Caps win Game 7 on the DVR but only after someone in my life who will remain “unnamed” wrecked my evening by texting me the result while Springsteen was in the middle of singing “She’s The One.” (MAKE A NOTE OF THIS: DO NOT EVER TEXT YOUR FRIENDS A SCORE!!!! A simple, “Hey dude…do you want to know who’s winning?” would suffice. And, honestly, with the score of any game in the universe a click away on my phone why would I want you to wreck my midnight viewing by texting me the result. It’s just unacceptable!) But, I digress… Alas, I did watch the game in its entirety this morning (and it’s NOTHING like not knowing the result) and the Capitals are as lucky to be headed

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE! King of Baltimore Sportstalk continues…

Nestor Aparicio

Hopefully, by now you’ve seen some of the video or heard some of the interviews and auditions or read some of the great blogs we’ve been featuring here at WNST.net over the past two weeks as the “Coors Light King of Baltimore Sportstalk” competition rolls on this week via our blogosphere below. With the Orioles, the NFL Draft, the Caps and the Stanley Cup playoffs, lacrosse, golf and many other sports blossoming here in the early days of spring, there’s PLENTY to write about and watch for our prospective crew of 27 entrants into the KOBST parade of talent. (Yes, we had 54 actual applicants and only 27 have actually “followed through” with the energy to participate! We’ve already eliminated half of the original “field.”) Many folks have inquired regarding how the competition will work, and although there are several spots on the website with the rules and voting regulations, I just wanted to reiterate that voting for the “Top 3” bloggers will end on Thursday evening. We will announce the “Top 3” on Friday morning. Over the weekend the remaining candidates will have a chance to blog for four more days through the NFL Draft and on Tuesday at

Help us find the next Baltimore sports media superstar…

Nestor Aparicio

Let the games begin! I’ve been talking about the “Coors Light King (or Queen) of Baltimore Sportstalk” competition for two months and today we will finally begin the tournament where the challenge is to cover Baltimore sports in the new media universe at WNST.net like the professionals do every day. After watching “American Idol” in its totality for the first time this season, I got very inspired about finding creative ways to find Baltimore’s next great sports media stars. Perhaps I’m biased, but I firmly believe WNST.net is the best sports media company in the marketplace for Baltimore sports news, conversation and information. Everyone at WNST works nonstop to be the best – to set us apart from amateur internet bloggers and from “out of town” corporate entities who do not have the best interests of our community at heart. Our hard work is justified and rewarded when our www.Alexa.com reports continues to show us as BY FAR the most-visited sports website in the region on a daily basis. And we continue to battle it out with WBAL.com as the top two sites for radio – AM or FM – in the marketplace. I take my business seriously. I must,

Orange fireworks: Players and Trembley flip Peter Angelos “The Bird” today in The Sun

Nestor Aparicio

I’ve been saying for years that Fort Lauderdale Stadium and the Orioles’ sub-par Florida spring training situation is by far the biggest sin of all of their many sins and finally the folks over on Calvert Street are doing some “investigative journalism” with the orange birds. The club’s No. 1 promise to the public is that it’s doing everything possible to commit all of its resources to fielding a winning team. That’s the goal in baseball: winning a championship. You always want to give your team the best chance to compete. The Angelos family hasn’t done that for the entire tenure of their ownership in regard to the significance of spring training as anything more than a line item expense. The mere fact that they’re the only organization in the sport to have “two camps” in Florida that sit three hours apart is telling enough. It’s bad business. It’s bad baseball. It’s just inexcusable, unacceptable and dumb. Fort Lauderdale Stadium is a dump. It’s a disgrace. It’s been a disgrace for the entire balance of the 15 years they’ve played there. I’ve worked many, many a morning and pulled many 12-hour days at Fort Lauderdale Stadium doing radio and covering

R.I.P. to The Baltimore Examiner and “So you wanna be a sports media star?”

Nestor Aparicio

Where have the old-time “voices in sports media” gone in our community? Who are the commentators who “matter?” Does ANYONE’s opinion on radio or TV or in the newspaper or on the web matter?  Did it ever? And where is the internet heading and what lies ahead for the next generation of sports media in Baltimore? These are all topics and questions on my mind as The Baltimore Examiner closed its doors on Valentine’s weekend. So stands the old white “masthead” lights over the harbor tonight — the light in the ‘r’ is ironically burned out on Pratt Street — and another dream has been vanquished for another “out of town” media entity whose management thought they would whisk into Baltimore, urinate on highly unpopular (yet unchallenged) bully of The Sun, which is such a corporate “lamb” these days that it’s in bankruptcy, and dominate the market with a concept and a primary medium whose time has clearly passed. Today’s blog will not be about sports as much as it will be about local sports media and how it works in 2009. And how much of a “mess” it is these days to be involved in old world media. For

A great show coming at 2 p.m. today…

Nestor Aparicio

This blog is a great way to give listeners to “Limited Access” (our new show name if you haven’t heard) some heads up about what’s coming on the show each day. Today, we have John Rallo, Tom Verducci and Jim Schwartz booked onto the program already. It is shaping up to be a classic and I can’t wait to get started! Every Thursday at 2 p.m. my old childhood buddy and MMA expert Rallo comes in for a UFC and mixed martial arts segment but we’ll also mix it up a bit and today is no exception with the Verducci visit. Schwartz is one of my best friends in sports and he just took the Detroit Lions head coaching job and has been blowing me off (including changing his cell phone number!) ever since I got the initial text saying he got the job. I will crank up the Judas Priest and be giving him a very hard time for his all of friends and family in Arbutus who also haven’t heard from him. Old Schwartzie must be drinking from the 0-16 firehouse in Detroit. And I have to be kinda nice because it was his connection that got me

Joe Flacco vs. Bert from Sesame Street

Nestor Aparicio

While surfing for some of the garbage being said about Steve McNair on the internet today, I tripped across a funny link comparing our civic hero Joe Flacco to Bert from Sesame Street because of the “unibrow” factor. There’s a very funny link here. And if you’re a real Sesame Street lover — for the record I was more of an Electric Company guy on PBS — you’ll dig this link to the “real” Bert. I know that Joe doesn’t like for his kid brothers and sisters to make fun of him but I have a feeling this one is going to wind up on the kitchen refrigerator in the Flacco household back in New Jersey. Hey, I didn’t create it. I just shared it! Do you find the resemblence striking? LOL…

A holiday message to Peter Angelos and the Orioles

Nestor Aparicio

The Baltimore Orioles can try to silence their critics today and attempt to ban the free speech of all of their many disgruntled customers and fans from posting angry diatribes on message boards like WNST on the internet, but there’s no getting around it if you’re Peter Angelos today. If you are from Baltimore and love Baltimore sports and you are celebrating any religious holiday from Christmas to Hanukkah to Kwanza to Festivus over the next 48 hours and anywhere from Highlandtown to Hong Kong, inevitably amongst so many family and friends with food and drink and cheer, you’ll be talking about two things: 1.    How much the Orioles suck and once again what a disgrace it is to be an Orioles fan (and/or a MLB fan in general) after this whole Mark Teixeira fiasco And … 2.    How much fun the Ravens have given us this year and whether they can win this Sunday against Jacksonville and whether they’ll go far into the playoffs and give us the thrill of a Super Bowl again Clear advantage: Ravens “WNST” has no control over any of your holiday conversations. There is no “WNST stance” at your dinner table. There are just

Does Joe Flacco have “that fire”?

Nestor Aparicio

In this new era of the Ravens media access under John Harbaugh, there have been many changes. Some subtle and some kinda “right between the eyes.” One of them is the lack of “all access” sound from the bench even for the Rave TV crews. I honestly don’t think very many people watched any of the team’s pre-produced shows over the years — at least very few people have ever talked to me about any of the shows — but the one glaring omission this season that was always “must see” TV for me in the past was Wired. (For the record, whenever I’ve watched their internal shows I’ve always enjoyed them. Larry Rosen does a helluva job. And I really miss Wired!) And I completely understand what Harbaugh is trying to accomplish by boxing out “distractions” caused by the “me” vs. the “team.” Don’t think the “What’s My Name?” and “RAVENS” reply isn’t lost on me. Billick and I talk about this stuff all the time. I totally get what Harbaugh’s goals were with these steps. (But that said, I miss “Hard Knocks” as well…) Knowing most of the guys on the team pretty well over the years, it

So…just how many people come to WNST.net every day for Baltimore sports?

Nestor Aparicio

Every day someone comes up to me on the streets of Baltimore and tells me that I should “turn up the signal” on AM 1570. That’s been going on since May 1998 when I first got involved in purchasing WNST, which was then WKDB, a failed kid’s radio station. As you know, this is the worst time of the year for us, when daylight ends around 5 p.m. and we are mandated by the FCC to “downpower” our transmitter, which restricts our AM radio access to an 8-mile circle around Towson, where our towers reside on the hill overlooking Loch Raven High School. Maybe you’ve heard our “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” promo on WNST? We did that for a reason. We’re NOT just an AM radio station anymore, as your eyes on this website should surely tell you. We have a lot more to offer than 12 hours of radio these days at AM 1570 on your radio. (But you’re already here on the website reading this, so that should be pretty self-explanatory.) Believe me, if we could petition the FCC to get more “hamsters running the power,” we would do it. But we don’t really

Giving Thanks to Baltimore coaches everywhere

Nestor Aparicio

Nestor gives thanks to all of the Baltimore sports coaches and managers from Gene Ubriaco to Brian Billick over his 25 years as a media member. “Coaches are my favorite people” he says.

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